Season 6 Postscript: Gray and Black Finale Fest, Power to The Ladies, And Suzy Menkes' Fab Hair!
The Final Three: Irina Shabayeva, Althea Harper and Carol Hannah Whitfield
Season 6 Nick Postscript:
Last Thursday was the
Final Episode of Project Runway Season 6. This was the season that some thought would not even make it on TV, because of the whole Bravo/Lifetime lawsuit. But after a year, it did make it on air. I feel that a lot of the "something is missing from the show" had A LOT of to do with the fact that while filming this season, NO ONE really knew what was going to happen, and trust me kiddies that can change the entire "air" of the environment--from producers, designers, to even
Tim Gunn, and obviously, the judging situation.
There were lots of expectations for this season. It was filled with Hollywood star power:
Christina Aguilera,
Lindsay Lohan,
Bob Mackie,
Eva Longoria Parker. There were also lots of tears, kooky "characters", lots of drama, and some would argue "blah" fashion but in the end, the winner, especially redeemed the season with a very polished finale collection.
LA and FIDM
The fans were divided on the LA locale. I loved it, of course, since I am an LA-based designer, and so are several Project Runway alumn such as Season 3 winner
Jeffrey Sebelia and Finalist
Rami Kashou. I thought it was a great idea to bring Project Runway to LA, the land of the red carpet. I was also excited for the fact that my alma mater and school I teach at, the
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising/FIDM, became the show's West Coast "home". If there's any criticism, I feel maybe the challenges didn't live up to the locale. Next season the show will return to NYC (fans rejoice) but I still have high hopes for a return to LA and now that the behind-the-scenes drama has been settled, I hope a future LA season will be HOT!
Petition for HD Lifetime TV!
One final note: Not many people have realized this but
Lifetime is NOT in HD/High Definition. And it makes such a difference, especially for a show such as this. So when lots of people stop me on the street and ask "Why does the show
look different?" and I tell them this, they say "Ohhh, TOTALLY!!!". I hope that maybe by the next season, it will change to HD. The entire show will look much better. Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers for some Lifetime HD!
Suzy Menkes Rocks:
Just look at her. And her iconic
Alexandre hairstyle. Diva. I loved that she was the Final Judge. This is the kind of fashion industry professional who should be judging the Finale Collections. Kudos to the producers for getting her. A fabulous coup. Regular "TV folk" might have no clue who she is but trust me, she is one of the most influential fashion writers and critics of fashion. Fashion is truly her life. Don't mess with Suzy...or her Up-Do!
And now for the Finale Collections: Here are my "Nick Faves":
Irina Wins!
Of course NYC-based Parsons graduate "Meana Irina" won! I predicted as much. Even with an almost-all black collection, hers was a stand-out. It was perfectly put together. Designers need to think of the ENTIRE LOOK and tell a story--and she did, beautifully. I could have had a "Top Eight" favorites for her, but here were my top 3.
Winning Model: Kalyn, in Irina's "13Th Look"
I Need my Metro Card: Irina's grand and chic knits
Met Opening Gown: I LOVED this gown, the final look from Irina's Finale Collection
Althea Goes To Zara, 1st Runner Up
Althea's Finale Collection was chock full of basics for the stylish, hip, modern woman.
Althea's customer lives in NYC, Paris, Berlin or Barcelona and wants to look great in separates. A lot of her looks, however, reminded me of the stylish window mannequin displays at shops such as
Zara or
Topshop. This could be a good thing or not so good. She wanted to look for the future but it was very NOW. Nevertheless, these are my Top 3 from the collection.
Emerald Style: I thought this look was modern and sexy; I especially loved the unusual tucking on the dress and the shrunken leather jacket
Heading to a Club in the Meatpacking: America's Next Top Model Cycle 8 Winner, Jaslene Gonzalez looks great in Althea's silver-gray side draped mini dress. It was one of my favorite of her pieces.
