Nikki Sutton « Sweet Revenge Lingerie

Cabaret Lingerie: Nikki Sutton, Stylist

March 21st, 2010

Elissa wearing B Trousseau top, Cheeky Couture jewels and Emilliner hat

Whew! Midwest Fashion Week just ended and not a moment too soon! Running out of steam and feeling the need to get back into the real world of work. Meanwhile I just wanted to say a little about the experience of creating the Cabaret Lingerie show, which I feel did exactly what I had hoped it to do: make people sit up and take notice, and question what makes fashion.

Integral to the show was Nikki Sutton, a stylist and interior designer (and often a model herself). She came to the project in midstream, and took the torch and ran, ran, ran with it. (Totally mixed metaphors, there.)

Our concept: take a number of local resources (including Sweet Revenge Lingerie one-offs) and combine them to create a fantasy look, lingerie but much more: Cabaret Lingerie. Showy, over the top, high fashion. The result was beyond my expectations! Sutton came up with a story by which to arrange the show, the progression of love. First we saw the angelic looks (though they were far from tame), in whites, cream, pink touches. Then as love blossoms, so does the color…in spring greens, corals, pinks, aqua. And finally, as love turns, the colors darken into browns, blacks and the accessories become more aggressive. Almost every look was accompanied by a sculptural hat by Emilliner (a local hat designer), and Cheeky Couture jewelry.

Michelle wearing SR bustier, Nikki Blaine shorts, Emilliner hat

To balance the stylized look of the show, we staged the fashion show a little differently as well. The models were paced much more slowly, and encouraged to engage the audience as well as the male model who spent much of the time onstage as a foil to the ladies. Actor Rob Johansen worked with the models to create an improvised scene at the end of the show, in place of a Designer Walk. The models fought for the male model’s attention, and then descended on him like a flock of ravens (in their blacks, complete with a few feathers) for a dramatic end to the show.

Many thanks to everyone who helped to make the show a success–all told I believe there were as many as thirty people involved just on the day of the show, for a twenty minute show. Pictures shown courtesy of Mariah at Nuvo.

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