Recession Dims Stars' Style Power

"Every D-level celebrity who thought they could make a quick buck by designing a handbag or whatever is going to disappear," says Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. "And I think that's a good thing."

Amen, Anna, Amen.

The Spring/Summer 2010 Music Video is finally up!

Please watch, comment, and forward to everyone you know? :-)

Final Cut Pro - Backwards/Forwards Compatibility

I've been working on a video for my SS10 collection and I have Final Cut Pro v.5.1.4 on my laptop. For those of you who don't know, FCP is a video editing software.

Anyway, a friend of mine did some color-correcting on the video on his machine, which has FCP6. When I tried to open the file again on my computer, it wouldn't work because FCP is not BACKWARDS compatible. Now, it's forwards compatible, meaning you can open an older file in later versions, but not backwards versions.

I'm posting this because I learned the hard way how to deal with this problem, and I hope this post can be helpful to someone else. You can export the file as an XML from the newer version to open it in an older version, but you have to make sure you use the correct XML VERSION. So my friend exported it in XML v.4 but it wouldn't open on my laptop. What I figured out later was that it had to be XML v.3 for my version of FCP.

Here is a chart that I grabbed from Creative COW which tells you which XML versions work with which versions of FCP. Once I exported an XML v.3 at my old workplace, Magnet Media, which has FCP7, I was able to open the file once again.

FCP4 supports XML version 1 only
FCP5 supports XML versions 1 and 2
FCP5.1 supports XML versions 1, 2 and 3
FCP6 supports XML versions 1, 2, 3 and 4

Hopefully this never happens to you.

Fall 2009 is here + Fashion's Night Out!

corset dress

flask purse

Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale / Christian Dior

I get a number of questions about both of these. Please read the relevant blog entries before sending me comments/e-mails about them.

You can find out most info about the Chambre Syndicale via its website:
http://www.modeaparis.com/vf/ecoles/#cinquieme

The site is in French (I think there might be an English version somewhere) but keep in mind that classes are held in French so if you're having trouble understanding the site, you may not be ready to go to the school. The course I took was Formation Professionnelle Continue. If you call them, they will be happy to send you a packet with information about the course, including course fees and what you need to apply for the program.

Regarding Dior, as I mentioned in previous posts, I was only able to get the internship through a personal connection. You can try contacting the Studio (some resourceful googling and cold calling will get you the number) there. Another option is contacting the Galliano studio in the 20th arrondissement. Some of the opportunities I have had I've gotten through being resourceful, tracking down contact info, and cold-calling. Unfortunately, I don't really have much info or advice about getting an internship besides that.

Hope that helps.

101 Tips from 50 Small Business Bloggers

I follow a couple blogs about developing small businesses, increasing productivity, and just generally doing what you do better, and came across this list of tips for small business owners. I found it useful.

Here are a few:

7. "Don't give up. Most people who are self-employed went through a time when they had no money. And they worried they would lose everything they own, and their career. And they kept going. The people who succeed are people who refuse to quit. If you keep trying to make money from your business, you will eventually succeed so that you don't starve. Really. Just don't quit."
— Penelope Trunk, Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist

I especially liked this one:

8. "Count up your successes regularly. One person I know put a marble in a fishbowl each time she got a compliment or a bit of good press for her business or a nice note from a customer or a big order. Then every time she looked at the fishbowl she was reminded of all the good things in her business. Her employees could see it, too. This is invaluable on days when everything seems to go wrong. It keeps self-doubt from building up – and tearing you down. It also helps employees feel good."
— Anita Campbell, Small Business Trends

12. "Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love."
— Mark Cuban, Blog Maverick

23. "Embrace constraints. Constraints and limitations are wonderful allies and lead to enhanced creativity and ingenious solutions that without constraints never would have been discovered or created."
— Garr Reynolds, Presentation Zen

42. "Focus on generating attention. The Web has liberated us from the tyranny of paying for attention! Small business entrepreneurs can generate attention for their business in four main ways: You can BUY attention (this is called advertising); you can BEG for attention (this is called Public Relations); you can BUG people one at a time to get attention (this is called sales) or you can EARN attention online by creating great information that your buyers want to consume such as YouTube videos, blogs, Twitter feeds, photographs, charts, graphs, and ebooks—and it is all free. How are YOU generating attention?"
— David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now

Read them all here: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/101-tips-from-50-small-business-bloggers-gregory-go

100 Songs

I've been playing the violin since I was seven. I don't practice regularly any more but I still play once in a while at church and with friends who have bands or are singer/songwriters. Last fall I started learning the guitar, and a few months ago, I finished writing and recording my first song. I'm waiting on my friend John Chambers to mix it so we can master it, but once it's ready I'll definitely post it on my Myspace page and let you know.

