Tag Archives: jeanie kwak

Heidi Gardner Spring 2014

September 16, 2013 Glossy

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Last Tuesday night was the SS14 presentation of New York Based jewelry designer Heidi Gardner. Set in a light, airy space at the Highline loft, the stark white minimalism of the dual rooms became the backdrop of Heidi’s slightly dark and macabre aesthetic. Models in nude jumpsuits entered the room and stood on tall cubes, gesturing slightly with their hands to showcase her work. At eye-length along the white walls were protruding dummy hands or what looked to be driftwood that held up her creations. We saw: a pair of gold majestic looking seahorses that looked to be like hair pins, startling shark jaw pendants, and a gorgeous pincushion of an anemone ring with the darkest pearl laid on top. Another stunner: a gold sting ray cuff with a sharp tail protruding up the arm. Shark tooth rings made a repeat appearance in what looked to be gold, silver and pewter and shark jaws looked like hunter traps but wrapped in gold, still delicate and hanging from a chain. It looked like sea creatures were on the designer’s mind to represent her Spring/Summer collection. Since her past work seemed preoccupied with skulls and human anatomy, it is interesting to see the designer extend her x-ray vision into other exoskeleton worlds.

– Jeanie Kwak

Photos by Charles Gigante

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Events, fashion

FYI By Dani Read at Lingerie Fashion Week 2013

February 23, 2013 Glossy 1 Comment

Last night was the inaugural night of Lingerie Fashion Week/2013. Intimates brand FYI by Dani Read kicked off the newly minted festivities. The S&M inspired creations, complete with restraints, gags, harnesses and leashes, are not for the faint of heart. In fact, their tagline reads, “Women are weapons. Dress yourself as such.” The collection was unapologetically bold and radiated power, attitude and dark sexuality. The accessories were surprisingly delicate and subtle, with gold chains trailing down collars and thick metal belts cheekily named “Love Handles Belt” or “Mistress Leash”. The collection had an Egyptian motif which was quite apparent in the final look which was a flowing white robe topped with a gold Isis Headpiece.

Photos by Charlie Gigante

fashion

Yumeng Weng Academy of Art University Fall 2013 Runway

February 14, 2013 Glossy

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Lightweight grey wools and soft sandy coat dresses appeared in the collection of Yuming Weng. With such a minimal outline, Yuming used the influence of painter Henrietta Harris’ paintings, which, if you do a quick Google search, shows portraits with a watery distortion, or the bad reception of a tv screen. She mimics that distorted movement as a small repeating pattern.

From the press release:

Yuming Weng was born and raised in the Xiamen province of China, and earned an undergraduate degree in International Accounting and Management from Jimen University. She worked as a design intern at the Xiamen Huarong Company in China before coming to Academy of Art University to pursue her M.F.A.
Degree in Fashion Design. Weng was inspired by Henrietta Harris’ soft, distorted portraits.

fashion

Heather Marie Scholl Academy of Art University Fall 2013 Runway

February 14, 2013 Glossy 1 Comment

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Heather Marie Scholl explored the nature of gender, race and sexuality and the role it plays in fashion which, for all its political points, makes for interesting design. How can a designer visually express a conceptual idea, one that is at dual odds with itself (pain & glamour)? We see a collection that is bright and clever with a look that seems to borrow from the 80’s, the kind of hard cheerfulness that can mark a decade. The collection works to make the viewer ask questions and seek answers which reminds us that fashion is indeed art.

From the press release:

Heather Marie Scholl was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington where she completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Race, Gender, and Sexuality. Scholl earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Fashion and Knitwear Design from Academy of Art
University, and her Fall 2013 collection brings together her seemingly separate fields of study. Through her garments, she sought to explore the often sexually obsessed nature of queer culture, and the duality of pain and glamour that can come with it. She constructed her collection from wool, cotton and wool knit, and
embellished pieces with glass beads.

Photos by Randy Brooke/Getty

fashion

Chenxi Li Academy of Art University Fall 2013 Runway

February 14, 2013 Glossy

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Give me a lush fur cape in midnight blue and a jaunty leather cap (can I get my hands on that?!) and I would be happy. Designer Chenxi Li revisits fashion from the 1950’s with a nod to sailors and their happy dames with a dash of old world glamour. In an unexpected twist, her thick, knitted sweaters were inspired by traditional Chinese armor.

From the press release:

Chenxi Li is from Zhengzhou City in the Henan Province of China, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Animation from the Nanjing Arts Institute before coming to Academy of Art University to pursue her graduate degree in Fashion Design. Li’s Fall 2013 collection takes inspiration from fashion of the 1950s,
featuring exaggerated silhouettes and voluminous shoulders and sleeves, while her knitwear pieces were modeled after traditional Chinese armor. Her collection features several types of wool, cashmere knits, and rabbit fur.

Photos by Randy Brooke/Getty