Last Sunday LookElite Model Agency had had its
Graduation Show. It has been the first task for the new Academy Director, Bety
Dudek, who wanted to give the show a vintage theme. With the help of the expert
LookElite's leading model Laura18 Streeter, she planned a show that wanted to
make live again the 1930s atmosphere, asking for the dress one of the greatest
vintage clothes designer of SL, Donna Flora (Squinternet Larnia) for female
dresses and Glam Dammit for male ones.
Both Bety and Laura are my close friends, as well as
Squinternet, so I've been honored to be asked for building the set, that Bety
wished to be inspired to the legendary
Cotton Club at Harlem, as shown in the Francis F. Coppola's movie.
It was a very exciting task, since with my brand Melu
Deco I try since more than 2 years to re-create Art Deco famous furniture and
to offer to all of vintage lovers accurate reproductions of furniture and
decors in that style.
I re-created some details, while some others come from
original period images: on the walls are displayed some framed pictures taken
from a 1930s movie made at the Cotton Club's shows and a collection of original
posters of the Club's "Parades" (shows) in the 1930s. Furniture, lights and decor in Art Deco style come
from Melu Deco's catalogue.
After two days from the show, I'm still impressed by
the result! I saw the set I'd built taking life, by the presence of a lot of
glamorous people who interpretated those times wearing dresses, shoes, hair and
jewelry coming from the Jazz Era.
It has been a great emotion seeing the pretty
orchestra playing Mainland Music instruments while the streaming leaded by Runa
McMillan diffonded the notes by Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway.
It has been a great emotion seeing the models walking among the 1930s style
street lamps set around the runway, wearing the magnificient outfits by Donna
Flora. It has been a great emotion seeing barmans, welcome girls (Ona Waffle),
host and public sitting or wandering around the black and gold chairs and
tables, the long bar counters, the luxurious couches that I put into the venue
to give that special luxury the feeling the 1930s Cotton Club should have had.
All has been perfect, thanks to the care of Bety and
Laura, to the cleverness of the graduating models Dreamlove, Kellis Denimore,
Humble Sugarplum and Moz Vardes, of the
host Briju Meriman and of the singer Leah Portland. People, who came in huge
number, could enjoy living an evening of the past, drinking champagne and
listening good music, while admiring the fabulous dresses worn by models who
did seem much more than just graduating ones and who have shown how great will
their future carrier be.
For me, it has been an evening of strong feelings:
creating such an environment is a dream for every vintage stuff designer, but
it's been much more worthy making it for so beloved friends as Bety, Laura and
Squinternet are.
I think it has been the most difficult and the best
successful decor I ever made, and deleting it after the show made to come out a
tear from my eyes. But it has been just a moment: I will keep that evening's
memory forever, along with the memory of the smile I could see on the faces of
all my friends who took part in or came seeing the show.
Thank you Bety, thank you Laura, thank you
Squinternet: you gave me the opportunity to make something unforgettable!
A more complete photo-story of the show, from the moment
just before the start to its aftermaths, can be seen in my Flickr set:
