I worked the W. 18th St. Fashion Show this past summer in the cross roads district of KC. Let me tell you, stuffing schwag bags for the V.I.P guests all day until my fingers bled, and doing all the thankless dirty tasks with no air conditioning, was definitley worth the end result. I have worked several fashion show's in my day, and the chance to work with strictly local designers provided the best show I've ever seen/been a part of. The theme was Summer in Space, so this gave the designers no limit to how zaney and creative they could be. Plus, I got a chance to meet Ari Fish, whom I've been a huge fan of, and later that day, found out was going to be a contestant on Project Runway!! (Sidenote: I watched Project Runway and rooted for her crazy ass, despite being cut the first round. Come on, that guy that made the see through creepy nightgown should have been cut, let's be real. Plus, Lindsey Lohan makes my ears bleed, and also inspires me NEVER to smoke a cigarette. Is that an eighty year old lady talking? No, that Lindsey Lohan's voice. Puke.)
I also met another designer that blew me away...Sovannara Yos. Since the theme was outerspace, she did all of her pieces based on famous galactic movies...i.e. The Fifth Element, Star Wars, Blade Runner, etc. The pieces were edgy and raw, and she was my personal favorite of the bunch.
The crowd made the overall show, and I had the chance to walk around taking pictures of random people's style at the show.You could definatley tell however, who was there because they were trying to be seen (cool you own a loft in the crossroads and you want to show off by sitting on your balcony with your snotty friends), and who was there because they actually loved fashion (the rest of the people not sitting in V.I.P or on a balcony, sweating their asses off, decked out in eccentric get-ups). I even literally bumped into, Phil Shafer, a local KC designer and the brain of Sikenomincs (sikenomics.com). Shafer's designs bad ass graphic t's sold at places like The Bunker, and his shirts are so fressssssssh. Last but not least, the show kicked off at sun down, and it as a smashing success. If you missed it, sorry to say, there is no recreating it. There were lamps welded into alien gadgets, attached to dresses. There were smoke coming out of glass globes being carried by the runway models. The L.E.D. light curtains, the hand-made jewelry, the eccentric makeup, the rocking after party, the zaney models, everything was absolutley mind blowing, and I got to watch it all from right in front of the curtain. So yes, it all ended up paying off, as I stood there, watching the last outfit exit the stage, my every pore surging with adrenaline, as I realized how much I love fashion.
