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Cynthia
Rowley's runway show, held at the Gotham Hall on 36th
Street in Manhattan, is always a highlight of fashion
week. The cavernous space has lots of charm, and a busy
backstage area. Even though dozens of cameras are
shoved in her face, Ms. Rowley always seems serene and
gracious. On the left, she is conferring with reporters
and members of her staff. On the right, she faces the
cameras to describe the concept for her show. The
clothes in this Fall collection were
meant to mirror the colors of the aurora borealis. The
styles were classic, but still "edgy" and
"futuristic." You need to get up close to
appreciate the detailing. 
As you can tell from these photos, braids were the theme
for hair. If a model needed extensions, they were
available in every color imaginable. Backstage,
there was also a group of people with needle and
thread, quietly stitching together a 30-foot brunette
braid. Redken's lead stylist, the gracious and
talented Rodney Cutler told me that the giant braid was
for the finale of the show. It would be attached to the
head of the lead model, and carried by all the others
down the runway. 
It takes products to make a braid sleek and shiny. Here
is a photo of some of the REDKEN styling products
used, depending upon the texture and length of each
mode's hair. A model can be seen in the left hand
corner. The finished look was youthful (as are
Cynthia Rowley's clothes), but still sophisticated,
fresh and pretty, not strange or silly. 
Cynthia Rowley not only designs the clothes for her
show, she designed a stunning Cynthia Rowley Color
Collection for AVON, which was used on the models and
featured in a reception after the show. The lead makeup
designer for the collection , Jillian Dempsey, had just
given birth to twins a few days prior, so she had her
friend, makeup artist Tina Turnbow do the model's makeup
instead. My photo to the right doesn't do the
finished look justice, but as you can see, it is all
about a fresh face with the focus entirely on the eyes.
Tina used no foundation other than a bit of brightening
powder (plus concealer and a dusting of face powder if
necessary). The palette is a simply gorgeous collection
of pink, mauve, violet and grey with some shimmer and
lots of mascara on the eyes. The lips are pink and very,
very shiny with "Peony Pink" Lip Gloss (a must-have for
Fall). 
The runway at the Gotham hall was quite different from
the usual, stark, white runway. This one was
ablaze with color, featuring cellophane in all sorts of
Sherwin Williams colors, covered with Lucite, making the
runway as well as the clothes, amazingly colorful.
On the right, you can see the chairs and programs laid
out, waiting for the mob scene (below)
The crowds at Cynthia Rowley are always large and
enthusiastic. Here, people are scrambling to find
their seats. Mine was at the top of some very high
bleachers, and I am shooting down at the crowd from
there. 
Cynthia Rowley's attention to detail is incredible. On
the left you can see some of the detail of a beautiful
white cape, still in it's wrapping. On the left,
it's on the runway. Some of the really interesting
details included a continuation of the braids theme. The
photos below show some of the day and evening look,
including one of my favorites, a short, pink metallic
sheath (left). There were other metallic fabrics,
such as metallic skirts shown with black tights with
parti-colored metallic shimmer. 
All the dresses were short, and wearable. Not a drippy
dress in the bunch!
Here is the finale, featuring all the models holding the
giant braid. I'm glad they didn't yank it too
hard, since it was attached to the first model! It
looked great on the runway and got more than a few
giggles from the audience. 
After the show (which was met with great enthusiasm by
the audience in the packed Gotham Hall), there was a
press preview in the balcony of the Gotham Hall to
preview the AVON Cynthia Rowley Color Collection.
I'd already seen it backstage, but it impressed us all.
Here, Cynthia is welcoming guests, and explaining the
makeup concept. She looks calm and energized, even after
just completing her runway show!
The limited edition Cynthia Rowley Color Collection for
AVON features eight products: Avon Finishing Powder,
All-Over Face Powder, Blush Stick, Eyeshadow Quad,
Lipstick, Lip Gloss, Nail Enamel, and a Brush Set with
Clutch. Each is in a special, "Cynthia-Rowley" designer
compact featuring shiny black plastic, festooned with
delicate flowers and decorations in yellow, blue, pink
and white. They are so pretty, I wish they were
refillable. Everything in this collection is
exceptional, with a price range of just $4.00 to $15.00! For more information about Cynthia Rowley visit : http://www.cynthiarowley.com
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*all text and photos by Alison Blackman Dunham -- copyright © 2007 all rights reserved by Alison Blackman Dunham of THE ADVICE SISTERS® No portion of this web site, including illustrations, may be copied or used in any without written permission. Please do not take my work! If you want to use text or photo (with proper credit) please ask for permission first at: advicesisters@advicesisters.net. The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark.