Photo Diary: Fash Bash 2019

The Detroit Institute of Arts’ stylish event stunned with glam garden party looks and an ode to “Game of Thrones”
2023

Fash Bash 2019 — hosted by the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Founder Junior Council and department store Neiman Marcus to raise funds for the museum — welcomed guests with a garden party-themed soirée on Aug. 15. A pre-runway show cocktail hour on the museum’s front steps featured entertainment by a DJ, hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and greenery-inspired décor. Guests mingled, showing off their creative outfit choices, while models prepped backstage for the Art of Fashion runway show.

 

The garden party theme continued when the show began at 8:30 p.m. in the Rivera Court inside the museum. Top-tier ticket holders sat in rows of seating as models clad in floor-length outerwear, fall-appropriate hats, full floral print ensembles, and plaid separates kicked off the presentation, which featured pieces carried at Neiman Marcus. Things turned up a notch as the show progressed. Models walked to the rhythm of an upbeat remix of “Shallow,” from A Star is Born, and Michael Jackson’s “Black and White” as they sported their garden party-ready pieces with shimmering booties, bedazzled cuffs, and chandelier earrings. Hints of glam and vintage styles also crept into the mix in the form of a patch-covered coat layered over a burnt orange turtleneck sweater, a metallic suit jacket paired with an oversized dress shirt, a show-stopping pastel pink ruffled gown, and a one-shoulder velvet mini dress.

 

The most surprising, and well-received, portion of the show followed this lineup. While it had been nearly three months since Game of Thrones concluded, guests cheered when the HBO show’s theme song started playing and models sporting intricate crowns, long fur coats, disheveled hair, and gowns fit for royalty took to the runway. The show, fittingly, ended with a Jon Snow lookalike, who was dressed in a large fur poncho, muted separates, and black combat boots, as he led a white husky — a tamer ode to the character’s direwolf, Ghost, perhaps? — on a leash.

 

The evening wrapped with an afterglow back on the museum’s front steps. Again, guests enjoyed entertainment, dancing, and food, such as mango ice cream, lobster and chicken-topped tater tots, and summer pasta salad. Embracing the cool evening weather and a brief light sprinkle, they danced the night away in style.


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