Lesson for the week: “Details create the big picture.”  ~ Sanford I. Weill

The challenge: Show your 13 piece collection at Bryant Park and win the whole shooting match.

At last, the long anticipated event is aired.  Because of law suit delays, many folks already knew how this show turned out, but I made it my business not to pay any attention or read about it until now.  What I can tell you is that it turned out exactly the way I predicted by mid-season.  Much as I wished for a Carol Hannah win, I was certain that wasn’t going to happen.

Of course at this point, everyone who gets to show has a wonderful opportunity to be able to follow their dreams.  So they don’t get the prize money or the title; they get the exposure and the contacts.

Irina’s collection, although nothing that I would wear (I’m too old and not that into black), was perfection.  Michael Kors’s rather dismissive comment that we’d seen the “warrior woman” before was off-base: this was neither a warrior woman, nor was it something we’ve seen before.

The weakness of the collection is its inability to photograph well, but if you were watching closely, you must have been as staggered as I was by the details: the wrapping, the weaving, the tucks, the texture, the shredding, the tee shirts, the hats, the bags…details, details, details.  Amazing.  Attention to detail at every level imaginable.  Irina deserved the win.

I can only imagine what the other judges must have said to Michael off-camera

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Lesson for the week: You’ve got to pay attention to copyright issues.

The challenge: We’re down to the final three, and Tim Gunn went to visit each of them as they worked on their Bryant Park collections.  The visits followed the formula that we’ve all come to expect…Tim visits their space, critiques their work, and then joins their friends and family for a nice meal.

But isn’t there always a twist?  A few weeks later, just a couple of weeks shy of Fashion Week, Irina gets a phone call from Tim.  Hey, you know those images of New York landmarks, like Coney Island that you wanted to use?  Guess what?  They’re copyrighted.  (And really, you should have thought to check about that).  But he didn’t say that last part.

Nobody who works in fashion, jewelry design, collage arts, or any other visual media really wants to deal with copyright issues.  It’s a pain in the neck, there’s a lot of mis-information floating around, and some people get incredibly hostile when the topic is raised.

But here’s the reality: as artists and designers, unless you want the pants sued off of you, you need to know the fundamentals of copyright.  The only reliable source of information in the United States is the government copyright office, and the website is not terribly hard to navigate.

Don’t think that we failed to notice, either, that it’s the same designer who accused another of using her idea (the big puffy sweater…no one’s ever done that before) who almost ran afoul of the law by appropriating other people’s iconic images.

All in all, I felt sorry for Irina, having to make that large a readjustment that close to the big day.

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Lesson for the week: Don’t be smug or catty…it’s not attractive.

The challenge: The designers must create a design using the Getty Center in LA as inspiration.  They even got to see it with their models!

No surprises last night…the three designers that I expected to be at the top by about mid-season were the judges’ picks.  Even though two of them made dresses that were unattractive at best, at least in my opinion.  Althea and Irina have consistently done good work, and that consistency saved at least Althea last night.

Irina’s dress

The judges seemed to really like Irina’s dress, but I couldn’t figure out why.   If a dress makes a girl of this model’s stature and beauty look like a galumph, what would it look like on me?  I’m already a galumph without help, thanks!  Nonethess, Irina was smug and catty, obviously delighting in criticisms of other designers’ work both in the workroom and on stage.

Althea’s dress

Althea’s dress was a complete mess.  Like I said, it’s her consistency throughout the season that saved her last night.

Gordana’s dress

Gordana’s dress was far better made and was just lovely, but it wasn’t the risk that Althea’s was.  I understand the decision, but overall, Gordana’s dress was the only one I liked last night.

Why can’t we all just get along?

Many of the designers this year have had extremely pleasant personalities.  One thing that has struck me time and time again is how unattractive it is to see or hear someone being smug or catty.  Competitions can certainly bring that out in people, and I know that I’ve not been through the stress that these designers have.  However, I think it’s really an important lesson for all artists, craftspeople, and designers to keep in mind: no one likes a poor loser, but everyone hates a poor winner!

Why is Carol Hannah everyone’s sweetheart?  Just look at that face, watch her interactions with others, and listen to what she says about the other competitors.  It’s obvious!  She avoids the drama, does her work without a fuss, and is kind and considerate to those around her, even when some of them are saying snippy things about her.  There’s a lesson there, I think.

