New York Magazine described it thusly:
"Intrigued, we showed up to Jimenez's off-site show at Touch Sunday morning to find placed on each chair a playing card and a blown-up surgical glove with "bless" scrawled on it, backwards.
The high-school drama-class feeling didn't stop with the mirror-writing. As the models—mostly girls and teens who were friends of Jimenez—marched, slithered, and danced around the room, you could almost imagine the stage direction: "You're a tiger, a tiger! Get on all fours and slink around!"
"Intrigued, we showed up to Jimenez's off-site show at Touch Sunday morning to find placed on each chair a playing card and a blown-up surgical glove with "bless" scrawled on it, backwards.
The high-school drama-class feeling didn't stop with the mirror-writing. As the models—mostly girls and teens who were friends of Jimenez—marched, slithered, and danced around the room, you could almost imagine the stage direction: "You're a tiger, a tiger! Get on all fours and slink around!"
And Newsday described it as:
"... a theatrical representation of 'The Hunger World,' which Jimenez called a pseudo-fictitious world she started working on some 18 years ago. I still haven't figured out what this Hunger World is, but from looking at the program and speaking to Jimenez, I know that her models were meant to be 'marionettes' and 'puppeteers,' ranging from a 'Little Worm-Thing' to a 'Honey-Giver' to a 'Mistress of Tenderness.'"
Our thoughts? Look, we're all for fashion-as-art. She clearly doesn't give a crap whether her clothes are wearable (she says as much in the interview at Newsday) or even pretty, and we can totally get behind that, but...
Well...
We hate to say it, because we adore her and we totally get where she's coming from...
But this just has the distinct whiff of "amateur" all over it.
We love the idea of conceptual fashion, but - and this is the really important part - you need an actual concept to be conceptual. More importantly, you need to be able to convey that concept in the clothing.
This is just obscure for obscurity's sake and worse than that, it's all rather drab and poorly made.
Watch the video here.
[Photos: WireImage/GettyImages]
148 comments:
That first picture scares the crap out of me.
I like Elisa, but I definitely don't get this collection. Sorry. :(
TLo, Your comments about Elisa's show express my own thoughts exactly. Ultimately, there is something endearing about Elisa and as ill-conceived and ill-executed her collection was, she still managed to communicate that endearing quality and loving energy. I'm sure the show was a big success on her planet.
Agreed, it almost pains me to see these clothes from Elisa- and the story just doesn't happen. I don't feel anything particularly strong in response to the looks.
Which is a shame because I really love Elisa the person.
I, honestly, admire this collection. It's crazy, and mostly ugly, but she does what she wants to do regardless of what anyone thinks. Her pieces may not be wearable, but she's definitely an artist. A living gallery, of sorts.
But something has to be said in regards to the fact that she designed for the everyday kind of body. If she could take that ability and apply it and finish it, she could really be a decent designer.
Her greatest gift is just who she is, the benevolence she shows to everyone around her, and her total acceptance of herself. What I love is that there will be 100 responses to this saying it's awful and an equal amount saying it's wonderful and none of that will touch her at all. She'll just smile and say thank you. So Elisa -thank you for who you are and for showing us how to be gracious in this world.
Some people march to the sound of a different drummer....Elisa hears bagpipes.
How does she earn a living?
I have just 2 words: Yoko Ono.
--GothamTomato
Scary!? I think everyone was intrigued and interested in what she has to bring to the table. It was the perfect opportunity for her to succeed and this is what she showed? Ok, then...
Really, really, really bad. I love Elisa as a person, but she is not capable of being conceptual, concrete and consistant, much less editorial. She lives in an abstract, spacey world. Remember her concept of Hansel and Gretal??? Huh??? Has anyone ever read "The Crystal Ship" by Vonda N. McIntire"?
WOW! Two words: community theater
gotham T ...I just laughed out loud at your obs. Right-on sister.
anyhoo- only disappointing beacause we all know that she has the skill and vision to absolutely re-invent the fashion-as-art concept. We'll keep watching her.
-RB
First photo I thought, "How did she get Kyra Sedgwick to escort that model?"
My only thoughts after that were WTF?
Love her spirit. But may be haunted by this collection.
OK, I have a few more words:
First, I don't understand what gold lame has to do with world hunger. When I send a contribution to UNICEF, are they using it to buy the kids disco gear?
Second, that middle dress in the first picture, with the big pink skirt, looks just like the the inspiration challenge dress that Santino made.
Third, I see a few dresses there that Heidi will order in every color. Just sayin'...
