September 11, 2007

In a bizarre tribute to September 11th, club kids turned design duo Richie Rich and Traver Rains of Heatherette staged an eccentric 1950's Americana-themed fashion show that was equal parts Independence Day parade and over the top acid trip. Midtown's cavernous Gotham Hall pulsated to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" as all-American Chanel Iman, the world's next "It" model, led a parade of fellow models of color down the runway--a welcome change from fashion's tendency towards Nordic types. They wore variations on barely-there white prom dresses short enough to give any self-respecting 1950s housewife a heart attack. Indeed, the '50s came out in full force with gingham dresses, cat-eyed sunglasses, rhinestone-encrusted visors, and even a high-waisted bikini complete with American flag print. One beefy, bare chested male model in spandex underwear looked as scrumptious as peanut butter and jelly on sliced bread as he stalked down the runway carrying a tin lunchbox straight out of an episode of Leave It to Beaver. A band of camouflage clad models in t-shirts with "Stop" written across the chest and bags that read "keep out," were likely references to the American intervention in Iraq. They were followed by a surreal cross-section of unconventional catwalkers strutting to "American Woman"--from a parade of little girls in sweet summer dresses to the transsexual plastic surgery icon, Amanda Lepore, popping out of a spangled red, white, and blue strappy number, and finally porn queen Jenna Jamison in falsely modest gingham. The show ended with the tune "I Want Candy" as everyone from self-made mogul Puff Daddy to buxom drag queens cheered from the front row, celebrating everything wonderfully perverse about America.