3D Holographic Fashion Show from Tim Jockel on Vimeo.
With 3D being so popular for blockbuster movies, it was about time someone did something creative in the world of fashion. Enter German fashion designer Stefan Eckert. Using projections and optical illusions, Eckert’s haute couture line became the first 3D holographic fashion show.
-Gio
Today I went to the Orange County Threadshow that was held at The LAB in Costa Mesa with a few of my colleagues from the OC Fashion Association to network and spread the word about OC Fashion Week. There were a lot of vendor booths but I was disappointed to not see many Orange County based companies.
However, I was delighted to see there were a few vendors who focused their apparel business towards combating the human exploitation of slavery and trafficking. Immediately I got into my Freedom and Fashion representation mode and told about what our organization does and the upcoming events we are involved with this week and our fashion show in November 2011.
Check out the amazing vendors I met with…
During LA Fashion Week, I was busy interviewing designers and other people for Freedom and Fashion. Eventually, I wrote an article about the Hope in the City fashion show. I was also busy reviewing the Dual Society collection, a men’s fashion line by Rey Aquino Designs. I loved the overall look of English Gentleman meets futuristic punk. I also learned a few things from vendors at the show and how they were helping people, such as Toms Shoes, Kauzbots, and the International Princess Project.
(Photo taken by Nathaniel Bluedorn)
Art, fashion, and causes were the theme of the evening at the fourth annual Hope in the City fashion show held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California. On March 14, 2011, about 800 people were in attendance for the performances, the vendor booths, the art gallery, and the fashion show produced and sponsored by Mosiac. The location was the perfect setting for the themes. The greenery of the Los Angeles hills in the background, the long fashion runway stretched across an ethereal lily pond containing croaking frogs, combined with the minimalist concrete architecture of the Skirball Cultural Center made the outdoor fashion show truly one-of-a-kind.
This year a majority of ticket sales benefited the Downtown Women’s Center(DWC). Mosiac’s service-oriented group, serveLA, partnered with the DWC to bring attention and awareness to homelessness in Los Angeles. The DWC created the program MADE, which gave women in the DWC the opportunity to produce items that would be sold at the DWC gift shop. The MADE program taught women necessary entrepreneurial skills.
The show itself was hip, fun, and entertaining especially with Extra correspondent and Style Network host Jeannie Mai and fashion photographer Hank Fortener at the helm, emceeing for the evening. Their antics were comedic, especially when Fortener played victim to many of Mai’s fashion jokes. Everyone remembered Fortener’s awkward walk down the runway when Mai challenged him to walk like a model.No fashion show is complete without music and the Hope in the City fashion show had two resident DJs. DJ Nate G and DJ Mytar added to the artsy vibe, playing between segments of the fashion show or theme music for models strutting down the runway. Hip hop and dubstep seemed to be the reigning beats of the night.
The evening started with a performance by the alternative rock band Robert Kolarand Friends which actually combined members from two bands: He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister band and Lemon Sun band. The members were dressed as if they were part of a rock and roll circus, which of course matched their psychedelic yet soulful music. Adding to their unique look and sound was the only female member of the band, who kept the beats to the songs through tap dancing.
The next part of the evening was the Experimental Design segment, a moment where art and fashion truly met. Twenty experimental designers (made up of fashion students and artisans) were challenged to create clothing inspired by an art piece created by LA artists. Attendees to the fashion show could view the art pieces by walking trough the art gallery held across the fashion show runway and judge for themselves whether the designer truly understood the artist. The challenge undoubtedly gave attendees a look at the creative mind of an unconventional artist and designer.Every design that walked down the runway was unique and out-there, a little fantastical and out-right whimsical, but each look echoed back to the art it was inspired from. Two of the experimental designers were Freedom and Fashion’s own, Shannon Russell and David Phongsa. Both Russell and Phongsa worked on Freedom and Fashion’s first fashion show held at UCLA in 2009, Russell as FNF’s styling merchandiser, and Phongsa as FNF’s designer.
Another part of the evening was highlighting the importance of accessories. Jeannie Mai introduced this mini runway segment explaining how accessories can dramatically change the look and feel of the outfit. Models came down the runway wearing jewelry by Deana Keller, Chateau Le Chic, Grind Mansion, Jenny and Jimbob, Joshua Titchkosky, and Kelly Lyons.
