Althea Harper visits Clothes Bar in Williamsville, NY ;~)

How handy was this ??? Friday afternoon, just as I am going out the door to work an all point bulletin from Nancy Finlayson, contact person for American Sewing Guild in Buffalo, NY. http://www.asg.org/

"Althea Harper from Project Runway will be having a trunk show at The Clothes Bar 4401 Transit Rd, Williamsville, New York tomorrow 5-22 from 1-5:00 PM. She will showcase her spring/summer 2010 collection and will answer questions about her time on the show and also her design career. "

Althea Harper from "Project Runway" is one of the fashion designers competing on season 6 of the Lifetime reality series. Althea from "Project Runway 6" currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, but is originally from Dayton, Ohio. Althea Harper is 24 years old.Althea Harper is a recent graduate from University of Cincinnati (College of Design Art Architecture and Planning) and Central St. Martins in London
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBJQmYRTEig a clip of Althea from Project Runway 6.

Kara and I have to agree with Althea after our fabulous learning experience as designer and model in recent fashion show; Technology: Progression/Obsession is the theme of this year’s Runway 3.0 fashion extravaganza. Staged in the dramatic, storied industrial space of the Pierce Arrow administration building, Elmwood Avenue, on May 1, by faculty and students in the fashion and textile technology program.

My collection Ultra Feminine Warrior opened the show as an Alumni of Buffalo State College. Even though I was not in the student competition for prizes, Althea is right, everyone is a winner from the experience of being part of a fashion show.

Having an opportunity to speak with Althea was too good to pass up. Kara and I met at the Clothes Bar shortly after 1:00 as this was a trunk show and we did not want to miss anything that might be sold early in the afternoon.

This was my first time in Clothes Bar. I missed the grand opening while I was a studying in the graduate program @ Savannah College of Art & Design.

Walking into the Clothes Bar is a pleasant surprise even if no celebrity is in the shop to greet you when you arrive. The Clothes Bar features garments, as seen on celebrities, geared for the young or at least young at heart with small waistlines and small wallets. Don't miss the wall of fame collection featuring celebrity fashion photos including a sweet, laugh @ the rain coat designed by Althea Harper worn by Beyonce that sold actually sold @ Clothes Bar for $1,100.

Tall and statuesque, it would be easy to confuse Althea for a model instead of the designer. She was at ease moving around the shop meeting and greeting the customers and sharing stories of her experience on Project Runway 6.

Be sure to visit Clothes Bar, located on Transit Rd. between Brennen's Bowery Bar and Bed, Bath & Beyond for an upscale shopping experience at very reasonable prices ;~)

Trapeze dresses are constructed of fabric falling straight from the shoulders with no shaping seams. Think “shapeless,” and you have the trapeze dress

Ultra Feminine Warrior this shear, sexy, full body armour, my final garment is an art object inspired by the Trapeze dress so popular in the 1960's.
Cut just above the knee in the front, gently suggesting a train in the back, I created an over sized tutu. The look is pure fun and truly playful. Aftrer all fashion shows are a place to express the extremes.
My wearable art object is hand stitched from generous yards of tulle is light, airy and just plain fun to wear. Embedded with silk floral elements and fiber optic lights you will be sure to be noticed. Trapeze dresses are best worn with sexy, light, strap, sandals paired with bare legs. I cut through the layers to expose a rich copper hued, 100 % silk chemise. Detach the snaps and wear the Tulle Tutu anyway you wish ;~)

" Contrary to what it sounds like, a trapeze dress is not something worn by a female flying aerialist. The name actually refers to the word "trapezoid," a geometric figure in which the sides flare out. The trapeze dress, narrow at the top and wider at the bottom, originally saw popularity in the 1950s and again became popular at the beginning of the 21st century.
A trapeze dress can have many variations and still fit the definition, but the term basically refers to a dress that is narrow at the bodice and flares out loosely at the bottom so that it swings freely. The classic trapeze dresses were sleeveless, but some featured long sleeves, sometimes cuffed.
Origin
Yves Saint Laurent became the head of the House of Dior when Christian Dior died in 1957. The following spring, the young Saint Laurent, only 21 when he was thrust into the spotlight, came up with a new collection that featured the trapeze dress. Part of the popularity of the new fashion was attributed to the freedom afforded by a loose-fitting garment in contrast to the tight waists women were used to wearing.

http://www.tulle.net/fashion.asp

History
In 1958 First Lady Mamie Eisenhower wore a silk shantung trapeze dress, decorated with bows, as part of her spring wardrobe; manufacturers produced instant copies, and the popularity of the style took off. By the 1960s the trapeze dress evolved, becoming a mini-dress and usually featuring a sleeveless top, sometimes cut to resemble a halter. The dress style has continued to fade in and out of style over the years. " http://www.ehow.com/about_5418362_trapeze-dress.html

With forty plus years of sewing experience, I have been designing dresses and creating wardrobe accessories for Kara and myself to enjoy.

