SASHES AND TIARAS.....Miss USA 2017: Top 10 Preliminary Gowns

SASHES AND TIARAS.....Miss USA 2017: Top 10 Preliminary Gowns

Best In Gown: Miss USA 2017 contestants during the Evening Gown portion of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Competition--Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas

Last night was the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries, which occurred at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The Preliminary Competition is very important because it's when the Top 10 Semifinalists are decided that will go on to compete in Sunday night's Final Miss USA 2017 pageant. 51 contestants representing the 50 states plus District of Columbia competed in Swimsuit and Evening Gown. Naturally here on my Sashes and Tiaras blog, I'm interested in the EVENING GOWNS!

Satin and Sequins: Miss USA 2017 contestants during the Evening Gown portion of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Competition--Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas

The Preliminaries give pageant fans a "glimpse" into what the contestants will wear for the Evening Gown portion and their taste level and more importantly, who went the "Pageant Betty" route or tried to be at least more Fashion Runway Fab. As a fashion designer--and beauty pageant fan--when commenting on the Evening Gowns, there are several things I'm looking for...

Exhibit A, B, C, D & E: Fashion-forward, Red Carpet Fab and...Pageant Gown Gorgeous--Miss South Dakota USA 2016 Madison McKeown at last year's Miss USA 2016 Finals

My criteria for judging a gown is based on my desire to see an element of Fashion-forward/Fashion risk-taking designs combined with the understanding that these dresses are primarily for stage and have to somehow be "Pageant Appropriate"--which inherently has their own set of "Dress Criteria". A perfect example of how one can bridge Fashion & Pageant/Stage Impact would be last year's Miss South Dakota USA  Madison McKeown who wore this cape-fab gown from Lebanese designer Tony Ward and his Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2015 Collection seen in above photo. With that said...



Here are my TOP 10 Best Gowns of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries--in order of Highest to Lowest:

Miss Massachusetts USA Julia Scaparotti: Julia's black gown was probably my favorite of the night. She wore this black halter neck gown featuring gorgeous sequined lace applique in a smooth fit-and-flare "mermaid"-like silhouette with Open Back. The gown fit her perfectly, defined her figure and best features and was the correct length (hiding those tacky nude platform pumps!). This is a nice example of a fashionable style that was Pageant Perfect as well--and notice lack of HOOCHIE-licious too-high slits and no breast-a-licious cleavage (Thank You Julia!). I also liked her modern hair and the earrings. I hope, though, she lightens up on the too-heavy makeup. Score: 9.9

Miss North Carolina USA Katie Coble: LOVED this gold gown worn by Miss North Carolina USA. It was my second favorite. The gown featured gold lame pleated fabrication and great criss-cross torso draping detail. The style gave me a definite "Old Hollywood" vibe, harking back to the 1930s and 1940's days of Lauren Bacall, Jean Harlow and Marlene Dietrich with a nod to Cleopatra. The look was unique and stood out, for all the right reasons. Score: 9.89

Miss Kansas USA Catherine Carmichael: Catherine was a STUNNER last night during the Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Evening Gown Competition. When she came out in this coral colored gown, I was like "OK, NOW we're talking!". The crepe gown--which fit her perfectly playing up her 6' 1" tall statuesque beauty--featured a multicolored sequined bodice and DIVA-like dramatic chiffon back cape which she modeled as if THE RENT WAS DUE! Every pageant girl worth her sash needs to watch her modeling this to learn and take a lesson on how to work a gown with a chiffon cape. ASAP! She looked like a QUEEN. Score: 9.8

Miss Louisiana USA Bethany Trahan: Miss Louisina USA Bethany Brehan comes in fourth position of my Favorite Gowns of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries. She made quite a fashion statement with this black sequin applique-over-nude gown with iridescent organza back overskirt. The base gown was GORGEOUS: The sequin work was outstanding and it fit her to a 1/4" of her life! To be honest, I would have done without that back overskirt. I understand why it's there (drama, stage presence, etc.) but it needed to be re-thought. It did not seem organic with the beauty of the dress. Score: 9.65

