Patrick Range McDonaldTV showcases the skills and antics of scheming survivors, struggling fashion designers, and kooky apprentice celebrities, so will television execs give the green-light to an ultra-talented window display artist who consistently knocks the socks off anyone who sees his work in Los Angeles?
It seems like a no-brainer to us, and only a matter of time that ChadMichael Morrisette and his partner, Mito Aviles, will be starring in their own TV show.
Having signed with a top-notch production company, Morrisette and Aviles are now shopping a reality show to cable TV networks that focuses on the process of creating their eye-popping work.
“A window display is street theater,” Morrisette tells L.A. Weekly.
Check out, for example, their most recent installations at Madison 3rd Street and Diavolina, right around the corner from swanky Robertson Boulevard.
Mannequins on clouds at Madison 3rd Street; Credit: Scott Tejerian
While other stores merely prop up a few mannequins in the window and hang the latest fashions on them, Morrisette came up with the concepts of stylish-looking mannequins laying on clouds (Madison) and standing in the middle of a crossword puzzle (Diavolina).
Crossword puzzle at Diavolina; Credit: Scott Tejerian
“It's a dying art that people don't know about,” Morrisette says about his work. “It's more like installation art, and we use mannequins for the expression.”
But Morrisette and Aviles, who live together in West Hollywood and own the successful CM Squared Designs, want to educate the masses — and they've got a lot to say.
“It's disgusting,” Morrisette says about other window displays around town, not pulling his punches. “People who don't have an eye for it are doing it. It's like someone who doesn't know how to drive a car is still driving a car.”
Things are never boring around this couple. Morrisette and Aviles, if you remember, made global headlines in 2008 when they hung a Sarah Palin mannequin in effigy from the roof of their home.
And earlier this year, Aviles ran a grassroots, underdog campaign to become a West Hollywood City Council member — he lost that hard-fought bid, but got over 1,000 votes.
As Morrisette and Aviles wait for their big break in TV, they only have more work ahead of them. Besides window displays at Alpha, Feature Boutique, Coco De Mer, and other high-end stores, they're starting up a mannequin rental business for anyone who needs one, including accessories — Morrisette and Aviles have collected 200 mannequins over the past several years.
“We know there's a demand for them in this city,” says Aviles.
We suspect that, too, will be the case for their TV show once it gets up and running.
Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.
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