Sunday, January 8, 2012

Out Spotlight

Today’s Spotlight is a designer who pairs the quirky and fun, with bold, bright colors and wraps it up with an all-American sensibility. He has become known to millions through his fashion lines, interior designs, books and by appearing on television shows. Today’s Out Spotlight is designer Todd Oldham.

Todd Oldham was born Jacky Todd Oldham in Corpus Christi, Texas, October 22, 1961 to Jack and Linda Oldham. One of four children (two sisters and one brother) his father’s job as a computer programmer had the family moving around including a four-year stint in Iran when Oldham was 12. Todd was taught how to sew at age 9 by his grandmother and at 15, he designed his first dress when he sewed together some pillowcases. After high school, he moved to Dallas TX, where he found his first job in the alterations department at Polo Ralph Lauren. Soon after he borrowed $100 from his parents, bought 41 yards of white cotton jersey, dyed it, and created a tiny collection, which he sold to Dallas based high end retailer Neiman Marcus.

In 1989, he launched his first clothing line. Two years later, he was honored with the prestigious Designer Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent. His young, vibrant approach soon landed him a regular segment, “Todd Time,” on MTV’s “House of Style” hosted by supermodel Cindy Crawford. His enthusiastic persona and wild ideas (he once told viewers to dye their hair with Kool-Aid) made him a cult figure, and from there on has never looked back. He went on hosted Fashionably Loud on MTV in 1999.

In 1998, Oldham moved to New York with his business partner, Tony Longoria. He served for three years as creative consultant to fashion house Escada while continuing to produce his own line. He launched a perfume line in 1995. He went on to worked with Target to design a clothing line and expanded to design housewares, and dorm room furniture for the company. Also In 1995, he produced a clothing line associated with the Warner Brothers film Batman Forever.

In 1999, he took a hiatus from fashion to found L-7 Designs. This enabled him to branch out from clothing, taking on design in other forms. He served as architect and interior designer of The Hotel in South Beach in 1999, and recently designed the annex to the hotel, designed floral arrangements for FTD, Barbie dolls for little girls, sneakers and directed music videos. Oldham also designed furniture and home accessories for La-Z-Boy furniture from 2003–2007.

In 2007, Oldham was tapped to become the creative director for Old Navy. In the role, he was in charge of nearly 160 designers with opposing tastes and philosophies. He organized them together, and the first line produced under his influence debuted to rave reviews. After his first quarter, sales were up for the first time in years. Half way through a three year contract Old Navy parted ways with Oldham and their contract. The very public breakup included Oldham court.

Oldham served as a mentor to the contestants on Bravo’s “Top Design.” He has become actively involved in book publishing. He has produced a number of books on various aspects of style for Ammo Books as part of the Place Space series. Books in the series include photos and essays on filmmaker John Waters, the artist compound in upstate New York owned by Joe Holtzman (the founder of Nest magazine), and the Rhode Island School of Design’s off-campus housing and Bedrock City. Oldham has also created Hand Made Modern, Without Boundaries, and various other titles. In June 2007, Oldham released a monograph of artist Charley Harper’s work titled An Illustrated Life. He has written several children’s books, bringing modern design to kids to make.

A philanthropist, Oldham serves on the boards of charities and conservation groups including the advisory board of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), to work in partnership with indigenous people in conserving biodiversity, health and culture in Central America. He is also on the board of Aperture, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to promoting photography. He has also been involved with Habitat for Humanity and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He is very active with Bailey House, the oldest housing program in the United States for people with HIV/AIDS.

Todd is happily married to his husband, Matthew.

"The one thing we can really count on is change.”

31 comments:

  1. All Things Jake Gyllenhaal & His Luscious Beard

    Forget put a bird on it, put a beard on it ya’ll. Huffington Post is reporting on Jake Gyllenhaal’s NEW facial hair, but I have to say, he has been sporting this luscious- I-wanna-eat-my-breakfast-off-your-beard beard for some time now. Grrrr, as they say Jake.

    Accidental Bear

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  2. linecook
    linecook
    Infinitely more excited that we cooked for @kevin, the boys from Coi, @violetblue then cooking for Jake Gyllenhall yesterday.
    1 hour ago

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  3. I should have played some Bowie today. Can you believe he turned 65 today?

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  4. Way to make me feel old. Bowie 65.

    Good for Todd. Quite an achievement to sell to Neiman Marcus at such a young age. And what a great career followed.

    Off to watch the Steelers now. We are starting late by design to blast through some of the many commercials. And Shameless returns tonight. Can't wait.

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  5. Oh my God Pittsburgh just got Tebowed:-)

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  6. My sister-in-law is a huge Steelers fan - she's going to be crushed. As a Chiefs fan, of course I cannot stand the Broncos!!!!

    Really good OutSpotlight today, Special. I've not heard of this guy but wow, what a career he has had, starting right from scratch. That is fantastic. I just love stories of people who start out so small and then they little by little, scratch and claw their way to carving a niche for themselves.

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  7. Wooohooo!!! My sister just brought home some homemade tamales from my mom from an uncle. Mmmm mmmm mmmm.. You cannot beat homemade tamales, folks.

