The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, March 20, 2009 Page: 15 of 28
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Friday, March 20,2009
the Rice Thresher
A&E 15
A Word With Your Wardrobe: ° KISS
Galleria Fashion Show and Tell
FROM PAGE 14
While the Big Five — New York,
London, Paris, Milan and Tokyo — are
showing collections for Fall 2009, the
fourth-largest city in the U.S. is cel-
ebrating the here and now with some
Spring '09 fun. Last week at the Gal-
leria, Simon Fashion Now presented
Houston with its very own three-day
fashion presentation, complete with
runways as well as bonus style stops to
discuss beauty. The first evening, how-
ever, was a high fashion event that was
invitation-only. Luckily, the Thresher
happened to get me and Joel Kahn, a
staff photographer, on the guest list.
Deanne Nguyen
We arrived to see that there was
already a socializing buzz about and
that almost every fashionable woman
in sight was in a pair of pumps, while
the men were sharply clad in suit and
tie. Shortly afterwards, an omnipres-
ent voice ushered everyone to their
seats, and the show began right at
8 p.m., with Saks Fifth Avenue, featur-
ing Christian Louboutin shoes, as the
opening act.
Yes Men
With each brand's walk out, I start-
ed to notice the competition of variet-
ies. There were menswear paired with
women's wear, but then each switched
roles from accessories to tailoring.
There were casual play clothes quickly
followed by sleek evening looks. The
juxtapositions were clear and a rather
enjoyable way to see what these de-
signers and stores pictured their cus-
tomers would be wearing from them,
day and night.
The Dresses vs. the Suiting
It was a battle of the sartorial gen
der styles, sometimes within the same
brand. Ferragamo's crimson 1940's-
style, hourglass-figure wrap dress was
followed by its doppelganger in jacket
and cropped pants form. Billy Reid's
striped shrunken blazer and tailored
white skinnies gave his ultra-feminine,
playful polka dotted dress a quick
once- over before exiting.
Luckily for the dresses team, Fendi
and Carolina Herrera stopped the show
with their girlishly-shaped tea and
pencil dresses, which were belted and
flared accordingly. The ethereal fabric
details, whether cut out, draped, appli-
qued or coaxed out at the right places,
seemed to nip and tuck perfectly to the
body's form, saving the day by making
every woman appreciate curves.
And while some designers
dabbled in the day leather jackets
and shorts area for men, everyone
seemed to concede to Billy Reid
and Nordstrom, which showed only
menswear, that even in pieces, noth-
ing looks better than a man in a well-
fitted suit. (Amen to that.)
The Formal vs.the Casual
This one is for the girls. Missoni's
girls were all fun and games and ready
to hit the beach in their summery short
dresses of sand and ocean-pebble col-
ors. This is, of course, not before meet-
ing up with their friends clad either in
Neiman Marcus's colored shifts, Bar-
ney's city-street-cool jackets and jeans
or Billy Reid's striped tights for lunch
on the promenade. Their Ferragamo
and Saks Fifth older sisters-keep chang-
ing their minds; artsy dolman sleeved
day dress or princess-style ball gown?
Their mothers, all decked out in
floor length Carolina Herrera, have
other plans in mind. Day and evening
wear for women were at times a matter
of transitioning between fiercely femi-
nine to unstoppably elegant, but as the
presentations sang the chorus togeth-
er, there's no need to compromise.
The Bags vs. The Shoes
The victor is obvious: shoes. Their
numbers and reception of ooh's,
ahhs and double-takes overruled
the handbags, though they do de-
serve honorable mention. The shoes
ranged from heels to flats, Choos ur-
ban gladiators to Louboutin's S&M
Mary Janes to Fendi's suede wedges
with a false printed heel.
Ferragamo's and Carolina Her-
rera's bags' reds did pop out in their
carry-on structure, but the ease and
folds of neutral tones of Saks' and
Missoni's slouchy hobos were just
as college-girl appealing. Simple
evening clutches with metallic fas-
tenings stepped up to their patent
pump counterparts.
In the end though, some designers
omitted the bag entirely, while shoes
are essential to the look. Plus, giving
a girl a little lift adds bonus points for
multitasking adornment. I'll admit
that I am more of a shoe person, but I
began to question, with all the soft and
beautifully-displayed craftsmanship,
why I wasn't already a bag lover my-
self. You know a fashion show is good
when it makes you want things you re-
ally don't need.
From start to finish, there's just
something surreal about seeing the
clothes from famous brands. You
see them all the time in magazines,
looking distant and untouchable,
but when they are parading them-
selves out in front of you as if you
have the funds for them, it is some-
thing else. It is like window shop-
ping on a whole new level; it's a
dream in decadence.
But back in reality, where we exist
as college students, the best we can do
is extrapolate onto our own wardrobes.
