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Time for "Nick's Looks"--my weekly blog on my Mentor fashion. For this past week's Episode 6--we visited the beautiful Getty Villa/J. Paul Getty Museum in Pacific Palisades, where the designers had a challenge to create looks inspired by the Getty Villa and new film "Pompeii". On the morning of this episode, of course we had no idea where we were going, we were only told the night before that the Challenge introduction would not be at FIDM but instead "off site". We drove and drove until we arrived at the Getty Villa. It was a very windy and slightly cold (for Southern California standards) morning--as you can see from our coats/jackets above.




Thurston Nick III: I wore a vintage navy blue double breasted jacket I found in a thrift store ages ago, a Zara blue striped dress shirt with white French cuffs and collar, jeans, a Robert Talbott orange printed silk scarf and my Marc Jacobs cuff links. It was my "Thurston Howell III of Gilligan's Island" look, or at least that's how I made fun of myself. I should have also brought a swimsuit to go into that pool--but I'm sure I might have gotten kicked off the premises, only to be "black-listed" from the Getty Villa!




Twinsies: When we arrived at the Getty Villa, and waited and waited to begin filming, I noticed that two of the "Project Runway: Under The Gunn" designers--Sam Donovan (left) and Shan Keith Oliver (right) were almost identically dressed: khaki pants and jean jacket. I had to capture a pic of them! We asked them if they had planned this, and according to them, they had not (yeah right!).



The Following Day/Runway Day:










For judging/runway day, I wore an ASOS wine colored suit, Topman skinny tie, a scarf I made out of silk fabric that I had (from my dress line)...




Zara patent leather shoes and my favorite accessory, very colorful polka dot printed Jay McCarroll (Project Runway Season 1 Winner) socks!




Finally, for some "direct to camera" interviews, I wore a lime green sweater from Canadian brand Joe Fresh, a dark blue jacket from British designer Hardy Amies that once belonged to my uncle, and a red and green bow tie from Countess Mara. 

On this week's episode of Lifetime Network's "Under The Gunn"--the challenge was to design a red carpet-worthy look based on "Hollywood Glamour". I gave some "Inside Dish" on the episode in my "Nick's Take" HERE. This post is about the fashion that I--as well as my fellow mentors--wore for that episode. For the first part of the episode, I donned a denim and satin lapel jacket from Zara, light purple dress shirt from H & M, purple skinny trousers from Topman, an Hermes silk pocket hankie and yes, my YSL "Johnny" boots.










"Under The Gunn" Side Tracked--during the filming of this episode--on THE SAME DAY!--I had an appearance scheduled at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM in Downtown L.A. for an "Open House"--when students and their parents visit the campus to get to know a little more about the college...




FIDM Los Angeles Open House November 2013--As you can see, I am wearing the same outfit that I wore on this last episode of "Under The Gunn", and that is because I was filming the entire "Hollywood Tour Bus" portion the morning of my MC'ing appearance at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM.











I literally drove from Hollywood Blvd., (after our "Under The Gunn Hollywood Tour") to Downtown L.A. to make my scheduled appearance. Besides hosting an Alunni Panel Discussion, I also did a "Dad Fashion Show" plus took a bunch of photos with the attendees. And the whole time, I couldn't say ANYTHING about what I was filming. You can read my Recap of the FIDM Los Angeles Open House HERE.



The following day of filming "Under the Gunn"...


Mentors at FIDM/Grand Hope Park--(left to right) Anya Ayoung-Chee, Nick Verreos and Mondo Guerra. The following day, I wore a wine-red velvet tuxedo blazer from H & M, Topman shiny skinny trousers and...








Mentor Mondo Guerra was in his Shorty-Shorts Tuxedo-esque Ensemble...

I was really excited about this challenge, as a mentor. And after coming off the "designer picking process" and feeling a bit rejected, I was excited because I thought "this was right up my alley". In retrospect, my "Hands On" approach was probably me over-compensating and trying to prove to my designers (and myself) that I was a worthy mentor. And, I also should have known, that the minute I said that "I have this 'in the bag'" on camera is the minute I was going to be in trouble!







Let's get to my inside dish "Nick's Take" on the Episode...

As I said before, this was THE FIRST "actual"
challenge-- not only for the designers but for us the Mentors. This
was going to be a test of sorts on how I should mentor for the first
time. Since I had no other guide on what I should do--mentoring-wise--I
went to my "Instructor Nick" mode when I taught at FIDM in my draping,
sewing, sketching and pattern classes. This began right away during the
bus ride when the designers were given their "sketching time".







HANDS OFF, NICK!: Instead of letting them just sketch alone on
their own, I sat by them and began giving them suggestions and in fact
sketching for them. Now, some of the designers did ask me for
suggestions, since they knew I had knowledge in this "department" of red
carpet dressing. In hindsight, now I realize I should have just let
them figure it out on their own and I shouldn't have been so hand's on.
Then, after the sketching and designers went fabric shopping, I
made my visit to the workroom--along with Tim--and my "hand's on/Instructor Nick"
approach unfortunately continued. This was primarily focused on two of
my designers--Natalia and Stephanie. They were the only ones asking me
questions, asking for my help, etc., and I LOVED giving them my help
(Oscar and Isabelle were on  their own and self-sufficient, for the most part).








