On the runway at FASHION WEEK LIVE!
By Dino-Ray Ramos
Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 3:34 pm in Alek Wek, Bay Area Designers, Beauty, Celebrities, Clothing, Colleen Quen, Color, Designers, Dresses, Events, Fall, Fashion, Fashion Shows, Fashion Week, Fashion Week Live!, Gemma Ward, Gowns, Jackets, John Varvatos, Lily Samii, Marc Jacobs, Men's, Models, Nanette Lepore, Naomi Campbell, New York, News, Peter Som, Runway, SF Bay Area, San Francisco, Season, Tyson Beckford, Women's, Zac Posen.
Honestly, the whole event was a sartorial blur - I was too excited to see everything and a bit overwhelmed. Too many people in one crowded room with free alcohol makes me nervous - in both good and bad ways…
The 35-minute (give or take a couple of minutes) show was split up into categories: Day, Color, San Francisco (local designers Lily Samii and Colleen Quen showed), Men, Peter Som, Cocktail, Evening…and I think that’s about it.
To make things easier for everyone, each garment that hit the runway was accompanied by the designer’s name on the big screen in the background.
Many of the pieces I saw were favorites that I saw in Fashion Week coverage from February - I especially loved John Varvatos and Marc Jacobs…but that is what the problem was for me.
With the exception of Peter Som, the handful of designers showed only two or three pieces in the respected categories. After they were done, I was just craving more. It made me feel incomplete. I wanted to see each of the designer’s entire collection - story and all. It would’ve been nice to have 2 or 3 designers show their entire collections rather than a potpourri of bits and pieces.
But who am I to complain?
There is a major difference in seeing these garments in a picture and live on the runway. There’s a whole other level of admiration: the movement, the detail, the color and of course, the beautiful (and a tad bit “realistic”) faces of the models.
There were clearly crowd favorites. Of course, headlining models, Naomi Campbell and Gemma Ward caused an uproar of applause, but when Alek Wek came out in Nanette Lepore the audience clapped until their hands fell off and when Wek flashed a smile, people started screaming uncontrollably.
But the most hoots and hollers went to Tyson Beckford when he came out in the sporty gray get up by John Varvatos, his bedroom eyes pierced every woman (and some men) in the audience to the point of tantric enlightment. When he came out in the Zegna, women started to scream at the top of their lungs until their heads were about to explode.
SF designers, Samii and Quen got to show great pieces and proved they can hang with the best of them. Samii gave a line of fantasy-like forest gowns, while Quen pushed the envelope with unique detailings - especially with the golden emperor-like gown.
So - you might ask: Do I have any picutres? Even though my camera ran out of juice, I managed to get three from the runway:
I think that’s Gemma Ward
A Varvatos piece
Naomi’s back
Once again, I must reiterate: I AM NOT A PHOTOGRAPHER - I AM A JOURNALIST.
I’ve seen many of the pieces showcased online - but it was a treat to see them embodied with life. The trends were all apparent: autumnal colors, wide-leg trousers, wispy fabrics in solid colors, dresses with pockets, etc…etc…
In a way it was a dream come true. In another way, it was a dream that was incomplete. Hopefully this September I will get to see more of this fabulousity at NYC’s Spring Fashion Week 2007.
Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures…
Naomi in a fur-Som (as in Peter) garment
Gemma in the ultra luxurious (and most anticipated) ingeniously structured piece by Zac Posen - it almost made me cry tears of joy
[Both comments and pings are currently closed.]
March 16th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
[...] “On the Runway at Fashion Week Live” [Dino Ray Ramos] [...]
March 16th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
that first photo is sasha, not gemma. (I was backstage dressing Gemma.)
March 17th, 2007 at 12:35 am
Thanks Casey, I guess I just couldn’t tell from my really horrible photography skills…haha….
March 27th, 2007 at 12:01 am
[...] Remember that little event I mentioned a while back called Fashion Week Live? Click here for yet another refresher. [...]