Who watched Project Runway last night? I did...at The Getty!
The designers' challenge was to create looks inspired by their visit to The Getty.
So, The Getty invited their Facebook fans to a screening of the episode, followed by a lively informal panel discussion about the influence of architecture on fashion design. Moderated by Brooke Hodge, the panel guests included Marie Claire West Coast Editor Mary Alice Haney and Fashion Designer Jasmin Shokrian.
All five of the Project Runway designers' looks were rolled onto the stage before the panel discussion began. What a surprise!
Haney had just come back from Paris Fashion Week. She said Althea's design could almost be something in a Prada show and Irina's look was very "flowy and very Lanvin-esque."
The discussion broadened and Hodge went on to talk about the structural pieces in the Jil Sander Fall 2009 collection. Raf Simons was influenced by French ceramicist, Pol Chambost. Simons was interested in how the artist used color on the inside. He was influenced by "the lips of the vases and the curves and linear shapes of the vases," Hodge said. "To me there is something very architectural about the clothing in terms of their lines and their volume and their shape and their silhouette."
Photo | Marcio Madeira, style.com
Haney had to run off to a fashion event in Beverly Hills. So we had a great amount of time getting to know LA Fashion Designer Jasmin Shokrian. Hodge introduced Shokrian as "a designer who often cites art and architecture influences."
Shokrian has been working on her brand for the last eight years right here in LA. And lately, she has been experimenting with making fabric. The fabric in the piece below (from her Fall Collection) was structured with different materials including chiffon, muslin mixed with a silk canvas, and a silk charmeuse. There is burlap in the collar and it's covered with chiffon to make it stand architecturally. Shokrian explains that the use of these vastly different materials makes the piece both humble and dressy.
Jasmin Shokrian also weighed in on the discussion of structure and architectural influences in fashion. She said she created an entire collection based on the Fibonacci Series. She says that basically it's the idea that "everything you see in nature is somehow mathematically related to architecture." The geometry of it inspired her collection, which included "a lot of strong geometric shapes that protrude about the body."
She says she is greatly influenced by the work of architect Terunobu Fujimori, who she said mainly designs treehouses (photo below). She says this is truly her aesthetic. "There is just something about the shape, the texture, the organic quality and then the artificial. It's surreal."
On another note, Jasmin Shokrian advised that the time limits the designers are given on Project Runway are pretty real. There are deadlines in fashion design that absolutely must be met. So she said being on the show is good training for the fashion business. "It's very fast-paced."
Hodge says it's important to have Project Runway in LA because New York doesn't really take LA seriously in terms of fashion. She says, "Some of the best architecture in the world is in LA, and some of the best art and museums. And we have a lot of great fashion designers." Haney serves on the LA Fashion Week committee and is working on giving the fashion scene more of a presence in LA.
The Getty invited their friends on Facebook to attend, free of charge. They said it is the first of many Facebook invitations to follow.
--Gigi Hooghkirk