I've been super busy with my line lately, but I do have a longer term goal of writing and recording an album's worth of music. On the demo of my song, I sang, played guitar, and violin, but in the recording I did with John, I let him play the guitar since I'm still not very good.

Anyway, the other day my friend Mike who is a jazz trumpet player told me that Stevie Wonder writes 100 songs for each album he records. That surprised me but it makes sense -- if you write that many songs, you up your chances of coming up with something that's really good!

Similarly, in his book, "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell talks about the 10,000 hours rule, citing the Beatles, Bill Gates, and classical music virtuosos as examples. His premise is that in order to become an expert at something, you need to log 10,000 hours.

I want to try the 100 songs thing if I ever do write an album, but I also think I should apply the 10,000 hours principle to my work in fashion.

A post about Project Runway...

** semi-spoiler alert **

I'm writing this post even though I should really be going to sleep. I have a canker sore in my mouth, which happens when I am sleep deprived. I have to wake up early in the morning to cut samples for Spring 2010, but now that I know that there are people reading this blog besides my friends, I want to try to update it more regularly.

Thanks to my brother and his roommate's DVR, I was able to catch the premiere of Season 6 of Project Runway tonight. My initial impression -- there seem to be way more dudes than previous seasons. Whiny dudes.

I wanted to write about Johnny Sakalis, who had a meltdown in the middle of the episode. Firstly, I wanted to say that despite the producers' exploitation of this meltdown (the repeated emphasis on how he was a recovering addict, the different shots of him crying, Tim's pep talk), I really felt for him. Sure, in some ways, you could ridicule him -- how could you have a breakdown about making a freaking dress? But for me, it was deeper than that.

Tim hit the nail on the head (why is Tim so awesome?) -- sometimes we're harder on ourselves than anyone else can be on us. That sort of pressure is crushing. It's frightening how the pressure we put on ourselves can paralyze us. It definitely happens to me, and it doesn't seem to go away even when you become "successful" -- in fact it gets worse as the stakes get higher, which explains how even someone like Marc Jacobs could suffer from breakdowns when he is probably the most recognized name in fashion. I've been having really bad stomach pains lately because of my stress over my line.

When you care so much about something, when you're so passionate, that passion can become destructive, transforming into a poisonous perfectionism that makes you hate everything you create. It's hard to find that balance between being objective about your work but also allowing it to be.

But I digress. That particular segment is a good example of why I've never really wanted to be on Project Runway. Don't get me wrong -- it's a great show. There have been some really talented people on it, and anyone who can design and create under those time and psychological pressures deserves respect. But I hate how the producers sculpt each designer into a character. Even Christian Siriano, who is undoubtedly talented and has been doing very well for himself since winning, will always be remembered more for saying such things as "fierce" and "hot mess" than for his actual designs. Also, I have yet to see any of the winners of Project Runway get the kind of respect from the fashion community that other designers who have made it the traditional way get.

Full disclosure here -- I've tried out for the show twice, but both times it was more to appease people like my friend B, a big fan of the show as a lover of fashion and TV (she is a screenwriter), and because I felt like I should try to seize any opportunity to get exposure and cash. My heart was never into being on the show for the aforementioned reasons though, and I always just scrapped a couple of things together at the last minute. While waiting to see the judges, I knew that I couldn't compete against some of the people who had been there since the wee hours of the morning, with a rack of clothes, models to show them off, dressed to the nines. The first time I tried out was the first season, when it took hours to get to even the first screeners.

The second and final time I tried out was a couple of years ago, it must have been in 2007, right before I launched my line. I was still working on my t-shirt prototypes for Graey, and that was mostly what I brought to the auditions. I went on the third day of the auditions in New York and was surprised at how few people turned out that time. (Now I think to audition you first send in a video tape and they contact you if they're interested). As a result, I managed to make it to the final stages. I hadn't expected to make it that far based on my first attempt, and I was actually embarrassed to walk in because I knew I wasn't very well prepared with my t-shirts and last minute portfolio.

