0 0 0 0 2B Thrsay Fbrar " Textiles and style Students take Thursday, February 9, 2012/ The B-Side 7 U' students balance runway, classes The flexibility o f surnames fashion design into their own hands By CHLOE STACHOWIAK Daily Music Editor Take one step into Emily Pit- tinos's East Quad dorm room and it's immediately apparent you're stepping into a space used for more than study and sleep. Trash bags packed with fluffy wool are crammed beneath the bed. Jars of fabric dye line the sink. Handmade headbands dangle bril- liantly from a reading lamp. It may not be a layout worthy of an HGTV special, but for Pittinos, it doesn't need to be: Ever since she started making yarn, her bedroom doubles as a makeshift yarn workshop, a place where raw materials stand beside twin beds and spinning supplies outnumber textbooks. Pittinos's habitations haven't always been clogged up with spin- ning wheels and fibers, though. Working with yarn is an art form she has only known for a year - even if the tools and fantastically colored products piled on her floor suggest otherwise. "It's all super new to me," she said. "I have a friend who I met in high school who lives in Maine. They have their own sheep farm, and when I went there in the sum- mer, his mom taught me how to spin in a couple hours. I ended up doing that the entire time I was there, and when I got home, I bought my own spinning wheel." It didn't take long for her craft to grow into something bigger, as the Arts and Ideas major designed her own fiber-focused independent study through the RC. From there, she taught herself to spin, dye and blend wool - dorm-room style. "I had to create my own method for dyeing," she said. "Usually, you have to boil the water, but I can't really do that." This method involved glass jars, an electric heater and a tiny sink. It may be unconventional, but that's exactly what sets her apart from the rest of the crafting pack. Twisting the materials into jars allows Pittinos to put her own spin on every product she creates, resulting in rich hues and eclectic designs typically unseen in the ALLISON KRUSKE/Daily Student designer Ryan Perkins found his sewing machine on the side of the road. fiber fairs and Etsy.com networks she frequents. It's hard to say exactly where Pittinos's woolen art will take her next, but with handmade purs- es and the Ann Arbor Art Fair already on her mind, it's clear that she isn't short on ideas. Pittinos isn't the only student balancing university life with design. Ryan Perkins, an Engi- neering senior and creator of the clothing line R. Perkins MFG, is also finding time to pursue his fashion interests - all while main- taining a student's schedule. The hectic workload began two years ago, when Perkins taught himself to sew, starting with a leather backpack and later grad- uating to jeans. While his first machine was outdated (he found it discarded on the side of the road) and not actually designed to with- stand the thickness of denim, Per- kins gave his find a chance and still uses it to sew his products. "This is one of the best and strongest home sewing machines you can find," he said. "Everything else is geared toward old ladies making finger puppets." One year later, R: Perkins MFG was born - a brand complete with a website and list of goods and ser- vices including pants, scarves and free men's haircuts for his bravest customers. The line's highlight, however, is its custom-made jeans - a passion that started when Perkins grew tired of paying too much money for designer denim, he wasn't entirely happy with. "I kind of use other designers as inspiration, or 'uninspiration,' if that makes sense," he said. "A lot of brands use different embellish- ments and colored threads ... I like to keep it as simple as possible." But this minimalistic style isn't executed simply. One pair of jeans takes Perkins at least 15 hours to make, a feat tackled with handmade patterns and vintage equipment in his Broadway Street apartment. The intricate process limits his production to one pair a week, but ensures customers (who pay in cash, paintings or beer) a quality of material and craftsman- ship they can't find in stores. Because of his rigorous class schedule and interest in engineer- ing-related jobs, Perkins plans on maintaining R. Perkins MFG as a side project for now. But with steady business on his website and possible deals with local vendors, there's no telling when the proj- ect will transform into something more. From self-taught sewing to jam jars bloated with yarn and dye, little about the artistic process is black and white for student design- ers Pittinos and Perkins. Their secret isn't following the rules, but redefining them: It's about setting down textbooks, grabbing their work by the needle and turning each stitch and splash of color into something more personal. ince the day of my birth, I have been both blessed and burdened with the inheritance of a hyphenated last name. The 16 characters don't quite fit on the yoga class sign-in sheets, they definitely. don't make the cut for the