Eclectic Visions had their inaugural show Sunday. There were some scheduling issues which postponed the opening from Saturday to Sunday, but all told, it seemed to be a success. The show itself was a modest foray for a new ideal in fashion shows. Most fashion shows have models parading onto the stage, with an announcer who may describe the outfit, but the process is very structured and intended to mimic – at least in spirit – what happens on the runways in Milan, Paris, and New York. In those shows, the designer has creative control of the show in every aspect from model choice to music to stage. In SL that level of control is seldom afforded to the designers.
At Eclectic Visions, the staff researched how the designer — in this show, Simone Stern of Simone! and Style Starts Here — wanted to see her clothing displayed. Simone had very specific stipulations which the staff at EV tried very hard to follow. More over, our goal was not to “show the clothes” but the “sell the clothes.” It does nothing for a designer to have a bunch of people look at clothes they’ll never buy. The goal of EV’s show was to provide a channel between designer and buyer by giving potential buyers the opportunity to see more than just a static picture on the wall.
Several things set this show apart from other shows that I’ve attended. One was that the models came down off the stage and circulated through the audience, talking to the visitors and answering questions about the outfits. It became less a “fashion show” and more a “garden party” as conversations about the outfits involved the designer, the models, and the guests. The stage and seating layouts provided two separate areas for the models to work. As each pair of models brought out an outfit, they’d separate and each visit with half the audience before swapping sides so that each area had as much as two or three minutes with every outfit. Each model used that time to talk to the guests, promote the outfit, and answer any questions the guests may have had.
Originally the show was going to be a “Ladies Only” show, but at the last minute, Simone added an outfit for me to wear and I got to participate as well.
These two separates are the Casual Striped Shirt and Baggy Jeans – both from Simone’s casual and sports clothing line – Style Starts Here. Both of these items come in multiple layers and are available in multiple colors. The shirt comes with jacket, shirt, undershirt, pants and underpants layers so that you can wear it tucked or un-tucked and even under a jacket if you want. At 125L, this is a huge bargain. The jeans come in pants and underwear layers as well as a collection of colors including black, red, tan, gray, and brown as well as blue. Again, at 150L this is a wonderful value. I really like these jeans and shirt.
I had a chance to look around Style Starts Here and while the menswear section is a lot smaller than the ladieswear, it’s very well provisioned with shirts, slacks, jeans, and other stylish casual and sports clothes. While I was there I found a couple of pieces that I wanted and got a very snazzy pair of “Russian Jeans” and a “Print Shirt” to go with it. Again, both items came with multiple layers and were available in multple colors at exceptionally reasonable prices. For Mix-and-Match people like me, having access to the multiple layers means I’ve got a lot of new shirts and jeans to wear with my collection of jackets.
After the show, the models came out from back stage and held an impromptu party with the guests which lasted for a couple of hours as we tried out various toys and gizmoes, and talked about fashion, modeling, and building. All told, we had a ball and we sold some clothing. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Thank you, Simone!
Outfit
Shirt: Style Starts Here – Casual Striped Shirt – blue (125L for 5 layers)
Pants: Style Starts Here – Baggy Jeans – blue (150L for 2 layers)
Shoes: BeReal – Fabric Sneakerz
Hair: MADesigns – Akami – brown
Skin: LeLutka – Absolute – pale
Eyes: MADesigns – Abyss – Atlantic Sea