I walked in and encountered Tim Gunn, Laura Bennett (the redhead from a previous season), and a couple of others (one was an editor from Elle magazine). I'd like to stop right here and say that Tim Gunn is absolutely as fabulous as he appears on screen. He was mic'ed, so I almost felt like God was talking whenever his voice boomed through the room (not to be blasphemous). He told me that my resume was impressive but the work that I showed him didn't match up (I'm sorry, Tim!). He did, however, encourage me by saying that he liked my t-shirts, "They're not just t-shirts!" (Tim, I love you!) The worst part of the audition was that I really felt like I let Tim down. But I was relieved because if I had made it past that audition, I would have been really conflicted about whether I wanted to be on the show.

I also met Kenley (from last season) several months before she appeared on the show through a designer collective. Yes, she was every bit in real life like she was on the show.

So when people ask me how I feel about Project Runway, I cringe a little bit because I think it is a great show to watch, but I don't think it is for me.

On another note, I was disappointed with the judges' choices. I was expecting them to vote off naked-dress dude (Mitchell was it?) over Ari. Even his stuff they showed from before looked as though it was more styling than design. It would have been interesting to see what Ari would come up with for a couple more episodes. Also, I thought Logan was cute but his dress (which they barely showed) looked crappy (from what little I saw). What'd you guys think?

Finally have internet again...

I have been without regular access to internet for the past couple of months, and despite having my iPhone, it was definitely a nuisance. I love my iPhone but sometimes when you're trying to do research or type an e-mail, it's just easier with a computer.

This lack of internet is partially to blame for not having posted recently. I also went to Greece with my family in July. We went to Athens and then toured some of the islands. Here are a couple of photos:

Mykonos.

Santorini.

Not bad for iPhone pics, eh? These two were my fave islands, and I'd love to go back at some point and spend more time on them.

Now it's crunch time, and in the next few weeks I'll be pumping out a small Spring 2010 collection. I'm working with some other independent designers to put up a pop-up shop in downtown Manhattan during fashion week -- will definitely keep you posted on that if we manage to make it happen. Also working on a video, which I'm excited about.

Recently I've been reviewing Season 5 of 24 (it helps me destress). My brother got me hooked on 24 a couple of years ago, and I got addicted. Over a span of several months I managed to blaze through 5 seasons of 24. Anyway, season 6 kind of blew, and season 7 wasn't so great either. My favorite seasons are season 4 and season 5, especially the transition between the two seasons.

If you've seen any of the past seven seasons of 24, you know the first few "hours" of each season are the most thrilling. There's some sort of terrorist threat, and Jack Bauer takes care of it and kicks ass. But then after he takes care of the first threat, there are other threats and plot twist that come up as the "day" continues, and the plot just becomes more and more unbelievable. What keeps me watching though, is my love for Jack Bauer. No matter what happens to his career, reputation, well-being, Jack is willing to sacrifice all in order to protect his country and the people he loves. I realize he is only a fictional character, but there is something about the idea of someone who is so dedicated to doing what's right, even when everyone around him is against him, that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Here's a pic of one of my fave tv characters:

Jack.

Sitting in the driver's seat

Running your own business is one of those things where you really don't know what you're getting into until you're in it.  

Having been in fashion for a while, I knew about seasons but I didn't really know much about navigating the showing/selling process.  Beyond the buyers who contacted me on their own, and the ones whose contact info I had collected from previous employers, I went about contacting them in a straightforward manner.  I went to shopping websites (including StoreAdore.com) and other designers in the same market as me, and looked at where they were being carried.  I took down the phone numbers and called them up and asked how to speak to the buyer.  Almost all of them would give me an e-mail address, and told me to e-mail the buyer.  If they were interested, I would get a response.  I found that very few would write me back, even to say that they weren't interested.  I knew it would be tough since buyers tend to get inundated by requests for appointments.  

I tried to be persistent, but I also used guerrilla tactics.  Borrowing a trick from my former boss, Daniel Casarella, over at Barking Irons, I sent over a sample of one of my tees to the COOP buyer.  I was thrilled when I got a call for a meeting with the buyer.  Barneys is probably my favorite store in New York, and one of my major goals is to eventually get into the store. We've met a couple of times but as I mentioned in my last post, department stores tend to wait a few seasons before signing onto a brand (especially now).  I also sent a t-shirt over to Paris to Colette, which didn't get me a meeting, but at least got me an e-mail from the buyer's assistant.

I also managed to pick up some press here and there, including a small piece in Nylon, that made me especially happy.  

Meanwhile, I had some false starts with production.  At first, I tried to use overseas factories, introduced to me through friends, first in Hong Kong, then in Peru.  Everything ended up coming much later than they promised, which screwed me up because my samples weren't ready early enough.  This meant that by the time I did get appointments with buyers, they had already used up most of their budget, of which only a small amount is earmarked for unknown designers.  

