It occurred to me last evening that some of you may not yet know who won last week's Project IMA fashion show. Jeremy Hunt took home the $500 Elizabeth Kraft-Meek Fashion Award, for his excellent interpretation of plastic packing materials, cardboard and a glue gun.
The silhouette is truly stunning. It wouldn't hold up well against laundering of any kind, however, so it's probably best the bodice has taken up residence in a personal collection/museum.
I've already mentioned the Art Institute of Indianapolis student fashion show is my favorite of the year. Last night's installment of the event only solidified those feelings. With categories in stretch, menswear, vintage and senior collections, the students once again proved they have real potential in the dog-eat-dog fashion industry. I just hope a few stick around.
There were so many things I was pleased with at last night's show, I think they're best expressed David Letterman style, in Top 10 list form.
Top 10 reasons I loved Aii's "Get your FashOn"
10. The synergy. The garments on the runway weren't the only examples of student work last night. The exquisite hors d'oeuvres passed the reception were prepared by Aii's culinary institute students. The logo (which I love--the use of the "on" symbol is brilliant) and the multimedia components of the show were done by the design students.
9. The location. I had never stepped foot inside the Scottish Rite Cathedral before last year's student show. As I live only a few blocks away I've driven by countless times, but frankly, it's an intimidating structure. But once inside I was transported to my time in Madrid, where architecture is truly impressive, and each room is a host of its own inspiration. It's just super fun to get dressed up and pretend I'm a princess while schmoozing in the ballroom.
8. The attendance. I tend to see the same people at every fashion event, which is great, because I'm reminded again and again of the fiercely loyal fashion lot we have here in Indy. But the student show attracts everyone, in addition to the usual suspects; families, teachers, people who happened to see an ad for the party, whomever. The turnout to the event is impressive and everyone is so full of enthusiasm.
7. The production team. I haven't confirmed this, but I believe no one gets paid at this event. Danielle Smith, of Fresh Fettle, donated her expertise to the production of the fashion show and did so flawlessly. She matched models with clothes, figured out a lineup, timed the procession, organized the back-stage area, etc., all for the love of fashion and the education of it.
6. The dress code. I get excited to dress up for things. Like, REALLY excited, enough to leave work early for ample primp time. And this is one of those events when people take the time to dress up. Catherine Fritsch designed her outfit around her favorite shoes, Liz Craft-Meek threw on a fur stole and more than one man busted out a three-piece suit. Showing up in one's finest, I believe, is an ultimate symbol of respect and I'm so glad there are so many who feel that way about local fashion's future stars.
5. The accessibility. Many fashion events can get uppity, let's admit it. But last night's event focused on the fashion, rather than the fuss. The show was void of lasers and obnoxious techno music, which minimized distractions from the garments on display.
4. The faculty. Remember when it was open house night at your elementary school, and all the teachers were there to talk about what a good little boy/girl you were? The Aii faculty are very astute at the grown-up version of that. Any of the faculty milling about could tell you anything about each student, down what projects were most challenging and why they're so proud of how "so and so" took the time to affix a snap closure instead of a zipper.
3. The community support. Aii's show had the best of the best last night, from the models to the hair. Thanks to pros like the Helen Wells agency and WIP Downtown, the students had beautiful canvases on which to show off their work. It gets tougher to get that caliber of a donation once you're on your own.
2. The students. I call them kids, even though many of them are older than me, because their excitement over sharing their work is so pure it's almost childlike. It's enviable. I remember how I felt when I first graduated from Butler. When I watch these students, it inspires me to remember that oomph when I wake up in the morning.
1. The clothes. I get really excited when I see something like that pink organza gown, with black catsuit beneath, strutting down the runway. Not only because the garment itself is something I'd like to buy and wear, but because I know it's an example of the bud of a career. This is only the beginning for these young designers. Who knows what kind of wonderful things they'll put forth 5 years from now. My closet is excited too.
According to the random number generator at random.org, Hot House Market and The Haute Hoosier are the lucky winners of the tickets to Aii's Come Get Your FashOn.
Thanks for playing, everyone. I loved learning about your old coveting clothing staples. I'll think of you the next time I pull on my Levis, or see an old pair of Doc Martins at a thrift store.
Ladies, please dm Haute_Heartland or email me at gposhadlo@ibj.com with your real names. Your tickets (two for each) will be waiting for you at the event.
If you don't already have your tickets to this event, hasten yourself to the box office or this website either today or tomorrow, because they're going FAST.
Designers and artists from a nationwide scope will send their wearable art down the runway in a living display of the body as canvas. Afterward, retire to the "Behind the Seams" after party where you'll mingle with models and designers, listen to the musical stylings of Beta Male and pose for Got-Shot.
Need a little history?
A couple of years ago the IMA gathered a handful of local fashion designers and hosted Project IMA, a fashion show to Kick off its Breaking the Mode exhibit. That show was free and they didn't collect tickets for it so when hundreds of people showed up, they decided to have two shows.
It was that good.
Now the museum is recreating that fashion magic at Project IMA:Fashion Unbound, to launch it's newest exhibit: Body Unbound.
There are two fashion shows (both the same) taking place in The Toby. One at 7 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m.
The after party begins at 7:30 p.m.
Proceeds from the event will go toward the museum's acquisition fund and its newest affiliate group, the Fashion Arts Society.
Tickets are $7 for FAS members and $12 for the general public. After party tickets include fashion show admission and are $40 for FAS members and $50 for the general public.
If you should decide to become an FAS member at the event, you'll receive a yummy gift bag filled with treats like a Haute in the Heartland button. Get excited. And get there early!
See you, "behind the seems."
Update: Check out Curatorial associate Petra Slinkard on Fox 59, promoting the event.
