Fashion & Art

  1. The 3rd Annual Black V Fashion Show

    | Events, Fashion Show
    May 15, 2012

    The 3rd Annual Black V Fashion Show
    Photography by Michael Vu
    Written by Julio Cortez

    Sponsors:
    Venue/Makeup: PIGMENT COSMETICS; San Francisco Models: SF Model Agencies.
    Media & Marketing: ASTONISH MAGAZINE, In Support by: Thre.ad.
    Hair and Makeup: San Francisco Institute of Esthetics & Cosmetology – A Paul Mitchell Partner School

    The 3rd Annual Black V Fashion Show brought eight emerging Bay Area designers to One Market Plaza for an intimate gathering of fashion for a cause, with all the night’s proceeds directly aiding City College of San Francisco’s fashion department. The show kicked off with Acta Non Verba designer Hector Manuel, who had a black and gold violinist opening the show in a one-shoulder striped lurex dress. Lace embellished houndstooth, cocktail flounce, and gratuitous sequins proved that classic elements went beyond the music.

    Daniel Sudar followed with a line-up of tailored shorts and shirtless men, which progressed into a display of the designer’s skill as more than a menswear tailor with the crowd favorite mid-thigh shorts and suit jacket combination.

    Cari Borja’s first model dawned an ASTONISHing pair of oversized hoops, wearing a boho-goth dress pieced together with ruffled seams.

    GB Shrive served denim on denim dreams with jodhpur jumpsuits and pants, gender neutral cuts, scalloped leather, and a splattered reptile graphic print that tied many of the collection’s textural elements together.

    D’Homme’s Dahae Kim brought contemporary menswear with strong shouldered military coats, chain drip details, a variety of necklines, and all the leather essential to city noir style.

    Medieval chainmail came back to the runway with Kate Knuvelder’s one of a kind accessories. Black coated denim was paired with a belt strap harness, a style that’s no stranger to San Francisco’s fetish fashion scene.

    We were lucky to relive Ken Chen’s F/W 2012 New York Fashion Week runway presentation with such crowd pleasers as the holographic electric blue dress with thigh high slits and non-stop black on black staples with leather and fur details.

    With the volume on high for the night’s recurring bondage theme, the show’s finale with Zoë Hong closed the show with a roll call of leather clad friends. Belt strap chokers and lingerie walked the runway to Bjork’s “Army of Me” as a rosey kimono clad Hong in black patent leather fetish boots closed another fabulous Black V.

     

  2. Academy of Art University Graduate Fashion Show

    | Fashion Show
    May 10, 2012

    Academy of Art University Graduate Fashion Show, San Francisco, CA. Spring 2012.
    Written by Julio Cortez

    Last Thursday, the Academy of Art University hosted their annual Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony inside San Francisco’s treasured Cannery Building. The waterfront brick facade housed H.R.H. Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Sarah Burton, and Philip Treacy as the evening’s honorary guests, as well as other esteemed university alumni and the who’s who of Bay Area fashion in support of the academy’s emerging artists and designers.

    The festivities began around three in the afternoon with a friends and family presentation consisting of graduating students’ design portfolios and a sneak peek at the runway. Guests gathered around the Cannery’s breezy courtyard while browsing what the next generation of fashion and textile design has to offer, including presentations by graduating fashion merchandisers and textile designers.

    ASTONISH spoke with Director of the School of Fashion Simon Ungless about the road many of his students have endured in their evolution as designers.

    “A lot of the time, students ask themselves, ‘What’s in it for me?’, instead of remembering that what really matters is the experience itself,” says Ungless of the internship process. Shadowing the art and craft of someone else gives students the opportunity to ask questions and absorb technique through first hand encounters. Ungless’ advice is priceless, after all – he is the man responsible for raising Sarah Burton’s reign in the Alexander McQueen family.

    Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of the School of Fashion, introduced the academy’s special guests from behind her infamous shield-like sunglasses.

    Up first was Sarah Burton, who was presented with a Doctorate of Humane Letters for her outstanding achievements at Alexander McQueen over the last seventeen years. “Along the way, she also created a wedding dress,” jokes Palmer, noting Burton’s recent designer of the year awards. The crowd erupted in laughter and a roar of applause as Burton accepted her award for her contributions to the arts, thanking her late friend and mentor, Lee McQueen, in return.

