Custo-Barcelona, started by Spanish brothers Custo and David Dalmau, presented a preview of their summer/fall collection at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on Friday, August 13th.
The event, presented by Funky Couture and Lincoln Park Young Professionals, was open to the public and started at 6 pm with a reception on the second floor, in a room adjacent to the museum’s beautiful outdoor terrace (complete with a view of the downtown skyline), where the fashion presentation was to take place. Here, guests could take a peek at the beautiful jewelery collection by M Forero Jewelery, or have a quick hair or make up touch up by Spa Soak. The first 100 guests also received a truly awesome gift bag, that included gift certificates to The Spa at the Peninsula and discounted bottle service at Crescendo.
Guests were also able to enjoy complimentary food samplings from some of Chicago’s top restaurants, including: roasted vegetable bruschetta from Angelina’s Ristorante; Spanish tapas (such as mini-meatballs and bacon wrapped dates–heaven on a stick!) from one of my favorites, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba; and assorted pizzas from Paula & Monica’s Pizzeria, served by Paula and Monica themselves, (I also found out that these two ladies are Romanian, which was exciting for me because, for those of you who don’t know, I too am Romanian…it also made me wonder why no one has yet opened a great Romanian restaurant in Chicago…).
Of course, beverages were abundant as well. Guests had a wide variety of drinks they could choose from, such as bottles of Pellegrino, Aqua Panna, Canada Dry, or smartwater (a must considering the oppressive humidity that filled the evening air), or cocktails mixed with Sky Vodka, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, or Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix. I actually tried this new Bermuda rum, Gosling’s, and had a Dark ‘n Stormy (apparently Bermuda’s national drink), made with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, Gold Bermuda Rum, Bermuda Ginger Beer (i.e. ginger ale), and topped with a lime wedge…little did I know that my refreshing cocktail would actually foreshadow the rest of the evening.
The humidity should have been a sign, but after 3 hours of patiently waiting for the fashion show to start, I could see thunder in the distance and knew that this could not be good. Since the show was arranged to be held outdoors, the first gust of wind nearly completely knocked over the drapes, held up by large, heavy metal poles, which were supposed to hide the models during the show, (luckily no one was hurt when this happened). Every attempt to bolster the drapes back up failed as the wind grew increasingly powerful…and then, shortly before 9 pm, before the show was supposed to start (well, I assume after 3 hours of waiting it was supposed to), the rain came.
We all had no choice, but to move back inside, and while some decided to leave, others stayed to see if there was a plan-B, (although there were no apparent signs that there was any such thing). The event started off so well, but throughout the evening I realized that there wasn’t the best of planning involved; there was a lack of attention to detail, or the unexpected, which showed. It was never clear who was in charge either. Once we all huddled back indoors, there was no announcement, no nothing, so we stood around aimlessly, not knowing what to expect. By now the supply of food and beverages was also dwindling.
Finally, it seemed that the show would go on as a make-shift runway was created in the middle of the room, and the show started promptly at 9 pm. Female and male models made the best of the crowded space, (with no seats, everyone just huddled together, giving the runway and each other barely any breathing room, not to mention making it extremely difficult to see the ensembles from head to toe). The collection featured delicate day-wear pieces (like the popular romper), mostly satin, with lace trimming or sequined embellishments, along with floral prints. Colors ranged among pastels, from sage, to pink, to lavender, but they were all vibrant nonetheless. There were also a few denim pieces, and a lot of the separates were put together with starkly mismatching colors and/or prints, especially for the men.
Following the show, guests were able to take a complimentary limo ride from the museum to Crescendo, which hosted an all-night after-party for the event, Belvedere open-bar included.
All in all, despite the humidity, wait, and storm, guests seemed to fully enjoy themselves throughout the evening. Sometimes we all need a little “dark ‘n stormy” in our life…it keeps things interesting!
Please enjoy the following pictures from the event by Chris Free:
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