TV Guide Channel's The Fashion Team-Again???

Last Friday, I was asked to co-host the TV Guide Channel's The Fashion Team show once again with the effervescent Daphne Brogdon. I jumped at the chance since this time I would NOT have to be in full Marie Antoinette's "Dandy Cousin" 18TH Century costume. I would be in my own 2007 wardrobe, thank you very much!
I had a ball with Daphne, dishing on some red carpet fashions as well as TV Show fashions. As in every episode of The Fashion Team, we--the hosts--give the fashions a grade, from A to F. We graded shows (by how pertinent the fashions are to 'real life') that ranged from CSI: Miami(Loved it) to My Name Is Earl(you know I appreciate the Trailer Trash look!). We even graded the first Season 4 premiere episode of Project Runway. Daphne gave it a high grade. I , on the other hand, not so much (I'm still not over those baby doll dresses in a challenge where designers are supposed to 'Bring It'!). We also did a great interview with the Creative Director of LA-based high-end denim brand, Generic Jeans.
The episodes can be seen on the TV Guide Channel, beginning tonight (Sunday) at 7 PM, and in case you miss it, also throughout this week (Monday 12:00 AM, 4 PM; Wednesday 2 PM; Thursday 11 PM). But make sure to check your local listings since times may vary (I sound like a TV ad!)

Ferris State Michigan

Nick & Andrae Road Show:
Next Stop: Ferris State Michigan!
About a month ago, fellow Season 2 designer Andrae Gonzalo and I were invited by Ferris State University in Big Rapids Michigan to speak about (wait for it!) : Proper Business Attire for University Students going into the "work force" as well as about Project Runway. You take a guess what they were most interested in hearing? Yep, if you answered "Project Runway", you were right. After an hour discussion advice on what young men and women should wear when going to an interview, the first question revolved around whether or not Andrae ever got to go to Red Lobster with his (unsuspecting) made-up boyfriend, Tim Gunn!
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a camera so I asked several of the wonderful students who took photos, to email me the photos they took. Only one took me up on that offer (there were 400 attendees!) and that was Luke Mamo (seen here in his Middle Eastern-by-way-of-Urban-Outfitters- scarf). Him and his friends actually hail from CMU and study fashion there. Andrae and I had a wonderful time with our hosts at Ferris as well as meeting all the people (we signed 'autographs' and took photos afterwards for over an hour) who came out, during Midterms , to see us.
Afterwards, our hosts took us to Applebee's for a great dinner. Andrae and I were Applebee's 'virgins', therefore this was a treat! There was no "Red Lobster" in Big Rapids, but if there was, that's where we would have been. Our Big Rapids Sightseeing Tour culminated with going to a Gun and Liquor Store. I am not kidding: Welcome to Michigan: Here's a Gun and Liquor Store for your one-stop shopping convenience! Andrae and I went CRAZY! We'd never seen anything like that and really had fun, trying on some "huntin" fashion and buying some stuff. Don't worry , neither of us are animal hunters. We just hunt fashion victims!

Heidi's Halloween!-Part I

Spooky Designers!!

Just got back from Heidi Klum's fabulous Halloween party at Green Door in the heart of Hollywood and , needless to say, it was CRAZY! I dressed up as an 18TH Century FOP--like Marie Antoinette's best gay friend. After driving ONE HOUR from my Downtown LA Loft to Hollywood (usually it takes twenty minutes), I finally made it to Hollywood. After reaching the Green Door , I did some of my Heidi's Halloween "red carpet" dishing and I made my way inside the club.

Besides the usual suspects of Hollywood industry hangers-on, I finally saw the real thing: There she was, Miss Heidi Klum, dressed as a mysterious and sexy cat-woman donned in a stretch velvet hand-painted cat-suit with whiskers, colored contact lenses and all. Before I knew it, it was a Project Runway-meets-Halloween-free-for-all: There was Santino Rice as an Indonesian Priest giving Halloween blessings and then, a scary, yet still sexy(future cover boy for OUT Magazine much?) Season Four Rami Kashou and a Gay Cowboy Raymundo Balthazar ( Watch out: Raymundo has got a line-dancin' trick under his Western Shirt!) With all that, you have the ingredients for a very nasty, yet fashionable and fun, Heidi's Halloween.

