Couture in the City: West Coast Fashion goes Haute Couture

Bright white sun on the modern mid-rises makes the greenery distinct and the couture garments elegantly bold. For a Saturday afternoon downtown Portland you can feel glamour all around.

Not many would put those two together: Portland and glamour. This is an achievement that only the two best schools of beauty could create. Academy of Couture Art, Los Angeles and Paul Mitchell the School, Portland have redefined west coast fashion and beauty which has usually tended on the side of surf wear or woodland chic.

The Fest in the Square event makes a mark in the movement of couture in the U.S. It is a movement of education in what is couture. Too often couture gets lumped into either the unobtainable wild and crazy creativity that is solely for inspiration or the occasional bows added here and there to make something look cute like Chanel.

Couture is an aesthetic. It is a sophisticated training of the eye. For fashion, it is also a method of designing and creating clothing from the highest to the lowest. Balance, proportion, line are brought out from a different perspective. Couture is where creativity meets beauty. Let's face it, not all creativity is pleasing or moving, yet all couture is artistically stimulating or attractive to the eye. That's technique.

The show in Portland was the first time Academy of Couture Art designers partnered with the talent at Paul Mitchell the School, Portland. The whole team of hair artists, models and designers where inspired to take it to the max for elegance; an experience you do not often see in mid day Portland.

“What's amazing about this experience is seeing even the models transform. Not only did the team at Paul Mitchell bring out the most sophisticated chicness in the ladies, the luxury fit garments of Academy of Couture Art had the girls experiencing a new totally view of who they are as women. You can see it in the photos.”

That said, we have to agree and let the photos speak. Cheers to the west coast woman!

Career Highlight: French Couture For Ready-to-Wear: It’s all in the Eye

Academy of Couture Art (ACA) congratulates graduate Heidi AN as she takes a bold, confident step to build her own line in NYC. 

ACA Grad Heidi AN
for Urban Outfitters

Heidi’s journey since graduation was surprisingly an easy one for career opportunities. She was placed right away as Assistant Designer in Downtown Los Angeles with a starting salary of $800 weekly.

Most people are now probably thinking, sure, that’s because of the school’s network. Well, building a name in the industry goes beyond the school. That takes skills and rich, marketable creativity.

Right after she started her first job, Heidi presented a collection that was, well, ahead of its time. It kind of surprised her company. Having been to Premiere Vision in Paris with ACA she suggested that the Head Designer visit the show in NYC which was actually scheduled just a few weeks ahead. When the Head Designer returned, Heidi was right on spot and her salary showed it. 

It didn’t take long before she was scouted by another company with immediate entry as Head Designer. This time her designs would reach Urban Outfitters and Forever 21. 

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=22525695&navAction=jump&navCount

Being the best requires a lot of passion to endure the long hours, serious training to sustain creativity, eye for producing collection after collection with timeless “I’ve got to have it” quality, and a centeredness that is the sign of true leadership. 

Heidi excelled in the industry and revealed a confidence in her art that gave her platform to move forward with her message to the world. This summer Heidi moved to NYC to begin her own line. 

Academy of Couture Art congratulates you Heidi on this amazing journey and cheers you on as you transform fashion one collection at a time! 

Career Highlight: Life Moves Fast for Couture Minded Designers

Congratulations to Fashion Designer Victoria CATES (Academy of Couture Art Associate of Arts Degree in Fashion Design) winner of the 2011 Velvet Brigade Design Competition (http://www.velvetbrigade.com/design/postmodernist-babydoll-dress).

Victoria CATES moved back home to NY right after graduating with a specialized Associate Degree in Fashion Design. A bit uncertain what the future would bring in this new job market, Victoria reached out with her distinct portfolio and high energy to produce. It was only a couple of months later that she landed an internship with Nicole MILLER (NYC).

On the side, Victoria sketched; entering her design in the Velvet Brigade design competition: Postmodernist BabyDoll Dress, a sexy, sheer, little babydoll dress inspired by the band ‘Hole’ in the early 90’s.

As the votes rolled in, she announced the re-opening of her shop Gilded Cat on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/GildedCat) featuring vintage listings of cute summer stuff.

“Excellent! I’m finally getting down to business here!” She prepares for the launch of her own website with runway looks from her graduation debut at Academy of Couture Art, a course included in her degree program.

When you are born for it, highly trained professionally, and passionately productive, the doors open for much more to come. Her design will now be manufactured and sold under the Velvet Brigade competition win. One more design for the website and a name that you should watch.

West Coast Fashion

Paul Mitchell the school Portland Hair and Makeup team partners with Academy of Couture Art Bachelor Degree Fashion Designers as Creative Directors of the runway show Rock ‘n’ Dolls for Fest on the Square, Portland.

Presented by PDX Catwalk Productions & Portland House of Fashion & Academy of Couture Art, Los Angeles with Cat Walk Music Community, Music: Drum Jam & Keegan Smith August 6, 2011 Pioneer Square Portland, OR.

Runway designers include Angela CHUY, Kay ENYART, Max FREIERMUTH, Sarah KIM, Margaret ROBERTS, and Mariana ROMERO.

What more can a girl ask for? High energy rock and luxury couture looks. That is a recipe for Rock ‘n’ Dolls.

This Saturday, August 6, Hollywood brings the luxury, Austin brings real rock, and Portland speaks the voice of our generation. We love to see such important cities uniting on the West Coast. Watch out East Coast; this is the future of fashion!

Costumes and Couture: A Magical World of Design





Academy of Couture Art Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design students Sarah KIM (Stylist/Fashion Designer) and Brenda RAMIREZ (Fashion Designer) have a behind the scenes look at the creativity and complexity of Costume Designer Philippe GUILLOTEL of Cirque Du Soleil.

