MNfashion week in review: "Envision: Artopia"

For last weekend's "Envision: Artopia" runway show (co-produced by Ignite Models, City Pages Futuretime Productions and V2 Nightlife) kicking off MNfashion Week at Graves 601 Hotel, l'etoile fashion editor Jahna Peloquin and legendary local stylist/interior decorator Richard Anderson sat ringside and traded critiques and compliments alike. Lucky for you, we recorded their conversation.

Photos by Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush Photography

Amanda Christine

Jahna: That's my dress (far right)! Only mine is red.
Richard: I love it in both colors. It’s a wearable dress. I love that there’s just a little peekaboo in it. And I love when the dress has a little surprise when it’s walking away from you.
R: Love the print. A little bit of tribal without being overkill.
R: They’re very easy dresses to wear. I’m surprised to see the exposed zipper trick. We saw a lot of that last spring and I thought it was over.

J: I love the jacket.
R: Love the jacket. This is so retail ready. And this works for a variety of sizes - larger women, smaller women.
J: I like how the floral dress takes a pretty print and edges it up with an interesting neckline.
R: Again it’s so fun to see a dress walk away and be impressed by the back of it. That’s adorable.
R: I’d love to get one of my brides to wear that white dress as a wedding dress.
J: It’s skimpy!
R: I don’t care! It’s like a simple silhouette with just a little bit of edge to it. A lot of different women are going to like it.
J: I think that’s why Amanda has been so successful.

CeCe Vang

R: I like the capelet but I’d like to see it on a floor-length gown.
J: Yeah, it's a little twee for me.
R: I have a thing about big ruffles. Just do them at the neck or not at all.
J: The color is beautiful on that dress.
R: If it didn’t have that ruffle around the skirt, it’d be fun. Shiny fabrics are hard.
J: Satin always puckers. It’s just a bad idea.


R: The jacket and the bodice, it’s just too much. She’s really playing with that ‘80s thing.
J: I don’t think it works, I think it’s the bad side of the ‘80s.
R: They’re like bridesmaid dresses. And the volume on the top and volume on the bottom, it’s just too much. That paperbag cinched waistline becomes obsolete because there’s so much going on.

Drama Boutique

R: I think that grey dress is cute. Sort of a ‘90s athletic thing. But you have to be that rail-thin to wear that.
J: Love the motorcycle jacket. Wear it to work, go out for drinks after work, go to the dive bar. It's nice that it's done in a non-leather.
R: That floral dress looks like a dress you find on the clearance rack at Charlotte Russe.


R: The tie-dye dress is really nice. It's very poolside.
J: I like the combination of hot pink with blonde hair. I think it works because of the hair. It adds an edge.
R: Love the oversized wide-brimmed hat.
J: The dress? Eh.
R: It’s all about the hat. I hate that ribbon on the dress, though.

Jenny Carle

J: Very Betsey Johnson.
R: Very cute, I like it. I always like prison stripes!
J: I know you do.
R: (laughs) You can have fun with that. I mean the right girl can throw combat boots with it.
J: It’s weird that we’re going to a floral print dress after that.
R: I’m starting to feel like I’m at a fashion show at a mall at this point.
J: It’s a bunch of dresses thrown together.
R: I love the hair though. That’s reminding me of Tina Turner in Mad Max.

J: I don’t get the last few looks.
R: There’s no fluidity to the collection. I would like to see that picnic table fabric used in a whole dress.
J: That’s a great basic seersucker dress. You could pair a hat, wedges, and some wood accessories with it and make it really great.

Karma Boutique

R: That print tunic be really cute as a bathing suit coverup or something.
J: Totally San Tropez.
R: That little detail on the hem, the ruching, the sleeve - great fabric, too.
J: The hair gives it an edge.
R: Very boho. I like it. But then I’ve always liked the hippie chic look.

Local Motion Boutique

J: That pale blue ruffled dress so Taylor Swift. The country princess look.
R: It’s adorable!
J: I love that Parisian print.
R: It’s a great print. But I don’t love the belt with it.
J: The accessorizing is sort of uninspired in general.

Sydney Ilten

J: That’s a cute little sailor nautical look. I always love a good nautical look for spring.
R: That’s a dress a professional woman would wear to the office. I’d like to see some accessories.

R: I love the little stripe dress, you can tell a lot of work went into it. The way the lines come together. Great technical skills. This looks very well made. The problem is I don’t think the styling is going far enough to make it a fashion show.
J: It’s just a lot of clothes.
R: And styled for a catalog. This is how a normal woman would wear it. I don’t want to see how an average American woman would wear it, I want to be thrilled.

