Carrie Ann Inaba in NIKOLAKI Fall 2010, hosting TV Guide Network's Grammys Red Carpet Pre-ShowLate last year, when I did my Emmys Fashion Wrap with Carrie Ann Inaba, she took me aside and said "You know what? I need to wear NIKOLAKI when I host one of my upcoming Red Carpet Shows..." We decided the Grammys would be perfect. The next time I saw her while filming the Golden Globes Fashion Wrap, I brought sketches for her and her stylist extraordinaire, my fellow Fashion Wrap Panelist, Jen Rade, to see. They loved all of them but decided they should stop by my NIKOLAKI Design Studio to take a closer look and "play dress-up".
And boy did she: She tried on half a dozen gowns and dresses. But her eyes began "wandering"... She couldn't take her eyes off a muslin/toile sample that we had made for our Fall 2010 line. 
Couture Muslin: Nick Verreos and Carrie Ann Inaba pose with the muslin/toile of her Grammys dressShe asked "What is that??" We said that it was just a mock-up (in cotton muslin) of one of the dresses in our upcoming line. "I HAVE to try it on!" she quipped. She did and both her and Jen found their dress. Done and done. My design partner, David Paul and I took her measurements and discussed length and any other minor adjustments. Now we just had to make it--custom--in just ONE WEEK!!! The final result: A strapless cocktail dress made with black Italian Silk-and-Wool Zibeline featuring Oragami-like "petal" folds up top and cascading down the bottom.
Hand Delivery: Nick Verreos at the Staples bringing THE dress to Carrie Ann Inaba's trailer for a fittingThese last few days prior to the Awards have been crazy, making trips back-and-forth to the Staples Center--site of the Grammys--for some final fitting last touches and today both David and I were at her hotel room, getting her dressed in our NIKOLAKI dress. We think she looks amazing!
Click below for Carry Ann Inaba (in NIKOLAKI) and Chris Harrison interviewing Taylor Swift at the Grammys 2010:
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