On the job: Ivy Higa seeks assistant

Do you dream of living and working in New York?

Hawaii-raised designer and "Project Runway" alum Ivy Higa is now working at DKNY and is looking for an assistant/junior technical designer to help her and is putting out word to other ambitious, hard-working Hawaii designers.

She says, "The job would require a degree in fashion, some internships, knowledge of clothing, passion for fashion, great communication skills, eagerness to learn. It would entail helping take notes, coordinating and assisting in fittings, taking specs, assist in creating tech packs, organizing, filing, and must be able to multi-task well.

"It's an entry position, with an amazing team, and am hoping to find someone that's passionate, hard working, that's a good fit for us."

If you know any qualified individuals, or think you fit the bill, contact her at ihiga@dkintl.com

'Project Runway All-Stars': Print ends Ivy's run

Lifetime photos
Designer Elie Tahari joins Joanna Coles in the workroom to critique Ivy Higa's work.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 9: "There's No Business Like Sew Business" recap

This week the designers are challenged with producing a ready-to-wear garment for Elie Tahari, using his fabric, with the extra step of producing a piece within a practical retail price point.

Funds raised from winning garment sales will go toward NYC's Save the Garment Center and its mission is to promote, preserve and save the city's stature as one of the world's fashion capitals. The movement's website, savethegarmentcenter.org states: In 1960, 95 percent of clothing sold in the U.S. was made in the U.S. Now, that figure is down to just 5 percent. Despite this drastic decline, there are still 846 fashion companies headquartered in New York City which is more than London, Paris, and Milan combined. ... There are 24,000 apparel manufacturing jobs in New York City that make this domestic clothing production possible."

When it comes time to choose fabric, all the designers pick colors or prints except Uli, who chooses white (again).

Hawaii designer Ivy Higa picked a dramatic landscape print, and when Joanna Coles and Elie Tahari enter the workroom for their critique, Elie tells her, "You have a lot of guts," due to her choice.

To showcase the entire print, she changes her beautiful asymmetric design to a simpler maxi dress. Elie suggests cropping the dress to do away with a heavy black block to give her dress a lighter, beachy feel.

Ivy counters that she didn't want to disturb the print while giving women the option of hemming the dress to their liking. Joanna said she doesn't want designers to expect buyers to run out to their tailors, calling it lazy. I have to agree with that. There are so many things I buy with the intention of "fixing" them, but there's never time, so everything stays as is and many times go unworn.

Judges would have preferred Ivy's dress in a shorter, beachy length.

To Joshua, whose dress is bordering on tacky and overdone, the designer suggests, "Try to think about what women want to wear," and what they are willing to wear.

His ready-to-wear critiques were very sensible and Tahari, who also co-founded Theory, is known for wearable designs that flatter women.

Later on, the Israel-born designer—who Emilio relates came to New York with nothing and slept in Central Park to survive—said, something like, "When you have to fight for truth, food, love you feel appreciation, and appreciation is everything."

Editors tend to have seen it all and become very jaded but upon hearing this, Joanna goes, "Oh my god, I feel moved." She was so touched and inspired by his thoughts.

In the end, just as Tahari had feared, because of the black color block, Ivy's dress weighed heavy on the bottom when her model was stationary. It flowed nicely when the model walked, but Ivy was sent home. I suspect it had less to do with her dress than the reality that this was her fourth week on the bottom. Her dress was so much better than Joshua's, which was a travesty. His dress had many counts against it, making his model appear to have mono, sagging boobs, while the sides gaped and a roller coaster zipper, with all it's ups and downs, made the models behind look puffy. And the biggest critique, Tahari said his dress looked slutty.

Well, don't cry for Ivy, who immediately went to work for one of this season's guest judges, and continues to receive job offers.

Anthony Ryan's dress. I liked Uli's better, and as of this writing, she's winning a higher score with viewers using the "Project Runway All-Stars" website's "Rate the Runway" feature, with 5 stars vs. Anthony Ryan's 4. But I suspect we're not getting the full effect of her fabric from photos. Her knit wool is probably hard for many women to wear, too heavy to sell well.

The dress translated for retail, now available at www.elietahari.com as the Liv dress, $398, in sizes 0 to 14. All proceeds from sales will go to Save the Garment Center.

Uli's dress. Judges commented it looks fresh and young. I think they're subconsciously looking at her model as part of the package.

