Post by Frank Cierpial

I was in Florence, Italy studying fashion this past summer. One day, my professor took us to the Salvatore Ferragammo Museum. The Ferragammo museum was showing a Marilyn Monroe exhibit featuring all of the dresses that she wore, including the dress that Madonna copied for her video “Material Girl”. As I walked through at looked at all of these elegant dresses, I asked my friend, “Why don’t people dress like this anymore?” Then, I came back to New York and got invited to the Erin Barr show. The Erin Barr show meant a lot to me, because it was my first fashion show, and reminded me why I love fashion so much. Trust me, in the fashion industry, you need all the reminders you can get. The makeup was done by Gordon Espinet and the M.A.C. Pro Team. The Hair was done by Jordan M. Smith, and Bumble &Bumble. The stylist was Nathan Qualley. And, the Shoes were provided by Micheal Antonio. But, the clothing was the best part. I fell in love with Erin Barr’s creative style from the moment I stepped into the presentation room.

Her inspiration was a “fictional meeting” between artist Frank Stella and Marilyn Monroe during the 1950’s when Marilyn Monroe was refining her style. Now, a lot of you artsy people are probably saying “fictional?!” “Did they meet or not?!” But, once you take a god look at her collection, you will understand. One of my favorite pieces from this collection was a black dress with patches of red stripes. This dress was clearly inspired by Frank Stella’s style of painting. Another one of my favorite pieces was a very elegant dress that I was already picturing people I know in, (The stylist that I am), was a white dress with an interesting cut at the mid-section. My final favorite piece was a classic black dress (see the first two photos below). That dress would go with everything, and can be dressed up with an elegant shawl, and a nice pair of shoes, or even juxtaposed with a funky cropped leather jacket for contrast. The showroom was set up with a stage that was decorated like a 1950’s style living room, mod furniture, magazines and a record player. The models would slowly take turns sauntering around (Marilyn style thank you very much) posing at center stage. An excellent way to discover a collection as it was not fast paced and frantic like a runway show. I would like to congratulate Erin Barr on a great show, and wish her a lot of luck in the future. I hope to one day review the opening of a Erin Barr huge store on the Champs Elysees. Good luck Erin!

Post by Frank Cierpial

Les Indes Galantes Frank Stella