After the experimental segment were two remarkable dance performances. The first came from choreographer Ashley Paige. Paige was a stand-in dancer for Rihanna and has appeared in the Rihanna’s video, “Umbrella.” For the fashion show, Paige brought out nine other female dancers dressed in various black and white clothing. Paige choreographed a modern dance routine that was full of grace and elegance with an edge. The second performance came from the Amalgam Crew, an all-male dance crew, who tricked attendees into thinking they were watching a men’s fashion show when male models initially walked on the runway. In reality, three of the well-dressed “models” were really the Amalgram crew. When the music shifted to Britney Spears’s “Hold It Against Me,” the three dancers began dancing and took the attendees by surprise.
The evening moved to its final segment when visionary Erwin McManus took the stage and spoke about the vision of Hope in the City, reminding people that creativity and art should be social-conscious. McManus believed that people should use their God-given talents not just to beautify the world, but to channel it in such a way that it improves mankind.
The featured runway show started with menswear from Dual Society, a men’s collection by Rey Aquino. Dual Society had fun bending time periods, drawing inspiration from the 18th and 19th century English gentlemen and the 21st century rebel punk. Dual Society went heavy on posh-looking coats and hoodies for the upcoming Fall/Winter season staying with a monochromatic color palette for the coats and earth tones for the hoodies.
The last collection was a women’s line from Popavina, called “Frau Brooks.” Designed by Marina Rahlin, the Popavina collection boasted strikingly bright colors inspired by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. The dresses were young yet elegant, some full of polka dots and bows, but all focused on a woman’s silhouette, reminiscent of France in the 1920s.
Attendees to the Hope in the City fashion show were treated to a variety of delicious desserts from Larchmont Bungalow, an artisan cafe and bakery located in Los Angeles. Larchmont Bungalow provided delicious cupcakes and their signatory red velvet and blue velvet pancakes. The pancakes were perfect, lightly sweetened by powdered sugar, whip cream, and optional pecan nuts. True to the theme of the night, the cafe is also eco-friendly and continues to donate to the Humana Foundation.
In addition to desserts, attendees to the fashion show frequented the art gallery, observing paintings and sculptures that connected to the Experimental Design segment. Attendees were also encouraged to visit and buy products from the vendor booths. Some of the vendor booths were cause-oriented, such as Kauzbots, the International Princess Project, and Toms Shoes—all vendors that Freedom and Fashion have supported. Some of the products were created by women in Africa or India and the purchase of the products helped women continue with honorable work, job training, and education.
Also in attendance was Lebonese actor Said Faraj of the blockbuster hit, “The Green Zone,” a movie co-starring Matt Damon. Faraj came to support, stating, “To support a fashion show that supports women is a form of protest against the injustices done to women. Women are our daughters, our wives, our sisters, our mothers. They must be honored and cherished.” He summed up the night quite eloquently. Hope in the City is a fashion show that encouraged creativity and beauty not to exploit women, but to empower them and to remind consumers of their purchasing power.
-Gio
All photos courtesy of FNF photographer, Hannah Ghim (hannah@freedomandfashion.com)
As one of the writers and fashion bloggers for Freedom and Fashion, I’m quite excited to cover the Hope in the City Fashion Show for LA Fashion Week. I went last year and was awed by both men and women’s fashion. Apparently, this year will be an entirely new feel and vibe. We’ll see what this means.
Want to come to the fashion show? It’s not too late. Buy your tickets before March 14th for $15. It’s $20 at the door. All proceeds benefit the Downtown Women’s Center.
Frankie Morello Men Spring/Summer 2011
A beach runway? It’s an interesting and fun concept.
Check out KAC Media’s coverage of Freedom and Fashion’s Fair Trade Showcase and Tradeshow 2010!
Open publication - Free publishing - More fair trade
Everyone’s got their theory on music. Madonna says, “music makes the people come together.” Missy Elliot says that “music makes you lose control.” With Freedom and Fashion, we try to do both. You see, when it comes to fashion shows, the music has to capture the essence and personality of the clothes, as well as inspire the models to portray a certain character in their walk. It takes careful planning, imagination, and lots and lots of hours of listening to different styles of music!
Freedom and Fashion was lucky to have a sister team in charge of choosing music. Jeanne and Joanne Heo took three days to find the right kind of music for the 8 different lines. They visualized the runway and how it was going to be set up. Joanne says, “Collectively her being stylist and me keeping out a good ear for tracks that I would hear from the time given, we would list out every song that had potential to be on the runway, any and every song that was marked as a ‘maybe’ to a ‘no’.”
