The Riverfront Fashion Series

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the first in a series of three Riverfront Park Fashion shows to be held on Little Raven Street this summer.  My initial intention was to write on the Catherine Malandrino collection that was being shown that night, but shortly after arriving I realized that I was far more interested in the clothes and quality of the people in attendance so it will probably be most appropriate to separate this review into thoughts on the event, the people, and the Catherine Malandrino collection.

The series is presented by the Westword and a small collection of very dedicated volunteers, and it is truly a class act. This particular show had great food provided by The Capital Grille and the event took place with a backdrop of the pedestrian bridge and swanky lofts. The DJ played great music while dancers dressed in 40s-chic garb danced on the runway. Prior to the main event, a jazz band played and those in attendance socialized under sofa-filled cabanas. The next shows will by July 16th and August 20th featuring Betsey Johnson and Robert Rodriguez respectively, and I suggest going if you can spare the money- General Admission is $50.

The Catherine Malandrino collection was an absolute treat. In general, it appears that the colors for the season will be blue and neutral tones, and big prints are coming back (though they shouldn’t be back for EVERYbody. That rule goes for the maxi dress too, ladies). There was also quite a bit of collar and sleeve detail in her collection. Nothing about the collection was too over-the-top and for the most part, the collection kept to classic silhouettes and shapes. The very end of the show featured select pieces from her higher end line, Malandrino, and my favorite piece was from this portion. There was a quilted jacket featured that had some mass to it, but was fitted beautifully. I’ve seen another jacket like this recently, so this may be a trend to keep in mind for the fall/winter.

Finally, the people…

Prior to the show, I talked to a friend of mine that’s a designer, and we made the (not-so-revolutionary) observation that there are definite fashion/art “scenes” in Denver and we found it interesting that there is this whole other scene of people doing the same thing with a different demographic. It was quite the experience to go to this event, which is certainly not the scene that I’m a part of and to see the different people that it attracts. For the most part, I felt like the attendees were dressed like what they feel “trendy” must look like. I saw everything from matchy-matchy ensembles to jumpsuits to Crocs! The people who attend the shows I go to may not have money like the Riverfront demographic but we at DO have style. Some advice: Just because something is IN STYLE, doesn’t mean it needs to be ON YOU- use some discretion.

For more information on this event, check out the Riverfront Park Fashion Website