Fringes

(Image: December 2008 cover of Russian Vogue)

A few months ago, a fashion blog, Fashionable Academics (which since then seems to have gone private readership) hosted a blog conference called "This is What a Feminist Looks Like". Many fashion bloggers contributed with pictures of themselves in their best Banana Republic business casual (seriously, what's with academic fashion blogs BR shill?), with big smiles on their white attractive faces. The whole point of that (as was pointed out by an anon commenter) is to convince the casual observer that the feminists are not hairy man-hating beasts but actually very nice white middle-class attractive ladies. That is, we take an unfairly maligned category and make it more palatable to the mainstream by distancing ourselves from the fringe (in this case, hairy man-hating beasts). We can call it Gloria Steinem syndrome.

And it struck me recently how much do we do that. Spokespeople for pretty much any cause will present the most mainstream face possible -- and from Bono to Gaga, celebrities often give their face to causes associated with groups that "general public" (whatever that is) might find less relatable than those white celebs. And... I really do have a problem with that.

Recently, that horrid Lifetime show, Russian Dolls aired. As you can guess by the name, it is about Russian immigrants (in Brighton Beach, of course), and something something struggles something weird makeup haha look at how they dress all funny something show. I wrote before of this tendency to diminish the sartorial other; in TV, we have shows like Jerseylicious which really serve little other purpose than ridiculing a group of people for the way they dress, so in that regard Russian Dolls is not terribly surprising. What was surprising is the number of people who asked me if it was really like that.

I found my reaction interesting: first, there is a legitimate degree of annoyance that people expect the experience of Russian immigrants to be the same, regardless of the time immigration has occurred, whether or not they live in ethnic enclaves a la Brighton Beach, whether their entire families have immigrated with them etc etc. Clearly, individual experiences of individual people will produce vastly different results, and yet the desire to categorize and assume the uniformity of the other is overwhelming, even in intelligent people. The other aspect, however, surprised me: I wanted to distance myself from those Brighton Beach people. I wanted to appear more mainstream, which is a legitimate self-preservation instinct. Yet, I was surprised at the accompanying impulse to downplay those who are flamboyantly not fitting in, those fringe others -- with their blinged-out Versaceism and all that.

This is not to say that I'm suddenly all right with the representations of Russians in contemporary American entertainment -- au contraire. The representation is terribly one-sided and negative. I don't want all Russians on TV to be hookers or criminals; I just want some positive representation. Yet, my own desire to see and to show only the acceptable misses the mark too. The point is, we are people, with a variety of experiences. And unless we start representing the range rather than only one end of the spectrum, there is no hope to actually recognizing the other as legitimately human and deserving of being treated as such, regardless of their sartorial choices, level of attractiveness, or place of residence.

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Project Runway: Business Casual for Stilt Walkers

Yes, I said all sorts of horrible things about Project Runway judges, and how they pander to the lowest common denominator as they imagine it to be. And no, I am not taking this back. Because this week's challenge was great, in theory -- outfits for stilt walkers! Crazy proportions! Circus! Open air runway! Exciting guest judge! (Well, I lied about the last one.)

Instead, designs were criticized for being too costumey. The biggest compliment Michael Kors gave was that the outfit would look just as good on someone not wearing the stilts -- which is the opposite of the point of this challenge! It's like having a couture challenge and then praising the winning design because it would totally fit at Talbot's.

Thankfully, there was plenty of drama. Fallene got bossed around by the baby-faced Bryce who kept hissing at her because her bodice was not cut on grain. Fallene is fragile, so she cried and complained of the black cloud hanging over her.

In fact, the black cloud was the awful tutu Bryce made. See?



So Fallene cried, and we all knew it was over for her, because even though she made a quirky feather fascinator, it was abundantly clear that she is not cut out for reality TV. I hope she opens an Etsy shop real soon, because I do dig her designs. Just not this!



I KNOW.

Then we had Anya and Olivier, who were adorable and made a mediocre but not particularly offensive outfit, and were waved through:

The menswearish bodice had potential, but the outfit was meh. Anya and Olivier actually collaborated though, which is so rare in these team challenges. So thumbs up, carry on with your adorable selves.

In less adorable, there was Viktor, who was a snot, and Bert, who was insufferable. Last week he declared that he has immunity and doesn't care, and sent a half-assed outfit down the runway. This week, he was once again above the challenge but no immunity, so he acted even worse than Viktor. So Viktor discovered Simon Doonan's rule of flattering adjacency. That is, if you want to be a snot and yet come across as a decent human being, stand next to Bert.