--GothamTomato
I agree with Gloria. She definitely doesn't do it to please anybody, she is an artist and as such she will hear her own music and her own heart. I admire her, in a world obsessed with approval, she shows a different way to follow her dreams.
somebody asked how she makes a living? I read that she was hired for costume design for the next High School Musical movie.... so, she is an artist, but she definitely is not stupid.
I think we would do well to remember that Miss Jimenez has a severe head injury.
It reminds me of the time I stumbled in on a class taught by Rachel Rosenthal in the 1980's. Neither good nor bad, it simply is what it is. Elisa''s created performance art doubling as conceptual fashion. But I don't get a very strong message or even an attitude here.
She's a lovely, lovely person. And I do like that she goes out on a limb. I just wish her reach were a bit stronger.
I just LOVE her and I love that picture of her at the end - she looks so truly happy!
The collection wasn't my cup of tea - but I still adore her and would love to see more from her!
Oh dear! I've been here so many times at my undergraduate's performances (and, I'm sorry to say, even those of some graduate students). Watching Elisa's offering, I was reminded of one particularly excruciating evening, when a colleague turned to me and whispered, "If you're trying to look impassive, you might stop wringing your hands."
Elisa, I think you're wonderful but it's hard not to indulge in a bit of hand-wringing over this.
Thescot (one of the original hearers of bagpipes!)
While I didn't hate this collection as much as others did, even though there were some truly wtf moments, I much preferred a collection she showed in New York City not that long ago that consisted of much more wearable garments while still being unique, and wish she would have showed something more like that.
It can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_VESPH2yK6A
How does she earn a living?
She was hit by an English driver of an expensive kind of car in London. I wonder how much that was worth to make it go away.
honestly (and I'll freely admit that I'm a bit, uh, underinformed, when it comes to fashion) if she had presented this show differently, I think there would have been a much different response. This stuff, while mostly kind of ugly, is no uglier or weirder than a lot of what comes down the runway from established, and even celebrated designers. If she had fitted her garments on 6 foot tall stick insects and marched them down the catwalk like everyone else, it wouldn't have screamed "amateur" quite as loudly. I think there is definitely a place for her and her ideas, if she can learn to work within the established format.
That said, I do love that she made things for a wide range of bodies.
Gotham Tomato said:
Third, I see a few dresses there that Heidi will order in every color. Just sayin'...
Hear, hear.
~Maharhar
Well, it's no worse than Andre's "bathroom" performance piece from a while back. She's a sweetheart, but this looks like a young college student trying too hard to be an abstract artist, but not really understanding what that means.
In just looking at the clothing, I like some of it. There's something about the second skin quality of some of the pieces that could be very 'sexy from within' to wear.
The show sounds like it bordered on felony awful, and she definitely lost people with a concept that only she could relate to.
I prefer to try to imagine these garments on professional models...
I'm scarred for life.
Nahncee, that's just harsh....
mommyca said: "so, she is an artist, but she definitely is not stupid."
Right. And she has made more of her brief time on the show than some of the winners...
Agreed, it almost pains me to see these clothes from Elisa- and the story just doesn't happen. I don't feel anything particularly strong in response to the looks.
Which is a shame because I really love Elisa the person.
9:48 AM
Ditto-sadly. Elisa does have gifts, but unfortunately they aren't on display here.
>>But this just has the distinct whiff of "amateur" all over it.<<
Distinct?!
If you're gonna bring the crazy, you gotta bring the goods.
These clothes remind me SO MUCH of the crap we threw together in costume practicum during my sophomore year as a theatre major. Of course, we called it "conceptual" and "artistic" and "avant garde" but really it was just poorly made crap, and had we had the skills, we would have made good stuff.
As much as it pains me to say it, this is how I see Elisa's collection - she simply does not have the technical skills to pull off serious work, so she puts out crap and calls it art. It's a shame, because I love her, and I wanted her collection to be the end all be all of avant garde fashion. -sigh-
Fah!
Swish!
FAHSWISH FAHSWISH FAHSWISH!
Just sayin'
I like Elisa and think some of these pieces were interesting, but based on this show, she is more a performance artist than a designer.
Here is a better view of the Issey Miyake show I mentioned yesterday in connection with Victorya. Very innovative, incorporating the pleating for which Miyake is best known, and including both wearable and conceptual garments.
http://www.isseymiyake.com/isseymiyake.html
Victorya was criticized for not being innovative and high fashion. Elisa's work is far more conceptual, and nowhere near RTW. As I said in the Victorya thread, it would be interesting to see a fashion collaboration between these two designers. Wonder what they could produce as a team.
I know if I were a woman I would want to wear a dress that made it look like I had just been attacked by a bear... with the make up to match... or maybe one that made me look like Jesus... I mean, doesn't every woman want that?
She's an artist, not a fashion designer.
