Boston Fashion Week; venue:Intercontinental Hotel
LA PERLA FASHION SHOW: 24 PHOTOS [CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW]
Day two of Fashion Week brought an interesting mix of events — and a breath of fresh air. I started my evening at the InterContinental Hotel’s steamy and elaborate La Perla fashion show, partly conjured up by local photographer Arturo.
The evening began with a cash bar, live mini orchestra, and photo exhibition. The crowd was an interesting one, to say the least. Event-goers were a mix of devoted yogis (the event’s proceeds will go to yogaHOPE), reps from sponsor Otis & Ahearn, attractive and well-dressed couples, and a few — and there really is no other way to phrase this — hoochie mamas. Excess cleavage, tight mini dresses, and fuck-me pumps were scattered among the otherwise classy crowd. In fact, two of these “ladies” (hanging on the arm of a pimped-out, bedazzled gentleman friend) were ousted from the front row by the host Arturo himself. Drama.
Overall, guests were classy and seriously stylish, including publicist Nicole Kanner, in a black Susana Monaco tube dress and wooden beaded necklace. She also made one of the smartest wardrobe choices of the evening: pairing her simple dress with flat gold strappy sandals. Brilliant. Apparently her feet were beat from the previous night’s fabulous FB soiree and Achilles Project after-party. Smart, smart girl — my throbbing feet were jealous.
After spotting a few photo-worthy looks (and drool-worthy Louboutins), I headed into the ballroom to find my seat: front row between my favorite trash-eating friend, Stuff@night creative director Mike Diskin, and the vivacious Anna Cheshire Levitan, fashion-editor-at-large at Boston Common. I knew it was going to be a fun night.
Before the show actually began, there was an incredible opera performance by a stunning Boston Conservatory student and a student pianist, followed by a teary speech by the yogaHOPE founder Sue Jones. Okay, full stop for just for a second. We didn’t get the connection: opera, yoga, and hot lingerie. Not to mention the fact that although my heart really goes to Sue Jones, and I fully support and believe in her incredible cause, the speech was a tad bit long and had most guests squirming in their seats. Her story was touching and I cannot stress enough how much I respect this woman and her organization. But the speech, well, it was all a little too much and made me feel like I was at a self-help meeting rather than a luxury fashion show.
When the show finally did begin, I was pleasantly surprised. It was well-produced (bravo to producer Mary Garthe Associates), well-styled (except for the occasional loose strap or two) and one of the best runway shows I’ve seen in Boston (second to last winter’s incredible Ferragamo show at the Institute of Contemporary Art). Sure, the models (from Dynasty) weren’t all New York or Milan runway material, but these girls strutted their stuff, looked hot doing it, and had every man (and surely some women) in the audience fantasizing.
At one point I looked over to see Glen Kelley (publisher of Boston Common) taking notes. I joked with my row mates that it could have been a note to himself: “Get model number four’s number before I leave today.”
And why not? These girls looked sexy, classy, and beautiful. Kudos to Pini Swissa and his hair and makeup crew, and also to the La Perla team — I really did love the looks. Just three notes to the stylist: the shoes were not luxurious or fabulous enough to go with the incredible lingerie; a little double-sided tape would have held up loose straps; and spray-on concealer does wonders for hiding blemishes, stretch marks, and scars.
Other show-goers include photographer Eric Levin (who was probably thinking that his Barstool Sports girls could use a little La Perla), Intercontinental GM Tim Kirwan, and the dapper Roy MacDowell of the MacDowell Company, who’s totally dreamy. And for all the folks I didn’t know, thankfully I had the simply adorable Intercontinental PR coordinator Abby Shoolman by my side to fill me in on the who’s who, what’s what, and where’s where. Thanks, Abby!
— Erica Corsano
READ: FULL BOSTON FASHION WEEK COVERAGE