Joshua's dress was a travesty. Elie Tahari said it looked slutty, yet he's still in the game. How unfortunate.

'Project Runway All-Stars': Face-off

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa went up directly against Anthony Ryan Auld in this week's face-off.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 8: "Flapper Fashion Face-off" recap

This week's episode opened with the designer's discussing Casanova's departure last week. He and Hawaii's Ivy Higa were friends after appearing on Season 8 together, so his departure hit her hard, perhaps moreso because they were in the bottom 2 together, so it was a "he or I" scenario.

In a situation where you're basically on your own against some cutthroat competitors, it was probably nice for her to know there was someone in the room who had her back. They were always helping each other, whether with extra materials or having an extra pair of hands to finish a garment. Both are fast workers who could always lend a hand when the other seemed pressed for time.

Any student of fashion should be watching and noting that every setback seems to make Ivy more determined to succeed, and that's what it takes to keep going in New York, where, even if I'm just working Fashion Week there—a week—I come home exhausted. I'm not psychic in any way, but I am sensitive to what's in the air, and during fashion week I feel an overwhelming clawing, desperate vibe from those trying to make it, and it feels like a suffocating, energy-zapping blanket. Yuck!

So this week marked another first. It seemed straightforward enough when host Carolyn Murphy announced the challenge of reinterpreting 1920s Jazz Age fashion for the modern woman. The designers were then asked to draw cards which had them matched with another designer. At that point, one would assume a team challenge, but this time it meant the two designers would face-off against one another, with the winner making the top three, and the other the bottom three.

So Emilio Sosa was pitted against Joshua McKinley in the creation of an "Afternoon Garden Party" ensemble, Uli Herzner would challenge Laura Kathleen for a design befitting a "Social Soiree," and Ivy vied with Anthony Ryan Auld with an "After Hours Speakeasy" theme. The two don't seem to have much affection for one another, and Anthony Ryan seemed to confirm this when he said something along the lines of, "I'm not pest control but I don't mind exterminating Ivy."

There's nothing like a one-on-one competition to bring out the claws, with Laura Kathleen saying of Uli, "She's more like a stylist who tacks things on to make things look better." Meow.

The one-upmanship kept going when Joanna Coles came in for her critiques, asking the designers to size up each others' work.Emilio said "My lady owns the estate, Josh's lady is a guest."

She also asked Anthony Ryan and Ivy to rate each other's work. Anthony Ryan offered a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Ivy rated his dress a 5, saying, "I happen to think his dress looks like curtains from the 1920s instead of a dress from the 1920s."

Ivy's Art Deco-inspired design.

Her own dress was inspired by the geometry of Art Deco, and she chose an expensive fabric, with, I believe, sequined stripes that she wanted to use to create a chevron pattern. Joanna is positive in telling Ivy her design, "Feels very 1920s. It's very Roxy Hart from "Chicago."

Observing Ivy working, Uli said she's making her life more difficult by cutting a beautiful fabric into many pieces that will be hard to put together. By day's end, it appears Uli might be correct. For a second time, Ivy leaves the workroom without much to put on her model. Her fabric is still in pieces and there's only two hours to show time the next day

After judging, Joshua, Laura Kathleen and Ivy end up on the bottom. It doesn't help that Ivy has a model who doesn't walk dynamically and has a tendency to slouch or stand sloppily. A model with better posture would have showed her dress to far better advantage.

Anthony Ryan's design. Love the cape, not the dress.

I was so sure Anthony Ryan was going to be on the bottom. His dress was very plain, and while the judges said it looked very modern, it was a shapeless babydoll that looked cheap and was so boring he had to style it up with a feathered capelet. Well, who can resist a feathered capelet? I just bought one from Sass & Bide.

I was doubly shocked when he was named the winner, but at that point the judges seemed to have no choice. Emilio's dress was beautiful, but didn't have much of a 1920s factor. Judges deemed it closer to the 1930s or '40s. Uli seemed to repeat herself in layering on fringe and other frills. The judges were down on repetition this week.

After that, Joshua was saved for another plain dress that I can find any day in any junior store. I don't know why he's still in the competition.

That meant Ivy and Laura Kathleen were the bottom two, but I had a feeling Ivy was going to be saved because Laura Kathleen had sent jumpsuits and pantsuits down the runway one too many times, and guest judge, actress Gretchen Moll really seemed to work hard to sway the other judges into seeing the work and thought process that went into Ivy's dress, which Georgina Chapman said looked familiar because it was Prada-esque.