No flattering adjacency could save this though:

Actually, I take it back. The guest judge, Kim Kardashian, had this to say about this look: "It reminds me of the movie The Sound of Music, where they had to cut curtains to make their clothes... like something in Marie Antoinette times." Suddenly, the dress looked more refined.

Then there was something for the business casual stilt-walker:

This is by Danielle and Cecilia, both my early picks. They can tailor, and the blouse is actually lovely. The pants are well-made. It's just such a conservative look -- I would totally wear this to work if pants were wool. For a stilt-walker, I expect something with a little pizazz:

This is by Julie and Joshua. The proportion is weird, because of the tiny cape which makes the model look like she has T.rex arms. But really, a bigger cape, and you have a great matador/circus look! Totally appropriate for someone on stilts! The judges hated it for being too costumey. I... don't even.

There was one costumey look they did like:

This was by Kim and Becky. They worked well together -- without drama! They just assessed their strength, split the work, and did it, like actual adults. Kim impressed me with her mad tailoring skills (she made the pants). Becky FINALLY showed what I've seen in her portfolio: sharp tailoring, nice jacket. Nina of course complained about the collar being too circusy. I didn't mind it -- in fact, it channeled Vivienne Westwood and reminded me a tad of Seth Aaron, without being a knockoff of these too. It is possible!

Someone tell Anthony Ryan, because after he knocked off McQueen's collar dress last week, this week he went for Gucci Fall 2011.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B (Gucci):

Nina Garcia politely called him "referential". Still, it won -- actually, he graciously gave the win to Laura, which was sweet.

I'm still pleased with Cecilia and Danielle, really happy that Becky started to show what she can do with tailoring, and now I'm impressed with Kim's sewing. She flew under the radar so far, but this week, I liked her a lot.

Also, next week's challenge? Designing for Nina Garcia! This is one challenge where sharp tailoring will pay off, and taste levels will be questioned. Bryce, Joshua, or Viktor -- who will be aufed?

Project Runway: Two Weeks in!

I'm pleased that my earlier faves -- Danielle, Becky, and Viktor -- are still on, and making clothes I like! Fallene is stumbling, and seems too flighty for this competition. Not decided on Cecilia yet.

Danielle and Becky have competition though: the adorable Olivier (who presented a menswear collection in his pre-show portfolio, so I had nothing to go by) is making very chicly understated clothing. The palette is a bit grey and beige, but I am totally down with that. This week's challenge (unconventional materials from a pet store) allowed him to make an excellent top from a dog bed, and an ombre skirt from hamster bedding. It was a winner! I am excited to see him make more sleek minimalist pieces in pale neutral palettes. Man, I am so there.

Also, Olivier is from Ohio but speaks in a drifty, Britishy accent. People on Twitter were ragging on him about it, but I'm as ok with fake accents as I am with died hair.

Then there is one contestant who surprised me by his strong showing this week: Anthony Ryan. He talks too much smack about other designers to be likable, but his dress this week was very nice. I am rooting against him based on personality alone. He's not over the top enough to be a good villain, and comes across as a bit of an annoyingly arrogant ass instead. (Viktor has a bit of arrogance going as well, but he seems so up and down with it that I haven't yet decided if I dislike him). This is what Anthony made:

Also, Heidi talks more and more with each season. I am happy she is gaining more confidence, but telling one designer that she thought he should've won? Uncool. Let the winners enjoy their wins without slapping them, yeesh.

So who went home? SPOILER! The Mormon accountant Joshua C., who talked about not yet finding the right girl and cried a lot. That was a well-deserved elimination, based on his showing last week and this week. However, sparks were just starting to fly between him and Joshua M., so I am sad to miss out on watching their slowly blooming romance, right girls notwithstanding.

Project Runway returns

And yes, I'm super-excited! Lifetime released the portfolios of its 20 (!) designers. There's also Facebook "Like" button, which only teaches us that being named Gunnar Deatherage will win every popularity contest.

Since I am a nerd, I did look at the portfolios though. So here are some designs that struck me as interesting. At this point, it's pretty much impossible to gauge anyone's chances, but here're some clothes that seemed cool. All pictures are from Lifetime website, disclaimer disclaimer.

First, Becky.

She lists Vivienne Westwood as one of her favorite designers. I can tell, and also thumbs up! I'll be rooting for you, Becky.

Then we have Danielle, whose online portfolio shows many nice outfits with sharp tailoring. Go look, because none of my faves were available to grab in the Photos section. But this gives you some idea:

As many others, she listed McQueen as her favorite designer. Approve!

