runway
Krista Hyatt is one of 200 models in the Reno Fashion Show. PHOTO/NISHA SRIDHARAN
By the
By nisha sRidhaRan
Local designers and models are gearing up for the
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06.29.17
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s people are gearing up for Artown, preparations for the Reno Fashion Show are also in full swing. According to organizers, the show is bigger than ever this year with 20 local designers sending models down the runway to showcase their creativity. “We have children, women, men and even people over the age of 50 taking part in the show,” Brian Aranda, the executive producer of the fashion show, said. He hopes attendance will exceed last year’s turnout of 1,200 people.
Behind the scenes When preparations for the show began with a casting call in May, designers, make-up artists and producers gathered to see more than 400 prospective models line up for auditions. “We want models who are proud to be part of the show,” Aranda said to the hopefuls who’d come to try out.
Reno Fashion show
The show is being choreographed by Starr Berumen, 17, who has been modeling since age 13. It will be Berumen’s fifth time modeling in the show and her second time as a choreographer. “We are trying to switch it up a little bit from last year,” she said. “We are making the runway a little bit longer and also get them to make turns in the middle.” The runway will be 90 feet long this year, laid out like most any fashion week, with theater-style seating for 1,200 people. “We have done the show in the Grand Sierra’s Grand Theatre before, but we prefer a traditional runway, as it is large and not so intimate,” Aranda said. “You can be in the high nosebleed seats and not be able to see the fashion at all.” This year, the sets are to be designed by Carol Lee Kim and her daughter Noelle. The show will also feature an opening act by Karen Burns Productions called “Decades of Fashion,” during which Karen Burns will perform a show number to highlight fashion through the ages. One big difference for the 2017 show will be the lighting. Last year, after taking a liking to the chandeliers in the Grand
Theatre, all the lights were left on, defying the norm of using spotlights. The theater has since been remodeled, so the show is going back to basics. The organizers plan on turning all the lights down and highlighting just the runway, putting more focus on the models and the vogue. The designers will have greater responsibilities than in years past. Managing 200 models—the number who were selected from the auditions—would be difficult, so the designers will have to coordinate with the models directly. Of course, there are also more designers now. “This year, the most difficult part would probably be the amount of designers,” Aranda said. That’s why next year the producers of the show hope to expand it into a fashion week, which would allow for more designers, clothes and time to showcase the talent in the city. “The designers are only able to showcase 10 styles, and it gives you a great preview of what the designers can offer—but, for designers that want to show quantity, they could possibly get that in a fashion week type of event,” Aranda said.