Ultra Feminine Warrior collection was designed for celebrating energy, creativity, sacred power of women. My collection of wearable art includes; garments, objects and accessories inspired from military armor such as gorgets, gauntlets and gaiters illuminated with technological fiber optic elements.

My collection began as a conversation during lunch with a mentor, fueled by a creative spark, powered by immeasurable woman hours; of sketching, dyeing fabrics, and sewing ended up on Runway 3.0
I had chills in my body and joy in my heart watching the young ladies model the fruits of my labor. It was a wonderful learning experience and most of all a labor of love creating great fun ;~)

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.”
George Bernard Shaw

Special thanks and deep appreciation to my daughter, Kara Rice Rafferty.
She is the graphic designer, web designer, marketing director as well as my partner in our cottage industry rice rafferty.
All of my collection was created with Kara in mind. Having a daughter is like having a live Barbie doll where I first realized my love of sewing. Kara graciously agreed to wear the over sized Tutu ;~)
I love you Kara, it is truly a pleasure to be your mom ;~)

Lady of Mystery

Ultra Feminine Warrior

Of all the looks in my collection, the Lady of Mystery would be the one most closely to portray myself.

This spring green silk garment is adapted from a seven in one dress pattern I made in 1976 from royal blue polyester. Keeping options open with multiple opportunities is a major priority for me. Nothing I hate worse than to be classified and put in a box. As soon as someone thinks they have be figured out, I transform myself like this silk dress rich with possibilities.

In October 2009 I met with Professor Elaine Polvinen for lunch on Buffalo State Campus to catch up on what had been going on in our lives during the prior year. She told me about the great success of Fashion Technology Runway 2.0 fashion show in last May. I has seen some of the images of the fashion show on the Internet while I was taking classes in the graduate program @ Savannah College of Art & Design. In graduate school my mind was consumed with making garments while I was supposed to be focusing on fine art pieces.

Elaine invited me to submit a collection for the panel of juror of Runway 3.0 in May 2010. As soon as I entertained the challenge I knew my collection was going to be made from silk, inspired by the 1970 convertible dress and all of my fabrics were create by mixing my own dyes. Turquoise is the hue selected for Spring 2010 by the fashion industry. I selected the spring green and copper to balance my collection.

Michelle's beautiful, thick, long, red hair was so easy to fashion into the french braid in fact I did it myself in minutes to help the girls get ready for the fashion show. I just love this image of the braid pattern repeated in the Michelle's long hair and the dress sash.

Braids symbolize Oneness and Unity. "The flowing strands of hair, individually weak but when joined together in Oneness, physically demonstrate the Strength of Oneness; "One Mind, One Heart and One Soul", the Song of the Uni-verse, and the Sacred thoughts you are to hold. There are times to wear the hair braided and times to let it flow free, different times to demonstrate your harmony with the flow of life and to demonstrate your thoughts of Oneness to others.
There are different teachings about the way to braid ones hair, and different teachings about the ways and rites of braiding Sweetgrass. One way is to gather 28 whole strands of Sweetgrass, one strand symbolizing each sacred day in one moon(month). Divide them in three equal piles, 9 strands each, each pile symbolizing the wandering spirits of the 3 tiers of Heaven (upper world, middle world, lower world), and with the one strand that is left, the strand that Symbolizes the Great Spirit, the Creator God(Father Sun), you tie all the loose strands together. Remembering as you braid the Sweetgrass, to keep your thoughts and intent pure and healthy, placing the prayers of love for life into your braid. It is the intent placed in the medicine that makes all healing possible. To end the braid, tie a knot with the grass.

A Knot is symbolic of Union and a Bond. The Tie that binds. The knot in the Sweetgrass braid also binds all the "thoughts" of our Mother together, to teach us, once again of the strength of Unity or Oneness. I created the dress same hue in both long and short versions. It is show worn frontwards and backwards with sleeves in both options. "

http://webspace.webring.com/people/ah/helenaaiyana/hair.html

My tulle art object hat is inspired by the helmet of the Knight in Armour. " Every knight needed one set of armour for tournament and one for warfare. Each cost a fortune. Suits of armour had to be custom made. There were over one hundred and fifty parts, such as gauntlets, breastplates, thigh plates, helmets, and from top to toe, each had to fit perfectly. Protecting oneself in battle has always been a concern for any soldier, and medieval knights were no exception.

