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Haute
Aalto
Kitty
Princess Boutique and the Aalto Lounge present a fashion
show featuring the latest creations of several local designers--and
a wine tasting, too!
Aalto
Lounge
3356 SE
Belmont St.,
235-6041
8 pm Saturday, Oct. 21
21 and
over
.
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It happens to the best of 'em. One minute a fashion designer
is heralded as an incredible genius, the next moment he
or she is an unoriginal dolt deemed washed up, over...next,
please. Sometimes this shift follows the unveiling of a
particularly boring line, but it's often the result of a
financial backer having pulled the plug due to lagging profits.
Such was the case with fabu designer Isaac Mizrahi. In
1998 this fashion demigod closed up shop when his parent
company, Chanel, quit funding his business. The once-celebrated
(and highly publicized) Mizrahi was left with nothing to
do but regroup and plot his next career move. After a decade
of creating luxe garments that captivated runway audiences
everywhere (check out his ex-boyfriend's docu-flick Unzipped),
Isaac decided it was his turn to sashay across the stage.
So recently the suddenly svelte ex-designer brushed himself
off and decided to do his own star turn in the one-man show
Les MIZrahi.
Mizrahi's show, produced by the Drama Dept., a nonprofit
theater company in New York City, recently debuted at a
Greenwich Village Theater. Les MIZrahi features its
star performing songs, monologues and action (watch that
boy sew!) that reflect on his life as a designer.
Considering his theatrical approach to fashion, it's not
surprising that Mizrahi would be drawn to the stage. But
it does seem just a little embarrassing. Consider the cry
for acceptance that's evident in his lyrics (quoted in a
recent New York Times article): "Forget what I was,
here's who I am, I need attention, I don't give a damn.
Me and my show, we just want to be loved. Will people forget
me after all I've been through? My poor little ego, what
can I do?"
Well, I guess has-been designers have to pay the bills
just like everyone else, right? Considering the misguided
collections shown by many once-beloved designers of late,
there's bound to be a whole gaggle of them scanning the
classifieds for new gigs in the near future. Which is why
I would like to offer a little career counseling to those
who have overstayed their welcome in the fashion world.
Client: Isaac Mizrahi
Fashion fallout: Chanel pulled
the plug.
Current status: Performing his one-man show in the
Village.
Recommended career move: Waiting tables in a Manhattan
bistro and waiting by the phone for TV-commercial acting
jobs. He could also star in his own one-man revival of (Bad)
Hair.
Client: Betsey Johnson
Fashion fallout: Her Spring 2001 collection featured
real, live Playboy bunnies sporting furry ears, gargantuan
(though not necessarily real) breasts and utterly unwearable
garments including a nautical halter, sequined tube-tops,
a skimpy Native American-inspired headdress getup, rhinestone-coated
bikinis, tiny tulle skirts and other barely-there numbers
that just screamed "Naughty Barbie." Betsey once won us
over with her fun prints and flirty, flouncy dresses, but
this collection proves that she must be stopped.
Recommended career move: Get a job with Mattel designing
clothes for Barbie dolls, not people. Outfits could include
Naughty Nurse, Sexy Sailor, Partying Pocahontas, Delinquent
Dental Hygienist, Haughty Whore and Busty Bride. Or, work
behind the counter at a head shop/used-record store selling
"water pipes" and funky jewelry and organizing raves on
the side.
Client: Tom Ford
Fashion fallout: Gucci designer Ford brought ho-hum,
dominatrix-inspired looks to the Spring 2001 shows, with
corseted waists, bustiers and stiletto boots. Military-inspired
jackets and trousers and skimpy tank tops also made it into
the disparate and befuddling Gucci show. Note to Tom: The
S&M thing is beat, and there's no cohesion here. If
this is the best you can do, it's time to move on.
Recommended career move: Ford knows that sex sells.
So it's a natural career move for him to start selling sex.
Move over, Puff Daddy, here comes Stuffed Daddy and his
line of logo-covered relaxation devices and lubricants.
Ford would make a good escort, too.
Client: Tommy Hilfiger
Fashion fallout: Hilfiger has been awarded Designer
of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America
(1995) and by the Parsons School of Design (1998), but his
crisp red, white and blue, Americana-sportswear B.S. grows
more tiresome each year. And now he has added fragrances,
sunglasses, footwear, household items and countless other
superfluous collections to his empire (not to mention outfitting
the equally bland cast of the teen series Time of Your
Life, Lilith lady Jewel and Mr. Derivative, Lenny Kravitz).
Spike Lee's new film, Bamboozled, even pokes fun
at the opportunistic designer with its character Tommy Hilnigger,
who tries to convince black kids to buy his duds based on
the brand's popularity with rappers. Time to move on, Tommy
boy.
Recommended career move: Get a job at an all-American
flag factory. Hilfiger could sew flags by hand, day in and
day out, with patriotic American songs playing incessantly
over the intercom as smiling girl-and-boy-next-door types
spritz Tommy Girl fragrance every hour, on the hour, all
over the designer's fresh-pressed uniform. After two years,
if he has grown as bored of this as we are of his clothes,
he might consider designing once again--this time without
using any primary colors.
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