Did I add the fact that Miss Britney Spears was there too? All in her heart-shaped sunglasses and all. She caused quite a stir at the club, let me tell you. Heidi was at the VIP lounge and Britney was near the bar sitting in a separate part of the club. Wanna bet both parties met up? Gimme More....

Yep, you know they did! And I will tell you next time what happened... Happy Halloween y'all!

Vintage Divas! Nick & Chloe Dao sitting in a Tree...

Check out my BRAVOTV.COM Blog about my recent experience as a moderator for a great event entitled Vintage Roadshow. I had an amazing time hobnobbing with the illustrious panel including Madonna's stylist and Academy Award-nominated costume designer, Arianne Phillips, and Elizabeth Stewart, New York Times West Coast fashion editor. There was even a visit from a surprise Guest!
Check out my best Moderator-meets-Thursten Howell III double breasted jacket with an orange silk hanky look. I was trying to look "vintage", "sassy" as well as serious!

Web Shout Out

Last month, I was invited to an "Operation Smile" event in association with "Reality Cares". Someone sent me this link to their MySpace site, with this lovely photo of me next to what seemed like a fabulous Goodie Bag! Miss Janice Dickinson hosted this event and there were lots of "Survivor" and "Big Brother" as well as "American Idol" personalities on hand to lend their name to this great cause. Love the photo, if there was a caption, it would read :"Here is Nick from Project Runway ,with a bunch of goodies that he didn't go home with..." Maybe Janice got them! Figures, damn! Just kidding, even though you may not believe me, I did not attend the event for the Goodie bag (didn't even know they had one!), I wanted to support this great cause and I respect the founder of Reality Cares and wanted to do this for him.

Below was the original posting...

"Nick Verreos / Project Runway at Operation Smile

How fun is this!!! We got the photos back from the charity event we did, Operation Smile, and there in the stack of pics is NICK VERREOS! Those of you who watch "Project Runway" (like we do) know he's from season two fame and an absolute doll of a human being. He and Malan are two of our most beloved designers from the show…..and here's Nick pictured with one of our Furlesque tees….we're so loving this! "

Chicago Fun Times

Two weeks ago, I was invited to host the final Out Magazine and Basil Hayden sponsored event of its summer series of Chicago events, as I wrote earlier on this blog. To cap off their successful run in the "Windy City", Basil Hayden, maker of fine whiskey and bourbon, also asked me if I would design an original gown inspired by it's bottle. The gown would subsequently be auctioned off to benefit The Center at Halsted.

My visit was incredible, to say the least. First, being that it was the beginning of October, I expected Chicago to be its typical cold and windy self. Not! I arrived on the weekend of the Chicago Marathon and it was a balmy 85 degrees, thank you very much! I called my girlfriend Kelly Ryan O'Brien ahead to warn her of my whirlwind three-day trip to Chicago. She was the director of Chicago's branch of GenArt and a co-judge on the castings for Season 3 of Project Runway. Now, she is the marketing and public relations director for Michigan Avenue Magazine. She was so excited that I was coming that she was actually waited at my hotel lobby to greet me! I had barely taken out my credit card to put down for "incidentals" and she whisked my trench coat-wearing butt into her car to head to a VIP party Lucky Magazine was throwing to celebrate the launch of its November issue, which featured a whole section on Chicago's best stores. Once I arrived, it soon became photo and meet-and-greet mayhem, as Kelly escorted me through the party . I spent most of the time taking photos and doing various interviews and socializing with Chicago's fashionista that once we finally decided to leave, we went to get our Goodie Bags (which I heard had lots of fun stuff--they looked HEAVY!) and there were none! So we left empty handed. Lesson here is: Be tacky and get that Goodie Bag IMMEDIATELY, the minute you walk into the event, otherwise you'll end up like me.

Afterwards, we returned to my hotel, the fabulous James Hotel and I was treated to a scrumptious dinner and champagne at the JBar. I finally got to check out my room at the hotel and I just about screamed like a little girl who just got her first Barbie! The James Hotel's Marketing Manager, Joel Morales had upgraded me to one of their fabulous Loft Suites and I was in heaven! It was huge! With it's own projection room (to watch movies), a separate master bedroom, two flat screen TV's and more Kiehls products a gay man could ever use! Thanks Joel for "hooking me up". Too bad I didn't have anyone to enjoy it with me: I came stag on this trip unfortunately!

