Just Another Sunday Night In Downtown LA...Housewives Meets Baywatch Meets Project Runway: Traci Bingham, designer Michael Costello, Tamra Barney and Nick Verreos at BOXeight Fashion:Refocus event This last weekend, BOXeight, in conjunction with Flaunt Magazine and l.a. models, presented Fashion : Refocus, a weekend of designer installations, live Spring/Summer 2010 look book photo shoots and overall, nightly fashion "partying". Janica and Her Mohawk: Model Janica in Jerell Scott's Perter Gurnz photo installation I was busy all weekend working (no rest for the "designer-wicked") but on Sunday, I opened a little window in my schedule when Alison Nieder, Executive Editor of California Apparel News, emailed and said "You wanna come with me and be my date?" Of course! The Next Chanel Iman: Model at BOXeight Fashion:Refocus event On Sunday, four designers, Kucoon, Jerell Scott (Project Runway Alumn), Linda Antico and Michael Costello were having photo shoots in various sets within the BOXeight Downtown Los Angeles "compound". Jerell Post Apocalyptic: Jerell Scott and model We walked in and immediately, I was taken aback by these post-apocalyptic exaggerated Mohawk hairstyles on a few of the models walking around. I soon discovered these were designer Jerell Scott's "girls". BOXeight poster boy, the hot Peter Gurnz was photographing Jerell's line and the stage as well as the fashions were, "Giving You!". Peter asked me "Why am I not shooting YOUR line?" I wondered why he didn't call me also? Maybe next time. I guarantee that my gowns and his photos would produce "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR" G-L-A-M-O-U-R kiddies!Costello Pose: Michael Costello photo installation, BOXeight Fashion:Refocus event Alison and I soon made our way from set to set and stumbled upon Michael Costello, a Palm Springs-based designer whom I met the week before at a Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week event. A fellow Greek, cute and such a sweet guy, I was "done and done". His set was styled to parallel his Palm Springs Boutique. Give A Look: Lifetime's Models of The Runway Tanisha Harper and designer Michael Costello All of a sudden I spotted a familiar face--and body--the one and only Tanisha Harper, model from Lifetime Network's Model's Of The Runway. She was one of the models in Michael's BOXeight photo shoot. After a bit of "little girl screaming" (OK, from me!), I let her do her job and pose for the photographer's camera! A couple of Michael's clients were on hand to support: Actress Traci Bingham as well as one of the Real Housewives of Orange County, Tamra Barney. Both were looking VERY bust-a-licious in their Michael Costello cocktail dresses. Yep, this was my Sunday night in Downtown LA! See you next time kiddies!

Vintage Couture at Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week Nick Verreos with Leanna Lewis (in Elizabeth Mason Couture) Last Thursday night, I was invited to a very special fashion show presentation as part of Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week. The show, entitled A Celebration of Valentino, The Last Emperor was "curated" by Elizabeth Mason, stylish owner of vintage couture boutique The Paper Bag Princess and designer of her namesake Elizabeth Mason Couture line. The event was the official presentation of the Los Angeles Spirit Award For Style & Substance to actress and humanitarian (and style DIVA) Maria Bello.

Decadent Flapper Girls at Jerell Scott Spring 2010 Check out my blog on Project Runway Season 5 Designer, Jerell Scott's fashion show at the Geffen Contemporary/MOCA as part of Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week. I was invited back to guest blog for the "Trade Talk" section of ApparelNews.net--the fashion industry "source" for all things fashion in California. Click HERE!!

Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week Continues: Skingraft

LA Fashionistas: Nick Verreos and friends at Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week
Phong Hong began his "Femme Noir" collection with pretty (very) mini dresses with rosette details. They were prom dresses for the young Hollywood set (trust me, it's a compliment!). Then Brazilian-born Fernanada Careniro's (a FIDM graduate) designs followed. Her sensible day dresses featured ruffle detail, great fit and wearable colors. She used silk-linen, silk crepe de chine as well as silk charmeuse as her main fabrications--and they all worked well.The ladies of Krys-N-Jack finished off this first ever Fashion Angel Awards Runway Show with their conceptual looks, entitled "The Knockers" featuring wood, leather belts, metals, including actual keys! It was Medieval-meets-Renaissance-meets-Hussein Chalayan--and that's just one outfit! I absolutely loved the titles of each ensemble: "Door Knocker", "Squire Knocker" and my favorite "Daddy Knocker". Imagine your date asking you "what are you wearing?", "Oh , it's my 'Daddy Knocker' !" Hot. Congratulations to all three winners of the first ever Fashion Angel Awards.

The NIKOLAKI Muse Shut It Down Lisa: Nikolaki Designers David Paul and Nick Verreos, with their muse, model Lisa Blades (look how short we look next to her!) It's the official start of LA Fashion Week and specifically Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week and to commemorate it, Fashion Group International/FGI Los Angeles had a very chic reception, The Designer and the Muse, on the rooftop of The Standard Downtown LA. Along with over thirty LA designers, David Paul and myself, were invited to partake in the festivities. David and I are the designers of our 8-year old line, Nikolaki, and we chose the stunning Lisa Blades as our muse. I can't say this enough, but we LOVE Lisa!! We met Lisa a while back (before she became a model on Lifetime's Models of The Runway). She has shot my Spring 2009 Look Book as well as posed for my website, nikolakidesign.com but she's also been our Fit Model. Not only does she have "The Body" (six feet tall and legs that go on for DAYS!!!), but she is the sweetest most down-to-Earth girl. Project Runway Ga-Ga: Model Lisa Blades (in Nikolaki), Gordana Gehlhausen, and Nick Verreos We are in the process of finishing our 2010 Spring Collection and both David and I decided we would have Lisa wear something from the new collection. For this night's event, she wore a silk-wool Zibeline asymmetrical strapless dress in a luscious raspberry color. She looked AMAZING!!!! When she put on the dress--with her 5" platform heels, flawless smokey-eye make-up and chignon, she was a 2010 version of the Robert Palmer Girl. I could barely breathe as I saw how she looked! Model Crazy: Lisa Blades (in Nikolaki) and CariDee English After arriving at the event, I spotted Season 6 Project Runway designer, Gordana Gehlhausen. She was wearing one of her own designs and told me that she LOVES my Lifetime.com Recaps as well as those video blogs I shoot with my dear Andrae. She has moved to San Diego and runs a boutique there. She also told me that she was actually having a presentation of her new collection as part of Los Angeles Fashion Week, and that's why she was in town. I also met the lovely CariDee English, winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 7, who was the muse of Michele Bohbot of Bisou Bisou. CariDee (who was so sweet!) was sporting a platinum faux-hawk mullet hairstyle that I was LIVING for! Smile, You're On LA Fashion Candid Camera: Nikolaki designer Nick Verreos, Alison Nieder of California Apparel News and designer Nony Tochterman of Petro Zillia The rooftop of The Standard was filled with a "Who's Who Of LA Fashion" and I was so excited to see my fellow "Emerging Designer" judge, Nony Tochterman of Petro Zillia who was there with her daughter (her muse) as well as the always stylish Alison Nieder, editor of the California Apparel News. Jersey Mommie: Nick Verreos with designer Rachel Pally (right) and her mom (left) I also got to say "hello" to LA designer Rachel Pally, the "Queen of jersey", who was there with her muse: Her mom! (who was wearing one of her daughters silky cowl-draped jersey dresses). The last time I saw Rachel was last year at her LA Fashion Week show where I got the honor to interview her for a style show. Diplomatic Muse: Nick Verreos' mom, Raquel (far left) with other Ambassador's wives Speaking of interviews, at the event, I was approached by a local news reporter (from Fox11 News) who was covering the party to give my thoughts on who my original muse was. Of course, I said my mother, Raquel. To me, she was JLo before Jlo! So in homage to her, I've included a photo from her "Diplomat's Wife" days--looking so "Mad Men Chic" in her bouffant, fitted-and-pouffy "day dress", along with the wives of the Ambassadors of Japan and China. Click Below for a segment Fox 11 News did about the event, and what I said about my dear Mommie.

