Art of the RSO Fashion Show

It is very difficult for a fashion show to be considered a success and even more difficult for a fashion show to be perfect. I can only count a handful of fashion shows that have reached and exceeded that level of perfection and ultimate success. \nFashion shows planned by college students, especially in areas not considered as most “fashionable,” turn out to be less than acceptable. It’s the same each and every time; you see a basic, elevated runway, some chairs, almost no lights and models who look like they belong in the circus. There are no theatrics, there is no suspense and the quality of the show is poor at best. So many times they turn out to be dull and quite frankly,boring.\nHowever last Thursday night I was surprised with the level of professionalism and the overall quality I witnessed at the RSO Fashion Show, organized by the members of the Retail Studies Organization. The “city chic”-themed fashion show, held at Alumni Hall, was not without minor problems, but overall I was very happy with the performance.\nI was allowed back stage before the show started and I spoke with a few of the models, many of whom said their favorite part was getting their hair and makeup done. A few were nervous, but many were excited to walk the runway. Fierce, sexy and flirtatious were just a few words girls used to describe themselves. The show, which drew about two hundred patrons, left about two dozen people standing in the back because many of the available seats were filled.\nThe runway was made of carpeted platforms, and although that wasn’t anything special, the set up around the runway was very “city chic.” The entire runway was surrounded by shopping bags from various stores including Nordstrom, Saks, Victoria’s Secret and many others. I think it was an innovative idea and something that brought originality and definitely added to the theme.\nMy favorite part of the entire show was the almost-sheer backdrop used by models to create various silhouettes before strutting their stuff down the runway. If you have ever seen Project Runway, it was very similar to the backdrop they use on the show. Of course, the male models took this to a new level; instead of still silhouettes they performed various dancing routines which were comical to say \nthe least.\nAs far as the clothes were concerned, I thought the collection presented by Long Island Apparel had the best fashions; they were very fun, playful and hip. The collection included shirts, jackets and hoodies from Ed Hardy as well as other colorful print-patterned shirts and T-shirts. Store owner Wayne Levinson referred to the collection as a great mixture of clothes representing what customers can expect to find at his boutique. \nFor women I have to say that I really enjoyed all the collections. Of course there were a few pieces that I thought were disasters, but many were perfect, especially for college-age students. Bella Donna and B-boutique had a good number of fun, flirty spring and summer dresses, with various colors, cuts, fabrics and styles. Inseam Denim featured a more girlish-casual collection including gladiator sandals, denim jackets, trouser jeans, a couple of casual dresses as well as cute tanks and T-shirts, again in various colors and patterns. Other collections included clothes from Hailey’s boutique and IU student designer Jessi Sheehan, whose collection was amazing and included everything from a futuristic, stretch-metallic body fitting dress to a school-girl, high-waisted checker skirt with a white blouse. \nIn the end I believe the Retail Studies Organization did a good job with the fashion show. For a bunch of college students to put on something of such decent quality was surprising to me. There are a few other shows coming up, and all I can say is that the bar has definitely been raised.