Forget Alice and her kid-friendly trippy Wonderland - it’s all about The Runaways.

The movie doesn’t come out until March 19, but mark it in your calendar. Mark it now.

The Real Runaways

The Hollywood Runaways

If you haven’t heard about it already, it is partly a “coming-of-age” story and stars Twilight diva Kristen Stewart and Dakota “she’s-to-good-of-an-actor-for-her age” Fanning. The rock biopic follows the start, the rise and the fall of ’70s the first all-girl rock band that included Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. It’s pretty darn gritty, rebellious, anarchic and grimy - and that makes it a lot of fun!

Check out the movie trailer after the jump: Read more…

Focus On Your Closet: Spring Cleaning Begins!
Give 2, Take 1
Start cleaning out your closets and setting aside clothes and accessories for the April 17th clothing swap and clothing drive hosted by Beyond the Front Row (fashion club) and the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. This event, Give 2, Take 1 (“G2T1”), will function as a fundraiser for the club, and a charitable clothing-drive for St. Vincent’s community programs.

Here’s the deal: for every 2 items donated, donors get to take (or ‘swap’) 1 item in return - hence the name “Give 2, Take 1”. All items remaining at the end of the April 17th swap will be donated to St. Vincent’s. This fun sustainable–charitable event also happens to coincide with Earth Day! Collection of donations begins the last week of March, on campus and elsewhere. Details to follow.
Please note: Clothing and accessories donations will happily be accepted, regardless of participation in the clothing swap. St. Vincent’s is in urgent need of men’s clothing - additional donations from the closets of boyfriends, husbands, brothers, and sons would be greatly appreciated!
Now accepting donations of: coat hangers and shopping bags at 180 New Montgomery, office #704.

Open House / Open Studio
Saturday March 6, 2010
180 New Montgomery - 9:00am - 5:00pm
Meet, greet, and host prospective School of Fashion students (and their parents) as they tour the MFA Studio and the 7th Floor. *Beyond the Front Row will be organizing shoe donations in room 713 from 8:30am - 11:00am; please consider including this community service project as part of your tour (see below for more information).

Community Service Day Projects from Beyond the Front Row
Saturday, March 6, 2010 (2 events)

National Odd Shoe Exchange
180 New Montgomery, Room 713, 8:30am - 11:30am
At last month’s Shoe-In fashion club members voted to donate all the shoes collected and used for the holiday “shoe-tree” project to the National Odd Shoe Exchange, www.oddshoe.org This non-profit organization supplies single shoes, as well as pairs of different-sized shoes, to those in need due to injury, disease and/or genetic disorders. BTFR club members will be sorting, organizing and preparing to ship the shoes to the National Odd Shoe Exchange during the Open House / Open Studio (room 713).

Wee Scotty
Concourse Exhibition Center at 8th Street & Brannan, 10:00am - 3:00pm
Beyond the Front Row members offer their sewing, construction and fashion illustration skills to assist some of the young Wee Scotty designers (ages 7+) and Wee Scotty proprietors with demonstrations for the community exhibition.

For more events follow the jump. Read more…

On Sunday, School of Fashion instructor Rob Curry donated a coat (that he made) to a fundraiser organized by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of guys who use drag and Catholic imagery to bring awareness to social conflict and sexual tolerance.

Two “Sisters” who like to “Indulge”

Held at Wild Side West, the event raised funds for breast cancer and Rob’s coat was auctioned off for $500. A total of $3500 was raised at the event - and Rob couldn’t be any more excited about his coat and the socially conscious drag nuns.

The coat that Rob donated

“I’ve gotten to know (the Sisters) quite well,” says Rob, “and I love them all!”

For more information on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, visit their website

Mike Feeney, along with fellow MFA fine art and sculpture students Lindsey Eisentraut and Chanil Hong will be showcasing their sculptural works at the 79 Gallery starting March 4.

Feeney’s pieces include individual units, which are assembled to create mechanical sculptures - but as you all may or may not know, he made a shoulder piece that was worn by Lady Gaga in her “Poker Face” video. It’s a far cry from Kermit the Frog dresses and crazy lace masks that cover your entire face - maybe even a little classier.

I guess we can just call him Mike “Poker Face” Feeney.

