Building Moxie Archive: Building Moxie Does Fashion Week (with Brizo Faucets and Jason Wu)

aka . . . My Brown Coat in this Black Coat Town . . . OR . . . All the Fat Sexy

As I mentioned, the faucet manufacturer Brizo invited me on an all-expense-paid trip to New York City.  By itself, swank, huh? Yeah . . . Forrrrrr Sure!

I mean — the City that Never Sleeps, The Big Apple, If I Can Make it There, I Can . . . New York, New York.  It is our nation’s mecca, for near everything that is everything.  It is a world in microcosm.  And twice a year it hosts Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.  (You probably know it, like I do, from the show Project Runway.)

So picture this: High-end faucets, Fashion Week, and a guy named Jason Wu. Oh, and me . . . jb . . . together just last week.  I could hardly believe it myself.

*******

. . . “But jb! If anything, aren’t you a little (*monster truck voice*) ANTI-Fashion???????!!!!!!!!”

“Ahhhh . . . Yay!” (Well kind of.)  And anyway . . .

Fashion . . .  Faucets . . . and *scratching head*.  In fact, I think that was the initial prevailing thought for many in attendance — the event, Brizo’s Fashion Week (that’s #BrizoFW for short).

“Who’s Brizo?” You might ask.  Well, Brizo was born as Delta Faucets’ high-line brand.  I had known them personally for their designs from the time I selected one for our powder room project.

Still . . . you may have questions; you’re saying, “But I’m confused; WHAT do faucets have anything to do with fashion?!”  Well . . . and just as the Brizo brand folks would put it — let me ask you this . . . Just why can’t faucets be fashionable?

Hmmm . . . well . . . and . . . *again scratching head*.  But wait, it was a rhetorical question: Brizo faucets are fashionable, and let’s just settle that there.  I mean — if you saw some of the prototypes that we saw . . . one in particular; it can only be described in one word — “Fat Sexy!”  (<< Translation = Fashionable, and then there’s a period!)

*******

I mean — women are sexy.  And I guess . . .  if I think about it, so too is women’s fashion.  But before I digress, let’s say — fashion is a statement of self, how we project ourselves . . . our car, the nightspots we visit, the places we dine, and yes . . . of course, our choices in home products.  Fashion is the end product of design (maybe), and not just limited to the clothes we wear.

And . . . me . . . so not fashionable (or sexy for that matter), a brown-coat guy (and a beat up pick-up) in the original black-coat town.

I did question it (several times).  So. just. how. then. did I end up here/there?

I was there partially because Jody Brown (@InFillNC) a past attendee recommended me (yep, next born).

I was there too possibly because I have a blog, which, well, delves into elements of design . . . sometimes.  We, together, design bloggers, and it was a loosely applied moniker.  We were immersed in three days of Faucets, Fashion and Fun << and it was all just as advertised.

The crown jewel of the event, if you haven’t figured, was an invitation to an exclusive show with fashion designer Jason Wu.  Yeah, I didn’t know him either.  But it turns out, he’s a pretty big deal.  In fact, it really became clear the following day as I read the Fashion section of the New York Times; Wu had the lead position in that story.

And I’ll admit it, and even before I saw the story, I would have told you — the fashion show was “cool.”  I liked it.  I was amazed, as my mind boggled, over all the elements that must’ve gone into this 10-or-so-minute production.  It was certainly a-once-in-a-lifetime experience, or at least for me.

But glamorous as it all sounds, it wasn’t all cocktail parties and limo rides (maybe you have seen some of the pics floating around).  Let’s call it instead a working vaca.  This diverse group came together, 19 of us, to learn about Brizo’s design process and their recent product innovations (more on that in a future post) and we were introduced to a concept called Biomimicry (and yes, more on that in a future post).

There was even enough time to play Design Star — participating in a friendly design competition that was intended to draw upon elements of what we learned from a day of intensive product sessions.

*******

I mean – moodboards? Again . . . How did I get there/here?

Our super talented team consisted of seasoned pros Leslie Fine and Jonathon Legate (fortunately) . . . and me . . . a “remodeling expert” (my tongue in my cheek) turned humble design blogger.  I mean — how did I get here?

And this is the answer that came to me: it was found innocently enough in our project’s title — Bershert — a Yiddish word that means “Destiny”, “Fate”, or simply “Meant to be.”  And it was . . .

So I landed with this group of great people — likely lasting friends.  I learned a lot, we did some things, I received some good tips on how to pose for the camera (yeah, I’m still working on that), and we even talked about earthworms. Earthworms! (*ahem* Jonathan) . . . I mean — but more on that all . . . maybe . . . in a future post . . .

and . . . me . . . this brown-coat guy looking just that much better today . . . for the experience.

*******

A big BMoxie shout to Brizo (including the MSL Group) and Jason Wu. Thank you all for having me! And to you, thanks for reading. jb

Most All Photo Creds to Jayme Thorton.

*******