Recent Stories with tag fashion

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday, but it was gorgeous inside, too, at the sold-out Arctic Summer Fashion Show held at the Nordic Heritage Museum. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (this was Sweden Week, after all) was the guest of honor, the vice honorary consul of Finland, Kristiina Hiukka, was the honorary chair, and Denmark's Ole Henriksen, of the skin care line, emceed. Freddie Ljungberg rushed over from a Sounders game, arriving late but in a tuxedo, so it evened out. 

Designers from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway were in the spotlight, including Moods of Norway, Nudie Jeans, 15x15, AOCO by Annika, Polarn O. Pyret, Molo Kids, Marimekko, Spaksmannsspjarir, Happysthlm, and Emami. Kids took the runway first--some reluctantly--but then it was all business.

Like peanut butter and chocolate, fashion and art are two great tastes that go great together.  Tomorrow night, the two become one at Belltown bar Amber in Jewels, with the couture gowns of (friend of The SunBreak) Cameron Levin and the fashion-inspired paintings by Seattle cityscape and portrait artist Ethan Jack Harrington. Take a look at the video above for a glimpse of the works in progress.

As per the title, both the fashion and the art draw from precious gems, with vivid gowns of Pearls, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Black Diamonds, Jade, and Topaz.  Tomorrow night, the paintings will be revealed first, and then the gowns, with the girls in the portraits modeling the dresses in a fashion show.

The event also features music by DJ Johnny Fever, hors d'oeuvres, and drink specials. It's a singles party, ladies! Doors open at 5 p.m., with the fashion show right around 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, with all ticket proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen Puget Sound Affiliate. Also, 20 percent of any purchase of Harrington's paintings or Levin's dresses will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

"a murder of one" by Zenobia Joy, via The SunBreak Flickr pool.

Hey ladies: Blackbird's spin-off, women's store Birgitta is set to close, like, now.  So head to Ballard this weekend for a mega-clearance sale.  Some clothes for women will remain at Blackbird, on the main floor.  But the rest of the stuff upstairs has gots to go!

Full press release after the jump.

Blackbird to Close Women's Store

Big clearance sale on remaining merchandise

As a change in business plan, Blackbird is closing Birgitta, its women's store, immediately. A small selection of women's brands will be integrated into the main floor at Blackbird and the new store, The Field House.

Almost one year ago Blackbird decided to diversify and broaden its reach in the Seattle retail market. Blackbird had been selling menswear to women and also had a successful ongoing women's rack in Blackbird. Women's clothing seemed to be the natural next step. After almost a year, it was realized that the other Blackbird businesses were more successful and took far less effort.

Owner Nicole Miller says, "Closing Birgitta is not easy, but we think people will be excited about our new projects to come."

The space where Birgitta was--upstairs in Blackbird--will be converted into a private personal shopping studio, and will potentially be used for shop-in-shop/pop-up-shops.

THE BIG BIRGITTA CLEARANCE SALE

Sunday, December 13th 6pm - 9pm

Monday, December 14th 9am - 9pm

40-80% off

RACKS AND RACKS of LOVELY THINGS

Karen Walker

Helmut Lang

Harputs Own

Harvey Faircloth

Mono

Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair

Blank

Ladyboy

Repetto

Cosmic Wonder

Deadly Ponies

Patrick Stephan

RVCA

Obey

Tslay

Clu

Boy by Band of Outsiders

Dace

Fremont

Woolrich John Rich & Bros.

and lots of Vintage

Finally, the finale. With two days to go before the runway show at Bryant Park, Carol Hannah is still sick as a dog and crying in the workroom. Girlfriend needs to take a shit ton of DayQuil and nut up. It's Fashion Week, bitches. The boy assistants (Logan and Christopher) are sympathetic, but of course Bitch Queen Irina is not.

The designers go to their hair and makeup consultations. Lots of smoky eyes and ponytails. Yay? Now it's model-fitting time, which is actually going really well for Carol Hannah, not so well for Irina. Tim Gunn comes in to check on them. He's enthusiastic about Irina's thirteenth look, but tells her to watch the proportions and not make it too costume-y. Wise words. He's less excited about the exaggerated shoulders on Althea's thirteenth look, but that's kinda everywhere right now anyways (and yes, Tim, I'm not excited about it either). He comments that Althea's smudged and messy makeup sounds a lot like Irina's plan for makeup, which really doesn't help with Irina's "Althea's copying me" complex. Tim keeps his distance from diseased Carol Hannah, but seems positive about her thirteenth look, a lovely blue drapey gown. 

