HEIGHTSTONIAN: July 2012

Monday, July 2, 2012

Fashion by Richard Ramirez F/W 2012

"Mad Recital" Fall/Winter 2012. A lot of Houston designers are working trend and retail angles. A designer that has also been around a few years, but doesn't get a lot of press is Richard Ramirez. He's pretty amazing. I've been to a few of his shows and he is always doing this type of deconstructive works in shapes that layer and comfort the body. At first glance, it looks awry, but having been to a few shows now, I've a better understanding each time. You have to experience this one for yourself. He showed in Spring Studios near downtown Houston where activity has been picking up quite a bit in the last year.

I'm an extra in "Helen Alone"

The filming of "Helen Alone" was tonight at Fitzgerald's in the Heights and it was pretty cool. Houston now has a pretty serious film community that comes together to create crews for all types of productions. You know you're on a professional film set when you go to simply peep a taping and end up being an extra like I was tonight. I've never been a fame seeker, which is why I only wanted to peek in on this, but it turned out to be quite interesting. Shooting started around noon, and wrapped just after 1a.m.. When I realized how hard the crew was still working when I arrived at 10p.m., I found myself staying to help fill space in scenes and had a lot of fun. A local band featured in "Helen Alone" is The Shadow. They did a set of 4 songs, twice. I arrived in time for The Shadow's set scene, and stayed until they wrapped for the evening. I didn't talk to the crew much, (didn't know anyone but my friend Dallas,) but they has excellent communication amongst one another, which produced shots that I'm sure will look amazing. They were polite, never tired and were completely grateful for more extras than they needed who volunteered to stay after many had gone. I did meet Nick Mann, who helped keep a lot of the production flowing well, providing direction and he too, was very polite during the process. Local director and film maker Dallas Box was also there and had worked the entire day on set providing support behind the scenes. Box is one freshest super talents this city has, completely humble and an ultra cool friend. Here are some pix I took... I only wish I hadn't taken them w my iPhone. Enjoiah!

I also got a pic (below) with The Shadow vocalist (Raquel) and their guitarist, also an adorable girl from Japan. They were SO cool & super hot... a deadly combination, hahaha!