standard- ized testing box, and they JULIA comprise one SMITH- hell of an EPPSTEINER unappealing signature. But perhaps a hyphenated name is memorable, like sharing in the Additional section of your resume that you bear the skill of reciting the entirety of Christo- pher Walken's gold watch "Pulp Fiction" monologue. Mom and dad, I love you up to the sky and, down again, but what were you thinking? Did you hypothesize what might come of my kids' comically never-ending names? For my mama, choosing to keep her maiden name Smith and not take my dad's name was more practical than anything else. As a lawyer, she had already made a name for herself, established an identity in the workplace and all aspects of life. It wasn't a par- ticularly feminist or ethics-based decision, and it wasn't just the avoidance of the paperwork that comes with getting new credit cards and all of that not-fun business. Hyphenating her name with my dad's just made sense, but for others, it's a forceful and moralized decision involving issues such as women's equality, religion and tradition. For Kim Kardashian, on the other hand, plans were in place" to follow the customary path and become Mrs. Kim Humphries, despite manager-mother Kris Jenner's resolute advice not to. The reasoning was that Kim's fame, identity and career are all intimately attached to her last name. Thankfully for Kim, she hadn't yet gotten around to legally switching her name in the - don't hold your breath - 72 days they were married. The trend of brides opting to keep their maiden names and hyphenate their children's last names with their husband's is possibly a fashion of the '90s, but one that is possibly still continu- ing - it's difficult to decipher. But it's one with interesting ramifications that are finally ris- ing to the surface. Not for myself, I must specify. Stuff White People Like, aka Christian Lander, addressed the inclination toward hyphenated last names, describing it as "a direct result of white women thinking it's sexist and outdated to take on their husband's name." Theorizing about the prospects of this "recent phenomenon," Lander "(has) a feeling that col- lege lacrosse and soccer jerseys are going to look pretty strange in the next few years." Why limit the many possibilities of last names? The situation isn't as dramatic or problematic as I've been mak- ing it out to be, because there truly are alot of options. And it seems that most people who were given hyphenated last names were not raised in traditional families with traditional values and would probably be open to progressive alternatives such as using one's middle name as their last name for their children's surname. To clarify, let's imagine a very distant scenario - I; Julia Alix Smith-Eppsteiner, marry phantom spouse John Doe. This would mean that our hypotheti- cal kids would be named Emma Alix-Doe and Alexander Alix- Doe, for example. In the past week, I've gotten a sense for students' opinions on the subject from a wide range of personalities and majors across the University's campus, includ- ing those of my classmates. My See SMITH-EPPSTINER, Page 6B SHEI models learn the ropes of the fashion industry By BRIANNE JOHNSON Daily Arts Writer As 3 a.m. approaches, the dim street glows with the fluorescent spotlight under which LSA junior Dana Pennington waits. Ankles aching and arms straining to fend off the invasive winter air, she lis- tens for the next call. "All right, for this next take, just smile, laugh, jump around - have fun with it," the director says. Ignoring the blistering pain of too-tight heels, Pennington nods to the surrounding crew. A music- video shoot tonight and a Sociol- ogy exam tomorrow morning - as a full-time student and part-time model, it's all just a part of life. Facebook may be the hot spot for folders of your roommate's best angles and that freshly photo- shopped profile pic, but for many students on campus, looking good means more than 14 "likes" - it's a career. "You're getting judged on exact- ly how you look ... most people feel that way on a daily basis, but (as a model), that's your career. The way you look is how you make your money," Pennington said. With the opportunity to walk the runways of local designers and slither into extreme makeup and atypical fashion (cardboard and paper gowns, anyone?), many stu- dents turn to SHEI Magazine to dip their manicured toes into the modeling industry. As the Univer- sity's student-run fashion maga- zine, SHEI offers models a peek into the profession. For Business junior Cynthia Zhang, who has worked as a model since the age of 16, her four years at SHEI have blossomed into bookings with fashion chains such as Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Rag & Bone and Saks Fifth Avenue. SHEI welcomes students of all backgrounds and serves as the medium through which first-timers like Art & Design sophomore Grace Treado gain exposure to the surreal world in front of the camera lens. "Someone told me to go to the SHEI model call, just on a whim in between classes," Treado said. "They