You never forget your first time.
And last night was certainly a memorable one at FP3, where Boston Spirit – New England’s bimonthly magazine for LGBT readers – hosted “Fashion Fusion,” its first show for Boston Fashion Week and a benefit for nonprofit AIDS Action Committee (AAC). Indeed, the spirit of philanthropy, community, and camaraderie was as much on display as the runway fashions, and though there was no shortage of style in the room (I hate to trade in Queer Eye stereotypes, but come on…), there was definitely a refreshing lack of self-seriousness. I am now a firm believer that no fashion show is complete without catcalls of “Work It!” from the crowd, and models trotting to remixes of “Fergilicious.”
Plus, as a former arts editor at Bay Windows, the region’s largest gay newspaper, and (notice: full disclosure ahead!) still a regular contributor to the pages of Spirit myself, it was exciting to see many familiar faces: from my old Windows publisher Sue O’Connell and the Spirit team, to South End real estate agent and former state representative candidate John Keith. There were also plenty of faces from the Greater Boston Business Council (an LGBT professionals group), The History Project, MASALA (Massachusetts South Asian Lambda Association), and of course, AAC. The evening’s beneficiary received 100 percent of the proceeds garnered by Spirit, and plenty of other folks stepped up to the fashion plate, too: hors d’oeuvres for the penthouse VIP party and downstairs schmooze-fests were provided by Barbara Lynch’s Sportello, G20 and Emerge provided hair and makeup, and BO LINE, a Norwell boutique and men’s custom shirt maker, donated 15 percent of proceeds from their collections on display.
In large part, those collections were featured on the models that strutted their stuff under an outdoor pavilion in the crisp fall air. The looks seemed to fall into two main styles which, for lack of better descriptors, I’ll refer to as “campus chic” and “disco fabulous.” The former, worked mostly by the men, paired colorful scarves, knit caps, stylish satchels, hooded jackets and fitted blazers to evoke, and successfully so, the image of grown-ups gone Ivy League. These dapper PILFs (Professors I'd Like To...) were a little personally distracting, as I happened to recognize most of them as former cover models for Out at Night, Bay Window's companion nightlife publication: Why does that blond one look so familiar, I asked myself. Ah yes, because he once did a Halloween photo shoot by "trick or treating" outside my front door in his underwear, with a pumpkin over his package (there were some perks...). Hello again, gentleman and scholar!
Anyhow, less impactful for the guys was the disco fabulous look, comprised of oddly outsized shirts in shiny metallic fabrics with exaggerated cuffs and collars: on the other hand, the approach worked gangbusters for the women, who rocked fedoras and ‘fros atop shimmering vintage-style dresses paired often with chunky belts and accessories. Best of all, in addition to the pieces from BO LINE, the show integrated affordable selections from Boomerangs (716 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, 617.524.5120 and 1870 Centre Street, West Roxbury, 617.323.0262), clothing-resale shops loaded with funky fashions, where all sales benefit AAC.
This first foray into Fashion Week was a successful one for its presenters, a deftly accomplished balancing act of elbow-rubbing, style-surveying, and do-gooding. Although it’s worth sharing that the act of navel-gazing is what garnered some of the evening’s biggest applause: when one male model made an appearance in a vintage leather jackets, sans shirt to better show off a 12-pack of abs that could stop an 18-wheeler in its tracks, the reaction from the crowd was more deafening than a rocket launch. Further proof that birthday suits never go out of fashion.
