He’s got the gift!

According the NY Magazine’s “The Cut”, the Venezuelan aristocrat designer for such clients as Renée Zellweger, Jackie Onassis and Nicole Kidman saw some sketches of Mark’s denim designs (which we told you about here),  while he was touring her showroom last week.

Upon seeing them, Herrera reportedly offered Indelicato an internship on the spot.

At Indelicato’s Twitter page, when asked about the internship, he replied “next summer”.

Congratulations, Mark!  Actor, singer, and now designer-in-training!

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They are upset over two things: the use of braces to portray someone as unattractive, and the fact that Betty’s braces are unrealistic.

I did not know this, but according to dentists, "train track" braces are very seldom prescribed to adults.  One thing the orthodontists say that I do know is that even when they are prescribed, they are not worn for more than two years.

Most people I know (almost all of them children) who have braces wear them for about 18 months.

So, I can agree with the docs there.  Most all Ugly Betty fans agree that the braces have to go, and costume designer Pat Field has promised that they will in season four.

(I wish they’d bring back Dr. Farkas for this, but that bridge has been burned, I think).

Tracey Posner, of the British Orthodontic society, said: "It is irresponsible of the programme makers to portray Betty as ‘ugly’ because she wears prominent braces…Betty’s braces are certainly intended to be seen by viewers as damaging to her appearance.

People who wear braces are not ugly. People considering treatment should not be put off by such a stereotype.

Many young people and adults see wearing braces as a right of passage, and enjoy the transformation."

It should be noted that most "Bettys" in the various incarnations of the show do not have braces – wearing glasses is the far more common method of un-beautifying Betty.  The American version of the show has a bigger budget, though, so costume designers went for the Big Four: braces, glasses, bushy eyebrows, and unkempt hair.

America Ferrera is also "normal" sized instead of a size zero, which certainly diminishes her looks in the eyes of superficial Mode Magazine fashionistas.

But, back to the subject at hand.  Dr Colin Wallis, a specialist orthodontist, said, "It is completely inappropriate to associate braces with being ‘ugly’, just as glasses have previously been an object of ridicule."

Yet, then we get to a chicken/egg situation. 

Tim Newton, professor of psychology at King’s College London’s Dental Institute, said: "A student of mine, Huw Jeremiah, has done some work looking at public perceptions of adults wearing orthodontic devices.

"Essentially he found that adults wearing stainless steel brackets were considered less intelligent than adults with no visible brace, so there are social impacts of wearing braces.

"There is a long body of psychological research that has found that we tend to think that ‘beautiful is good’ – that is that attractive people are more popular, socially skilled and intelligent than less attractive people."

So, Ugly Betty may be reflecting social mores (however unfair) instead of creating a stigma out of thin air?   Also, anyone who watches the show knows that Betty is always portrayed sympathetically, and the fashionistas are portrayed as superficial and mean.

Besides, have you seen how much action Betty gets? 

Image: Bauer Griffin

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Edwardo Castro and Patricia Field picked up the award. Other winners were “Slumdog Millionaire”, “The Duchess”, “John Adams”, and “Mad Men”.

One reason I find the award for Ugly Betty interesting is because most discussions about the state of the show almost always turn to the costume design. Just check out the comments in this post at EW’s Popwatch. A few examples:

Joy: I agree with confidential about Betty’s wardrobe this season. From the beginning of the first season, we saw that she was a go-getter and confident in her career goals. Thus, it figures that after three years she would have learned how not to dress like a clown. Give her a better haircut and take off the braces! She can be ‘ugly’ compared to the other women on the show, but who says she has to look like a clown? NO WAY would she be working as an editor’s personal assistant in real life dressed in those garish outfits. Yuck.

tim h: also think their costume guru needs to dial it down a little. The characters look less like fashion forward and more like fashion retarded. the writing is cartoony enough, that having them dress like looney tunes too just sucks all suspension of disbelief for me. I also think they’ve gone from uglifying Betty to TACKifying her.

You get the picture.

I agree…to a point. Betty’s wardrobe is awfully clashing, but it’s still very appealing to the eye. The use of color, if a little over the top, is still quite good, even dazzling at times. Sometimes, it’s impossible to take one’s eyes off the screen. But Betty, in particular, is such a fashion trainwreck, it strains credibility.

Regardless, the industry professionals disagree with us fans (assuming most of us feel the costuming has pushed the envelope a little too far this year).

I DO think too much is made of the costuming, either way, though. It’s like the music – when it’s good, it really accents what is going on onscreen, when it’s bad, it’s somewhat distracting. But the enjoyablility of the show is always going to going down to the writing, directing, and acting.

Nevertheless, this is a great honor. Congratulations Castro and Field!

Image: Bauer-Griffin

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This is Mark at the Duckie Brown show in Bryant Park.  Unfortunately, the captions just list his friend as, well, “friend”.  They appear to be having a great time (maybe Mark can get some ideas for his jeans line?)

Indelicato also made his way to the Badgley Mischka show, and he was front row, surrounded by lots of beauties, including Ian Thorpe, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Jessica Stroup, singer Kellie Pickler, Cat DeLuna and others.

I cannot WAIT for this week’s Fashion Week episode, because each Fashion Week episode of the previous two seasons was memorable.  And, hopefully, Justin will have a larger role this week; he’s such a hoot when he gets into his element.

