At the Ballet

Last night, I attended the 2010 San Francisco Ballet School Student Showcase, hosted by Salvatore Ferragamo and the San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary. It was a bit uncomfortable being one of the youngest guests there, excluding the blushing 16-year-old swans ballet dancers. After a few glasses of champagne and some delicious hors d'oeuvres I loosened up and took a look around. Ferragamo is synonymous with high-quality luxury accessories, and each piece was wonderfully displayed in a monochromatic setting of slate, chrome, and ivory fixtures. I felt a bit like the bad influence at a coming out party: under dressed, drinking too much, and wearing my shoes on the carpet. If it were normal business hours I would feel perfectly normal around my fellow retail queens. However, there was something about the label-clad older crowd that made me back away from the merchandise. It is undeniable that the shoes and bags are beautiful and backed by a tradition of fine craftsmanship, but Ferragamo is simply too conservative for my taste. I also feel like their womens RTW is unfocused, which explains Cristina Ortiz being ousted as head designer. Also, the menswear buy is too safe for a flagship store. I will say, though, that these "rich" women can color coordinate (rich-ISH, really... I didn't see anyone wearing SS10, and there wasn't a handbag over $5,000):

It seems like many of these women dressed according to the colors of the costumes and the Louis Vuitton Watercolor Speedy
The night was really a benefit for the San Francisco Ballet School. One of my first memories of moving to San Francisco is being surrounded by ballet dancers on the bus on my way home from downtown. There was a group from the school that attended the party. These dancers glided across the floor like the fragile, nubile youths that they were. I wanted to feel inspired to reclaim some of the natural elegance from my youth, but they made me feel fat so I said fuck it and ate as many finger foods as I could. Various costumes from the company were on display. Stage costumes are usually incredibly intricate in detailing, but these are something else. The bead work on both the bodice and tutu of each garment is quite impressive. I wish we could all dress a little more rococo:

These last shoes are beautiful, but obviously not part of the costumes. I was just having a Tommy Ton moment.


- jerome