The Celebration of Success Gala was an annual celebration of years of support and encouragement and a night to commemorate the work that has been done by Children of the Street Society. The night brought awareness and style to the same place!
The night kicked off with some heartfelt words to open up on what the Children of the Street Society has been doing, as well as the story that started it all.
The highlight of the night was a special fashion show that entertained the guests who were present. For an organization such as this, I was interested to know what the underlying thoughts and inspiration was that went into preparing for such an event.
The fashion show showcased menswear designer Maison Dasorine and Battered Women’s Support Services clothing store My Sister’s Closet, as well as decadent jewels from Kat Made Jewelry who was just featured in this season’s Vancouver Fashion Week and is definitely one to watch out for!
The inspiration behind the fashion show was a throwback to the 1920’s and 1930’s where guests were brought back to New Orleans with the menswear as well as to Paris through the women’s wear.
Makeup was provided by the talented Jennifer Maclaren & Eva Svobodova and hair by Blanche Macdonald’s hair instructor, Lisa Callender to develop the looks for the show. Inspiration behind the makeup and hair was Avant Garde– big over the top finger waves for the 1930’s, pin curls and and cropped slicked back styles from the 20’s. The models had high pencil thin brows like they did in the 20’s with dark venom sultry lips to bring it into modern day.
“At Children of the Street Society, we are very big LGBTQ supporters and it was important to show that and I chose to do that through the women’s wear show. The 1920’s were all about women taking on a more boyish look and really steering away from the corsetry S-bend shapes of La Belle Epoque and Edwardian eras. Women in the 20’s were bounding their breasts, we saw dropped waistlines and they wore cropped bob hairstyles; and in the 1930’s we started to see more feminine silhouettes again with body hugging gowns and big furs. Fashion Stylist Danielle Muntain did such a fantastic job of bringing this nostalgic fantasy to life.”
“We added a surprise element to the show with outstanding performances with the contortionists from Bendy Bodies
When I think of the 1920’s I often picture those travelling circus performers, adding them to the show was a great way to add theatrics, where it becomes more than just clothing, it’s now a show.”
– Siobhan Nicole, Creative Director & Fashion Show Producer – Workshop Facilitator for Children of the Street Society (@Brazenlifestylist)
“The menswear was heavily inspired by that old world New Orleans Charleston feel. Paper boy hats, straw fedoras, and lots of checkered shirts. That Southern look is very fun, and a little quirky at times. The colour story was burgundy, emerald green, navy, taupe and white. We really wanted to have fun with the bow ties and rolled up the hems on some of the pants, with suspenders. I love a man in suspenders, it really is quite the statement of confidence.”
And as for the hair and makeup for them classy gents
“We kept it simple with men because we really wanted the clothing to speak for it self. Slicked and greased with a middle or a side part, accented with pin curls and spit curls and a black smokey eye was added for some drama.”
More about the Children of the Street Society
Pictures by Children of the Street Society.