More pics after the jump!

Images: splashnewsonline.com

Post from: Ugly Betty News

Patricia Field, the costume designer for the show, revealed something I never knew about Betty’s famous glasses: they were originally her own.  While they were planning the pilot, “I think America pulled them off my face and said, ‘Let me try your glasses.’ And she tried them on, and they became her glasses,” said Field.

It’s interesting to hear producers explain why the design of the show is so over-the-top.  “A lot of it is seen from her point of view, so it’s colored by who she is,” said Rich Divine, the set designer. Victor Nelli Jr., a co-executive producer and director, said one way they think about it is “if Betty was 90 years old and if she was telling her grandchildren her story.”

“The sets are gorgeous,” Ms. Field said. “They remind me of old Hollywood with all the detail and beautiful design.”  She adds, “This show is very unusual in that I love to elevate reality, but this already came elevated, so this makes me jump a little higher.”

They also touched on something that’s been discussed here quite a lot: will (and should) Betty lose the braces and glasses?  We get mixed feedback from changes,” said Nelli Jr. In “Yo Soy Betty, la Fea”, Betty does become beautiful and marries the handsome boss. And there are many fans who want to see that, he said. But others say they do not want her to change and do not want her to lose her braces. There is also an in-between “others say they want to see her grow,” he said.

I guess I’m in that latter camp. It’s always a fun thing to discuss, though.  (BTW, the two issues, Betty losing glasses and braces, and Betty pairing with Daniel are separate, in my mind.  I’d like to see the latter without the former, no matter how unrealistic that might seem).

The group also reassured the audience that Ugly Betty is in not being threatened with cancellation, regardless of the upcoming hiatus. 

There is much more in the story at the NY Times CityBlog.  You should read the whole thing, and not just because they tastefully linked to this site in the column.

Image: Newscom 

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Ugly Betty’s Mark Indelicato is following through on his dream to start a clothing line.  Indelicato was interviewed at the New York City Ballet opening celebration, and told New York Magazine all where his hypothetical line (which he’s been talking about for a while now) is in development.

“I want to do a jeans line for boys and girls that are sometimes too skinny to fit into jeans, or sometimes a little bit too husky to fit into some jeans,” Mark says.

This is good. In a tough economy, you’ve got to find a niche.  Indelicato wants to relate the jeans to his Ugly Betty character, Justin:  “And I think that it’s a great idea to start a jeans line by a boy that I play, who is fashionable all the time.”

Along with the jeans, Mark is working with designer Michelle Yin on dresses.  “She just did drawings of three of the designs that I sent, and got fabric samples,” he said.

Instead of starting off at more upscale stores, Indelicato envisions selling at discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Target, taking the current economy into account.  If successful, he’s then work his way into the swankier stores.

Smart kid.

More pics of Indelicato at the NYC Ballet opening after the jump.

Post from: Ugly Betty News

Of course, on a surface level, I’d agree. The insane patterned coat, the butterfly beret,the plaid stockings the strange purse and matching shoes, the tie/scarf/bowtie/whatever that thing is. At first glance, you see these and almost want to shout at Ugly Betty costume designer Patricia Field: are you crazy?

I do understand what Field has said she’s going for: Betty understands some bits and pieces about fashion, but has no idea how to put them together. Since I’m a fashion layman, most of Betty’s clothes this year have looked pretty darned good to me. The outfits in episode 3.05 were especially pleasing to the eye.

But THIS. It’s proof to me that I’ve fallen in love with Betty the character. Even though I know this is quite the hideous look, I see her and my first thought is, “She’s hot”. Even looking awful, she looks great to me. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve gotten so used to Betty, no matter how hard I look, or how hard the makeup and costume people try, I can no longer see her as “ugly”.

Even in this outfit.

More of the hideous outfit, after the jump.

Post from: Ugly Betty News

Field herself calls Betty’s style “kooky couture.”  What amazes me is that the enthusiasm for Betty’s kooky look has been spilling over into the tents at Bryant Park during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, on and off the runways.

Designer Catherine Holstein’s Fall 2008 collection featured models in oversize thick-framed black glasses, blunt bangs and tight neat buns. They were hipster librarians in long men’s-style cardigans over vivid yellow, blue and patterned miniskirts.

“The glasses I didn’t expect to be so prevalent in the collection,” Holstein said backstage before her first runway show for Spring/Summer 2009 this week.

“I didn’t mean for it to be geek chic. It did end up that way in the end, and I was more than happy for it to be that way because I think it’s cool.”

She’s stayed with the nerdy theme this year, adding a look inspired by Nintendo pixilation.

The Betty invasion of the fashion world continues:

“I looked at Marc Jacobs’ show from Monday night and I felt like, ‘Wow, that’s a Betty silhouette,’” says Molly Rogers, associate costume designer for “Ugly Betty.” “The colors and the patterns and the mix of everything.”

Now, there are some who might say that the fact that Betty is becoming a fashion icon destroys the spirit of the show, but I would disagree.  Betty has not compromised herself – the world has embraced her as she is.  This is a good thing!

Check out this slide show of ‘Betty Couture” from the runways and on regular New Yorkers!  This is so cool.

What do you think?

Image:Newscom

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