MNfashion Week in review: "Athenaeum" + Blasphemina's Closet Open House

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Steampunk-inspired fashion may be all the rage in mainstream fashion as of late, but it's been the name of the game for local neo-Victorian designers Samantha Rei (of Blasphemina's Closet) and Heather Luca (of Scoundrelle's Keep) for upwards of a decade. After presenting a preview of her Spring/Summer 2012 collection at last Friday's MNfashion Week runway show "Full Fashion Panic!" (which we review here), Rei hosted a trunk show introducing her brand-spankin'-new Minneapolis studio space as well as the opportunity to see her work, past and present, on display. Also in the mix was Bionic Unicorn jewelry by Kristin Berwald, a frequent collaborator of Rei, who offered a special name-your-price deal in honor of MNfashion Week. View more photos from the open house and trunk show by Nic Abrego here.





Then on Friday's runway show "Athenaeum: A Study in Fashion," Luca premiered her Fall 2011 line "Alkali" at the appropriately Victorian-era James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul. Accordingly, Luca showed a collection that held true to the Victorian aesthetic (corsetry, ruffles, bloomers, puff sleeves and high necklines) while adding a modern twist. I absolutely adored her leather satchel that connected to a corset - a hands-free innovation that dates back to Victorian times. Also smart were her pairings of traditional menswear items, like vests, with girlish ruffled skirts and bloomers, as well as her gender-bending incorporation of corsetry on her male looks. Luca demonstrated excellent craftsmanship and use of rich fabrics combined with a genre-pushing sense of style rare in the neo-Victorian fashion community.







The joint runway show kicked off with looks by emerging designer Tara Reich. Like Luca, Reich worked from a neo-Victorian aesthetic while incorporating modern, on-trend touches such as sheer fabrics, fishtail-hem skirts and - gasp! - short hem lengths in eye-popping colors one wouldn't ordinarily associate with Victorian times. Though some of the taffetas looked a bit dated (it's really hard to pull off a fabric so heavily associated with '80s bridesmaid gowns), Reich showed herself to be one to watch in the local neo-Victorian front.




View more photos from "Athenaeum: A Study in Fashion" by Nic Abrego here. Styling credits: Hair and makeup by MC Nelson Artistry, hats by the Blonde Swan. View more photos of the line by Photosynthetique here.

Recap: RetroRama 2011

On Thursday, the Minnesota History Center once again hosted RetroRama. In its fifth year (and my fifth year styling it), the show also served as the final time Voltage producer and MNfashion founder Anna Lee would direct and host the show. Every year, the show presents a handful of authentic vintage looks paired with retro-inspired looks by local designers. This year's theme, underwear - presented on burlesque dancers as models - was certainly a contributing factor in the show's sellout status, and was inspired by the Minnesota History Center's new "Underwear" exhibition highlighting the history of Minnesota-born underwear brand Munsingwear. Since I was involved with the show personally, I won't attempt to review it objectively, and instead am posting photos and descriptions.

[Photo via Scoundrelle's Keep]

Heather Luca of Scoundrelle's Keep has the theme of "restriction," Munsingwear's general theme in the '50s that harkened back to Victorian corsetry. The model wore jewelry by local line Bionic Unicorn.

[Photo via Art of Wore]

Sarah White of Jagress Intimates offered a humorous take on the garter belt with her underwear set that included a gartered skirt.

[Photo via Art of Wore]

Christopher Straub (who was out of town during the event) presented a look inspired by the machinery of Munsingwear's factory with screen-printed fabric featuring an original print by Straub and an external "caged" corset and headpiece. There was some criticism that the headpiece and look in general was too similar to Seth Aaron Henderson's SolarWorld collection presented at Sol Inspirations, but metal caged masks aren't exactly anything new. (Victor & Rolf featured them in their F/W 2006 show - which Gaga infamously donned at Sir Elton John's Ball in June 2010.) Either way, it's fun seeing the designer push himself in edgier directions with his fashions, though it's hard to detect a style that is distinctly Christopher Straub.

[Photo via Scoundrelle's Keep]

Danielle Everine continued on her sheer look she presented during Voltage last month with this look inspired by Munsingwear's push for active lifestyles in some of their 1940s ads. The sheerness of the garments allows the viewer to see every seam and stitch that goes into each piece - a really intriguing concept that is quite lovely and uniquely Danielle Everine.

[Photos via Scoundrelle's Keep]

Samantha Rei of Blasphemina's Closet played with her theme of "exposure" by exposing the knickers of her models via a sweet floral print against sorbet green.

[Photo via Scoundrelle's Keep]

Here I am backstage with some of the "authentic look" models. Unfortunately I haven't come up with any better photos of them, but the necklace on the model on the left is by Bionic Unicorn, and the flower hair clip is by Anna Lee's line Ruby3.

The guests were also super stylish:

[Photo via Art of Wore]

[Photo via Art of Wore]

[Max Sparber and Coco Mault. Photo via Art of Wore]

Here I am with designers Ivan Idland and Maritza Ramirez. Maritza and I are both wearing Ivan Idland designs, Maritza's having been from 2010's RetroRama.

[Photo via Art of Wore]

See more photos from the show via Art of Wore, Scoundrelle's Keep, and the Minnesota Historical Society, and Coco Mault recaps the event for MinnPost.