In June the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Costume Council hosted a truly inspiring lecture: The Costumes of IRIS from Cirque Du Soleil: Characters by Design with Costume Designer Philippe GUILLOTEL. The Council reached out to two emerging artists of couture design mind and technique to intern for the event. Two Academy of Couture Art students were selected to be inspired by the creativity and innovation that mark the magic of the Cirque Du Soleil experience.

Costume Designer Philippe GUILLOTEL presented from sketch to fruition characters from two important Cirque Du Soleil performances: Love and IRIS. What is so inspiring about Philippe’s creative process is the juxtaposition of clothing with technological function. His designs evoke the grand and open the mind to new possibilities. The results present another world.

“His work is remarkable. What is fascinating about his costumes is the fusion of the costume with the tool that serves the role of the actor wearing it. He blends the avant-garde with retro; late 19^th century technology with a flair of a decadent futuristic world. This gives us a revolutionary futuristic vision of what could become the fashion of tomorrow with technological outfits serving the precise function of the individual client,” audience member, Thierry ÉTÉ, Academy of Couture Art.

Philippe touched on the similarities in his creative process highlighting stories of couturiers touched by his work and his atelier. John Paul GAULTIER commented on Philippe’s workshop as the ultimate couture house. In fact, as Philippe illuminates, his creative and construction process is very much in character with the couturiers’.

This July the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood premieres IRIS: A Journey Through the World of Cinema™. Costume, much like couture, pushes forward fashion and art. Come and experience a new world of cinema and design.

Academy of Couture Art emerging designers and stylists Move LA with Fashion’s Night Out

Fashion’s Night Out makes its way to Los Angeles for a second début. This year, Academy of Couture Art students partake, support, and promote the amazing design talent, retailers and huge fashion industry that have always been an integral part of Los Angeles.

The growth of LA’s Fashion’s Night Out is crucial for the (re)awakened movement of fashion to the home base of the Hollywood stars, Los Angeles. In a soon to be released interview through Academy of Couture Art, fashion magic and inspiration is illuminated with the spirit of Los Angeles.

According to the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, “There are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers, and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any time in the history of civilization.” What an amazing point of reference for the major role fashion plays in this community!

Academy of Couture Art asks Parisian couturiers now in Los Angeles why it was their first choice for fashion around the world. “When I first came to Los Angeles I was really impressed by this energy, this creative energy in the city. I definitely feel like Los Angeles is the largest city where there is the largest population of artists, from around the world, than any other city of any kind in the world. And I think the fashion scene in LA has huge potential.”

“We have the fashion district which is literally amazing in diversity of fabrics, trimmings, quantity of stores, beading. This is huge. So the potential in terms of material is here. Also we have all the industries and work rooms in Los Angeles downtown that are here for production and this is very well developed. We have the whole Beverly Hills clientele for luxury, ready-to-wear. If you want to do just made-to-measure or just luxury ready-to-wear, we have a huge clientele here. We have the whole Hollywood glamour and the movie industry to promote your clothes with the red carpet. And this is very important because it is a big window; it’s a worldwide window. So, I think Los Angeles fashion has a future, huge potential, and I really believe in Los Angeles for fashion.”

Traverse these avenues of fashion expression with your best soles. It’s you, the community and artist, who make its voice heard. Mark your calendars for Los Angeles Fashion’s Night Out in collaboration with Vogue this September. The streets will overflow with high creativity, one-of-a-kind pieces, unimaginable deals, and a spirit of fashion unmatched in the world!

Careers in Modern Haute Couture: Academy of Couture Art Highlight

Having achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design and a few quarters away from achieving her Bachelor of Science in Pattern Design (Pattern Making), Christina Manolescu embarks on a career that is “…beyond what I ever thought I would achieve.”


Christina MANOLESCU
Designing for Academy of Couture Art
Collide 2010 Grand Fashion Gala

Last quarter she began working freelance as a pattern maker for several different design companies. Her first experience was with couturier Roberto De Villacis on a few garments that were made-to-measure for his fit model. “She was so stunned by the fit that she wanted to take the muslin cut home!” At the same time, Christina embarked on her first custom wedding gown, embroidery and all.

Next adventure in the industry, children’s wear. “This will be my first time to integrate the methods of modern haute couture, which is typically calculated for the woman, to children’s wear.” Easier than she thought, she introduced an elegant basic pattern block that the company had not yet developed to bring consistency in production. Her first project was the cutest little coat you can imagine. “I really like this kind of work. I can work when I want, where I want.”

Currently she is employed part-time in the company atelier and freelance in her studio creating patterns and leading consultations between fashion designer and seamstress for a local Parisian luxury leather clothing company.

Her first project brought in a few hundred dollars. The second one received reviews that were unimaginable a few years back when she transferred fashion colleges to specialize in modern haute couture practices. “Our seamstress, who has been over thirty years in the business, said that my pattern was the most elegant and simple to execute that she has ever seen.” This came on the same day that the owner, former fit model for the couture runways in Paris, tried on the muslin of her second project. “No fitting was needed, and I believe she’s keeping this one for herself. It cascaded down so elegantly; It was gorgeous!”

More projects are on the pattern table. Christina has just been approached to make custom garments for a lady with unique proportions. “Her size is bigger on top, making it challenging to find anything becoming for her type of figure.”

“I never thought I would be able to make pieces like crazy complex motorcycle jackets and custom garments to bring out the unique beauty in all. The techniques at Academy of Couture Art are so easy and so elegant. This is awesome! To the students, take lots of notes; this is your bread and butter.”