Eventually, I got fed up with working with the overseas factories, where communication and timeliness were crippling issues.  I decided that even if it were more expensive, I would do production out of New York, with factories I had worked with as a production assistant at Proenza Schouler.  

SS08 had been difficult to sell because of my late samples from HK, so I did a few small consignment orders and moved on to Fall 08.  However, I had the same problems with lateness with a factory in Peru I was working with.  My samples were ready pretty late in the game.  I also realized that I was having a hard time selling knits in New York, so I took a trip out to Los Angeles to visit stores out there.  Some of the stores seemed interested but after the writer's strike, they said that business was slow and were reluctant to place orders.  

I came back to New York feeling frustrated.  I didn't realize the economy was only going to get worse, and having spoken to a couple of stores who agreed to sell my pieces on consignment, I decided to move forward with a modest production run in New York.  

It was my first time doing production on my own.  I worked with factory owners that I knew and trusted, and aside from some issues with dyeing and fabric shrinkage, the production run went fairly smoothly.  Selling it, however, was another matter...

The Genesis of Graey - Part 2

By early spring, I had five samples of tanks and tees and I decided to go to the Henri Bendel Open See. Here they are, reshot by my friend Ferris Vanderveer, hair by Summer Brown, makeup by Liz Marz (initially I was using very grainy photos that I had taken myself):






I got there pretty early but there were still many people in line in front of me. Eventually I got to meet a couple of the buyers but they were clearly not interested in my pieces. I knew it would be tough to get my pieces into stores so I decided to set up my own website with a store. I taught myself web design (and now I make websites for other people) and set up an online boutique.

Meanwhile, I had been compiling a short list of blogs that I thought would be interested in covering the line when I launched my site, and I e-mailed them. SusieBubble was one of the first people I talked to and as a champion of emerging designers, she quickly agreed to cover the line. I also got in touch with DailyCandy, who said they'd do a story in their Everywhere edition.

I launched the site in late June and SusieBubble covered it. I started getting a few inquiries from stylists and editors. Then DailyCandy covered it. That day, July 10, 2007, I got over 40,000 hits and many many orders. The hits and orders continued at a steady pace for about a month before slowing down. Boutique and department store buyers started contacting me, along with some other smaller blogs and magazines. I had appointments with Neiman Marcus and buyers from Japan. I thought that I had made it and decided to quit my job to focus on my line full-time.

I had worked for other fashion companies but I had never really been directly involved with the sales/PR side of things, so I was in for some surprises. I gradually learned that buyers like to vet the collection for a couple of seasons before making a buy. I also learned that when you're starting out, buyers will find every which reason for passing over your collection, even if there are customers out there who would be interested in buying the merchandise. I did find a few buyers who picked up the small collection of tees, and I set forward on expanding the collection for Spring 2008, which was showing in September.

Reunions

I came back yesterday evening from my fifth year college reunion. It, like the past five years, went by very quickly. I felt a sense of nostalgia and a tinge of sadness. It didn't feel like five years had really gone by -- somehow I thought I would have more of my life figured out by five years after college.

It was great to see and party with old friends -- it's been a while since I let loose like that. I also met some new friends. The reunion reminded me that Harvard's greatest asset is its students. I miss them already.

The Genesis of Graey - Part 1

While studying haute couture at the Chambre Syndicale, during lunch breaks I would often walk into Colette, which was literally down the street on rue St. Honore. Colette, for the uninitiated, is quite possibly the most awesome boutique in the world. The boutique is a fairly large space by Paris standards, with three floors. The bottom underground floor is a cafe, the main floor sells accessories, CDs, books, gadgets, fragrances, etc, and the top floor sells clothing. The store is awesome to walk around because the clothes are displayed like art in a gallery -- very sparsely and on mannequins. Most of the clothing is a very tightly edited collection of designer clothing, but there is a corner for high-end t-shirts.

After visiting Colette, I started becoming interested in starting a line of high-end t-shirts. I noticed that most of the tees I saw were silkscreened tees, but there were a few that were embellished, like the Prada and Isabela Capeto tees.

Once I was back in New York, I started to think about ideas of making creative t-shirts. In addition to trying out many different ideas, I came upon this cool "lace" (I found out later that the lace I found was actually embroidered laser-cut satin) and started playing with placing the lace on tees.

