Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > February > 21 > Entry
Viva Las Vegas-Monte Carlo at the Austin Music Hall
Let’s get to the business at hand: The fashion show. Last year, I judged Sue Webber’s sleek, sexy, cool, confident parade of bedecked models for Viva Las Vegas the best fashion show of the year. In fact, the best I’d seen. In Austin. Ever.
Misti Poppitt and Troy Cormier
This year, the show earned lots of creativity points, as Webber explored the formal wear, casino couture and Mediterranean colors for a Monte Carlo edition of the gala for AIDS Services of Austin. Props — such as umbrellas in the opening number — were numerous, and humor often reigned. So did men. Last year, older, more macho models outranked the thin, willowy regulars. So Webber returned to that theme and amplified it, tweaked it.
Lorri French and Susan Burton
What she lost was consistency and development, and in some cases, class. Some models towered above their cohorts (My-Cherie Haley), while others broke the Austin mold (one fierce tattooed dude named Phoenix triumphantly broke with the macho mode). Uncharacteristically, technical glitches interrupted the flow of action. Still, at moments, the music, lighting, models and apparel came together in an exhilarating manner.
Yvonne and Trevor Schwartz
What about the rest of the night? No need to worry about the hardiness of these Austin partiers, even with Carnaval Brasileiro right across the river and competing fundraisers at the MACC, Four Seasons Hotel and elsewhere. Here, the assemblage cast around the charity gambling tables, wandered among the silent-auction items or lined up for cocktails and high-intensity grub.
Brittany Prejean, Brittany Brunson and Patrick Brunson
A beaming ASA board chairman Robert Dailey estimated the head count at the Austin Music Hall at nearly 1,000. We dallied with Austin Chronicle’s Stephen Moser, grandly positioned in a commanding chair at the end of the runway; Mint Owl’s Chris Cantoya and model-perfect Laura Aidan, 34th Street Cafe’s Cameron Lockley with friends Drew Wilson and Joe Pierce, adorable charity triplets Dr. John Hogg, David Garza and Joanna Linden (remember: Hispanic Scholarship Consortium fundraiser is Thursday!), Dell Children’s Armando Zambrano, and a wide-eyed Texas Rep. Donna Howard.
Drew Wilson, Cameron Lockley and Joe Pierce
Social footnote: I had every intention to round out the evening at Carnaval. I don’t know whether it was the transition from beach vacation, the clogged streets around the Palmer Events Center, or uncertainty whether I’d gain entry among the glittered masses (didn’t receive my OK until too late). For whatever reason, I instead headed home after just two social events my first night back in the saddle. There’s always next year …
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Charity, Style
Comments
Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn. We just ask that you keep things civil. Leave out the personal attacks. Do not use profanity, ethnic or racial slurs, or take shots at anyone's sexual orientation or religion. If you can't be nice, we reserve the right to remove your material and ban users who violate our Visitor's agreement. Click here to report comment abuse.