Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Fashion Show: “Body” of Work Fails to Come to Life


It is said that if you truly have a passion for something you’d be willing to put everything into it, including much of your own blood, sweat, and tears. This week’s episode of Bravo’s The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection took it a step further, having the contestants challenged to put in their veins, bones and muscles as well. Well, not exactly their own, but their interpretation of those elements of the human body. They were challenged to find inspiration from “within,” literally.

Unfortunately, this challenge was “dead on arrival” and only got worse as the show progressed. It seems that the only thing that this show depends on to help it cling to life is the unnecessary drama that occurs throughout the episodes. If only the designers spent more time on their designs and less time screaming at each other (Calvin vs. The Rest of House of Emerald Syx) and sabotaging their own house (Mike, you showed you really have no backbone and neither did your look,) then maybe they could produce looks that would take the breath out of the judges lungs.

Once again the House of Nami won the challenge, which I agree with, but not with the flying colors that they did last week. Most of their looks were quite messy, unfinished, and cheap looking. The colors, textures, and techniques that they used made it look like they were designing for a really bad zombie movie, in which their models were the half eaten victims of some VERY angry Fashion Industry individuals, and angry they should be with the quality that was shown.

Photo from BravoTV.com
The winner of the individual look was Eduardo, who I was rooting for last week to win and was pleased when he actually accomplished that this week. Of all the looks, his was the one that looked the most chic. He went for another cocktail dress, but changed up the silhouette and his technique, producing a much more structured and body conscience look. He lowered the hemline and added a dramatic detail at the shoulders, almost an exaggeration of the model’s collarbone. Even though the color palette he chose was very fleshy and could have ran the risk of washing out his model’s already pale skin tone, he avoided this by darkening his model to accentuate the hue of the dress, a move of sheer brilliance.

Photo from BravoTV.com
Photo from BravoTV.com
The House of Emerald (formally known as the House of Emerald Syx) delivered a collection that all I can say looked like a “bloody mess.” The only cohesion within their collection was the color, other than that they were all equally disappointing and did not fit well together. Because Mike left the show, no designer was sent home, and as a result Calvin and Cesar swapped places. I do not agree with this course of action. A designer from the House of Emerald should have gone home, and that designer should have been Golnessa. Her look was extremely unflattering, poorly executed, and the ruffle detail on the front was just plain tacky. There was nothing new or innovative about it and it was boring overall. The rest of the looks had potential; but no amount of resuscitation in the world could have saved hers.

I feel that this episode belongs in the morgue and is a strike two for this series. I give it a C-.


Look that WON and SHOULD have won.
Look that SHOULD have lost.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Stand By “V”


And the plot thickens. As I was reading this morning’s Daily Evergreen, (well actually I was on my way to the Horoscopes in the back because who are we kidding? Those are really the only content with substance worth reading in that newspaper,) I came across a headline that caught my eye. Hacker domain address leads to Floyd. I couldn’t help but snicker, quickly showing my father the headline. His expression was identical to mine. It was like some old Robin Hood story, in which the “hero” fighting for the masses continues to outsmart “the man” and continually leaving him with egg on his face.

Let me back track a bit. On November 5th, 2010, students at WSU were unexpectedly surprised with an unscheduled special guest appearance of “V” from V for Vendetta welcoming them to their class. A very clever and skillful student had “hacked” into the WSU Media Services and began to play a YouTube video of their creation. As the students were being entertained (and if they weren’t they should have been, how often does something of this nature happen?) the professors were left helpless as they tried to regain control of the projector system. I can only imagine how that scene could have looked, probably something out of a Three Stooges silent film. 3:34 later, students and professors were allowed to go about their normal routine, well as normal as it can get after you have just experienced George Orwell’s 1984.

As you can expect the story of the “masked man” spread throughout the town and the World Wide Web, thanks in part to “V’s” link to his own website on his YouTube page, which in turn had a link to his Facebook page. Views of the video skyrocketed to within the thousands and fans on Facebook rose to almost 900, all in a matter of 24 hours. I’ll admit I was one of the curious ones that followed the breadcrumbs. I have recently developed a tremendous interest in social media and social networking as a means of quickly sharing information with the cyber and physical world. I would have to credit this hunger for this topic to David Meerman Scott, who has written multiple books on Social Marketing and PR, of which I have plowed through like a starved cow in overly green pastures.

What this student did I found truly impressive, but I was left slightly disappointed because such an amazingly talented individual did not fully use the power that social media and networking had given him. He simply left his endeavor at just the YouTube video, blog, and Facebook page, allowing it to whither into just an escapade that could be chalked up to nothing more than just a college prank. His explanation for this abandonment was that the felt the students no longer needed him; it was their turn to speak up and turn away from “apathy.” Maybe that is true, or maybe this kid is scared almost to the point of messing his pants at the thought of getting caught, which I don’t blame him. Either way, he did a pretty darn good job of covering up his tracks, which leads me full circle back to an explanation of my introduction.

Countless hours and effort have been wasted on the search for the identity of “V.” And what do these crusaders have to show after all this work? The hacker (or at least the hacker’s address and phone number) was found to be none other than Elson S. Floyd, the president of Washington State University himself! Wah, wah, wah. Talk about a “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” scenario! Ah, if only this were the case, what a Scooby-Doo episode it would be! But truth of the matter is this was just another clever tactic used by “V” to crack another egg on the establishment’s face. Turned out the “yolk” was on them (pardon the pun.)