Whether that means DIYing a Fendi
dress, or styling a la Billy Reid, or even
saving up one day for the real thing,
ultimately, what I got from the collec-
tions was that it's not so much a matter
of affording, but experimenting. I saw
this in action post-show. The guests, of
all ages, had their own unique sense of
stylistic flair: a group of young models
donning hipster accents, a cute girl
with a covet-worthy necklace, a wom-
an with a cupcake purse straight from
Sex and the City.
On the runway and off, there was
a real sense of adult play on classics
there that night and a message that
declared there would be no minimum
on how old you have to be to have fun
with your clothes. The show, as all
shows should, ensured that everyone
who has Peter Pan syndrome — us in-
cluded — won't be neglected and need
not fear giving up their childhood de-
lights of dress-up.
See you next week!
Deanne Nguyen is a Will Rice
College sophomore
SHOW
LINEUP
Saks 5th Avenue/Christian
Louboutin
M Missoni/Jimmy Choo
Salvatore Ferragmo
Billy Reid
Fendi
Nordstrom
Barney's New York CO-OP
CH Carolina Herrera
Neiman Marcus
ice Theatre Program
epartment of Visual and Dramatic Arts Presents
hyiDiari^Sontaire.cted by.Matt Huff
RalMtf
PlaceMHarnman
arch 20-21,.8:00 D
March 22/2:00 pm
March 26.-28, 8:00.pm
Fees: Opening night, $5
fig 'Genera I Ad mission; $ 10 1 ;
i ! f jW* v. 1; „
■ Rice Alumni, Faculty, Staff,
Vi... _
* Senior-Citizens,*$8
Students,
More
A&E online!
The Last House on the
Left Review
by Faheem Ahmed
Resident Evils Review
by Joe Dwyer
Galleria Fashion Show
Slideshow
ricethresher.org
earnestness in a generally-convinc-
ing performance. She delivers her
lines well but, surprisingly, it is in
those moments in which Turner is
unable to speak that elevate Stop
Kiss the most. Her grasp of physi-
cality, particularly late in the show,
evoke greater emotion than the rest
of the show put together.
However, in a play in which the
women's relationship is so central
and crucial, the two can't quite
consistently find a common level —
their flirtations are full of awkward
pauses but not necessarily those
thrilling, terrifying silences which
pepper the games of an emergent
relationship. There are moments
when we believe their delight in
their discovery of reciprocated at-
traction, and moments when we
scratch our heads.
Delivering the soundest perfor-
mance of the night is Lovett College
senior Trevor Pittinger as George,
Callie's friend with benefits. Son's
script is not kind to George: He might
very easily be played as a caricature
when such a basic characterization
would stand out as an ill-fitting
joke among sincere performances.
Pittinger falls into no such trap. He
expertly uses the tools available to
him — eye contact, physical reac-
tions, those little quiet spaces in
conversation — to develop a char-
acter fleshed out between his lines
who shares a hint of vulnerability
and a lot of humanness.
Sid Richardson senior Gloria
Chang's set is not flashy or very
complex, but it's gorgeous and func-
tions superbly. While the set serves
primarily as the messy interior of
Callie's apartment, a few sheets
of transparent fabric, some metal
chairs and the routinely-fantastic
lighting direction of Theatre Pro-
gram Production Manager Matthew
Schlief seamlessly transforms it into
a hospital or an interrogation room.
Schlief's design is similarly re-
served, but by no means simple:
He leads us from gorgeous back-
grounds of swollen purples to ag-
gressive industrial lighting and
everywhere in between, precisely-
timed by stage manager Abbie Falk
and board operator Shira Polster, a
Lovett senior.
U
Stop Kiss has a
genuinely moving
script...
w
Stop Kiss suffers most when
its cast is not actively performing.
Martel junior Cait McMillen has
supplied Callie and Sara with in-
timidating closets and a wide range
of costumes. They look good, but
the time Owen and Turner need to
change into them stretches each
of the transitions between scenes
into a fight for the audience as they
struggle to maintain any sort of en-
ergy, much less the hair-trigger ups
and downs Stop Kiss brings.
Stop Kiss has a genuinely mov-
ing script, an experienced director,
capable technicians and skilled
performers. While its parts are
sometimes slightly disassembled,
the show is certainly a legitimate
option for weary Beer-Bikers to
relax this weekend or eager audi-
ences to enjoy the next.
Sigrid Owen and Caroline Turner chat it up and hang out while sipping
on a few drinks in VADA Theater's latest production, Stop Kiss.
WILLY'S PUS
Monday, March 23
SA Changeover 10:30- lam
Tuesday, March 24
Wiess College Pub Night
Wednesday, March 25
Board Game Trivia
COIL ICC
, 1 Board Uc
ml.
Thurs
irsday, March 26
RPC Concert Series: Kenneth Scott
Music starts at 10:30 pm
Friday, March 27
Phil's Phriday: 4pm-8:30pm
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, March 20, 2009, newspaper, March 20, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443137/m1/15/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.