It all came to a crescendo when...Natalia had run out into the workroom hallway/lounge area asking me for help with her gown pattern and I found myself ON THE FLOOR truing her pattern/fixing a seam line. Tim, then ran to us and began (correctly so) yelling at me wondering WHAT THE HECK I was doing??!! It was not until then that a BIG ROCK hit me: What the heck was I doing??!! I completely lost myself in going back to being "Instructor Nick" and forgotten that these designers were NOT my students and realized that none of the other mentors were sketching and/or making patterns/draping for their designers and more importantly Tim would NEVER do any of those things either (Stupid me!). It was too late for me to realize that this manner of "mentoring" was not the right way and if it wasn't for Tim, I might have just kept on doing it (Thank You Tim). Again, I really thought I was helping my designers, but I wasn't.



Watch Tim tell me "HANDS OFF!" HERE...



The Runway:



















Isabelle Donola: Isabelle created a very fitted dress from a golden hued silk shantung. The dress featured a draped cowl front and mesh-like back.

Inside Dish--Isabelle had originally made the dress to be LONG but it ended up being TOO SHORT, she then added a piece at the bottom hem (to make it floor length). When I saw what she had done, I told her that the judges might see that and notice it as a mistake. I suggested that she should do away with that piece and just make the dress "tea-length"--below-the-knee cocktail. And she did, and I think the look was quite chic.




Natalia Fedner: Natalia's gown was of silk charmeuse--a fabric Natalia said she loved using in her own line and that it's one of her "signatures". The gown was one shoulder with gold straps.

Inside Dish: This is the dress that I was ON THE FLOOR trying to help Natalia with. Originally, however, this gown was going to have those gold straps and a gold piece in the front but both Tim and I suggested that under the time constraints, this might be too much work for her. She therefore kept it simple and made it a clean one shoulder plain front with asymmetrical side pleating.




Oscar Garcia-Lopez: I loved Oscar's hunter green gown. This was perfectly made and VERY red carpet. I thought that he would be on top.

Inside Dish: Oscar was done waaaaay before any of the other designers. In fact he had so much time, he began cleaning and sweeping the workroom as a result (bless his heart!). Also, this gown was going to have a keyhole front opening AND he wanted to add a BIG BOW at the back--right on her bootie, as well as give her a TURBAN and long gloves. Not kidding. I suggested that it might be "too mucheey" and to keep it simple. He did and it looked gorgeous.




Stephanie Ohnmacht: Stephanie created a strapless dress with this green taffeta.

Inside Dish: Two things happened to Stephanie that weren't good: her fabric choice and the fact that I tried to help. The concept of the design and dress was sweet--she was going for a dress for the young "Hollywood" girl but it ended up looking prom-a-licious. She wanted to do some interesting diagonal draping and make the dress not have side seams yet still achieve a fuller shape. And even with my "Too Hands-On" help (which didn't really help) the dress looked tortured. Seeing the dress on the runway really also brought it home to me to try and stay HANDS OFF. I was sure that my Stephanie would be going home. But she didn't! (thank goodness).




Out: Who did go home was Camilla Castillo. I actually LIKED this dress; it was simple, modern and a little bit "Raf Simons for Dior". I even liked the origami-like folding in the back. The dress, however, was a little too see-through in the front and the fabric was wrinkled. Camilla also made lots of excuses on the runway/judging which I think the judges did not like. She went home.




The Best: (left to right) Designers Blake Smith (Anya's designer) and Sam Donovan (Mondo's) were the two best looks and rightly so. I loved these two designs and for being such polar opposites of what could be deemed as a "red carpet" look. One was a beautifully constructed va-va-voom of a gown (Blake's) and Sam's was a young, directional-looking jumpsuit for an up-and-coming Hollywood ingenue "It" girl. Sam won and Congrats to him!



Click HERE to watch Tim's take on the Episode and talk about my TOO HANDS ON approach (Oyyy Vey!)

Nick's Looks Episode 2 "Under the Gunn"--I began this "style blog" here on NICKVERREOS.COM last week documenting what I wore on Lifetime's "Under the Gunn". If you missed the "Episode 1 Nick's Looks", click HERE. For this second week, here are images of not just what I wore, but also my two other co-mentors, Anya Ayoung-Chee and Mondo Guerra. Check it out:




Mentor Suiting: For the intro of the episode--when the remaining designers get their "challenge", I wore a Zara silver suit, H & M light blue dress shirt and Topman baby blue satin skinny tie. The pocket scarf is from Etro, of course!