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Lesson for the week: Be inspired…by your own work!

The challenge: The designers must create a companion piece for their own previous best look.  For most of them, this is a piece that they won a challenge with.  For poor Logan, it was simply a piece that didn’t put him in the bottom three.

That means that they were to be inspired by their own best work, which you’d think would be fairly simple for them.  To get this far in the competition should mean that you’ve got what it takes not only to design a great outfit, but also to design entire collections.

Irina’s companion piece went beautifully with her other look

However, ahem…  There was an awful lot of griping and complaining last night about someone else “stealing my idea”.  Collars, sweaters, come on folks!  First, did either of you ladies invent the large comfy sweater?  I think not.  Second, do you think the judges are blind and won’t see the similarities and differences between garments?

There are many times in the jewelry design world where I hear people being accused of “stealing” someone else’s designs.  Sometimes it’s true and can be proved through documentation.  But many times, it’s just a matter of two (or more) people coming up with similar ideas at the same time.  Before we scream theft, we need to look very carefully to determine the truth.

We are working with a limited number of stitches, and a limited number of colors.  How we put them together is everything.  The stitches belong to everyone, just like the over-sized comfy sweater does.  The zipper collar?  That may have been a slightly different matter, but at least all the griping about that was kept off the runway, unlike the sweater issue.

Congratulations to Althea, but I didn’t like this winning look any better than I liked the original piece.  JMO.

Last Minute Note: Read this classy classy classy apology from Althea for her behavior.  She is now back in my good graces!

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Lesson for the week: That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

The challenge: create a look inspried by a famous locale, especially designed to please Michael Kors.  If ever there was a challenge that begged for a back story, this was it.  St Tropez, Greece, Aspin, Santa Fe, and other fabulous locations were chosen to be the inspiration for a hip modern new look.  So who exactly is this fabulous woman that is going to wear this outfit?

Not surprisingly, the designer who won was the one who sold a mood and a story as well as a look.  Irina designed an outfit for an Aspin snow bunny that was as rich looking as the girl who is wearing it (ostensibly!).  I suppose she could be a gold-digger, but it would be difficult to prove it.

My biggest disappointment last night came with Gordana.  She wasn’t eliminated, but she almost talked her way into the bottom group.  Most of her budget was spent on buying crystals to create an AMAZING NECKLACE!!!  Yay, Gordana!!!  But then she apologized for choosing the dress fabric because it was inexpensive.  NO NO NO!!  Think up a story and stick with it.  The dress was quite attractive, although I might have liked it better in another color.  Still, there was nothing to apologize for.

While Gordana was my biggest disappointment, Nicolas was my biggest surprise.  The designer who proved to be so adept at creating back stories completely failed, coming up with no explanation for why a woman in Greece would be wearing something so totally Not-Greece.

That’s the thing about stories…when you need one, you really need one.  Not every design that we make, whether it’s clothing or jewelry, is going to need a back story.  But spectacular pieces and collections as a whole do need one.  Do you name your necklaces or have a story behind them?  Sometimes it’s not necessary (think, classic single string of pearls), but other times, the piece just cries out for it.

Choose a story, choose a name, or don’t…but don’t apologize!

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Lesson for the week: Just because you didn’t come here to make friends doesn’t mean you should be trying to make enemies…

The challenge: create an extravagant stage look for Christina Aguilera, who served as guest judge.  Not surprisingly, the designers who did really well at this challenge were the ones who were more familiar with Christina’s work and her ever-evolving style(s).

Congratulations to Carol Hannah, the winner!

I thought Carol Hannah’s dress was gorgeous (although a bit too tight on her model), and she deserved the win.  Look at that neckline!  The perfect frame for your best sparkly jewelry, multiple layers of gold chains, or for understated classic pearls.  Whenever Christina Aguilera attends an event that calls for glam, I can picture her wearing this.

The most interesting parts of the episode focused on Irina, who has become increasingly caustic and unpleasant as the season progresses.  Or maybe it’s just that the show editors are featuring her more (to stir up more drama) so I’m more aware of her negative traits.  She is a very talented designer.  So is everyone else that is on the show, and she would do well to remember that.