Meanwhile, through someone I met at Elie Tahari, I got a job working on the business side of things at Barking Irons, a contemporary menswear line that started with t-shirts. Since most of my previous experience was in designer wear, I wanted to gain firsthand experience of business in the t-shirt market.

I also started trying to come up with names for my line. I didn't want to use my own name since this was my first venture. I initially wanted to use a certain female name, but when I looked into trademarking, I discovered it was already trademarked by many different entities. I finally came up with the name Graey by putting the two spellings of grey together. I wanted a name that was distinctive yet neutral.

Korean BBQ recipe

one thing that i've learned to cook from a korean food cookbook called "A Korean Mother's Cooking Notes" is korean bbq. the recipe is specifically for bulgogi but you can use the same sauce for kalbi. it seems to have almost universal appeal -- my friends are always asking me to make it for them. therefore, i've decided to post the recipe. it's very easy to make, you just have to taste the marinade before you put the meat in it and make sure the flavor is right.

for 1 lb sliced meat

3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp chopped green onions
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp sesame salt (i never use this)

combine ingredients above in a bowl -- this is the marinade. not sure if you prefer bulgogi (thin sliced meat) or kalbi (ribs) but the sauce is the same. cut the meat into small pieces and put it in the marinade and smoosh it around so the sauce soaks into the meat. you can leave it in as long as overnight or you can cook it pretty much right away, but obviously the longer you leave the marinade in the more flavor you'll get.

grill or broil. i like to cook my meat with mushrooms to add a vegetable component -- it's a nice complement.

enjoy!

Henri Bendel Trunk Show

Just firmed up dates for the Graey (my line) trunk show at Henri Bendel! June 19-26th! I'll be on the floor, peddling my Fall 09 collection!

EDIT: Bendel has laid off its entire apparel department. Sadly, this means my trunk show is of as well. :-(

I kind of want this ring by Alexander McQueen

SF

I went to San Francisco this past weekend just to get away from the city. The weather was perfect and the city itself is undoubtedly a nice place to live. It also seems like the perfect place if you are into nature and being active.

But I was eager to return to New York. The city felt small in comparison to New York, and by midnight it felt like everything was closing down. It felt like a sleepy small town. Very tech oriented, not so much arts (or fashion) friendly. I was also reminded of how much I take New York's public transportation system for granted. It's tough getting around SF without taking cabs, which gets expensive.

In college, I wasn't very impressed with Boston either.

Once you've known New York, nothing else really compares -- except for maybe Paris.

I got a call today...

from a recruiter at BCBG. She was interested in interviewing me for a position, but only if I was interested in relocating to Los Angeles. Apparently the design offices for BCBG are all in LA. I'd love to work for them, but would not love to live in LA.

Winning the Lottery in Slow Motion

When the Rochas job fell through, part of me was relieved to return to New York. I had been feeling homesick and missed all my friends back home. Meanwhile, my brother was finishing up his final undergraduate year at Duke University. After he graduated, he flew out to visit me in Paris and then we embarked on a trip to a few different cities in Europe -- Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Florence, and Rome. I drove him crazy by trying to get him to see museums and other tourist destinations; he drove me crazy by insisting on staying in half the time and playing online satellite poker tournaments. He was trying hard to win a spot in the World Series of Poker, which would be in a couple of weeks. He didn't get a spot during our trip in Europe, but once we returned to New York, he managed to finally win a spot the very last day before the tournament began. I drove him to the airport that evening to catch a flight to Vegas.

While my brother started the tournament, I started interviewing for jobs at places including Zac Posen and Elie Tahari. Meanwhile, I monitored his progress online. The beginning of the tournament is spread over several days to accommodate all the players (that year there were over 8000), so in the beginning the progress was slow. However, my brother kept hanging in each day. At first I expected him to get knocked out quickly, but once he managed to stay on past the first few days, I started paying closer attention, particularly once he started cashing (I think the pay levels started at 20K). Each "day" he would manage to not get knocked out, generally staying somewhere in the middle of the pool of contestants, and the pay levels kept increasing -- 50K, 100K, 500K, until my brother was a millionaire! As my friend Ben put it, it was like watching someone win the lottery in slow motion. Finally, he made it to the final table where the top prize was $12 million.

There was one day between the second to last day of the tournament (I think it was day 6?), and the final table. Once we found out Doug had made it, I convinced my parents to fly out to Vegas with me to watch him. Some of my friends watched it on PPV. It was surreal. We stayed at the Palms, where Doug was staying. We were given special passes. Doug had accepted a sponsorship from PokerStars so we had a big dinner with the other PokerStars players and met previous WSOP champions Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem.