Meet The Designers...and the Muses that inspire them....Next Monday, October 12Th, I have been invited to the Kick-Off Party for Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week. Fashion Group International's "The Designer and the Muse" will honor LA's most "prestigious and respected" fashion designers...and their muses. It will take place on the breathtaking rooftop of Downtown LA's Standard Hotel and is being sponsored by Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week, BUZZflkr, Flaunt Magazine and of course, The Standard, among others. Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn Famous designers in the past have had a long-running relationship with their muses. For example, Huberty de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn and Alexander McQueen and Phillip Treacy and their muse, the late Isabella Blow, to name a few. This party honors this ongoing Designer-Muse relationship.Isabella Blow Over THIRTY designers have confirmed attendance (or so I hear) including Magda Berliner, Project Runway Season 4 Finalist Rami Kashou, Lloyd Klein, and my fuchsia-haired girlfriend, the wonderful Tarina Tarantino. It's going to be LA Fashionsita Heaven--or maybe the designer claws will come out--Who knows! My design partner David Paul and I will be attending with our muse who will be wearing a look from our new Spring 2010 NIKOLAKI Collection!! (any guesses who that might be?) Space is limited and you must buy tickets online at FGILA.org--click HERE for ticket info. Get your tickets and hope to see you there!

Not so much...but...Fashion Podium: Mayor Villaraigosa, Max Azria of BCBG and Herve Leger, and Cynthia Ruiz of the LA Mayor's Department of Cultural Affairs This week, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa held a press conference at the California Market Center in support of LA Fashion Week and the Los Angeles Fashion Industry. Barbara Graff, organizer of Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week and Cynthia Ruiz from the Department of Cultural Affairs, invited me to be part of this event--and I was happy to oblige.Family Portrait: Fashion Angel Awards Judges Nick Verreos, Louis Verdad, Vanessa Gonzalez and Randolph Duke, along with other LA designers pose for the press This event also marked the official announcement of the Fashion Angel Awards, a contest generously sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs. About a month ago, I was invited to judge this contest along with other LA fashion notables such as Nony Tochterman of Petro Zillia, Jeffrey Sebelia (winner of Season 3 Project Runway and designer of Cosa Nostra, designer Louis Verdad, former MOCA Director of Events, Vanessa Gonzalez and Randolph Duke. The Winners Are: Phong Hong, Jacquetta O'Dell and Leslie Henry, Fernanda Carneiro and their winning designs (and models) Today marked "The Big Day" as head judge, Randolph Duke--flanked by Max Axria, the Honorable Mayor Villaraigosa, Cynthia Ruiz and Ilse Metchek, the chic director of the California Fashion Association/CFA--announced the three winning designers (four, actually, since one is a design team).Project Runway Meets LA City Diva: City of LA's "fashion ambassador" Cynthia Ruiz, with designers Raymundo Baltazar and Nick Verreos The Winners were Phong Hong, Fernanda Carneiro (a Graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising/FIDM), and design team Jacquetta O'Dell and Leslie Henry. Each will get to participate in their own fully-funded runway show on October 13th at the Geffen Contemporary MOCA as part of Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week. I remember that they were my favorites during the judging. Hong's designs were flirty and oh-so-feminine and Brazilain-born Carneiro's designs were wearable but still had pretty and unique details. Petro Zillia already carries her line and Nony Tochterman, its owner, says her clients "just love" her dresses. Lock and Key: Designers Jacquetta O'Dell and Leslie Henry with their key-and-belt top and wooden door skirt Finally, I loved O'Dell and Henry's conceptual wooden designs, they were very Hussein Chalayan and I felt it would be great to show the rest of the World that LA wasn't just about jeans and t-shirts but we also had "artiste" designers. At the press conference, I was happy to run into one of my best friends, designer Raymundo Baltazar and Alison Nieder of California Apparel News, who was there to cover the event. I also said "Hola" to former Miss International 2007, Priscila Perales, from Mexico. Las Misses: Nick Verreos, Miss International and Miss Mexico '07 Priscila Perales, and Raymundo Baltazar Of course I will be there next Tuesday to check out the four outstanding up-and-coming LA designers who will show at the Fashion Angel Awards Fashion Show. I think Mayor Villaraigosa summed it up best during his press conference, "Our city is no longer just the fashion capital of the West Coast; LA is one of the major fashion capitals of the world". See you at LA Fashion Week! Click HERE for more info. on all the LA Fashion Week Events at ApparelNews.net Click HERE for the schedule of Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week.

