*Advice Sisters Fashion Week Archives
Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2007 -Cynthia Rowley Runway Show
Cynthia Rowley, the designer, has a classic look with a modern, youthful spirit. Her fashions are similar, fun, functional, chic, and wearable by fashionable, body-conscious women. Here is my report on the Mercedes Benz Fall 2007 Fashion Week runway show for Cynthia Rowley from backstage and the runway. I hope you enjoy it!
Cynthia Rowley’s runway show, held at the Gotham Hall on 36th Street in Manhattan, is always a highlight of fashion week. The cavernous space has lots of charm, and a busy backstage area. Even though dozens of cameras are shoved in her face, Ms. Rowley always seems serene and gracious. On the left, she is conferring with reporters and members of her staff. On the right, she faces the cameras to describe the concept for her show. The clothes in this Fall collection were meant to mirror the colors of the aurora borealis. The styles were classic, but still “edgy” and “futuristic.” You need to get up close to appreciate the detailing.
As you can tell from these photos, braids were the theme for hair. If a model needed extensions, they were available in every color imaginable. Backstage, there was also a group of people with needle and thread, quietly stitching together a 30-foot brunette braid. Redken’s lead stylist, the gracious and talented Rodney Cutler told me that the giant braid was for the finale of the show. It would be attached to the head of the lead model, and carried by all the others down the runway.
It takes products to make a braid sleek and shiny. Here is a photo of some of the REDKEN styling products used, depending upon the texture and length of each mode’s hair. A model can be seen in the left hand corner. The finished look was youthful (as are Cynthia Rowley’s clothes), but still sophisticated, fresh and pretty, not strange or silly.
Cynthia Rowley not only designs the clothes for her show, she designed a stunning Cynthia Rowley Color Collection for AVON, which was used on the models and featured in a reception after the show. The lead makeup designer for the collection , Jillian Dempsey, had just given birth to twins a few days prior, so she had her friend, makeup artist Tina Turnbow do the model’s makeup instead. My photo to the right doesn’t do the finished look justice, but as you can see, it is all about a fresh face with the focus entirely on the eyes.
Tina used no foundation other than a bit of brightening powder (plus concealer and a dusting of face powder if necessary). The palette is a simply gorgeous collection of pink, mauve, violet and grey with some shimmer and lots of mascara on the eyes. The lips are pink and very, very shiny with “Peony Pink” Lip Gloss (a must-have for Fall).
The runway at the Gotham hall was quite different from the usual, stark, white runway. This one was ablaze with color, featuring cellophane in all sorts of Sherwin Williams colors, covered with Lucite, making the runway as well as the clothes, amazingly colorful. On the right, you can see the chairs and programs laid out, waiting for the mob scene (below)
The crowds at Cynthia Rowley are always large and enthusiastic. Here, people are scrambling to find their seats. Mine was at the top of some very high bleachers, and I am shooting down at the crowd from there.
Cynthia Rowley’s attention to detail is incredible. On the left you can see some of the detail of a beautiful white cape, still in it’s wrapping. On the left, it’s on the runway. Some of the really interesting details included a continuation of the braids theme. The photos below show some of the day and evening look, including one of my favorites, a short, pink metallic sheath (left). There were other metallic fabrics, such as metallic skirts shown with black tights with parti-colored metallic shimmer.
All the dresses were short, and wearable. Not a drippy dress in the bunch!
Here is the finale, featuring all the models holding the giant braid. I’m glad they didn’t yank it too hard, since it was attached to the first model! It looked great on the runway and got more than a few giggles from the audience.
fter the show (which was met with great enthusiasm by the audience in the packed Gotham Hall), there was a press preview in the balcony of the Gotham Hall to preview the AVON Cynthia Rowley Color Collection. I’d already seen it backstage, but it impressed us all. Here, Cynthia is welcoming guests, and explaining the makeup concept. She looks calm and energized, even after just completing her runway show!
The limited edition Cynthia Rowley Color Collection for AVON features eight products: Avon Finishing Powder, All-Over Face Powder, Blush Stick, Eyeshadow Quad, Lipstick, Lip Gloss, Nail Enamel, and a Brush Set with Clutch. Each is in a special, “Cynthia-Rowley” designer compact featuring shiny black plastic, festooned with delicate flowers and decorations in yellow, blue, pink and white. They are so pretty, I wish they were refillable. Everything in this collection is exceptional, with a price range of just $4.00 to $15.00!