Well, this won't bore Nina. That's for sure.
That first dress looks like Flintstones haute-couture.
I have no words.
No, wait. I have one.
Da-yum.
I meant dress #4
Yikes! I don't get it.
I love her to death but this is not good enough. That’s mighty big talk followed by weak results.
one of those ladies looks like a man.
i feel strange.
gotham tomato said:
"Second, that middle dress in the first picture, with the big pink skirt, looks just like the the inspiration challenge dress that Santino made."
That's EXACTLY what my reaction was!
Amateur at it's best. Poorly made, ugly and with a strong wiff of granola/pot smoking/hippie all over it.
She is cute and all but that does not make her a fashion designer.
Pumpkin Man
http://www.little-pumpkins.blogspot.com
Would we expect anything less from Elissa? I watched the video and frankly it's ok, not overwhelming bad or good.
The one picture looks like the model is a 2 year old who just got potty trained and is showing off her big girl panties.
I like Elisa but don't get this. Obviously I'm not from her planet.
From the Newsday article: "Outside of the roughly two and a half minutes of posted video, some, let's just call it, very interesting (if not totally wacky) stuff went down at the show."
Well, well, well! Fashion is cycling back to the '80s isn't it? I used to love to go watch the wacky performance art shows during that decade. What a hoot to able to get a glimpse of Elisa's Hunger World! Buy or wear the clothes? Eh, not so much. I find wacky artist to be very endearing. =D
Elisa is a dear, sweet soul, but she doesn't live in the same reality as the rest of us. That's okay. Still, when I look at a collection like this, I have to wonder what her world is really like. And how does her daughter really view her or her world? (That's her daughter in the black and blue outfit with the big bun-like thing in her hair.)
Considering that Elisa's work was "out there" before her accident, I don't think we can blame the accident for what we see today. If anything, perhaps it's given her a sense of permission to not self-edit anymore.
I absolutely agree that her concept failed as such, but you know, best of luck to her. If only all of us could be so happy in our existence.
trouble said...
Would we expect anything less from Elissa? I watched the video and frankly it's ok, not overwhelming bad or good.
Actually, I expected a much higher level of sophistication. In my opinion, the quality of her work weakened any point of view she was trying to convey.
Hmmm, The pictures are beautiful and I bet the show was outrageously entertaining. I completely see this as theatre and and not fashion as a buisness.
I wonder who attended the show and what her aim was in showing. I don't think she trying to sell these garments to stores. It seems like a vanity show in that way. Look at me, see what I can do.
Fug.
And nothing but.
Maybe you had to be there to get whatever message she was trying to communicate? Maybe she was deconstructing and thumbing her nose at the whole Fashion Week concept (though that seems like too negative a motivation for her)? Whatever she was attempting to do, I just don't get it. This mostly seems like a wasted opportunity to share her artistic vision at a time when she was guaranteed to have a larger-than-usual audience. I'm bummed.
A week or so before she was aufed, I warmed to Elisa and started to wonder what her collection would look like if she made it all the way to Bryant Park.
Now I know. Well, maybe a PR collection would have been different because it would have been clothes.
An amateur is one who does their work for the love of doing it without regard for monetary compensation. I believe the adjective some of the above commentators meant to use was amateurish. Is Elisa an amateur? Not by my understanding of the term, or at least not completely. Much of her work is done with thought of future sales. Any way, I suspect she is fairly well-off financially. Her dad was a well known sculptor, Luis Jimenez. He's best known for his large scale polychromed fiberglass public sculpture. His work is representational, his themes relate to indigenous southwest American culture, especially Tejano. I thought it might help to know where Elisa is coming from, a much more concrete reality than some of the media-drenched denizens of this blog are willing to give her credit for.
Thanks, again, Dale Wittig.
What was that very thin, very stretchy fabric she was using?
Reminds me of some of the wacky costumes we put together for pagan rituals. Fun, bizarre, but decidedly not high fashion.
The weirdest part is how she had them walk! OMG. Some of the clothes aren't actually all that bad, if they were properly sewn and not so weirdly presented.
Above all else, Elisa's work is incredibly self-indulgent.
"twc said...
Well, maybe a PR collection would have been different because it would have been clothes."
That's an interesting thought. Probably the same with a bigger budget.
FUGLY!
madam ovary said...
What was that very thin, very stretchy fabric she was using?
I think it is silk jersey. Around $20 a yard retail.
I kind of like that this is a little self-indulgent and strange. (Especially that she used regular girls--that's kind of fun. There's not enough fun in FW!) Total 180 from Victorya's show at least.
Not loving the gifts this time.
"Anonymous said...