Miss Nevada USA Lauren York: Lauren--who is one of the favorites to win the top crown (according to many pageant followers/missosologists on the internet) didn't disappoint in her choice of evening gown for last night's Preliminaries. She wore this very pretty column-style gown featuring a side nude illusion panel, white crepe base and unique geometric sequins and pearls. It was from Venezuelan fashion designer Dheymid Galaviz who has created many a sequined-and-crepe gown for many Miss Venezuela contestants and last year's Miss World Venezuela. Sometimes they can look similar to one of his design compatriots Gionni Straccia and at first I thought it was an Straccia gown because the sequin work looked like this: Score: 9.6

Mariam Habach Miss Lara (and eventual Miss Venezuela) at the Miss Venezuela 2016 Pageant wearing Gionni  Straccia

Miss Ohio USA 2017 Dinaleigh Baxter: One of my other Top Ten favorite gowns from the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries was this black and fuchsia dress worn by Miss Ohio USA 2017. One of my all-time favorite color combinations are black and fuchsia mainly because Cristobal Balenciaga utilized this combination in a lot of his super stunning Haute Couture creations back in the day (Lower Photo above). So when Dinaleigh came out, I was like "You Go Girl!". Her gown had a very fitted black velvet base gown with plunging sweetheart neckline and a GORGEOUS satin cape that was precariously knotted and twisted into these tiny shoulder straps. It was dramatic, entrance-making and yes, VERY fashionable and Cristobal Balenciaga-like. Score: 9.55

Miss New Hampshire USA Sarah Mousseau: Nice gown. BAAAD shoes. Let's discuss the dress first (please!). I liked this gown so much that yes, I included it here in my Top 10. I thought the style was impacting, suited her well...I admired the unique silver sequin work and I even liked the back overskirt. Here, in this gown it seemed a bit more natural to the rest of the gown. I also thought her hair and styling were on-point. But then, she wore those nude platform pumps!!! One question: WHY??? Where there no silver strappy shoes available? I just don't get it. It baffles the mind. NO ONE would be caught wearing these type of shoes with this type of a gown on the red carpet, black-tie gala, Haute Couture fashion show...ANYWHERE! Score: 9.3

Miss Montana USA Brooke Bezanson: I included Miss Montana USA's gown here because of its elegant simplicity and chic style. It was giving a little bit of a nod to what Miss South Dakota USA wore last year in the Finals (go to the top of this post). It was also a nice breath of fresh (Gown) air to see NO SEQUINS, NO SLIT and NO tacky platform pumps (she still made a wrong color choice in wearing NUDE shoes!). The white satin crepe gown featured a column shape highlighted by a dramatic hi-lo cape. While I liked this gown, I'm not so sure it was the right gown for Miss Montana USA. Brook is a lovely looking woman but I think this might have been more effective and had more "Diva" stage effect if it was worn by an olive-skinned or darker skin toned contestant...a "Miss Venezuela" or "Miss Curacao"-type.  It also needed to be just 1" longer. Score: 9.25

Miss Tennessee USA Allee-Sutton Hethcoat: In 9th place of my Top Ten Favorite Gowns was this golden/Blush-colored sequined gown worn by Miss Tennesse USA Allee-Sutton Hethcoat. In terms of style or silhouette, there was nothing really Earth-shattering Fashion Diva about it, but it looked beautiful nonetheless. The halter-style gown fit her well and the sequin-over-nude fabric looked expensive and nice. From head to toe, this was a perfect Miss USA look. Score: 9.2

Miss Washington USA Alex Carlson-Helo: Finally, I want to give MAJOR props to Miss Washington USA Alex Carlson-Helo. While I liked her black sequined gown and thought it was impacting, I just about FELL OFF MY COUCH when I saw that she was NOT wearing those tacky nude platform pumps that EVERY OTHER contestant wore: She wore the PERFECT strappy black heels! Who knew that these women actually had other choices?? And for her perfect shoe choice, Miss Washington USA belonged in my Top Ten list! Score: 9.2



**UP NEXT: The UH OH/Oh No She Didn't/Could Have Been Better...of Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Evening Gowns

MET GALA 2016: What Did The Models Wear?

MET GALA 2016: What Did The Models Wear?

The 2nd of May 2016 was one of the most important days of the year for the fashion industry and for all the fashion lovers. It was the date of the annual Met Ball.