Dawson

J: I don't know about that fabric. I know fruit prints are very on-trend, but it looks kind of heavy and dated and I don't like the colors.
R: When you’re doing a shift dress like that, the fabric is so important. It’s all about a minimal cut so the fabric has to be great.
J: Love that yellow skirt and top combination. That's fun.
R: The grey dress kind of reminds me of Norma Kamali in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. I think the woman who would wear that dress is a tall thin woman who works in an art gallery.

J: Are those shorts or a skirt? I like them either way. I don't think I've seen that silhouette before.
R: That’s fun. I like the styling. Now this feels like a fashion show. The little rice picker hats. I like the unexpectedness of that top with those tulip shorts.
J: It’s a great color combination, the pale blue and plum.
R: That's a very cute little bustier. That has sort of a ‘40s vibe to it, especially when paired with those wide-legged pants.

Niki English

R: I love the jacket, I love the pants, I love the seafoam green top. Early ‘80s, late ‘70s references. Good detail.
J: Niki is one of those designers whose style is very edgy. I like how she incorporates those slightly goth, pointy shoulders into a chic little jacket that's very modern.
R: The dress looks like something from the Golden Girls.
J: There's too much going on.
R: That pattern, and the back, and the shoulders, and the zipper, it's too much.
R: The black jumpsuit needs accessories. It needs a chunky gold belt. It’s screaming to be accessorized.

R: I love that it’s kind of a take on a trench coat a little bit. And it's nice to see satin done right!
J: It’s interesting to see her doing a collection that’s not all back. She usually does a lot of black.
R: This is a good collection. That’s like a 1977, ‘78, a rich woman who’s going to Studio 54. Beautiful. And I love the surprise again from the back.
J: It’s sort of a skeleton print.
R: It looks like something McQueen would almost do. I might hate it in five years, but I love it now. Especially on a woman of color.
J: The shaved head makes it more chic.
R: It worked for Sinead O’Connor!

YQY by Vivian

R: This ruffles white dress is actually very cute.
J: Here the accessory is right. Without that belt, it wouldn’t work as well.
R: Oh, okay - she showed this coral print fabric last fall.
J: She showed her spring collection last fall. I think some of the pieces are different than what were shown, though.
R: The silhouette on that romper is cute.
J: But it’s a little disconnected.
R: Maybe without the ruffle on the front it would’ve been better.

J: It’s sort of disappointing she’s showing some of the same pieces she did last fall.
R: I like her use of color though. But I would never show the same thing twice.

OPM Boutique

J: Very sporty. Very Norma Kamali. High fashion sportswear.
R: You could have fun with that jacket.
J: I would throw it on every day.
R: I love the leopard print jacket. Well, I just love leopard print in general.
J: It’s a nice combination with the very feminine dress.
R: With the accordion pleat chiffon dress? Beautiful. I like this too, I love it.
J: The angel wing sleeves are very ‘70s.
R: It’s sexy. Not like overtly sexy. That poppy print on the back is beautiful.

R: I think there are several strong pieces here, but I don’t know if I like it all together. That cummerbund belt is too much.
J: I love that blue dress. Very Studio 54 again. The fabric and color are gorgeous.
R: But again I’d like to see a big Isis necklace with it, something very Egyptian.

Arwyn Birch

R: I love that. It’s like Wednesday from the Adams Family.
J: This designer goes to the ‘60s mod, stewardess styles a lot. But I think she’s getting a little better about having a more flattering silhouette.
R: A little more current. Oh, I love that - it’s very Barbara Streisand, or Mia Farrow in “Rosemary’s Baby.”

R: This one reminds me of Jessica McClintock Gunne Sax from the ‘70s with the lace collar and floral print.
J: I like the combination of the little socks and the tougher heels. It edges it up.
R: These are cute dresses. They’re sort of little Catholic schoolgirl, but they’re very young. That’s a very narrow market. You can’t be over 30 to wear these. And I don’t know if a young girl has the sophistication to appreciation that dress.

Kelly Ver Duin

J: This is a designer who just graduated from the U of M.
R: I would totally wear that. I want that whole outfit. It’s so nice to see menswear, no one does it. Except Russell Bourrienne, and Raul Osorio, and Ivan Idland.
J: The ladies are loving these male models. Catcalls!

