I Heart New York

Moving to New York has by far been one of the best decisions of my life. I feel like I've spent the last 7 months (down to the day!) just trying to absorb this new life that I've created for myself, completely independent of my family. November to December was spent just adjusting to taking the bus or subway to and from New Jersey or Brooklyn into the city and adjusting to a new job and finding an apartment and furnishing said apartment. January to April was a lot of dating boys, a lot of drinking and no sleep!

Since this is, in fact, a blog about my fashion adventures, I'll just cut to the chase. I started my internship at Aviva Embroideries at the beginning of March and have since been working 35 hours a week at Macy's and 13 hours a week at Aviva- hence the no sleep. In the past, when I apply/pick internships, I tend to pick ones that are a little obscure so I make sure I learn something I would never learn in school. Alchemy Goods used recycled bike inner tubes to make messenger bags; Sheer Style did a lot of design, sourcing, and production for start-up design companies; and Crescent Down Works made down-filled outerwear. When I saw the ad for the internship at Aviva on Craigslist, it was no different. I soon found out at my interview that I would be helping to design swatches with beaded and sequin motifs, combined with fabric flowers to create pieces that would then be sent to designers to be chosen and used in their collections. In the nearly 3 months I've been there, two of my swatches have been chosen by Reem Acra and Monique Lhullier to be used in a future collection! (Pictures to come if I get permission.)

This past week, I made a very important decision in regards to working on my own line. For a long time I told myself that I wouldn't try promoting my own line until I had AT LEAST 5 years of real industry experience. Working at Macy's has made me want to break away from upper management authority a little and has made me realize that I'm only young once so why not just promote my own line while I'm young and crazy and can get away with it?! I even tried out for Project Runway last month at the open call here in New York! In light of recent events I've realized that while I may get distracted by a lot of things in this enormous city, I really came here to do one thing: advance my career in fashion. So I made a big decision last night that I plan to stick to: show my Spring/ Summer 2012 capsule collection during New York Fashion Week. NOW, an important thing to remember is that when I say "show my collection during NYFW", I am not under any sort of sick delusion that I will be showing at Lincoln Center alongside Anna Sui or Oscar de la Renta. I simply mean that I want to, either be involved in a fashion show with a number of different up-and-coming designers, or find a venue to have a viewing party during NYFW.

Since I wrote about my big plan on here, that means that you, my MANY (cough) followers, are now being held accountable to make sure that I follow through! I will update, step-by-step, my design process here (complete with pictures!) so no one can make a liar out of me!

And since my Blogger visits seem to get further and further apart, I will leave you with photos of a couple projects; an illustration of a blazer I recently designed and a little something I made for my Project Runway audition:

Stay tuned!

BLACK FRIDAY

My shift started at 5:45 this morning and there was always someone waiting in line to pay. Good for my paycheck, but bad for my sanity. And afterward, I headed to the Toys R Us in Time Square to pick up a gift, which also proved to be bad for my sanity. HOWEVER, I have never been happier to be in bed. 

With this post comes yet more belated pictures. But one of the more exciting moments of my life is presented below:

Picture it: Nordstrom. Downtown Seattle. October 15th, 2010. I had just finished interning at Crescent Down Works on Capitol Hill when I took the bus to meet my dear friend Alex, because we had plans to meet one of my very favorite designers, Betsey Johnson. We laughed, I cried (almost) and ended up getting her work phone number on the back of my business card.

BEST DAY EVER.

Nordstrom in April

Apparently, April is a big fashion month for the Nordstrom headquarters in Seattle. Not just on one occasion but on TWO occasions, Nordstrom hosted trunks shows and meet and greets with the designers. Here are the pictures below of who I met:

Above: Me giving Jason Wu my business card.... "Workin' it!"

Above: Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, me and Olivia.

Art Institute of Seattle "Wear in the World" Fashion Show 2010

It wasn't until today that I a) had time to write a blog post and b) got the pictures from my school's "Wear in the World" fashion show. On March 11, students from our Fashion Department participated in the Art Institute of Seattle's annual student fashion show. Last year, all I entered were purses, but this year I entered the best garments I've made yet: two menswear outfits and a dress I like to call "the Circus Tent." Here are the photos below:

All pictures by J. Andrew Towell

MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection

Tonight I had the opportunity to have a little fun and go to the MAC unveiling for their new products, the Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection, at University Village. This collection is all about celebrating makeup as an art form and Mac chose three different artists to aid in its design. They are as follows: Richard Phillips, a painter who focuses on photo realism; Maira Kalman, an illustrator who's style is colorful and playful; and Marilyn Minter, a photographer who renders erotic imagery.

"Der Bodensee" by Richard Phillips, retouched with MAC products.

The unveiling party was packed full of people drinking wine (with Jake and I picking a nice Sauvignon Blanc) and getting their portraits sketched by local artists. It wasn't a large release but it did stand out from their usual line of products. I picked up a technakohl liner from Maira Kalman's collection, an electric blue named Artistic License.

Maira Kalman's collection of technakohl liners. Mine is on the far left!

While the party wasn't all that it was hyped up to be, the collection was pretty impressive. All the colors popped, true to MAC form, but in a more exciting, modern way.

White House Correspondents' Dinner

In Washington D.C. this weekend, approximately 2,500 guests from the fashion, film, and political worlds graced the city with their presence. Historically, the White House Correspondents' Dinner has been an annual event since 1920 with the President himself, this year being my beloved Barack Obama, as the guest of honor. Wanda Sykes, the guest speaker, brought the jokes, but Michelle Obama brought the fashion.

For her first White House Correspondents' Dinner as First Lady, she opted for a fuchsia Michael Kors dress. She is an excellent example of how less really is more. Also from the fashion world was Donatella Versace, in a gold creation of her own. According to the Women's Wear Daily coverage, none of the attendees dressed in overly elaborate gowns, which I think reflects the state of the global economy but also shows how economics effect the fashion industry.