FIDM.....FIDM Museum 18th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition

And The Best Costume Design Award Goes To...

Crinoline Happy: Nick Verreos at the 18Th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit, FIDM Museum and Galleries

Photo courtesy of: Photos(c)Berliner Studio/BEImages

This weekend was Super Bowl Weekend, I know. However, me and football, well, not so much...I stopped watching after Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake had their now-infamous "Wardrobe Malfunction". Boy, those were the days! Instead of going to some nacho-and-beer filled Super Bowl Pre-Party, I was invited to attend the 18TH Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit Party at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, the very school I teach at. Where's Fergie? David Paul and Nick Verreos of Nikolaki, stand in front of the "Nine" Costumes I always look forward to this particular exhibit since I am a big fan of movies and obviously, fashion. Also, my NIKOLAKI partner, David Paul--who holds a Masters in Costume Design from UCLA and is a member of the Motion Picture Costumers Union--has educated me A LOT on the art of Costume Design and all its nuances. Be Italian: Colleen Atwood-designed Costumes from Nine. Costume Tidbit: One Million Swarovski crystals were used on these costumes!

The exhibit, which officially opens Tuesday February 9Th, features the costumes from four of the five Academy Award Best Costume nominated films: Bright Star; Costumes designed by Janet Paterson, Nine; Costumes designed by Colleen Atwood, the Young Victoria; Costumes designed by Sandy Powell, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; Costumes designed by Monique Prudhomme. The only one not present were the costumes from Coco Before Chanel.Time Traveler: Academy Award nominated Costume Designer for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Monique Prudhomme and Nick Verreos

Photo courtesy of: Photos(c)Berliner Studio/BEImages

Canadian designer Monique Prudhomme was actually in attendance at the Gala last night receiving all the much-deserved praise for her Academy Award Best Costume Design Nomination. I introduced myself to her and we spoke at length on such diverse subjects as how she found one of the Corsets in the film to speaking a bit of French when one goes to France and finally we even touched on how incredibly ridiculous the hotel prices at the Vancouver Olympics are ($800 for the Best Western, I checked--trust me!).

Costume Divas: Nick Verreos, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Costume Designer Monique Prudhomme, A Single Man Costume Designer Arianne Phillips, and Andrae Gonzalo

Photo courtesy of: Photos(c)Berliner Studio/BEImages

Also present at the party was the fabulously talented Arianne Phillips, who designed the costumes for Tom Ford's film A Single Man. I was chatting with my Season 2 Project Runway contestant-buddy, Andrae Gonzalo, when I saw Arianne and of course, I had to say "hello" and give praise to her retro-chic designs which also happen to be in the Exhibit. Arianne Retro: Arianne Phillips-designed Costumes for A Single Man Also represented in the exhibition are costumes from Inglourious Basterds, Sherlock Holmes, Amelia, as well as Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos) among others. A highlight of this tableaux was the authentic Chanel gold-chain-detail black dress which Almodovar muse Penelope Cruz wore in the film. A MUST for Trekkies around the World are the Michael Kaplan-designed costumes from Star Trek, which are also in the exhibit. It was great seeing the furry over-sized creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Andrae and I were fascinated by the life-like nap in the faux fur. Victorian Couture: The Young Victoria Costumes I especially loved seeing the stunning gowns from The Young Victoria. This display is pretty grand--mirroring the costumes. It's so interesting to see Queen Victoria in something other than what we are used to: Black, drab funeral gowns. DO NOT miss getting up close and personal (as close as you can without a security guard escorting you out!) to these "Young Victoria" gowns. The Duchesse silk satin, the brocades, the embroideries, the cartridge pleating...Absolutely stunning! Finally: We Are Cooking with... the Ann Roth-designed costumes for Julie & Julia. I loved this film and couldn't wait to see them. David pulled me aside, as we got in front of these costumes and pointed out the wonderful play on proportion and length which Roth ingeniously devised to make actress Meryl Streep seem as tall as the real Julia Child, who was six foot two, thank you very much! Check out these wedges: On the left are when she was by herself in the film. The higher and much more stacked ones (right), were the ones Streep wore when she had to stand next to her co-stars. How can I get a pair of those?? *The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition runs from February 9Th to April 17Th at the FIDM Museum and Galleries, FIDM Downtown Los Angeles. And it's FREE and Open To The Public. Click HERE for more info.