Work work work, everybody works. It's one day till the fashion show, and Carol Hannah feels a little better. Now it's crunch time and everyone getting the little details done, adding straps here and final seams there. But they also have to get everything together--the shoes, the accessories, the ridiculous shark fin helmet hats Irina made--to take to Bryant Park. They're up at 3 a.m. for the show, and it's gonna be a looooooong day.

They get to the tent and have a moment to take it all in, before it's back to work. They're styling the models and putting the last touches on the dresses. Irina has a zipper break and has to fix it right there. Basically, it's mass chaos, and Tim Gunn is not having it. The fact that Tim has lost his cool tells the designers that they need to get their shit together. The models aren't even lined up!

Heidi is wearing a ridiculous cropped fuchsia satin suit to introduce the show. The judges are Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, and Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune. That last guest judge spot on the finale usually goes to a fashionista celeb, which makes me think someone dropped out. Like last season when Jennifer Lopez stood up Project Runway last minute, and they had Tim Gunn fill in instead. Also, what is up with her bangs?...

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Yawn.  It's part one of the season finale of Project Runway. As you may or may not recall, the three finalists headed to Fashion Week are Irina, Althea, and Carol Hannah.  So I'm pretty sure a girl is going to win this season. The ladies pack up their bags and head home for a couple months to work on a twelve-piece collection to show at Bryant Park.

Tim travels to each contestant's home to see how they're doing. (And for the record: One of my dreams is to open the door and find Tim Gunn.)  First he goes to see Carol Hannah, who moved from South Carolina to her friend's house in a wintry suburb of NYC.  She's been inspired by Duke University's campus and has designed a series of ethereal dresses. Tim likes her almost ice dancer frou-frou dress, but doesn't like a cape she has over another gown.  Though she was very dress-heavy during the season, Carol Hannah has done not just dresses, but also separates, like pants, shorts, and skirts.  She also has made use of color, which is probably more than can be said for the other two. Her family is there, and they are going to make a traditional Southern dinner--they even got Tim Gunn to make biscuits, which is a real coup.

Tim seems so happy to not be in LA anymore.  There is a jaunt to his step that's been missing all season as he visits Irina in her Manhattan bitch apartment.  Fittingly, she owns a terribly tiny yippy dog named Princess. Her collection is all about New York and Coney Island and is a tribute to her family's immigration there from Georgia.  So of course that means taking elegant designs and throwing a Brooklyn t-shirt underneath.  She's got a whole bunch of sweaters and furs and horsehair, and she's surprised that Tim was less than enthusiastic about some of her designs.  Tim has lunch with Irina and her friends and family too.  Turns out that for Irina, winning Project Runway would mean pleasing her uptight daddy.  So she's doing this for all the right reasons.

Next, Tim visits Althea in Dayton, Ohio, which looks to be your typical Rust Belt wasteland.  For her collection, Althea has been inspired by sci-fi movies.  Althea has made a sweater that impresses Tim and he encourages her to make more, even though Irina definitely invented sweaters and no one else can make one ever without being accused of plagiarism. Tim is concerned that some of Althea's pieces are too costumey, but he thinks that overall it has a strong foundation.  They go over to Althea's parents' house to meet her family and friends, but they don't have a meal together, just a chat.

Ten days till Fashion Week, and Tim Gunn has to deliver some harsh news to Irina:  the images of Coney Island that she put on her t-shirts are considered trademarked.  She can make t-shirts with new designs, but now time is an issue. And with Fashion Week almost here, the designers have all headed to New York.  There's still some tension between Irina and Althea, and they really don't have much to say to each other.  Irina is wearing a pair of over-the-knee skank boots, of course.  Carol Hannah hasn't shown up, and Tim has bad news: Carol Hannah has a terrible contagious stomach virus and can't be there that day.  It's such bad news that Irina and Althea and Tim Gunn immediately drink a bottle of champagne....