    Restaurants just never come close - I don't know what it is about them but homemade is best. They're kind of a Christmas tradition to make; not sure why. I remember my Mom & Dad making them a few times. And what is funny is every time I've eaten them at a family gathering, the discussion always centers around how they are. Is the masa dry or moist? And everyone has to dissect every detail about them. lol

    Boy, I want to tell you guys something. At least those who drive. I was driving this morning, in the left lane to turn left and I got the green turn arrow so I began to make my turn but this car in the opposite lane must have had the green light I guess and even though it had to have turned red, I could tell she was not stopping. She kept coming and I halted to a stop. She stopped halfway through the intersection as if realizing something was wrong because I was also in the middle of the intersection. Holy crap.


    Even though you have the green, whether it's a straight ahead or a turn arrow, please please always look both ways before plowing through. I don't care if it's green. There are so many people who run blatant red lights or they're on the phone, texting, talking to someone in the backseat, just not paying enough attention.

    Just give a quick glance both ways, keep looking. I am so glad I was watching her or else I would've been plowed into but good.

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  8. Wow, can't believe that Broncos game.

    Love tamales, a friend made them once from scratch, keep meaning to give it a try myself. I love the ones they used to call green corn tamales, meaning they're made from fresh corn instead of masa. I've only ever seen them in Arizona.

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  9. Hmmm, I've not heard of green corn tamales but sounds good! Tamales are a lot of work; a lot of work. And very, very steamy!! That's why people don't make them that often?

    Well, looks like it was possibly a short trip. I'm seeing tweets of Jake at the airport.

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  10. WeeHippies (@WeeHippies)
    1/8/12 6:50 PM
    I'm in the virtually empty OAK airport, so its hard not to notice @Jake_Gyllenhaal. No entourage. Seems like a pleasant normal guy. Nice:-)


    gibs0n_ballin (@gibs0n_ballin)
    1/8/12 6:57 PM
    Jake Gyllenhaal on my plane baack to Burbaank. Hollaaaaaah !

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  11. Hollah? What does that mean?

    When I dogsit, I usually see something interesting on the tube. Today, it was two documentaries on cable. One of them was on Paul McCartney who organized the Concert for New York after 9/11 which I didn't know he put that benefit together. It was really interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He seems like a very wonderful, normal, classy kind of guy. I was very impressed.

    What a great thing for him to do. And I just loved watching him talk to fellow musicians behind the stage, like Billy Joel, Sheryl Crowe, Elton John, James Taylor. I love how they just break into song and melodies impromptu during the middle of a conversation. So cool.

    I'll never forget that concert either. That was just an incredible collection of musicians. The Who was absolutely showstopping. The Rolling Stones. David Bowie. How awesome for so many of Great Britain's professional musicians to give their talents and time to the city of NYC. When I look back on it today, it is even more mind-blowing. But such a touching gift from these celebs.

    Oh! And Bon Jovi was on there too. Looking gooooood.

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  12. PG, Hollaaaaaah !
    is what you say when you do a shout out.

    And before heading back to LA, he was in the Haley Valley section of SF.

    randandstatler randandstatler
    It was Hollywood in Hayes Valley today...Jake Gyllenhaal came into the store and John Waters was walking the sidewalks.
    1 hour ago

    And yesterday enjoy lunch at one of the best sustainable fish places in Sausalito or anywhere around.

    Deepbluechef Chris Ball
    Jake Gyllenhall enjoying lunch here at Fish!
    7 Jan

    Fish. The Restaurant.

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  13. Poor Austin, he's invisible when he's with Jake. They only tweet about Jake :(

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  14. fitforafemme
    Fit for a Femme
    The trip to the barber was more exciting than normal, since we just missed Jake Gyllenhall getting a shave, apparently.
    30 minutes ago

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  15. I'm not worried about it. Jake and Austin are together, they're married and in a family way.

    Perhaps Austin did have to go to Austin TX after all.

    Regardless, I know these 2 guys are together and people can look for any clue they want to, trying to look for otherwise. They can knock themselves out silly.

    At least I'm not like this person on Twitter who is tweeting at every single person who tweets about seeing Jake, asking them what did he buy, who was he with, was he with a girl and was she tall and blonde.

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  16. I forgot to mention that the other documentary I watched today was on this paparazzi guy, Ron Galella. I guess he was famous for always taking pap pictures of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, even having her sue him and file a court order to have him stay away from her and the kids.

    He's pretty famous and has taken millions of pictures. Anyway, in this famous incident which started the lawsuit, Ron Galella gave money to Jackie O's building doorman for a tip that her & John John were biking at a nearby park.

    I found that pretty interesting.

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  17. Reese, who takes the cover of Elle magazine’s latest issue, recently told the mag that she hopes to remind everyone that nobody’s life is perfect.

    “I want to not perpetuate any more of this kind of garbage that’s out there in the media about women falling in love blindly. No one’s life is perfect, and I’m sick of whatever tabloid stuff or this or that story tries to portray. My life is just as realistic as everybody else’s. Whoever thinks someone has a perfect life, I’m so eager to dispel that.”