So once again, Ivy was spared hearing the dreaded, "You're out." Prada-esque is far better than being Forever 21-esque, which is how Anthony Ryan's dress appeared. Maybe his fabric looked better in the studio than over television.

We're now down to five designers and Ivy needs to do something amazing next week to stay in the game. She's been on the bottom three weeks in a row now, and nobody would survive a fourth week in bottom two. Though at this point, Joshua is the weakest link, unless he can buy some taste.

In the face-off between Uli, right, and Laura Kathleen, Uli won for her fringed flapper dress.

Emilio, left, was the winner in his face-off against Joshua.

'Project Runway All-Stars': Merry unChristmas

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa at work on her Week 7 design.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 7: "An Unconventional Nightmare Before Christmas" recap

This week on "Project Runway All Stars," the designers met host model Carolyn Murphy at the South Street Sea Port, where Fawaz Gruosi, founder and president of de Grisogono Geneve, also awaited. The challenge had nothing to do with his company, and he was there just to announce that the challenge winner would receive a de Grisogono watch.

The designers were then instructed to visit the second floor of the retail area, where they would head to a certain shop to find the materials they would use in the dreaded unconventional challenge. (The episodes were taped over the summer, and this was one of the areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy; some businesses at the seaport remain closed.)

The designers were distressed to learn they were headed to a Christmas shop with instructions to create a garment that offered no clue as to the source of the materials.

Christmas materials are typically obvious because of the colors, amount of shine, metallics and glitter, so this was a tough one, and the person who freaked out the most was Emilio Sosa, who went home during his season during another unconventional challenge.

I laughed a lot when Joshua McKinley pulled out what he thought was a package of blue material, but when he unrolled it, it turned out to be a cartoony "Happy Hanukkah" menorah wall hanging. Definitely unusable.

Hawaii designer Ivy Higa said she knew she wanted to create a flapperesque dress. Nothing remotely Christmasy about that, including a return to the color yellow, gleaned from a tree skirt.

Once again, she and Casanova were playing around with the materials, causing Uli Herzner to note that they're like "one person in two bodies," and someone else to wonder what would happen if one of them were to be sent home. Ooh, foreshadowing!

Interestingly enough, last week I noted that it seemed Anthony Ryan Auld had adopted Ivy's style for last week's challenge, yet no one called him on it, and this week she observed his design was looking a lot like Uli's. The ever easygoing Uli, who's looking more like she may end up being the last woman standing, also noted Anthony Ryan's design was looking a lot like hers, but different enough for comfort. You can see both designs below, but I like Uli's better. It's just more cohesive, like she started with a plan. Anthony Ryan's looks pieced together any way they happened to fall into place. And some of the snowflake materials were obviously Christmasy.

Uli Herzner's design. She's also blessed with the season's best model, with the best walk.

Anthony Ryan Auld's design.

The judges mixed things up a bit by calling on Emilio, Casanova and Ivy, and telling them that only one of them is safe. I was pretty sure Ivy would be the safe one. Her design was less flapper—the drop waist wasn't dropped down far enough—and more 1960s mod, which shares similar broad appeal. But she was the only one who created a look that didn't look as if it had been made with odd materials, much harder than going glam. The judges, however, considered it playing too safe.

I was really shocked that Emilio was declared safe. I think he should have gone home for a mess of a dress that was garish through and through and held together with glue. I think he knew he should have gone home as well. The only one worse was Joshua, who, because he had no fabric, had to resort to breaking up ornaments to create an armored bra, and ribbon to create some hideous shorts.

Uli was named the winner of the challenge and Ivy ended up on the bottom for the second week in a row, with her buddy Casanova, who had gone through a series of designs, and lacking materials in the end, had to piece together a creation made from castoffs from the other designers.

When told she was in, Ivy broke into tears for losing her friend in the workroom, so when they went back to join the other designers, they thought she was out. Casanova had to tell everyone it was actually him going home and he was touched that so many others in the room also broke into tears.

We're now halfway through the season and Ivy's now in the Top 6, already two places higher than she finished in her original Season 8.

Ivy's decidedly non-Christmasy design.

Casanova's tortured, Frankensteined creation.

A big no for Joshua.

Emilio was lucky to be saved considering the hot-glued mess he sent down the runway.

