glam.spoon: fashion blog

Rene Ropas grand opening

Fashion Feud introduced me to Morgan Carson, the beauty and brains behind Rene Ropas.  But I'm sure I would have learned of this young talent eventually, considering her unrelenting ambition. On Saturday, June 4th she held a grand opening party for her new boutique offering vintage items custom fit and refashioned for you, along with her couture designs.

 

 

Roaming models wearing original designs, vintage items for sale and available for custom refashioning, and a line for the dressing room all day!

The designer herself (above) is 2 parts creativity and 1 part McGuyver. She adds her own perspective to existing vintage items and builds new couture pieces from the ground up using multiple textures and colors. It's a feast for the eyes!

She rented these white modular cubes to store fabric and other items as functional displays.

I love the volume and the bunching in the skirt of the gown above, as well as the vintage gold bling.

I totally fell in love with the lamp shade on the side table with the vintage magazines on display.

This client (above) was trying on a refashion of a trench coat she'd ordered from Morgan previously. Needless to say she was thrilled. I loved the asymmetrical hem and the cinched sleeves.

With her eye on everything going on in the shop that day, the designer could be seen pinning and straightening each garment as the models emerged in each look.

The asymmetry in the straps and the softness of the lace give this babydoll dress great balance.

The shop is open on Western Avenue, but appointments are necessary. Click here to contact her!

fashion feud finale!

Wednesday night I took home the title of Winner of the first ever Fashion Feud Seattle! Up against fierce competitors Jesssica Bartlett and Morgan Carson, somehow we came up with 3 absolutely individual silhouettes with the same two pieces of fabric.

  

All images by Jonathan Beck

fashion feud finale

Fashion Feud Seattle - Finale Tonight!

the road to fashion feud

There can't be anything more luxurious than having your hair styled before a big event. That's what Swink Style Bar is all about and on April 13th, I experienced it first hand. It's also very relaxing to get a little pampering before a big competition! 

Armed with a fabulous hair-do and false lashes, I was ready to go set up my sewing station at Citrus. I'd never actually sewn a garment in a bar, but I figured it might be more dramatic than sewing alone in my room at home. The lighting was problematic for things like "seeing", but the ambience was great!

All I needed was a little war paint and I would be ready to compete. The sun coming through the window that day on the lake was gorgeous! All around a fun evening.

And now I get to do it all over again on May 18th for the final round competing against the first two winners, Jessica Bartlett and Morgan Carson. Two very talented designers. See you there!

All photos by Sarah M. James

 

fashion feud experience

Never in my life would I have thought I'd be sewing on stage in a competition setting, but I have to admit, not only was it fun and different, it was educational and inspiring! I can't wait to share the whole experience with you over the next few posts. Following are some photos of the two final garments shot by Howard Tran.  

My model, Katie S from TCM Models wearing my finished garment.

Natasha V on the left, and Katie S on the right from TCM Models.

 

fashion feud fun!

Thanks to my good friend (and fantastic bag designer!) Crystalyn Kae for taking these great shots of me sewing at Fashion Feud Round 3 last Wednesday! I never thought I'd find myself sewing a garment... from mystery fabric... in a bar. But you just never know what life is going to throw your way! It was a lot of fun and a thrill to win. Even better because I had so many friendly faces in the audience. :)

Mark your calendars for the finale - Wednesday, May 18th - there will be 3 of us competing for the crown! 

fashion feud!

I have a whole week's worth of posts to publish of the process and the results, but I couldn't wait to announce that I won! Below are a few photos from Fab Turn's page. I'll post more soon!

Katie gets the finishing touches on her hair from Noah of 7 Salon while I finalize the back straps.

Katie in my garment on the left.  On the right is my competitor Sarah Yazmin's model, Natalie, on the right. Both girls were from TCM Models.

The dress looks best on Katie in this photo with Natalie on the right and Joan Kelly, the show's producer, in the middle. Joan is a teacher at the Art Institute as well as the producer of the annual fashion show, Fashion First.

 

fashion feud live this wednesday

fashion feud round 2

On March 2nd, Jenn and I attended round 2 of Fashion Feud.  For those of you new to the series, it's a live design competition produced by Scion, taking place in 3 west coast cities concurrently. We arrived right at 7 pm and were greeted by the show's producer handing out black panties with Scion's logo on them at the door.  Why not? We took our seats and settled in for the competition.

The logistics are the same for each round: two designers going head-to-head are each handed the same 3 yards of fabric to work their magic as the competition heats up.  The beauty support team - hair by 7 Salon & makeup by Swink Style Bar - anxiously wait nearby ready to start dollin' up the models as soon as they are given the nod.  Hovering over their sewing machines this round were Justin Bartle and Morgan Carson, both of whom are students at the Art Institute of Seattle.  The live dress forms were again provided by TCM Models.

  

Round 2 judges had impressive credentials. Judge #1 was Melanie Matkin, the General Manager of a little shop on 5th Avenue downtown called Gucci - you may have heard of it. Judge #2 was Patricia Wolfkill who owns and operates the lovely Fremont boutique, Merge. Both of these ladies possess the chops to judge a fashion design competition!

As soon as the clock started, Morgan started tearing strips of cotton and pieceing them together to create a new pattern for the bodice of a one-shoulder top.  

Justin and Morgan both used the same fabric for their top piece and used their models for draping and fitting.

 

 

 


 

And then it was over. 60 minutes goes fast, even if you're just in the audience. (on April 13th I'll find out first hand what it feels like to be on stage sewing against the clock.) 

I agreed with the judges that Morgan should win. her garment was more innovative and fashion forward than Justin's, but I didn't love it. The white elastic straps in the back looked a little like underwear showing and the cinching of the skirt in the front didn't look finished.

Although Justin's look was a little simpler, it had a real pin-up girl vibe, which I actually liked better than Morgan's. If his model hadn't kept the under-slip on, it may have been sexy, or it may have been risky exposure!  However, with both garments, I was disappointed that the treatment of the fabric was the same - lighter fabric on top, darker fabric on bottom to create a skirt. In fact we have yet to see someone use the two fabrics together in this competition. Perhaps here they were both going for the "separates" look. 

 

Counting down the days and hours till April 13th, when I get to put my design talent where my mouth is!

fashion feud round 1 live on stage

In case you missed it, here is the 3 minute summary video of the first round of Fashion Feud. The video gives an accurate representation of the ambience at Citrus and the competition process, but of course, its condensed for time.  It hits the highlights with the designers making last minute tweaks to their designs.  You can read my full write up here. Congratulations again to Jessica!

Fashion Feud Seattle 02/10/11 from Brett Renville on Vimeo.

Happy Friday! I hope you all have a great weekend... and don't forget to mark your calendars for Round 2 of Fashion Feud, Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:00 p.m. at Citrus.