I love fashion shows! I don't care if I'm working, planning, or just attending one as a guest- there's something about the clothes and the beautification of the models that gets to me. Oh and backstage? There is no other chaos that can compare to the gaggles of tall amazon-like creatures flinging clothes, accessories and hair every which way. The excitement and energy is crazy beyond belief!
When Dee asked Kise and I to help out with the Walk Fashion Show at the Detroit Opera House in Detroit, Michigan I jumped at the chance. A road trip and a fashion show all together? Heck yeah I was down lol! We arrived in downtown Detroit early that afternoon and got right down to business unloading the car and trying to locate the person was who was in charge so we could set up our stuff...
Yeah- thirty hot, sweaty minutes later, we were still waiting on said person and shown to a basement where approximately 2,347 designers, models, makeup artists and hair stylists were running around. The room was small and cramped and reeked of Doo Grow, Jam and burnt yaki. No ma'am, we were not putting Dee's gorgeous Electrik Canary Collection downstairs in that hot ass kitchen salon and having our models walk out smelling like hair recipes, hot combs and Bath and Bodyworks.
We held out and finally were shown to a space upstairs with air conditioning, but the fuckery did not stop there. The ultimate shade happened later that evening a few hours before the show, but after we all had admired the beautiful stage and luxurious seating and how sophisticated the atmosphere was- the organizer tells us "unfortunately
because somebody messed up due to communication problems we have to move the set up outside." It was so quiet you could have heard a mouse piss on cotton...
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| Kise.Will.Be.Heard. |
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| DIY clothing racks |
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| Two gorgeous models rocking the collection. One looks ethereal and sexy, the other classy and polished. |
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| Dee performing last minute adjustments. |
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| WHO WORE IT BETTER? (see below to find out) |
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| The gangs all here! Kise, Ronnita, Top Model Contestant, Dee and me. |
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| Ronnita, one of Cleveland's coldest hairstylists came out and styled some of the models hair. |
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The set up turned out to be very sophisticated ('til the bugs came).
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But, I have to say they did a great job of making it work. Tim Gunn would have been proud; the stage was very nicely done and the show went on... and on and on and on... That show was the longest show I ever attended in my life. It started late, at about 9:15p.m, our models did not go on until about 11:30 (
ahem-more shade) and there were still more designers going on when we left at 12:30.
It really was a cool concept; they had over 30 designers and boutiques, but it was just way too long. After awhile people lost their attention span and started leaving, mosquitoes started flitting around, photographers fingers started hurting and they were still trying to have an after party, so they tried to rush the rest of the designer's models. It was quite an experience!
I love seeing how shows are executed in other cities and the mannerisms of the models. One thing the "D" does not play with is the style game. Detroit's finest came out indeed; men in salmon colored pants looking so fresh and so clean, (not a white tee in sight) playas in linen suits and gators, women in colorful painted on dresses high steppin' in heels with thick roach stomping platforms... I just appreciated the fact that they actually dressed up to come watch the show.
We were dead tired when we finally got back to the hotel, ate and passed out, but the next morning we swam, got in the Jacuzzi and went to the mall. The guys went to Aldo and browsed around lazily while I hit up as many stores as I could, grabbing accessories left and right like a contestant on Supermarket Sweep. Then we came on back to Cleveland, tired and bedraggled, but slightly refreshed after our little mini vacay. Here are the runway pictures, all taken by Detroit photographer Vince Hollaway...