The next day was the event at the Center at Halsted. This brand new multi million dollar building is amazing, housing several floors, including an auditorium, and a huge gym to boot. It is there as a "refuge" of sorts, to give counseling, and educational as well as moral support to Chicago's LGBT community. For this final Basil Hayden event, the clients went all out, creating a very exclusive private party ambiance with orchid- accented tables , delicious hors d'oeuvres , a live DJ, and lots of free-flowing Basil Hayden cocktails for the guests to enjoy. I have several friends in Chicago, and I was happy to see them at the event. It's nice to see familiar faces when you are away from home (Thank you Bil, Anthony and Tony!) I also mingled with lots of my Chicago gays (and their beautiful girlfriends), lots of which professed their love of Project Runway and were very anxious to see the gown I had designed to benefit the Center.

After a bit of meet-and-greetin', the 250+ guests were led to the Center's auditorium , where the auction-and unveiling-of my original gown would occur. Erin put the gown on and it was a perfect fit! I never even had a fitting! A month prior to the event, I received her measurements, created a muslin sample of the gown, and had a fitting with a form I have that was close to her size (between a 4-6). My vision for the gown was a modern "Martha Washington", paying tribute to Basil Hayden's roots which go back to the late 1700's, when George Washington was President. I used the colors of the whiskey and the labels on the bottle (gold, copper and amber) and threw in some black for a bit of elegant mystery. The gown had over 30 yards of triple layered silk chiffon and featured a Duchesse Silk boned corset with a hand-beaded gold paillete over drape (the fabric alone cost me over $700!!) An obi-style tie knotted the empire section, like the final bow on a gift. This was my "gift" to the Center at Halsted and to the guests attending this final Out event of the season in Chicago.

Unfortunately, there was a last-minute glitch: About 30 minutes before the auction was about to begin, I realized that I had left the strappy heels that I brought all the way from Los Angeles in my hotel room! And I didn't like the closed-toe pointy ones the model had. I became a mini-Diva and had someone go to the hotel to fetch them. People around me said, "Oh Nick, the ones she has will be OK, don't worry..." I said "No, she can ONLY wear my gown with the shoes I created for it!" We were lucky that the James Hotel was a 10 minute drive from the event. The shoes arrived and everyone agreed how perfect these strappy heels were as opposed to what she would have worn.
As the auction began (with a starting bid of $250), I became nervous and doubtful that anyone would even bid for my gown. I felt like that kid in elementary school who was not getting picked for the vollyball game during recess! Needless to say, in a way, I got "picked". The gown went for almost $3000 !!! I thanked the winning bidder (seen in photo above) profusely and had my own Sally Field "You like me , you really like me" moment on stage.
It was a wonderful ending to a fabulous season of Basil Hayden and Out sponsored events in the Windy City and I was honored to have been part of it. I also heard through the grapevine that the winning bidder of the gown was going to donate it to the Center to have them display it. Well, my mascara almost started to run after that! (Just a note: I really don't wear mascara, even though I know you wont believe me!)

Basil Hayden Gown

Chicago: A Helluva Town!

Today I flew to Chicago to Host the last of the Tastemakers 2007 Series sponsored by Basil Hayden and Out Magazine. So far they have raised $15,000 for the LGBT community in Chicago.
I am thrilled and excited to not only host the final event but also auction off this One-Of-A-Kind Gown I designed in honor of the event. I was thrilled with the way it turned out (this snapshot does not do it justice) and I will definitely take photos of the Beautiful Ford Model, Erin Endicott, who will be wearing it tomorrow night at the live auction. If you can't make it, don't fret!! Click HERE and you can place your bid now. This is a Gown worth $6,000.00 and believe me, you will be the envy of every woman in town if you own it!!

Nick & Andrae...and the Disco Ball Pig

The Nick and Andrae Show visits Seattle

Last month, I had the privilege to be invited back to the International Academy of Design and Technology (IADT), Seattle, for their Finale Gala Fashion Show, titled "Do You La Mode?". This time around, I was happy to be joined by the one and only Andrae Gonzalo. We were asked to host the actual show , judge it, and give a special seminar/lecture the day after. The day we arrived, after checking in to the Hotel Monaco, we were drawn by some stylistic galactic power to this wonderful sculpture right outside the entrance of the hotel. It was a Disco Ball Pig! Well, you just KNOW we had to take a photo! It took a while for the hotel staff to try and pry us away from that damn pig! I want to commission the artist to make me one for my Loft/studio back in LA.

