Fashionable Passion

What an inspiration Christopher Straub is! He's a Minnesotan (like me). He has no professional training (like me). And he had the ambition and determination to show the world how talented he is by making it a lot farther than most designers do on Project Runway. Not sure I can match that, but someday I may just gather up enough courage to audition for my favorite television show too.

I attended the Christopher Straub Runway Show to premier his very first collection since being on Project Runway Season 6 at the St. Paul Hotel with my friends Kristi, Aly & Sara on Sunday, April 25. I must say it was very much worth the four hour drive from Bemidji to St. Paul. The "Bemidji Contingency," as we called ourselves, had VIP tickets which included a special pre-show cocktail party with Christopher and special guest Janice Dickinson (the 'original super model').

The pre-show gathering gave the girls and I a little time to check out Christopher's handbags and accessories. Oh, how we love to shop! Kristi, Sara & I bought ourselves each a Christopher Straub handbag. Love, love, love my new black zipper embellished bag! Then we sipped on champagne and enjoyed some lovely appetizers.

We took our seats for the show in the second row of the VIP seating and were thrilled to see what was in our swag bags. Fun stuff! There was a cute little blue wallet from another new designer and a gift card to Spalon Montage.

The lady who introduced the show was quite enthusiastic. She must have said Janice Dickinson's name twenty times while she was up on the runway stage. Then Janice got up on the runway to introduce Christopher, but instead called him "Christian Straub"...oops.

Christopher came out from back stage and announced that his show was inspired by "all things in the sky." Many of his designs reminded me of birds, with the look of feathers and wings. My most favorite of all the items was a long flowing chartreuse dress made from shiny vinyl pieces that looked like a multitude of feathers. We just had to ask Christopher what fabric that dress was made from after the show. It was absolutely gorgeous! I also liked the vests and jackets he had in his collection, and Aly loved the hand warmers. Those would be a hit in Bemidji where it gets a bit chilly in the fall and winter.

After the show, us girls stood in line to meet and get our photos taken with our favorite designer. Christopher was so sweet and thoughtful. We could tell he was so appreciative of all the support he had received from us. He signed our new handbags too. I was so impressed.

I told Christopher that I was also an aspiring designer and that I had thought about auditioning for PR. He told me "you should totally do it!" Just hearing him say that inspired me to keep working on my designs and someday take that next big step.

I am so totally inspired now. Thanks Christopher!

To see more photos from Christopher's show check out my album on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=420819&id=503190240&l=7fbc3489ee