An amateur is one who does their work for the love of doing it without regard for monetary compensation. I believe the adjective some of the above commentators meant to use was amateurish. Is Elisa an amateur? Not by my understanding of the term, or at least not completely. Much of her work is done with thought of future sales. Any way, I suspect she is fairly well-off financially. Her dad was a well known sculptor, Luis Jimenez. He's best known for his large scale polychromed fiberglass public sculpture. His work is representational, his themes relate to indigenous southwest American culture, especially Tejano. I thought it might help to know where Elisa is coming from, a much more concrete reality than some of the media-drenched denizens of this blog are willing to give her credit for.
Thanks, again, Dale Wittig."
I have no doubt that she's a very talented artist, but if you want to expand your horizons and venture out into the fashion world you have to present something that doesn't look so amateurISH if you want people to take your work seriously.
Like many creative people, Elisa could use a good editor. There isn't a whole lot of "there" there, at least this time around. But I'm sure being on the show altered her energies a bit....
I have to say, I don't really get her business model. She doesn't seem to manufacture anything; rather, it's hand-sewn, apparently on the client's body. It would be interesting to see her partner with someone who does ready-to-wear, who takes the shapes that Elisa comes up with and creates more traditionally finished clothes that could be manufactured. Like Elisa's first "pooing fabric" dress -- take off the train or modify it severely, and you've got a humdinger of an outfit.
I don't know if I'd want that person to be Victorya, though. She doesn't seem the type to appreciate whimsy.
Ew. Not just ugly clothes, but ugly clothes worn with really cheap shoes, from a Payless bargain bin maybe. Very confusing.
Killer shoes COULD have elevated some of those outfits, maybe. Oh, who am I kidding!
Dale,
I think most people are using the work amateur to indicate that the work is undisciplined.
Is her aim to sell these actual garments to collectors (of art) or to reproduce them on an made to measure individual basis? If so were there people in the audience that could afford such things. Usually when garments are made to measure, the quality and workmanship level is extraordiarly high (as is the price), and I don't see that here. Fashion design even at its most conceptual has to be a balance of craft, art, and buisness.
The trouble I have with many "performance pieces" (be they fashion, dramatic, musical, etc.) is that they often leave out the most cruicial element of performance -- the audience.
I have no doubt that Elisa had terrific inspiration for this collection, and that Hunger World means a great deal to her. But at some point, it's imperative that she communicate that inspiration/message to her audience. Otherwise it's just artistic masturbation.
I couldn't agree more with the boys.
Make a statement. Make the loudest strangest statement ever.
Just...make it so that it can be understood by people who aren't high on modern art.
When I got the symbolism it was overtly obvious, hence ruining it, and when I didn't it's shrouded in this chaotic cloud of mystery.
She's certainly allowed to have her vision. I think she just wants to inspire emotion and reaction.
Why oh why didn't she have her model on PR pull her dress up over her head and show panty on the runway? Dear God, the reaction from the Duchess would have made the season.
Elisa: "the designer different"
Never underestimate the lunatic fringe. Many of our everyday norms and practices started out as radical, way-out-there concepts. The tuna fishing industry insisted they could not catch tuna without a certain amount of dolphins ending up in each can. Can you imagine the average middle class shopper accepting ingredient labels listing 20% Flipper today? Gotham Tomato mentioned Yoko Ono, I would suggest Bjork as a more current parallel. I attended Bjork's last concert in LA in early December. I could see many audience members buying and wearing Elisa's clothing. As for the comment by Juliana (?) reminding us that Elisa had a brain injury, not funny, just mean spirited. She must miss bullying developmentaaly delayed kids on the playground.
" twc said...
A week or so before she was aufed, I warmed to Elisa and started to wonder what her collection would look like if she made it all the way to Bryant Park.
Now I know. Well, maybe a PR collection would have been different because it would have been clothes."
I loved Elisa on the show as well. She brought a great spirit to it & this season would have been poorer without her. I love how she responded when SweetP was so nasty to her, and she got other criticisms. She was a little like Linus, maintaining her integrity while waiting for the Great Pumpkin.
I also wondered what she would have brought to the finals, had she gotten there. But somehow, I don't think this collection is the one she would have shown, had she gotten to Bryant Park.
--GothamTomato
There's a spectrum between art and commerce in virtually every artistic pursuit, and yet, I always saw the fashion industry and way farther toward the "commerce" side as opposed to other fields such as theatre, film, fine art, sculpture, etc.
I wonder how Elisa found her way to fashion; it seems she'd be much more at home in the world of wacky performance art (where she designs all the costumes, natch).
:shudder:
So, Elisa gets her inspiration from sunshine, wind spirits, and video games from the mid-'90s? I can't look at that fifth dress without seeing this: http://n64media.ign.com/media/previews/image/mk425.jpg
Oh my...
