The Thread Fall 2011 Edition

threadFALL 2011

STUDENTFASHIONMAGAZINE

the

SHELDON HILLVINTAGE JEWELRY

128 THE COMMONS607-319-4800WWW.SHELDONHILL.COM

THREADThe

Fall 2011We are looking for advertisers for our next issue.

Please contact [email protected] for more information.

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THREADThe

Fall 2011

1 The THREAD FALL 2011

31FASHION FACADESTYLE CRUSADE

03 EDITOR’S LETTERCONTRIBUTORS

FASHION

BEAUTY

FEATURE

39

05 FASHION FACADELooks Inspired by Cornell’s Architectures

07 FEMME NOIRE

13 GRECO MODE

19 MODERN MARVEL

25 BARE EDGE

31 STYLE CRUSADE

37 VINTAGE VISIONSBeauty Looks Inspired by Vintage Jewelries

39 VINTAGE VISIONSLook One

41 VINTAGE VISIONS Look Two

43 VINTAGE VISIONSLook Three

45 CORNELL GETS DRESSED

47 COSTUME COLLECTION

49 SENIOR DESIGNER

Two Cornell Student’s Fashion Start-up

History of Fashion

Insights into Liz Wheeler’s Cre-ative Mind and Collection

VINTAGE VISIONSLOOK ONE

49SENIOR DESIGNERLIZ WHEELER

Cornell War Memorial

Goldwin Smith Hall

Milstein Hall

West Campus

Weill Hall

WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM3 The THREAD FALL 2011

eing back at Cornell for a new semester was an interesting tran-sition from my summer in Tai-wan. I traveled to several places this summer and was inspired by arts and cultures from all over the world. Also, attending Elec-

tric Zoo Musical Festival in New York City during Labor Day weekend broadened my perspective on fashion and trendsetting. Although the festival was based on electron-ic dance music, I observed styles and outfits that I have never imagined putting together before. Different from celebrities, designers, or even your fashionable roommate, the styles at Electric Zoo were new and innovative. Every-one dressed in a way that expressed their personal style rather than to impress others.

I was extremely inspired by the artistic elements of the crowd’s outfits. I knew for a fact that these elements were drawn from visual arts and creative thinking, however, the liberty and individuality within the outfits expressed something that is so free, beautiful, and different—some-thing that people don’t usually see everyday. I saw no re-strain in the fashion: people were creating their own haute couture, inventing art using their figures as canvases.

As a result, for this issue of The Thread we decided to take advantage of the arts and history Cornell University has to offer. With the help of my team, we have put together a fashion spread featuring prominent buildings at Cornell. The photo shoots for our fashion spread were especially exciting. Rather than just directing and organizing the photo shoot process, I was enlightened by the interesting historical facts about the buildings. Our team was also de-lighted to work with Stacy, owner of Sheldon Hills, a vin-tage accessory store in The Commons (see advertisement for more information). We used several pieces of Sheldon Hill’s jewelry in our fashion, beauty, and advertisement spreads. After working with vintage jewelry, I have to say that I appreciate the history of fashion—beautiful his-tory because people lived their lives in it.

letter from the editor

B

Bithiah YuanEDITOR IN CHIEF

“people were creating their own haute couture, inventing art using their figures as canvases”

Continuing with the idea of art and history, one of our ar-ticles features the Fiber Science & Apparel Design depart-ment’s Costume and Textile Collection currently on dis-play in the new Human Ecology Building. Other special features of the magazine include a profile of Liz Wheeler, a senior design student in FSAD, and an interview with Shu Min Liang and Iris Mai, two Policy Analysis Man-agement seniors who started their own fashion business at Cornell this fall.

All in all, I have to thank my team for always supporting me. The most important thing that I have learned this fall is being ‘carefree.’ In the end, a blank slate is the origin of creativity. My college experiences and working with The Thread have shaped my perception of fashion. This publication was created in a state of fashionable ecstasy, and we hope you enjoy our perspectives within the Cornell community.