We have already picked our best and worst dressed celebrities here, and now it's time to focus on models... All of them! I think that models shouldn't be afraid to play with the themes of Gala, but unfortunately too many of them played safe or didn't consider the theme at all! This year's theme was "Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology": let's see what models wore.

LOOKS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE THEME

BEST LOOKS

Karolina Kurkova in Marchesa

Karolina had the most beautiful and most appropriate dress of the night. Her "cognitive dress" was designed together by Marchesa (the manus) and an IBM cognitive computer system (the machina). The result of this partnership was a couture high-tech dress, covered with romantic flowers, embedded with colour changing LEDs. You can read more about the process that brought to life this breathtaking dress on the IBM's blog.

Anna Ewers in Hugo Boss

Anna looked extremely elegant in a bespoke embellished Hugo Boss gown.

Naomi Campbell in Roberto Cavalli

Naomi wore a Roberto Cavalli black silk lace dress, embroidered with beads and crystals. I am in love with the shape of the this gown, especially with the train skirt. I feel like this dress didn't get enough recognition.

Jourdan Dunn in Balmain

On the contrary, Balmain always gets more recognition than it deserves. However, this time I won't complain (too much), because Jourdan Dunn's dress was beautiful and appropriate.

MORE BALMAIN

Joan Smalls, Doutzen Kroes, Alessandra Ambrosio, Cindy Crawford in Balmain

I really liked Doutzen's white dress. It was elegant and not over embellished: a rarity for Balmain! I'm not sure if it suits the theme, though.

Joan, Alessandra and Cindy's metallic gowns reminded more of the theme, however Joan and Alessandra's dresses were just a silver version of Balmain's designs that we have already seen a million times. Dear Olivier, if you don't have enough inspiration to design five interesting dresses, then only bring one or two models at the Met Gala with you: I'm tired of seeing your same designs all the times! Thank you.

BOREDOM KINGDOM

Liu Wen in Iris Van Herpen

Liu chose the perfect designer for this year's theme: Iris Van Herpen. Unfortunately she didn't pick such an interesting dress. She could have done way better than this!

Gigi Hadid in Tommy Hilfiger

Gigi designed her dress together with Tommy Hilfiger. I think there is a reason why models aren't designers and it's because they would design dull clothes like this one. Anyways, I'm yet to find out why Gigi is a model.

Lara Stone in Tom Ford

I can't find much to say about this dress. It fits the theme and it's elegant, but it's nothing special.

Lily Aldridge in Michael Kors

Lily's make-up was on point, but what about the dress? I've seen this Micheal Kors gown too many times, and frankly it's not even that good.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Ralph Lauren

It goes without saying that I was expecting more from Rosie. The dress and the make-up were too simple and safe. That's two years in a row that Rosie lets me down at the Met Gala!

MODELS WHO IGNORED THE THEME

BEST LOOKS

Karlie Kloss in Brandon Maxwell

One dress, three outfits: with the cape, without the cape and after a cut. Karlie always looked very elegant.

Miranda Kerr in Louis Vuitton

Unlike Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Alicia Wikander and  Grimezsz, Miranda wore a nice Louis Vuitton dress and styled it perfectly.

Adriana Lima in Giambattista Valli

Adriana looked stunning in a couture Giambattista Valli embellished gown, even thought it would have been nicer to see a custom made dress for this occasion.

Kate Upton in Topshop - Bella Hadid in Givenchy

Kate Upton impressed me with this extremely elegant Topshop outfit: well done! Bella's Givenchy gown was absolutely amazing, but those boots partially ruined the look.

Stella Maxwell and Maryna Linchuk in Topshop

When you are invited to a Gala to show off your outfit, but the photographers take no good photos of you...! I really wish I was able to see these two dresses better because they both seem very nice.

Andreea Diaconu and Vanessa Axente in Roberto Cavalli - Taylor Hill in Topshop

Andreea and Vanessa wore two beautiful gowns from the latest Roberto Cavalli collection, but they could have improved the styling. On the contrary, Taylor's dress was a bit too simple, but it gained points thanks to the accurate styling.

NOT GALA MATERIAL

Fei Fei Sun in Chanel - Ming Xi in Micheal Kors

Fei Fei Sun and Ming Xi would look sophisticated with anything, but this dresses are not enough for the Met Gala in addition to not fitting the theme.