Cecilia, who likes Nirvana and Adele:

Some nice tailoring and inventive cuts.

Fallene. OK, while I don't love all of her designs, this one is my favorite from the bunch. Love the styling, the whole thing:

Adorable and interesting! Thumbs up.

Finally, there's Viktor, who likes Comme des Garcons, and it shows:

Could he be the avant garde guy who complains a lot about being misunderstood and is then eliminated in episode 4 because the tortured artist thing has played out? We can only hope.

So here are my early favorites. What are yours?

The Fashion Show -- Season Two! With spoilers.

So the Fashion Show, Bravo's response to losing Project Runway, has returned for season two. Kelly Rowland has been replaced by Iman, which was a wise decision. She's a host/judge supermodel, much like Heidi, but better. Oh, so much better!

Overall, what PR has ultimately chose was accessibility and grudging concession to what 'women in the streets' actually wear -- which, in the producing and judging minds, are drab, unimaginative clothes in the mold of Heidi's New Balance line and trickling down boho esthetics, with a dash of Alexander Wang and other 'edgy' but deeply conventional designers. Klum represents this reluctant, nose-holding accessibility very well -- just like many a diffusion line.

The Fashion Show, on the other hand, has Iman and Isaac Mizrahi (ironically, the king of diffusion lines), who seem to be pushing for a much more high fashion, theatrical sensibility. And in my opinion, if one was to make a TV show about fashion, this is the way to go. I know that there's bad blood between Tim Gunn and Isaac Mizrahi -- and please don't make me choose! Gunn is like a long-lost uncle; Mizrahi is hugely entertaining and says terrible things to people. Oh, and another judge is Laura Brown of Elle Magazine.

Now to the show itself. First, all challenges are team challenges - there're two fashion houses, so that creates some interesting dynamics: even though there are individual winners/losers, the emphasis is on creating a cohesive collection and cooperation. I'm curious to see how that will play out.

Then there was the challenge itself: to use Iman as the muse. Cultural hilarity referencing tribal patterns and contrasting Iman's Somalian past with her now being a part of the "modern world" -- all of it by the House of Nami (Iman backward, get it?). The end result was surprisingly good, with mostly white collection with interesting and varied shapes.

The other team (House of Emerald Syx), on the other hand, had Calvin. Calvin was appalled by the idea of having to work with people, and let his displeasure be known. They chose to work with bright colors! They lost because of lack of cohesion. Calvin made a pretty decent saffron yellow draped number, which was deemed 'cheap' and landed him in the bottom two. He stayed however. The girl who made the abominable parasite ruffle dress went home, but not before her and Calvin traded words. (I suspect that they will keep Calvin as long as possible -- he's a one man resentment engine.)

The guest judge was Rachel Roy, who was also a guest judge on Project Runway. Future guest judges will include Rachel Zoe, Johnny Weir, and Dita von Teese -- people who should've been guest judges on PR, but weren't. I was actually dreaming about PR being completely revamped, with the judging panel composed of Simon Doonan, Lynne Yaeger, and Tilda Swinton, with Apfel, Horyn and von Teese guest-judging. Thank you, Fashion Show, for partially fulfilling my dream! Let's hope the rest of the season lives up to the expectations.

Project Runway -- SPOILERS! With bonus conspiracy theory.

I haven't blogged about PR in a few weeks, because really, Mondo is awesome, Andy is pretty cool, Michael C is very nice, Gretchen is controlling, and there's little else to say.

I do want to mention the episode in which the designers had to design for Heidi's line (Episode 11). And really, there were two problems with that challenge: 1) Heidi's line; 2) Heidi.

The line is awful -- I can find those limp dishrags in any contempo store, but it doesn't mean I like them. Mind you, knits can be fun -- but these shapeless grey things, bastard children of cotton cardigans and sweats, are not. I mean, asking the designers to create something that would fit into the line and the color scheme is like inviting Duff Goldman to have an E-Z oven bakeoff for a five-year-old's birthday party. Or hiring an Frank Lloyd Wright to build an outhouse. In other words, criminal waste.