Sincerely,

ELECTRIC ZOO MUSIC FESTIVAL

THREADThe

BITHIAH YUANEditor in Chief

Fashion Editor ARIEL SODOMSKYBeauty Editor WHITNEY MCMULLIN

Features Editor JILLIAN KNOWLES

Fall 2011

CALVIN W LIUCreative Director

Style Director ADRIANA BURTONPhotographer EILEEN M. XIE Art Director VINCENT AHN

Photoshoot Director ROBERTO CARLO SOTO

HOWARD CHANGPresident

Webmaster SEN FANGFinance Director WEI YANG

Advertising Director KATHERINE PATTERSONMarketing Director EMILY FIPPHEN

SPECIAL THANKS Members: Sally Schultz, Karmen Wu, Lesley Young, Priscilla Yang, Benjamin Wainberg

Sponsors: Sheldon Hill, Ithaca Antique Center, The Cornell Store, Purity Ice Cream, Loose Threads, and Norabloom Botanicals

Fashion where it’s supposed to be, with styling and architecture working togeth-er to create a beautiful shot. We were inspired by the eclectic architectures on Cornell’s campus and styled our models with reference to these different styles.

FACADE

6the THREAD FALL 2011WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM

FASHION

PHOTOGRAPHERMAKE-UP

HAIRSTYLESTYLINGMODELS

Eileen XieBithiah YuanCalvin W LiuAdriana BurtonAdriana BurtonKendall GruyeFaye TsakasLevina Li Kelly Gordon

FEMMECORNELL WAR MEMORIAL

NOIRE

NIGHTCAP CLOTHING dressH&M tights FCUK leggingsSALVATION ARMY boots PETRUNE talon ringSHELDON HILL necklace, ring, hairpiece

CORNELL WAR MEMORIALNOIRE

GRECOGOLDWIN SMITH HALL

MODE

MODE

H&M dressALICE+OLIVIA wedgesFOREVER 21 bracelet, cuffsSHELDON HILL earring, ring, braceletMOOD fabric

MODERNMILSTEIN MARVELHALL

MARVEL

AMERICAN APPAREL top H&M skirt FOREVER 21 cuffs AMI CLUBWEAR pumpsPETRUNE fox fur coatSHELDON HILL braceletsREBECCA MINKOFF leather bracelet

BARE EDGEWEILL HALL

AMERICAN APPAREL swimsuit AMI CLUBWEAR boots FOREVER 21 cuffs TOP SHOP ring, braceletCHLOE sunglasses

STYLE WEST CAMPUS

CRUSADE

CRUSADEHELMUT LANG top ALEXANDER WANG sweater AMERICAN APPAREL leggingsRAG AND BONE bootsKARMALOOP cross ringSHELDON HILL bracelets, headbandLEVITICUS ring, web bracelet

VISIONS

38the THREAD FALL 2011WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM

VINTAGEWe created dazzling beauty looks in-spired by vintage jewelries. The sparkling and colorful make up complemented the elegant jewelry pieces and epito-mized the meaning of glamour.

PHOTOGRAPHERMAKE-UP

HAIRSTYLEMODELS

Eileen XieBithiah YuanCalvin W LiuLara GruyeAna ZapataJohanna Grazel

WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM12 the THREAD SPRING 2011

With her hair like spunned gold and dramatic dark make-up, we recreate the beauty of

these vintage jewelry pieces.

LOOK ONE

MARC BY MARC JACOB necklaceBANANA REPUBLIC ringSHELDON HILL earings, ring

WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM12 the THREAD SPRING 2011

Her dramatic hairstyle and wild make up echo the elaborate and intricate designs of the vintage earrings and ring.

LOOK TWO

VINTAGE earings, ring

WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM12 the THREAD SPRING 2011

She could live among the stars with her silver lips, sparkling eyes, and gems that enhance the delicacy of her silver jewelries.

LOOK THREE

SHELDON HILL hairpiecenecklacerings

45The THREAD FALL 2011

CORNELL GETS DRESSEDFEATURE

CORNELLWRITTEN BY JILIAN KNOWLES

GETS DRESSED

e all know that Cor-nell is known for the gorgeous scenery, im-mense areas of study, and top rated food.