Elisa is insanely unique...or insane and unique.
Either way, I love her completely.
Congratulations Moonbeam!
I love the girl.
I wish I loved her clothes more than I do. There's something a bit old-fashioned bohemian about the whole thing. As endearing as this collection can be, there's a hint of the twee, a little kitsch.
That said, there are a few pieces that work as clothes and I do love the lipstick kisses dress.
Maybe (as a presentation of fashion) it would've helped if she'd paired some of her interesting (and wearable - as seen in her PR Preview show collection) clothes with the "art" pieces. One following the other or an echo-presentation at the end with fashion models walking in a line wearing clothes inspired by the art-pieces?
If all the contestants on Project Runway, are showing at Fashion Week anyway, win or lose, what's the point of Project Runway? Isn't the premise of the show that these are people that wouldn't otherwise be showing collections during Fashion Week? Help me out on this one!
Heidi's left breast said, "Why oh why didn't she have her model on PR pull her dress up over her head and show panty on the runway? Dear God, the reaction from the Duchess would have made the season."
Oh, my, I would pay some serioius cash money to see that!
Link to Elisa videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/ElisaVids
Re Anonymous 2:49's question on "showing at Fashion Week"... Showing in one of the big kids tents at Bryant Park (as PR finalists do) is very different from putting on a self-financed show at an offsite venue during the week.
I would have been mega uncomfortable had I been actually attending this show. I would have been worried about WTF I would say to Elisa after the show was over. I would have been consumed with angst over it. I don't think there are any words...especially hard because she seems so sweet and so happy. Like a little puppy who is so proud of the big mess she just made.
I am more "wowed" by the gold lame dresses than anything I saw in Victorya's bland, retrospective, homogenous collection. The problem here seems to be that Elisa needs help with mise-en-scene, as well as with consistency. If she had stuck with her aesthetic and gold lame, the results might have been spectacular. Not sure, as others have mentioned, what that or any of this would have to do with world hunger . . .
In the spirit of the designer who made it, I'm going to stick to the positive things I can say about Elisa's collection. I liked Elisa a lot on the show especially her gentle spirit, I was pleased to see she used "real" people as her models, and I'm glad that Bill had the same Kyra Sedgwick question I had.
I think that's it. I'm going to go polymorph into something now.
....I am bummed. I wanted her to have a show stopping collection. Oh well...
NEXT!
OH. MY. DEAR. GOD.
Ugly-ass weird clothes AND fat models. Yikes.
I really don't get this. Can just anybody show at Bryant Park? Do you just have to sign up somewhere?
How are all these PRW designers showing there when they didn't even win?
Anne
um...I really liked the fairy-tale forest background.
Say no to crack.
Interesting though!
Anonymous said...
If all the contestants on Project Runway, are showing at Fashion Week anyway, win or lose, what's the point of Project Runway? Isn't the premise of the show that these are people that wouldn't otherwise be showing collections during Fashion Week? Help me out on this one!
You don't have to win a prize to show at Bryant Park, almost (Im sure some creds are required)anyone can rent tent space, but if you are an unknown, no one important (buyers, press) will show up. So it will not be worth it. For Victorya , having just appeared on PR, earned her a lot of coverage and hopefully the expense of putting on the show will be recuped in all the orders she gets.
And as Desertwind pointed out Elisa's show was off sight. And literally anyone can do that.
The real prize of PR is getting the good tent (for free) and the press coverage. The show has less to do with fashion week as the garments the PR designers are showing are not ready to go into production and the designers don't have to have there eye on the bottom line. Except to keep it within the insanely high budget of$8000 for fabric for 12 garments.
Oops.....I meant butt crack. Not to imply any drug usage on Elisa's part.
This is Elisa's brain on drugs.
I'm surprised at my own response, because those are my least favorite colors and I normally don't go for conceptual fashion...
...but I love it. It's playful and fun, and I think the "community theater" aspect of it is what makes it great. It's original and unusual, and the models are gorgeous. It's nice to see something weird.
Caligula said, "Ugly-ass weird clothes AND fat models."
FAT?? You think her models are fat? They are normal-sized women. The fact that they aren't the anorexic, see-through, count-my-ribs-and-vertebrae models we usually see does not make them "fat".
End rant.
Now that a couple of people have asked, "And what does it have to do with world hunger?" --
I'm reasonably sure that Elisa's "Hunger World" concept has nothing to do with world hunger. This is the woman who was "fortified" by her PR experience, after all.
Faline said...
As for the comment by Juliana (?) reminding us that Elisa had a brain injury, not funny, just mean spirited. She must miss bullying developmentaaly delayed kids on the playground.
