architecture

So did you get sick of me mentioning the lack of sleep and craziness related to the IIDA Boston Fashion Show Gala and Benefit?!?! Well, anyway, we busted our butts to get everything ready for that Thursday night and it really was all worth it. It’s a crazy amount of work for a 3 minute walk but it really is fun, even with all the drama and late super late nights.

This year’s theme was “audaCITY”  and we interpreted that into audacious things that were related to the cities. We rattled around many different ideas, including doing Gotham (a la Batman & friends) but we decided on designing around the idea of a ‘FAST FOOD MAFIA’. We created 4 costumes featuring Ronald McDonald, Wendy, Colonel Sanders, & Burger King. They were all a biut hardcore, dramatic, and darker than their real counterparts.

My coworker Megan (Ronald) wrote this up for a firmwide posting about the show:

“Rules of the game required portions of the entries to be created from industry materials, and since we partnered with Tandus this year  – hefty amounts of carpet backing, carpet fiber, and woven carpet were involved. The rest of the outfits included drinking straws & straw wrappers, ketchup packets, mustard packets, drinking cups and lids, paper bags, happy meal boxes, french fry containers and acutal french fries.

Models were Laura Brodersen, Stephen Muse, Danielle Meeker, and Megan Dobstaff (all from Gensler Boston) and the manpower behind the outfits included Genslerites –  Olena Ivanina, Nicole Spasiano, Alexa Anderson, Samantha Darcy, Laura Duenas, and Katie Kaiser.”

So here is a recap of the big day!

 

Ronald’s wig I made | last minute work

 

Is it wrong that I would want my make up to look like this daily? Incredible!

We then moved our operation over to the Westin hotel as it is connected to the Boston Convention Center, where the show was being held for the first time this year to accommodate the long runway and huge crowds.

 

obviously it’s wine time | no big, Olena is hot gluing mustard packets onto some pants

Make up Time for ‘The Burger King’

From the hotel room we then had to move the models and all the stuffs to the work room where the judging would take place.

 

OMG! It’s judging time! Gotta explain our interpretation of the show’s theme and how we created out costumes using industry materials (our sponsor was a carpet manufacturer) as well as fast food materials.

Wendy is so trampy. You would not want to mess with her.

We were all then hurried, hurried, hurried to get the models together and in line to be able to have the show begin!

I was gross with hot glue on my shirt so Olena blocked me while I changed my shirt in the workroom, then I threw on some make up and got my hair up in a big ass bun. Good to go!

 

It’s show time!

 

 my thoughts… ooo this first entry is weird. Those guys are awesome at flips and back hand springs. Wow. What’s up with these girls? Wait? What?!?! Oh their shoulders! Come on! You have to be kidding me! Great this starts the show, first entry!?!? how can anyone… whoa! That cloth just dropped!  And now they are turning around with them up there. Damn

 

Are you for real? They then spun around to show the audience the back of the graffiti covered clothes. Show offs.

some audacious ladies throughout history

drama

 

The 3 photos above are of the overall show winners. Honestly, I didn’t think they were all that impressive. Big whoop, black clothes and some painted fabric. Wow you have a tall guy. Special. Well, they (Dyer Brown Architects) actually were sponsored by Benjamin Moore and what was not understood from my distance from the stage is that they made ‘fabric’ using paint. From what I unserstand they poured paint in layers onto non stick surfaces to create a material they could then wear. Pretty kick ass.

 

I loved this! The girl in front was the Guggenheim in NYC!

One of 3 Dr Suess inspired themes

Then it was our turn!

 

 

 

one of my fav pictures of the night

 

I missed most of the rest of the show as I was backstage with the team taking pictures and having a little moment freaking out that sound guy played the wrong song during the walk. During prior years the teams were not permitted to pick songs so we were REALLY EXCITED to be able to pick a song this year so it was a huge disappointment that wrong some played. Esp since the song we got was a remix of Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ which is soooo different than what we picked:

 

 

After all the entries walk they do 1 last parade down the runway together. And then the different winning categories are announced…

We took home the award for “MOST ORIGINAL”!!!

Woohoo!!!!!!

Everyone loves Wendy’s 10′ long braids!! I love how they turned out!

Price and I made the brads using 4 sections of 3′ long 1 1/2″ dia pipe insulation that we then wrapped with carpet backing and then 2 shades of carpet fiber. Each strand was 12′ long and then they shortened up a bit when they were braided.  Danielle’s (Wendy) husband then spray painted them black at the ends and Olena and I added the black capert fibers and ribbons at the ends.

 

The award!! (I put it down and lost it. I’m horrible)

 

smile ladies

-the crew-

 

After we got the models undressed we then partied!!! It was so much fun taking pictures against a green screen, throwing back bourbon, and dancing around. A few of us in our office stayed until they shut it all down. Such an awesome night!!

A huge massive tremendous thank you to our team, the signifigant others that were roped in and helped out, and our amazing Tandus rep Kerry!!

Can’t wait for next year!!!!