Let Her In: This is the outfit you want to wear if you are trying to get into a club, a fashion show, or a chic Manhattan magazine party! The drop-crotch pants are SO NOW and again, she was ON with the shrunken leather jacket. These are must-have pieces for the modern girl-about-town.
Carol Hannah Whitfield: 2nd Runner Up, Cooties and all
Carol Hannah struggled in NYC being sick but, with the help of
Christopher Straub, her trusty assistant, she made it work. I loved her draping and cowl Grecian Goddess shapes. The judges kept going on and on about her "tailoring" but I didn't see any of that. The following three looks were my faves.
Cowl Cocktail: Golden beige side cowl-draped "First Look" dress
Thank GOD for COLOR: Project Runway All-Time Supermodel Amanda Fields, working it OVERTIME, in Carol Hannah's No. 13 teal jersey draped gown
Glorious Lisa: Model Lisa Blades in the striking finale gown, showing Carol Hannah's unique ruffle, petal and folding detail--her hair and make-up was "Gorg"!
Congratulations Ladies!
For my entire Season Finale Recap, Click HERE on MyLifetime.com and make sure to let me know what you thought. See you next season kiddies!
NYC Project Runway Finale Party: Logan Neitzel, Irina Shabayeva and Nick Verreos at Tenjune
I am finally back home in Los Angeles--after traveling across the country for the last five days. First I went to Miami to shoot a LIVE Despierta America (the Spanish-language "Good Morning America") fashion segment for Sears, and then headed off to NYC for the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (more on both those trips in later posts). Since I am in a Project Runway "mood" (make sure to check out my final recap for this season), I wanted to show you guys all the great photos I took (well, thank my trusty partner and "Nick Verreos Blog" staff photographer, David Paul for that!) at Irina Shabayeva's After Party celebrating being the Season 6 Winner of Project Runway.
Uncle Nick and his Angels: Finalists Carol Hannah and Althea pose with Nick Verreos @ Tenjune
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was on the same night as the Finale of Project Runway but of course, I wanted to come by and celebrate Irina's win. At around midnight, after finishing my "OMG, look at how gorgeous Marissa Miller and Chanel Iman look!" Livestream shoot for Modelinia.com and saying my Goodbye's to Heidi Klum, I headed for Tenjune, the hot Meatpacking nightclub located beneath the luxury steakhouse STK, the location of Irina's celebratory After Party.
Hearts around my Head: Logan Neitzel and Nick Verreos at Tenjune
I immediately spotted Irina, who was holding court in the back of the nightclub, and congratulated her with a big hug and an "Uncle Nick" scream. She was all smiles, finally thankful that it was all over. I also ran into everyone's boyfriend, cutie Logan Neitzel. If Project Runway ever had a Hottie Calendar, he would be the cover model, shirtless and with those silver skinny jeans of his (sorry Logan!). 
Nick Verreos and Season 6 designer Epperson at Tenjune
Logan recently moved all the way from Seattle to NYC and is setting up shop with Carol Hannah and Epperson, from what I hear. Sounds like a "Season Six Commune" to me--and a possible new Lifetime Show (Note to self: Contact Lifetime Execs). Speaking of Carol Hannah, she was also there as well as Finalist Althea Harper (she's so tall!) and I even got to say "Hello" to Epperson, who was very "Sporty Elegant" in blazer, blue dress shirt and sweater with an over-the-shoulder leather messenger bag (yes, I don't miss the details!). 
Model Happy: Nick Verreos and Season 6 Winning Model Kalyn Hemphill
Finally, I was happy to meet Irina's winning model from Models of The Runway, the lovely Kalyn. She was wearing a pretty red dress (Irina's design, of course). I had a lot of fun and I'm very thankful to Irina for inviting me. The bonus was seeing everyone else who was also there and were so generous with their super-kind words of support for me. Part of me did feel like a "Project Runway Grandpa" amongst all of them (I was the ONLY Project Runway Alumn there!) but I will gladly take that crown.