'Project Runway All-Stars': Red carpet redux

Lifetime photos
Casanova helps Ivy fit her model before the fashion show.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 6: "Green Dress For the Red Carpet" recap

Just as Hawaii tourism scores points for every TV series or feature film set in the islands, New York is also a star of "Project Runway All-Stars," and this week's episode took viewers to the elevated tracks of the High Line.

There, the show's host Carolyn Murphy told the designers that they would be going green by using AirDye fabric made with virtually no water or power, to create a design that she would be wearing on her next red carpet appearance. They would also have access to some of their old notions and trims, recycled from past competitions.

Hawaii's Ivy Higa chose a gold satin looking fabric, which is rather unforgiving to work with, but her sketch was beautiful, with a cinched waist and multiple pieces angling outward like rays of the sun.

She recalled being eliminated in Season 8 during another red carpet challenge in which she was unable to finish her gown, and she said she didn't want history to repeat itself. But to be in that situation again can lead to overthinking and overcompensating, and it certainly looked like she set herself up for trouble in going for such an ambitious design, given the nine-hour time frame.

While others were draping and sewing, she was still working on her dozen or so pattern pieces, and realized she was in trouble when the models came in for their fittings, and all she had was pieces of fabric. She told the cameraman, "I spent too much time working on the pattern. I feel so screwed.

When they left the studio for the day, she had nothing, and would have two hours the next day before the runway show. I thought she was a goner, but in my interview with her earlier in the season, she said she had made it further in the competition than she thought she would, so I felt it would have been too easy if she left at this point.

During her model fitting on Day 2, she told her, "I'm so glad you're not naked."

But her dress was rough. She had gone from wanting to show a gown to cutting it down, and the fabric and seams looked bunchy and puckered, which is unusual for her. Even so, you could see a thought process in it, which ultimately helped her win over Althea Harper when they ended up in the bottom two.

Ivy's design nearly got her sent home.

Althea's dress was well made, but it was a mess with a boring print that looked as exciting as calico, and too much going on with insets, cascading fabric and a little cape/ruffle in the back. The judges were calling it "Marie Antoinette," but I'd call it "Little House on the Prarie."

Laura Kathleen is so bitchy I didn't want to see her win, but it was really obvious that guest judge Diane von Furstenburg really loved her chiffon jumpsuit design, which had her rhapsodizing about her 20s, when she had met and married her prince and traipsed around Europe in sexy, romantic pajama palazzos.

Laura Kathleen set out wanting to impress the designer she admires so much, so naturally gravitated to a print that looks a lot like what DVF might use.

Laura Kathleen's winning palazzo jumpsuit design.

I was surprised that Casanova didn't make the top three. His gown looked beautiful coming down the runway, and the flash of red lining was like a play on Christian Louboutin.

Anthony Ryan Auld had high marks, but there was too much fabric in his design. No one wants to look wide on the red carpet.

Uli Herzner was one of the few designers who made use of the embellishment, which she recycled from the last competition. As Anthony Ryan said at the start of the competition, most red carpet looks are clean and sophisticated, without a lot of frills. Uli said her fabric looked like a rainy day, so she had to lift it somehow. Judge Isaac Mizrahi said he liked it more than he should, prompting DVF to refer to it as "forbidden fruit." I would wear it.

I'm certainly not averse to frills. I just picked up this Sass & Bide mongolian lamb capelet/epaulet.

'Project Runway All-Stars': All about androgyny

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa, with the other designers and new maie models in the "Project Runway" workroom.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 5: "You've Got Male" recap

After a break during Thanksgiving Week, "Project Runway All-Stars" returned, challenging the designers to come up with a design both avant garde and adrogynous. After coming up with their designs and cutting their fabric, judge Georgina Chapman came in to deliver the dreaded twist in the challenge.

After announcing that she;s bringing in their models, a line of male models parade in. The designers faces drop because, in spite of their androgynous designs, male and female forms are different and their garments have already been tailored to fit a woman's form.

To their relief, they're told they will use their female models as usual, but must add a second look for the male model. So back they go to Mood to pick up $150 more of materials. Crisis averted.

As mentor Joanna Coles goes through the workroom delivering her critiques, I noticed that Ivy's current design signature has apparently rubbed off on Anthony Ryan Auld. She's been wearing her own designs with blocks of sheer and solid fabric all season, and lo and behold, his garments utilized the same techniques and aesthetic.

