4B - Thursday, April 12, 2007
(the b-side}
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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
VNO T EBOOK
Reality's obsession
with fashion
By MICHELE YANKSON
Daily Arts Writer
happenings of
tional, a high-e
modeling agen
ABOVE: Casually relaxed sportswear is designed to be paired with matching ja
RIGHT: Souwaidam shows off a more modest watch for the average customer.
From page 1B countries around the world (Africa
- "the motherland"), and more
original themes constantly intro- lighthearted themes like tic-tac-toe
duced.Socially consciousmotifs like and popular sports.
the First Amendment and Martin The design team, made up
Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" of three Michigan natives with
speech are spread across the jackets offices in Livonia, fleshes out each
in a visual montage of ornate stitch- new concept for the men's jackets,
work, which creates a thread pat- sportswear and women's outerwear
tern that gives each piece its unique before shipping patterns to Hong
visual and tactile textures. These Kong where the clothes are actually
jackets transcend popular sports- made. Though much of the work is
wear and enter high fashion and done by machine, a small portion of
artistic design. The range of other the elaborate stitching is done by
elements that have found their way hand - some jackets have as many
onto the jackets include Ameri- as six million individual stitches.
can cities (Detroit especially) and Al Wissam's specialty centers
Thanks to Tyra Banks, the mod- The show'sg
eling world is becoming a weekly ish high-end f
staple of primetime television. abrasiveness i
Many viewers of "ANTM," per- introduction o
haps less able to tell the difference to be subparr
between the delicate simplicity of a sick of us sign
Derek Lam garment and the quirky noses and (exp
detailing of a Miu Miu, can now she said about
quip about the zany schemes of Lisa hopeful.
from season five or the self-aggran- What "The
dizingspiels of last season's runner- models whimp
up Jade. row-styled hair
One reason for the recent popu- in the smart,r
larity of fashion-reality television is exchanges of ti
simple: It makes something once so of the most dub
distantlyglamorous instantly acces-
sible. Those who appreciate fashion "AuNTM"
don't need to study the pages of
Harper's Bazaar in a vain attempt to Fashioned
see how the ethereal other half lives original, "Aus
when networks like The CW have a Model" is a bi
crop of modeling hopefuls ready to has been showi
duke it out for the opportunity to sodes, but the
have a career, however fleeting, in a network hon
the fashion industry. And those who States.
just love a good reality show can "AuNTM" s
relish another chance to tune into of sifting out w
a televised portrayal of life behind week by puttin
the scenes. wardly challer
Whether people are viewing the The first seas
shows for the catwalk couture, the mounting hors
inevitable drama or to snicker as the and pumps wl
judges deliver caustic criticism to gusts of wind
the towering pillars of perfection, exasperated ph
thousands are tuning in each week. One consi
Wilhelmina Interna-
nd men and women's
cy.
em is Beckythe Brit-
ashion agent, whose
s unleashed at the
f what she believes
model recruits. "I'm
ing models with big
pletive) 37-inch hips,"
a just-signed blonde
Agency" lacks in
ering over Mia Far-
rcuts, it makes up for
raw and often harsh
hose who assume one
ious professions.
after the American
stralia's Next Top
t more elusive. VH1
ing a few obscure epi-
spin-off doesn't have
me yet in the United
ticks to the formula
'eak contestants each
g them through awk-
aging photo shoots.
on saw the models
es in evening gowns
hile competing with
and the gripes of an
hotographer.
iderable difference
I
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featured on the company's promo
DVD.
Al Wissam designs have been
featured in more than 100 music
videos, but it's not just the clothes
that have earned celeb raves. As
a complement to the head-to-toe
streetwear ensemblesthe company
has even released a customized edi-
tion of the Hummer, stocked with
an upgraded sound system and
interior leather embroidered with
the characteristic AlWissam logo.
Big-name clients and local fans
can't seem to get enough - Al Wis-
sam delivers an entirely new style
that can't be found anywhere else,
and the laid-back staff maintains a
level of personal attention uncom-
mon among high-profile labels.
"We connect to the customers
and we know what (they) need, and
we design our clothing from that,"
Souwaidam said.
Al Wissam's latest addition to
the collection is a pared-down,
streamlined style of Italian leather
jackets that will hopefully appeal
to the company's older clients as
they grow up and opt for a more
sophisticated look, stretching
beyond edgy urbanwear.
Souwaidam said spring 2008
will reveal a full line of wom-
en's sportswear, as opposed to
the current limited selection of
leather jackets. Al Wissam also
hopes to break into the markets
in Germany and Japan, where a
blended hip-hop culture is tak-
ing shape.
"ANTM"
Nowinitseighthseason,"ANTM"
was the trend's first wave and con-
tinues to be the most recognizable.
Although Ms.Banks's tyrant-of-the-
runway monologues have become a
bit predictable, the show's uncon-
ventional photo shoots and chal-
lenges are still worth watching.
After the fourth season, the show
lost the wickedly amusing Janice
Dickinson; but complaints were
scarce when fashion icon Twiggy
took her place on the judges panel.
Dickinson's diva attitude seems to
live on in the finger snaps and criti-
cal remarks from the androgynous
J. Alexander, whose outfits alone
- not to mention killer walk - are
worthy of praise. Nigel Barker,
the hunky yet increasingly bland
photographer, rounds up the judge
panel with a subdued expertise
that's aperfecttemperingtoBanks's
look-at-me persona.
"THE AGENCY"
Where the models go at it in
"ANTM," "The Agency" pits agents
against each other, following the
between the American and Austra-
lian versions: the current season of
AuNTM opened the contest to girls
under 18.
"Janice Dickinson Modeling
Agency"
Dickinson left "ANTM" and
started her own show, perhaps
because she couldn't play second
fiddle to the domineering Banks.
It's an entertaining glimpse into the
opening of her agency, The Janice
DickinsonModelingAgencyinWest
Hollywood. Dickinson's handling of
recruits provides the audience with
more reasons to abhor her ruthless
criticism while still admiring her
refreshing honesty.
In the show's second season,
Dickinson is still as vicious and
erratic as ever. Still, you have to give
her credit - she's in her 50s and still
a formidable (if at times laughable)
presence in an industry that dis-
poses of its prey at the first inkling
of a laugh line. And with the success
of the show, it doesn't seem like the
self-proclaimed "world's firstsuper-
model" is going anywhere anytime
soon.
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