Speaking of: I suspected that Heidi is maybe not exactly in touch with us commoners; I was shocked at the depth of her contempt for her customers and the vitriol she was dripping while talking to the designers. She is convinced that people who buy her clothes are those legendary middle-Americans found in Walmarts, who live their lives in sweats and cringe at the thought of squeezing their flab into anything remotely tailored. Those people would never ever get dressed before leaving the house, so let's just give them some drab loungewear to cover their unappealing flesh. And the designers! She spoke to them as if they were children: "Do you think a woman could go shopping in that? Hmmmmmm?" (That being a perfectly decent cropped cardigan made by Mondo (Mondo!), whose only crime was lack of shapelessness -- and something I would wear, which I cannot say about Heidi's line). And actually, I wouldn't even talk to children like that -- that mix of condescension and pretend sweetness shouldn't be used on anyone. No wonder Mondo snapped -- and for one, I wholeheartedly supported a designer tantrum.

Last night's episode was a pretty even mix of awesome and terrible. Awesome: Mondo being Mondo, his mom telling the world that Mondo was allowed to play the piano only if he also played baseball, Mondo showing off his piano skills (but not short-stop skills), pretty much everything else. Andy's catfish farm rocked, what with Tim Gunn in rubber boots getting grossed-out and hand-flappy over a catfish. That part was funny and sweet and made me believe that Tim Gunn was my long-lost uncle.

Everything to do with Michael C however was really sad, and his final meltdown was pretty horrific. His family situation is tragic, no doubt, but I also am having a sneaking suspicion that he was a bit set up. Let's face it, he is not the best designer -- he mostly drapes, and makes an ok drapey dress (not my thing, but people who like that sort of dress seem to like his), but no range otherwise. (Malign Gretchen as you will, but she can tailor, and even though I'm not a fan of her esthetic, she makes her clothes well). So throughout the season, I felt that the praise that was heaped on him by the judges was over the top -- just like the dishing he got from fellow designers. But Michael C has advanced past his ability, and I wonder if that was intentional. I mean, he was inspired by the Statue of Liberty and made a drapey dress. Showstopper it wasn't, and it wasn't original either. I keep thinking that the judges built him up intentionally, to dash his hopes at the last moment -- Michael C seemed so childlike at times, so without artifice and cunning, that he would make a perfect mark for something like that. And I wonder if he was set up for the sake of drama.

I feel awful just thinking that, honestly. I hope that the judges are not that cruel; I hope Michale C's uneasy history was not brought in for the sake of drama. But what do you guys think? Is reality TV twisted enough to elevate a really sweet person just to bring them down?

Project Runway

Interesting challenge tonight: teams of two sew each other's design; the designer and not the tailor is judged. The rationale is that a good designer has to outsource sample sewing to ateliers and sample rooms and such. The reality is that sample rooms are staffed by professional tailors, while PR is not. So Ivy almost went home because she couldn't trust Michael D to sew her beautiful design and she dumbed it down to a flowy tank with a flowy skirt.

Michael Kors once again made one of his trademark gendered observations, calling Ivy (who did a beautiful job sewing Michael D's design) a seamstress (as opposed to a REAL designer, natch.) Way to go there -- seamstress vs designer as well as cook vs chef dichotomies have been a traditional way to devalue women's work, and it is heartening to see the CFDA lifetime achievement winner carries the banner.

I continue to love Mondo: even though his design was quite junior and ordinary, Mondo learned an important lesson: he was paired up with Michael C whom everyone hates, and learned that Michael wasn't bad at all. Mondo apologized for being disagreeable, and refreshingly seemed to mean it. In the end of the episode, the two sat with their arms around each other's shoulders even though Mondo was in the bottom. He was not sent home, and we at home learned that not blaming others and apologizing occasionally pay off.

Casanova was sent home. I will miss his priceless drama queening moments ("They say I design for strippers and old ladies and flamenco dancers! And I'm even getting fat!") His design wasn't bad, even though it wasn't resort wear -- but beige wide leg pants and off the shoulder white blouse were quite nice, although judges called them matronly and grandmotherly. I'd wear the pants.

Oh, and April's Frederick's of Hollywood babydoll won. Everyone needs to review what "punk" means.

Project Runway -- The WTFening

Normally, I don't start posting outfit pics until there are ten or so designers left -- until then, it's difficult to remember everyone, and strong likes/dislikes might have formed, but lack reasons. However, the last night's episode, like Klaas's ashes, is knocking at my heart.

First of all: Philip Treacy! The man who makes awesome hats, whose muse was Isabella Blow, about who I blogged earlier. Incidentally, the hat that Isabella wears in that picture? Was featured in the show. More of it in a sec. The challenge was to design an outfit that would go with one of these hats:

Best line of the night: "There are many ways to skin a cat, but you should probably bring a knife". Directed at Michael C, who didn't bring a ruler and had to scrap his first dress because Tim Gunn confirmed Michael's gut feeling that the dress was awful. So he quickly made this:

  SPOILER ALERT: it won. I'm as puzzled as you are. "Perfection", the judges said.

