Madame Butterfy-inspired fashions at Minnesota Opera kickoff

For most, the opera conjures ideas of old, white-haired rich folks tottering around with noses in air, and performers singing in Italian for hours about who-knows-what. Not exactly the most glamorous, exciting to-do in the world. But with last night's splashy fashion and art-infused kickoff event for the Minnesota Opera's upcoming eight-night run of Madame Butterfly hosted by the opera's young patrons membership group Tempo, held downtown Minneapolis at Seven Sushi Ultralounge, it was clear that this wasn't your grandma's opera. Puccini's classic tragedy clearly offered a depth of inspiration for local designers, who crafted impressively constructed looks in rich, sumptuous fabrics in a runway show impeccably styled by Grant Whittaker, who himself is known for a penchant for the theatrical. (His credits include costuming Ballet of the Dolls and styling fresh-from-New-York-Fashion-Week looks at the annual Macy's Glamorama blowout). As guests sipped on complimentary TEMPO-tinis, singers from the upcoming production previewed songs from the opera. Perfectly poised models provided by Vision Management Group walked in looks by Emma Berg, Russell Bourrienne, Samantha Rei Crossland (Blasphemina's Closet), Anna Lee (Ruby3), Kerry Riley (Needle & Black), and Jared Zachary (Freedom from Doubt), alongside newcomers Caroline Hayden, Tony Eliason, Lauren Mayhew, Sina Yi, and Hitomi K. It was an incredibly well-executed and realized showcase, only marred by the difficulty in seeing the looks as they whipped past at eye level. (At one point, I mistakenly thought the opera singers were a recording.) An elevated runway, or seating, could have helped. But the event was a beautifully executed one that made the point clear - that the opera could be not only stylish, but - dare we say - sexy.

Look by Emma Berg

Look by Anna Lee

Look by Jared Zachary

Look by Kerry Riley
Look by Samantha Rei Crossland

Look by Sina YiLook by Sina Yi

For tickets to the upcoming run of Madame Butterfly, visit the Minnesota Opera's site.

[Originally posted at Vita.mn.

Local line Needle & Black launches Etsy store with a deal

Help local line Needle & Black (by longtime local designer Kerry Riley) celebrate the launch of its new Etsy shop with a special offer valid today only. Place an order today and receive 15% off. Take a look at some of the goodies below - including the all-new Needle & Black tees and and various leather accessories - and click here to shop.

In review: Cliche's Avoid the Grey

Cliché hosted its annual fashion show "Avoid the Grey" on Saturday night at the Grainbelt Bottling House, and this year the local boutique decided to change things up. The "show" was more of an art installation, with models dressed in one avant-garde look by local designers housed inside peephole-laden boxes designed by local artists. While I love me a good old-fashioned runway show, it was a great concept - fashion as art. With the recent slew of overly-lengthy runway shows that seem to be more about quantity than quality, it was refreshing to see so much thought having gone into a show. Less was more, in this case. A minor criticism: it was difficult to get a good gauge of what was happening in the boxes with only the small peepholes to peer through. But nonetheless, the interactive feel of the event served only to make fashion more accessible and less intimidating.

Here are the individual looks, out of the box. Let's assess:

Kerry Riley of Needle & Black translated her love for patent leather into a skintight Latex look complete with her signature holster, this time rendered in stripes, which offers a great graphic element to the otherwise fairly basic design. The gold cuffs were a nice addition.

Rachel Blomgren is one of my favorite up-and-comers in the local fashion scene. She has a great way of merging a punky, West Bank aesthetic with genuinely impressive knitting skills and a great eye for color and pattern. I want those leggings NOW. The headpiece (or rather, "hand" piece) and doll head necklace are deliciously wacky. (Necklace by Lela Baumann of Chrysopoeia.)

Kimberly Jurek's contribution to the evening was a silk skirt inspired by traditional bomba skirts, which are designed for a traditional Puerto Rican folkloric dance. She updated it with the pops of neon, though with the addition of the fringed jacket, it looks more like a costume than true fashion. (Accessories by KR Designs by Kristi Relopez.)

As for Kathryn "V" Sterner's look, this is just plain weird. Apparently the "hoof hand" gloves are inspired by a lyric from a Devandra Banhart song, and the dress is made out of wallpaper - no wonder it looks so stiff. The makeup and the head wreath are making me think of Jesus Christ, and that's not good. (Head wreath by Cocoquette by Andrea Oseland.)

What a fun look from Sarah M. Holm. Love the juxtaposition of the soft floral and bow motifs with the "gun bustier" and black cage skirt. And it's perfectly constructed. It's no surprise coming from a designer known for injecting high-concept ideas into her work while still making it fashion (i.e., not a costume). (Bullet jewelry by Timmilynn Johnson of Sweet T.)

This was an intriguing offering from Danielle Everine. It's clearly in line with her latest work shown at the "Sashay Shantay" fashion-geared Art Shanty over the past couple of weeks - sort of an Arctic seafaring snow queen, with equal parts fashion and function. The black and shades of blue work gorgeously together. My one complaint is that it's overstyled - she really didn't need the antler necklaces (which are by up-and-coming accessories line KR Designs. And I do really like the antler necklaces on their own; I featured them in last week's issue of Vita.mn).

Yikes. This look by Carmichael Claith just looks ridiculous. It's clear she was going for some outsized proportions, but those pants make the model look like The Adventures of Frog & Toad.

Double yikes for this look by ArielSimone. Yellow lace with cutouts and rhinestones can never be a good idea. It's pretty draggy. (Accessories by Jen Scheffler of Realia by Jen.)