Ivy's been wearing her own sheer and solid designs, like the one below, all season. I think her aesthetic creeped into Anthony Ryan Auld's creation for this challenge.

Ivy Higa photo

In the workroom, with so many designers working on pants, there was more concern about "ball room," and when I saw Hawaii designer Ivy Higa's design on the manikin, I was laughimg so hard I didn't hear what she and Joanna discussed. It looked like she had a little too much ball room.

Pants are always problematic, which is why I stick to wearing skirts and dresses. During the judging, for a second week in a row, Ivy ended up safely in the middle of the pack instead of the top. While waiting for results, Joshua McKinley took his frustrations at never being among the top three out on Ivy. She's showing a lot of restraint in not indulging the other designers' trying to bait her into arguments this season.

This week's guest designers were contemporary designers Jason Wu and Robert Rodriguez and I agreed with their observation that Emilio Sosa's designs were so androgynous that they couldn't tell the male and female models apart when they came down the runway together. I wasn't surprised when he won, although I also liked the mix-and-match street appeal of Uli Herzner's tribal-inspired designs. Her outfits were interchangeable on male and female bodies, and would suit more bodies than Emilio's designs, which only models could pull off.

Ivy at work.

Ivy's designs looked a little circusy, Chagall- or Picasso-like this week. Or maybe it was just the makeup.

Emilio's winning designs.

Uli's designs.

'Project Runway All-Stars': A dress speaks 1,000 words

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa works on a monarch butterfly inspired design in Episode 4 of "Project Runway All-Stars."

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 4: "Made in the USA Today" recap

This week's episode hit close to home with the involvement of USA Today and the intersection of new media, marketing and popular culture.

I spent three months at the paper in Washington, D.C., as a feature department loaner in the 1990s when our former Star-Bulletin was part of the Gannett empire.

In this case, "Project Runway" fans from around the world were asked to tween inspiring photographs, and the designers were challenged to turn the picture into a headline fashion story on the runway. Just like a photo, the things we wear can speak a thousand words or volumes about how we view ourselves, our place in the world, our likes, dislikes and fantasies.

Our girl from Hawaii, Ivy Higa, chose an image of a monarch butterfly, as a symbol of transformation and change.

Working in hues of orange and black, she created a solid cropped top with dark short and chrysalis-like flowing diaphanous long skirt.

Entering the workroom, mentor Joanna Coles was assisted in critiques by USA Today style editor Allison Maxwell, who reminded designers that photos convey powerful emotion and that they "want to make sure that translates to garment."

Ivy's monarch butterfly photo-inspired design.

In speaking to Ivy, Joanna said, approvingly, "You seem energized by this competition."

For the first time since the new series aired, however, Ivy didn't make it into the Top 3, but was comfortably safe

Assisting the show's regular judges were Tavi Gevinson of Style Rookie and Charlotte Ronson.

As the winner for his design capturing the lines of a bridge, Anthony Ryan Auld won a feature spread in USA Today.

Sadly, affable Andrae Gonzalo was sent home for a shapeless dress that was a too literal reproduction of a dress in a fan portrait. No one really understood his inspiration or explanation. It was one big questionable moment all around. He just seemed out of his element during the entire competition and said he didn't understand any of the other designers. In his original Season 2, he was surrounded by fellow Los Angelenos John Wade, Kirsten Ehrig, Raymundo Baltazar, Daniel Franco, Guadalupe Vidal, Nick Verreos and Santino Rice, with whom he was more simpatico.

Anthony Ryan Auld's sleek winning design was inspired by the lines of a bridge.

Andrae Gonzalo was sent home for this design inspired by a fan, but all he did was literally reproduce her look.

Project Runway: Ivy tries hand at graffiti

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa works on her graffiti ensemble in the "Project Runway All-Stars" workroom.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 3: "Up Your Aerosol" recap

Just like last week's "Project Runway All-Stars" challenge, this week's proved to be both challenging and fun.

The designers were taken to a graffiti-covered warehouse, termed "aerosol art" here, and just as you'd expect, the challenge was to take spray paint to silk or cotton fabric, and create a work of wearable art.

Hawaii-raised designer Ivy Higa said she looked forward to the challenge that called for "thinking outside the box."

Considering her clean compositions, this was an opportunity for her to get messy and dirty, which is hard to do. That's why I get so mad when the non-artistic look at art and proclaim, "That's so easy anyone could do that."

