Austin Scarlett: On Lauri's Wedding

December 14, 2007

You want to give us an update on what you’re doing now?
I am designing bridal. I’ve been the Creative Director of the Kenneth Pool collection for two years now. That’s a division of the AMSALE bridal design company. Which, she [Amsale Abera] was actually a guest judge on the First Season of Project Runway. That’s how we met. So shortly after show, she invited me to take over as designer for the collection. … So, yeah we actually just completed my fourth season designing for the line.

Congratulations! So the store that Lauri goes to …
The store that Lauri goes to … So we sell out of many vendors across the country. We have our main flagship salon here in New York on Madison, but then we also sell at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide. So I met with Lauri at Saks Beverly Hills, which is a great town for us. There’s lots of business there. I think it was the perfect location for that, and they do great service and everything, so that worked out. We really sell at any sort of high-end bridal or couture salon internationally -- London, Paris, and some places in Seoul as well.

How often do you get to do a one-on-one with a client?
We do most of our custom work out of our store on Madison. We usually do a few a year. Lauri’s, where we do a complete – Lauri’s is customized because we had such short notice between her choosing a dress and the actual wedding, we just kind of customized an existing style. We didn’t really have enough time to do a full couture thing, but that is something we do, and we make those around $40K to $60K for something like that.

Do you get to personally work with the client a lot?
Yes -- Well I do those custom ones. And then we have what we call a trunk show, which is whenever we come out with a new collection -- we sort of take it on the road before it has a chance to actually reach the stores. We put the first samples, and so I’ll meet with brides. Sometimes they’ll schedule, you know, make a sort of fashion show event out of it or something like that. It’s a great way for me to meet the different brides and to sort of get input from them, and see how they respond to the collection.

Lauri didn’t want to wear white because this will be her third marriage, do you recommend anything either way?
For me, I don’t think that the old rule about first, second, third marriage and whatnot really doesn’t apply anymore. I think in my honest opinion for me it’s about what’s going to be flattering on the individual bride and also what is going to suit the type of wedding and the occasion and the venue and everything, location of the wedding. So, in Lauri’s case, I have to say 80% of brides end up going ivory. But with Lauri, in Southern California, she has sparkling white teeth, blonde, tan skin, the white really did look great on her. First of all, it’s a beautiful collection. You know, the dresses are silk. So, you’re never going to have that bright, glaring polyester bleached white. It’s just something we don’t do at all. … So on her, I absolutely thought it really looked nice. It’s an individual thing -- you know, no two brides are alike. But, yeah, there’s no rule. It’s about what you feel good in, and what you look good in.

There was another color that had a lilac hue …
Yes. We always do a few colors -- we do like a blush tone, champagne, the lilac, we have a new pale blue, a silvery pearl. So, yeah, we always like to offer something for the brides out there who does like to have a little bit of color, not just the ivory.

Are those popular?
I mean they’re definitely more popular in current days than they have been maybe 10 years ago. But I still think, most brides actually generally go for the white or the ivory in the end. A lot of times they’ll be attracted to a beautiful dress in a pretty color, and there’s sort of like a fashion statement. And then in the end, we offer those also in just ivory and white.

Have you been watching Runway this season?
Of course.

What are your thoughts?
From my point of view, I mean I love to watch it as a fan, but I also, having lived through it myself, … I have a more of an inside – or I just get more emotionally involved like when they’re on the runway, my heart totally gets racing. I feel like I’m really. But it’s great. I really love it. I really like … Jillian. I really like her style. She just has this sort of her own look which is really which is classic American – She kind of reminds me of Claire McCardell style in a way, which I always like. As far as personality-wise, I like Sweet P. She’s like fun and sweet. It’s still so early on, it’s kind of hard to tell. I think everyone’s still sort of, the character’s are still developing and coming out.

What would you have done with the menswear challenge?
I make my own clothes sometimes, so it’s something that I would have enjoyed ... giving him a dapper dandy look. I think I could have done that well.

Besides bridal, are you designing anything else on the side?
I do little projects here and there, but basically [this is] a full-time job. We do the two collections a year. It takes a long time to develop one dress. It takes hours and weeks of development. The beading is sent back to India back and forth to be done, to make sure it’s perfect and everything else. So, but it’s great -- I really love it. Of course there’s a lot of things I’d love to do, but I think once you design a wedding dress, like anything else, it’s easy after that.

Are you keeping in touch with anyone from your season?
I always try to keep in touch with everyone really. Of course Tim, Heidi, you see around. Jay, I talk to. And then there’s a lot of people, mostly in the New York area, who I know from later season too -- Malan I’ll see a lot, Laura Bennett. I’ve actually had a chance to meet Santino, and we’ve become friends. So whenever I go to LA or whenever he comes here we just hang out and spend time together.

Anything else you want your fans to know?
Only that I’m still going strong designing away. I was really excited that people got to see a little bit about what I do … on Housewives. … I’m just up to my creative extravagant self.

Jack: Dating, HIV, and The Everyday Woman

December 12, 2007

OUTzone catches up with Jack Mackenroth, as he dishes on Runway, Dale, the other contestants, his HIV status, and much much more.

So, you’re dating Dale from “Top Chef.” How’s that going?
Well the thing that’s so funny for us because the extent of our dating relationship is we hung out for a couple weekends, and we talk on the phone a lot, and I really like him. And we get along really well. I mean he’s hilarious and I’m hilarious. So it just clicked. And to us – we’d both gone through this Bravo craziness, we immediately got each other and have this common ground. It’s weird. We talked about the fact that we’re not even celebrities. Imagine the scrutiny, you know, Brad and Angelina. I don’t know how those relationships survive with all this, but we’re taking it in stride. It’s funny. It’s whatever. Whether this happens to us or not, I don’t think it’s going to have any effect. I think it’s funny that people even care to be honest.

I don’t read a lot of blogs because there some serious crazies out there, but people are happy for us, whatever that means. They say how cute we are. Maybe Bravo will give us our own reality show. Jack and Dale. No. Jale. Something about Chicago.

Does he cook for you?
Everyone asks that. You know, I don’t make clothes for myself and he doesn’t really cook for himself because we do it all day. So I wear jeans and t-shirts and he doesn’t cook at home. So actually no he hasn’t.

Let me ask about the staph infection that brought your time on the show to an end. You’d had this before right?
Yeah – see that’s the thing. They’re not related. I think some people are more susceptible to these infections for some reason. I’m not really sure why. I think my doctor mentioned … some people get them, regardless of any kind of HIV status. I had one about three or four years ago. They give you this stuff to put in your nose and all this crap. I think it was just because we were really run down, and we’re not eating right, and we’re not sleeping. So, as soon as I got it, I kind of knew what it was. Once you have it one time, scarily enough -- it’s getting to be really common. A lot of people have come up to me and said “Oh I had that” or “My friend has had that” and “Thats really awful” and so I kinda knew.

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