The Michigan -Daily - michigandaily.cam
Friday, January 11, 2013 - 7
Fashion show to
raise funds for arts
EnspiRED to host
seventh annual
charity event
By CARLINA DUAN
Daily Community Culture Editor
On Saturday, the student orga-
nization EnspiRED will host its
seventh annual charity fashion
show in the
Biomedical Sci- EnspiRED
ence Research
Building at 7 Pnts
p.m. This year's The Year
show revolves
around the
theme "The Fashion
Year of Cou-
ture," and will
feature approx- Saturday
imately 5o stu- at7p.m.
dent models, Biomedical
live entertain- Research Building
ment and origi- B
nal clothing From$10
designs from
fashion bou-
tiques across the U.S.
EnspiRED, created in 2006,
promotes arts awareness and
passion for the arts across cam-
pus by showcasing various arts-
based events throughout the
year.
"EnspiRED started essen-
tially to highlight the arts and
different artists on campus,"
said LSA junior Tyrell Collier,
the show's production manager.
"We promote the collabora-
tion of arts through the various
events that we host, but our big-
gest event of the year is always
the fashion show."
"The Year of Couture" will
be a charity fundraiser for Art
Roads, a nonprofit group that
aims to restore arts classes in
southeastern Michigan elemen-
tary schools where budget cuts
have diminished arts programs.
LSA senior Chatoris Jones,
president of EnspiRED,
explained the logic behind
choosing Art Roads as this year's
fashion show charity organiza-
tion.
"When I was in elementary
school, we had art classes. Now-
adays, art's gone," Jones said.
"Art Roads keeps art within
schools. That's what we want
to do at Michigan. Yeah, we're a
research institution. Some stu-
dents here are going pre-med,
are more into engineering and
are getting into B-School ... but
what about those individuals
that are here to keep art alive?"
By choosing Art Roads, Jones
hopes to sustain the importance
of art both on campus and with-
in schools across Michigan.
"Although art is something
that's fun, it also helps you feel
good. You can express yourself,"
Jones said.
Other than the fashion show,
EnspiRED also creates several
gallery-like events throughout
the year, titled "Arts Experienc-
es," which showcase local and
student artists and musicians.
Collier noted a similar theme
of accentuating the arts in the
fashion show.
"Although ('The Year of Cou-
ture') is a fashion show, we do
showcase and highlight vari-
ous forms of art throughout the
show," he said.
The fashion show will fea-
ture clothing designs and fuse
together differing art forms like
dance, visual art and live music.
This year's show promises a
hip-hop performance by rap-
per Mahd, and host James "Mr.
GQue" Stratford.
"The Year of Couture" pres-
ents a different spin on the tra-
ditional couture, high-class art
sphere.
"Our fashion show is not sup-
posed to be like New York Fash-
ion Week - it's supposed to be
arts through fashion. It's all
about individuality. When you
wake up, whatever you dress
up as, that's what inspires you,"
Jones said.
Rather than focus on the tra-
ditional meaning of "couture"
as high-fashion, EnspiRED
chose to craft a new definition of
"couture," one that proves more
accessible to the arts.
"What we're taking is whole,
high-fashion European kind of
couture, and making it an every-
day kind of couture," Jones said.
"We are not a fashion organiza-
tion. We are an arts-based orga-
nization."
Collier added: "It's 'The Year
of Couture,' so basically we want
to bring legendary concept of
couture but compare it to every-
day-wear as well. We want to
basically show that couture can
be represented by more demo-
graphics than it's usually repre-
sented in."
Instead of primarily featur-
ing clothing from local fashion
boutiques like last year's fash-
ion show, "The Year of Cou-
ture" showcases designers from
across the country.
"This year, we've gone out to
up-and-coming fashion design-
ers, and also to other boutiques,"
Jones said.
Ann Arbor local fashion
boutiques Wendy, Launch and
Cool Club Clothing will also be
highlighted. All four seasons of
clothing - spring, summer, win-
ter and fall - will be featured
throughout the show, emphasiz-
ing the year-round couture look.
The student models, chosen by
EnspiRED through a modeling
call at the beginning of the year,
will pose in various clothing
designs.
New to this year's fashion
show will be three levels of
tickets available for purchase:
Premium VIP, VIP and General
Admission. Premium VIP guests
can attend a pre-show reception,
where they will be treated to a
catered meal, in addition to live
musical entertainment by three
singers, two of which are Uni-
versity students. Both Premium
VIP and VIP guests willbe given
preferred seating, as well as a
"Swag Box" of gift items. The
pre-show reception begins at
6 p.m. and doors open at 7 p.m.
for VIP and General Admission
guests.