I think not. Children are capable of great freedom in their work, but most adults have been trained/scared to stay within lines rather than embrace a childlike lack of restraint. I would think it's also hard to paint fabric while simultaneously planning how the art will fall or how it will be placed on a finished garment.

In following her push for girl power, Ivy thought of superheroes and comic books, covering her fabric in words associated with female empowerment.

Considering the art to wear aspect, her finished suit ensemble cleverly drew on the spirit of pop art by Roy Lichtenstein, but the words she chose, like "tenacity" were too long. It would have been more legible and graphic if she'd stuck to her first thought, focusing on such simple comic-book fight words as "Pow" and "Bam." Judge Isaac Mizrahi said as much when he said he was excited by seeing the word "city," but less so to read the entire four syllables.

The cropped back was a nice touch on Ivy's jacket.

After all the critiques, Emilio Sosa was named the winner for a dramatic and severe flaming orange jacket and pencil skirt ensemble that judges praised, not only for its strong silhouette, but for its sense of graffiti authenticity. I think he was the only one who actually grew up with graffiti, and in his early remarks, he said the last thing he wanted to do was try to copy graffiti artists. He went with color over graphics.

Anthony Ryan Auld came in second, and Ivy's still doing well in the top three. And Suede went home for a costumey creation only worthy of a Party City.

Toward furthering the cause of women, Ivy has been a longtime supporter of the Nomi Network, with a mission of creating economic opportunities for survivors and women at risk of sex trafficking by providing training, product development and marketing support.

Anyone can help support the cause by mentioning #teamIvy on Twitter anytime and often from now through the series finale. If she gets the most tweets, she'll win $10,000 as fan fave, donating a portion of the win to Nomi Network, which she also supports through sales of her clothing line.

Learn more about the tweet competition here: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway-all-stars/season-2/fan-favorite

Emilio's winning design.

Another strong finish for 'All-Star' Ivy

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa in the "Project Runway All-Stars" workroom.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 2: "Put on Your Dancing Shoes" recap

The challenges on "Project Runway" and "Project Runway All-Stars" are often entertaining for TV viewers, but I wouldn't consider them fun for the designers. But this week's challenge was an exception.

The designers were sent to the Nine West showroom, where awaiting them was a dozen shoe styles. The designers were to pick one shoe to build a disco-themed ensemble around.

Last week's winner Anthony Ryan picked first, then picked Kailua Kona-raised designer Ivy Higa to go second. She chose a glittery gold sandal, that more than any other selection, sparkled like a disco ball.

She picked her follow Season 8 castmate, Casanova, to go next.

Ivy's pick of Nine West "disco" shoe.

After all had picked a shoe and they sketched their ideas, off they were to Mood, where Ivy picked a beautiful complimentary emerald green chiffon to go with her shoe. She was thinking '70s-era jumpsuit. but what she came up with was a combination romper with dress overlay, with a solid-and-sheer fabric mix that has become her current signature.

In fact, just as interesting as her designs so far, has been watching what she's wearing, which have all been her creations, and available for purchase at her website, ivyh.net, a natural method of smart product placement

But when Joanna Coles entered the workroom to deliver her critique, she worried whether Ivy's dress would come across more as day wear than club wear.

Ivy's creation.

Ivy, ever the competitive spirit, said she felt that because the prize for the win would be a part in Nine West's ad campaign, she figured it was important to create something that would stand on its own, as well as play up the shoe, and Joanna raised the question as to whether she was addressing the competition or the prize. Ideally, if one lives up to the competition, one would take care of both aspects.

On the runway, Ivy made the top three for the second week, but after all was said, Ivy's dress, with a stone-studded gold yoke and beautiful sheer pleating, took second place. That makes two second-place finishes for the Hawaii designer.

East German-born Uli Herzner, who had no reference point for an American-style disco, was named the winner for a stunning white dress that was more updated American squaw than disco. Somehow, she pulled together many elements, including feathers, fringe, shiny stones and sequined fabric to create a complex, yet easy-to-wear, polished and high-impact dress. It worked out well, considering Joanna's initial criticism was that she must have been asleep because Uli's style of dress was something she'd never seen in the '70s, though she'd been a disco habitue.

So far, Ivy is showing she's capable of beautiful work, and I'm sure the industry is noticing. Hope she makes this second go at the series work for her instead of against her.

Uli's winning dress.