Honey. You misunderstood my point. If you had any experience with anyone with a head injury you would know that besides memory loss, a change of perspective goes along with living through such a horrible experience mentally and physically. I wanted people to remember this before throwing out mean comments.
Elisa soooo reminds me of my college buddies...Fine Arts majors all. I know lots of folks from Elisa's Planet :)
I see in Elisa the need for a balancing voice-- a trusted friend who says, "Girl, please look at your work critically."
Were I that friend, I would have leveraged every ounce of trust and convinced her to:
1) make the shoes invisible. black ballet flats/booties for all...NO dirty sneakers! (damn) The mix of odd and ugly shoes was 'chip, in a chip way'
2) where's the color story? this thing is all over the place
3) ditto on the hair styling. reign it in, choose a look/era and modify it to suit each garment
4) finish those freakin hems, or at least apply some non-fray treatment to the edges
5) using everyday girls/women as models is a very tricky thing. I find her choices here to be ...er...unsuccessful in terms of presence and presentation
To sum up...she had some interesting pieces that got lost in the attempt at theatre. I hope she keeps trying, I think she's got something...but it needs to be honed.
My question is how come there's a big vagina made out of trees in the backdrop?
This was a very odd show, let's put it that way. It looks extremely slapped together.
Say what you want about the collection, but something about those photos seems very Max Parrish. They would make great postcards.
With regard to fashion, I'm not going to comment on the collection.
I will say that Elisa is an artist. I am impressed that she has developed and broadened a fan base through this Project Runway experience.
I would be interested in seeing her other artwork - sculptural, painting, etc.
This would be understandable coming from a 15 year old designer who's trying too hard. However, coming from an adult is just wrong. How did she get a show? If she gets to have a fashion show then I get to have a fashion show.
Elisa doesn't have vision, she's just spacey. And I'm beginning to feel that her planet is someplace where I would not want to visit.
Elisa, honey... Sometimes there's a reason why all of the other kids don't want to play with you. It's not them, it's you.
ChelseaNH said...
Now that a couple of people have asked, "And what does it have to do with world hunger?" --
I'm reasonably sure that Elisa's "Hunger World" concept has nothing to do with world hunger. This is the woman who was "fortified" by her PR experience, after all.
I was assuming that "Hunger World" was the fashion industry. You know its not just the models that are starving, everybody in the biz is trying to be a size 2.
Her models were gorgeous.
I didn't see any evidence of her famous spit marks. That even grossed me out and I don't gross out easily!
I didn't realize that you are Philly boys. I live in So Jersey and grew up west of the city.
I couldn't have said it better.
SNF in VA said: I prefer to try to imagine these garments on professional models...
But SNF, in "Hunger World," they've died of starvation. The common folk are enlisted to show the clothes and show them, they shall! Including the underwear.
If anything, the collection looks as if Elisa is trying too hard. I've seen some of her marionette stuff and some things in her portfolio and she really can be quite innovative.
Also, the whole audience/interactive thing seems strange for a fashion show. If she wanted it to be truly interactive, she could have invited her guests to strip and try on the clothes for themselves.
Yeah... It pains me to see that crap at fashion week
I think the "Hunger World" thing is probably not about actual hunger. Maybe it's metaphor for longing, desire, etc.
In any case, I thought this did seem amateurish, although maybe it was more dynamic in person. I like that she used real women as models, as many have said, but I can't see myself wearing any of the clothes, from what I've seen. And I'm from Seattle, where I have a lot of leeway as to what I wear.
chickenandegg
I, too, love Elisa as a person, so it pains me to say her collection is boring to me. Just bad and boring. Even more boring than something that Ricky would cook up. But I still love her. As a human being, she is a doll and we need more like her.
As Michael Kors once said, and Santino set to music, "Lighten up, it's just fashion." Or art. Or performance art. Or whatever this was. It is what it is. Surely we didn't expected Elisa to present... something we expected?
It's Elisa, and she's a free spirit. I think, if nothing else, her character came across in this collection, and maybe that's what was most important to her. If so, it was a success.
I go to art school, so I'm around weirdos 24/7. I myself am one. But man, I don't know about those clothes. I appreciate her "I don't care who else likes this because I do" thing, but a few of those outfits, I swear, were dance recital costumes I had in the past.
wtf is this?
i seriously feel like i am looking at a project a bunch of first graders put together.
ughhh it's a hot mess
TLO.<3
oh yeah, i forgot we are supposed to be talking about this shit.
no offense, (love you elisa), but this is ---- blUgHHH.
in a nutshell.
anonymous said:
"I go to art school, so I'm around weirdos 24/7. I myself am one. But man, I don't know about those clothes. I appreciate her "I don't care who else likes this because I do" thing, but a few of those outfits, I swear, were dance recital costumes I had in the past."
haaahaha i go to baltimore school for the arts so i know EXACTLY what you're talking about. she's a wacko! regarding the outfits...
ughhh..so not cute. they are not wearable nor flattering and are hardly considered "works of art" to me.
