Friday, August 28, 2009

The Product Runway Wrap-up

Last night was the 2nd annual Product Runway. I wasn't sure what to expect since I missed last years event but I will say I was pleasantly surprised. It was very well organized and the people we met who were involved were friendly, helpful and knew what they were doing. It was an amazing evening!

Youa and I went to the dress rehearsal on Thursday night to get a preview of what was in store. I posted those pictures on our UFN Facebook account if you would like to check them out.

Friday night I arrived at the Exhibition Hall at Seattle Center around 6:30pm, checked in as press and then wandered around taking pictures and chatting with other bloggers and people involved in the show. The doors opened at 7pm and men and women started streaming in. Most were dressed up but there were many dressed pretty casual (myself included as I came straight from work). There didn't seem to be a consistent dress code but I'm ok with that - Seattle is a casual city but those who do enjoy dressing up seem to know what they're doing.

For the guests, there were many delicious looking appetizers and a bar where they had a few signature drinks and wine for the evening. They ended up running out of white wine so I had a glass of red. I should have tried a cocktail though as it looked like they were mixed with Dry Soda and I LOVE Dry Soda!

Before the show started, Youa and I went back stage to get some pictures of the models having their hair and makeup done. Seeing the hair and makeup done made the "show" we saw Thursday quite different but that's a given! It was a lot of fun to see the behind the scenes side of the show. I also loved that the "models" were chosen by the firms and weren't "official" models. You wouldn't have known it though as they carried themselves really well and seemed to know what they were doing!

The show began at about 8:30pm and was introduced by two woman involved in the organization, Jill Marasigan and Heather Nye. They then introduced Jack Mackenroth and Kevin Christiana from Project Runway Season 4 as the emcee's for the evening. They were entertaining hosts and pretty cute I must say. The judges were introduced and then the show kicked off (all are pictured above, except Andrea Venecko)!

There were 18 outfits from various architectural firms from Seattle and the Eastside, oh and one from Vancouver. I was thoroughly impressed by what they came up with! They had rules they had to follow and the garment has to remain intact 2 months after the show. Here are the rules.

My favorite dress didn't win, it did win 3rd place though. The winner of the event was beautiful and very wearable - it was a sassy suit that went from office to evening wear. The metal handbag though was my favorite part of the outfit (pictured to the left). I want that bag!

Check out the photos.

If you weren't able to attend this year I suggest checking it out next year - it really was a fantastic time and a great show!

I must put a shout out to the other blogger gals I chatted with last night: Vu Society, Darrah's Dresser, Sydney Loves Fashion and of course Youa! Always great to see you ladies!!

2 comments:

Darrah said...

You're so sweet! Last night was a lot of fun! I'm still typing up my review. I went to go meet Logan Neitzel this morning so I'm really pooped! I need sleepy time.

Tarah, Urban Fashion Network said...

I can't wait to read it! I started one last night and I fell asleep while writing it - no joke! I had intended to write more about the outfits and explain them more but my head is killing me so I'll have to do it later on the photo captions instead. It was so fun meeting you last night! How was Logan?