by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
The film “Beauty and the Beast” has thoroughly captured the hearts of these young women.
On an early Sunday morning, several models of varying age — and members of their family –gathered at Cava, a restaurant that sits along West Street in Southington, Conn.
The restaurant is a popular draw in Connecticut, not just for the food but for the ambience created inside.
Previously, for instance, the restaurant drew crowds and social media attention for decorating its interior to mimic scenes from the films of “Harry Potter.”
Currently, inside the eatery, guests are transported to scenes from the Disney animated version of “Beauty and the Beast.”
On this particular morning, Sherri Dvorkin Carter – who organizes events such as Prestige Fashion Week in New York City—arranged a visit to Southington for a photo shoot within the “Beauty and the Beast” scenery with her photographer Brett Martelli. And she brought along Amaryllis Rodriguez from nearby Bristol, Conn. to oversee hair and makeup for the aspiring Belles.
Some of the young girls had a relatively short journey to Cava to achieve their “Beauty and the Beast” dreams. Katalina Litchfield traveled from Plainfield, Conn. And Macy Dyer arrived from Lisbon, Conn.
However, Brinley and her mother Summer Aultman took the flight north from Petal, Mississippi. Emma Hill arrived with her mother Lindsay Willis Hill from Waco, Texas. Ryliegh Derrick traveled from Panama City, Fla. with her grandmother Cheryl Derrick.
And Alyssa Casa, typically, would have had a reasonably short journey to central Connecticut. She is a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan where she is studying fashion design. But she traveled from Las Vegas this particular weekend after visiting with her family, which is based in Las Vegas.
Most of the models this morning were avid viewers of the animated Disney version of the film. They said they had seen the movie at least a dozen times.
Casa took her passion for the film a step further on this particular Sunday morning. While some of the girls wore yellow Bella-like gowns provided by Carter, Casa designed her own. Raised by a family of seamstresses from Ukraine, Casa has decided to take the family trade a step further by aiming for a career as a fashion designer. (She recently spent a semester studying fashion in the style capital of the world Milan.) And she used her skills to make own Belle-inspired yellow gown.
Casa will be presenting some of her creations at Prestige Fashion Week in September in New York City.
For her dress, Litchfield, 12, who has her own fashion line (Kat Couture) turned to a seamstress to transform her vision of Belle’s gown into a reality. And as she swirled about, she was pleased with the execution by the pro.
Within Cava, the models took turns posing beside a sprawling staircase that greets patrons as soon as they enter the “Beauty and the Beast” themed-dining room. They also posed beneath an imposing chandelier that echoed the ballroom in the film. And the girls, man aspiring models, also took a side jaunt to a room that housed the “Enchanted Rose,” which holds the key to releasing the Beast from his curse.
The journey and photographic results at Cava were successful enough that Carter has already scheduled a trip back to Connecticut to take hold a shoot among the “Beauty and the Beast”-themed Christmas decorations already planned by the owners of Cava.
PHOTOS by MIKE CHAIKEN
