FIDM Magazine

FIDM Costume Exhibit Featured on KTLA

Gayle Anderson visited FIDM's Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and filmed a live segment for KTLA featuring Nick Verreos.

Watch the video clip here.

FIDM Grad Hosts HGTV's Design on a Dime

FIDM Interior Design Grad Casey Noble is the new host of HGTV’s Design on a Dime. After completing her degree at the interior design school, the Redondo Beach native opened her firm Avenue Interior Design in Venice with 2 partners, for residential and commercial design projects. In 2010, she was a contestant in the fifth season of HGTV’s Design Star. On her current show, Noble shows guests how to make the most of what they already have and shop for one-of-a-kind “fun accessories that can add a moment of interest and style.” Among her SoCal favorite spots for vintage hunting are Wertz Brothers, the Rose Bowl , and Long Beach flea markers.

 

FIDM Alumna Mona May Visits LA Campus

FIDM Alumna, costume designer Mona May, visited the downtown LA campus last week for an informative and inspiring hour-long chat with FIDM Students and Faculty. Students from majors ranging from Visual Communications to Merchandise Product Development and Fashion Design came to pick the brain of the master Costume Designer of movies like Clueless, Enchanted, Stuart Little 2, and The Wedding Singer. Mona, who is at work on a TV pilot, generously answered students’ questions:

Q How did you get started in the movie industry?
A I had studied fashion in Europe and New York. I came to FIDM in the 90s because I wanted to do sportswear. While going to fashion school here, I naturally met students from the film schools like UCLA and USC. When they asked me to design costumes for their student films, it sounded like fun, so I just jumped in.

Q What is the main difference between fashion design and costume design?
A In costume design you are not designing for the trends. You are designing for character. You have to think, “What makes this character different? What is their transformation?” Drew Barrymore’s character in Never Been Kissed was so much fun to dress for that reason.

Q Where do you go for ideas?
A You have to be innovative. Since your job starts about 8 months before the movie shoots, you have to be ahead of trends. I look at the runway shows and magazines like Collezioni that are looking to the future. You cannot look at what is in the stores right now or the clothes will be out-of-date by the time the movie is released.

Q How can students prepare for interviews?
A I am still auditioning after nearly 20 years in the industry. I like to bring big presentation boards filled with visual ideas to show the director I really care. Don’t be afraid to have a strong point-of-view as a designer. Remember that you’re competing with other designers so you have to stand out.

That said, I dress professionally and arty for the meeting. I want to make an impact with my ideas.

Q Can you tell us about your process?
A As a designer, you collaborate with lots of people, but the director is the most important. I begin the conversation by discussing the script. You are not the artist who sits at home and paints so you have to meet and talk everything out. Over time, you build trust with a director, but you have to be like a combination artist/lawyer. You are always convincing him that your ideas are right.

On Stuart Little 2, I was designing for a 4-inch computer animated no-neck mouse as well as a 6-feet tall live action actor, Geena Davis, so the collaborations were complex. For instance, computer programs were designed to actually make patterns for all the tiny mice clothes, so I was a virtual tailor working with a large staff of animators.

Enchanted was even more complex. There were 3 formats we were designing for: live action, classic animation, and CGI.

Q How do you deal with the stress of Hollywood?
A If you love what you do, it’s fun! Being a costume designer involves lots of problem solving. My advice to new designers is: get there early, stay late, and be happy at work. Go cry at home, if you have a bad day.

Q Is there a philosophy that guides your work?
A I think of each scene in a movie or TV show as a painting. All the characters, their clothes, and their surroundings should go together and make a pleasing picture on screen.

Film & TV Costume Design is one of 20 majors offered at FIDM.

Watch Monique Lhuillier's Fall 2012 Show Online This Saturday

Even if you didn't score a seat to FIDM Alumna Monique Lhuillier's Fall 2012 runway show, you can still get in on all of the fashion action thanks to Live From the Runway, a streaming YouTube channel from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Monique's show will stream live on Saturday, February 11, 2012, at 7pm EST.

FIDM Alumna Is the Owner of Business Brandings

In 2011, FIDM Alumna Carla Buchanan launched Business Brandings, a promotional apparel and products company. "I have always dreamed of owning my business, and, with the help of FIDM, I realized that I could combine my talents in art, fashion, advertising, and business," she explains. "My first career was in radio advertising. I wanted to use these skills in my business, which is why I decided on this business-to-business concept."

Carla loves getting to choose her own clients and enjoys creating art for projects, producing t-shirts and polos, and being involved in the promotional product industry. "I have a very fancy rhinestone system that allows me to 'bling' my art for apparel," she adds. "My clients love it and it makes me different from other distributors."

She adds that her time at FIDM really prepared her to own her own business. "My time at FIDM was much more enriched than anything I could have ever imagined -- it was one of the best decisions that I have made in my life," she adds.

Carla also has runs the blogs, Apparel Manufacturing Management, and Business Brandings.

San Francisco Fashion Design Alumna Is Socialite Columnist

FIDM San Franciso Alumna Moanalani Jeffrey is the San Francisco Socialite Columnist for Examiner.com. A regular on the social scene, she has been featured in 7x7 for her sense of style and her photography has been widely published. Originally from Hawaii, Moanalani often juxtaposes her love of unique backgrounds with high end fashion. You may visit her photography site here.

