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 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2007 Preview -The Carmen Marc Valvo Runway Show 

 by Alison Blackman Dunham

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Carmen Marc Valvo is known for his luxurious, special event evening gowns.  If I was walking the red carpet, I'd love to have the honor of wearing one of his amazing designs!  Here is my report on the Mercedes Benz Fall 2007 Fashion Week runway show for Carmen Marc Valvo from backstage and the runway. I hope you enjoy it!

 

  Carmen Marc Valvo's designs are always beautifully constructed as you can see from the gorgeous, pleated, wrapped silk gown and the black chiffon gown created from strips of fabric, waiting on the hangar for the model to walk it down the runway. The sleek aesthetic of mid-century modern design was his inspiration. For this show, Mid Century Modern design was the source of inspiration. Valvo was intrigued by the clean craftsmanship and sculptural forms of that era's most dynamic interior and furniture designers.

    It was seriously cold when I arrived backstage at the Carmen Marc Valvo runway show.  Absolutely no one is allowed backstage without the proper credentials, but once you are checked in, this is what I saw before I entered the backstage area to watch Odile Gilbert for Redken, and the M.A.C. cosmetics team, prepare the models for the show.

 

                 By the By the time I was admitted inside, stylist Odile Gilbert was already hard at work, creating a complicated, modern take on a chignon.  Odile was explaining everything she was doing while being filmed, and avoiding the arms and heads of photographers and reporters. It takes a true expert not to be distracted under these conditions! I watched Odile, add hair extensions if necessary, and then pull each model's hair into a very sleek and tight ponytail. Once that was secured, she began to expertly twist and pin the hair on top of the model's head. As you can see in the left and middle photo, it takes more than one set of hands to do a "do" this complicated!  As Odile explained to me backstage at the Spring 2007 Carmen Marc Valvo Show it is aways best to go to a salon and let an expert handle your hair for complicated styles.  Odile used Redken products to create this look, including lots of Redken #09 Spray to create texture and shine, and hold hair in place.  On the right you can see the end result.  On the runway, this look was the perfect compliment to the regal gowns. Although it might not be for everyone, the hair was a hit with the audience. I could hear more than one woman whisper: "I want my hair too look like that, too!!"

 

             The makeup was created by Tom Pechaux with the MAC Pro Team.  In this look, you can see that the eyes are the big focus, with a nude lip and very matte skin.   If this super-pale look isn't flattering to you in real life, warm up a matte complexion with a sheer wash of blush, advises Julie St. Laurent from the MAC Pro Team . Nails were done by Creative Nail Design.   Natural nails were created to keep in tune with the clean and ladylike face look.  The Creative Nail Design team relied on SolarOil, Glossing Buffers and Solar Butter to help moisturize dry and chapped winter skin.

 

                   

 

There were 41 pieces in this show, and Carmen Marc Valvo made them elegant but a bit edgy, with unusual combinations of fabrics mixed together in unique ways.  For example, there were cocktail dresses crafted from strips of fabric,  pleated organza, crocodile and cashmere, and metallic ribbons paired with lacquered chiffons. The neutral palette of mid-century design (nickel, titanium, black, and ivory with hits of moss and purple) predominated, and still looked exciting and red-carpet ready.  These are my personal photos from the show.  As you can see from the last photo, Carmen created a bunch of more daytime clothes as well, with hits of color such as the green scarf and gloves on the left, made luxe with cashmere and fur.

For this show, I sat in the second row, next to the gracious Deauville, Carmen's personal assistant.  In the first row, to the immediate right of us, was Vanessa Williams, who not only plays a diva on Ugly Betty, she got plenty of attention, swamped by photographers and fans, before the show started.   When the mob around Vanessa calmed down for a second, Deauville told me that her boss is a cancer survivor, and the designer's mother recently passed away of cancer.  Carmen created a special white T-shirt with gold design (that many of his dressers and staff were wearing backstage) in her memory, to support  www.breakawayfromcancer.com. This organization helps to raise awareness and funds to support the millions of people affected by cancer. Patrick Dempsey is also a spokesperson for this worthy cause.

For more information on Carmen Marc Valvo visit the company website at: http://www.carmenmarcvalvo.com/ 

 

*all text and photos by Alison Blackman Dunham --  copyright © 2007 all rights reserved by Alison Blackman Dunham of THE ADVICE SISTERS®  The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark. No portion of this web site, including illustrations,  may be copied or used in any without written permission.  E-Mail: advicesisters@advicesisters.net.