Wendy Pepper went home for a mall look inspired by her teen-age daughter, with too many bells and whistles.

'Runway All-Stars' debuts with Higa just missing top spot

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa, first designer at left, in the workroom with the other designers and mentor Joanna Coles.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 1: "Redemption on the Runway" recap

It's good to see Ivy Higa return to "Project Runway" as one of its All Stars, during Season 2 of the spinoff of the original series, for a shot at redemption.

To this day, when people ask about her, they always say they didn't like her behavior on Season 8 and ask, "Is she really like that?"

I always say don't believe everything you see, because producers can be manipulative, the other designers could goad you, and everyone has bad days when they feel frustrated and lash out. What you see is never what the whole person is about. Just think, would you ever want to be filmed 24/7 without control over edits? Nobody's perfect.

She made enough of an impression the first time around so that mentor Joanna Coles, formerly of Marie Claire and now with Cosmopolitan, before critiquing her work, told Ivy, "I was afraid to meet you."

Ivy got emotional as she explained that she was in a bad place during her original Season 8 appearance, saying she had been feeling desperate after having sunk her savings into her business and ending up without having enough money for food. This time, she said she arrived with a better mindset, bent on focusing on the work rather than what the other designers were doing.

Ivy really showed her impeccable tailoring skills with this design. I still can't believe she wasn't a fashion design major, but a ceramics major at the University of Hawaii. Some of the judges didn't understand shorts dressing and wanted to see the jacket with long pants, but the leather short is what makes it cooler and younger. The judge who understood this was her Season 8 competitor and "All-Stars" Season 1 winner Mondo Guerra.

When the designers met up, they had one word for one another, "amazing." And it turned out people were most afraid of what one termed the "villain" from Season 1, Wendy Pepper, who unlike Ivy showed no signs of wanting to rehabilitate her image, saying that she didn't come to make friends and later stating she'd come to "mow everybody down."

Of course the first challenge was the one the designers always dread most, the group challenge. They split into two teams and were required to pick a word to build their mini collection around .Ivy's team picked the word "confident," while the other team picked "bold." The last person to be chosen for a team was Wendy Pepper.

During the competition, while they sized up each other's work, Anthony Ryan said that it's the quiet ones too that he watches out for, and I agreed when he singled out Emilio Sosa and Uli Herzner as competition. Meanwhile, I think we can be saying goodbye to Suede soon.

When the designs appeared on the runway, I loved Ivy's ensemble of a white jacket with black
lace insets at waist and elbows, and leather shorts. Anthony Ryan ended up winning the
competition, but I would have cast my vote for Ivy, who came in second.

As for the losing team, I don't think Andre Gonzalo should have been at the bottom. The judges said they didn't understand his look. Only Rachel Roy got it, but said there was a little too much going on and questioned how a person might get in and out of it. They were correct and sending Peach home for her sloppy, style-less creation.
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I think Uli will also be one of the designers to watch this season.

Ivy Higa launches Chic & Sheer online

Eric Hason photos
Ivy Higa's Elana blouse is one of five pieces from her Chic & Sheer collection available for purchase at her website.

Hawaii designer Ivy Higa has just launched her secondary label, Chic & Sheer by Ivy h., a clever collection of 100 percent sheer silk chiffon tops with cotton accents that reveal and conceal only as much flesh as its wearer chooses.

Its launch March 8 coincided with the debut of her e-commerce site, ivyh.net/store.

“I took to heart the idea of working smarter, not harder,” said the designer, who, since leaving “Project Runway” in season eight, has continued to live and work in New York for such high-profile designers and brands as Zac Posen, Diane von Furstenberg and Theory.

“Basically, I was killing myself trying to put together 36-piece collections by myself, trying to do the marketing — I wear so many hats. So I tried to think of a signature product that would allow me to build a strong foundation that I could continue to build on,” she said my phone interview with the designer, that appears in the paper today.
She decided to focus on light, ethereal tops that could transition from day to night and are minimalist enough to suit a wide range of women. Like the little black dress in separates form, she’s aiming to have her styles become wardrobe staples.

There are five styles in all, with three variations in sewing technique and embellishment. Basic tops start at $255 to $325, with delivery May 15. Each style also has one version utilizing pin-tuck pleat details, and another embellished with sequins and Swa­rov­ski crystals. Each style will be available in three colors: black, gray and navy blue.

Take a look and support one of our own!