The thing that I found fascinating is that at no point did Michael show any awareness that he had ever seen this hat before -- which is a bit strange for any fashion designer. I mean, how do you miss the whole Isabella Blow thing, especially since Daphne Guinness just recently bought her entire wardrobe?Why isn't anyone mentioning or referencing Isabella Blow? It drives me nuts.

(Michael also has a son. I'm grateful he doesn't pull Jason and bitches about being a straight man in a gay man's world -- apparently, Jason thought that fashion is made only by gay men. Women do not exist. And any industry that is not dominated by straight men is discriminating against them. Anyway. Michael's son might or might have not caught a fish.)

Then there's Mondo -- he of short shorts, knee socks, being misunderstood, and detachable mustache. In this episode, he put a mustache on his model, which delighted me to no end. It takes guts to be playful in a competition. I liked his outfit as well, but he didn't place.

Neither did Andy:

Or AJ (who I'm not crazy about, but I have a weakness for polka dots, rolled collars, and the whole afternoon-at-races feel of his outfit. I just wish the neckline was lower, so the model would be allowed to exist a little between the hat and the dress, but overall, I do like it. So sue me.)

Because I'm forty, I liked Ivy's outfit a lot. I would wear the hell out of it to work (with the hat, of course). If you see this blouse for sale, please send me an email. 

Instead the top three were: Michael C, Michael D:

I didn't mind this one -- it was interesting.

and Valerie:

Treacy didn't likeValerie's dress, proving that he was the only sane person there. I KNOW.

Now, bottom three:

Kristin:

Christopher (everyone talked about how he should be in the top three. Of course, he wasn't):

April:

Do you think April was sent home for her diaper? Everyone else thought she would be. In fact, they talked about how she should be sent home so much, that it was clear that it's not likely. They couldn't get rid of Christopher, since he's cute. So Kristin had to go. Her dress wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as April's underpants or even Christopher's curtain pirate. Arrr.

Oh, and Casanova made what Tim Gunn described a Donna Karan 1988 dress. I didn't mind it -- it was a nice background to showcase the hat:

And as a final thought, here's Isabella Blow in Treacy's lobster hat. Everything else pales.

Work of Art

Ah, Work of Art. It's pretty clear by now that this show is not actually about art. Or even about corporate shilling, despite the enthusiasm for such activities (Audi though? Really?) This show is all about China Chow's wardrobe -- anyone knows who designed the yellow tiered one shoulder dress she was wearing in tonight's episode?

Anyway, she can dress. Evidence:

Work of Art

Without Project Runway, my TV watching is pretty much limited to cooking shows. That is, unless Bravo launched Work of Art -- PR for artists, complete with an avuncular mentor (Simon de Pury of Phillips de Pury) and a well dressed host (China Chow, whose wardrobe.... well, I want her wardrobe, and it blows Heidi's out of the water. My god, this woman can dress.) The contestants are competing in weekly artsy challenges, and the composition of contestants is suspiciously similar to PR -- there are the weird, the conceptual weird, the obviously talented, the earnest, and the defensively self-taught. Oh, and a college professor.

The overall hipster quotient is somewhat higher than the PR, somewhat tempered by the fact that the artists are openly grateful for the free food. The winner of the first and second challenges, by turns charmingly neurotic and disturbingly callous Miles, thoughtfully said that as long as they give him free food, he'd stick around. Miles also won me over by reading an entire novel (Frankenstein) before tackling the cover challenge; as you know, those challenges are timed, so he basically sacrificed half of his creative time because he didn't feel right making a cover for something he hasn't read -- a consideration that clearly didn't stop some other participants, one of whom used a half-naked picture of herself as a cover for Pride and Prejudice.

Other current faves besides Miles are Abdi and Nicole. Those three are among the youngest and yet seem to have the strongest points of view. The rest are not terribly interesting, from either art or personality angle.

Compared to PR, there's also a lot more open cattiness and bickering. In similarities, there's an excessive use of 'tranny' and an overwhelming sense of self-importance from those for whom it is least warranted. It also appears that when challenged to be edgy, artists turn to sex, in the same way as designers turn to high asymmetrical neck ruffles and aspiring chefs turn to deconstruction.

All in all, this should hold me over until Project Runway returns (July 29th) or they start making good scripted TV again (your guess is as good as mine).