I’m finally having the time to write the second part of my Art Alive 2017 event post. I wanted to wait until I had time to focus as this second event is my favorite all year. BLOOM BASH is the social event of the season in the San Diego arts world…although i know I’m a bit biased :). This event is the wildly fun, colorful and uber festive official kick-off party for the Art Alive weekend and its my pride and joy.
In addition to the floral element that permeates everything Art Alive, each year i select a contemporary artist and commission a temporary installation for this big bash. This year i selected Eric Rieger also known as HOTTEA. His large scale rainbow colored yarn installation pieces are so impressive and just scream Art Alive to me. He will be creating one to fill the entire main event space and i just cant wait to see it.
Even more than the Premiere Dinner the night before, the BLOOM BASH creates such buzz and excitement amidst the committee and staff and a lot of discussion happens around what to wear. Floral prints and bright colors are always safe choices for the event year to year but I personally like to go bold and take inspiration from the feature artist. Because of the medium he works in my mind keeps screaming NEON, RAINBOW and FRINGE!!! I LOVE rainbow everything and think dressing in multicolor splendor is the epitome of fun. These dresses are about as Rainbow Bright worthy you can get.
This collection by Christopher Kane gives shameless homage to all things rainbow. It’s among the best For winnow pieces I have ever seen. A little glam meets a little bit of kitschy trashy and I love it. It’s every 5 year old girls dream of how they will dress when they are grown.
This Mugler dress is a painted-on rainbow dream
And this Alice & Olivia gown is an option for the girl who loves a maxi dress.
This Gucci skirt is 360 degrees of sequin rainbow fringe fab.
Rainbow accessories are a great option if you go with a solid dress…or even if you go with the more-is-more rainbow look like I would. This Phillip Treacy headpiece is everything. It is like wearing rainbow candy on your head.
And there is no shortage of rainbow shoes in the Valentino lookbook. I even found a really great Dolce & Gabbana rainbow sequin fringe pair of heels. Who knew so much fantastical footwear existed!
The fringe idea was just too perfect of a fit for the featured artist so that is what I decided to focus on for myself. It’s surprisingly hard to find a sexy fringe outfit that doesn’t look like a Wild West or flapper costume. I did find this gorgeous BCBC Ondria fringe dress. It has an amazing cut out back and comes in 2 colors. I personally prefer the darker version.
I then stumbled upon the 2011 Versace and H&M collaboration. There is plenty of Barbie worthy dresses with bright punchy patterns, but the fringe pieces naturally caught my eye with the bold color and pattern combos.
I ended up purchasing both fringe options I loved and am still undecided as to what I will end up wearing, however I know I’ll end up topping the outfit off with a fantastic WXYZ crown. This wearable art is a recent obsession.
I hope to see you there in your rainbow discon formal wear!
-SG
A Colorful Art Fashion Blog 