We have a huge questionnaire that we have applicants fill out, and there are three sections that I flip to: Education, Job Experience, and Favorite and Least Favorite Designers. Favorite designers usually include Chanel (often misspelled Channel), Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and Karl Lagerfeld. (Is the distinction made between Lagerfeld’s own collection and his work for Chanel? Rarely.) There are rarely any American designers on the list. I’m over being surprised because I’m so used to it. But I still ask them about it.
“Why are there no American designers in either best or worst?”
“They’re dull,” the contestants often say.
That’s like saying all American food is bland. That can’t be true, because there are so many different kinds, from hot wings to chicken-fried steak to New York bagels. The American design world has figures as different as Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Anna Sui, and Ralph Lauren.
“We’re looking for the next great Americanfashion designer,” I respond to the anti-American applicants. “How do you feel about that?”
It’s amazing to me. When you probe and ask what they like about Christian Lacroix they say, “I love couture.”
Well, how many jobs are there out there for couturiers? Almost none. So maybe you should have a backup plan? And as long as you live in this country, maybe you should be able to at least talk seriously about what’s been done here in this world you’re likely to enter.
Similarly, if the auditioning designer’s work is executed brilliantly but there’s nothing new or innovative, who cares? That’s what I would say of portfolios that were full of copies of clothing that already exists.
I would say, “Who wants to see nothing but perfect technical prowess? You need to use that to say something that’s unique to you. Look around you! You see … a pile of books, a cloud in the sky, a fireplace. How do you interpret any of that?”
Some students tell me, “I need a photograph as a point of reference.”
You thinkyou need a photograph! You just need to push yourself. Similarly, if you have great ideas, you have a responsibility to the ideas to present the work well.
The greatest compliment the show receives is that most of the people who try to get on Project Runwayaren’t in it for fame. They want their fashion brand to flourish. With the exception of Santino Rice, who is now a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race,the drag talent competition on Logo, no one’s gone on to be a TV personality.
Speaking of Santino, when he was asked to do the Project Runway: All-Star Challengespecial, I told the producers it was a huge mistake. “It’s going to be The Santino Show,” I said. And it was. I love Santino, I really do, but I’ve never met anyone else who so completely sucks the air out of a room.
I don’t enjoy people who think they have it all figured out, because Icertainly don’t. I like the idea of always learning. Always. If you’re not learning, what makes you want to get up in the morning? Why wake up if you have it all figured out? People who coast are not having any fun. It’s also dangerous. People around you are still working and pushing themselves. If you don’t keep up, it doesn’t matter how advanced you were when the race started—you’re not going to win it.
WHILE TEACHING, I FREQUENTLY brought movies to my classes to share with my students, because they were important to me. They always inspire me, and maybe you’ll enjoy them, too!
1. Blow-up(1966)
Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 murder mystery is a spellbinding masterpiece set in London in the 1960s, which I consider probably the most innovative and provocative fashion era of all time. David Hemmings plays a photographer whose career is loosely based on that of David Bailey (an early leader in the field of fashion photography), and the stunning Vanessa Redgrave plays his muse.
2. Funny Face(1957)
This frolicking romp stars Audrey Hepburn as the ugly duckling turned swan, Fred Astaire as a fashion photographer loosely based on Richard Avedon, and the fabulous Kay Thompson as a fashion editor loosely based on Diana Vreeland. It’s a great behind-the-scenes look at fashion magazines. Think The Devil Wears Pradaset to music. And after seeing this movie, you’ll always “think pink!”
3. The Women(1939)
This wickedly funny film paints a portrait of 1930s society women whose lives revolve around beauty treatments, luncheons, fashion shows, and one another’s men. The script is laugh-out-loud funny, and the entire film is a great escape, especially when I’m feeling bitchy and want to have a cathartic experience. (But please don’t waste your time with the 2008 remake. It’s sad.)
4. The Devil Wears Prada(2006)
In spite of my adoration of Meryl Streep, I wasn’t enthusiastic about seeing this film. I thought, Will this movie really portray the fashion industry accurately?In order to make myself go, I made a date with Grace Mirabella, the former editor in chief of Vogue,and Jade Hobson, another fabulous fashion editor. Then I started fretting about whether or not the film would make Grace uncomfortable. Meryl Streep’s character is loosely based on Anna Wintour, who replaced Grace at Vogueunder dreadful circumstances. Grace was as still as a statue during the movie, which made me nervous. When the lights came up at the end, I slowly turned to Grace, whose eyes met mine. I gulped. She broke into a wide grin and shouted, “I loved it!”
5. The September Issue(2009)
I was dubious about what this documentary could really offer up about the inner workings of Vogue,especially when it comes to that sphinx-without-a-riddle, Anna Wintour. Wow, was I impressed. R. J. Cutler’s documentary is brilliant: it’s insightful, funny, ironic, drama-filled, and a freak show like none other.
1. Judy Garland in A Star Is Born(1954)
In this bigger-than-life movie about the rise of a nobody Hollywood extra into the motion-picture industry’s biggest star, Garland becomes seduced by a star (James Mason) who’s a self-centered cad. Still, she marries him and stays by his side until … the end. Speaking of, there are few movies for which I’ve experienced the kind of welling of emotion that’s triggered by seven words spoken by Garland: “Hello, everybody. This is … Mrs. … Norman … Maine.”
2. Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl(1968)
In this amazing musical, Barbra Streisand handles drama, comedy, musical numbers, and tear-jerking sentiment with equal aplomb, and she does it all better than any actress before or since.
3.Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire(1951)
In Tennessee Williams’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play, Blanche DuBois says: “Nobody sees anybody truly but all through the flaws of their own egos. That is the way we all see each other in life.” Ever the method actor, Marlon Brando reportedly stayed in his brutish character even during filming breaks, much to the disgust of Vivien Leigh. When she called Stanley an “animal,” it must have come from the bottom of her heart.