The next day we went to the big convention room where they were holding the final table for the Main Event of the 2006 World Series of Poker. There were bleachers blocked off for the family and friends of each of the nine players at the final table. The playing was really slow -- when you watch it on ESPN they edit it and only show the key hands. When Doug was finally knocked out in 7th place, we were a little relieved that we no longer had to sit in the cold air-conditioned room on the uncomfortable bleacher seating. After he had been knocked out (my heart dropped to my stomach when Paul Wasicka flipped over his pocket queens), he had a couple of exit interviews and we went to the Bellagio to eat an expensive steak meal (on Doug, of course). You can watch his final hand here (start at 2:10)



My dad later scolded my brother, saying he shouldn't have gone all-in, but everyone I spoke to who actually knew poker said he made the right play. He was also the one player at the table who wasn't knocked out by Jamie Gold (the dude who came in first place). As Doug put it, "I was going for first place, not to move up another pay level." If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I'm obsessed with Vincent Van Gogh, and had always told my brother that he would be my Theo. You can imagine then, that his win made me reevaluate what steps I should take next.

How I almost got a job as an assistant designer at Rochas under Olivier Theyskens...

I knew it would be an amazing opportunity to work as an assistant designer in Paris. Once I returned to New York, it would be difficult to find a design position at a place that was on par with some of the fashion houses in Paris in terms of creativity and craftsmanship. This was mainly because the lines in New York that are exciting in a design sense are too broke to hire assistants. On the other hand, there are many houses in Paris that are both commercially and critically successful.

I chose about a dozen houses in Paris where I would have liked to work. These included most of the haute couture houses (Dior, Chanel, etc.) as well as houses that weren't officially considered couture but whose level of craftsmanship were on par with the couture houses, including Rochas, whose work was dubbed demi-couture.

I knew that I had a very small chance of getting a job since the French labor market was terrible and I would need someone to sponsor me for a visa. Nonetheless, I asked my teachers about the best way to go about getting a job. After calling up all the companies and asking them for the contact information for their HR department, I took the advice of my teachers and hand-wrote my cover letters, which one of the teachers had proof-read for me in advance. In France, at least in fashion, it's customary to hand-write your cover letters (lettre de motivation) because apparently that's one way employers judge the character of potential hires.

A week or so later, I received a phone call. It was actually a voicemail since I was in class at the time, and I couldn't believe the message when I heard it. I also received a corresponding e-mail and we set up a time to meet at the Rochas studio in the 17th arrondissement. It was totally surreal.

I got to the Rochas headquarters on a spring morning, and after a bit of a wait in the reception area, I was received in the design studio by Benjamin Edeline, Olivier Theyskens' assistant. He was a slight, soft-spoken and polite man. He told me he was looking for an assistant designer to help with the main collection as well as the Japanese licensed collections. To this day I have no idea why he would hire me over all the qualified people in Paris, but he said there weren't many people who were good at hand-sketching. Once I finished my coursework in June, I would do an internship with them as an "essai," and if all went well I would continue to work as an assistant designer.

I was totally thrilled. What I had thought was impossible -- getting an assistant design position in Paris -- had happened fairly effortlessly. However, a few weeks later, in early May of 2006, when I contacted him for details of my job, I got this response:

Chère Janet,

Je suis désolé de ne pas vous avoir répondu plus rapidement mais comme je vous l'avais expliqué je suis parti une semaine en congés toute la semaine dernière...
En revenant chez Rochas, j'ai demandé les informations nécessaires à la DRH pour pouvoir vous renseigner le plus précisemment possible.
A ce jour, j'ai obtenu une réponse que je n'attendais pas.
Il est malheureusement impossible pour le moment de débloquer à nouveau un budget pour le poste de mon assistante.
Je suis aussi triste que vous. La direction de Rochas tient comme toute société des budgets et des agendas et pour le moment cela ne permet pas d'embauche avant l'année prochaine...

Vous me voyez sincèrement désolé pour devoir vous apprendre une telle information...
Sachez que je suis le premier peiné et malheureux pour tout un tas de raisons.
Je ne voulais pas en apprenant cela hier vous laisser de faux espoirs.

Bonne chance à vous pour votre futur qui je suis sûr sera prospère.