I always have such a fun time in Seattle, thanks to the fabulous Hotel Monaco, the staff and students at IADT Seattle, who work fearlessly to further the knowledge and instruction of fashion and all types of design in the Emerald City and beyond. I also had an amazing time with my friend, Eduardo and his Seattle-based "Venezuelan Posse", who have incorporated me as "one of their family". We had the best empanada-and-wine dinner at a friend's house, I would have stayed there all night! Needless to say, he decided to show Andrae the sights and sounds of Seattle-at-night. Thanks Eduardo. You are the best!

It was a quick three days in Seattle and I wish I would have stayed longer, but alas, I had to come back to LA to get back to designin' ---and to order all the glass needed to make a new Disco Ball Pig for my Studio!

Click HERE for a Seattle Times article about Andrae and I standing by the Disco Ball pig.
and HERE to read my entire posting on BravoTV.com about my wonderful visit to Seattle.

Project Beauty on BravoTV.com

Check Out my latest entry on BravoTv.com where I wrote about one of my latest assignments as a Mentor and producer of a Project Runway-esque challenge that took me to Dallas ,Texas last month. In short, I was approached by a home fragrance company called Anthousa Collection to get 6 Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising/FIDM students to create a "party dress" in 8 hours inspired by 6 of their home fragrance-bottles-with-sticks products. After the designs were finished, I then flew to Dallas Texas and presented the designs in a fashion show in front of over 100 Neiman Marcus beauty and cosmetics executives and buyers at their annual "Beauty Conclave" in the Four Seasons Resort and Spa. It was a hot, humid and thunderous 2 days in Dallas so I never really got to enjoy Dallas or the fabulous Four Seasons. Waiting 4 hours on a plane at the Dallas airport tarmac wasn't cute. It was raining so hard they were not allowing planes to take off so we had to sit there and wait(the plane had already left the gate!). But I did have loads of fun with the entire Anthousa family.

As you can briefly see here, the student designers really got their "creative fragrance and fashion juices" flowing! I was very proud of them. Click here to see more photos plus the entire article

Je T'aime New York!

New York Diary: Survivor:Fiji, Karolina, Whoopi, Laura Bennett, Daniel Vosovic, and Jay McCarroll
Where do I begin? How about with : I love New York!!! It is, by far, my favorite city in the world! It almost pumps blood into my creative veins; being surrounded by all the fashion, art, architecture, the "hustle and bustle" of the original Metropolis, the shops, the models, the restaurants. The whole city thrills me like no other. It is "real", and a nice break from the "It's not what it seems" surreal world of La La Land.

My trip to New York City was bookended by work and the "Survivor: Fiji" Finale, in which my sister, Rita invited myself and David to attend. In between, however, was some "play time". As soon as we arrived , I was off to work, doing some fashion segments which I will talk about later next month. I got the privilege to do some more "red carpet" interviewing at an event for Katie Couric's Colon Cancer Foundation at the Chelsea Piers.

The highlight of that event was meeting Whoopi Goldberg. The Oscar-winning actress, came up to me, as I tried, nervously to introduce myself , "Hi , Whoopi, I am Nick Verreos from..." She stopped me and said, in her own unequaled way, "I know who you are...and I loved you! You should have been in the Final Three!" Well, I almost died and became speechless (rare) and of course, thanked her profusely. She then asked me for my business card. Unfortunately, I did not have one! I just about died a second time. I also became nauseous. And then, in that one-of-a kind Whoopi voice, she murmured in my ear, "Nick, you NEED to have a business card... AT ALL TIMES!" Needless to say, I reached for some paper and wrote my information and handed it to her. Lesson learned: Always have business cards. I don't like giving them out, I think it is cheesy and so "LA", but in this instance, it would have certainly been appropriate.

Immediately following my Red Carpet duties I rushed to the opening of my friends (Andy and Taylor pictured to the left) new gym STATION. Located in an absolutely fabulous building in the Meatpacking District (next to the Gansevoort Hotel), STATION offers these amazing vibrating exercise machines that are all the rage in Europe and are just now being offered here in the states. RuPaul as well as editors from W and all the top magazines were on hand to check out the buzz on this new hot spot.

