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Fierce Fashion Rules at Bethesda Row
By
McLean Robbins
Published Monday, May 18, 2009
Stylish attendees and intrigued bystanders alike packed Bethesda Row Friday evening for a full-scale runway performance, sponsored by the shops of Bethesda Row, as part of a three-day fashion event dubbed the Front Row.
Despite fears of ominous weather that threatened to move the show inside, models took to an outdoor catwalk showcasing both summer and fall fashions from shops such as Urban Chic, Tickled Pink, J. McLaughlin, Luna, Wear It Well, City Sports, Ginger, and Lucy.
The audience was happy to see summer trends such as bright colors, chic sheaths, and fashionable shorts.
Tweeds, muted colors, and simple silhouettes offered a preview of the decidedly more somber fall ’09 collections, which looked stylish and ladylike—but also slightly boring.
The event—the highlight of three days of trunk shows, book signings, and movie screenings—featured special guest Christian Siriano, an Annapolis native and winner of Project Runway season four.
The runway show thrilled hundreds of onlookers, an interesting mixture of guests who had come for the event and families just strolling by. There were both stylishly attired twenty- and thirtysomethings as well as excited tweens and teens hoping, it seemed, for a chance to walk the catwalk and catch a glimpse of Siriano.
A diminutive Siriano (so tiny! so fierce!) sat front row at the show, but when he was introduced to the crowd by emcee Pamela Sorensen, he merely waved. After the show, he was promptly ushered to a table at the nearby restaurant Redwood, where he dined with his mother before (we’re told) heading back to Annapolis for the evening.
No, Siriano wouldn’t be granting interviews, speaking with fans, taking photographs, or signing autographs for the many tween girls eagerly clustered around the runway. His publicist and Front Row’s coordinator, Barbara Martin, excused his diva-like behavior with polite excuses—Siriano was feeling sick, he was tired, and he had done his (minimal) mingling before the show.
It was the disappointment of the evening—the hometown-boy-made-big practically shunning his fan base.
Still, the crowd enjoyed the runway event, many opting to sip specially made “Fierce” cocktails at Redwood’s patio. More>> Shop Around Blog | Style | Find a Spa
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Comments
Christian was very gracious. I was not part of the VIP reception but still received an autograph and Christian posed for a picture with my friends and I. This was our first visit to Bethesda Row and we had a great time. The fashion show was a lot of fun.
Posted by: Jen Arnold, May 20, 2009 05:22:53 AM
yeah i just read the other comments. so far 100% of the people who were there agree that he did not do anything wrong. just a bitchy reporter.
Posted by: stacy, May 19, 2009 08:49:14 PM
how rude of you! he really was sick! and he did take TONS of pics with fans both before and after AND during his dinner with his mom, which is when i got mine. this is pretty low of you. what does he owe you? nothing.
Posted by: stacy, May 19, 2009 08:47:22 PM
I totally was shunned by the Fierce! It was actually his man-handler who asked me not to approach. Why do publicity if you don’t want to deal with the public?
Posted by: Kat Salerno, May 19, 2009 08:35:52 AM
Ms. Robbins, I didn’t know that he wasn’t feeling well. However, despite him not feeling well, he graciously signed my sister’s fashion program and I also saw him take a photo with a Press Dinner attendee.
Posted by: Lisa Shapiro, May 19, 2009 07:59:39 AM
I’m very disappointed to read this and see your misleading headline, especially in light of how accommodating he was in the two hours prior to the show (as you can see by the above photos of him with people).
There was no diva-like behavior there; and in fact, he was so sick that he couldn’t hear out of one of his ears. He did interrupt the beginning of his dinner for some additional photos and autographs, but then he wanted to eat his dinner in peace which I don’t think was too much to ask.
Posted by: Barbara Martin, May 18, 2009 11:50:28 AM
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Posted at
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