Back stage chaos.

7 p.m.

It is the calm before the storm.

Well, if you don’t include the backstage area where the storm has already struck in the form of whirling dervish hair dressers, make-up artists, models, and frantic senior designers who are about to see their garments shoot down the runway.

The registration tables are armed and ready for the 800 + guests who will soon come to join us to celebrate another year of amazing art and design—and of course a spectacular runway show.

Thanks to Limitedbrands Foundation, who once again stepped up to be the event’s title sponsor, we truly can celebrate knowing we have raised significant dollars to support the scholarships that help make the dream of a college education a reality.

The VIP pre-show party, sponsored by Nationwide, is set up and ready. The caterers are standing by to share delightful tidbits of nosh that look almost too good to eat. (Almost. There really should be a special bloggers snack plate, don’t ya think?) The bartenders are stocked and ready to pour.

The bartenders are well stocked.

Of course, those bartenders will be extra busy later when all of our guests head back towards our mixologist after the runway show to enjoy a drink and some dancing thanks to our Après Runway Sponsors Capital Style Magazine and Justice. But before the post-show party, there will be one hella-good show as one-of-a-kind fashion struts down the runway, which comes to us thanks to EXPRESS; and, at some point in the proceedings, Easton Town Center will honor one of the fashion students with the inaugural Easton Fashion Award.

But, for now, things are calm. Surrounding the runway are neat rows of seats, each topped with a lookbook, sponsored by Abercrombie & Fitch, and gift provided by Mukha Custom Cosmetics. Soon those seats will be filled by VIP ticket holders.

Sponsors, of course, are crucial to a fundraising event and I really do need to take a moment and be sure we thank every generous business and individual who has helped us build this experience.

Our Couture sponsors are Diamond Cellar, Huntington Bank, Lane Bryant, THE LIMITED, Macy’s, NORDSTROM, Polaris Fashion Place, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, and R.G. Barry/Dearfoams.

Our printing sponsor is Baesman and the General Admission Pre-Party sponsor is Union Café.

This year’s host committee co-chairs are Karen & Michael Fiorile and Ellen & Ed Yen

And our 2012 host committee is: Dana & Mitch Acock, Jakki & Jerry Allen, Jamie & Steve Allen, Trudy & Earl Bartley, Pam & Jack Beeler, Teresa & Brian Biernat, Kimberly A. Blackwell, W. Daniel Cordray, Mary & Colby Crall, Loann W. Crane, Bev Darwin, Phaedra & Michael Edwards, DeeDee & Herb Glimcher, Alexis Jacobs, Patty & Jerry Jurgensen, Charlotte & Jack Kessler, Monica & Doug Kridler, Stephanie & Adam Lewin, Peg Mativi & Donald Dick, Tim Maurer & Sanito Mendoza, Veda Nami, Jamie & Bill Reinbolt, Jody & Jeff Scheiman, Thekla Shackelford, Danielle & George Skestos, Jacqueline & Chris Snell, Arlene & Michael Weiss, and Lyn Williams.

Thank you!

Every aspect of our event is touched by community generosity via in-kind donations for everything from the catering via Cameron Mitchell Catering and the adult beverages from Heidelberg Distributing Company, Mumm Napa, and Middle West Spirits, who designed the event’s signature cocktail ARTini.

Backstage where the pre-show chaos reigns, Mukha Custom Cosmetics is once again making sure our models look fierce on the runway—and they are getting hair support from Studio Fovero.

There are behind the scenes elements (lights, video, sound) that usually go unnoticed other than the feeling the crowd gets when they witness a wonderfully staged event—much of the credit for that goes to Live! Technologies—although the thumping beats that get us from party to runway to party again come via our illustrious DJ Rainer. Oh, and speaking of the post-show party, VJ props go to Rainer and  S77.

And the exquisite lookbook that I mentioned before, well Ologie was a key player in mentoring its production along with the invite and branding for the show.

Flowers, chairs, tables and other event accessories come to us thanks to Lasting Impressions and FLOURISH bespoke floral & event styling.

Yum.

An event isn’t an EVENT, unless we sell tickets. That’s where our our media sponsors Capital Style Magazine and CD101 come in. They have spent the better part of the year helping us get the word out and sell tickets. Did you see our students in the May issue of Capital Style? If not, pick up a copy.

Oh, and despite rumors to the contrary, models need to eat—at least our student models do. Thanks to Donatos and Pepsi Cola Bottling of Columbus for keeping our students fed and hydrated during some long rehearsal hours. Also, walking in those heels…not as easy as it looks. Thanks to Foot Petals, inc for providing shoe inserts.

Big thanks and hearty applause to everyone who helped make this night happen.

Guests are arriving and I hear champagne popping, I wonder if I can sneak a canapé?

Edward Buchanan's Sansovino6

I’m just going to come out and say it: I lust after Edward Buchanan’s Sansovino6 line. I want to touch it, feel it, WEAR it.

The luxurious knitwear is chic and cutting-edge style, but wearable. I imagine myself draped in Sansovino6 and sitting sipping coffee on a sidewalk in Milano, or hanging out with friends drinking a glass of wine in the Short North.