I also got the chance to attend a chic opening party for a new Soho store called "Curve", which one of my favorite Supermodels, Czech beauty Karolina Kurkova was hosting. The party was filled with a "Who's Who" of A-List fashion types. Stylist Rachel Zoe (wearing an amazing dress and even more amazing Cartier Panthere diamond jewelry) with Hal Rubenstein, editor of "In Style" Magazine, designer Rachel Roy, model Bridget Hall, as well as a bevy of Upper East Side socialites that you always see on the "People Are Talking About" section of "Vogue" Magazine.

I also made a pit stop at one of my favorite bath and beauty product stores, "Lush". They were having a "Grand Opening" of their Soho store and asked me to stop by. Of course, I obliged and ended up buying my Mom a "Happy Mother's Day" gift box of "Lush" goodies, which I am sure my niece and nephew will use, instead of her. I also posed for photos with some of the shoppers in the store.

During my week, I got a chance to visit some of the East Coast "Project Runway" designers. I met Daniel Vosovic for a relaxing FOUR HOUR lunch where we ran into singer Jody Watley, who was in town for a special performance, staying at the same hotel I was. I also got to visit Laura Bennett at her spacious Manhattan Loft. I thought my Loft Studio was big, but WOW! This was my first time there, and I finally got to hang out (and play a little bit) with her kids. The "Project Rungay" boys were also there at Laura's pad, witnessing some heavy "off-the-record" dishing that will never get printed!(sorry guys).

I even got to visit the Poiret Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was gorgeous and inspiring. Everyone must go, especially students of Fashion Design. Paul Poiret is credited with being the designer who de-corseted women in the early 20th Century, with his loose chemises and then-shocking Kimono robe ensembles. His designs look so contemporary, especially now, during this season when every other dress is off the body and shapeless.

On Sunday,the day of my sister's "Survivor: Fiji" Finale (and Mother's Day), I spent the most amazing time with my beautiful 6 year old niece, Casia and 9 year old nephew , Alain and my lovely mom, of course. I took the kids to the Times Square "Toys 'R Us" and told them they could buy anything as a "treat" from "Uncle Nick" for being such good students and getting the wonderful grades this year. We even got to ride on the Ferris Wheel that is inside the store and demolished the candy section. Later that afternoon, we headed to their hotel to prepare to go to the "Ed Sullivan (David Letterman) Theater", where the Finale would take place. My mom wore a custom "Nick Verreos/Nikolaki" design I had made for her. She looked radiant on this very special day. My sister, I later found out, also wore one of my cowl-draped tops from my collection.

We were at the theater for FIVE HOURS, from 6 PM until 11 PM. The time actually went quite fast. We watched the final episodes on flat screens in the theater plus the live finale. We were thrilled to see that towards the end, host Jeff Probst (please get rid of the choker!), asked Rita a question about being a Mother and she spoke lovingly of her kids. We had been told, during the commercial beforehand that the camera would show the kids and to have Casia hold up the "Happy Mother's Day" sign they had made for Rita. When the time came, it was all so sudden, that Casia got nervous and forgot to hold the sign. If you saw the snippet, you might have noticed me nudging her to pick up the sign. But it was too late. Oh well, they still got their three seconds of fame and I am sure they were the Stars of their respective schools when they returned to San Antonio.

My beautiful friend, Ali (pictured to the left), then invited us to the official "Survivor: Fiji" After Party at "Pop Burger" in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, hosted by Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca, of "Survivor" fame. Jenna was stunning in a puffy-sleeved shirt dress and Ethan, well, one word: HOTTIE! I never told him this for sheer embarrassment, BUT, all I wanted to do was run my fingers through his ringlets! He was the perfect host. My sister mingled with her fellow contestants , introducing me to them, soon discovering that a lot were fans of "Project Runway".