Now that this story is unfortunately starting to become a cold case, I will return to what really awed me about the whole situation; though I do have my own problems with the university, but let’s not go there given it would make this blog 100 pages longer. “V” only got a small taste, just a lick, of what social media and networking could have done for him. If he had continued his efforts without the fear of being reprimanded and had continued to engage with students, the media, and whomever else in real time, think of how BIG this whole incident could have turned into. It could have been a nationwide movement; because Lord knows that other universities are going through the same things due to this current economy. All he had to do was add Twitter to the mix with a dash of strategically thought out hash marks, and he could have developed an army for justice behind him that spanned the globe! Okay, I may be becoming a little over dramatic, but the power of real-time social media and networking is remarkable. There is no denying that my eyes have been opened to that. Thanks Mr. Scott!

For recent coverage of this incident, visit:

To view "V's" YouTube video:

To view "V's" Website:

To view "V's" Facebook Page:

To see what a GENIUS Mr. David Meerman Scott is, visit his blog at:

The Fashion Show: Really the “Ultimate Collection?”


Being an avid Project Runway fan, it was hard not to go into viewing the first episode of the second season of Bravo’s replacement show about fashion, The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection, with an objective eye. Since I did not see the first season, I used that as motivation to view this first episode through virgin eyes.

The overall idea of the show I find to be truly innovative, taking 12 designers and separating them into TWO fashion houses. They are given the task to create looks that convey their own personal voices as designers while at the same time having their designs WORK COHESIVELY as a complete fashion line for their fashion houses.

My expectations for the show were raised with the opening credits. I really enjoyed the new use of special effects and graphics that strayed away from the typical ones that Bravo tends to use for their reality shows. However, my expectations were then lowered back to a neutral level with the introduction of Stefan Campbell, the show’s “fashion show coordinator.” I found his presence to be a bit cheesy and in a way unnecessary. It made it seem like there were too many people in the position of “host,” and the show could easily do without him. But who knows, maybe his role will become more pertinent in future episodes.

I found it to be very clever how they delivered the first task to the designers, choosing their models and order of show randomly by having them choose a sewing kit as they arrived. I felt that this started out the show with and energy of intensity, much like the innovation first challenges on Project Runway. I was however left disappointed when this first use of the designers looks on the models just sort of stopped there, and really made it seem like the whole fashion show intro was just that, a “show” to introduce Iman as the host. I really wish that more was done with the designers first looks, maybe having them use their garments as the material for the first outfit with the challenge of making them work cohesively with their fellow designers in their house. Now that would be “making it work.” But sadly this is not Project Runway, and the show is definitely not trying to be.

I immediately fell in love with the Blue team that worked marvelously from the beginning, quickly deciding on the name of “The House of Nami” (Iman’s name spelled backwards,) and their decision on the theme of their lines. I love how the use of mood boards is incorporated into the challenges because it really shows the process of product development from beginning to end. The house of Iman truly worked as a team, which showed in their spectacular collection that was clean, chic, cohesive and innovative. I whole-heartedly agree with them winning the first challenge.

On the other hand, the Green Team who named them selves the House of Emerald Syx had a work ethic and collection that was as disappointing as their name. From the get go, a villain emerged in the form of Calvin Tran, an arrogant, self-important designer from New York City. From the very beginning I grew a strong dislike for his disrespectful and annoying demeanor. I really felt he had a negative affect on his other team members, and it really showed in the House of Emerald Syx’s sloppy, tacky and unfinished collection. Definitely agree with the judges, they were the losing house in my book.

Photo from BravoTV.com
Though I agreed with the winning and losing houses, I completely disagreed with the winning and losing looks. The judges chose Cesar Galindo’s look as the winner. I felt that this was a huge mistake and not a very good take on the judges taste level. It was a VERY simple one-shoulder dress that has been seen over and over again. There was nothing new or innovative in the silhouette, in fact the one thing that made it stand out was the detail on the shoulder, and it did not stand out for a good reason. The construction on the shoulder detail looked poor and unfinished and as if it were a bow that had unraveled and was continuing to do so. His look also was the only one that strayed away from the all white palette and used a print, which I feel made his the least cohesive of all the looks of the House of Nami.

Photo from BravoTV.com
If I were the judges, I would have picked Eduardo de las Casas as the true winner. His cocktail dress was breathtaking. Everything from the construction to the silhouette to the fit was just impeccable. It had a draping that gave it a very voluminous and innovative structured look to it. It was the perfect length, had the right amount of detail to it without looking overworked, and he did this all using WHITE. His look could have easily become boring without colors to help distinguish him from the other designers, but his design didn’t need that. If I were I buyer I could definitely see that look selling out in stores, and being able to be manufactured in different colors that would add to its HUGE success. Eduardo is already showing his genius as a designer straight out of the gate. He is definitely on my list to root for.

Photo from BravoTV.com
Photo from BravoTV.com
As for the losing designer, I also disagree with the judges. Though all the designs for the House of Emerald Syx were equally bad, I did not feel that Francine Simmons’ look was the worst and qualified her to go home. In fact, I feel that her look was actually one of the better designs in the mess that came down that runway. If I had to choose the losing design and send someone home it would be Calvin. This would not only be based off of his foul attitude, but also the fact that his design was just horrible. He kept making mistakes (and of course blaming them on other people) and then covered up those mistakes with tacky details, contradicting his professional persona the he so tiredly tried to force onto the other designers.

Overall I would probably rate this episode as a B-. There things I liked, things I didn’t, and things that I could live without. I’m still skeptical whether or not I will be hooked to this show, but I will definitely give it a couple more episodes to try.

Look that Won













Look that SHOULD HAVE Won.

Look that Lost
Look that SHOULD HAVE Lost