R: I want that jacket, too! They’re great jackets.
J: I don’t know about those pants, though. It’s all about the jackets.
R: They’re not very flattering. I hate low-crotch pants.
J: But they’re very on trend right now, you know.
R: Yeah, I don't know. Not for me!

Carmichael Claith

J: I think I like the wide legged pants and the butterfly-sleeve top.
R: But not the scarf. It's a little bit grandma.
J: I don’t know about the full skirt. Or the plaid fabric. Haven't we seen this before? It feels old. The romper is alright though, but the colors are so dull.

R: It’s so funny that those sheer, butterfly-sleeve overlays that were popular in the ‘70s are back.
J: The fabric is not good, and something about the silhouette is off.
R: Yeah, this just isn’t working for me. Something is off.

K.Jurek

R: I love yellow and grey together, but I don’t love that dress. If you’re going to put layers of chiffon together, somewhere it’s got to give you a little figure, or make all the layers really long so the whole thing drapes across the body.
J: It works better with the mango and yellow top. You need a tighter pant like that to balance the silhouette out.
R: I love the colors. That top would sell anywhere.

J: This is like fall all of a sudden. Is this from the same collection?
R: That knit poncho over a turtleneck and wideleg pants would be adorable.
J: There might be a really cute dress underneath but I can’t tell.
R: Oh my God, the jewelry is all wrong. I love bright colors but I think the colors fight against each other.
J: I think some chunkier jewelry would have worked better, too. The skinny necklaces don’t photograph well and just look messy.

Cliche

J: Aaaaand it's the finale. Cliche always has great styling.
R: I love the feather neckpieces. (Ed. note: they’re by KR Designs at Cliche.)
J: It’s sort of a Marc Jacobs Spring 2011, ‘70s inspiration. Derivative of course, but fun.
R: There’s a commercial little dress, and they made it into a fashion show. Wow, I’m finally at a fashion show!

R: Love that trench skirt.
J: It’s very Burberry.
R: You could wear it all year round. Fall, winter, spring. And in the summer with a white tank top.

MNfashion Week in review: Envision: Artopia Fall 2010

Text by Jahna Peloquin, as told by Richard Anderson
Photos by Chris McDuffie

With a whopping 14 local designers and five boutiques, this fall's Envision: Artopia is its biggest ever. The well-produced show by Ignite Models Inc. always packs the house, and last Friday at Graves 601 Hotel was no different. The production was accented with visuals from Anthem Heart, a live painting by Jesse Draxler and Christopher Park, a bumpin' soundtrack from DJ Shiek (accented by live electric violin), and a live hair show - whew. (And did you know 100 percent of the silent auction proceeds benefit the Young Survival Coalition, a breast cancer research fund?)

After the show, we sat down and reviewed the lines, Project Runway-style, with the ineffable Richard Anderson. Anderson definitely knows his fashion - the longtime Minneapolis resident has witnessed the ups and downs of local fashion over the years first-hand, and he's one of the most stylish men in town. He's like our very own Galliano. An interior designer by trade with his company Cherub Designs, Anderson made a name for himself making regular appearances on HGTV's Decorating Cents; he's also an impeccable fashion stylist, and in some circles he's known as his hilariously campy drag alter-ego, Bitch Flowers.

Let's start the show.


Jahna: This is YQY by Vivian, by Vivian Aronson. She’s a new designer from China.
Richard: I responded nicely to this. We really liked the references with the
coral. They were really cute dresses – I could see you wearing one or two of them!
J: Totally!
R: There were some dresses in the collection where the long hair covered some of the styling. They put a cute dress on a cute girl and it should’ve been fun. Perhaps with some better styling, it would've made more of an impact.


J: Next up we have a knitwear designer, Allilamodie. I've seen her stuff before, it's kind of cray-cray but there's some talent there. It's all hand-knit from what I understand.
R: I always love to see knits because it’s so hard to do knits. When I looked at the first look I thought, what a cute dress, but nix that black fabric! Where are we going with this? Is it daywear, is it nightwear? Put it with some brown leather over the knee boots, a Mongolian hat, make it look fall! It looks spring.
J: What about this jacket/denim look? I think it looks sort of dated.
R: I hate the jacket, and those pants are ill-fitting.


J: This one is actually pretty cute.
R: The pumpkin and taupe, loved it. Frickin' love it. Any girl would buy that sweater and wear it over jeans a cozy Sunday afternoon, or out at night with a great piece of jewelry.
J: Hit or miss is what I’m getting. Talent and skill for sure, but questionable taste level.