Since this was the last night of my New York trip, I decided to go out with a "bang". After the party, we headed to Hiro at Maritime. Hiro is one of my favorite hangouts on a Sunday night in New York City. It is always packed and always fun. I always wonder if anyone has to go to work the next morning by the looks of all the people there dancing as if it was a Friday night. We quickly went upstairs for a drink and out of the corner of my eye, in the "VIP" section, I spotted NY Diva Amanda Lepore, Celebrity gossip queen Perez Hilton, AND (wait for it!) Kylie Minogue!!! OK, this is what I am talking about: I LOVE New York!!! If that was not enough, , I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around and it is none other than Jay McCarroll!!!! Jay was looking very incognito in his over sized black sunglasses (Note to Jay: I would love to get me a pair!). My night, and week, was therefore, complete. I headed back to my friend's Chelsea apartment for much needed rest for my next day flight back to La La Land. I hope to be back in NY very soon!!!

Hot in Bakersfield!!!!

Last weekend, I went to Bakersfield, California (about a 2 hour drive North of Los Angeles) to make an appearance at the "Look and Feel Your Best Expo". I was invited by Mimi Dorsey and her company, Unique Image to bring a little bit of "Project Runway" to that city, as well as consequently, speak about my experience as a Southern California fashion designer and how I ended up on that Bravo television show.

The Expo itself was a trade show, featuring beauty, spa, hair and even plastic surgery professionals, set up in booths showcasing what they have to offer the population of Bakersfield and its nearby areas.

It was a scorching hot afternoon but we were treated to an indoor air conditioned (Thank God) auditorium and I was "whisked" off to my own dressing room to get ready. They told me that Gwen Stefani had just been there, in the same amphitheater the weekend before! I felt like saying "Oh, I'm sorry that now you get me!" The security personnel as well as the entire staff could not have been nicer and more accommodating. I even got my own three models , from a local agency, who wore three of my gowns to showcase a mini fashion show that followed my speaking appearance. The models were fabulous and very pretty.

One wore the black and white patterned gown that was seen on Bravo's "Work Out" and was the style that "Miss California" chose to wear (but we made it entirely in black silk satin) for last month's "Miss USA" contest. Another model wore the navy and creme flower printed silk gown that former "Miss Universe", Brook Lee wore to the "Miss Universe " pageant last year. And the last one, modeled an aubergine-colored jersey Grecian Goddess dress from my Fall Collection.

Afterwards, I came down and did a meet-and-greet and met all the fans that came out, shook their hands and took photos. I especially loved the kids from the fashion design and sewing class of a local high school, as well as the models from Taji, a local hair salon. David and I are very grateful to the Bakersfield fans who braved a hot Saturday afternoon to come out and see me--instead of spending the beautiful day at the Magic Mountain water park!!! ( I would have been there!)

Nick Hosts UCLA's Resident Runway

Go BRUINS!!
Last Thursday, I was invited by UCLA to judge their first ever, "Resident Runway", a take-off on "Project Runway", where residents/students of the UCLA residence halls held a fashion design contest in the same vain of the Bravo show. It was a nostalgic visit for me since I am an alumni of UCLA and had not been back since I graduated A LONG TIME AGO. It had been so long ago, that in fact, the building where the event was held, Covel Commons , was not even there when I attended UCLA! How sad is that? Boy, did I feel old!

I spoke for about 45 minutes about my time at UCLA and how I wished there would have been something like this when I was there. I also took questions from the "sold-out" audience. Some were great, ranging from "What is your favorite drink?" (Cadillac Margaritas), to "Who was your inspirational muse when I was a very young kid in Caracas, Venezuela?" (Empress Farah Dibah of Iran).

For the contest, there were over 15 designers (working in teams sometimes), all UCLA students-- freshmen, sophmores, juniors mostly. None of which had a fashion design major, since there is no such thing at UCLA. But all with a great drive and (obvious) design talent to create wonderful garments out of nasty ones.

On that note: The challenge they were given, only a few weeks ago, was to create an outfit out of thrift-store garments bought at Goodwill. Each of the designer students/teams were given 4 items such as a dress, jacket, pants and an accessory reminiscent of a bag lady and then they had to re-create it into something original, chic and stylish. I was amazed at what they did, especially since most of them had never sewn before and some of the outfits were hand-stitched together (not glued, thank you!) The winning ensemble was stupendous! They somehow made a fabulous hoodie jacket, shorty-shorts and a sexy stretch knit top out of bad "Golden Girls"-looking thrift store garments. The re-created outfit looked like something you would see at "Club Monaco" or "Banana Republic". (Picture of winning design is on the right. The designer modeled her own outfit!) It was impeccably sewn and stylish at the same time. Congratulations to the winners!