    H.R.H. Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud is a stunning example of civic advocacy and leadership, working with organizations that focus on fashion and its effects on culture internationally. It’s no surprise that she was also presented with a Doctorate of Humane Letters for her profound contributions to art and design.

    According to Palmer, when Philip Treacy was a little boy, he grew up across the road from a British church where weekly weddings served as fashion shows. Fascinated by the glamorous creatures, he began sewing dresses and hats for dolls fashioned out of his mother’s chickens, geese, pheasants. and ducks.  “Don’t you think it’s weird this boy is making dresses for dolls,” a neighbor asked Treacy’s father, which he responded to with, “whatever makes you happy.”  “Those are the kinds of fathers we like,” says Palmer as the crowd erupts in another round of applause for Treacy’s Doctorate of Humane Letters.

    “I would like to give a big thank you for those backstage waiting for all of us to stop talking so they can start the show,” joked Academy of Art President Dr. Elisa Stephens as she kicked off the 2012 runway show. After all, the evening belonged to the surprises the graduates had in store.

    ASTONISH spotted the Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr. making a fashionably late entrance into his front row seat as the runway commenced with an opening of horror film inspired prints and architectural doll-like pieces by Renata Lindroos. In contrast, the models donned slicked back hair and bright orange to nude lips.

    Eli Daniel Odisho collaborated with textile designer Miriam Tolentino on a collection of denim draped dresses inspired by the designer’s childhood memories of Catholic art and his grandmother’s house. “I didn’t want to be literal with the Virgin Mary inspiration, so I had to edit down the shells and crosses,” Odisho tells ASTONISH of his graduation portfolio.

    The runway introduced new talent to the art and fashion worlds, launching some graduates into a frenzy worth screaming over. Two fashion graduates were selected for internships with Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, meanwhile Philip Treacy went rogue and invited an absent accessory design student to join him at his millinery overseas.

    After the runway, ASTONISH caught up with Philip Treacy for a quick chat as guests made their way out into the Cannery Square’s crisp night. As Treacy congratulates the crowd of graduates and attendees forming around him at the runway’s edge, he announces, “this calls for a drink!”

    Well, if you insist.

    —

    Featured Designers:

    Renata Lindroos, Mina Fadaie, Hely Nguyen, Erica Laba, Liza Quinones, Emma Mengchen Yang, Ethan Chihuan Yang, Rumi Iwasaki, Rachael Sansom, Chelsea Levinson, Kim Tran, Orly Ruaimi, Joe Chung, Mimi Iwasaki, Steven La Fuente, Lenny Kovner, Antonio Luna, Eli Daniel Odisho, Miriam Tolentino, Jacqueline Rabot, Julie Seltzer, Zhangchi Wang, Angela Sison, Massa Ito.

    Honorary Guests of the Night:

    Sarah Burton, Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Philip Treacy.

  3. Peachoo + Krejberg F/W 2012 – Paris Fashion Week

    | Fashion Show
    April 11, 2012

    Peachoo + Krejberg Fall/Winter 2012 Collection
    Paris Fashion Week
    Written by Bolanile Shennu
    Photographs by Julie Badin

    Embracing all things cold, brisk and winter-worthy, Peachoo + Krejberg’s latest fall/winter venture was all about tundra and ice. The collection was very I-am-woman-hear-me-roar in a far east meets chic sort of way. Models sported clean fresh faces, with a single slick braid threaded through the back of a skull-cradling kerchief. The collection was also strengthened by calf-hugging chunky-boots, giving the models an air of authority as they stomped down the catwalk.

    At the crux of the collection were some sturdy leather and lamb’s wool coats that were both rustic and edgy. The designer combined the outerwear with wraparound tunics, leg-hugging trousers, and slim-fitted skirts that grazed the ankle. Most closures (zippers, etc.) were off-kilter falling down on the side of the garments instead of center front. These accents worked superbly with the asymmetric theme of the clothing, which were more modern than trite.

    The show stoppers were a handful of dome-like jackets constructed out of eagle feathers. These dramatic garments were not for the faint of heart, because their rigid shape covered the entire head and shoulders (similar to an igloo). The designers matched these outrageous pieces with figure-hugging dresses in luxurious fabrics, like silk charmeuse and silver sequin. These artistic creations seemed to be a metaphor for a woman’s need to have a hard shell and sweet center — you know, similar to M&M’s.