Do You La Mode?

On August 24Th, Tarah and I attended International Academy of Design & Technology's (IADT) fashion show in Renton. You may ask yourself, why Renton? For one it is a close locale for the school as they are located in Tukwila as well as the Spirit of Washington Event Center is a beautiful venue. We decided to pay the $50 for VIP access and it was well worth the money. We were seated in the first row at the end of the right side of the stage. We could see details very clearly. For pictures go to Tarah's site. The celebrity guest who also acted as the emcee's were Nick Verreos and Andrae Gonzalo from Season 2 of Project Runway. The two of them were entertaining as well as informative as they know what they are talking about when it comes to fashion. The theme of the show was "An International Evening of Fashion." The show started in Africa with Mshgnga Drummers which was a great way to set the mood. The fashion was day wear. My personal favorite was a little white dress with a red underling and little flowers around the waistline. The winner of this category (as selected by the celebrity guests) was Elizabeth Dean with her yellow shirt dress that has blood drops on the front and the back shows 1/2 a heart and 1/2 a bloody saw. The show continued on to Great Britain with some Irish Dancers. The fashion was jacket and costume designers. The detail on these items was incredible. My favorite jacket was a turquoise overcoat with a black and white print lining. The winner of this category was Ginger Bellus with her Marie Antoinette style costume. The show next moved to the Middle East. The entertainment was belly dancers and oh how I wish I could move like that. The fashion was cocktail designers. The dresses were gorgeous. Many were items I would be very happy to wear for an evening out. I had many favorites from this line however the one that really stood out to me was a dress done in peacock colors and had a train made out of peacock feathers. The dress was unique and still elegant enough to pull off at an event. The winner in this category was Jessica Keen. She called the dress "Hollly Hobbie" with bows and ribbons. The final area for the evening was Asia. The entertainment featured Sunshine Hmong Dancers. The fashion was Evening, Ballroom & Bridal Designers. I was a little disappointed that I was already married as the bridal designs were beautiful one of a kind dresses. The winner of this category was Ava Fernandes with a princess cut strapless champagne dress with grass off the bottom.
After the show, the VIP guest were invited to a cocktail hour with food and drinks and an opportunity to meet with the designers as well as the celebrity guests. We got about 30 seconds with Andrae in which we gave out our business card and grabbed a quick picture. There was also a silent auction. I would have liked to see some of the student designs up for auction. There were wedding dresses however I am a little beyond those now that I have been married 8 years. The evening was great fun and an opportunity to see what tomorrows designers are doing.