Fashion Show #2: Nami’s Meltdown

Nami started the consult with hair and makeup direction for the models. Cesar told me that they used my head, which is BALD, as the reference for the models hair! This means the hair of the models would be super slicked down, as opposed to those weird bald caps you see during Halloween. The makeup was to have a modern alien, ethereal glow as opposed to a powdery, dry, bone-like feel. The one thing the house was sure on was that they wanted was NO RED in the set or light, which pleased me, as I used red so strongly for them in the Iman challenge the week before.
For Nami’s show, I created a dueling runway (which put a sparkle in Bravo exec Lara Spott’s eye and a mischievous grin on Left Right Productions’ Ken Druckerman’s face). The runway referenced a “flowing through” the body effect--after all the body is all about a machine that has constant flow. As for the rear production and LED screens, the house wanted a hospital staging. However, I created a montage of X-rays, MRIs, and CAT scans to set a mood that was Andy Warhol meets Alexander McQueen. The effect was a surreal oddity that highlighted the house's examination of the inner workings of the body, from muscle tissue (Cesar’s dress) to the vagina (David’s inspiration, of course). I used a clinical blue beam as lighting inspiration, and had Michael Stiller, the lighting director, illuminate the surrounding area of the stage space like a grouping of cells.

It's funny how things can change so quickly. During my first consult with Nami (I have second consults with each house before the actual fashion show happens), Mike and Cesar were both clearly the voice of the team (though at odds which each other at times). I asked the rest of the house why they were not speaking up, and they stated that Cesar and Mike had strong opinions and could explain their vision well. I asked “what if Cesar and Mike are not here next week then what would happen?” Well, now we shall see. Poor Mike. I don’t know what was scarier to him: sending a bad dress down the runway against Cesar’s well-thought out piece, or getting the wrath of Iman during eliminations. I would put my money on the latter.

Congratulations to this house (especially Cesar and Dominique) for making chic, well thought out Zandra Rhodes-inspired dresses that were all worthy of the win.