The weekend of April 22-23 was my chance to meet two of my favorite Project Runway designers, Chloe Dao and Diana Eng.
Diana and her partner, Emily Albinski, were at the Maker’s Faire (geek/nerd heaven) at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds. San Mateo is located half way between San Francisco and San Jose. I arrived at the faire just prior to their Saturday, 6 PM, fashion show.
They put on a half hour fashion show. Starting were three models with convertible outfits. The outfits had a plain grey skirt that changed to a colorful print. This was followed by three models showing off their line of necklaces made from electronic parts. Another model came out with a necklace that became a radio and the earrings were speakers. One of the speakers had an antenna that could be pulled out that reminded me of My Favorite Martian. Next came two models with the mathematical scarves. The last two items presented were the camera/heart monitor pull-over and the inflatable dress.
Diana and Emily were onstage describing the items as they were modeled and afterwards were available for photos and autographs.
Chloe was in San Jose for two receptions at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles to promote its new exhibition "Ao Dai: A Modern Design Coming of Age." This was an exhibit of Vietnamese dresses and for Chloe, an opportunity to meet her heritage. The first reception was a $50 affair on Saturday evening. One of the staff told me about 95 people attended that event. I made it to the Sunday afternoon opening public reception that was at the regular $5 entry.
This was a small museum with one meeting room and three display rooms. The meeting room was where Chloe talked for awhile and then was available for photos and autographs. This room was standing only and wall-to-wall people that only thinned out once everyone got to meet Chloe. I would say that between half and 2/3 of those there were Vietnamese and probably all PR fans. The meeting room was said to be capacity at 200, my guess it was substantially more.
The exhibit featured 60 Vietnamese dresses. Many had the familiar style of a two layer outfit, with a long side slit dress with a skirt or pants underneath. The material ranged from lace to patchwork/quilt to silk, from plain to very ornate, from white to very colorful.
James
Santa Clara, CA
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