The designers' challenge was to grab as much fabric from Mood Fabrics bins that were placed outside of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM campus in the middle of Grand Hope Park in Downtown L.A. Then, they headed back to the workroom to crate a look that "best represented who they were as a designer".






















Here is my "Nick's Take" on the Episode, and primarily why I chose who I chose and some other "inside dish". First I want to discuss the designers that either I didn't chose (or didn't chose me)...


Asha Daniels: I really liked her unusual folding, draping, twisting that she did for this look but...I just thought it was 2 minutes from looking a little Hoochie-licious. The mini was too mini and the midriff being exposed (I know that's a BIG trend but...). I passed and felt she would thrive with Mondo. I also had a strong inkling that she would pick Mondo anyway (call it a "Woman's Intuition"--me, being the woman LOL!).




Sam Donovan: I LOVED Sam and his design--as well as  his young "cool kid" aesthetic. I really felt that (from looking at the two designers I already had) that he would be a nice addition to my "Nick Team". This look above was so great; modern, chic-sportif; cool girl luxe. Sam reminded me of an up-and-coming designer that all of a sudden has Anna Wintour's "stamp of approval". I had a gut feeling that he would reject me (if Mondo and/or Anya also chose him) based on my experience from the last judging process. But I thought "I'll take a chance and still pick him". Not surprisingly, he didn't pick me. However, it was nice to watch the episode and see that he actually A) knew who I was; and B) had some kind words regarding me, my designs and construction skills. Thank you Sam. 




Nicholas Komor: I really liked Nicholas' portfolio pics. They featured his menswear designs, tailoring and super-cool aesthetic. He also had photos of actual notched collar/lapel patterns which tugged at my Pattern Making Instructor heart. I was both intrigued and confused at the look he made above. It. Was. A T-Shirt/Tunic. And that's it. But, I thought "could he be the next Raf Simons?", and at the same time I wanted him on my team as the "intellectual, elegantly-simple styled" designer in my group. Well, as you know now, he didn't pick me. Oh well. Next...




Isabelle Donola: First of all, I have to say that I had NO IDEA of what was going on with Isabelle in the workroom and how she was having trouble finishing her design and giving model measurement excuses. This, we were NOT privy to. I just thought she was a little bit "kooky" (from visiting her in the FIDM workroom). I LOVED her design above and all the unusual folding and how she mixed the various grains of the fabric in her pattern pieces. I thought of the two designers I had (Oscar and Natalia) and how I wanted a more "avant-garde"/directional designer on my team and Isabelle could be it. This is why I chose her and was happy no one else wanted her.




Amy Sim: I really liked Amy's dress design. When it came to the remaining three designers, this was a very tough choice. When we--the mentors--visited her in the workroom, we advised her to "step it up". I just don't think she did enough. The dress was beautiful and fine, I just thought it was way too safe. I have already seen this dress at (name a department store). I wanted to see a little bit of an "edge". Maybe she was doomed by that fabrication she chose; it looked "After-Five Missy". I really felt bad about not picking Amy because of the fact that she obviously had amazing construction ability and had lovely design skills.




Rey Ortiz: I remember Rey from the "Project Runway/Under The Gunn" Castings in L.A. where I was honored to have been a judge. He was good; he spoke of his love of patterns and his pattern teacher back in Puerto Rico (that got me!). This design above left me a bit confused (as well as the other mentors). I LOVED the pants; they were perfect. And I get the boxy jacket, that's very NOW. But, I think what did Rey in was the fabrication; the teal-colored boucle brought it into "older lady" zone. And then, he added the gold buttons, the sleeve cuff tabs, the gold chain necklace, the sunglasses...It was (as I said) too mucheey.




Stephanie Ohnmacht: The reason I chose Stephanie had a lot to do with this dress: it was super cute! The fact that she used fabric that is normally known for tailoring and jackets, but yet still made a dress was fantastic. I also loved the perfectly fitted bodice and pleated fuller skirt...it was so now! Her bias-binding was also well done. In addition...when I decided to choose her, I thought of the designers I already had--Oscar, Natalia and now Isabelle: I wanted a quiet, elegant, and feminine yet directional "voice" on my team. Therefore, Stephanie fit the bill. I was happy that she said "Yes!" to me. Knowing her history with Mondo, I also had a feeling that Mondo wasn't about to pick her, and that may be his loss. I liked her designs.



**Finally I wanted to make a comment about the selection process. Much has been said about Producer manipulation and I will have to admit that in blogging about Project Runway in seasons past, I have alluded to my suspicions as well. But, I would like to state, here and now, that in no way were my choices decided, influenced or manipulated by the Producers or Network. I based my decision strictly on the designer's portfolios and the runway garments they made for the challenge. I can honestly say, it was an incredibly difficult decision and I would have been happy to have any of the Top 15 designers on my team! Each and every one of them did amazing work in light of the very stressful 6 hour challenge.**



Here's a link to the the ENTIRE Episode--in case you missed it--and tune in next week for Episode 3, when the Top 12 Designer Face-off in their  head to head first challenge!