Irina Shayk in Givenchy - Kendall Jenner in Atelier Versace

At least the two models above looked elegant... I can't say the same about Irina and Kendall!

Jessica Hart in Azzedine Alaia - Jamie Bochert in Marc Jacobs

It might even be Azzedine Alaia, but I still feel like the lace two pieces are a bit dated, as I've seen them so many times over the past years. There are other wrong things with Jessica's look: the styling doesn't work and that nude layer under the skirt looks terrible. Let's move to Jamie: I just don't see the beauty in her dress. And what are those fabric pieces that hang down?

Emily Ratajkowski in Prabal Gurung

The front of Emily's dress wasn't terrible, but the back looked unbelivably cheap! The mesh, the drape, the jewel on the dress are a big NO!

Written by: MsD

Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor--My Recap!

Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor--My Recap!

What a Night!!!

Fifth Avenue Boy: Nick Verreos posing in front of the Project Runway/Lord & Taylor Collection Window Display (violet-blue dress design in the background by Nick Verreos)

Last week, I flew to New York City for the NY Fashion Week Project Runway Tenth Anniversary festivities as well as to unveil the ten piece "Project Runway Collection at Lord &Taylor" which, of course, included my dress design. First up was the Project Runway VIP 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue Flagship. As you may know, I was asked--along with eight other Project Runway designers plus Christopher Palu who won the "Lord &Taylor Challenge" a couple of weeks back--to design a dress for the exclusive 10th Anniversary Project Runway Collection to be sold at Lord & Taylor exclusively. I was the "Season 2" pick for the line.

 Presenting Project Runway: Nick Verreos--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

I flew to NYC with my NIKOLAKI partner-for-life, David Paul. After settling in, we got ready. I put on my never-worn-before Dolce & Gabbana Collection black and white mini polka dotted tuxedo silk satin jacket, pink dress shirt and pocket scarf, skinny jeans, Gucci boots and was ready to go! (Thank you David for styling me so fabulously!).

Taxi Mates: (Left to right)fashion designer Gordana Gehlhausen of Season 6 Project Runway, David Paul of NIKOLAKI, Nick Verreos--Lord &Taylor Fifth Avenue Flagship Window Display

David and I took a cab from the hotel with the ever-so-lovely Gordana Gehlhausen, Project Runway alumna from Season 6 (LOVE HER!). It was a very hot-and-humid NYC early evening and the taxi we took LIED to us--telling us it had air conditioning but really, it was just blowing hot air (in other words, I was SCHVITZING!). After arriving at Lord & Taylor, we posed for photos outside in front of the beautiful window displays featuring our dresses, which I'd never seen before--in person that is.Then, we high-tailed it inside to the party.

Figure Skating Queen Alert: Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and Nick Verreos doing media interviews--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

The party was in full swing on the second floor as we arrived. I knew that this was a very VIP party when I saw a very long "red carpet" step-and-repeat with lots of media, photographers and various press. I did interviews in both English and Spanish for several entertainment shows. At one point--out of the corner of my eye--I spotted Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi whom I would later get to say "Hi" to inside the party. She was in NY for the launch of her new activewear line Tsu.ya by Kristi Yamaguchi.

Best Dressed: Lord & Taylor President Bonnie Brooks and Tim Gunn (left photo); Bonnie Brooks and Marie Claire Fashion Director Nina Garcia (right photo)--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

VIP Guests: Also there was Project Runway Mentor Tim Gunn (he was so sweet when saying "hello" to David and I and asked about our little Benny!!), Lord & Taylor's President Bonnie Brooks (who was a Guest Judge during the "Lord & Taylor Challenge" a couple of weeks back), as well as Marie Claire Fashion Director, the UBER chic Nina Garcia. Tim, Bonnie and Nina were doing a Champagne toast to the Tenth Season of Project Runway with ALL of this season's designers--who were also there at the party. It was all captured by a bunch of cameras who were filming this soiree for a future episode of Project Runway (I assume the Finale one perhaps?).



