Thursday, April 30, 2009

Here is the invitation to last night's event and the flyer. I dunno why, but I thought I would scan them.





We only have two weeks left of this semester. And for me, that's two weeks left total of school. Even though 2 weeks seems like an incomprehensible amount of time to finish all the projects I still have left, (because one of the qualifications to get into the show seems to be a commitment to blowing off your 7 other classes for 2 months, only to be hit with a storm of work in the last two weeks of school), still, I'm really starting to get sad. Really sad.

I'm not one of those people who can't wait for school to end. I never have been. I have always loved school, my entire life. Something about going somewhere every day, to just ...learn. There is something so remarkable about that being the main task in your daily life. To be a student, to be studying, to be working your brain. I took enough time off from being a student (6 years!) to know that when you're out in the working world, all you want to do is go back to being a student. Well, at least for me. Doing the same thing every day for 10 hours a day, it's for the birds. A friend told me once the thing he liked most about working was that after the day was over, you could go on with the rest of your life, and leave work for the morning. And when you're a student, your entire life is consumed by school. I think that's really true, and I have to say, I like that. I like to have a passion and a commitment to something so great, that it becomes a part of who I am. It's the same reason why I have a few professors who still tease me about how much I used to cry in first semester. Most people reading this are probably like, what? Who cries at school? haha. but this is different. When a professor criticises you at fashion or art school, it's not like they are telling you, hey your spelling sucks. It's like, this skirt looks like it's made for your 80 year old aunt maude, or ..have you drawn anything since kindergarden? They are making comments about something that is so personal to you, so important to you. In the beginning it was hard. But 2 years later, I don't get criticism in that way anymore. Why? Because somehow, along the way I became a designer.

Going to school here was nothing like any other school I have ever attended. I don't know if it's because this is my 2nd time around getting a college degree, or if it was because I'm paying for it myself, or if it was because I was studying something I'm honestly truely passionate about, or if maybe it was moving to New York was all new to me too, but the fact remains that I am leaving this school a huge chunk of my heart. The experiences I have had here will never be forgotten. I've had so many ups and downs, so many battles, and oceans of tears over various circumstances. So many happy days as well. So many moments when I got goosebumps over something I did that I never thought was possible. It hasn't been easy. In fact, the past two years have been mostly really hard. But the fact remains, going to school at FIT was one of the best decisions I ever made. I worked with some of the most fascinating students, and some of the most excellent professors, with a backdrop of the the most amazing and inspirational city in the world. While it is going to be so desperately hard to say goodbye, I feel so fortunate that I was given this opportunity. Being part of the Versace exhibit was like a valentine to the entire experience. If I could do it all over again 8 million times, I wouldn't skip a beat.

Last night was the exhibit opening, here are the photos from the event! It was amazing to see everything, there is a lot of beautiful work in that room, and I feel truly truly lucky to be a part of it. ;)











Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I got in!!

If you live in New York, or will be visiting New York next weekend, come see the exhibit!

It's at FIT in the John Reeves Great Hall, Seventh Ave at 28th St. April 30 - May 3rd. 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

:)

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Exhibition Garment Photos

Here are some photos of the finished dress for the Gianni Versace Senior Exhibition. We were required to create a garment inspired by Versace. I based mine on his bondage collection from the 90's. They haven't been judged or commented on, as it's Sunday and I just finished it today. So I'm not feeling any relief yet, only nerves! Let me know what you think. The bodice is constructed from 1'' leather strips - metallic gold, metallic bronze and black. The inside of it is made like a corset with a boned siri lining, and the entire dress is fully lined. The shoulder straps are made from the same 1'' strips and have 2 working metal clasps which I painted gold myself. You can change them around and attach them in different ways. This only took me about 900 million hours. ;)







here is a piece from the collection that inspired my garment...so you can get an idea of what kind of aesthetic I was aiming for.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Markus Kelleman, a darling style icon I work with at Anthropologie, asked me last summer to design a top for him to wear to the Richie Rich show at Bryant Park. Here are some photos of it featured in a shoot he did recently. They look FAB.








And here is Markus wearing it at the show!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

This has nothing to do with fashion, but it was so great I have to share. My boyfriend and I went to 55 Bar last night which is on Christopher in Greenwich Village... this guy was so good I had to record one of this songs. It was an amazingly fun night......we actually got there about an hour early so we were able to get a table, which was so excellent. By the time Bill went on, the place was jam packed. I got goosebumps during their first song....I will def be returning to hear some other bands, as they rotate musicians, generally always either blues or jazz.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Exhibition garment progress....

2 posts in one weekend! I'm trying to get better at this. I'm officially on SPRING BREAK right now, even though I'm working at my other job, at the Anthropolgie store in Soho for most of my break, all my other waking hours are devoted to this garment. I posted the sketch a few entries ago HERE. and then the muslan drape HERE.

So I thought I'd show a few more progress pics... although I have to say the lighting does no justice for the colors of those leathers. They are gorgeous in person and the camera makes them look more yellow-y or something.
Even though I personally didnt think this was necessary (and was later proven by the fact that I didn't even USE this, my professor wanted me to make a muslan prototype of how I was going to lay out the straps. So here it is, I think it looks like something a sexy mummy might wear.




Next I created the boned lining. This is siri with boning sewn in (took forever). This lining gets "sandwiched" between the outside leather piece and another piece of silk lining that goes against the body.



And here are a few pictures of me trying to figure out where I want to sew on the straps. It's going to take me FOREVER to do this part, so don't expect to see much until I get it figured out. Ugh, this dress is going to be a killer, but SO worth it if I can execute it nicely.




Saturday, April 4, 2009

fashion weak.

I tried to attend the grand opening of topshop this Thursday, but when I got there at 11 a.m. the line was wrapped around the entire island of Manhattan! The store will be there still in a few weeks, so I left, but managed to take this photo, where mostly you can see a lot of security guards in black suits. Hail british fashion, can't wait to check it out!



I also managed to score this cute topshop free tote and adorable little topshop water bottle while I was there...




top water

and in the spirit of Kate Moss.....

My friend at school showed me this video. I can't believe I'd never seen it before! It's Alexander McQueen+ Future Sound of London + a Kate Moss Hologram. Totally awesome.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

darling dita

One of my biggest fashion inspirations is Dita Von Teese. You could call her my muse I guess, although I never really thought I had one until I thought about it. I just think she is the absolute essence of a stunning woman.











Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Live model drawing - @ FIT October 2008

Usually live model drawing is not my thing, but this was one I did last year that actually kind of liked.
We only had about 20 minutes to complete it. This was done with charcoals, various, white and black on gray charcoal paper.
I miss that class.