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It's the week after Logan was kicked off, and Irina wakes up on the bitchy side of the bitch bed. She accused Althea of copying her ON THE RUNWAY (in the same episode that Althea was talking shit and claiming that Logan stole her zipper collar, but that's whatevs). Meanwhile, sans Logan, Christopher is the last boy standing. Everybody's excited that Bryant Park is so close.

They go the Getty Center, the "heart of Los Angeles culture." They actually made Tim Gunn say that, and then he had to give a little spiel about how great the move to L.A. was--as if this hasn't been the boringest year of Runway ever. Don't make Tim Gunn lie like that! And definitely don't make him introduce the mayor of L.A., who is there to officially welcome Runway to town. Whaaaa? Mayor, get back to your mayoring. This week's challenge is to be inspired by the Getty Center to make some clothes. The models are also there to be muses. YAWN.

They tour the museum, then sketch, then go to Mood. They all get inspired by different things. Althea likes the architecture, Christopher likes a fountain, Irina and Gordana both like paintings, Carol Hannah likes a bed. 

Althea doesn't have any friends in the workroom. Tim Gunn comes in and tells Carol Hannah not to lose the sophistication in her bed dress. He's concerned about Irina's pelt. He tells Althea that her dress is puckered, but he thinks Gordana nailed it. Gordana's all crying about the Monet, and I get that. But pucker-dressed Althea thinks her gown is just too simple.  Irina gets rid of the fur from her outfit and just focuses on the dress.

The next day, everyone's freaking out a bit and thinking that all the other contestants' designs have flaws. Meee-owww. On the runway, the judges are Heidi, Nina, and random Cindy Crawford. Once again, Michael Kors couldn't bother to show up, so designer Cynthia Crowley was there instead....

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The episode starts with only six contestants left, and of them two guys, Christopher and local designer Logan left.  Althea thinks that girls are stronger, well except for Gordana, who is a Bosnian Serb, so she doesn't count.

The contestants have face away from the runway, and when they turn around, their winning looks are onstage.  Their challenge this week is to create a companion piece that complements and enhances their best look.  Logan doesn't have a winning look, so he has a sad. The look he's working with is his gown from the first episode. He buys 40 zippers.

Logan says Althea is making pants like Melvin, who got kicked off early on for his jodhpurs. Logan is from Idaho, so he can work on his car and make a dress--the best of both worlds.  Christopher is working on thirty yards of fabric and wants to make a crazy, high-volume gown. Of course.

Tim comes in and helps Carol Hannah have a breakthrough.  He loves Irina's tapestry fabric, and says that what she's doing is unexpected in a good way. He tells Christopher that next to his winning dress, the one he's working on looks twenty years older. OUCH. He tells Althea that it's a good start, though the volume of the pants are disconcerting.  Tim isn't wild about Gordana's design, but he's excited about Logan's piece.  Ruh roh, Althea is annoyed that the collar on his outfit looks like the one she made for the Christina Aguilera challenge. She gossips about him with bitchy Irina and her model.

Everyone has a lot to do the day of the runway show.  Irina won't lend Gordana a hook and eye.  Logan thinks Irina needs to be humbled.  Althea thinks Carol Hannah is a one-trick pony because she always makes dresses.  Irina thinks Althea's sweater looks like the one she made the previous week.  So basically everyone has turned into big ol' bitches.

At the runway, the judges are season 2 alum Nick Verreos, Nina Garcia, and random Kerry Washington. Every designer is totally in love with his/her look.  Nina thinks Christopher's huge gown is ill-proportioned and bottom-heavy.  They love Irina's outfit, calling it elegant and cozy, though Nina thinks the dress itself looks cheap. They don't like Gordana's at all. (Nick says it looks like a Polish office worker, and there is nothing grosser than a Polish office worker.  YUCK.)  They love Carol Hannah's deliciously simple and light pocketed dress. Nina thinks Logan's dress looks like an unflattering student project.  Nick thinks it's '80s futuristic. They love Althea's pants.  Irina calls out Althea's big sweater for looking like hers. 

The judges deliberate, and Althea wins.  The bottom two are Logan and Gordana.  Gordana's in and Logan's out.  Frowny face.  He's taking his silver pants and he's going home. Here's his goodbye speech:

Next week: more bitches talking shit.