A Moment of Figure Skating HEAVEN:

Triple Axl Love: Nick Verreos with Olympic Gold Medalists Kristi Yamaguchi and Sarah Hughes, Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

I was BEYOND excited when upon arriving at the party--and after a little bit of mingling--Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hugues saw me and we then began screaming like 15-year-old school girls (OK, I did!!). She then turned and motioned to someone else to come...and would you believe it, it was Miss Kristi Yamaguchi, of course! Well, I almost had a Triple Lutz Heart Attack! If you know anything about me, you might know that I'm a BIG Figure Skating Fan (remember the "Make a Costume for Sasha Cohen Challenge" from my Season of Project Runway?) and I especially love to comment on the costumes. I've had the pleasure of doing Figure Skating Costume commentary for the Torino Winter Olympics (2006), Vancouver Winter Olympics (2010) and many national and international figure skating competitions for NBC, Universal Sports and ICE network.

Fashion Pairs: Nick Verreos and Sarah Hughes--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

It was so wonderful seeing them. We talked fashion, Project Runway and some figure skating DISH. I even teased Kristi about how "HUNKY" her husband is (he was blushing!) Both of them--as you can see from the pictures above--looked AMAZING and PS: Sarah, those fuchsia pumps were DIVINE! Running into these two Goddesses of Figure Skating made my night. Oh, yeah, and David's too: he REALLY REALLY loves Figure Skating!



Who Else Was There...Season 10 Designers:

Season 10 Designer Alicia Hardesty and Nick Verreos--I was one of the Casting Judges for Season 10 in Los Angeles, and Alicia was one of the contestants we advanced to the next round, so I was happy to see her and congratulate her for getting on the show!

Girls Night Out: Nick Verreos with Season 10 Designers Beatrice Guapo (left) and Lantie Foster (right): they were so sweet. Luv them--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

Face Scrub: Nick Verreos and Season 10 Designer Kooan Kosuke: It's pretty obvious that Kooan was having A LOT of fun at this party--he was a HOOT and a half (and I got a surprise and unexpected facial exfoliating treatment from his hair while posing with him!)--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

Project Runway Alumni from Past Seasons:

The party which really was a "celebration" of reaching the ten season mark, was sort of a "reunion" of sorts since there were lots of designers representing all the previous nine seasons. Besides keeping in touch via email or texts, I don't get to really "hang out" much with many of the Project Runway alumn so it was nice seeing so many of them in one room. Here are some that I was very happy to see:

 Social Butterfly: Nick Verreos with Season 7 Winner Seth Aaron Henderson--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

 

 Pastel Perfection: Season 6 Finalist Althea Harper--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

 

 PR Boys: Nick Verreos with designers Michael Costello (Season 8) and Bert Keeter (Season 9) 

 

Three's Company: Nick Verreos with designers with Uli Herzner (Season 3) and Gordana Gehlhausen (Season 6) (right photo)--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

Group Fab: (Left to right) Bert Keeter (Season 9), Uli Herzner (Season 3), Season 9 Winner Anya Ayoung-Chee, Nick Verreos and actress and model Yaya DaCosta--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

Season 2 Duo: Nick Verreos and Andrae Gonzalo--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

Where's Andrae?? Well, kids, as you can see, he was at last week's bash! I had not seen Andrae in AGES-since he left LA to move to NYC--so it was nice to run into him. In case you're wondering he still has NOT gone to Red Lobster with Tim Gunn (if you are a TRUE fan of the show, you'll understand).



TRUE All Stars--Project Runway Winners Snapshot:

Project Runway Season 1 Winner Jay McCarroll, Season 9 Winner Anya Ayoung-Chee, All Stars Season 1 Winner Mondo Guerra, and Season 7 Winner Seth Aaron Henderson--Project Runway 10th Anniversary Party at Lord & Taylor NYC

After much socializing, reuniting, who-are-the-finalists? DISHING and Figure Skating Goddess LOVE...I almost forgot to actually check out my dress at the Lord & Taylor Project Runway Collection section, so...I got this close-up photo:

Nick Verreos for Project Runway 10th Anniversary Collection Dress, available exclusively at Lord & Taylor

Watch a fun video highlighting the night:

***Up Next: The BLOG Recap of my Special Appearance at Lord & Taylor for Fashion's Night Out NYC and Project Runway !!