Okay, so it’s not New York . . . or London . . . or Milan . . . or Paris, but hey, every city needs its own way of promoting its (now suffering) retail scene, and since the Fashion Week bandwagon has been boarded by nearly every metropolitan area on the planet, why not Bellevue, too?
Waiting for the show to begin
Saturday night’s Vogue sponsored ‘Front Row Fashion’ show capped off a week of fashion related parties and functions, and while the Vogue event lasted about twenty minutes, tops, I was impressed with how well it was put together (physical space, video backdrop editing, lighting, music) and that there was a sold-out crowd in attendance.
Video clip below of the first portion of ‘Front Row Fashion’:
Front Row Fashion Show: Part 1
Obviously, people here are hungry for this kind of event, even though the finger food was definitely hotel catering quality (the show was held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Bellevue) and the All Access open bar was sadly deficient, featuring only wine, beer and a ghastly concoction called a “Sexy Stiletto” (champagne, pomegranate juice, blueberry juice and god knows what else).
I’ll take anything but the Sexy Stiletto
Note to event organizers: gin and vodka go with everything, and with the added benefit of not staining should you spill some on your trousers. Besides, serious liquor puts people in a much happier mood for after-event shopping. Two glasses of wine and my interest is only mildly piqued — two martinis, however, and the credit card is on fire!
Video clip below of the remainder of the runway show — while the Part 1 clip stayed true to the event’s timeline, Part 2 is edited down from 13 minutes to a more YouTube friendly 6 and 1/2 minutes. The original event soundtrack had to be replaced as a result, and now you can’t hear me and Gina exclaiming over the boots and dresses in the background, or the delicate, dulcet tones of Louise shouting in my ear about how “hot” all the models are. Blessings in disguise.
Front Row Fashion Show: Part 2
The Bellevue Square mall was open after hours to allow fashion show attendees to hopefully rush in and grab what they saw parade past them on the runway not twenty minutes prior, but fueled by only wine and beer? Fuggedaboudit.
To the event organizers’ credit, they did supply several lounge areas inside the mall stocked with urns of hot coffee and platters of sugary cookies, tarts, brownies and chocolate covered strawberries — Louise made a beeline for the coffee and chocolate the second we hit the mall, and from then on, it was like trailing after a rocket ship in full engine thrust. I don’t even have any hair, yet I could still feel the blowback.
“Excuse me, but I hear a Valentino tote calling my name!”
And she purchased two pairs of shoes, too, so perhaps the organizers knew what they were doing, after all.
But strange things happen when you’re all hopped up on wine, coffee and chocolate — like, agreeing to be interviewed! By a media company! That will probably post the interview clip online! Where anyone and everyone can watch it for decades to come!!!
The poor unsuspecting lamb being led to the media slaughter
When they asked Louise what designer bag she was carrying, I swear I heard her say, “Steve McQueen” . . . oh Louise — didn’t your mother raise you better than that?
“Yes, I know he’s an actor, but he makes really great bags!”
More photos from before and after the event can be found here: Bellevue Fashion Week ‘Front Row Fashion’ event photos — they mostly feature Louise, partly because she was wearing such a great dress, but largely because she’s such a good sport about me aiming my camera at her.
***Note: the video clips were captured on my tiny handheld Flip MiniHD video recorder. They’re a bit shaky, but I was flabbergasted at how well it functioned under dramatically shifting lighting conditions. And since the little bugger is so small, I didn’t have to stand up and get in anyone’s way to record. You’re welcome.