Don’t get me wrong, I have fallen in love with looks I’ve seen on runways in Europe and the US, but to imagine myself in them, I have to imagine a fictional character to be and a fantastic world to place myself in. (As much as I fantasize about being so, I am not an international spy nor the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland.)

Edward’s designs are exquisite and, well, of this world. A really good part of this world.

Edward Buchanan, the 2010 Alumni Fashion Icon Awardee

Edward is like that too, which is probably one of the reasons international brands and folks like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs trust him as a fashion consultant.

I have gotten to know him the 21^st century way—we are friends on facebook, which is a very convenient way to catch someone who is one day in his studio in Milano, and the next showing at Fashion Week in Paris.

I tried to hook him up with another friend, the noted fashion photographer Ed Kavishe, who is publisher and CEO of Fashion Wire Press, when I thought both would be in Paris at Fashion Week. Ed K was indeed there, photographing the runways for Paris Haute Couture Week; Edward B was in Milano getting ready to show his collection in Paris Ready-to-Wear Week, which happens a different week altogether. Silly me.

Edward Buchanan's Sansovino6

At least I managed to hook them up through facebook, and they’ll meet at the CCAD Senior Fashion Show on May 8, when Edward receives the 2010 CCAD Alumni Fashion Icon Award. Oh well, if not Paris, Columbus.

A little about Ed:

Edward Buchanan enrolled at CCAD in 1988 to study retail advertising and fashion illustration. After CCAD, Buchanan moved to New York City in 1992 to further pursue his dreams of becoming a fashion designer.

Early in his career, he worked with prestigious clothing lines Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, J.Crew, and Michael Kors. In 1995, luxury accessories line Bottega Veneta hired Edward as its design director. He added knitwear and leather goods to the brand and launched the line into the Italian, Japanese, and American markets.

In 2001, Buchanan partnered with fellow Bottega Veneta designer Manuela Morin to release their first independent line, LEFLESH, fusing knitwear and ready-to-wear garments with handbags and shoes, a look that brought worldwide success to both Buchanan and the brand.

Edward’s most recent undertaking is the fall/winter 2010/2011 collection for Sansovino6 a line he launched in 2003. Sansovino6 is sold in Milan, Paris, Berlin, and Tokyo boutiques.

Edward Buchanan's Sansovino6

I hope you get to meet Edward at the CCAD Senior Fashion Show. If you don’t have your tickets yet, get on it and buy them online at www.ccad.edu/fashion.

And be sure to check in for next week’s blog, when Miss Amanda describes the arduous task of getting a makeover—come on folks—she had to experience first hand what the models go through to get ready for the runway!

Cheers,

Melissa

]]> http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2010/03/there%e2%80%99s-a-reason-we%e2%80%99re-giving-him-the-fashion-icon-award/feed/ 2 http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2010/03/how-a-fashion-show-changes-the-world/ http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2010/03/how-a-fashion-show-changes-the-world/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:49:41 +0000 Amanda Fondriest http://www.ccad.edu/blog/?p=56 By Amanda Fondriest

Origins: CCAD's 2010 Fashion Show

When I was told to write a piece on the importance of our show, I realized that I only know what I have seen—namely fabulous pieces by our designers—and not much else. So Stephanie Hightower (she’s our VP of Institutional Advancement) and Suzanne Cotton (chair of the Fashion Design department) told me why they consider this show to be important. Here’s what I found out:

On one hand, the show is about our graduating seniors and their designs. They’re going out in style (pun entirely intended—I find it rather brilliant), and we want the world to notice.

So we’re raising a giant tent, filling it with photographers and other media folks, and squeezing in central Ohio’s most fashionable residents. Think New York Fashion Week without the expensive plane ticket, crowded hotels, and frigid February temperatures. Also in attendance will be representatives from The Limited, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Express, Lane Bryant, and Tween Brands—all prospective employers for our designers.

We’re parading each designer’s cumulative knowledge down a 56-foot runway with 700 self-proclaimed fashion experts evaluating it. This is one fabulous final exam that you get to witness firsthand.

And for those who want to relive the event, a 30-minute television broadcast covering the show from every angle will air on WBNS-TV, ONN, and Time Warner On Demand (just think, you could be caught on camera).

However, if you couldn’t care less about pencil skirts and gowns, if gorgeous men in pleated tweed pants bore you, then you must be crazy then consider this: All proceeds from the show go to the CCAD general scholarship fund—the scholarship pool in which all incoming students swim.

Yes, your ticket grants you admission to the event, a glimpse at the best fashion that comes from CCAD, and the opportunity to rub elbows with some alumni who have made it big in the fashion industry. But there’s something else you should know.

Behind the scenes, your ticket purchase helps a Fine Arts major learn to weld, helps an Animation student bring a character to life, helps a photographer capture a moment.

The money you pay for your ticket goes directly to our students, helping people who may not have been able to afford a college education earn a bachelors of fine arts degree and start their careers. That’s why this is important.

At our core, we all desire to do good, to help others, to leave our footprints scattered all over the place (I, personally, anxiously wait for the day when my stiletto prints fade from DSW clearance to Jimmy Choo, but that’s neither here nor there).

The question I pose to you is this: will your prints stretch to the Origins tent? If so, tickets for the May 8 show are now on sale at www.ccad.edu/fashion.

Until next time, cheers!