The opening reception takes place Thursday March 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The 79 Gallery is located at 79 New Montgomery.

In the latest issue of One Eighty, journalism student, Kalla Vieaux penned the article “The Cult of Walter” which features a band of merry men who adore the designer (who is 1/6th of the Antwerp Six) - one of them being merchandising student Jefery Jones.

Now when I say that Jefery adores Walter, I am serious. Very serious. If Walter was a religion, Jefery would probably be the pope. He has 50 pieces from Walter’s past collections and he tries to wear at least one piece a day.

“Wearing Walter makes me feel like a magic symbol-wielding shaman,” Jefery told Kalla. “I feel expressive and just plain happy.”

Unfortunately we weren’t able to fit any pictures of Jefery’s Walter wardrobe homage in the mag, but thanks to the Internet, we can fit all of them on our blog!

Follow the jump to view a slideshow of all of Jefery’s Walter looks. Read more…

The ultimate destination for skinny jeans and buffalo plaid, Urban Outfitters has partnered with Society6 to bring to you the UO Print Shop, which will be launching this April.

Society6 is “a platform for the world’s artists and creatives to promote their work and connect with unique opportunities” - that’s where Urban Outfitters comes in. To launch this Print Shop, they are looking to collaborate with 5 artists to create their premiere collection - and that artist could be you!

Here’s the deal - they want to see your interpretation of your secret places - hidden spots near and far, dream destinations and what “someplace else” looks like to you. If you think your secret place is cool enough to be a part of this collection, you can apply at Society6.com.

Lying on the floor under a table, a makeup artist paints the toenails of a model backstage before the Halston fall 2010 collection is shown at Fashion Week in New York. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Officials try to separate players as Slovakia goalie Jaroslav Halak (41) sits on the ice after he stopped a shot by the Czech Republic in the first period of a men’s ice hockey preliminary game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Czech Republic won 3-1. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A Chinese boy wears tiger headgear as he stands in front of the tiger toys on display at a temple fair on the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing. Millions of Chinese celebrated the Lunar New Year of the Tiger which began on Sunday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Read more…

This week, by special request, I made a bag. Not just any bag, this bag will serve a very specific purpose for Hersha Steinbock, my Fashion Trend Analysis instructor. Hersha asked that I create “a bedazzled fruit and veg carrier so that I can enjoy my fresh produce between classes and still retain some semblance of my stylish pretensions.”

In an attempt to do just that, the following is what I came up with. Cute as a button, and just a bit more expensive, this bag will have everyone in the break room tucking their sandwich bags back into their brown paper sacks.

To make one of your own, you’ll need (photo 1):

o fabric, I chose a linen liner, for breathability, with a lace overlay
o scissors
o awl
o yarns
o pins
o chalk, or something to mark pattern with
o darner or embroidery needle
o ruler or French curve
o ribbons, about 2.5 yds.
o 1 yd. medium weight brass chain

Begin by cutting three 6-foot-long pieces of yarn. Braid them in sets of three to make the yarn stronger (photo 2).

To make the body begin with the lining fabric folded in two. Mark a crescent shape about ten inches wide, using the ruler or French curve and chalk (photo 3, bottom). Pin the edges of the outline, and cut the shape out, leaving a half inch seam allowance outside the line. Pin the lining shape to the lace fabric that has been folded in half and cut out the overlay pieces. Read more…

Quoc Lieu, 2000 BFA Fashion and Knitwear Design alumnus, designed a collection of jewelry and selected special pieces for his 79 Retail Store Pop-up Shop starting Feb. 18. Ranging from $80 - $320, some of his jewelry was included in the runway collections at the February 2008 Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week show. You can also meet Lieu and ask about his genius work from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

For more info visit www.quoclieu.com. The 79 Retail Store is hosting the pop up through March 17, 2010

Suzy Menkes, fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune and a one-time guest of the school, gave our show a nod of acknowledgment with a write up for the New York Times:

Chris Moore/Karl Prouse

While New York fashion tends toward the dutifully wearable, the San Francisco-based fashion college gave food for thought. How was it possible that clothes from six selected students, with global origins in the United States, Russia and Asia, could seem more inventive and creative than established New York brands?

Now that’s a compliment if I’ve ever heard one.

Read the entire article here.

For more coverage of our show at Fashion Week, click here!