It was the end of the night and time for the last runway show, and while I was highly anticipating seeing Stephen Moser’s runway collection, I could tell some of the audience had grown weary. If you left the Austin Fashion Week Awards early last Saturday night (and I know some of you did), you missed out. Stephen Macmillan Moser closed the show with a theatrical performance that I think truly surpassed everyone in the audience’s expectations. I was waiting to see a fashion show, but what I got was something completely different.
Don’t get me wrong, the clothes were definitely interesting and elaborate, but they were costumes. I think Michael Barnes of The Statesman put it best when he tweeted that someone should stage an opera with Moser’s clothing. Every model played a character that night, and every outfit made them look the part. The show was announced as a “pagan wedding,” and it was like watching one of Moser’s dreams come to life on the stage. The time and place unknown, it was a total fantasy.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have expected anything else from Moser. Everyone is familiar with the Austin style icon and his over-the-top outfits. His runway show was simply a much grander and more theatrical expression of what the fashion journalist and designer personally represents on a daily basis. The last Trailblazer Award of the night of course went to Moser, and on top of walking away with a golden boot, he also walked away with a giant portrait of himself. Self indulgent? Yes. Did we hate it? No. There was nothing but love for Stephen Moser, and the Austin Fashion Week Awards was really his night.
photos by Patrick Meredith
Joanna Wilkinson
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