Fashion aficionados packed Union Station to see the collections from local designers such as Andrea Marie Long & Nataliya Meyer, plus
“Project Runway” alum Michael Drummond. (Photo property of Jacob Elyachar)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
Night two of the Spring Edition of Kansas City Fashion Week was a sold out spectacular!
Hundreds of fashion aficionados packed into Union Station to view the best designers based in the Midwest had to offer for the upcoming fall and winter season.
Last night’s emcee, NBC Action News reporter and Sporting Kansas City on-air personality Kacie McDonnell, welcomed everyone to the event and brought her own excellent style and flair to the event.
Up first was Kansas City-based designer Andrea Marie Long. If there was a math equation to describe her collection, it would be: zebra-styled platforms + white outfits + faux fur and capes and multiply that by Mother Nature’s shades of green and the outcome is an intriguing presentation.
The last time I saw Lucia’s Sarto by Nataliya Meyer at a Kansas City Fashion Week show, her schizophrenic collection made my eyes bleed. However, she bounced back in a fantastic way that stole the night. Honing inspiration from 50 Shades of Grey, Ms. Meyer brought out an impeccable collection of metallic and lace creations that featured outstanding stitchery. Her outfits not only would be great for strong and independent women, but I could see her outfits being worn on both Lana Parrilla and Kristin Bauer van Straten on Once Upon A Time and Taraji P. Henson’s character, Cookie Lyon, on the next season of Empire.
Springfield, Missouri native Sara Kahrs made the audience hum “Here Comes The Bride” with her beautiful bridesmaids dresses and bridal gowns. All of the contemporary and modern dresses should be displayed at every major bridal convention in town.
Lauren Bander’s outfits would help women everywhere unleash their inner femme fatale. The combination of black and purple colors was intriguing and one audience member added that Ms. Bander’s outfits were the equivalent of wearable lingerie. I liked the presentation, but all of the lace veils worn by a majority of the models distracted me from the overall presentation.
Jane of All traveled all the way from Austin, Texas to showcase her collection. As each of her models crossed the runway, she might as well stolen Doc Brown’s DeLorean, because she took the audience back to late 1970s and early 1980s where Converse shoes ruled. Another audience member shared with me that the designer used all-natural dyes (from fruits and vegetables) in her neon and tie-dyed outfits.
Local designer Maria Behnen’s collection received warm praise from the audience. Ms. Behnen pushed the Color Wheel into full throttle mode as her outfits showcased that women could be bold and sophisticated at the same time! She also received the loudest applause of the evening.
Closing out the night was Project Runway alum and KCFW fan-favorite Michael Drummond. I always look forward to see what he comes up with for each season. His showcase proved that black was chic and each of his models gave out a mysterious edge as they wore his clothes. In addition, I also thought that one of the models looked like a young Stevie Nicks as she wore a white shawl with her dark American Horror Story-Coven inspired outfit.
Want to see some of the designs that were showcased last night? Head over to my Facebook page!
