by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
Fashion design is an art form unto itself.
It requires one to create something out of nothing and give shape to the garment in a way that reflects a certain vision.
Sometimes, art is fashion.
And this was the case with EKBallroom’s collection shown at Hartford Fashion Week at Union Station, Hartford, Conn. on Oct. 15.
EKBallroom typically creates dancewear to be worn, well, when you’re ballroom dancing.
The underlying garments at HFW were definitely derived from the ballroom floor. But for HFW, the pretty gowns were splattered with black liquid. And the models’ faces were dripped with black as well, with their eyes sometimes obscured by the thick, dried on, black goo.
There was a method to the madness, however. The designer’s collection was a statement of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (The spill had devastating effects on the ecology of that region.)
The artistic presentation offered a dramatic viewpoint and the desire to branch out beyond beautiful garments and into art earned high marks and admiration.
PHOTOS by MIKE CHAIKEN