just called me back ... and they were like, 'We want you to do a shoot, and next week we have a fashion show coming up and we need extra people.' " The publication is a celebra- tion of fashion in which aspiring writers, photographers and styl- ists express their passion for the industry through an annual issue. SHEI employs models for events and student-conceptualized photo shoots, as well as providing oppor- tunities with local designers. In Pennington's case, it got her a gig in a music video for Ann Arbor- based band The Hop's single "Hi Tonight." Weekends consumed by spend- ing hours sunk into a make-up chair, stylists molding a model into an unrecognizable version of herself, ten minutes of the con- stant shutter of a photographer's camera - a tedious, repetitive process is involved in creating the glamorous illusion. When asked about the dedication required for the "sporadic" career, each model bemoaned the growing time con- flicts, which interfere with her sec- ond life as a student. "Before I do any modeling things, I make sure I get my schoolwork done," Zhang said. "And if I have to choose between the two, I definitely go with school. That's what a stu- dent's supposed to do, right?" Despite the tiring conditions, Zhang revels in the ability to evolve in front of the lens, pioneering the extreme designs in which fash- ion transcends the racks of local boutiques and_ solidifies as art. For Zhang and Pennington, the runway is a stage and the model is the per- former and the audience, enthralled by the very act in which she takes part. "It's your moment on stage," Zhang said. "I am (scared by it), but that's the reason I like it ... Knowing there are so many people that I'm directly. putting the show on for, it's really exciting," Pennington added. As a model and photographer, Treado appreciates, the creative and technical aspects of posing for the camera. Describing fashion as one of many creative outlets, she expressed surprise at the respect she has gained for modeling as an alternative form of art. "It proved every expectation I had about modeling to be wrong," Treado said. "I thought if I started (modeling with) SHEI, I'd dress in a couple of pretty outfits, like maybe my face will show up in a magazine and that'll be it. But this was all edgy and conceptual and weird." Whether it be trekking a car- peted runway in 7-inch Louboutins or rushing through the next outfit- COURTESY OF PHOTASA PHOTOGRAPHY Cynthia Zhang has been modeling since the age of 16. change of a hectic show backstage, models not only suffer for their art, they suffer for the art of others - designers, photographers and styl- ists. For Zhang, Pennington and Treado, models work to represent a collective vision. As described by Treado, artists embrace a multi- tude of creative outlets, but "fash- ion is just a different one." THIN RED LINE From Page 6B World War II film, "The Thin Red Line." He saw his film, a dramati- zation-of the Battle of Guadalca- nal, as a look into the unspoiled Eden of the Pacific island invad- ed by the "green poison" of war. Instead of honoring the dead and the dying who struggled to keep the world free, Malick gave us birds twisting in agony as the pristine forests of Guadalcanal get shredded apart by artillery. It's beautifully shot and there's no denying that Malick has an eye for composition, but it's utterly unmoving, especially when framed against perhaps the greatest con- flict the world has ever known. With a degree in philosophy, it's surprising that Malick failed to realize material things can always be replaced - come peacetime, the island will slowly restore itself. It's the hunan element of war - the millions of young soldiers who laid their lives on the line in the Pacific theater - that is truly irreplace- able. And when he tries to deal with these human characters, Malick is, unsurprisingly, inept. The film's central character - a man who deserts his unit in favor of the simpler life of an island native - is impossible to relate with. His internal musings are cloying, and though they're obviously meant as the words of a jaded man tired of fighting, they come off instead as a veneer of meaningless posturing that cloaks his internal cowardice. "What's this war in the heart of nature?" he asks. "Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature?" Snore. His companions are no better. There's a soldier who kills an enemy and muses that nobody can touch him for killing that man and committing murder. No shit, Sherlock - this is war. Another soldier, whose words end the movie, ask questions that are even more insipid: "Where is it that we were together? Who were you that I lived with? The brother. The friend." Through his pretension, Malick manages to suck all the power and, for that matter, all the dramatic tension from one of the clearest examples of good versus evil in recorded history. Who says phi- losophy majors don't contribute to society? -DAVID TAO JOIN THE DAILY. ENTER THE PENNY CAN CHALLENGE. Request an application by e-mailing arts@ michigandaily.com.