But when it comes to finding good plac-es to shop, Ithaca may be lacking… to say the least. This was true until two of Cornell University’s very own, Shu Min Liang and Iris Mai, two Policy Analysis and Management seniors in The College of Human Ecology brought the Cornell E-Dress Me site, in collaboration with the eDressme.com premier shopping website. Here, Cornell students can finally find the hot fashion they want, and even get to try it on at a Collegetown dorm site for af-fordable prices. The Thread gives you an inside look to this online phenomena as I got to sit down and talk style with the two founders about the company, the brands, and the fashion haven we Cornelians have always been looking for.

w

S: Yes, the E-dress me site is primarily an online fashion retailer [with] everything from Ali Taghavi to Love, Yu (a wed-ding dress collection!) We offer brands [like] BCBG, Nicole Miller, Ark and Co., and we’re still working with some other brands that are about to be launched as well, but we can’t discuss at this time! [laughs]. We also have our private label, which got launched a couple of years ago, called E-dress Me Private Label, the com-pany’s personal brand.

Can you tell us about the E-dress me site, and how it works?

LEFT TO RIGHT: SHU MIN LIANG; IRIS MAI

WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM

S: It’s in between a store and a distribu-tion center. You can come in informally if you want to try something on [from the site] that you’re not sure if you want to purchase. If we have it in stock, you could try it on based on an appointment with one of us.

You have a store inside your Col-legetown dorm! Can you tell us about that?

S: Most of the styles you see are for fe-males. We have everything from summer dresses to casual wear, all the way to busi-ness and career wear, and formal dresses for banquets and black tie events. Just ev-erything a girl would need to get dressed!

What type of clothes and styles of clothing does the site feature?

S: Well, we are all from a very diverse background- if you ever look into the Cornell population everybody comes from [different] places…so there’s no majority for one type of style! The typical Cornell student’s fashion [on the site] are styles that we have looked at, saw whether we liked it or not and if it [were] imaginable for a typical Cornell student to wear on campus. We have seen a lot of different styles on campus and chose what we think would be possible to provide on our site…[and of course,] we select styles that we like! [Laughs]

What type of clothes and styles of clothing does the site feature?

We started this site because we always thought that the first time we came here- the first thing we wanted to do was visit a shopping center: to check out what was fun to do here. We’re girls- we love shop-ping, we’re shopaholics, shop freaks! [Laughs] When we went to the [Ithaca] directories though, every listing was food! We thought, “Does this place not have anything else but food?” And apparently not! We were disappointed, and said, “Oh my god, how can we survive here?” We re-alized that we would have to do a big pre-haul shopping and ship everything up to [Cornell] which could have been problem-atic… There was no [window shopping] here, and everything you can buy is just food. So we thought it’d be cool to start up this distribution center/store avail-able to Cornell students if they happened to need something on the run, or to try on some things that were interesting to them online before buying it. We thought that extending that option to Cornell stu-dents would be great for them. Working at E-dress me, we have access to over 30 brands, so we thought, “Why not share this opportunity with all of the Cornell students?” We thought it would be benefi-cial to everybody.

What made you want to start up this site?

S: Spontaneous! It changes with the sea-son and the weather. For casual wear, I prefer clothes with a loose fit. As for col-ors, I love white, nude, and solid colors that bring out my skin tones. I also love vibrant colors, especially during the Fall and Spring. I: Hmm. I like to mix things and patterns/ colors/ forms/ styles. [I try to] pick out something that’s eye catching or bright in color to stand out from everything else.

The two of you are always dressed your best when seen around cam-pus! How would you describe your personal style?

My inspiration comes from many differ-ent sources (friends, magazines, tv, celeb-rities, street, etc) There are many styles I love; however, not all of them are ideal for my body shape. Therefore, the way the garment compliment my body shape is a major factor to consider. Unique playful patterns or forms. [I like] mixing these patterns to create a modern and laid back look

What inspires your fashion sense?

S: Sweater, leggings, and knee-high boots for when I’m dashing off to class. I: A rather simple top with playful pat-terned socks and leggings or pants, a more on the plain side dark jacket, and a bright colored scarf or bag.

Can you tell us your typical outfit for a day on campus?

