Turn To The Left, Pose To The Right

Gia Mazur assists Bonacuse
 in completing
 the models' make-up.
Mary Bove Photography

On Friday November 18, 2011 local fashionistas packed the rooms of Insalaco hall anxiously awaiting the   start of Misericordia University's first ever runway show, sponsored by The Highlander and College Lifestyles. Being an editor on The Highlander and a friend of event organizer and College Lifestyles intern Michele Drago allowed me the opportunity to model in the landmark event and also get to see exactly what goes into the planning and running of a successful fashion show.

I arrived to Mezzanine five promptly at my 2:30pm call time for hair and make-up. With the coordination of some other models, Michele got Scranton native turned new MAC cosmetics hire Maria Bonacuse to create chic runway looks for all 13 models. Maria worked her magic from noon to showtime and by 6:45pm when the lights went dim and the DJ began to spin we all looked too legit to quit.

Mary Bove
Photography

I had never been in a fashion show before and never ever thought that I would be standing in a closet with  a combination of classmates and strangers quickly pulling my clothes off to get the next look on to avoid dead air outside. A room that was bare only moments earlier became littered with bags, shoes, tops and bottoms within minutes of being occupied by the models. Seven local boutiques loaned their looks to the university to walk down the runway.

Mary Bove
Photography

We all wore things that were unique yet college approperate. My third look of the night was a pair of Denimology leggings that were black with yellow wax melting down the front and back of each leg. They were something that I traditionally would never wear. They were edgy. They were chic. They were the most awesome pants ever. Paired with a quilted motorcycle jacket that screamed more Chanel than punk pulled the look together. The outfit had only been in Northeast Pennsylvania for a week when showtime came. It belonged to Talulah's, a new store located on Wyoming Avenue in Kingston, PA where the Tudor Bookstore was formerly located.

Mary Bove
Photography

The biggest worry all of us models had pre and during showtime was what we were supposed to do with our faces. As silly as that sounds for people who had never been in a runway show before, what do you do. Should you smile? Keep a stern, serious look throughout? Hands on hips or at your side? Is 'the model walk' a real thing, do we need to do that? Of course we just winged it and things turned out great as always. Most models kept it serious but during the finale walk we cut loose and had some fun, paring up with a friend and doing something different.

Looks shown included pieces from Buka, Talulah's, Earth & Wears Accessories, Love, Want, Wear & The Snooty Fox among others. The best part about the show was the experience of getting to model in front of your friends and family. It is so rare that this is presented to you and you learn so much from seeing something happen, things that you could never know from just watching a runway show during fashion week. The Stylista Strut Runway and Trunkshow has let me appreciate fashion shows so much more. As small as this one was, the amount of effort and woman-power it took to pull it off was borderline unbelievable.

The women of The Stylista Strut Runway and Trunkshow
Mary Bove Photography

I am much more suited to write about fashion than model it.