For someone as arrogant about her own talents as she is, it’s interesting that she placed in the very middle of the pack this time.  Again, it could be a trick of editing, but I don’t remember hearing her say anything complimentary about any of the other designers or their work, ever.  And in this episode, she descended into actually gossiping with her model about at least one of the other designers.  Fashion is a relatively small world, Irina…just hope you keep that in mind.

Gossiping about other designers so that the camera (and the other designers)
can hear you is a bad idea…

The take-home message for designers of any type, including jewelry designers, is that our world is really very small.  Even if you are an extremely small fish in what you perceive to be an ocean of talent, it is never never never a good idea to bolster your own position by talking down about another.  Honest and helpful critique is one thing (if it is asked for!), but sneering about someone else’s taste, style, or level of sophistication is never attractive, and may very well come back to bite you in the future.

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Lesson for the week: Whining doesn’t help you get work done and it annoys everyone around you…

The challenge: change a wedding dress into a brand new hip look for divorcees. Problems: many of the women had dresses with cheap cheap cheap fabric, some had dresses with very little fabric, a few had totally unrealistic ideas about what would be a wonderful new look for them.

Shirin had all three problems, and she suffered a near “fatal” meltdown during the challenge. Way way too much time was spent whining about her bad luck, and even more time was wasted working herself into a total swivet.

As usually, mentor Tim Gunn was able to cut to the heart of the matter when he found Shirin stuck and completely shut down. He advised her to clear the table, remove the cut pieces from the mannequin, and to play around with them until something popped. What else was she going to do at that point? Her client wanted a Cher dress with peacock feathers. But she wanted it SHORT. Oh, and she wanted a feathered headdress to go with it.

Um, yeah.

Here’s the take home message: your client isn’t always right, but you’ve got to make them happy when you do commissions. Ultimately, Shirin refused to allow her client’s ideas to send her home, but she did give her a dress the woman liked. NO, it certainly did NOT need to be any shorter. Those of you who saw the episode and saw her swinging down the runway know what I’m saying

Shirin’s dress

I was very pleased with Gordana’s win. For me, it was between Gordana and Carol Hannah: both dresses were adorable, and very well suited to their owners. The neckline on Gordana’s dress will be great for showing off any edgy, funky, avant garde, asymmetrical, or starkly bold necklaces that the woman cares to pair with it. Or she could go elven and fey, and get away with that look too!

Gordana, the winner!

Images: MyLifetime

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Project Runway, Season 6, Episode 7: The Sky is the Limit! Who’s the winner this week and who is “auf”?

Lesson for the week: If you want to work with specific clients, you’ve got to be able to give them what they want…

Bye bye, Louise.  You were sweet and pleasant to the bitter end.

Poor Louise! After dodging a bullet last week with her subtle design, she did a classic crash and burn last night by trying to “step up” the design for the wrong client.  The problem: last week she did subtle for a film costume, and this week she did ruffles for a clothing line that is known for it’s sleek modern designs.  Fail.

Louise is a good designer, whose style is very distinctive and pleasing to a specific client.  She obviously doesn’t do pressure very well, even though she remains calm and pleasant (unlike a few others), but she doesn’t seem to be able to come up with the right answer quickly when the client doesn’t match her natural style.

This may not be as much of a problem in her real world as it is on Project Runway, but it would be a problem in mine!  I have chosen to do a lot of designing “on demand”, which means making holiday jewelry in the middle of July for a magazine to shoot, and working with colors and materials that may not always be my first pick.  Often the deadlines are tight.

This lack of flexibility could also be a problem in doing commissions for clients with vastly different taste from your own.  Think about it long and hard before you decide to jump into the commissions market: you have to figure out how to please the client and still be true to yourself.  Sometimes it’s just impossible to please both of you, and then you’ll have to figure out how to politely decline the job!

Congratulations Irina.  Please lose some of your arrogance.

On the other side of the room last night, Irina was making a dress that perfectly captured what her client was looking for.   The client would be thrilled, but she better forget about ever having employees with her attitude and manner.  Who would ever want to work with her again?  The remarks she makes about the other designers, does she realize they will see the show later?  Even as she stood there with a winning design, she proceeded to throw her partner under the bus.  Not necessary.  They already know you were the team leader.  They also seem to know that you are difficult.

