Tell a Story, Illustrated

I worked in retail in an accessories department for about five years, and had to create different displays during this time. Whether I was working on a wall of socks or styling mannequins, my department manager only gave me this advice: "Cara, make sure you are telling a story."

When arranging the socks, oftentimes my story said, "I don't give a fuck," but with other projects I really realized how a sense of mood, place, and time could all be conveyed.

Usually I think of clothing as self-expression, or as making a statement. But thinking of it in this way is limiting, since it confines the wearer to only one part of the story. It is easy to convey -with fashion- a mood: "I'm pissed" or "I'm happy and feeling colorful;" a place, "I can wear sweatpants with Uggs because i live in Wisconsin;" or a time, "These shoulder pads are trendy, and it's not the 80s" (see recent Balenciaga collections and NY Times' style section).

But it is much more difficult to give these statements a context. Why is a girl wearing fashionable guys' jeans? I don't think she stole this look from a magazine. Did she steal them last night from a boyfriend or has she held on to them for years because she can't let go?

pic via: http://www.tobi.com

This next girl, photographed in Koln, Germany, may be one of the reasons they make girls' bikes and guys' bikes- so girls in pretty dresses don't have to swing their legs over. Germany never looked so soft. Her dress may not be practical, but her shoes are, which may suggest the bike is actually a convergence of fashion and function and not just an accessory. I think she had to get somewhere on her bike this day, and she didn't want her mode of transportation to limit her reflective outfit on what looks to be a beautiful day.

via: the sartorialist

A study in hue and saturation. Her color palette is washed out, and anything but celebratory, but her fascinator (designed by Kenley Collins of Project Runway villainy) elevates her outfit out of the winter blahs. After reading she wore this out for her birthday, I thought, "of course!" The shades of color and even her pose suggest shyness, but the addition of one accessory made her stand out when she wanted to feel special.

photo via: the cats pajamas for wardrobe_remix on flickr

From Florence, Italy. Definitely not America. I hated khakis before this look, but this guy is actually cool wearing them. Preppy but neither conservative or classic (save the jacket.) Love the gloves instead of a handkerchief. The colors of his features (eyes, hair) repeat in his clothes, which result in a great, original look that he owns.

via: the sartorialist

Paris, though she looks like she could be anywhere in the world, she is firmly planted in the now. I think I know what this girl was going for. An effortless ponytail and saggy sweatshirt give off a laissez-faire attitude, but everything about this look was deliberate. She wanted to balance the shortness of the skirt with the bagginess of her sweatshirt, but not completely focus all the color on her very exposed legs. Cute and not in the least slutty, it shows off a great feature- her legs, but also her fashion sense.

photo via: facehunter

Project Runway predictions and critique from best to worst- starting with Korto

Korto
Korto said she wanted to show some of her ethnicity in her final collection, and she not only did that, but she gave it a Japanese flair with an American sensibility. Her fantastic, very spring-like color choice highlights her heritage as well as her large (but not clunky) bead work. Her collection left me wanting to see more from her, whereas with Leann's I feel like she exhausted the thread of her idea. She is my pick to win, with Leann a close second. Kenley can go home at the beginning of the episode and save us all some drama.

Korto's collection @ Bryant Park

Leann
Leann was reportedly the crowd favorite of the show, I think because there would be little translation needed from the runway to retail, making it easy to picture yourself in each piece. Every piece is well-executed and fits in with her collection seamlessly, especially since her color palette is so limited. It really seems like she got everything she could have from her inspiration- waves and the water- and if she made one more piece the look would have been overdone. However, do her clothes give enough of a show? Are they imaginative enough and not simply commercial? The judges usually look for a different look, which she nails here, but is it high-fashion enough? I don't know, but I think Korto has a better chance of winning. Leann works great with cotton in her Etsy store, and a lot of these dresses seem like they could be made with some cotton and interfacing (minus the blue flowing one). We shall find out tonight.

Leann's collection @ Bryant Park.

Kenley
Kenley's collection @ Bryant Park

Jarell

As of two weeks ago, I had Jarell pegged to win. He does his own thing, which is more than Kenley can say, was more consistent than Korto, and was less arts and crafts than Leann. Based on the wedding dress challenge last week he should have gone on to compete for the money at fashion week. But the judges must have seen his and Korto's final collections, and decided that Korto's was better. I think they made the right decision- he has a few beautiful pieces, but he attempts too much. He still has a lot of promise, as soon as he learns not to throw all of your ideas into one dress.
Jarell's collection @ Bryant Park

Joe
As with Suede's collection, you can tell that a man designed these clothes. And in Joe's case, a straight man. His idea of what women would wear includes lots of midriff showing, zippers going too near to nipples, and very obvious ideas of American fashion. He does have one pretty dress though, earning him billing above Suede. However, he starts the show with denim and a rustic brown leather and ends up with organza and what looks to be pleather, causing his models (one being the very pretty Naima from America's Next Top Model) to look like they are hardly at Fashion Week in the same geographical areas, let alone the same time.


Joe's collection @ Bryant Park

Suede
Remember the episode where Suede said: "Suede doesn't do pants?" Apparently Suede doesn't do taste, sleeves, or colors not found at an amusement park either. I hope he didn't get as large of a budget as the other designers, because that is the only excuse. His wedding dress 'finale' piece is just the tacky cherry on a tasteless sundae.


Suede's collection @ Bryant Park