CDDC Final Scores

In an odd twist of the rules (?) those with the highest scores did not win the top prizes.

Click on image to see full-sized.

Prizes were awarded according to division winner. Although Cholo Ayuyao topped all other participants, because he was in the Intermediate category, he only won second place. Huh?

I'm not saying that the other leaders in their categories, Kevin Roberts as a Beginner and Anita Stoklosa as a Professional, did not deserve to win for their efforts. They did a great job!

The overall CDDC winner was Cholo and he should be recognized as such.

CDDC Challenge Six

The entries for the final couture design challenge are posted. This is going to be an interesting bunch of evaluations as the challenge was to design an avant garde fashion that Lady GaGa might wear. Well as we all know, she's liable to wear anything so I'm guessing that the judging will be about the thought process behind the couture and the construction.
I have a few favorites.
In the Beginner Category, my favorite is Contestant 3. I don't know how couture it is but it's cute and suits the doll well. I love the shoes! I could see GaGa wearing this.

In the Intermediate division the entry by Contestant 6 is above and beyond any other entry for the creative thought process and the explanation of how the designer came up with the fashion. By this time it's obvious whose work it is and CBS, NBC and CNN predict he will win the contest.

Another Intermediate entry deserves notice. Contestant 9 created this fashion mostly from paper. At first I thought they were miniature dollar bills. I think the artificial flowers and big satin bow do not work as avant garde items. Perhaps using some other unusual material would have worked. But the paper dress is adorable and it's definitely something GaGa would wear.

The Advanced category had only two contestants remaining. Both created interesting fashions for this challenge but Contestant 13 made me laugh out loud.  She called it "avant-garde ecodesign" clothes and used bubble wrap, tea bags, packaging paper and other recycled items. Perhaps it's a member of the Tea Party? If there were a humor category, this would definitely win. I'm not sure how much sewing was actually done but I liked it.

Contestant 14 crafted a beautiful gown but it's not avant garde.

The contestants write little descriptions for each entry and I thought Contestant 4's statement was funny: " I googled Lady Ga Ga for photos of her and her fashions. It was all mind boggling to me. She hardly wears anything most of the time." 
Contestant 8 said,  " I have to say that this competition has encouraged me to explore my abilities, I've been doing things that I never thought I could do and for that I'm glad I entered."  I thought that was really great.

All the contestants who stuck it out whether they won or lost are to be congratulated for their efforts. We got to enjoy some stunning work! Bravo!

http://www.couturedoll.com/ch6.html

CDDC Challenge #5 Winners

Congratulations to the winners of Challenge Five!

BEGINNER: KEVIN ROBERTS

 INTERMEDIATE: CHOLO AYUYAO

PROFESSIONAL: SUYANEE WONGCHOTWIRIYAKIT

Photography Winner: Julia Peshkova

CDDC Challenge 5 "Say Konichiwa to Fashion"

The current challenge is to take the idea of the traditional Japanese kimono and couture-ize it.  It's a great (and easier) challenge as it relies solely upon the contestant's own creativity without having to incorporate or interpret the styles of other designers or eras.

The ranks of contestants has thinned.
In the beginner section, I like this one because it's modern-looking with distinct traditional Japanese motifs and accessories.

The image suffers from uneven lighting which seems to be a problem the majority of the entries suffer from. Some aren't lit well enough at all and the beauty of the fashion can't be seen.
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This entry in the intermediate category is so gorgeous but it's difficult to see except in the last image where the pieces are turned inside out. The linings are fantastic. Layer upon layer - just like a real kimono with a truly modern, wearable twist.

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In the professional category, the following entry is just stunning. There is very little 'kimono' incorporated but I would love this outfit for my dolls. Again, the photograph does not enhance the beauty of the fashion although the images submitted for the photography portion of the contest are lit much better.

There is no law against using the same color for the backdrop as the doll is wearing. It's the light and shadow that will make or break the photo. Photography is about light, not about color. Of course I'm coming from old school photography  -  film, darkrooms, black & white, etc.

Go to this page to see all the entries for this segment of the contest.  http://www.couturedoll.com/ch5.html

Winners of CDDC Challenge Four

Congratulations to the winners of Challenge Four!

Beginner: Sue Towson

Intermediate: Cholo Ayuyao

Professional: Suyanee Wongchotwiriyakit

Photography Winner: Julia Peshkova

There were a few photographs I would have chosen over this one if I were to follow the Photo Challenge stated guidelines which are:

In general designers need to keep in mind that their creative photographs should show a clear image of the design and that the essence of the challenge should be discernable in the photograph.  Important elements in your photos are artistic expression, creativity, good use of design principles and photographic composition & quality.  (If you are not familiar with the elements and principles of design—look them up.) Remember to keep the following in mind: 
·         Lighting source (consider type of light—natural or artificial, angle of light to subject, shadows, hot spots)
·         Composition of the photograph (consider pose of model, use of backgrounds and props that enhance, but do not overpower, the design)
·         Focus & sharpness of the image (consider camera’s point of focus, angle of camera to subject, camera movement—use a tripod if possible)

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Jim Faraone 

Sense of Humor: 5

CDDC Challenge 4 Entries

 Challenge Four entries are up. The challenge:

"The Hollywood Gown" in golden age Hollywood was a time when there were gowns designed for film stars and movie rolls, by designers known worldwide.
Designers such as Adrian, Edith Head, and Irene, were known for their film gowns. Fashion and the movies have been married since the first moving pictures. There were times when the gown made the film and made even bigger the starlet who wore it, catapulting her into the next big "it" girl. This challenge is to create the perfect "Hollywood Gown". The gown has to be modern while also giving a nod to those famous Hollywood designers of yesteryear. The  gown must be camera ready and starlet bound, it must look good from all angles  and must provide that perfect "Hollywood publicity still".