In fact, it was their protective armor that helped define them as a military unit and social class as armoring oneself during the Middle Ages was a great expense that only the wealthy could afford. Today, the Medieval Knight's Armour and Medieval Swords are both exceptionable symbols of Historic and Noble times, and are often adapted to make beautiful decorative pieces to many interior decors. "

http://www.medievalware.com/Helmets-and-Armor-s/6.htm

Extruding an aurora of poise and confidence the true identity of this Lady of Mystery is concealed beneath a series of ivory, tulle, bridal veil illusion. Embedded within tulle, layered, veiled hat like art object are a series of fiber optic lights flaunting a technological obsession should the desire for a "look at me" opportunity arise.

Michelle Adams Enderton, is a mother of two small children, a graphic designer and a friend of Kara's from Clarence High School. She graciously spent the day away from her children to be with us.

Thank you Michelle for being part of team ricerafferty at Runway 3.0.

Technology: Progression/Obsession is the theme of this year’s Runway 3.0 fashion extravaganza.

“It’s the perfect setting for the event and our theme,” said Habes. “The designs will play with the ideas of extremes in fashion, the role of technology in our culture, and the revolutionary speed of progress in both fashion and the world around us.”
http://www.buffalostate.edu/news.xml?prid=3265

1. Turquoise 100% silk, one shoulder, tunic offers the perfect background for this ivory, tulle, tutu embedded with floral elements. Fiber Optic lights embedding throughout the tutu give an extra " LOOK AT ME !!!" excitement on the dance floor.

Amy Lee Reusch has appeared in numerous photo shoots for
local photographers was my choice for this look #4.
SUNY Oneonta '05
Art-Photography
Buffalo State College '09
Art Education Cert. Program
Clarence Senior High School '02

Thank you Amy for being part of ricerafferty team @ Runway 3.0. We all benefited from your professional experience.

Tinker Bell - is the inspiration for this playful short skirt.

Carol Ann Rice Rafferty Buffalo State College- Design BS Alumna May 2006

Ultra Feminine Warrior – celebrating energy, creativity, sacred power of women. My collection of wearable art includes; garments, objects and accessories inspired from military armor such as gorgets, gauntlets and gaiters illuminated with technological fiber optic elements. Color pallet and materials used to create the line. Turquoise, spring green, yellow gold, mauve and deep taupe hand dyed silk garments embellished with ecru tulle, up cycled jewelry, beads and fiber optic glowby hair lights incorporated into the art wear. Eye makeup – a dramatic palette of hues extending beyond the eye creating a mask effect or feminine war paint. Hair – braids where possible to repeat the pattern of the garments. Song - Bulletproof - La Roux






This short and sassy, elastic waist skirt is 100% Light Bubbled Gauze Silk adorned with an ivory tulle embellishment embedded with fiber optic lights.

Tinker Bell - is the inspiration for this playful short skirt. Fairies can enable others to fly by sprinkling them with fairy dust, sometimes called "pixie dust". In the original stage productions, she was represented on stage by a darting light "



Tinker Bell (also known as Tinkerbell or Tink for short), is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play and 1911 novel Peter and Wendy.



Though sometimes ill-tempered[5] and vindictive (getting the Lost Boys to shoot arrows at Wendy),[6] at other times she is helpful and kind to Peter.

The extremes in her personality are explained in-story by the fact that a fairy's size prevents her from holding more than one feeling at a time, so when she is angry she has no counterbalancing compassion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker_Bell



Kelly Reumann was a perfect as " Tinker Bell" as Ultra Feminine Warrior #3
Kelly is a recent graduate of Buffalo State College, Interior Design Dept. 2010. I met Kelly three years ago when she was a student in the Design Fiber One class I taught at Buffalo State College. A conscientious student who was eager to go above and beyond all class assignments we have kept in touch on face book. Without even trying on her garments until the morning of the show Kelly fit like a hand in glove into the clothing. Feminine yet strong, her size belies her strength I knew Kelly would be perfect for look #3 ;~)

Thank you for being a part of team ricerafferty for Runway 3.0 Kelly.


Congratulations on your graduation. Best Wishes for great success in your future endeavors

Carol Ann Rice Rafferty
Buffalo State College- Design BS Alumna May 2006
Ultra Feminine Warrior – celebrating energy, creativity, sacred power of women. My collection of wearable art includes; garments, objects and accessories inspired from military armor such as gorgets, gauntlets and gaiters illuminated with technological fiber optic elements.
Color pallet and materials used to create the line.
Turquoise, spring green, yellow gold, mauve and deep taupe hand dyed silk garments embellished with ecru tulle, up cycled jewelry, beads and fiber optic glowby hair lights incorporated into the art wear.
Eye makeup – a dramatic palette of hues extending beyond the eye creating a mask effect or feminine war paint.
Hair – braids where possible to repeat the pattern of the garments.
Song - Bulletproof - La Roux

Turquoise 100% silk charmeuse off one shoulder tunic, hand stitched construction, adorned with up cycled jewelry embellishment.