J: This is Kathryn V. by a recent grad, Kathryn Sterner. She's carried at Cliché.
R: I kind of like it. I like the ‘70s reference of the slouchy sweater and the
boots.
J: Yes, it's very wearable and smart. Very on-trend. She's really come a long way since I first saw her at SCENEaSOTA last fall.
R: But couldn’t you just die when they were holding those floral boutiques? That made no sense at all.
J: I thought it was kind of cute!
R: They’re women in daywear. I don’t get it. You’ve got the glasses, you’ve
got the cute jumper, but the flowers are distracting.


R: I think she’s got some good references here. The schoolgirl skirt with the pleats, and the sailor pants fit her beautifully.
J: Very well made. I'd wear those in a second.
R: But I think my biggest disappointment was the styling, throughout the show.
J: Apparently, each designer was responsible for his or her own styling.
R: We want to see it look more runway and less mall. I know we’re going for minimalist for jewelry this fall, but give us something to look at. And the hair is just wash and wear.


R: Oh, Russell Bourrienne! He continuously impresses me and he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. I love that he makes classic menswear fun. There were pieces like the plaid trench coat that we have seen, but with the exaggerated lapels. The zipper jacket, despite it being so many zippers, he took a basic bomber jacket and made it interesting, sort of gave it an art deco look. He took a classic peacoat and gave it those interlocking buttons.



R: The yellow coat is like ...what’s the movie with Madonna and Warren Beatty?
J: Dick Tracy. It's so you.
R: I want it so bad! It has that ‘60s London feel - all dolled-up dandies. I know he did his own styling, and he did it right. It looks masculine but fun.


J: Here's Amanda Christine. She sells her stuff at like 30 stores around the country.
R: You can tell. I can’t throw her under the bus. There’s good references there.
I’ve seen it before, but I like it. She adds her own twist. And I love shorts for fall. It’s well-done, and she uses good fabric.


J: This is Jenny Carle, another Cliché girl.
R: See, the plaid dress was cute. Then she threw the cheap-looking overlay on it. That’s when you need someone to come in and say, stop!


R: That taupe print dress, I thought of you immediately!
J: Yes, we used it for our fall shoot in l'etoile. It's adorable.
R: It’s a little bit Mad Men but not quite. Love the fabric, it almost looks like upholstery, which I love. Almost a perfect dress.
J: The styling was great with the little crinoline and gloves.
R: Yeah, that gave it some runway appeal.


J: We're kind of skipping over the boutiques, but I always love what Cliché does with styling.
R: I did love the childlike construction paper Lady Gaga-esque crowns. And I really
loved the necklaces made from construction paper. I think some designers should
make those out of resin. It was playful silliness you could throw over a simple
dress. That was a retail store that said, we should do something more.
J: They made the accessories themselves.
R: I loved the presentation. That’s why we go to a fashion show - for something unexpected.


R: But this last look - the sweater with the holes in it with a bunch of tulle? It looks like Freddie Krueger went to the prom.


J: Who is this James Reilly? I've never heard of him before.
R: He’s kind of a friend of mine. I was hoping for more from him. Some of these pieces were pretty.
J: I thought it looked a little dated. Interesting, but dated.
R: Yeah, it looked like the ‘90s! That green dress with all the heavy rouching and cape and all the velvet... But the big kimono jacket, I could see some girls wearing that.


R: This looks like a dress that Daryl Hannah would have worn in 1995 with boots. Totally grunge.
J: But I can't tell if it's on purpose or not.


J: This is a Hmong designer who was in Voltage last year, PFT Couture by Pafoua Thao. I really liked what she did for Voltage and other shows in the past but I don't know what's happening here.
R: I know where she's going, she's trying to be really edgy. But the model looks like she’s overwhelmed. It should have been a knee length skirt or leggings.


R: Oh gosh, the crop top.
J: It's sort of a weird proportion, like it cuts off the model in a weird place. Did you know that's Raina Hein? She was the one on America's Next Top Model.
R: That skirt is fun for Beyonce, or Bitch Flowers. That’s a stage skirt. Where would you wear that? The MTV Music Awards?
J: I think that's the point. It's pretty cool - the skirt, at least.


J: This is ArielSimone. She was recently in a show at New York Fashion Week with some Project Runway alumni. I remember seeing her work last year and not liking it much, but it seems like she's coming a long way.
R: The first skirt seems too short - the proportion is off. And the necklace with the earrings is too much! The other skirt is totally cute and the print is fun, but the grey blouse just killed it. She needs something with color. Maybe she should have stolen the necklace off the other girl and thrown it on here.