 

I was out of the country for a couple weeks and came home to a DVR chockful of television goodness. (This is why my TiVo is my best friend.)  Over the past few days, I did a TV marathon to get all caught up for the new episodes this week. Yesterday's uber-recap of Top Chef here. Video preview for tonight's episode of Project Runway above.

We start off the "Sky's the Limit"episode of Project Runway with only four guys left, so local designer Logan Neitzel moved into the other apartment with Epperson, Christopher, and Nicolas. The boys talk about showering and cuddling. You know, GUY STUFF.

This season of Project Runway continues to be Project Boreway with the Macy's I.N.C. "design two outfits that are blue" challenge (yawwwwwwwnnnn). Logan was paired with Althea for the second time. She commented that it's nice that he's so chill and doesn't have as big of a personality as a lot of the other contestants, while Gordana said that everyone--males and females alike--think that Logan's hot. (True.) 

Blue outfit-making is relatively drama-free for Logan and Alithea, but on the runway, the skirt on their suit rides up to near-hooha-displaying shortness. Their second outfit, however, a ruffled sleeveless top with high-waisted, wide-leg trouser jeans, is so chic that neither of them is in danger of going home. Judges Heidi Klum, Michael Kors (who has again deigned to show up), along with whatever intern Nina Garcia found at Marie Claire and a Macy's Marketing EVP, don't even comment on their outfits and just make them instantly safe. Irina wins for the second time, while Louise gets kicked off for her hot ruffled mess.

On the next episode, the designers face a wedding challenge, which Logan has been dreading. But it ends up being an anti-wedding challenge, as all of the women they're designing for are recent divorcees, so the contestants have to take the old wedding gown and transform it into a fashionable new look.  Logan picks Leah, whose dress has a ridiculously long train (the more material to work with, my dear). The designers only get a couple yards of additional fabric to work with, so Logan finds a nice wool to make pants out of. But when Tim Gunn sees what he's been working on, he's concerned, as very little of the outfit comes from the original dress. After hearing what Tim had to say, both Logan and Epperson are thinking about starting over entirely, though they both have it easy compared to poor Shirin, who had the smallest, plainest, polyester gown to work with, and a high-maintenance client who wanted a big Cher-inspired outfit with feathers and other assorted gawdy gobbledygook. Of course, everyone gets it done, though Logan's vest and trousers are down to the wire. He feels like the final product is more the result of his client's input than his vision as a designer, and when it comes down the runway, he says he wants to "put his head in a hole and hide." At judges' table, Heidi, Michael, Marie Claire intern, and the President of Jimmy Choo have nothing good to say about Logan's outfit: it looks like Oktoberfest, it's executed amateurishly, it's unflattering, it's matronly.  Shirin's turns out well (because she doesn't listen to her client at all) and Epperson's is also problematic. Gordana wins for her punk organza shift dress, and the bottom two end up being Logan and Epperson. But--phew!--Epperson is the one to go home, for first using too little of the wedding dress only to ultimately use too much.

This is the perfect time for the next episode's challenge to be for the designers to make a ridiculously over-the-top Bob Mackie-inspired stage look for Christina Aguilera. Of course. It goes without saying that the gays are very excited.

The workroom is strewn with lace, sequins, and feathers galore. Logan doesn't know much about Christina Aguilera, but he hopes she doesn't mind zebra print or fur. Once again, Shirin is in crisis mode and scrapping her outfit entirely, after Tim tells her that her dress looks like student work.  Carol Hannah and Logan are flirting, and Carol Hannah is completing distracted by Logan's hotness. (Sigh.) Cocky from her two wins, Irina is acting bitchy and has started shit-talking people, saying that Shirin isn't even a designer and Carol Hannah is both annoying and mediocre. We haven't gotten to see much of Logan's outfit the whole episode, but on the runway, it turns out to be a short sequined leopard print mini-dress with a fur capelet. Gordana's dress is a disaster, so she's lucky she has immunity. The judges (Heidi, Bob Mackie, Nina Garcia, who has decided to show up for once, and Christina Aguilera) don't think that Logan took his punk look far enough, but he ends up being safe. Carol Hannah wins for her glam stunner of a black strapless sequined and feathered gown. Shirin's out for her thrown-together witch's costume.

