( Hoda Mallone)

Project Ethos has a big goal. They are attempting to merge fashion, music, and art into one mega event. Makes sense, since all three mediums of expression use one another and feed off each other to inspire and motivate. I'm a huge proponent of bringing emerging talent together with people who can create opportunity for them. It's extremely important to have platforms for artists to showcase their work to an audience that they may not normally have access to. And Project Ethos, was certainly successful last night. There were fashion shows, DJ's, a live band, and artists creating art right at the event! Aside from a few slight glitches like a VERY fashionably late start to the fashion shows, a sadly

( Hoda Mallone)
underwhelming "desert bar", and the lack of any non-reality celebs, that I saw anyway, it was an awesome party!


I focused most of my energy on the fashion shows, two, to be exact. The first show consisted of a host of up-and-coming emerging designers. I've been there. It's not easy to put together a small collection to represent your designs and aesthetic and mash up next to other designers in a compact show. So, I know not to expect too much more than some entertainment. But I have to say, there was one stand out, Mihail Kian. The designer, Michail Sykianakis, previously worked for Max Azria, and it shows. This collection was really beautiful and looked like it was quality work. It was clearly inspired and had a definite point of view. I loved a shear lace cocktail dress that only covered what it needed to but never looked vulgar. And the flowy, black gown with triangle cutouts was really flattering and would be a natural for red carpet contention. There was really good design in this collection. I will be excitedly looking for more to come from Mihail Kian.


The second fashion show, and the big draw of the

( Hoda Mallone)
night, was the Project Runway Allumni collections. The three designers were Bert Keeter, Gordana Gehlhausen, and Michael Costello. As a fan of the show, it's hard to leave your prejudices behind, look at the collections objectively, and most importantly remember that they are not in competition here! But, that was made easy for me last night. Michael Costello's collection was clearly the standout of the three, and of the night, frankly. The man just makes gorgeous dresses! They were sparkly, and dramatic, and as always, sexy. It was definitely exciting and gave the night its much-needed second wind after a long run of mini collections. Totally worth the wait!


Overall, Project Ethos threw a really fun event. I love what they are doing and think it's a really cool way to bring together artists and opportunity makers. As for the fashion, it was no NY fashion week, but it was exciting to see new designers have an opportunity to show their work. There were definitely a few "wow" moments, but serious fashion lovers need not apply.