Don’t be difficult when other people are working for you or with you…it’s not nice and it’s not pretty.

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Finally, a challenge where it’s not a bad thing to be “too costumey”.   As always, don’t click beyond the line if you don’t want to read the spoilers in this post!

Project Runway, Season 6, Episode 6: Lights, Camera, Sew! Who’s the winner this week and who is “auf”?

Create a character based upon a given film genre…what a great challenge!  Now all the designers who tend to go over the top will have a really good reason to do so.  Unfortunately, a few fell far short, but there were an awful lot of great designs this week.  Glad I wasn’t a judge…I would have had a terrible time picking between Christopher, Epperson, and Nicolas’s designs.

Christopher’s Victorian vampire

I edged a bit in Christopher’s direction, mostly because he included a charming little jewelry touch: a brooch worn at the neck of his fabulous collar.  Or perhaps it was just a cluster of beads that he sewed on…I couldn’t quite tell.  But whatever, the costume was fabulous.

Nicolas, the winner

I also loved Epperson’s “Annie Get Your Gun” outfit, complete with a great belt, leg holster and “gun” as accessories.  It looked amazing.  Nicolas’s winning design was ethereally beautiful, but I think it would have benefited from all-over beading.  No time, I understand, and he managed to get the sparkly effect without the beads, but still.

The two designs that actually incorporated jewelry were two of the bottom picks, unfortunately.  I loved loved loved Gordana’s dress and necklaces, but I can see why both hers and Louise’s designs were considered less inspired than the others.  Still, look at those neck details:

Gordana’s Flapper

Louise’s Film Noir girl

Bye bye to Ra’mon.  I’m sorry to see him go, but such is life.  I know we’ll be seeing more work from him in the future.

Images: MyLifetime.com

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Three difficult lessons for designers and artists of all types this week. As always, don’t click beyond the line if you don’t want to read the spoilers in this post!

Project Runway, Season 6, Episode 5: Fashion Headliners! Who’s the winner this week and who is “auf”?

Creating with newpaper

Is there ever a time when it’s ok for a designer or artist to lie?  Is it ok to call your clasp gold when it’s really gold plate?   To label something “cherry quartz” without explaining that cherry quartz isn’t quartz at all, but glass?  This was an episode that illustrated the need for integrity when you have a creative career.

Johnny is “auf”

Not surprising to those who follow the show, Johnny was sent packing this week. Since he scrapped dress #1, lied about what happened to it, and got caught in that lie, that alone could have been reason to send him home.  I know that he has struggled with a lot of personal demons and has made great strides to be able to be on the show, and for that I admire him.  And I also know that he is capable of great designs.  This was not his finest week.  Was it really (as the advertising hype suggested) the “Biggest Lie in Project Runway History”?  Probably not.  But it was a lie.

The second lesson was about time management, again illustrated by Johnny.   We have to put in the time to get our designs right, whether it’s clothing or jewelry or painting or whatever.  Cutting corners, trying to speed up a process that takes diligence, these are recipes for disaster when you are creating.  Spend the time, and you’ll be able to be proud of what you produce.  I know that time was lost when he decided to start over, but sitting there doing a crossword puzzle when hours were few was probably not the best time management.

The third lesson was about attitude: we need to have a willingness to embrace the unexpected, because there’s only so much in life that we can control.  In episode 5, it was unconventional materials that threw some of the designers for a loop.   I don’t remember any of them saying that they had had any experience with paper before, but the ones that embraced the experience were the ones who fared the best.  How about us?  Are we willing to try new materials?  To allow techniques from another art form to cross over into our jewelry making world?   To be inspired by unexpected color combinations and styles?

Irina, the winner!

Although I thought Irina’s trench coat collar and cuffs were wonderful, the design as a whole was not my favorite look last night.  I was somewhat surprised that she won, but I congratulate her on it.  I know that she struggled with the design, but continued to plug away, working as quickly and carefully as she could, even when she knew that some of the other designers were not impressed with her idea.  She embraced the challenge, took a risk, spent the time, and is now reaping the rewards (including immunity for next week!).

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