S: Knee or thigh high leather boots, tai-lored jackets with that leather elbow patch, and vibrant colors! (My favorite now is royal blue)I: [I like] the kind of hippie look but [not for] myself! [laughs]

Finally, what is your favorite fashion trend seen at Cornell right now?

“Working at E-dress me, we have ac-cess to over 30 brands, so we thought, ‘Why not share this opportunity with all of the Cornell Students?’”

VISIT THEM ON:

www.edressme.com/colleg-etown.html

After 5 years finally Cornell’s Costume Collection is allowed to be exhibited, displayed on several floors of the new Human Ecology Building. Renovations on the old Apparel Design building had been going on for the past 10 years, re-sulting in no gallery for the last 5. This

year they have their own space in the new Human Ecol-ogy Building with a small gallery to present exhibitions from the Costume Collection. The Costume Collection is a collection of over 12,000 textile pieces ranging from 800 B.C. and garments from the mid 18th century to now. Beulah Blackmore was the founder of the Collec-tion. She was an early faculty member of the then-called, “Department of Home Economic” in 1915.

47The THREAD FALL 2011WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM

COSTUME COLLECTIONFEATURE

COSTUMECORNELL

BY KATHERINE PATTERSONCOLLECTION

“She was the first to begin collecting historic dress for the department,” said Professor Charlotte Jirousek, associate director of the Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, the curator of the Collection. Every piece in the collection has been donated. From the collection around 20 looks have been selected, and are on display to the public in the Human Ecology Building. A lot of time and effort has gone into each exhibition of which selected students learn vital as-pects such as installation and work with the collection and catalogue. “There’s approximately two to three hundred man hours involved in planning and installing the exhibi-tion,” Jirousek said. “It’s not a simple matter.”

A

Jirousek’s interested in gathering textile pieces from what past Cornell students wore as well as getting current students to donate items from their freshman year. “History is everything that has hap-pened since the last time you took a deep breath,” Jirousek said. “It doesn’t have to be old to be his-tory.” The primary purpose of the Costume Col-lection, however, is not exhibition. “It is research and teaching,” Jirousek said. She incorporates the Collection very heavily in her classes. Students are able to make use of the Collec-tion for their own studies. “It’s got a great vintage collection,” Lulu Mu, a junior Fiber Science and Ap-parel Design student, said. “It’s really good for re-search.” As for what’s next for the gallery to be dis-played? Well there’s 12,000 pieces to choose from.

iving in a secluded forest amongst pet snakes may not be the usual as-piration for a fashion design student; however for Liz Wheeler, a senior Cornellian, it’s perfect. “I kind of have this romantic dream of living in the woods,” Liz said. “Just be able to work on art.”

Liz arrives slightly flustered from her morning so far, al-ready having fallen off her bicycle and developed an ir-ritation in her left eye. Her hair is black with vivid blue sections and her apparel consists of skeleton earrings and a necklace, an orange Clockwork Orange tee, black skinny jeans and Doc Martins: fully embracing the 31st of Octo-ber. Appearing not too dampened by the morning’s events, she whips out her recently purchased Halloween gift for herself, Lady Gaga iPod headphones. “No one else will [buy them] because they’re mad expensive,” Liz said. “But they’re so cool!” Liz’s artistic calling started with making beanie baby clothes and furniture with her mother’s sewing ma-chine. “I’ve always wanted to do art,” she said. “Sewing kind of became the way that I wanted to express my artis-tic side.”

LSENIOR DESIGNERFEATURE

PROFILE OF

LIZ WHEELER Her decision was rather hesitant to jump right into fashion and design as during high school she had a heavy focus on academics. Cornell was an at-tractive path due to its academic prestige and its arts courses. She took a summer class of Art as an Experi-ence at Cornell which convinced her of her decision to come. “That basically sealed the deal. I loved it so much.” Liz has stayed away from internships dur-ing her summers at Cornell, preferring to take her own route. The first summer she spent three weeks in London at Central Saint Martins, College of Art and Design. “It was a lot more concept based and I loved that,” she said. The next two summers she completed fiber art projects for the Kuhlman Foundation schol-arship. Though Liz’s aim is to become more of an ‘artist’ doing a range of creative works, rather than a fashion designer, fashion will always play a part in her art. She sees herself as having similar interests as her mother with art. “She’s kind of like a dabbler like I am.” Both her parents are supportive of her deci-sion to do art. “They’re very happy if I’m happy,” she said.

