9 posts tagged “fashion”

Now that you've seen the collections (see Fashion Metamorphosis part 1 and 2 below), it's time to meet the designers. I know you can see them here, but I think it's lovely to see them standing on the runway with their models. That's exactly I asked Christian Hadidjaja to capture their moment. Here they are, all 25 designers of Art Institute of California - San Francisco's Fashion Metamorphosis! I wish you all great success in the future; keep chasing your dreams, you all certainly have the talents to make it in fashion industry. 

Here we go, the second and final part of the Fashion Metamorphosis, the annual student fashion show of Art Institute of California - San Francisco. It was held at San Francisco Design Center on Saturday, June 20, 2009
Part one is right here, and this post focused on the last 5 themes presented (there were a total of 11 fashion themes on Fashion Metamorphosis).

Theme 7: Rendevous: Potrero Hills

Designs by Autie Carlisle:
One of my favorites, I LOVE the color combination, very nautical and had that "cool pirate" feel to it. Great outfits for summer!

Design by Ting Pondpun:

Design by Ivy Elwyn:

Designs by Apeksha Ambaram:

Theme 8: Coral Circus

Designs by Erik Stultz:

Theme 9: Alchemy

Designs by Christina Newcom:

Design by Lianzi Liu:

Designs by Erik Stulz:
Love the dramatic flair! All three creations were gorgeous; I especially love the tiered dress, reminded me of Carmen.

Theme 10: Siouxsie's Garden

Designs by Sheri Myers:

Designs by Maureen Clemente:

Designs by Rachel Richardson:
Oh my God, I can't stress how much I love her pieces.....four lovely dresses just coming out one after another. They're gorgeous (I know I use the word too much), but...COME ON!!! They are GORGEOUS!! And that wedding dress!

Theme 11: Wonderland

Design by Coral Castillo:
She's the big winner of the night for Best Design Award for making this mermaid dress....and it really was a show-stopper! And those blue details were actually recycled shampoo bottles? Fabulous!

Designs by Stephanie Stayer:
I can't help but admired Stephanie's evening dress. I wonder how many hours she spent on making this piece!

Designs by Danielle Tilford:

Design by Chadae Frank:

Design by Andrew Landrith:

Design by Dylan Perrigo:

And that's a wrap! The next post will feature all the 25 student designers of this fabulous Fashion Metamorphosis fashion show. Love the looks, love the designers.

I now believe that annual students' fashion show from art institutes of San Francisco is anything but a student's fashion show. They have modern flair, attitude, glamor, and most important of all, a point of view. The Fashion Metamorphosis from The Art Institute of California - San Francisco was no exception. On Saturday, June 20 at San Francisco Design Center, the students proudly presented their pieces for friends, family, Bay Area designers, and fashion professionals.

The looks  consisted of women's wear, men's wear, bridal wear, and even junior wear. And I have to say, looking at each pieces from street wear to high fashion, I was impressed. Each look is worth looking, and that alone affirmed great talents the Bay Area fashion students are. The pieces were testaments that the students worked hard; even if the final products had some minor flaws, they should be proud of what they presented on the runway. With talents this great, I can see San Francisco as an emerging fashion capital in the world!

To prepare for the annual fashion show, all students had freedom to design whatever they are passionate about. They could enter one to five pieces per collection, and could enter as many as three collections. Later on, the pieces were judged by preliminary judging panel (a group of industry professionals). From there, Clarissa Nicosia, the instructor of the Fashion Show Production class devised themes that would best represents the shown collections. On June 20, the 100 looks from 25 student designers were judged by Nerissa Pacio, Hiroko Kurihara, Stephanie Verriere, and Melissa Leventon to decide four winners (Best Design, Most Creative, Best Construction, and Best Overall).

Alright, I think I talked too much. On to the themes and the designs, and see if you share my opinion that our Bay Area students are amazing. This part one presents the first 6 themes that focused more on casual wear and cocktail attires. Later on, part two focuses more on evening wear, show girl costumes, and bridal attire encapsulated in 5 themes.

To show you the pictures of the largest student fashion show in the Bay Area, I will keep my comments (shown in italics) at minimum. On a separate post, I will also post pictures of the talented 25 designers whose collection(s) are seen here. Once again, all pictures are copyrighted by Christian Hadidjaja.

1st Theme: Sutra

Designs by Vanessa Brown:

Designs by Apeksha Ambaram:

Does any of you remember my coverage of Academy of Art University (AAU) Fashion Show on April 2007? Well, I'm so proud to say that the post is not going to be my last coverage of an AAU-related event. I was very thrilled to see the oustanding talent of AAU fashion students and I am very curious to see more of their outstanding work this year. This April, I'm genuinely excited to cover the third annual Discarded to Divine 2008, a "charity auction and fashion show of recycled fashions to benefit St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco" (AAU, 2008).