Sincères salutations,

Benjamin Edeline

If you don't read French good, the gist of the message is, "Sorry, I actually just found out that there isn't enough money to hire an assistant right now." I thought it was strange that he would go through the trouble of hiring an assistant and then a few weeks turn around and say that he actually found out there wasn't enough money in the budget to hire one, until I read an article in the New York Times a couple of months later saying that Proctor & Gamble, who owned the house, had decided to close it down.

Haute couture sewing, "pret-a-porter"

In the spring of 2006, during the second half of my schooling at the Chambre Syndicale in the Formation Continue, I took the "stages" called "Vetements au volume" and "Pret-a-porter." The "Vetements au volume" course was the continuation of the "Moulage," or draping course, but now we were working on draping, as the name suggests, garments with more volume. For instance:
It generally took a couple of full eight hour days to drape a garment like these, although a good chunk of time was taken by Mme Saget demonstrating what we were supposed to do.

The rest of my time was spent in "Pret-a-porter," which was the sewing class. We spent two days a week doing machine sewing, learning the basics of how to sew everything from a beeson pocket to a jacket on the machine. Industrial machines run really fast and a lot of the challenge was just being able to control the machine. Our teacher, Mme Albert, was an expert. She could control the machine so well that she could get it to do one individual stitch at a time -- no mean feat.

Fridays were my favorite as they were spent with Mme Rybak, who was in her last year before retiring. She showed us mostly haute couture techniques, involving a lot of hand sewing. Before teaching at the Chambre Syndicale, she had spent around 20 years at Lanvin before they closed the haute couture studio there. In between little personal and professional anecdotes, she taught us many cool techniques although one stood out to me. She taught us how to embroider a piece of lace onto fabric both by hand and using the zigzag machine, and then cut out the fabric underneath.

Apologies - Graey Fall 2009

Apologies for going so long without updating. I have been busy the past couple of months planning a presentation for my Fall 2009 line. It got mixed reviews on WWD but the photos by Pasha Antonov look great:






Despite the economy, I'm hoping someone will pick up the line. May do a trunk show as well.

Another entry about Van Gogh

Despite the fact that the MOMA Van Gogh Colors of the Night exhibit has been up since mid-September, I didn't make it there til recently. I actually ended up purchasing a membership, and have gone twice so far (in one week). I plan to go at least once more before the exhibition goes down.

I get such a visceral reaction from seeing his work, and when I stare at his paintings I try to drink it all in -- the colors, the thick brush strokes (I've been trying to figure out how he got the paint so thick on the canvas without it mushing into the layers already on the canvas), and his choices in using heavy lines sometimes and colors at other times to outline shapes. I did a copy of a Van Gogh painting recently, but it would be cool to do a copy from looking at the actual painting as opposed to a photo, since there is such a three-dimensionality and texture to his painting.

Anyway, I have to say that I was kind of disappointed with the exhibition. Part of the reason is that it's always so crowded that it's hard to just stand and look at the work. And you have to wait. They also didn't have as many pieces as I would have liked. There were a bunch, but I think I was hoping for more of the big ones I'd seen at the Musee d'Orsay and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Or maybe I just can't get enough.

But one thing struck me. It was a fact that I already knew, but struck me again. It was this quote:

"Van Gogh did not pursue a career as an artist until 1880, when he was
twenty-seven years old."

I just turned 27, so this time it was more meaningful to me. I often feel like I am so behind in terms of what I want to achieve, but I realized I am at the age when Van Gogh had just embarked on his art career. It reminded me that I still have time to accomplish a lot.

One has to remember that Van Gogh ended his life, and his career, only 10 years later. Granted, he did work as an art dealer and doodled while pursuing other careers, but I always find it so inspiring that he was able to accomplish so much in that short time. That's also what makes his story so tragic -- who knows what other works he could have made if he had just held on?

What I also find inspiring about Van Gogh is that he accomplished what he did mostly through hard work. He didn't have the virtuosic talent that someone like Picasso possessed, which is evident if you look at his early paintings. The colors are kind of murky and if you look at the Potato Eaters painting, considered his first breakthrough, the figures are grotesque and awkward. Even his figures later on are still kind of awkardly drawn. But he kept working (he was incredibly prolific, especially towards the end of his life, and managed to make over 2000 works over his career) and made some of the most beautiful paintings ever made.

Van Gogh's story is a cautionary tale too. Perhaps he wouldn't have become so famous if he hadn't committed suicide (there is a great scene in the movie She's All That where the protagonist, who is an art student, is recommended to commit suicide in order to further her art career by these two mean girls), but I always wonder what would happen if he had chosen to live. Too often people give up on their dreams when they're on the cusp of something big. When you're really seeking a dream, it often feels like you're not really moving forward, and it would be easier to give up and do something safe. But I don't think I could live with myself, wondering what if?

