Sue Wong’s Exotic Dream: Mythos and Goddesses
Photo credits: Walter Tabayoyong, Fashion Show Photographer & Arun Nevader, Photoso of Sue Wong.
A Sue Wong fashion show is not just a show, it is a theatrical production of epic proportions. When her Fall 2015 Collection was unveiled on March 9th at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood under the title “Mythos and Goddesses,” it was as if the Greek goddess Hestia had reigned down fire from the heavens, sizzling the audience with the sheer beauty of creation in its magnificent manifestations.
The show opened with British opera singer Summer Watson singing Beethoven, and only a composer of his stature could set the stage for the mind-boggling burst of colors to follow: red, black, champagne, chocolate, navy, magenta, purple, jade, green, pink, and, finally, white.
As the models sauntered down the runway to a pulsating beat, it wasn’t just the music that rocked the house, it was the dazzling array of designs, one after another after another.
Luxury and daring boldness permeated every dress and gown, and each represented the embodiment of dreams and glamour. Victorian scrollwork, floral embroideries, peplum, Jersey, chiffon, lace, Trumpet skirts, art deco embroideries, lace illusions, satin beaded embroideries, paneled skirts, chunky stone beadwork, a fur trimmed coat, an Ostrich feather coat: the images remain vivid in one’s mind.
Subliminal archetypes surround us, observes Wong, and in her world of fashion they come alive and are turned into theatre pieces, to be sumptuously enjoyed. Breath-taking headdresses worn with the gowns and dresses made their presentation even more dramatic.
Each selection in Mythos and Goddesses was named for a character from myth or ancient history and suffused with that particular blend of Wong electricity and creativity. Stunning, just stunning!
Indeed, Wong says, “My goal and intention is to offer my audiences a romantic, edgy, poetic experience through the creation of a multi-dimensional world in which the reaction is so visceral and so surreal that the observer becomes an active participant within the transformative process.” And she succeeds gloriously in that effort, as her standing room only audience will attest.
Wong calls life her quintessential canvas, but I think her quintessential canvas is her designs, especially with such elegant outliers as: black long satin strapless gown with Renaissance embroidery; red long Grecian halter gown with beaded neckband and midriff; brown long strapless drop waist gown with beaded torso and paneled skirt; blue long one shoulder peplum gown with slit skirt and jet-beaded bodice; black nude long column gown with illusion yoke, plunging illusion back, and chunky stone beadwork; white long strapless gown with plunging illusion neckline, ribbon floral embroidery, and illusion skirt and Ostrich feather coat with long train.
Wong believes that fashion design is actual sculpture, and, in her hands, it is, I totally agree. Recall her mantra and métier: BEAUTY – MAGIC – TRANSFORMATION. All of these are in play in the masterfully planned theater of a Sue Wong fashion show.
In attendance were some of Wong’s many creative friends, including Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue; Chris Pitman from Guns N’ Roses; British rocker Steve Cooke; artist Master Romeo Shrestha; actors Sofia Milos from CSI Miami, Kelsey Scott from 12 Years a Slave, Chuti Tiu from Pretty Rosebud, Billy Zane from Titanic, and Vincent De Paul; and journalist Vida Ghaffari. Celebrity guest models for the show were Courtney Sixx, Eugenia Kuzmina, Blanca Bianco, and Kiara Belen.
Dreams are private myths, myths are public dreams…. Joseph Campbell. We see the glorious incarnation of this in Sue Wong.