Project Runway Fan Art, Week 3

The designers this past week were shown a new kids’ film, Leap!, about a girl who dreams of becoming a dancer. They were to create a garment inspired by dance, movement and innovation.

While Ayana didn’t make it to the top, I adored her flowy black garment with hand-painted white stars. I think it could have been improved by ditching the tiers on the pants and instead making them very wide, but the stars were a really cool touch, and the veil made the model look mysteriously lovely.

My homage to this “out of this world” fashion is a torn-paper galaxy and a model made of stars. Wait until midnight and look to the east, and maybe you’ll spot the elusive Ayana constellation!

Project Runway Fan Art, Week 2

What a great episode this past week! Not only an unconventional materials challenge, but also a team challenge! The designers were taken to a recycling center and had to create high fashion from literal garbage. Fortunately the stuff they chose was relatively clean, and consisted mostly of plastic waste of one kind or another. Team 1 called themselves “Wabi Sabi” and focused on a Japanese aesthetic. They had some great looks!

Team 3 used “sea glass” colors and called themselves “Team Tsunami.” Unfortunately, this name was prophetic, as their collection was a bit of a disaster.

Team 2, which included my favorite designer, Kenya, envisioned their client as a lady who loves to party but has to use recycled materials because she can’t afford new clothes. Their team name? “Ballin’ on a Budget.” (Yeah…I know.) They were the clear winners, and Ayana’s beautiful gown (on the far right) was chosen as the best of the best.

When contemplating this week’s fan art, I knew I wanted to emphasize hand-painted elements, newsprint, and the same burnt orange/tan/brown palette. The path to take wasn’t as obvious as last week’s mermaid dress becoming a mermaid, but I eventually decided on a hot-air balloon, to celebrate Team 2’s rise to new heights of excellence! I call it “Balloonin’ on a Budget.” (Yeah…I know.)

Re-Make It Work!

I’ve been a fan of Project Runway, the fashion design competition show, for years; stumbled across it one day during an episode of Season 3 and just couldn’t look away. I may or may not have immediately ordered DVDs of the previous seasons and added the show to the tippy-top of my DVR list! Mostly because Tim Gunn (LURVE HIM), but Heidi is pretty awesome, too. (I could listen to her accent all day.) And I wish Michael Kors were still around; I lived for his blistering, yet hilarious, critiques.

Season 16 just started and there’s a new twist: the designers are clothing models of all shapes and sizes this time, from 2 to 22! The designers themselves are a pretty eclectic bunch as well and I already have a couple of favorites. Aaaaaaaand a couple – and I do mean couple – that I could definitely live without. (Indeed.)

One aspect of the show this season has me very excited. We can submit fan art each week, honoring the previous week’s fashions, for a chance to have it featured on the show! I’ve always loved a challenge, especially when it involves creativity, and this is right up my alley.

A lot of fans are electing to sketch the models wearing their favorite fashion, and there are some amazingly talented artists doing just that. But because I’m not by any means capable of beautiful, lifelike drawings, I’ve elected to submit painted paper collages (my latest obsession) and, rather than just make a straight-forward “copy” of a model wearing a dress, I’m creating whimsical “re-imaginations” of my favorite designs.

In the first episode, the designers were sent to Mood fabric store with $300 and got to choose their own fabric to make a “red carpet” look. My favorite of these was designed by Kenya (LURVE HER); this sleek, beautiful mermaid gown:

Well, it was a simple enough leap to reimagine this mermaid gown as an actual mermaid! I call it “Making Waves on the Red Carpet.”

As I type this, I’m waiting for some newly-painted papers to dry so I can create a submission for the second episode. The designers broke into teams of three for the Unconventional Challenge (always a favorite for tension and drama), in which they had to create fashion from recycled trash! The winning team’s outfits were amazing and gorgeous. I wracked my brain to come up with a way to reimagine them, without much luck, but woke up later from a two-hour nap with the perfect idea. (I must have been dreaming about it the entire time!)