'Vyrtigo' keeps fashion plates spinning

The crowd sits knee to knee, the air around them charged by the impending entrance of the participants. Lights flush the area, illuminating the breadth of shoulders and the curve of musculature.

ANDREW HEID/YH "We are sexy dancing girls. We wear sexy clothing for you. We know you like. "

There are hair-raising moments and even a few brief seconds of intense beauty and brilliance. To watch a fashion show, then, is as much of a spectator sport as any football or basketball game. Although we may be participants in style inasmuch as we wear clothes every day, it is the magic of the event—the intersection of choreography, lighting, music, human bodies, and clothing—that truly encapsulates the power of fashion. The members of Vyrtigo will attempt to capture this enchantment with "Winter Walk 2000" this Friday at 9:00 p.m. in the Davenport dining hall. With contributions from the bastions of New Haven style, including Raggs, Archetype, Bodywares, and Bottega Giuliana, Vyrtigo has tried to assemble a comprehensive presentation of style that remains relevant to today's Yale student.

Creating a successful fashion show with what little resources we have in this veritable nadir of glamour known as the Elm City may prove to be a daunting task for the coordinators of the event. Such crevasses in the stylistic façade, however, are filled in with cutesy, wink-wink tributes to the average Yalie's closet. Candidates for J.P. Morgan will heave a huge collective sigh of relief upon viewing the ensembles in the "Interview" portion of the show. There are some fresh takes on the dress-to-impress agenda, such as a side-zippered, techno-fabric skirt for women and a dapper 3-piece separate suit for men, with only occasional interjections from the chintzy, big button, bright-colored jacket and skirt set. Some of the more spirited sons and daughters of Eli may be especially intrigued by the "Yalewear" (faithful readers of my work may refer to this as "Homewear") section. As if our fine institution has not already blessed us with an enlightening education, "Winter Walk 2000" shows us that Yale can, in fact, pervade our closets as well as our minds.

There are portions of the program whose uniqueness does not simply stem from its specificity to the Yale campus. Amateur designer Jennifer Jo Rogien, PC '00, has compiled a small sample of her senior art project to be showcased at the Vyrtigo event on Friday night. Created from colored garbage bags and crafted solely with scissors and an X-acto knife, Rogien has created a line of tops and bottoms that not only displays an uncommon design theory, but also fits snugly into a Ziploc baggie. Her take on DIY couture is highly reminiscent of current club-wear, incorporating the shine and vibrant hue of plastic with such modern staple silhouettes as the handkerchief top and boot-cut pants. Yet even more important, as model Dia Draper notes, Rogier's looks are comfortable. This is not to say that haute Hefty will be flooding the stores anytime soon. Jennifer Rogien's disposable chic, however, does give a breath of fresh air to an otherwise typical fashion show.

Indeed, as models insouciantly swish down the runway sporting the latest in formal wear and urban wear (FUBU, anyone?), members of the audience may also be pleasantly surprised by one more facet of Vyrtigo's event. One may be struck by the range of shades not only in the clothing of the men and women, but also in their faces. While it remains highly unfashionable to incorporate different standards of beauty on the runways of Milan and New York, Friday night's fashion show features a diverse set of models in a broad range of styles. That, even more than any material, cut, or shoe, may prove to be the most refreshing and exhilarating aspect of "Winter Walk 2000."

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