The clothing line, LiNk (Liberty in North Korea) was styled in a preppy, clean cut way. The Heo sisters both agreed that the first track had to get people’s attention. Joanne says that the song, “I Was Thinking” by Gauntlet Hair, was very “loud and explosive, and to us, it made us immediately pair it with LiNK’s clothing. For LiNK’s closing song, it had to be a calmer (or just immediately feel like it was suitable for the final track), but flow entirely. The same method was applied to every line, visualizing what they wanted the line to communicate and what song communicated that idea best.
The Freedom and Fashion line featured the Gui Boratto remix of Massive Attack’s “Paradise Circus” that the Heo sisters saw in another runway show online. Joanne says, “We were trying to look for some inspiration. When we first listened to the song, we thought it was great. It’s practical to walk with and it’s not too slow or fast, just the right tempo. Our Freedom and Fashion line featured black and red colors, something dark yet still had to translate the message of redemption.” The song featured a soft spoken female singer that had a sultry voice expressing a feeling of mystery. Joanne continues, “We wanted the audience to be effected by the overall mood the song created, and how the looks were coming together with the makeup and hair. We wanted to highlight the darkness of human trafficking, how effective and emotional it truly is.”So here’s the music featured on the 2010 Freedom and Fashion Show. Relive the fashion show and strut down your hallway closet:
- LiNk + TagBags
Gauntlet Hair - “I Was Thinking”
Beat Coast - “Boyfriend”
- Anita Arze + Raven Lily
Bonobo ft. Andreya Triana - “Wonder When”
Adele - “Cold Shoulder”
- Punjammies + Krochet Kids
The Drums - “Let’s Go Surfing”
Crystal Stilts - “Love Is A Wave”
- Definicion + Falling Whistles
Crystal Castles - “Empathy”
Interpol - “Heinrich Maneuver”
- Kristinit + Nightlight
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - “The Sun Ain’t Shining No More”
The Cardigans - “Lovefool”
- NAEM Jeans + Urdenet Cashmere
Wild Cherry - “Play That Funky Music”
Carl Carlton - “She’s A Bad Mama Jama”
Stevie Wonder - “Superstition”
- FNF 2010 Collection
Massive Attack ft. Hope Sandoval - “Paradise Circus” (Gui Boratto Remix)
Carribou - “Odessa” (Aera Remix) [Black Sea Edit]
Irvine, CA. The weather was kind to us—it wasn’t too hot or cold. And despite the heavy clouds forming above the city of Irvine, it did not rain. At around 5pm, a crowd of attendants came as some checked out the Mighty Boba and Seabirds food trucks parked right outside our venue. By 5:30pm, an even bigger crowd formed, waiting to trade in their tickets for a bracelet. When the doors opened around 6:15pm, the flood of people entered the foyer. We couldn’t believe it—1300 people came to the sold-out fashion show. While people waited for the main doors to open around 7:15pm, many attended one of two workshops, checked out the vendors, or talked and mingled.
Then, the doors opened, and that was when the beautiful mayhem arrived! People were so excited, they were shouting and cheering. The VIPs and members of the press were led into the main room first. Then came the General Admissions and General Admissions Plus ticket holders. The room was packed! Clark Gilmer (of America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 11) and her date were also escorted to a special reserved seat, just in front of the center runway.
The crowd was loud. Conversations about how someone found out about Freedom and Fashion, why they were at the fashion show, or whether it was their first fashion show could be heard. Then, the three screens hanging above the center stage came on. A video introduced the audience to the vision and goal of Freedom and Fashion. Next came an introductory video of the night’s host, Jeannie Mai.
When the video finished, Jeannie Mai, wearing a beautiful turquoise dress, came on stage and talked about how she became passionate about the fight against human and sex trafficking. Then she introduced the night’s musical performances.
Singer Esna Yoon started out the show with 4 original songs, one of which she wrote inspired by the show. Then, Dr. E came out to the stage sharing her story of redemption (the theme of the night), finishing with two songs of her own. Allison Trowbridge of Not For Sale came on stage next, speaking about how modern slavery exists in America as well. And the rest of the fashion show? Well, you could check it out here.
The Magazine
Check out our magazine. We’ve got summaries of the partners featured on the runway as well as powerful stories of redemption!Open publication - Free publishing - More fair trade
Our Blog PostsCheck out our posts about what went on Behind-the-Scenes as well as our amazing volunteers! Did you also buy something at the fashion show? Take a picture of yourself wearing what you bought, be it a shirt, jewelry, hat, etc. We’d like to feature it on our blog!
Freedom and Fashion in the Media
Haven’t had enough of Freedom and Fashion? Check our articles, posts, and photos posted by others. We’ll let you know of others once we become aware of them.
The V-shaped stage for the 2010 Freedom and Fashion Show made by Moniker Elements was beautiful!
