Eleven Minutes: Fashioning The Dis-Figured
SHE SAID....
By Linda Z
It's been a while since the sharp-witted Jay McCarroll was dubbed "the next great American designer" on season one of reality TV's "Project Runway" and he's anxious to finally show his first line of clothing.
His vision is to show his work on 42nd street at the Bryant Park eleven minute extravaganza that takes over public property to become the showcase of a world fashion industry that doesn't come as free entertainment It is a show limited, by invitation only.
SHE SAYS:
The importance of documentaries has been fully explored and presented for public scrutiny in recent films that expose the fashion industry; its limitations, its potential joys and its search for money and fame.
I cannot cry for the winner or the loser of this artistic endeavor where people come together to work intensely under severe pressure to create mostly women fashion(men seem hell bent on their black suits, shirts, tie and collared shirts that scare most women into submission and many a man as well).
It is worse than a baseball or football player because those men don't dwell on the female form or dictate to women what they should wear in order to be "with it'. This is an industry where too much weight is disallowed, the cost of material renders the thinner the model, the better, less costly; where how you walk, which is never possible for the average women, is valued and where character is lost to the dictates of the female form and flow.
Not an authentic ounce of creativity in my humble opinion emerges from the depths of this film other than the creative effort of the film itself.
Jay McCarroll is real and he is funny and ultimately so very sad until he discovers that he is not the rising star-to-be that others have pumped him up to believe.
Eleven minutes of fame all circled around making money but the Puerto Rican parade has more to say about fashion than the parade of the wealthy few who dominate the "cat walk".
All that artistic work; the sewing, the music, the setting, the colors and fabrics be damned But the documentary should live on. it offers so much to feel good about our not being part of the eleven minute competition.
I say, women,
Scrap the fashion industry. Take back the parks, Bryant Park, free for all New Yorkers and its millions of daily visitors.
Please visit: http://www.elevenminutes-jaymccarroll.com/ for additional information.
Opens Friday, February 20, 2008
At the Quad in NYC and on broadcast TV
Linda Z
WBAI Women's Collective
HE SAID....
By Gerald Wright
Clearly, the many facets of designer Jay McCarroll are fascinating. His choices made in his quest to be validated as fashion designer in the industry are demonstrated surprisingly excellent in this exciting documentary. As the 2004 "Project Runway" reality TV show winner, his fashion designing career stopped cold after receiving the award. His decision to organize a staff and prepare his fashion line collection for New York City's Fashion Week Event was a dream he wanted to come true.
Filmmakers Selditch and Tate take their film crew along with the jovial and witty Jay as he takes on the project of having his clothing line shown on the runway during Fashion Week. Already getting television exposure, Jay found it necessary to be recognized as an authentic fashion designer not a television fashion celebrity. The film is a comprehensive and detailed look at the business side of the fashion, fashion design, and consulting business seen through the eyes of Jay McCarroll. With crisp pacing the movie seemed to be a complete visual manual on everything I needed and wanted to know about the life of a fashion designer. This movie has the wonderful effect of weighing each entry equally, thereby devoting the same amount of space and time to every aspect in Jay's venture.
Setting the theme on interviews and candid talks with qualified professionals appear; Kelly Cutrone, Nancy Cane Carson Kressley, Jason Low, Omahyra, Michael Rucker, Eve Salvail, George Whipple of NY1 News and filmmaker Michael Selditch. These people influence the outcome of Jay's success and/or failure. Provocatively and often humorously Jay is visually scrapbooked from the beginning of his idea and to the results of Fashion Week, showing the anxiety,anger and happiness he endures in this sensitive and competitive business.
The unflinching focus on the culture and sexual orientation really does not make any positive or negative statement. I found this to be a welcoming creative process by the co-directors. I took away a "feel good" opinion about this film and I believe anyone who sees this remarkable documentary will feel the same.
FILM RATING (B)
Directed by: Michael Selditch & Rob Tate
Running time: 103 minutes
Release date: February 20, 2009
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: Regent Releasing
MPAA Rating: R
Gerald Wright
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