By Sarabeth Lacy
Are your eyes glued to the television screen whenever Project Runway’s season finale is on? Do you swoon as towering models lithely strut avant-garde ensembles down the narrow runway? Does your pulse accelerate at the mention of Bryant Park? More importantly, are you a Texas A&M student majoring in Agricultural Leadership and Development and grow pale at the thought of confessing your ardor for New York Fashion Week to your fellow Aggies? (Not that one must be an Ag student with clandestine interests. )
For any clothing crazed individual residing in the area, I believe I have an alternate fashion catharsis for you: Fashion Week BCS.
Local designers, artists, musicians, and businesses have pooled their creative resources and are bringing the Brazos Valley its very own week-long celebration of fashion. Your dreams (or at least my dreams) of sitting front row at a runway show and ogling couture as it is paraded down the stage can at last become a reality.
Paige Melvin, CEO of Engage PR & Marketing, and her team have arduously labored for weeks to bring you the crème de la crème of fashion event line ups, which will include the time-honored runway show, designer presentations, fall fashion previews, and much more. With the assistance of sponsors, such as Catwalk Hair Studio, MSC Forsyth, Maroon Weekly, and many more, you can anticipate scads of creative festivities.
But B/CS Fashion Week celebrates more than the fashion forward designers of our area. What greater forms of inspiration exist for most couturiers other than music and art? Each event will feature the blended talents of local musicians and artists who have left indelible marks on the facade of B/CS fashion. Musicphiles will be able to purchase a compilation CD consisting of tunes featured at each event at participating retailers.
The commencement ceremony (i.e. totally raging kick-off party) will be held at Revolution Café and Bar in downtown Bryan and will feature DJs, local musicians, and drinks specials a la owner Rola Cerone. It begins at 10pm on September 20th. While that is, indeed, a Monday night, I encourage everyone to suck it up, attend the event, drink alcohol responsibly, and drink coffee liberally the following morning.
You’ll find yourself in need of massive caffeine consumption, unless your natural high of artistic enthusiasm catapults you forward throughout the entire week, as you’ll hate to miss out on Tuesday night’s event at the Corner Bar Rooftop in Northgate. Catwalk Hair Studio will offer patrons “A Night in Wonderland” right around 7pm. I have yet to learn what all that entails, but I can assure you, I will be present to find out!
Should you find yourself remotely to zealously interested, check out fashionweekbcs.com for further information regarding the week’s schedule and featured designers. You can also learn more about sponsorship and VIP tickets, but be joyfully aware that general admission is complimentary. Therefore, you have no reasonable excuse, in my opinion, not to join Fashion Week at every single event. In case you require a bit more convincing, all proceeds, including CD sales, will go to organizations such as CARPOOL, Habitat for Humanity and Brazos Valley Community Action Agency.
Sounds so exciting. And great causes.