by June Ann D'Angelo
WHAT: See the World in 60 Minutes by Empress Consulting
WHERE: Ritz-Carlton (100 Carondelet Plaza)
WHEN: September 28, 2014
After receiving my press kit, I was really excited to attend this event. Mostly, because I received a press kit. This is something that I wish more production companies would do for the bloggers that they invite. The press kit was carefully planned with the theme and we each received passports and our boarding passes to match the appropriately titled 'See the World in 60 Minutes' fashion presentation. I only wish that in these packets, we would have been supplied with designer information about the garments that were shown. I did receive information on the new business, Empress Consulting LLC, that was producing the event and provides human resource and development training and has even contracted 2 local models under their name.
Arriving at a venue like the Ritz-Carlton, which is definitely a step above the run-of-the-mill runway shows that we see in Saint Louis, the tone was set for an elegant evening of fashion and class. After checking in, you were invited to grab some amazing lite bites that had this foodie saying, "more please"! These delicious bites were a nice treat and definitely a highlight of the evening for me, unlike the cash bar. You also saw that everyone was dressed extremely sophisticated. Not the most fashion-forward crowd was in attendance, but the bloggers and fashion editors in the audience definitely helped out in that category. So at this point my belly was full and the tone was set...I was ready to get ushered to my seat.
The actual space for the runway show was a huge ballroom in the Ritz-Carlton with a raised runway down the middle that was flanked on both sides with 3 rows of chairs. As the room filled, it was clear that the seats would not be filled, therefore, I feel the last row of seats should have been removed and everyone moved up to the first two rows. It was also confusing why the bloggers were all placed in the second row when the front row was not filled. Even though the plane was not full, we all enjoy a little extra leg room from time to time, however this should not be the case for a fashion show. I was, however, excited to be seated next to #STLFW Blogger Award winner, Laura Heying from weirdcult.com. We were all seated and ready for lift-off...time for the show to begin.
As the show started, you were hit with dramatic music and fog coming from backstage and I was beginning to get excited, because it's FASHION time! This excitement was quickly deflated. Although I love drama, I felt that the house lights could have been dimmed on the side so that the drama of the environment matched the drama of what was trying to be created on the runway. As models started to walk the runway, it was clear why this show would take 60 minutes...because the models were walking painfully slow. So slow that only a couple models could actually pull off the walk and make it look fluid. I did not get their names, but I did post their looks from the show below, because kudos to them (to the right and below). Their ankles never waivered, their shoulders were back and they had a perfectly blank yet pleasant gaze about them. A slow walk is hard to master. Most of the models had slight balance checks or looked off the runway or even looked down. I had not seen that in a show in quite some time. Although I only posted video from the final looks, which were regularly paced...imagine that those walks were at 1/4th of the speed of the walks from the final looks.
Now let's talk fashion... So, the show was set up using dresses and fashion from around the world. There were Indian- and African-inspired looks mixed in with different styles of dresses. The 3 segments of the show (videos posted below) were clearly divided by color scheme and we saw many of the same looks repeated in a different color family. This added to the tension, but not the drama. Especially when the designers were not even mentioned or highlighted, did we really need to see the same look in 3 different colors...especially with walks so slow. I would only want to see walks that slow on a designer such as Alexander McQueen where I cannot get enough of the detail on the artistic designs.
Overall, the highlight of the evening for myself was the styling. The complete looks were well thought out and the jewelry really elevated those looks. My absolute favorite was the amazing clutches that the models carried down the runway designed by Cameo de Bore (website). I loved each and every funky clutch that walked down the runway so much that I had to go visit the vendor booth and meet the owner who was as sweet as a peach! Her clutches are all reasonably priced ($40-$60) so make sure to visit her facebook page and find out where she's selling her designs. They would absolutely make the perfect present as the Christmas season comes upon us.
For a first show, overall Empress Consulting LLC did a great job. They put a decent foot forward and I am excited to see what the Empress brings to us in the future. They definitely are able to pull the resources together to throw an amazing show, so the potential is endless. Make sure to check out their facebook page (website) and give them a like!