So, why am I so excited about Discarded to Divine 2008?
First of all, we now know that "being green" is not just a passing fad, IT IS a long term trend (at least a GOOD one, if I may add). Secondly, this is the event where Bay area fashion designers and students create one-of-a-kind gowns, evening wear, accessories, and other garments using donated materials from St. Vincent de Paul Society. Left alone, these otherwise unusable materials are discarded. The hardwork of these passionate designers and students transform them to reach divinity (if that's cheesy enough). There is also a restriction that the finished items "must be created from at least 50% recycled materials" (AAU, 2008). Therefore, what's not to love about great fashion for greater cause?

Moreover, according to AAU's Public Relations - School of Fashion:

"Many of the Bay Area’s prominent players are involved such as Diane Wilsey, Wilkes Bashford, Bill Bigler, and Willie Brown as well as local fashion designers creating looks for the fashion show and auction, such as Jessica McClintock, Colleen Quen, Cari Borja, Verrieres & Sako, Sara Shepherd, Nice Collective, Michael Boris and students from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), City College of San Francisco and Academy of Art University."

That being said, if you are passionate about fashion and being green, and you're in San Francisco Bay Area, there is no reason not to check out Discarded to Divine Preview Event on April 4:

OK, so I was too upset with Jessi's departure from So You Think You Can Dance that I just lost any willingness to update my blog. The fact that Cedric survived the week before and even did not end up in the bottom three last week just did not make sense for me. Moreover, EW.com's celebration of Jessi's departure just made me even more upset.

But I guess I am spared from all the weirdness of this show this week, thanks to Fox's special schedule on July 4th. Of course I was dissapointed to turn on my TV and saw "Anger Management" going on, but at least I could give my heart a rest this week. Anyway, today turned out to be quite beautiful and memorable. No BBQ, but I had some dim sum lunch with my friends, most of them alumni of University of Wisconsin-Madison (like me!) that I did not expect to see! Very lovely, lovely lunch....I really miss Madison, WI where I spent four years for undergraduate study.

Anyway, I would like to share some fashion(able) findings from Mill Valley and Tiburon, both located north of San Francisco, CA. The one highlight from Mill Valley was FINN Fine Apparel and Design. Great handbags and shoes made in limited quantity from Italy; the design, craftmanship, and color was just so uniquely pop-up that I couldn't help being excited in that store.

 

Also, Tiburon Downtown has a very serene, cool vibe that just felt totally right. There were some interesting galleries I found while strolling down the downtown alley with my boyfriend, too. Here are a glimpse of Tiburon downtown scenery and the stores:

 

 

Alright, that's all from me this week. No fireworks, but I am thoroughly happy with how my life went in the past few weeks. It's now time to bring more excitement to share!

Have a great rest of 4th of July, and have a wonderful rest of the week.

I just recently visited Uniqlo website, and I could only take a heavy sigh..... they still don't have any store in West Coast area. I wonder if they're employing similar strategy to H&M; take over East Coast first, then expand gradually to West Coast (anybody know about this?)

The thing is, I first encountered Uniqlo during my brief visit to Japan five years ago, and I ABSOLUTELY love their stuff. Simple, chic, without being too crazy like many of Japanese fashion (still, I adore Japanese think-outside-of-the-box take on fashion. I love it. The fact that I was in Ginza, Tokyo during their summer sale season (end of July) only adds up the attraction of the store. My steal there was checkered deep blue and white summer yukata with light purple obi. A very darling piece, I must say. Therefore, I was very excited to know Uniqlo is now available at US. Check out their website for their Spring 2007 looks, and I immediately regretted not having them here.

Lovely black trench coat, chick long cardigan (which I think is one of the key pieces this season), easy tunic with baloon sleeves, new take on pencil skirt with baloon flair,.... I can go on and on with this, and I just have to do another deep sigh. Oh well....

For those of you who want and can afford to go to Japan, I highly recommend going to Japan during their summer sale season. I went to Tokyo and Nagoya, and I suggest not only checking out the obvious stores above the ground, but those inside the subway terminals (such as Nagoya) and underground malls as well. They always have styles by no means less cute than those "on the above", and I managed to find some stores with great clothes and deep, deep discount. I am talking about Forever 21 price with BCBG Max Azria or upper-priced H&M clothes quality. Really worth it. I passionately swear by my three clothing pieces I got from Japan.

In addition, don't be discouraged to see only size L and above. Japanese women are quite small, and Large size is actually the perfect size for me (I'm 5'10" and approximately 134 lbs.).

So...oh dear Uniqlo...please be here soon!!!

I haven't done much progress today since I had two academic projects today. However, I came across this cool fashion blog that I need to learn much from. Lovely Balenciaga line during Paris Fashion Week, and I agree with the author that the UK brand REISS is like a dream. Sexy, comfortable, cool, chic, elegant styles without trying too hard and too extreme. I cannot stop myself from comparing the feel of this label to Apple; the MacBook, iPod, and iPhone are just that: sexy, simple, elegant without trying too hard. Ironically, I don't have one. I use Dell laptop with Windows in it ^_^.