Killah look from Amanda Christine. That jacket is perfectly cut, and this is far edgier than we typically see from the typically more subdued designer (who is among the city's more commercially successful designers). The sheer red hose are a great touch. (Accessories by Timmilynn Johnson of Sweet T.)

Up-and-coming designer Gina Marie Landes of Gina Marie Vintage sticks pretty true to her subdued palette, chiffon fabrics and easy-fitting silhouettes in her boho/Grecian goddess look. (Accessories by Larissa Loden of Lefthand Originals.)

And to get a taste of the actual event, here's some video:



All photos by Marty Andreason except Kimberly Jurek's look photo by Sara Glassman.

Nicholas Harper's portrait of me

I am extremely honored that my favorite local painter, Nicholas Harper, just painted a portrait of me, currently on display at Rogue Buddha Gallery in NE Minneapolis. In it I'm wearing a custom dress and leather belt by local designer Kerry Riley of Needle & Black, which I had commissioned for my friends Beth and Brian's wedding last fall.


Harper gained national notoriety for his award winning paintings and gallery, the Rogue Buddha, has has been featured in numerous local, national and international publications including CNN where he was named as an artist to watch and most recently in GQ Magazine. I spotlighted some of Harper's work in an earlier post on Le Petit here.

Style diary: Sol Inspirations eco-fashion show

Last Saturday, I attended the Sol Inspirations eco-fashion show. (Read my review for Vita.mn here.) Since my old friend and longtime collaborator Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman was one of the competing designers, I found it only fitting to wear one of his designs - a one-of-a-kind runway piece from his spring 2008 collection (borrowed from the closet of Emma Berg). I paired it with a bright yellow feather neckpiece by new accessory designer KR Designs (currently available at Cliche for about $64), a beaded silk baguette given to me by friend Teri, and blue silk ankle-wrap pumps by DKNY from Opitz Outlet.

Here I am with designer Raul Osorio and l'etoile creative director and founder Beth Hammarlund.

[Photo via Art of Wore]

Here I am with former Minneapolitan Hina Khan (who does a fun style blog), in town from L.A. for the weekend in a spring 2011 Needle & Black dress by Kerry Riley; Raul; Beth; and designer Emma Berg in Raul Osorio spring 2011.

Needle & Black x Carrier Pigeon

Local clothing and leatherworker Kerry Riley of Needle & Black commissioned jewelry designer (and her studio mate) Lauren Neal of Carrier Pigeon to create this custom pin for her. Come to think of it, it's about time those two did an actual collaboration. So cool.

MNfashion Week Buyer Event Recap

My latest entry in Vita.mn's ongoing review series, "Last Night," recaps last night's MNfashion Week Buyer Event:

[Look by Emma Berg, photo by Jahna Peloquin]

Last night I headed to MNfashion's Northeast studio for the MNfashion Week buyer event. Open to retail buyers and press exclusively, the event gathered all the runway and accessories designers from Voltage 2011 as well as other designers from spring 2011 MNfashion Week events - Emma Berg, Kevin Kramp, George Moskal, and CounterCouture - as they attempted to get their most retail-ready pieces into local shops. Click here to read more.

More recaps and photos from Thursday's MNfashion Week Buyer Event:

Sara Glassman for PopFizz Daily
Metromix
Stacey Tuthill Rammer with photos by Emily Utne for City Pages
Examiner

Voltage accessory designers announced

Voltage accessory designers have been announced. They include Needle & Black, Jennifer Merchant, Bionic Unicorn, Freedom From Doubt, and Lela Horst Baumann, among others. I'm the show's lead stylist (for the fifth year running!) and had a hand in selecting and pairing these designers. Here's a sampling of their past work and proposed designs from some of my favorites:

Acrylic jewelry by Jennifer Merchant (for Frances Zerr)

Leather accessories by Needle & Black by Kerry Riley (for Raul Osorio)

Leather and burlap bow accessories by Freedom for Doubt (for Danielle Everine)

Lingerie by Jagress Intimates by Sarah White (for Danielle Everine)

Ceramic skull buttons and accessories by Lela Horst Baumann (for Rachel Blomgren)

Jewelry by Bionic Unicorn by Kristin Berwald (for Max Lohrbach)

Local inspiration: muses and lenses

Another round of local fashion muses and fashion photography via Facebook uploads and the blogroll - a little taste of local inspiration.

Photographer Amy Gee does a dual self portrait in local designer Raul Osorio's high-waisted bow shorts from his Fall 2010 collection. Because two are better than one.

Raul Osorio photographed by Amy Gee (of course).

Sohail Justin Akhavein photographs Melanie Plucinski - and adds glitter.

Designer Kerry Riley debuted her new patent leather bow belt designs for Needle & Black at a sale on Saturday at her Thorp Building studio. The belts will be available at Cliché in red and black this week.

Kerry Riley hard at work.

Photographer Ben Fredrickson does a self portrait of himself working.

Filmmaker and Vision models associate Elijah Chhum visits India.

Stylish Swedish Max Armstrong shows an uncharacteristic display of aggression.

Jenny Carle posts this dreamy backstage shot of her holiday collection at SCENEaSOTA.

Carly Schoen posts a preview of her dapper baby clothes line that she'll be selling at the CO Exhibitions' First Annual World (craft) Fair next Saturday. This kid looks straight out of The Sartorialist.

l'etoile and mnartists.org scribe Juleana Enright shows off a (possibly black arts-induced) scrape.

Designer/curator Emma Berg shows off her Brian Lichtenstein for Blood Is the New Black t-shirt from ROBOTlove (while I look on) during an Auntie Mame movie night.

Stylist/muse Ines Kovacevic and photog assistant Cayla Caul Field get knifey for photographer Brad Ogbonna.