Short summary for history of a Tunic;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunic.

This longer skirt is Light Bubbled Gauze 100% Silk, features a deep side slit, elastic waist band for comfort and easy fit.

The outfit is accessorized with a bib necklace inspired from a gorget.

"Gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons. Later, particularly from the 18th century onwards, the gorget became primarily ornamental, serving only as a symbolic accessory on military uniforms. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorget

Bracelets made of ivory tulle inspired by a gauntlet with fiber optic lights as a focal point.

" Gauntlets, about 1614. V&A Museum no. 1386&A-1888
Historically, gauntlets were an important piece of armour, since the hands and arms were particularly vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. With the rise of easily-reloadable firearms, hand-to-hand combat became less common and so gauntlets lost most of their strategic value."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_(glove)

Miss Allie, an Afternoon Group Leader and math major @ Canisius College said she felt beautiful, confident and very comfortable wearing selection number two. In addtion to her math skills Miss Allie brings her expertise as an Irish Step Dancer to the students. see blog for images of Allie dancing in Buffalo St Patrick's Day Parade.

http://cariceraff.blogspot.com/2010/03/sure-and-begorrah-would-you-look-at.html

Thanks Allie for being part of the ricerafferty team on Runway 3.0 ;~)

Ultra Feminine Warrior – celebrating energy creativity, sacred power of women." carol ann rice rafferty

Having both the freedom to create and the spirit to achieve the process of assembling this collection was pure joy from conception to final walk on Runway 3.0 fashion show.

http://view.buffalostate.edu/main.php?g2_itemId=35782

No longer limited by the confines of getting a grade or passing a review my collection of wearable art includes; garments, objects and accessories inspired from military armor such as gorgets, gauntlets and gaiters illuminated with technological fiber optic elements.

The journey provided the pure joy as I was researching trends, finding inspirations, drawing sketches, dyeing yards of luxurious silk, sewing countless woman hours of both hand an machine stitching.

Chills filled my body as I watched six special young women bring my work to life on the runway.

http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/runway-3-0-hits-buffalo/_sojAt1Fu-dSXdpXdp1Hyw

Ultra Feminine Warrior collection has been building in me for over forty years. It grew out of my love of sewing garments, social studies and history. When I was in high school I wrote my research paper on Fashion as a Reflection of Social Change. Returning to college when my youngest child began college I was awarded a Summer Research Grant Fellowship focused on learn textile and fiber reactive dyeing skills to create my own textile. Honestly, I have become a bit of a textile snob. Now I am no longer willing to work with fabrics and colors available to anyone else.

Although ultra feminine and soft to the hand, my work is laden with dichotomies; soft & sexy yet independent & capable. The collection consists of both fashion garments and art objects inspired by military armor. http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--Spring-2010-Fashion-Trends-Womens-SS-2010-1288.htmlng-2010-Fashion-Trends-Womens-SS-2010-1288.html
My research revealed that Turquoise, one shoulder styling, braided hair, floral elements, bright, luscious hues all fashion trends for Spring 2010 were taken into consideration when I was creating my collection.

From ricerafferty Ultra Feminine Warrior sketch book

Simple wrap dress is made of 100% habotai silk, dyed a spring green can be wrapped in multiple ways to create a few different looks from one garment. Adorned with a bib necklace and fiber optic light leg accents inspired by military gaiters.

The first dress has braids, pattern of strength was repeated throughout the garments and hair styling from the Viking Warriors - red hair people are often of Viking decent. Her gaiters inspired from part of a military armor over the shoe or boots.

Fiber optic lights were embedded into all elements made of ivory bridal veil illusion in keeping with the Runway 3.0 theme Technology- the extremes we go to get noticed ;~)

Unfortunately during Runway 3.0 the flashes of fiber optic lights were not visible as the house lights were too bright. A more in depth explanation of the bib necklace is in my blog.

http://cariceraff.blogspot.com/2010/01/deep-inside-this-armor-warrior-is-child.html

Kristen Wright opened Runway 3.0 strutting with confidence and poise in the first selection of my Ultra Feminine Warrior collection.

Creative genius runs in Kristen's family. Kristen boasts Nikola Tesla as a relative about whom her grandmother has shared many wonderful family stories.

Thank you Kristen for being part of our the ricerafferty team for Runway 3.0 ;~)