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"You're drinking
before you go out there?" as incredulous Gordon Elwood,
one of Mode Models' rising stars, asks one young woman. She
ignores him and takes another swig.
There are some
180 models back here, dressed in everything from flags to
feathers to, well, not much of anything else.
The Canadian flag
and the American flag are gossiping. An Escada model is scoffing
back popcorn from a big crate. A Versace model struts by with
the kind of arrogant step born of knowing the clothes on your
back are worth thousands.
An angel in sheer
white lingerie and white wings stops to talk to make up artists
Beau Nelson.
"Hey Jade,
I've never seen so much of you," Nelson teases her. "Are
you kidding?" Jade Merriman shoots back. "They always
do this to me."
A particularly
powerful gust of hairspray comes from the corner where Calgary
designer Paul Hardy is dressing his models, stylist Hung Van
Ngo is lacquering their severe black bobs into place: they
make a knife sharp statement against the white, white make
up.
It's surprisingly
calm in this corner, considering that Hardy arrived just a
couple of hours ago from Ontario, where he opened Toronto
fashion week to rave reviews. After his show there, he was
besieged by buyers, media representatives and fans. By all
accounts, his career is about to explode.
"This was
something magnificent emerging from the wilderness,"
the Globe and Mail wrote about last Wednesday's show. "A
star was born."
"It was pretty
overwhelming, actually," says the shy, self-effacing
Hardy. "I didn't go there with high expectations, so
it was pretty incredible."
His dad is here
tonight, too. "I'm really proud of him, that's for sure,"
says Brian Hardy, "not only for his talent, but his integrity
and his faith. That's even more important."
But all is not
as calm as it appears in Hardy's corner: one model, near tears,
struggles to get into a white silk top too tight even for
her size 0 frame: another model, wearing only a jacket and
nylons, stands forlornly, wailing, "I'm just trying to
find some pants!"
Nerves are starting
to fray. "I figured out I was doing it all wrong."
One model tells another about the challenges of putting on
her outfit.
Another model,
searching for someone who knows what's going on, implores,
"Why won't they stay in one place?"
One of the organizers
walks by looking for a bucket for artist Attila Richard Lukacs;
a moment later, she wanders by again, this time searching
for latex gloves for the painter, who is doing the finale
and hasn't begun working on his models.
Just then, a gang
of guys in headsets wanders through the crowd, bellowing,
"We're starting the show at 10 o'clock sharp! That's
20 minutes from now. Everybody be ready!"
People are really
stressing now.
"Want to see
the outfit that never made it because the model flaked out
on me?" asks Calgary designer Shae Barry, holding out
a one-sleeved T-shirt with a cool red appliqué he'd
ordered especially for tonight.
Barry looks peeved;
his models look spectacular in '80's-style glam-goth outfits
with towering Mohawk 'dos dyed red and black. Barry turns,
looks critically at one model, and blasts her head with a
shot of hairspray.
Finally, the models
are getting into position and somehow, out of the chaos, comes
order.
A hush falls over
the crowd, and Kelly Streit's voice booms out, echoing through
the college.
"Art-art-art-rageous,"
calls the event organizer and president of Mode Models, which
provided tonight's models.
"Paul-Paul-Paul
Hardy-Hardy-Hardy," echoes Streit's voice.
The first models
step out on the stage and the cavernous space is suddenly
filled with drama. In four inch heels, they stomp by in that
peculiar model's strut, down stairs, up stairs, all the way
along the long, long runway.
And in their wake,
they trail glamour, beauty, and the wafting scent of hairspray.
Picture comments
Top: Last minute jitters set in as the line forms for a trip
down the runway at Artrageous 2 Saturday night.
Above: Model Elise Miles, in Escada, nibbles on popcorn at
the event at the Alberta College of Art and Design.
Right: All eyes are on Sonja Kuehnle, modeling a towering
Mohawk and goth/glam look by Shae Barry.
Top: Gordon Elwood
cracks up while posing in preparation for his trip down the
runway.
Center: Designer Paul Hardy lends Kastin Reid a helping hand
wriggling into her outfit.
Above: Katie McLeish readies herself to present one of Calgary's
designer Thomas Lynch's silk creations.
Page 2: Jackie
Dosne receives a finishing touch from stylist Hung Van Ngo
at Artrageous2.
Brenda Entz models
glasses from The Brass Monocle (and little else) as she waits
for a trip down the runway.
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