THE PASSION FOR FASHION Club DeVille‘s semi-annual fashion extravaganza on October 20, benefiting the LGRL, was a sublime evening of holiday fashion with great style and good humor — a winning combination in any book. Emceed by the witty and urbane Joel Mazursky, who won my heart when he recited the horrible opening poem from Valley of the Dolls, kept the ball rolling even through minor technical difficulties. Visible gaffes were few, and pageantry reigned with eye-popping displays. Therapy opened the show with sleek, modern shapes in luxurious silks with embroidery and border designs. Shown with menswear by Service, who presented vintage-styled jeans and gabardine shirts, Therapy employs considerable finesse in combining unexpected styles and fabrics. The silk dupioni and taffeta skirts were glorious, and a recurring theme in many of the collections shown. Shiki made a huge splash and celebrated their first anniversary with a tribute to the upcoming Year of the Dragon by sending the traditional paper dragon down the runway and following it with some breathtaking clothes featuring brilliant color and intricate detail. Animal prints are as big as ever, and this collection was exotic and exciting, especially on the back of a knockout beauty named Ava, who added a Mahogany-ish touch to the affair with her theatrics. Pink Moon sent out some “very stylish” girls in vintage partywear and accessories that were a scream, proving that a good look back at the past can be as exciting as anything in the future. A classic Seventies Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress was fun to see, as these little numbers are disappearing into costume collections across the country, and the trick-or-treaters with the cocktail dresses were definitely a treat. Melange was on the big-skirt bandwagon, sailing the dreamy and romantic billowing silks down the runway, accessorized with tiaras and a baby chimp. Very cute, though my fashion show experience tells me that sending animals and children down the runway means that all eyes will be on them, and not your clothes. Limbo showed more vintage partywear, with looks suitable for either Halloween or a wedding reception, depending on your point of view. My point of view is that the disco finale of their first segment was a highlight of the show, and the use of Nancy Sinatra‘s “These Boots Were Made for Walkin'” for their last segment was perfect. By George featured drop-dead beautiful clothes and shoes for men and women, with the exquisitely cut men’s suits. Classy clothes from a classy shop. Blue Velvet offered quite a vivid freakshow on the runway with a three-ring circus of wonderful clothes and a banner painted by well-known artist Heyd Fontenot. Both segments for Blackmail knocked ’em dead, with the Baby Blackmail line for tough toddlers as well as the elegant and edgy Blackmail Couture dresses. The grand finale of the evening was a creative display featuring models wearing miner’s cap headlights to spotlight the glorious use of black.
If I have only one suggestion, it is that everyone chips in and hires a couple of people with irons who do nothing but press the clothes once they get to the location. There were beautiful clothes being shown, and many of them were badly creased from traveling or being on the store shelf. If we show unpressed clothing on the fashion runways, people will think it’s okay to wear their clothes unpressed. And it’s not. It’s bad, and it’s wrong, and they’ll go to fashion hell for it. Let’s set a good example. On the club side of things, our hostess-waitress-model was charming and efficient but had too much to do to adequately serve the crowd by herself. A few more like her and another bartender could have increased drink sales, and thus the success of this event. With great neon by Neon Jungle adorning the set, and music by The Reverend Kathy Russell, it was excellent work all around to everyone involved. Enormous thanks to the paying guests who made the fundraiser a success. Their support makes these kinds of events possible and “demystifies” fashion in a way that’s entertaining and enlightening. See you at the next one.
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This article appears in Carol Keeton Rylander.