Angel Judges: Jeffrey Sebelia, Nony Tochterman and Nick Verreos last month judging the "Fashion Angel Awards", Downtown LA Fashion Week On October 13Th, 5 PM at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week will have it's Fashion Angel Emerging Designers Showcase Fashion Show. I was invited--along with fellow Los Angeles designers Randolph Duke, Project Runway Season 3 Winner Jeffrey Sebelia, Petro Zillia DIVA, Nony Tochterman, to form the Emerging Designers 2009 Judging Panel. Last month, I posted about our judging day/luncheon, and here's a "sneak peak" video of what's to come--with an introduction by Randolph Duke. Click HERE for tickets and more info.

Emerging LA Designers get judged!The new Michael, Heidi, and Nina? Jeffrey Sebelia, Noni Tochterman and Nick Verreos This week, I was invited to be one of the "esteemed" judges for the Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week Emerging Designers Launch and Runway Show, a "Search for the Next Great LA Designer" contest which is being organized in conjunction with City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Program. Along with Leanna Lewis and Barbara Graff of the Downtown L.A. Fashion Week Committee, D.C.A. Olga Garay was on hand to welcome us to the "Judging Day". Leanna Lewis of Downtown LA Fashion Week My co-judges included Project Runway Season 3 Winner Jeffrey Sebelia, Nony Tochterman of Petro Zillia (looking UBER fabulous, as always!), Louis Verdad, designer and red carpet host, Randolph Duke (a FIDM Alumn), and event designer and contestant from the new "Launch My Line" reality show, Vanessa Gonzalez. Hundreds of Southern California designers submitted their designs, portfolios and press kits and then they were narrowed down to about ten and then it was our job, as the Final Judges, to select our favorite "Top Three".Vanessa Gonzalez (far left), Randolph Duke and his pr agent, Diana Bianchini, enjoying the ceviche hors d'oeuvres at Provecho Restaurant The Official Judging Day began with a DELICIOUS lunch at Provecho Restaurant in Downtown LA. We began with appetizers from the "Raw Bar" menu with such delights as halibut with black truffle (amazing!), spicy tuna tostadas, and marinated rock shrimp ceviche. In addition to this, we were also served shredded chicken, fish and al pastor beef soft tacos and Fideo con Queso with jalapenos (it's like a mac-and-cheese on Ecstasy!). And if that wasn't enough, we finished with the most incredible Churros! Note to self: Will have to come back to Provecho Restaurant and have dinner--and put in an extra hour on the tread mill! Petro Zillia Harem: Designer and founder of Petro Zillia, Nony Tochterman strikes a pose (love her harem pants--she told me she has them in like ten colorways!) After all that, we all needed a Siesta, but instead we had to get down to "business": We headed to the adjacent Remedy Lounge nightclub to begin our judging. Young "emerging" Ford models modeled the designer's clothes as we surveyed their portfolios and filled out our judges' scorecards. There were definitely some designers that got our attention and we scored them accordingly! Gucci Love: Close up of Nony Tochterman's necklaces, which included a vintage Gucci perfume mini pendant (which I wanted to steal from her!) The Emerging Designer Winners will show their collections during Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week, which will take place at the Geffen Contemporary MOCA, Oct 13-15TH. I am looking forward to their shows and hope you can join us too. If you love fashion and want to support LA fashion designers, this will be a must-see event. Hope to see you there--and hope you liked who we chose!