By: debbie lynn elias
In this final weekend of the “awards season” it seems only fitting that I turn my attention and yours to someone who is already an award winner and to many, a household name – Jay McCarroll – Season One winner of the award winning tv series “Project Runway.” For those of you unfamiliar with “Runway”, this reality show showcases up and coming designers and wannabe designers who compete not only for a chance to show a collection of their clothing designs during Fashion Week at New York’s renowned Bryant Park, but walk away with a cool $100,000 in cash to start their own line post-Runway without the benefit or tutelage or critique by Tim Gunn, designer Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, fashion editor of “Elle” magazine.
At the conclusion of “Runway”, many, including myself, believed it wouldn’t be long before we saw Jay’s designs hanging on the racks in Macy’s and Nordstroms and the like. But such was not the case. For reasons which Jay cannot disclose or discuss (but if you snoop around on the internet you can learn about it), he had to turn down the $100,000.00 and any immediate hope for returning to Bryant Park with his own collection. Undeterred, and thanks to adoration of fans, Jay reappeared on the small screen in a little venture called “Project Jay” helmed by producers/directors Michael Selditch and Rob Tate. Still a pretentious celebrity and ratings-driven venture, the show solidified a few things – the camera loves Jay and Jay loves the camera. But most importantly, what “Project Jay” did was inspire Jay to finally do a collection and go to Bryant Park, prompting Jay, Selditch and Tate into another collaboration – ELEVEN MINUTES – an inside, “unzipped”, look at the behind the scenes rigors of design in the real world and what it takes to get to Bryant Park for your “eleven minute” show.
With cameras following every movement of Jay for the better part of 18 months and over 300 hours of footage, Selditch and Tate, have stitched together an intimate portrait of Jay McCarroll that will, for the most part, have you in stitches, as he readies his first “unsupervised” collection for the runway. This is a well crafted and tapestried revealing portrait of a very sweet nice, teddy bear of a guy, with great vulnerability and likeability; a man who was definitely teased, picked on and made fun of as a child and now just wants to be loved and through his own enigmatic and outgoing persona, commands the center of attention with silken fluidity. But it is Jay’s sweetness that draws you to him and makes you want him to succeed – despite him being his own worst enemy at times. Wanting to be brutally honest, ELEVEN MINUTES also shows an extremely obsessive compulsive side of Jay and his need to micro-manage everything but not having a clue about anything – except how to design. He is a genuinely gifted designer and above all, ELEVEN MINUTES showcases that in spades.
The permeating theme throughout the film is Jay’s lack of funds. But somehow, this isn’t a deterrent as jewelry designers, seamstresses, shoemakers, in-house assistants, wigmakers and workers, believe so fervently in Jay’s talent, they are working for free. Sadly, and as comes as no surprise, when Jay does get a small cash infusion from the Human Society to sponsor his show, he locks horns with his PR firm, whose true colors flood to the surface. Notably though, we see a seemingless unflappable Jay no matter gets thrown his way.
Michael Selditch and Rob Tate bring us some of the most innovative and fresh camerawork that I have seen in a long while. Selditch, originally an architect, believes it’s his background as an architectural designer that drew him naturally to film and television, giving him “an eye”. Evidencing this is the guerilla handheld style of shooting that adds to the freneticism of not only Jay, but the entire situation at hand and never moreso than as the hours tick down to Bryant Park. The engaging commentary between those in Jay’s world and the camera are wonderful and provide great depth to the overall experience and to the experience of creating a fashion line and showing at Bryant Park. The camerawork is also very stylish – sparking creativity in keeping with the whole concept of fashion design. I am particularly impressed with the opening montage that is so meticulously lensed one is able to see each individual woven thread in a fabric swatch as a needle elegantly slips through the weave. Tate’s editing is also key to the pacing and heightened interest level which builds in intensity as we get ever closer to Fashion Week. But, be warned, there is hilarity that ensues at every turn. Also notable is a score that is as impactful as the sweeping majesty of Copeland or John Williams.
After this experience, would Jay want to do another collection and show? No. “The show is so stressful. I don’t think I would ever really want to do that again.” Ironically, Jay has received more press about his designs and his “first line” from this film than from Fashion Week itself. “I have my own label on my own website, www.jaymccarroll.com I have a line of fabric out now through Westminster Fibers.”
And while Jay wants to separate himself from Project Runway, the film actually shows him more as a Project Runway “property” because as we can see, without Tim Gunn giving him direction, Jay does go a bit all over the map due in large part to his inexperience and lack of knowledge on marketing, merchandising, etc. There are times he reminds me of a child thinking about “what I want to be when I grow up.” But happily, it’s very nice to see that Jay did pay attention to Tim Gunn and Nina Garcia in Runway and does understand how to produce a “cohesive” pulled together line. Interestingly, while grateful to “Project Runway” for his “start”, there is some animosity in Jay in terms of art versus commerce. “All these people are buying nice big houses with all the money they are getting to not pay actors. They are getting it off of real people, including myself. There are 78 designers [from Runway] that are still just struggling to be designers while there are other people who shall remain nameless just sitting on a mountain cash in a bigger house.”
I asked Jay what he took away from the film. “I lived it once so I thought this was just a nice packaged film and it shows a lot about art versus commerce. It shows the creative process. It shows a struggling artist breaking down the misconceptions of reality television which plays such a huge role in our pop culture right now. “
On a personal note, as I told Jay, one of his designs, a grey toned silk dress with 144 individual panels of silk hand stitched in a zig-zag bargello design is a must have for me. He agreed. “I know. It’s so cool but it would be so expensive to have to make [in mass production].” However, when I suggested he go knee-length with it, “That’s a really nice suggestion. I’ll have to get it made.” Jay, I’m waiting!
Directed by Michael Selditch and Rob Tate.