  Some of the entries had no textual presentation at all. Some explained what they used to create the gown. Overall it was quite a mixed bag of entries.

This is a gown to die for and I want it. So Mr. you-know-who-you-are, sell it to me after the contest.

For me, the following submission is a humorous statement in which the artist decided to do her own thing.  I think it's very funny. It is definitely a creative interpretation of "starlet bound." I wonder if there's room for humor in the judges' repertoire of evaluations. Of course, it's not a gown so it doesn't adhere to the challenge and I think the entrant couldn't care less. Winner of the moxie award!

 She's had her turn on the casting couch.

 See all of the entries for this part of the contest.
http://www.couturedoll.com/ch4.html

CDCC Challenge Three Results

Congratulations to the winners of Challenge Three:
Beginner Dmitry Puzanov

 Intermediate Cholo Ayuyao

Advanced Anita Stoklosa

Three of the four advanced contestants were given 0 points by some of the judges for reproducing obvious designs in their work. In two cases, the reproductions were fairly literal. In the third case, I didn't see it. The "Baby Doll" dress has a very different affect than that created by the contestant. Not only that, it is a coat over a dress.

It's adorable and IMO filled the requirements quite nicely. One of the judges said that he consulted with the other judges regarding that entry. I found that fact surprising as I thought all the judging was done independently.

CDDC Challenge Three

The designers have posted their entries for challenge three. The task was to create a couture fashion that mixed iconic elements of famous fashion design houses which are at different ends of the fashion spectrum. This was called a fashion mash up challenge. Great challenge!

One of the beginner entries: while I'm not convinced that this is fashion couture as opposed to costume, it's certainly worthy of praise.

Another beginner was spot on in her explanation and fulfillment of the task.

The following three are fashions I would love to own for my dolls. They look gorgeous. All are from entries in the intermediate category.

In the advanced group, there is one fashion that is intriguing and I would definitely dress my doll in if one detail were changed.

It should be really interesting to see the judges remarks.

Winners of Challenge Two

The CCDC winners have been announced. Here they are in order: beginner, intermediate and professional.

Dmitry Puzanov

 

 

Dmitry was the winner in the beginner category and his work certainly deserved to win on that level as it was head and shoulders above the other beginner entries in terms of concept, execution and design. It was inspired by the game of Diablo and is a totally original concept. Click on the image below to go to his page.

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Elena Prokhorova

Elena was chosen as winner in the intermediate category. There was a lot of competition in this category. Elena's design was based on Assasin's Creed. Click on the image below to go to her page.

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Maria Ustynovska

Maria was the winner in the professional category and her work here is attractive, precise and very well executed. Personally I think it's a overly literal translation of the concept and design from the game Hitman. Click on the image below to go to Maria's page.

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The winner of the photography segment this time was Anj Calvo. I like the image.

Photography Winner - Anj Calvo

Anj Photoshops her images. She won the last photo challenge as well and it didn't exactly conform to the rules which I have copied below:

16. In the two extra pictures, designers are able to show their photographic skills. The use of props and appropriate backgrounds are encouraged in these two photos.

17. For all photos, photo manipulation is only to be used to resize, refocus, or adjust the brightness/dimness of your original photo. Do not crop in backgrounds nor paint in corrections. Also, do not form a collage of several pictures. It is acceptable to merge together pics of different looks of the same outfit. For example if a designer has designed an outfit with three different looks, it is acceptable for the designer to take pics of all the looks and merge them together into one photo (see example). Each picture needs to stand on its own, and give the judges an honest presentation of your outfit. Overly photoshopped pictures will not be accepted.

As I said previously, the contestants were not properly placed in categories this year.  I wonder if they themselves categorize their levels or if they are pre-judged by submitting images of work they've created. It's great that the contest is open to everyone but those competing at levels above beginner should be pre-screened. Perhaps there should only be two categories - new and experienced - or some variation of that.

It would also be useful if the judges remarks were more specific and 'educational.' It hurt me to read over and over that "There is the wonderful thing on the internet called GOOGLE!" That was a snotty and mean way to tell a contestant to do research. I'm not saying that only positive evaluations should be offered. Honest and fair evaluations with suggestions for improvement would be helpful and more valuable.

Message to Rob:
It's Philip Treacy not Phillip Tracey: you can find out the proper spelling of his name on Google.  :-)

CDDC Challenge Two

You can judge for yourself which designers actually followed the challenge here: http://couturedoll.com/ch2.html

All I'm going to say is there are several outfits I'd love to have for my dolls. However, there is an additional creation that, in my opinion, achieved every requirement to be a winner. It is amazing in every way - unique, non-costumey, thematic and stunning.

This contestant's model is an FR2 12" doll. The detail work on the denim is beyond belief for a fashion this size. Everything works together. I love it.

Many of the creations are extremely literal in their interpretations of the theme or just downright amateurish. Three of the Intermediate contestants belong in the Professional division. I'm not familiar with video games and the challenge requires some knowledge in depth of at least one.

It's entirely possible that the same contestant that won the last challenge will win again. I think I recognize his style and I love the entry.

My other favorites are: