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teeveeWednesday Sep 03, 2008
New Season of Bravo's Top Design Debuts Tonight, with New Host India Hicks
After acing a screen test that consisted of a guest appearance on Larry King Live, Hicks was thrilled to join the Top Design crew, which gave her the opportunity to meet Adler and Wearstler, whose designs happens to routinely references the work of her father. "Jonathan and Kelly are out there in the field so they know what it takes to succeed," said Hicks in the same conference call. "These are real pros judging, and it makes a big difference." They'll be weighing in on challenges that require the contestants, who range in age from 24 to 40, to "design out of the box, quite literally," said Hicks on the change from the white box of last season to "real places and real settings." Among this season's tasks: redesigning a fall out shelter and competing in a full-on "design triathlon." As for those competing for the $100,000 cash prize and a four-page editorial showcase in Elle Decor, we think we already spy an UnBeige favorite: Wisit. The Illinois-born, Parsons-educated designer counts among his design icons Stephane Boudin, Billy Baldwin, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and also, as luck would have it, David Hicks. Friday Aug 22, 2008
Friday Photo: When Starbucks Met Maytag
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an espresso bar made of abandoned washing machines, and it's among the recycled design masterpieces of Rotterdam-based 2012 Architecten. The Maytag-meets-Starbucks-meets-Sputnik creation will be featured in the third season of e2 design (say "e-squared design"), PBS's Brad Pitt-narrated environmental and green building series. 2012 Architecten is the subject of an e2 episode entitled "Super Use," a lush mini-documentary exploring how the architectural firm's partners elegantly repurpose everything from car tires to windmill blades as building materials. Other topics e2 tackles in its third season, which premieres online on September 1, include the Aga Khan's Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, a 500-year-old dump turned "urban lung"; the efforts of Renzo Piano to integrate the natural world into his design for San Francisco's natural history museum; and the work to rebuild New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward in a way that is environmentally, culturally, and socially sustainable. Hmm...how's the Big Easy fixed for washing machines? Wednesday Aug 20, 2008
Charlie Rose Talks Car DesignNewly posted to Charlie Rose's website is the below video of his recently televised conversation about car design with automotive design gurus Joel Piaskowski of Hyundai, Franz "Zoom Zoom" von Holzhausen of Mazda, Edward T. Welburn, Jr. of General Motors, and Phil Patton of The New York Times. Fewer than 30 seconds elapse before someone mentions Harley Earl. We warn you that you may come away from this video craving a Pontiac Solstice, but you'll also hear about what makes a great car designer, what cars have in common with clipper ships, and why everyone still dreams of having a Ferrari in the garage. "You will note that this [conversation] happened a few months ago," cautions Rose rather cryptically when introducing the segment. "Because I still had the black eye." Friday Aug 15, 2008
Obama Household Favors HGTV
EW: So neither [you nor your wife, Michelle] are fascists when it comes to the remote... Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
NBC Pages Swap Blazers for Brooks Brothers Ensembles
Thursday Jul 17, 2008
Project Runway Finalist Daniel Vosovic Turns Fashion Inside Out
Friday Jun 27, 2008
Which SVA Student's Hair Chair Is Shear Genius?
Bravo's Shear Genius, a Project Runway for hairstylists, is back for its second season. Heavy on the "cut"-related wordplay, the show puts vaguely menacing Danish hairstylist René Fris (who we could swear we once saw in a Mentos commercial) in the Tim Gunn role and is hosted by actress/Kmartist Jaclyn Smith. Shear Genius celebrated its season premiere on Tuesday with a pop-up salon in New York's Times Square and recruited students from the School of Visual Arts, under the guidance of SVA 3D Design Program chairperson Kevin O'Callaghan, to design the temporary salon as well as ten salon chairs that Bravo's "The Dish" blog describes as "pretty damn amazing." Among the wacky hair chairs is the trio pictured above. Created by Sarah Nguyen, the "DJ" chair (at far right) is a stack of hair-themed record albums ready for playing on its giant turntable base while Kathleen Ugurlu's "Jock" (center) is for the hirsute baseball fan (we think the batting helmet is a nice touch). But we find ourselves unable to resist the garden gnome-accessorized "Backyard" chair designed by Kaori Sakai in a bold palette of green, red, and yellow. It comes with a grass-tufted seat backed by a garden gate, a hose, cooler, and a full grill setup, complete with ketchup, mustard, and corn on the cob. Check out all of the chairs and vote for your favorite here. The winner gets a $5,000 prize, which we're hoping is payable in cash rather than hair products. Wednesday Jun 25, 2008
George Lois Maddened by Mad Men
Witchel's piece examines how Mad Men depicts the advertising world of the early 1960s, psychoanalyzes Weiner (perhaps he eschews on-the-nose writing because of "the lack of direct communication with his parents"?), and surveys some Madison Avenue veterans on how life at Sterling Cooper (the show's fictional ad agency) measures up to the reality as they remember it. Famed art director George Lois is not amused. Read on for his wrath. Friday Jun 13, 2008
Bravo, Sui and Wii: Cable Network Honors Designer, Gaming Console
Presenting the fashion design award was model Jessica Stam, who described the four nominees in a drowsy, Olsen twin-like cadence. Zac Posen was lauded for his "aggressive boldness" and the Proenza Schouler boys were noted for their "calculated bravado." OK, but how to explain the descriptions penned for the female nominees, Tory Burch and Sui? "Subtle timelessness" was a poor fit for characterizing Burch's bold, David Hicks-influenced designs, while Stam was teleprompted to say that Sui's signature is her "unwavering austerity." Rock n' roll-inspired, bohemian, and folkloric, Sui's designs are the opposite of austere. Someone should have recruited Project Runway's Tim Gunn or presenter and writer Simon Doonan to proof the show's script. Meanwhile, the Wii Fit's award was quickly dispatched with the help of the delightful Doonan, a taped segment featuring Top Design judge and Elle Decor editor Margaret Russell, and a guy with a skateboard. Doonan succeeding in summing up the entire evening when, after struggling with the apparently unadjustable microphone, he swiftly read his lines before giving the audience an exasperated glance and saying, "TAPE!" Cue the below video to see for yourself. Bravo's A-List Award Show Mortifying Even for Reality TV Stars
Last night saw the broadcast of the first—and perhaps last—Bravo A-List Awards, the fizzy cable network's mashup of honors for "food, fashion, beauty, design, and pop culture" punctuated by the shameless comedic stylings of self-proclaimed D-Lister Kathy Griffin. Opening with a solo number penned for Griffin by music man/wordsmith Marc Shaiman and ending with a runway show featuring celebrities clad in designs whipped up by eight Project Runway all-stars (none of whom, alas, were Santino Rice) and destined for the auction block to support UNICEF's relief efforts in Myanmar, the show appeared to embarass most of those in attendance, with the possible exception of Tila Tequila, who took home the award for "A-List Drama Queen." Lured by the mention of fashion, design, and Jonathan Adler-designed statuettes that resembled metal-dipped wig stands, we were disappointed by the event's awkward E!/VH1-style raunchiness where Bravo's usual cleverness should have prevailed. In short, we wanted more Tim (Gunn) and less Tila. When the reality show contestant-packed crowd began chanting the name of Jerry Springer (a co-presenter of the award for...A-List Chef?), we had no doubt why the likes of Project Runway judge Michael Kors and Top Design arbiters Margaret Russell of Elle Decor and designer Kelly Wearstler were nowhere in sight, although Russell did say a few words in a taped segment. PreviouslyMore Is More for Ultraspeedy, Full-Body Swimsuits Ich Bin ein Designer: CBS News Spends Sunday Morning in Berlin And Now, a Word from Our Sponsors Andrew Kuo Talks Art, Design, and Control Issues Top Design Part Deux Now Underway in L.A. Simon Doonan to Hit the Small Screen in "Low-Rent Madame Bovary" OvationTV to Rerun "Genius of Photography" Series Excuse Us While We Interlope... Eric Villency Takes a Shine to Metallics on Today The Official Casting Call: Top Design Top Design Will Return, Attempt to Be Unbeige Next on Project Runway: A Sweet Deal? A Round of Applause for Ovation TV Someone In On-Air Graphics at Fuel TV Better Be Getting Fired Today Brad Pitt Returns As the Hunky Disembodied Voice of Sustainable Design Conan O'Brien's Graphic Designer Pierre Bernard is Comfortable and Angry Yo Gabba Gabba! Not Just For Kids We're Joining the "Design Squad" More Oprah: Now Investigating People Who Live In Spaces Smaller Than Her Shoe Closet The Blogginess That Surrounds "Top Design" Maybe Not 'Top Design,' But Viewing Party Is Tops Blogging "Top Design" (So We Don't Have To) Come On, Admit It, You Want To Be a "Design Star" There Is A Difference Between Design And Decorating And HGTV Missed It Do You Want To Be A Bright Shining HGTV Star? It's Almost Like American Idol, But With Buildings, Redux |
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