Alumna is Styling Newest "Real Housewife of Orange County"

Stylist and FIDM Alumna Leslie Christen (pictured, left) is working with Heather Dubrow, the newest addition to the Real Housewives of Orange County, as a personal stylist.

“I was really pleased to find someone so great and easy to work with in Orange County as it was important for me to use someone local,” said Dubrow, who hired Christen for several events during Season 7 filming. “I would call Leslie and explain the look I wanted for a particular event and she would arrive at my home in the next day or two with a rack of options!”

Read the article on Greer's OC.

FIDM Alumnus Chosen for Fashion Incubator SF Program

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that FIDM Alumnus Tony Sananikone (pictured, front) a womenswear designer, window stylist for the Gap worldwide, and GenArt Fresh Faces in Fashion winner in 2004, will join the new Fashion Incubator San Francisco program, sponsored by Macy's West, beginning March 5, 2012.

Designers will rent a fully equipped sewing workshop at Macy's and work with fashion, business and retail experts to build their brand. Tony, who was born in a political refugee camp in Bangkok where he learned to sew, is currently working on his first collection of Art Deco-inspired dresses.

Alumna is Contestant on NBC's Fashion Star

Lisa Vian Hunter, a Graduate of FIDM's Fashion Design Program, is a contestant on NBC's new competition show, Fashion Star, which starts airing in March. The weekly show will feature 14 designers participating in tasks where they will be mentored by Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie, and John Varvatos. At the end of each episode, American will have the chance to purchase the winning designs that week at Macys, H&M, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Elle Macpherson is the host and executive producer.

Lisa, who lives in Mercer Island, Washington, is a women's wear designer, mother of two, and lover of all things vintage. She says that women are desperate for gorgeous, affordable clothing made in the USA, and that is what she intends to give them. She is competing for the chance to win a multi-million dollar prize to launch her collection at America's largest retailers. Lisa's designs are inspired by the past and are sold at her store in Seattle. Learn more about Vian Hunter House of Fashion.

Keep up with Lisa on Twitter @lisavianhunter

Catching Up With FIDM Alumna Araceli Kopiloff-Zimmer

We recently heard about a FIDM Fashion Design Alumna who lived at a nunnery while studying at FIDM in the 1980s. We just had to get the whole scoop straight from Araceli Kopiloff-Zimmer.

How did you come to live at a nunnery while at FIDM? It was 1986, and I wanted to go to FIDM more than anything, but I was really young. I had graduated high school when I just turned 16. My father was a doctor in a small conservative town so the thought of me moving to Downtown LA was not going to happen and I don't blame my parents in retrospect.

I was determined to go to FIDM. My parents would have let me attend had there been a dorm, but back then students had to find their own living arrangements. I thought, what's the most non-threatening, non-party, boy-free place to live that my parents could not say no to? A nunnery! Where there's a will there's a way. So I looked up a nunnery in LA and made living arrangements. So that's where I lived while attending FIDM!

We heard that you met the famous artist Keith Haring while you were a FIDM Student. One night there was a Keith Haring art opening and Andy Warhol was going to be there. The problem at the nunnery was that they locked the gates to the garage at 10pm or 11pm. There was no place safe to park outside so if I missed the curfew I'd be locked out and they would call my parents. Again, I had to figure out a solution. There was a particular nun, Sister Nell, who was really old and I think deaf but she liked going out to eat so I would invite her to go out with me sometimes so that if we were late she could open the gate.

It started with going out to eat; I'd hang out and talk with my friends and she would just eat and mind her own business so it was fine. Then I started to take her to clubs and she didn't mind! So when this opening was announced I knew she was my ticket! It was summer, I was tanned and wearing a backless white linen halter with wide pants, all one piece. I had very high heels, slicked back hair, and Chanel red lips. I wore black accessories, the main one being a nun wearing black and white!

I'm 5'10" plus heels and she was about five feet tall. Once at the opening "we" were all the rage. Haring came to talk to me and so did Warhol telling me: "You're so cool, you have your own nun!" I think, no, I know that was the definitive moment when I understood the meaning and power of fashion and being fabulous!

How did FIDM help prepare you for your career? The instructors were great, I liked that they worked on the industry, and could give real advice. The placement department always had great leads. I was able to get a job that took me to Milan as my first job after graduating. I designed for Levi Strauss in San Francisco for many years with international travel which I loved!

What are you doing today? I moved to St. Louis to design private label for May Co. I had met my now husband and he couldn't move so I stayed. I had a dream of owning a cafe so this was the time to make it happen. I took my life and travel experiences of foods I loved, design ideas, and having dealt with many people my entire career I think I created an incredible place called Rue Lafayette. It is in a historic French neighborhood so the name is a perfect fit. I love Paris and went there for work many times so Rue Lafayette is my homage.

We have live bands, Jazz, and lots of retro bands with great style so fashion is always present! HGTV and DIY have done an episode about Rue Lafayette our events and the cafe in general always get a lot of coverage. I have a Boston Terrier who is also a big hit in St. Louis, she is known for her style! She wears Chanel!