The night of the event, they also received a surprise challenge: They were given a T-shirt and had to tear it up, and create something else out of it, in 15 minutes! The results of that surprise challenge were also fun and innovative, ranging from a winning sexy mini-dress to an actual purse! I had so much fun coming back to UCLA and being part of this first-ever "Resident Runway" event.

All the students should be incredibly proud of themselves and I could tell that they all had so much fun, just by the huge smile on their faces. They needed a good fun break from studying all night for their Midterms!

Nick @ the Look & Feel Your Best Expo in Bakersfield

Well, April is almost over and I have been kept busy with lots of school work, working on my line and having fittings , as well as some appearances I have lined up. Tonight, I am participating in a special "Project Runway"-like event at my alma mater, UCLA, in which I will speak, do a meet-and-greet, and judge a special runway fashion challenge. Should be lots of fun. I will certainly do a post of this fun event next week.

Another upcoming appearance will be in BAKERSFIELD. I almost DIED when I saw the huge billboards they have put up in the city to advertise my appearance. It's one thing seeing myself on a 32" TV Screen, but something completely different to see yourself on a huge billboard! Lots of photoshop needed, let's just say! I will be a "special guest" at the "Look & Feel Your Best Expo", where I will speak about being a fashion designer and how I got there, as well as "dish" about my participation on the Bravo show. I will also be doing a "meet and greet" and hang out with all of Bakersfield's finest and most stylish!!!! This is a great event , so if you are in the area, or live nearby, stop by.

Besides my appearance, there are lots of other events planned all Saturday long (see below) and make sure to read THIS wonderful article/interview I did with a Bakerfield internet magazine:

When: Saturday, April 28, 2007 from 12 – 5PM
Where: Rabobank Convention Center,
1001 Truxtun Ave.
Bakersfield, CA, 93301
Cost: $10.00 Public
What: Bakersfield's Premier Image Event.
Do some shopping, have a cocktail, dress fashionably casual, and have fun!
Charity: A portion of the ticket sales will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.

Click Here for all the details

Nikolaki in California Apparel News

Nikolaki Fall 2007

Two weeks ago, here in Los Angeles, we celebrated yet another LA Fashion Week. I have shown several times, either as part of the "official" Smashbox L.A Fashion Week and also by having my own show in a fabulous gallery space in Downtown L.A. called The Woman's Building . I've also shown in several "group shows", where along with other designers , we present our collections. This includes shows with CLAD (The Coalition of Los Angeles Designers) where we presented our designs for several seasons to press and buyers here on the West Coast.

I was asked by my friend, muse and model, Amara, if I could host the 6th Anniversary of "Siren And Sailors", a great boutique in the uber hip neighborhood of Silver Lake. Besides being a fabulous DIVA all around, and my "partner-in-crime" when the time came for me to go to the Season 2 casting of "Project Runway" two years ago, she also happens to be the manager of "Sirens And Sailors" and co-runs a production art-and-fashion outlet called "Globe Trekk" here and in Paris.

She said that they were going to have a huge party celebrating the anniversary with an "installation" which would include fashion, music, art, food and cocktails. I told her that I would agree to do it if I could also show my NIKOLAKI collection , along with the other designers that would be featured. Most of the designers were designers that are currently being carried at the eponymous Silver Lake boutique.

I ended up showing a "capsule" collection, a "preview" of my Fall 2007 collection; six beautiful pieces ranging from a few metallic gold linen cocktail numbers to Grecian-inspired (of course) Goddess draped dresses in an aubergine-colored jersey. I ended my mini-showing with a strapless black Duchesse siren gown with a metallic gold Obi back detail.

The show was held near Downtown L.A.'s Chinatown at the Marvimon House and it was a complete success! The space reached capacity so early on that several hundred people were not allowed in, including some of my best friends! I was so happy that I got to host such a great fashion-music-and-art event in LA that celebrated what is HOT right now in this fabulous town, but also, got to show a mini preview of some of my new designs and styles.

It was great to see the write up in the California Apparel News (click on the image to read) and to check out more on the event click HERE and HERE for more photos from some of the other designers.