In review: Glamorama 2009 vs. The Runway

This year marked the third year I’ve attended Macy’s Glamorama, and it's always cause for excitement. It’s the only event in the Midwest to show the latest runway collections by renowned designers like Marc Jacobs, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel and, for the first time, PHILOSOPHY di Alberta Ferretti. Of the eight designer lines, those four were the highlights of the night. I decided to compare and contrast the Glamorama shots from these abbreviated collections with the original runway images to see what's different, what's the same and how well Minnesota stacks up to the original runway show.

Marc Jacobs

Marc kicked off the show with his neon-bright ode to the oversized shoulders of the '80s. One editor called it "A Flock of Seagulls meets Alexis Carrington." It's the perfect antidote to the gloom and doom of 2009.

[L: Greta Sundquist by Emily Utne for City Pages / Irina Kulikova by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

If Marc saw this, he'd probably wish he had Greta - one of the show's two local models - wear this look on the fashion week runway. That white-blonde bouffant, her strong facial features, her tough yet sophisticated walk - she's the white Grace Jones/Amber Rose. But to the outfit: Wow, those pants! I want. And I love the cut of the top.

[L: Emily Utne for City Pages / R: Jessica Stam by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

The shot of the Glam model in action makes it a little difficult to get the full effect you receive in the runway version, but still - what a great dress.

[L: Emily Utne for City Pages / R: Georgie Badiel by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

This outfit couldn't be any more what Marc intended. However, I think the jacket/dress/legging-boot (for real, legging-boots?!) combination loses its edge a bit on the Glam model. Georgie Badiel is pretty freakin' fierce.

[L: Emily Utne for City Pages / R: Anastasija Kondratjeva by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Identical styling down to the mad-good sunglasses. But what's with the hair on the Glam model? I prefer the original hair styling - it gives the '80s look a retro spin.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Kasia Struss by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Spot on styling. You can't mess with Marc.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Anabela Belikova by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Fun fact: Marc also designed a version of this dress for Miss Piggy. Kind of hate how the Glam modle is posing here, as if she's 12.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Natasa Vojnovic by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Ugh, hate the way the model is posing in the Glamorama version - she makes it look very Designing Women in a not-good way. The effect is full-on frump on what was originally a very chic look. I wish they would've mimicked the hair in the original - so Flock of Seagulls!

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Alana Zimmer by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Wish these last two were better shots, but it's still fun to see what from Marc's sprawling collection the Glamorama team selected.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Jourdan Dunn by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

What can one say? Marc Jacobs is Marc Jacobs, and it was a great way to kick off the show.

PHILOSOPHY di Alberta Ferretti

In her PHILOSOPHY collection, Ferretti explored the idea of cutting Philosophy's natural sweetness with a masculine edge. The look was layered to the hilt: skinny knits over dresses over sheer, slim pants. For its Glamorama debut, the collection had somewhat of an Indian belly dancer-meets-'60s mod look.

[L: Emily Utne for City Pages / R: Anabela Belikova by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Here we see Glamorama fashion director Laura Schara's styling influence. Insted of the masculine, rocker-chick look achieved by Ferretti's original styling the sheer pants under the dress - and the black bob wigs and gem-encrusted necklaces - give these looks a decadent Egyptian/Indian look.

[L: Emily Utne for City Pages / R: Hanna Rundlof by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

The sample used in the Glamorama show appears to be slightly different; I much prefer the original black upper and jeweled belt of the original. The Glam one seems a bit...cheap?

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Whitney Coble by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Alina Ismailova by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Maybe it's just the model's bad posture, or the lack of a runway on the Glamorama stage, but this dress looks nowhere near as good as it did on the fashion week runway. Overall, the styling of the Glamorama show somehow falls flat for me in comparison to the original, though the staging - which included pop-art-inspired video of Indian belly dancers screened onto fringed curtains the models occasionally would peer through - was my favorite of the night.

Sonia Rykiel

Rykiel's collection was highlighted by her usual ruffly, sparkly, very French aesthetic. There were Lurex-shot sweater dresses almost as sparkly as the sequined tank dresses in the same black, blue, and bronze palette; and color-blocked knits. Her glittery, rainbow-heavy collection paired with berets and wide-brimmed hats was well-suited to its backing track, Fischerspooner's "Danse en France."

[L: Emily Utne for City Pages / R: Kinga Rajzak by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

LOVE this look - the sporty cut of the oh-so-sparkly gown and the whimsical beret. Glad to see Schara stuck to the original styling for this segment.

[L: Emily Utne for City Pages / R: Magdalena Frackowiak by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Here I prefer the original styling - sunglasses aren't very Rykiel, and I love the floppy hat here.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Siri Tollerød by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Love the odd pairing of red-on-red-on-red in the original - seemed like the Glamorama styling attempted to make it less quirky, which is really the whole point.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Imogen Morris Clarke by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Maybe it's just the angle, but the dress looks like a tent on the Glam model; I like the hands-in-pockets awkwardness of the original runway model.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Kamila Filipcikova by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Again, prefer the foppish styling of the original. But what a great and unusual choice for a Midwest fashion show.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Marina Peres by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

I thought this pantsuit was boring in the Glamorama shot, but upon closer inspiration it's actually quite unusual and lovely.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Olga Sherer by Marcio Madeira for Style.com

What a darling dress, and styled right in both cases.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Sasha Pivovarova by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

Another great dress, and love the styling in the Glamorama version perhaps even more.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / Heidi Mount by Marcio Madeira for Style.com]

I am pretty sure I gasped when I saw this dress hit the stage. I want! Laura Schara did a phenomenal job in her selection of clothing for this segment.

Jean-Paul Gaultier

For most, the nearly-nude male models wearing speedos while getting doused in water was the perfect finale to Glamorama. For me, it was their red-lit production of Gaultier's line. Models came out stomping to Marilyn Manson’s “Sweet Dreams” in a very goth palette of black and red. Also wearing lace masks, some with red roses, some with whips. It was all kitschy fun, very much what I think Gaultier intended. (The original runway show featured Coco Rocha getting in a faux fight with another model, only to have a dominatrix come onstage to threaten them both with a whip.)

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Liu Wen by Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com]

Copied exactly from the runway, but you really can't go wrong with the original styling.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / Maria Kashleva by Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com]

I actually love the addition of the criss-cross tights - they mimic the sheer "x" on the dress perfectly.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / Liu Wen by Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com]

Love the funnel neck, and ooh those tights! Both versions are hot.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / Georgina Stojilkovic by Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com]

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Jourdan Dunn by Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com]

The white undershirt and white tights in the original differentiated this look from the other little black "x" dresses.

[Image by Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush]

I couldn't find an image of this look on the fashion week runway, surprising because it's one of the most striking looks I saw at Glamorama. Those high-waisted leggings and sheer tank? Superhot. Especially the fact that we're seeing nipples at a fashion show in ultra-conservative Minnesota. Kudos to Schara for going there.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Coco Rocha by Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com]

This white and black cross-front dress is interesting with the white detail, but Rocha stole the show in the original all-black version.

[L: Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush / R: Georgina Stojilkovic by Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com]

These two dresses are very different, but the dress on the right is the only look that came close to what we saw on the Glamorama stage. Perhaps it's a modified version? Either way, the Glam version is fun and much more wearable than the other.

Overall, I loved the addition of the tights here. I wonder if they are by Gaultier (if not, by whom?) since the original runway didn't show any of the "x" tights. I kind of wished that the Glam models were tougher and less swingy in their walks, but it was a dramatic finish to a great fashion show.

View the complete collection of Glamorama photos by Digital Crush at DigitalCrushPhoto.com.