I love you, Vincent Van Gogh.

Haute Couture Patternmaking

In addition to my draping classes, I was taking patternmaking. Our teacher was a friendly Breton man named Dominique Pellen. He was younger than my draping teacher, and was therefore less traditional in his manner of teaching. He quickly realized that my language capabilities were holding me back and would patiently re-explain things when I had a confused or panicked look in my eyes.

We started with the basics. First we learned about the standard measurements (bust, waist, hips, shoulder length, etc). The first pattern we drafted was a short sleeve, and then we worked on variations, like making it a balloon shape. This was accomplished by drawing lines on the original pattern, cutting on those lines, and then fanning the resulting segments out which would create volume when the pattern was sewn.

Next we worked on the "jupe de base" or basic skirt, along with variations. We also did different long sleeves, then a "chemisier" (shirt), and jacket (probably the toughest pattern) before returning to do bonus sleeves -- the raglan and kimono sleeves. We also learned a little about grading, which was probably the trickiest concept. Grading is when you expand (or shrink) the pattern for different sizes. What makes it tricky is that it's not like enlarging or shrinking something on a copy machine; you have to be aware of how the body changes with a change in size, so sometimes in addition to changing the width you also have to shift angles.

I had never taken a patternmaking course before, but from what M. Pellen explained, it sounded like in haute couture patternmaking, you take more measurements than in ready-to-wear, so the patterns are more precise (again, there is an importance placed on fit). When the patternmaking is done right, things should fit like a glove and follow the contours of the body.

At the end of each course, there is a final exam. I think the highest score you could get is a 20, which would be like if you were working in an haute couture atelier. I was proud of myself because while I was nowhere near a 20, I got the highest score in the class -- this despite not always understanding what M. Pellen was saying and having less experience than most of my classmates. After a few months of patternmaking classes, I felt like I could eventually develop patterns for most garments.

Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne

A couple days after moving to Paris, I started my classes at l'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. The Chambre Syndicale sets the rules for haute couture, and runs the school as well. As our teachers liked to remind us, it's the only school in the world devoted specifically to haute couture, although now they teach ready-to-wear techniques. Initially, I had only planned to take classes there for a few months. Therefore, I enrolled in the Formation Continue, a program designed for professionals with experience in the fashion industry. I enrolled in the patronage (patternmaking), moulage (draping), and dessin (drawing) "stages." However, the drawing course was cancelled due to a lack of students. The classes were 9 to 6 with a one hour "pause" for lunch, and a couple of 15 minute breaks during the day. The draping class was three days a week and the patternmaking was one day a week.

Our draping teacher, Mme. Saget, had worked at a few different couture houses before beginning to teach at the Chambre Syndicale, including Yves Saint Laurent and Courreges. She was very Parisian, which I learned was different from other French people. They are more reserved and proper. We each had a mannequin and she gave us yardages of muslin. She would do a demonstration and then we would work on our own mannequin and try to do the same. She walked around and corrected things that were wrong.

The class was very difficult for me. Unlike most of the others, who were older than me and had had more experience in fashion, I was pretty clueless about draping. Also, the classes were held in French. Although I had taken French all through middle and high school, and had taken a conversational French class in college, understanding what was happening was tough. Firstly, everyone spoke much more quickly than I was used to understanding. Secondly, there was a lot of technical language that I had never learned in my French classes, like "poitrine" (bust) or "taille" (waist). The first few weeks were especially rough. I finally sympathized with my parents, trying to survive in a foreign country, barely speaking the language. I relied on the charity of my classmates, who would glance over at me looking frustrated or confused, and would try to explain to me what was happening.

I was also frustrated with the teacher, who seemed indifferent to my struggles. However, I eventually realized that her style of teaching was different from what I was used to. Although I expected my teacher to come rescue me when I was struggling, she would not approach me until I asked for help. Once I figured this out, things became easier and she was very kind and helpful. The rest of the class found me amusing because I would ask her random questions about her experiences and sometimes more personal things as well.

Draping is a difficult skill, and it's a type of sculpture. We were given sketches and then expected to interpret the sketch. You work with the muslin, cutting it and pinning it to shape it. As much as possible, you want to keep the grainlines running parallel to the "droit fils" or straight lines that demarcate the body from head to toe, so that the fabric drapes nicely. There are many rules to be learned, which differ based on different fabric details, like seam placement and sleeve shapes.