Gibbes On the Street: Renovation,Celebration,Fashion

On Thursday, April 19, 2012, I donned my classic khaki trench for an evening outside at the Gibbes on the Street: Renovation/Celebration party. Closing down part of Meeting Street, the Gibbes Museum celebrated their upcoming renovation plans with amazing culinary stands and Charleston-inspired speciality cocktails. Party-goers moved from one delectable food stand to the next, tasting treats from the likes of Caviar & Bananas, Husk, FIG, and The Macintosh, while sipping on endless drinks from the open bar. The waitstaff stuck with the construction theme and wore hard hats and trendy neon yellow vests. The crowd gathered around the long, black runway that ran from the Gibbe’s front doors out into the street to hear Gibbes' Exectutive Director Angela Mack’s warm introduction. She was preceded on the stage by the fabulous Olivia Pool, editor and publisher of Charleston Art Mag, who prepared the audience for a surprise special treat.

Then came the fashion! International theater troupe Theatre Marvelosa wowed the crowd with a construction zone-inspired runway show with looks created by materials from Lowe’s. Clever! Models in bright orange tutus and a man in drag (Marcus Amaker) danced and glowed in brilliant neon in the dark of the night. Once the lights went up, the models came out, and each looked that followed was more bizarre and more outrageously styled than the last. It was as if Lady Gaga decided to get dressed in an extrasolar construction zone. Models wore hoop skirts of construction netting, headdresses of feathers and construction tape, and accessorized with vacuum cleaners and orange cones. The show concluded with a faux wedding on the runway. The bride held a bouquet of blown up latex gloves and bubble-wrap, her bridesmaids donned a set of two bras and tutus, and the groom wore a full body Spandex suit of black and top hat.

Audience members oohed and aahed as the models emerged through the Gibbes Museum doors and the applause roared as the show’s creators took their bows (one wearing an orange bra on his head). The show’s fashion was wild and fun, just as the atmosphere of the party was. Cheers to the Gibbes Museum and Theatre Marvelosa for a fabulous party and a rocking runway show. I can't wait to see what they will come up with next year...