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  18. Backing away slowly every time he hears thunder.

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  19. What's the person laughing about up there. That OTH YouTube snippet doesn't mean Austin sent anything, just that Mark waited until nearly the end of the evening to disclose why Austin wasn't there. If the moderator knew he wasn't going to attend that morning, certainly the whole cast knew as well. The whole, "Austin just texted me now" doesn't hold water. For whatever reason he planned not to go. Maybe he didn't want to be photographed with Sophia or have someone ask an awkward question. Like when were they going to get married.

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  20. I doubt Austin stayed away just to avoid photos and questions. He's out of a job now, and he needs whatever publicity he can get. Not to mention not showing up for something like the OTH doesn't look good. I'm sure the moderator keeps a tight rein and makes sure the conversation stays on the show, not gossip.

    One of the reasons Reese always manages to work is probably related to the fact that people talk about how she throws herself into promotion. Yes, a lot of what she does is laughable (including the latest bull posted above), but when it comes time to promote movies, producers appreciate what she does.

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  21. I see your point, but Austin appears to have been stepping back from this relationship for months now. Don't remember how many, but these two stopped lovey dovey tweeting one another at least 4-5 months ago. No doubt Sophia Bush is pulling back too because she doesn't acknowledge him either. If Nichols had a sudden need to bolt from LA, Mark would have announced that at the beginning of the event. Why wait until near the end and dramatically read a tweet to the audience like he just was contacted. When we know he wasn't. I just looked it up and Austin had also casually tweeted Matt Frost at 4 p.m. PST like nothing of concern in his life was going on. Lots of oddities.

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  22. SB didn't look too concerned or supportive of her "boyfriend" if anyone saw the pics of her at the Lakers game the next day, beer in hand, guys surrounding her and a big, big smile on her face. Bad girlfriend. LOL!

    Knowing the famewhore Sophia is perhaps she didn't want Austin there. She certainly was the center of attention all night.

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  23. I doubt Austin stayed away just to avoid photos and questions.

    We don't know that. No one knows for sure why he wasn't there. It wasn't like a controlled interview where questions could be buffered.

    Look at a question one of these OTH girls wanted the moderator to have asked:

    BlondeAmbition8 (@BlondeAmbition8)
    1/5/12 8:51 PM
    @MegMasters Ask Sophia and Austin what the best part of filming their wedding and why?

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  24. Seems like there is something funny going on, though.

    I still wouldn't be surprised if these guys gave everyone the big slip.

    One thing Austin is not, though - and that is lazy. Austin seems like a guy who carries through on his professional responsibilities. BUT - he also seems like a guy who, when
    he's had enough? He's had enough.

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  25. One thing Austin is not, though - and that is lazy. Austin seems like a guy who carries through on his professional responsibilities. BUT - he also seems like a guy who, when
    he's had enough? He's had enough.


    ITA PG.

    And yes MIA Austin it seems like Sophia wasn't concerned in the least by her "boyfriend's" situation at the Lakers, or even bother that he wasn't there OTH screening for that matter. And doesn't seem to be as worried as his fans have been about him this past weekend.

    It seems like there is something going on, it just might have to be a wait and see for a little bit.

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  26. And yes MIA Austin it seems like Sophia wasn't concerned in the least

    How do you know she wasn't concerned? Were you backstage before the Q & A where she may have expressed concern to her colleagues? What you and everyone else saw was Sophia on stage in a professional capacity. Why would she bring up Austin's situation at all?

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  27. The Steelers loss was heartbreaking. Made for a good game though.

    Austin and Sophia have been over forever. Totally obvious for a long time.

    Picture of Jake on ONTD today, or maybe it was yesterday and I just saw it today. I notice that commenters always get distracted and talk about other things. It's like Jake cant hold their attention for long. Main focus is that he looks homeless and awful with the beard. Why a posting about a birthday that was now weeks ago is odd. I guess the new management, or lack of it, is showing.

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  28. I will say this, though.

    It's one thing if you have a real emergency or trying circumstance. And does a celebrity always "owe" fans an explanation for private life happenings? No, of course not.

    But when you have people genuinely, honestly concerned about yourself, it seems like it might be kind of nice, at some point, to just give a "Hey, I'm okay, thank you for your thoughts and prayers' kind of 'hello'. Just gracious manners.

    And he may do so. Like Special says, it could be a wait and see kind of deal.

    But Special, just like Sophia was seen at a Lakers game and not "concerned or preoccupied" with what was going on with Austin, the same can be said for our Celeb Food Critic, Mr. Jake.

    Mr. Jakey seems bound and determined to sample every organic preparing/serving restaurant from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back again.

    So he doesn't "seem" that concerned either.

    We'll see, I guess. Or maybe not, lol.

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  29. Why would she bring up Austin's situation at all?

    Of course she didn't need to.

    But being seen at the Lakers game the next evening in her black leather pants with a gal pal and kicking back a beer doesn't exactly convey worry of mind either.

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