Collier explained the deci-
sions behind adding the Pre-
mium VIP, VIP and General
Admission.
"Last year, we hit capacity.
We didn't have enough seats.
This year, we added the pre-
show reception because that
was another aspect of doing
something different and another
way to showcase more artists as
well," he said.
For both Jones and Collier,
anticipation for the show is blend-
ed with excitement.
"I'm excited to see how it looks,
to see if we sell out, and I'm hoping
to give a good amount of money to
the charity," Collier said.
Jones added, "This will be the
best thing that hits Michigan.
That's something that we do in
EnspiRED. We push the edges.
We dare tobe different."
"Is Leslie Mann taking'ff her clothes again?"
No surprises from
Apatow in'Thi's Is 40'
By ANDREW MCCLURE
DailyArts Writer
The lifespan of a cup of cof-
fee epitomizes Judd Apatow's
"This Is 40." First, it's too hot:
overambitious,
hit-or-miss B-
humor nested
in Viagra jokes ThiSIS 40
and incredible
spouse dynam- AtQualityl6
ics. Next, it's and Rave
just right: Universal
Strong perfor-
mances emerge
and the title validates. Last,
after sitting paralyzed for two
hours, it's a cool stool sample:
Drawn-out sequences get lost in
a scrawling script that begs for
sympathy. The laughs are there
but devoid of variety and form.
Apatow is a predictable film-
maker. Not unlike Dane Cook
- the Ryan Reynolds of standup
- Apatow makes self-respecting
funnies angled for a millennial
audience. Biggest concern? Lon-
gevity. His stamina will contin-
ue to be challenged. But guess
what: "Predictable" can be a
good thing. You know what you
ordered when one of his films
open. "This Is 40" is no excep-
tion. With recycled actors and
congruent plot frameworks, his
semi-sequel scores through the
uprights, but never quite reaches
the end zone.
Congratulate Pete and Debbie
(played by Paul Rudd and Leslie
Mann, "Knocked Up"). Unsur-
prisingly, they are approaching
the 40-year mark. In Debbie's
mind, she's turning 38 again, "This Is 40." Primarily, the film
not 40. This is further backed tackles precisely what its title
during a scene at the gynecolo- suggests: oncoming menopausal
gist when two nurses inquire behavior, overprotective guard-
why her birth year climbs high- ians, receding hairlines and
er each visit. Pete, however, Generation Y-technology clue-
remains honest to his Tour de lessness. In this sense, the film's
France biking club jerseys and grounded reality and honesty
his covert cupcake fetish. They appear refreshing. In the past,
loosely make a pact to exercise Apatow has excelled in depict-
daily, revamp diets and rectify ing life's inevitable encounters
relationships with their respec- that people pretend don't exist.
tive fathers (Albert Brooks, You have everything from the
"Broadcast News," and John graying virgin to a comic's mis-
Lithgow, "The Campaign"). We ery.
follow the pair as they fight, Mann kills while Rudd weak-
rekindle, jest and fume. ly follows. To be fair, Debbie is
structured stronger than Pete,
but we fail to sympathize for
Your p rents Pete the way Apatow hopes. His
OUr parentst scrippled business marries with
will rhis inability to refuse his broke
father monthly checks. Ideally,
like this movie you want to pat weaker charac-
ters on the back and ensure them
more than you. it's going to be OK. That never
happens.
"This Is 40" pigeonholes itself
as an older person movie. Unless
Professionally, Rudd oper- younger' viewers have parents
ates a suffocating record label with overlapping traits and
while Mann manages a clothier empathies, it's tough to reso-
that's missing an unexplained nate. With an overlong runtime,
$12,000. Supporting, Chris the film eventually feels like it's
O'Dowd and Megan Fox add working on fumes, and many
pizzazz and mountainous cleav- unnecessary scenes bog down
age (respectively) as coworkers. the script's momentum.
Even Jason Segel, an Apatow Thankfully, though, Apatow
veteran, is thrown in the mix as specializes in one important cat-
the prescient, womanizing per- egory: handcrafting a unique,
sonal trainer. Fox's character relevant perspective on harm-
brainlessly answers, "I'm just lessly contentious subject mat-
young," as Debbie cops a feel of ter ...
her supple juggies. In this case, it's enduring the
Several elements work in, discovery of gray pubes.
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