&& enough with this "polymorphic" junk. seriously, everytime i hear that word i want to throw up.
Nothing personal, Elisa, but this collection is a joke, right? Butt crack theater? Nothing in this collection entertaining or interesting - just macabre.
Christie couldn't have said it better - that first picture could scare the crap out of anyone.
Not to sound skeptical, but has anyone from PR backed up Elisa's statements about being selected for the Season one? Just wondering, because that fact seems interesting enough that I would have thought Tim would have remarked on it.
And, in my world, what she does does NOT count as art. But, then again, it is in the eye of the beholder, right?
Anonymous 5:13 said but something about those photos seems very Max Parrish.
I disagree. Aside from "floaty" garments, Maxfield Parrish was very precise and sure in his use of color, light, and sense of movement. There's nothing precise or sure in Elisa's work.
I have been thinking about Elisa's work all day and it comes down to this for me: Elisa's an artist/costume maker, not a designer. It's okay for her to be all wooooo and faahh and swish sort of different, but there comes a time when reality must take precedence. One cannot flit about in some other dreamlike world forever.
Well, it is "different". She is a loveable child.. but, I really don't get it..
Okay, what does Puppet Girl have against hems? And WTF is that rag on the models head on slide 24? A floor mop?
I have to give her credit for using real people instead of the human sticks that models have become.
I think Elisa was by far the sweetest contestant this year, but a real fashion designer? Sorry, no.
FAT?? You think her models are fat? They are normal-sized women. The fact that they aren't the anorexic, see-through, count-my-ribs-and-vertebrae models we usually see does not make them "fat".
End rant.
Begin counter-rant: If you want people to stop calling "normal-sized women" fat, then please practice what you preach and stop using the word "anorexic" to describe healthy women who just happen to be sizes from 0-6.
Anorexia is a serious condition. It is not necessarily the reason why any given model is skinny, any more than a woman is heavy necessarily because she's stuffing her face all the time. You wouldn't like it if that accusation was made, so please don't accuse the reverse of others.
Most women are one way or the other because of their metabolism moreso than their eating habits, and they are all beautiful. It doesn't matter what size they are, and that goes both ways, hon.
I think that when you are attempting the avant garde through clothing- using clothing as a vehicle for a high art concept- the execution has to be flawless. Her collection just looks like poorly made. I like her, she seems to have a nice spirit, but I was expecting something that demonstrated skill.
I don't see much skill in the execution of this, or in the communication of a core concept.
My eyes, my eyes!
Elisa is very interesting and nice person. She just needs to stay with the puppets. Please, Elisa. Stay with the puppets.
Dale Wittig: Wow, thanks for the info -- I had no idea that Elisa was Luis Jiménez's daughter! I have family in New Mexico, and I've seen quite a bit of his work in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Very interesting. Luis Jiménez's stuff tends to be a little over-the-top, colorful, whimsical, and fun -- so, yeah, I see it, she is her father's daughter. Elisa's show, however...I have to admit, seeing those pictures, I'm just not feeling it. It doesn't seem to succeed on any level (for me) -- not as fantasy, as art, or as wearable fashion.
I think she can do better. I hope she does. I also hope she keeps enjoying herself. Party on, Puppet Girl.
Many of these comments cite Elisa's "acceptance of herself" and her disregard for the opinions of others, as though these qualities were great virtues.
If you ask me, Elisa's mellow stoner attitude is akin to smugness-- not conducive to growth, improvement, or refinement. (Why strive for perfection when we're all perfect just the way we are?)
Give me the industrious and self-doubting Jillian, any day...
Hi Frieda ... :)
you said:
Many of these comments cite Elisa's "acceptance of herself" and her disregard for the opinions of others, as though these qualities were great virtues.
--I do consider it a virtue to 'give yourself' permission to be different, which she clearly is and is comfortable with it. In fact, I think it takes great courage.
also said:
If you ask me, Elisa's mellow stoner attitude is akin to smugness-- not conducive to growth, improvement, or refinement...
--Why would you presume that a mellow stoner is not open to growth, improvement or refinement? Elisa's current showing is part of her journey, just as Jillian's PR finale (crossing fingers, Go Jillian!) will be.