R: That velvet thing...Oh my god. Brigette Nielsen would’ve worn that in the ‘80s
J: You would remember!
R: That was like, go to the club and look like a hooker. It just looks cheap – the
fabric, the cut is too short.
R: Then we have the Liza Minelli trapeze. Barbra Streisand in 1966.
J: I sort of liked the idea of it but somehow it got lost in translation.
R: And because she did the drop in the back, you can see the reverse of the fabric because she didn't line it. The print is kind of fun. Cut the sleeves off, line it, and maybe? But no jewelry, no hair - it just ended up looking frumpy.


J: This is one of my new favorites, Tender Cuts. It's by this young designer Emily Bryngelson.
R: I think it’s cute, it’s wearable. I love all this pumpkin everyone is doing. I
think the skirt is something you could buy now and wear ten years later. And that's a perfect blouse, don’t you love that?
J: Yes, it looks luxe yet youthful.
R: I love the grunge reference on the first look, the oversized boyfriend jacket. All of this stuff is totally cute. I like the colors, the jumper! And it's good, clean styling.


J: The corduroy jumper with the suspenders was one of my favorite pieces of the night.
R: It’s four season clothing, I love everything she did.


J: This is Sydney Ilten. She's better known for her feather accessories that she sells at Cliché.
R: It’s fun, I don’t know. I like that she threw those crazy leggings on that one look. But I don’t know if this stuff fits well. Maybe too big of pleats, too high up.
J: It looks kind of sloppy.
R: You’re right.


J: This is Kimberly Jurek's holiday line. I think she's calling her line K.Jurek now instead of kjurek couture.
R: I remember this coming down the runway. The rosette has been done and I don’t
think it should be done again. They were so big and stuck out so far, it’s like a
growth!
J: Without the rosette, though, they're very cute, luxe party dresses. Very wearable and retail-friendly.


J: I loved this look on the runway. The fabric was so gorgeous.
R: It’s very Halton from the ‘70s. The cut, the fluidity...it's great. Just take the rosette off! You could fit a family in one of those.


J: This is the holiday collection by Calpurnia Peach. I'm a fan of theirs.
R: But what's going on with this first look? It's like, I’m a sophomore and showing my first collection at the fashion institute. Where did they get off putting white pants with that? They started right with the top but the crinoline and pants...you don't want to be that girl at the party.
J: Yeah, it's very unlike them. Maybe they're trying to shake things up? I think the pants and top could've been cute worn with other things, just not together. And it's hard for tulle to not look cheap.


R: The blue dress is definitely cute. I could see you wearing that. The
print captivates me. What is that?
J: An owl. They do all their own original prints, you know.
R: What are the napkins hanging off her waist? It looked like pocket lining.
J: I see what they're going for but I feel like they do best with more edited looks. The froo-froo doesn't work. But I do appreciate the wood-grain print.


J: Now, this was my favorite look of the night. Hands down.
R: Agreed. I love this one with the mice. I was like, they just redeemed themselves. A girl with a sense of humor would wear that. Isn’t it very Prada, like when she did lipstick and carnation prints - the pop art references?


J: Finally, Christopher Straub. This was a preview of his Spring 2011 line.
R: The hydrangena dress was really cute. This look came down the runway and I got
excited. It was well-made, unexpected, and I love the trapeze shape. This one is perfect.
J: Agreed, it's such a chic look and so unexpected coming from him. He said he designed the patterns himself.


R: But then it went downhill. The teal dress had potential but threads were hanging off. Then we’re back to the top with the exaggerated detail, and I get designers are doing the architectural thing, but skirt looked like dining room upholstery. I do love the petal shrug.
J: The petal work has sort of become Christopher's trademark. He does it well.
R: But the dress didn’t fit well, it wasn’t a good length, and I hated the belt.


J: Then we go to his gown.
R: I didn’t get it. I liked his attempt with the print top, but the skirt looked like
a prom dress. And then he put that big heavy purse with it. And the shoes were terrible.


J: More petals. This one is pretty cute.
R: I remember this coming down the runway and thought this could be fun, but the
raspberry corset was too much.
J: Yes, it's too extreme.
R: Maybe just with a belt. He’s known for the petal dress and he does it well.
J: It won him a challenge or two on Project Runway, after all.