April 5–12, 2001

naked city

War Is Beautiful

How the dueling designers fared in CP’s Style Wars show at Transit.

by Juliet Fletcher

photographs by Maria Kotsikoros

Jackie, oh!: Jackie Kim

"April Fool’s Day is just a regular day, right? Right?" Backstage at the eighth annual City Paper Style Wars on Sunday night, the mood may have been light but there was no time for joking. The four young designers, preparing to show their work as finalists alongside some well-known professionals, attended calmly but with total concentration to their immaculately attired models. They had worked for months; nothing, especially not April Fool’s pranks, would stop them now.

Upstairs, the main room at Transit had been transformed with colored sashes above a catwalk into a high-ceilinged temple to style, filled almost to capacity with all types of fashion-watchers, from the sharp-suited and frocked to design student divas decked out in kitsch. Once the crowd had found its groove, courtesy of Cozmic Cat, they were treated to glimpses of styles from this coming season’s collections. Kenneth Cole, up first, delivered sleek, halterneck tunics in dramatic, asymmetric prints, while the men’s collection featured fine-knitted sleeveless vests in shades of frost and navy. Neo Deco, the South Street boutique, went all out with swerving, Technicolor print dresses, pleated skirts and a dazzling lace-up bustier in aquamarine. Finally, Onyx Noir sent all his models down the runway in black gowns, from the spare elegance of a backless dress with elbow-length gloves to one featuring delicately embroidered butterflies.

	Wise eyes: Judges Vikter Duplaix, Scarlett and Onyx Noir (Sharon Phillips Waxman not pictured).

When it came time for the finalists to take the stage, they showed they could deliver serious fashion without losing their sharp sense of humor. Danielle Tobin’s club designs made of construction fencing and clear plastic were topped off with reflective paint details reminiscent of highway markers. Michael L. Wherley, who took his cues from comic books, showed a fleecy, comic strip-patterned bodywarmer and a wrap-around cape with stand-up collar, perfect for a superhero. Elegance was not forgotten: Minsu Kim’s deconstructed designs featured a close-fitting gown with white seam detail on the front and an asymmetric scooped neck.

But in the end, the winner was Jackie Kim, a graduate student at Drexel who describes her designs as " a new mix of textures, combined in ideas from nature." The panel of judges — Vikter Duplaix of Axis Music, designer Onyx Noir, Scarlett of Scarlett Cosmetics and Sharon Phillips Waxman of SPW Productions — adored her three eveningwear designs, including one dress covered in metal fringes arranged to glint and move exactly like a waterfall. Elsewhere, she incorporated Indian fabric and influences into a ballgown, complete with bustier and full skirt. "I am so proud to be here, having seen the standard of all the entrants," Jackie said. "I had hoped it would be this much fun," she added, bobbing her head to the eclectic tunes still pumping upstairs.

The winner was awarded a photo shoot with photographer Dominic Episcopo worth $2,000.

Fashions by Jackie Kim

Work it, girls: Models in Onyx Noir, Neo Deco and Kenneth Cole.