31 Plays in 31 Days: #28 - "Better Design"

This piece follows my previous Project Runway-inspired piece, "Slimming." I kind of like this character of Freddy Moreau, a talented but emotionally fragile young man based on my current favorite PR designer Christopher Palu (who won last night with an elegant design, woohoo!) I also like dealing with body image issues inherent in the fashion industry, so it's a cool topic to get into. I think I could write something interesting about Freddy learning that.

Day #28 - "Better Design"

(FREDDY MOREAU and OTTO JOHANSSON work in a design studio. OTTO dresses a mannequin while FREDDY cuts bias strips at a worktable.)

FREDDY: I screwed up. I ruined everything.

OTTO: I’m sure you didn’t ruin everything.

FREDDY: Still, I really screwed up. She hates me now.

OTTO: What do you even do that was so bad?

FREDDY: Basically made her feel like I thought she was fat.

OTTO: Aw, shit.

FREDDY: Yeah!

OTTO: So, is she?

FREDDY: Is she what?

OTTO: Is she fat?

FREDDY: Otto! That’s not the point.

(OTTO stares.)

FREDDY: Okay, sort of. She’s like a size ten, maybe twelve.

OTTO: Geez.

FREDDY: The point is, I made her feel that way!

OTTO: Yeah, you can never do that. What’d you do, anyway?

FREDDY: I tried to steer her toward a slimming design.

OTTO: Oh, I don’t blame you.

FREDDY: Why? I completely screwed up.

OTTO: Well, it’s hard to design for big people.

FREDDY: Otto!

OTTO: It is! In school, I never made anything for anyone any bigger than a six.

FREDDY: I want to have more clients than just the world’s three supermodels, dude.

OTTO: Seriously, though! Don’t beat yourself up. Fat people never look good in high fashion designs—

FREDDY: Oh, Christ.

OTTO: —but if you stick them in something that doesn't make them look thinner they get mad at you. You can’t win.

FREDDY: She didn’t want me to make her look thin.

OTTO: Seriously? And you’re doing that?

FREDDY: She wasn’t happy with the designs I was giving her, so I had to come up with something else. That’s what you do when you’re working for a client!

OTTO: But you’re the designer! You’re supposed to have better taste than her. If she ends up looking terrible, everybody will blame you.

FREDDY: She’s going to be wearing my stuff. She’s not going to look terrible.

OTTO: She will if everybody thinks she looks fat!

FREDDY: Jesus, Otto. If I sounded to her like you do now, no wonder everybody thinks we’re all assholes.

OTTO: That’s the way it is. It’s not my fault.

FREDDY: You know what, I think Heidi was right. If that’s all anybody thinks, then I must be a pretty shitty designer.

(He sweeps all his materials off the table.)

FREDDY: Maybe you can’t handle it, but I’m much better than that.

31 Plays in 31 Days: #17 - "Slimming"

Today's piece came from watching Project Runway, which my mom recently got me into. The teaser for next week's episode suggested they'd be designing for non-models-- people bigger than a size two and below five-ten --and perhaps even actual plus-sizes. Unfortunately there was the definite suggestion that the designers were struggling to make nice clothes for people who weren't built like the walking coat hangers, and I know they design those teasers to be as shocking and inflammatory as possible to draw people in, but I will be very displeased if they spend the whole episode making fat people feel bad about themselves. So I wrote this in response to that attitude-- if that is in fact a mindset on the next episode of the show, I hope they are similarly disabused.

For those who know the show, I picture Freddy being a lot like Christopher Palu (whose Jared-like combination of great talent and emotional delicacy I find endearing) and Heidi is named, of course, in tribute to the Aryan Uberfrau who hosts.

Day #17 - "Slimming"

(Enter FREDDY MOREAU, gangly in avant-garde dress, with HEIDI KLEIN, heavyset and well put-together. He leads her to sit in a chair beside a drawing table and a body form.)

FREDDY: Heidi, I’m so honored that you came to me.

HEIDI: Well, I really liked what you did on Design Star. That tuxedo-styled cocktail dress with the peplum was great.

FREDDY: Oh, thank you! I was really proud of that one. So you need an evening gown, right?

HEIDI: Mom’s up for an Oscar this year, and they say she has a decent chance of winning, so we all have to look good for the cameras.

FREDDY: Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you look amazing for the big night.

(He pulls some pages out of a portfolio and hands them to her for inspection.)

FREDDY: I was making some sketches…

HEIDI: Wow, Freddy. These are… flowier than you usually do.

FREDDY: Yeah, I thought it would work for you.

HEIDI: I was kind of hoping we could do something with a peplum. Like on the tuxedo dress.

FREDDY: Oh, trust me, this will be much more flattering. See, it’s got a long, A-line skirt and an empire waist—

HEIDI: How come?

FREDDY: A-lines always look good. And empire waists are very forgiving to the midsection.

HEIDI: Okay.

FREDDY: And we’ll do it all up in a sophisticated black taffeta.

HEIDI: I like brighter colors. I was thinking maybe orange, or coral.

FREDDY: But black is so sleek! Or navy, navy is easy to wear too! And with your skin— you’ll glow!

(He pulls out a length of black taffeta and drapes it over HEIDI.)

FREDDY: See? Very elegant.

HEIDI: Freddy.

FREDDY: Yeah?

HEIDI: No matter what, I’m still going to be fat.

FREDDY: What?

HEIDI: No matter how slimming all your little design tricks are, nobody’s actually going to think I’m slim.

FREDDY: Oh, Heidi, no! You’re not fat, you’re just… full-figured!

HEIDI: Seriously, Freddy.

FREDDY: But that’s okay! We just have to pick the right style for you!

HEIDI: The style to make me look most like… I’m not fat?

FREDDY: Everybody looks good in different things.

HEIDI: But if you’re fat, that’s big and drapey in boring colors.

FREDDY: Every figure is different!

HEIDI: Exactly. I know you got used to designing for runway models, but we’re not all walking coat hangers.

FREDDY: I was trying to consider that.

HEIDI: And not everybody wants to look like one. Consider that.

FREDDY: I just… I just wanted to help you look good.

HEIDI: Good, yeah. Not thin. And if you need a six-foot hundred-pound woman to make your clothes look good, well, maybe you’re not that good a designer after all.

(She gets up and goes to leave.)

FREDDY: Wait! Please, Heidi… why don’t you tell me what you want to look like? I… I’m sure I can make that happen for you.

(HEIDI considers him a moment, then returns to the chair.)

FREDDY: So… you like orange and pink, huh?