Anyway, my favorite Japan online magazine about "Design and Making Things", Pingmag, talks about this cute Japanese dolls for girls. Here's two of the cute dolls for a teaser, so do check it out!

Image Source: http://www.pingmag.jp/

The top 20's group opening song "Joy to the World" was cheesy, for the lack of a better word. I think if there are only ladies there, the song choice will be much more soulful. Even Kellie Pickler's performance seemed like a dead fish to me. She stood rooted to the ground and showed little improvement in showmanship from last year's "Unchained Melody". A far cry from Fantasia's "I'm Here" last week. And some people still wonder why Kellie did not win. Figures.

Well, here is my problem with this year's American Idol. We have reached the top 20, now only 16 when we lost Alaina, Nick, Leslie, and AJ. The last two were undeserving to go home, they were both good singers. They sang the same song "Feeling Good" too....hmm...interesting (even Leslie seemed upset about her going home instead of Antonella; belting out "Why did I try to skit...America does not care about jazz.." or something of that sort before the camera cut her off. Anyway (sorry got a little bit sidetracked there), the thing is I don't think the guys want it as much as the girls to win American Idol. Each week, whether good or bad, the ladies poured their hearts out, showed off whatever mad vocal skills they have, told stories with their singing, and engaged the crowd as much as possible. In contrast, other than good "boy band" looks, desire to have fun (which is nothing wrong as long as you don't stop there), and fresh personalities, I don't think the boys showed serious determination about wanting to win Idol.

From my beginner marketing perspective, I don't think the boys convince the audience enough to pick up the phone and vote (based on the performances alone, assuming the good looks and personalities do not count). However, the ladies always demonstrated serious commitment in the competition and always made me want to root for them at the end of the show. But of course, there are other factors involved: previous amount of airtime during audition rounds, racy gossips on internet, old performance videos on YouTube, friends promoting via networking sites, among others. These factors make AI anybody's game. No one is safe. By pure competition, the ladies should have it this year. But again, we cannot be off-guard if we want our favorites to win. No one is safe.

That being said, I personally am really glad that Melinda is safe for another week. She was terrific last night, her performance of "My Funny Valentine" moved me and made me smile. I pray her great success for this competition and beyond. As for LaKisha, Simon was right, she could have done much better. "Midnight to Georgia" was too easy for her. Stephanie Edwards was great too, "Dangerously In Love", as is any other Beyonce's songs was not an easy song to sing. But her determination and personality shone through, and I am so relieved she's going to stay (hopefully for a long time). Nevertheless, can we lose Antonella next week? Please? As for the boys, sadly, I do not really care right now. Let's see what they do next week. 

As usual, Craig Berman's review is here. As for the rest of the week, I will look through fashion week articles and share what I think. This NY Times article will be my starting point.

A New Beginning

First of all, I decided to change the concept of this blog entirely. It will mainly focus on what's been my passion for a long time, fashion and entertainment. Regular findings about fashion buzz around internet, mainly about pieces I particularly like, cool fashion findings, and highlights about my academic analysis about some companies in fashion industry can be expected here.

The Devil Wears Prada and Oscar 2007

To start things off, I only watched bits and pieces of the Academy Awards 2007 ceremony last Sunday, and I think the part about Anna Hathaway and Emily Blunt presenting the Best Costume Award were lovely. They slipped into their respective characters in "The Devil Wears Prada", nervously interacted with Meryl Streep who played along and instantly switched into her character. I wish I could link the video here, but it appeared someone pulled it out from YouTube. But still, msnbc.com noted this amusing part on this news.   

On the other hand, other people were critical about the Prada dress Meryl wore to the Oscar. If you did not notice it's Prada, perhaps it's because of the loud necklace that she wore. Personally, I think Meryl can wear anything and still can get away with it. She's just too amazing for an actress to care about these things. On the brighter note, if you need one reason to watch "The Devil Wears Prada" beside the fabulous fashion brilliantly put together by Patricia Field, it's her acting. Thanks to my boyfriend to urge me to see the movie!

American Idol - Men's Performance on Feb. 27

Anyway, I just watched American Idol tonight. The men looked better, but I don't think they could compare with what the ladies did last week. I don't particularly like Sundance Head, I don't think he's that good and his rendition of "Mustang Sally" was all that exciting. But again, I did not born in USA, so perhaps I have yet to develop appreciation to this kind of music. Sanjaya was "weird" tonight, he gave an aura of uneasiness and discomfort about him that I seriously worry about his chance to stay next week. Craig Berman has his say about this week's AI men's performances on msnbc here.

 

Alright, that's it for today. I hope to make entries at least once per two days. Let's see what happens.

Have a great week, everyone.

-musank-