At the beginning of the next episode, everyone's excited to have made it to the final seven, and they're already starting to think about Bryant Park. The contestants are told that they're going to meet a top designer known all over the world, but it only turns out to be boring old Michael Kors. This week's challenge is all about being inspired by the places that have inspired Michael Kors. YAWN. Logan gets last choice and ends up with Hollywood, so he's thinking something boho-leaning with skinny jeans. Tim Gunn comes to the workroom and seems non-commital about Logan's outfit, and when his model comes in for a fitting, the jeans he's made are a little too skinny, even for a non-menstruating model. Irina continues to take shape as this season's villain, talking about how everyone else is just getting by, while she is only getting better. Because nothing says onward and upward like a huge cowl-necked sweater. On the day of the runway, everyone is rushing to get done. Somehow, Logan's model now fits in the jeans, so her strict cocaine diet must be working. Logan's outfit walks the runway first, and the only thing he's concerned about is whether or not it's "Hollywood" enough. The judges this time around were Heidi, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia (those three have only been at the judges table together this season, what, twice?), and a completely random Milla Jovovich. Nina thought Logan's outfit wasn't styled enough, but Heidi liked the edge. Michael Kors had the most damning statement: "They're clothes, they're not fashion." Ultimately all the judges thought that his outfit was just boring. But Nicolas and Christopher's outfits were way worse than that. Somehow, Christopher makes it out of the bottom two yet again, so Nicolas goes home for his grey menswear pants that were not at all Greek. And ugh, Irina wins for the third time. I look forward to when she crashes and burns sometime soon.

Tonight: Althea hates Logan for copying a collar she did a couple weeks ago. DRAMA.

CraftsGiving is a local craft fair that showcases geared towards Steampunk wears, Urban Primative culture, and the underground art scene from seattle. the Fair is on Black Friday November 27th. 

There will be winter wear by local designers, gifts, epic gems, Hand warmers, inspirational local Art, and more. Come gear up for the change of seasons and support non-cooperate hand made goods!

CraftsGiving will be held on Black Friday, November 27, from 2-6 p.m. at:

SPACE
7601 Greenwood Avenue N.

It's free to attend, and everyone is welcome. It's a great opportunity for us to come together, get to know each other, and support our local artists by purchasing their wares.

Thanks for taking the time to read this invite and supporting the local art community.

Last night's episode of Project Runway begins with the fact that Johnny the liar is gone, back to West Hollywood to restart his meth habit, so the competition in Ra'mon's words has "gotten more serious."  This week's challenge involves designing outfits around a movie genre theme.  The choices were action/adventure, period piece, sci-fi/fantasy, film noir, and Western.  No one wants Western, so the two contestants with last picks (Shirin and Epperson) end up with that draw.  Carol Hannah and Seattle designer Logan Neitzel both pick action/adventure.  Luckily for everyone involved (including the viewer), this is not a team challenge, which is heavy on both the drama and the bullshit. 

As they work on their projects, Tim Gunn comes in, does the quick once-over of everyone's outfit and then rains on their fashion parade by reminding the contestants that someone will be going home.  Everyone is sniping about each other's outfits and someone is stealing bobbins!  Everybody is stressed about their movie costumes!  It is crazy getting ready for the runway! Ra'mon starts having second thoughts about his lime green sci-fi catsuit and starts making a new scaley dress with only a few hours to go. 

Before the runway walk, a commercial provides the information that all the Project Runway models are going to be trying to woo Logan because he is cute and they want to get ahead.  SPOILER ALERT.  This still will not get me to watch Models of the Runway.  Nice try, Lifetime!

Back at the runway, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia are once again MIA.  Who are these yahoos on judges' panel?  It looks like Nina sent a Marie Claire intern in her place.  Logan's action/adventure outfit is a skintight badass leather toughgirl thing (see video above) and his scores make him safe right away.  Both of the Western outfits actually end up being really good.  Nicolas wins for his ridonkulous ice queen, though really Christopher's Victorian vampire was just as well thought-out and made.  Ra'mon goes home for his scaley dress, even though Eastern European Gordana is so much weaker (and boringer) as a designer.  Don't worry, I'm sure she's gone next week. But it looks like Michael Kors will be back!