The industrious Jillian has been shown to wince, moan and perhaps have micro-management issues. By this, I mean she does not seem to enjoy the challenges placed before her.
Clearly Jillian is more skilled at execution, no disagreement there...but I think she might learn from Elisa's joyful embrace of "what if".
If we could go back and re-assign a group challenge, I think a Jillian/Elisa pairing would have been mighty interesting indeed.
Cheers.
What I like about Elisa is that she probably doesn't really care what other people think of her work. And she seems to be happy most of the time. I wish I was happy most of the time and didn't care what other people thought.
What is the old saying? If you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything. Oh the bloggers, they think people care about they say. In reality we don't.
At least it wasn't VictorYa's boring-ass, redundant recycled 80's crap.
Artistic, her pieces may be. But not aesthetically beautiful. This is why she may be satisfied with her own work when I am not quite happy.
* She should've taken off her own outfit and sent it down the runway. That's the only clothes you can, in the least, find pretty enough.
I liked some bits and pieces of her clothes, but I mostly feel overwhelming disappointment. It`s like she tried TOO hard to be "avant garde".
Kzspot
UGH! Seriously! I have no opinion on Elisa "as a person" but these clothes are horrible!
The seams are puckered and they are incredibly unflattering! In the first picture, the bodice on the middle girl, it is SO UGLY.
There is NO SEXY here.. despite the butt cleavage.
And .. wide range of bodies? you're kidding me right? They are all flat chested.
"I do consider it a virtue to 'give your self' permission to be different, which she clearly is and is comfortable with it. In fact, I think it takes great courage."
Let's suppose-- just for the sake of argument-- that Elisa's stoner behavior is the result of her actually being a stoner. Would you still marvel at her courage?
ok i agree with everything!!! is that mustard on elisa's dress ewwwww!
I'll say one thing for Elisa's "show"...it certainly generated a lot of comments.
Elisa absolutely charms me, as soon as she talks about a dark Gretel figure, the Hunger World, whatever - I'm completely intrigued.
It just doesn't translate into interesting fashion.
Anyone else getting a Rave vibe from this collection? Not the all night party, think mega-tacky store next to the JCPenney at your local mall.
anonymous said:
What is the old saying? If you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything. Oh the bloggers, they think people care about they say. In reality we don't.
Well clearly you cared enough to a. read it and b. comment on the commentary.
Lighten up, it's just fashion!
The middle model in the first photo is a dead ringer for a years-ago Chelsea Clinton, albeit caught at an extremely unfortunate moment.
Gotta say I expected more from Elisa. I think we saw more cohesivesness and better execution in the sum total of her designs on the show than from this exhibit of "garments".
STill, best of luck to her and I wish her well.
OMG. ahhhh
Frieda said:
"Let's suppose-- just for the sake of argument-- that Elisa's stoner behavior is the result of her actually being a stoner. Would you still marvel at her courage?"
Well, maybe not, but I would want her dealer's number, because that's some good stuff she's got there, yo.
Seriously, if someone genuinely enjoys the hell out of life, loves what they do and who they are, and is impervious to the negative opinions of others, well, yeah, I have to admire that person. Okay, if Elisa were sailing through life with no regard for others at all, if she were selfish or uncaring, I could understand the animus against her, but we've seen no evidence of that. She just seems like a sweet, totally confident person. I don't have it in me to knock that.
OMG.
Elisa and Bradley should hook up $ make babies.
Weirdos from another planet.
Yikes!
I don't understand all the hemming and hawing. It's horrible. As fashion. As art. As a concept show. Any way you look at it, it is horrible.
Hey frieda & thyrza,
(thryza: ...Well, maybe not, but I would want her dealer's number, because that's some good stuff she's got there, yo.)
snicker.
Truth is, I almost replied to frieda concerning the years I worked with fashion execs who had enough prozac (paxil, zoloft) in their handbags to...float a boat.
but I couldn't seem to phrase it in a manner which read as not-agressive ..."tone" on the net can be an ambiguous thing.
I worked with people who used prescription drugs to separate themselves from their actions...to "deal" with their harsh realities/stress.
If Elisa is a 'fan of BobMarley", I suspect she's the Pilot of the Mothership, not a passenger. cheers!
TIRED TIRED TIRED.
Clothing only a Martha Graham junior company dancer would love.
Yikes!
Yikes! She's an adorable person... but the clothes. Oh my.
"I attended Bjork's last concert in LA in early December. I could see many audience members buying and wearing Elisa's clothing"
OH hell no. do not group us with this mess..
Sex and the City will be calling.
Why were Elisha and VictorYa at Bryant Park? Was this an amateur show?
Yeah, if the clothes had looked well made I could have handled them being weird or even ugly. Too bad.
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