Were you starting to wonder if I’d ever really post this? Admit it. You thought I took all the cash and prizes for being the only person to actually do all the challenges of Project Runway’s sixth season and hightailed it to Barbados. Well, that’s JUST CRAZY. I’ve received no cash. No prizes. And I don’t fly if I don’t have to.
But I have been sewing. The theme of my final collection is “Leather and Lace.” You’re thinking I’ve done a bunch of Stevie Nicks stage costumes, aren’t you? Again, CRAZY. I actually designed for her singing partner on that song, Don Henley. Nothing but jeans, black shirts, and Wayfarers.
Kidding.
My “Leather and Lace” is meant to showcase two things about women: Though we sometimes seem as delicate as lace, we have the supple strength of leather. From Flapper to Unflappable, Femme Fatale to Futurista, Dainty to Diva, Playful to Elegant–fashion is but a means we have of expressing ourselves. We are tough, we are feminine, and we have lots of shoes.
Patricia in dress of red leather and silk chiffon with lace stockings. Boots made by me.
Susannah, my model muse, in silver leather and glittery organza dress. Boots of leather and silver sequins made by me.
Sarah in blue satin jacket and black leather skirt. Boots from Mattel.
Emily in green leather, lace, and tulle dress. Mattel shoes enhanced by me. This is my thirteenth look (the surprise part of the PR contestants’ final challenge).
Gina in eggplant leather dress with indigo-blue beaded embellishments at the hem and straps. Mattel shoes enhanced by me.
Olivia in black leather dress with black sequin embellishment at top of bodice. Mattel shoes enhanced by me.
Lily in yellow lace and brown leather dress. Boots made by me.
Dandy wearing a blue lace dress with Mattel shoes enhanced by me.
Tajma wearing snakeskin-patterned suede-cloth pants and bolero jacket with an emerald lace blouse. Mattel shoes enhanced by me.
Toni dressed in a lavender lace blouse and eggplant purple leather shorts. Boots made by me.
Katie in a winter white leather swing coat over a dress with a winter white leather bodice, lavender tulle at the neckline and underskirt, and a winter white lace overskirt. Mattel shoes enhanced by me.
Natalie in cascading layers of white and black lace. The sequined band at the top of the bodice and the enhancements to her Mattel shoes are meant to be a match to Olivia’s black leather dress.
Thanks for keeping up with my designs this season and for all your praise and comments. Thanks to Mattel’s Birthstone Beauty Barbies and Susannah (a Mattel Top Model Summer, my eternal muse) for being such great dolls to dress.
A HUGE thanks to Tom, Tim, Lynne, Lindsey, Rhonda, and Kathy S for creative input, commentary, and staging assistance.
Maybe we’ll see you in January on the runway!
My previous designs from Season Six:
Getting ready for the runway
6:12–The Art of Fashion
6:11–The Best of the Best
6:10–Around the World in Two Days
6:9–Sequins, Feathers and Fur, Oh My!
6:8–A Fashionable New Beginning
6:7–The Sky’s the Limit
6:6–Lights, Camera, Sew!
6:5–Fashion Headliners
6:4–What a Woman Wants
6:3–Rumble on the Runway
6:2–We Expect Fashion
6:1–The Red Carpet
Okay, full disclosure. The “leather” fabrics are either suede cloth or pleather. To sew leather on a 1:6 scale is not going to happen in Becks’s workroom. This is known as “willing suspension of disbelief” and helps keep your mind in shape for reading fiction. Namely, MY fiction. Which also makes great holiday gifts.
I KNEW you were going to post this tonight, I KNEW it! First, there is a prize, and you are going to love it!! I don’t know quite what to say – Ava left me gasping and I thought there was nothing that could top that, and then I saw Susannah’s headpiece and it was … WOW! Then I saw Emily, and I loved the tulle and the green with the leather,and then there was Olivia’s classic dress – and Dandy — another WOW! I have no idea which is my favorite, so can I just love all of them?
can I just love all of them?