BY KATHERINE PATTERSON

50The THREAD FALL 2011WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM

Liz isn’t exactly sure of her path after Cornell, but knows it will involve something creative. Liz, also commonly known as “the girl with the wacky hair,” is considering enrolling in a makeup and hairdresser course after graduating. Costume design for film is another career pathLiz is considering. “Film is a passion,” she said. “It actu-ally does shape the way I work a lot.” Liz’s creative name, Missus Foe, is named after a 2007ScottishdramafilmcalledMisterFoe,coincidentlya character who lives in the secluded woods. A new love in her life, aside from the Lady Gaga headphones, is her pet snake called Anita, Darling. “Like in 101 Dalmatians,” she said. “It’s nice to come home and have her in my room.” If it was the last day on earth Liz would live it in style. “I would buy an Alexander McQueen dress and wearthat,”shesaid“Iwoulddefiantlyneedsomethingof his!”

hree days later, Liz Wheeler is working on a project for class. No books or powerpoints needed, just some fabric, beads, and a nee-dle and thread. “Mermaids are the theme I’m working with right now,” she shares as she puts down the blue fabric to show

me the many images she keeps in a folder for inspiration. I’m thoroughly impressed; this girl has clearly done her research, which she says is both a good and bad thing. “I have a lot of research to back up my design, which makes it more meaningful.” At the same time, Liz worries that she is copying something that she’s noticed during her re-search. “I ask myself, ‘Have I seen this before? Am I rede-signing something that’s already been there?’” After this serious moment, Liz lets out a laugh. “And sometimes, I just spend so much time doing research that I fall behind on the actual project!” Despite her talent and fantastical designs, Liz is easy to talk to and engaging. She is wearing a sleeveless white, floral dress with dangly gold earrings and a neck-lace with gold bullet charms that she made herself. I start off by asking what her design philosophy, “reality is the enemy of beauty,” means in terms of her work. She be-lieves that creating things that are realistic is against the point of creation, and the purpose of art is to create a statement on reality and/or escape from it. “I take some-thing that could never really happen and make it hap-pen.”

52The THREAD FALL 2011WWW.CORNELLFASHION.COM

T

SENIOR DESIGNER It is this escapism and fantasy that drives her in-spirations. “Usually my concepts are based on a character, which I figure out through research and creation.” Liz’s use of character was on full display this past spring in her CFC collection, M. Eldritch’s Creature Carnival. She says that she began with named characters, such as “the Giantess” and “La Femme de la Mer,” and then made out-fits based on them. “I had this idea of the characters be-ing trapped in a Victorian freak show, staying immortal, being overgrown by forest, and I was playing the person who was directing them, kind of owning them.” Liz’s work with the unusual reminds me of an Alexander McQueen quote about finding beauty in what others might perceive as ugly. Liz gushes that, “McQueen is my all-time favorite designer, so much of what he said makes so much sense to me.” We spend a few minutes sharing our love for the breathtaking McQueen “Savage Beauty” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum before re-turning to the topic at hand. “Beauty is a top priority, but my definition is different from a lot of people’s; it’s the draw of something, why something is fascinating. The characters have to have an emotional ugliness to be like no one else, not one of the masses.”

With her out-there ideas and intense apprecia-tion for fashion (she tells me that she tripped earlier today because she was so busy watching a guy in a really cool sweater), Liz Wheeler is definitely not one of the masses. When I ask about the inspiration for her upcoming CFC collection, she describes it as a “grungy, warrior fairytale princess/prince of the forest with influence from 1960s schoolgirl/boy, but I promise I have a very clear picture!” Somehow, despite the fact that I have no idea what that means, I’m sure she knows exactly what she’s doing.

FEATURE

LIZ WHEELERM. ELDRITCH’S CREATURE CARNIVAL

BY ARIEL SODOMSKY

LIZ WHEELER

BEHIND THE SCENESTHE THREAD

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