Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > February > 07
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Fashion Freakout at Mohawk
In terms of audience loyalty, the Fashion Freakout ranks up there with Austin’s top annual runway shows. But one must be patient. I arrived at Mohawk almost an hour after the announced start time. A few folks batched up inside, or near the patio stage, or on one of two terraces. Cocktails and a few magnificently dressed guests occupied the time.
Stephanie Villalobos and Tammy Grumberg
No fashion show yet. The event, staged mostly by Prototype Vintage Design, had attracted some fervent devotees of the 1970s and ’80s, reeking of disco, glitz and the urban street. Memories … scattered pictures … of the smiles we left behind …
Chris Lyons and Lauren Robertson
I engaged in a particularly long conversation with Lauren Robertson, who moved away from Austin in the late ’90s and had just relocated here from San Francisco. She rightly observed that, while in the Bay Area, things seemed “set,” here, everything feels wide open. Anything could happen. We recounted how, just 10 years ago, runway shows were rarer than expertly made cocktails. Now …
CJ Anderson and Richard Orr
I also enjoyed a chat with Grace Rogers, a journalism student at the University of Texas, who looked as if she just left the Zach Theatre stage in one of Dave Steakley’s classy pop shows. Her friend, Karma Stewart, was the belle of the upper terrace, though, in her grandmother’s flashy threads. She ruled.
Grace Rogers an Karma Stewart
OK, regular readers are tired of this trope, but there I was, almost 2 hours after I had arrived, and still no show. Fashion Freakout was running on club time. Which is no time for me. The rest of the guests — now filling all the spaces — remained loyal, however, pushing toward the runway. I’ll return to this hipster jewel next season, but with a better notion in advance about the actual walk time.
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B Scene for ‘Desire’ at Blanton Museum of Art
Had I departed earlier, my conclusions would have been dead wrong. Arriving at the B Scene party for the exhibition, “Desire,” at the Blanton Museum of Art, I encountered a tweedy, older set. Not the young, hip tribe targeted by the museum’s social campaign, which includes monthly B Scene events.
Laura Moliter and Elizabeth Moliter
I mingled with art lovers, music lovers (Suzanna Choffel headlined) and party lovers (including bristle-haired copywriter JJ McLaughlin, who is always sniffing out a new scene). I spoke with “Desire” curator Annette Carlozzi and her still-new hubby Dan Bullock.
Meg and Adam Hulse
‘Desire’ accumulates pieces and performances from dozens of media. I’ll let the critics describe it, but I was happy to discover that Women & Their Work director Chris Cowden and I singled out the same dark, flower-strewn sculpture. I also snuck upstairs to see the Veronese altarpiece exhibit in its final days.
My visit to the main galleries contrasted sharply with my experiences at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts the previous week. The older, more traditional museum — located in a city twice our size with a long history of arts collecting — impressed me with its masses of exquisite Asian art. The Blanton, however, did not pale in comparison. In fact, for the quality of individual works and their vivid presentation, I’d give the UT museum the upper hand.
Ryan Masters and Teal Stamm
Back to the social observations: I had planned on cutting out early to make a fashion show, but was frozen by a dozen or so conversations. By then, the place was packed, filled with eccentric beards, odd club-wear, zany haircuts and other accessories of youthful vogue. The target demographic had arrived!
Kimberly Lewis and Albert Yeung
In fact, I watched as older museum members gravitated to the administration building across the plaza, muttering about the pack in the blue atrium. Would have loved to attend the Director’s Circle party the night before, when, according to more than one report, Denise Prince arrived in a costume so sheer, she might as well have been naked. A performance?
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