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Archives for Season 1

• Fashion 101: The Origins Of Fashion

  June 30, 2005

  Clothing has been around since the moment our species first desired protection...or modesty. And fashion awareness — and competitiveness — has been part of most cultures for the last several thousand years... read more >>

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• Season 1 Finale

  February 23, 2005

  The Challenge: Present a twelve-look collection at Olympus Fashion Week in New York. …and not just at Olympus Fashion Week, but in the Bryant Park tents, the ne plus ultra of Fashion Week’s venues – an incomparable experience! read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 10

  February 16, 2005

  You can read Tim’s Take on Jay's, Kara's and Wendy’s Olympus Fashion Week collections after the two-hour finale. This week, we offer Tim’s Take on everything… read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 9

  February 9, 2005

  This week, the stakes were at their highest: with four designers remaining, three would move forward to Olympus Fashion Week. Yes, technically there would be one winner of the challenge, but really there would be three winners. read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 8

  February 2, 2005

  It will be impossible for me to ever forget the sight of each designer as she and he exited the elevator into the lobby. First to arrive was Kara Saun. She was woeful about how she looked, in spite of the fact that she had glammed up the stogy uniform &emdash; hat askew and sleeves rolled up to her shoulders. She glanced at her dowdy, yet official, shoe and declared, "This outfit would look so much cuter with a stiletto!" Last to arrive was Austin who wore a pout that well-suited the incongruity of his Bermuda shorts, knee socks and faux fur cap &emdash; Little Lord Fauntleroy 2005. read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 7

  January 26, 2005

  Before we begin, please join me in a round of applause for the elimination of our dear Morgan. For one horrifying moment during the model selection, I feared that Robert, the only remaining designer with whom she hasn't worked, would choose her. The group finally wised up and realized that the stakes are entirely too high to continue playing "runway roulette." Auf wiedersehen, Morgan! read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 6

  January 19, 2005

  What could be simpler that designing a swimsuit, you ask? What’s a bikini other than a couple of washcloths that are tied together with string? Frankly, the simpler the design, the more complex the task. Why? Because every single sin or misstep will clearly show. One can hide a plethora of errors in a voluminous ball gown, but the form-hugging definition of swimwear leaves little room to hide anything. read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 5

  January 12, 2005

  The Challenge: Design a wedding dress for a demanding and opinionated client: your model! The challenge was, indeed, a challenge! Each designer interviewed his/her model to learn what she wanted in a wedding dress. The process was rife with discussion and debate, and posed several potent questions. What if my model has an aesthetic that I don't share? How much of me will be in the dress versus how much of my model? Are the judges evaluating my design or my success in giving my model what she wants? What if what my model wants is horrid? Answer: Make it work. read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 4

  January 5, 2005

  For the first three challenges, our designers worked independently, demonstrating their design sensibilities, execution proficiencies, and overall attitude and disposition of character. Not this time. Now our nine remaining competitors would have to collaborate in three groups of three. Each met privately with singer Sarah Hudson to present their design concepts and receive her feedback. She selected the designers whose work she responded to most and that trio became team leaders, serving as the Head of Design, or design director, for their project. read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 3

  December 15, 2004

  At last, an opportunity to design REAL CLOTHES! Our former challenges were great tests of the designers' creativity, innovation, vision, and wherewithal, but this one required that they design fashions for the real world. In addition, "the client" — Banana Republic's head of design, Deborah Lloyd — would be our guest judge. Complicating the task was the fabric; a large amount of it was charmeuse, a seductive satin-finished silk, which is exceedingly difficult to work with, even for the most experienced designer. It slips, it slides, it bunches in all the wrong places, and it fights with the sewing machine. read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 2

  December 8, 2004

  Our eleven designers arrived at Parsons to find a serpentine configuration of cotton t-shirt tubing* engulfing the design room. This would their canvas, the primary material to be used for a design inspired by the word, "envy." I took them shopping for notions that helped them customize their designs, including fabric dyes, beads, buttons, and trims. The fabric dying process was filled with anxiety...and hilarity. I insisted they keep the dye vats out of the design room, which was prudent considering the spilling, splashing, and inadvertent accidents. I can still hear Vanessa's scream reverberating through the hallway — her vat of blue/black dye had slipped from her arms, bounced off the floor, and splashed all over her. With this second challenge, we began to get a sense of individual sensibilities and work habits. In the end, these factors would prove most critical. read more >>

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• Season 1 Episode 1

  December 1, 2004

  When I arrived to take our twelve designers on their shopping expedition, they were in the midst of high-pitched speculation about where we were going and how the cashmere, velvet, or silk that they purchase would or would not respond to their needs. Little did they realize they’d be doing their shopping at a typical Manhattan supermarket! Now their work is done, the judges have weighed in, and you’ve seen the designs for yourself. Here’s my take: read more >>

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• Fashion 101: The Fashion Designer

  December 1, 2004

  To put it grandly and at the highest level, which is where I like to put everything, fashion designers are the measure of our society. Don't chuckle. The entire history of civilization can be told by examining the clothes people wore – fashion – and the environments in which they lived – lifestyle. read more >>

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