Works for me! Thanks for all the praise. =)
Okay, I’m like Marika; Ava completely stunned me and I couldn’t imagine it betting even better. The colors work perfectly and that bodice is flawless, then I scrolled down and my mouth continued to drop over and over. Patricia’s look can only be described as smokin’ hot. I love Lily & Toni’s boots best among all those stellar shoes. Katie… total class all the way. I could go on an on, but I have to get ready for class. These are better than some of the shit on the show. I can’t pick just one favorite. You are utterly amazing.
Thank you so much, Gary. =)
Ava is my favourite, with Patricia a close second. You could have a career in design with outfits like that. Stunning.
Thanks, Mark! I’m ready for a break, though. =)
Becky, I can’t believe all the work — and love — that went into these designs.
I think I like Emily in green the best, then Katie in winter white (a classic look), and Patricia in red. Susannah in silver looks very fashion-forward.
Thank you for your kind words, Chris. I’m glad you like them.
I don’t have the adequate words… this is the beautiful collection! The ones that touched me most are Ava for her colors, Katie for all the pieces in her ensemble, Olivia for being like obsidian or onyx or something else stark-black-and-devastating… I could go on and on. Susannah is incredible in that outfit, it’s so moving, the color combination, like a rainbow through tears. I am such a fan of colored lace; don’t be surprised if I ask where you sourced them, sometime. : )
It’s all so wonderful to take in.
Yay! I was hoping you’d like the collection. Now don’t you wish you’d had the chance to come up with thirteen final looks?!?
Thank you for all your kind words.
Wow! This is amazing. You’ve put so much work into these outfits.
Like the others have said, it’s hard to pick a favourite. I love Susannah’s head piece; it goes beautifully with her outfit; and I love Emily’s green leather, lace, and tulle dress that goes so well with her hair.
Olivia in the black leather dress with the black sequin embellishment on the bodice is gorgeous (I have a soft spot for Olivia); but Dandy wearing the blue lace dress could just win it for me.
The accessories, plus all the little embellishments you’ve made to the shoes, are amazing. You have an alternate career at your finger tips! I’ve never seen the “real” programme on TV, but I’m sure your outfits would give the contestants a run for their money.
Thanks for all the praise! I don’t think real models would appreciate some of the terrible things I do to fit and sew my designs, however. Fortunately, dolls don’t mind.
D A N G ! ! ! I know your fingers are sore and tired. These are beautiful.
And in the middle of all of this was a great birthday dinner (and CAKE)and Thanksgiving!! Thank you for the beauty and kindness.
THANK YOU, for all the encouragement and input. It was nice sewing with you. You sure you don’t want to do this next season?!?
Much better than what went down the runway this season at Bryant Park.
Thank you so much. Let’s hope the next season of PR awes us.
I’ve been trying to find the right words to express all my thoughts about this marvelous collection. (See what I mean? Marvelous. Even that doesn’t sound grand enough.)
Your art has rendered me speechless.
I can not IMAGINE you speechless. Thanks for all your kind words over the whole season, and especially your praise for my final collection. =)
Every time I come over and see you working on a new design, I’m completely blown away. You keep getting more and more talented and creative with your work. I’m sad to see this collection come to an end, but I know you’ll dive into it again after a nice break. And by “it” you know I mean MY wardrobe, right? Get crackin’, lady… I need a leather swing coat like I need a daily dose of bacon (which is to say, REAL BAD)!
Love, love, LOVE it all… but if I had to pick a favorite, you know I’d totally pick Patricia. 😉
THANK YOU. You can lay on the praise all you want, though it still won’t convince me to sew human-scale.
I’ll always be happy to provide you with bacon, however.
Oh, and this? Totally cracked me up:
“We are tough, we are feminine, and we have lots of shoes.”
I’m stitching that into a set of throw pillows.
It should be part of a companion piece to big hair taking us closer to God.
Aha, I was away for a while, and the thought dawned on me: “Say I bet you missed Becky’s final collection.” So I backtracked in your journal, got sidetracked by memes, and then found this. That green dress is phenomenal. And I completely love the combination of black, turquoise and purple on the first model. It’s stunning. Seriously, if someone were wearing that look on the streets of New York, it would stop traffic. Congratulations! You did a wonderful job! 🙂
Thank you so much! How nice that you went back and looked for this! Your comments (here and in person) have helped me many a night when I wanted to throw my fabric and needle across the room. =)