The student show by The Art Institute of Indianapolis is my favorite fashion show of the year.
I personally think one tends to do one's most interesting work as a student. Your creative vision is not yet influenced by the so-called real world, so your product tends to be a fabrication of pure, unbridled enthusiasm.
That was clear at the show last year, when impeccably-styled models pranced down the runway in re-purposed materials like inner tubes and car upholstery.
Framed by the spectacular Scottish Rite Cathedral, the school's graphic design students produce the special effects that make the experience look undoubtedly professional.
Students will have the opportunity to work with professional models, provided by the Helen Welles Agency as well as hair and makeup services by WIP Downtown and Paul Mitchell The School. A panel of local fashion professionals decide which students receive tuition scholarships at the end of the show.
Sound cool? Two lucky Haute in the Heartland readers will each receive two free tickets to attend the show, and rub elbows with the city's most brilliant young fashion minds.
Just leave a comment below telling me about that one article of clothing you couldn't live without in college. You know you had one. Mine was this zip-up hoodie I got at a thrift store in London. It had a skull and crossbones on the back and I covered it in statement buttons. I was a punk rocker-poser.
Also, leave me a way to get in touch with you should you win, whether that by a link to your Facebook wall, a Twitter address, whatever.
I doubt I'm alone when I say I wish my whole world looked like the inside of an Anthropologie.
In this Anthro world Gabrielle would wake in her perfect little English cottage, and little birds and forest animals would gather to help her get ready for the day, all the while singing her a little song.
She'd say hello to all her little friends and wander over to a massive wardrobe filled with whimsical garments, humming along with the forest animals' song.
Sigh.
Don't pretend like Anthropologie doesn't take you to a similar place, and a large part of the allure are the window decorations.
Do you ever wonder who makes all those paper chains or who hangs all those giant spools from the ceiling?
Well, it could be YOU. That's right, Anthropologie wants to exploit your obsession with the brand and invite you to help put together holiday decorations for the store.
Beside the slight whiff of slave labor, this project sounds rather like heaven to me.
The Indianapolis store event will happen on Nov. 3, 1-3 p.m. at the Keystone Fashion Mall.
Who knows? Maybe they'll let the volunteers take home a papier mache pinecone or a little yarn ornament, or whatever other wonderful material the decorations are made of. Then you'll be that much closer to making your Anthropologie dream world a reality.
Before we all embark on our weekend endeavors--be that hours of football viewing, donning go-go boots for the Warhol opening tomorrow or just sleeping in--I leave you with the images I took at the Mariana Zaharoff show last weekend, sponsored by Lilly's Boutique Gallery.
The show was on an outdoor runway on Main Street in Zionsville, on the first real "jacket day" this Fall. As guests filed in, quickly occupied every seat in the house, I looked down at my to-go coffee and took a deep breath. It was actually the most pleasant setting I've experienced at a local fashion show.
The white tent in the distance buzzed with cloaked activity, with the stray model or hair dresser emerging every so often.
The clothes, on the other hand, looked as if they'd arrived off a time machine from 1987. Enormous shoulder pads and pieces of fur stuck in chunky knits all willy nilly ushered forth memories of gazing into my mother's--nay, grandmother's--closet at age 4. The memory brought with it a waft of Avon perfume. (Miss you, grandma.)
It's not that I don't appreciate images of winged babies painted on the back of lipstick red suede dusters, but it's hard to imagine who's going to be spending $800 on such a thing.
And then someone dressed at the Phantom of the Opera appeared to escort the models onto the runway and I lost any understanding of an overall aesthetic. I watched as fellow audience members exchanged puzzled glances over the tapered burgandy velour pants with matching cropped tube top, and still, enjoyed the show thoroughly.
I often skim my favorite New York blogs and feel oh-so left-out because I can never shop the beautiful stores they write about. Refinery29, must feel my pain, and that of their myriad other out-of-town readers, because they've put together this lovely Boutiques site.
They've gathered merchandise from 25 of their favorite boutique retailers and put them all on the same, useful page. It's not exactly the same as combing the streets of Brooklyn for an independent designer's latest masterpiece, but at least you save yourself the olfactory assault indicative of such stores, what with their fancy perfume-age.
Among the chosen ones is Eskell, a Chicago-based label created by two IU grads. Cool, huh?
Among the most lust-worthy items is the Breakfast at Tiffany Sleeping Mask, for sale at Eskell for just $30. Now all I need are Holly Golightly's like tassel earplugs.
If you're planning to attend the Heartland Film Festival at all, make sure to put "Waste Land" on your list. Beyond the fact that the story is captivating and unusually inspirational for an independent documentary, the street fashion is really interesting.
It's a about a Brazilian-born artist, (Vik Muniz) who spends three years in a Rio de Janeiro landfill, getting to the know the "catadores" or "pickers," who forage the mountains of garbage for recyclables. Muniz photographs them while they happily go about this horrendous task and then replicates the photos with pieces of garbage.
Perhaps it's wrong to make pre-judgements about catadores, having no prior knowledge of their existence, but I expected the garbage workers to be fairly uneducated. To the contrary, the pickers seek out books from the rubbish and establish their own library, all the while quoting Nietzsche.
And unlike those who work with American garbage, these workers have a sort of trash-pile chic aesthetic going on. One woman tip-toes around a pile of plastic bottles in a pleated mini skirt and leggings while the landfill's on-site cook stirs up a stew in an ombre tube dress.
It occurred to me last evening that some of you may not yet know who won last week's Project IMA fashion show. Jeremy Hunt took home the $500 Elizabeth Kraft-Meek Fashion Award, for his excellent interpretation of plastic packing materials, cardboard and a glue gun.
Posts
