Black Hearts Ball 2016 - Fashion Week Minnesota Spring 2016
Held outside of it’s usual Valentine’s Day weekend spot and instead during Fashion Week Minnesota Spring 2016, the third annual Black Hearts Ball occurred on April 15, 2016 at Muse Event Center in Minneapolis.
The idea of the Black Hearts Ball is a formal black and white party centered around a runway fashion show set to opera music.
Black Hearts Ball masterminds Thom Navarro and Tim Navarro.
I have attended the Black Hearts Ball in the past, but was less than impressed with the first iteration. There were a lot of growing pains for the organizers and I definitely was empathetic, but unfortunately it turned me off to the following year’s event; despite great experiences at other events by the same group, like ICONS.
After getting to know some of the organizers and designers, and wanting to experience as much of the second FWMN as possible, I decided to go ahead and book tickets to the third Black Hearts Ball.
The event was put together mainly by Tim Navarro and Thom Navarro and was hosted by makeup artist Tressie Schnieder. Seven designers sent mini collections (three looks each) down the runway. The looks and styling at Black Hearts Ball were more avant-garde than at other shows, truly stepping into the art part of fashion. At least one designer showed at the Ball and Envision (Lauren Kacher from Form Over Function) and she debuted different looks at each show.
kozol
Mixing floral prints with leather harnesses hadn’t crossed my mind until seeing the collection from kozol.
OtherRealm
Designer and artist Lucie Biros was one of the first fashion designers in Minnesota I was exposed to and I’ve loved watching her work develop. Her line was formerly known as Punkktual and has shown at Voltage: Fashion Amplified in 2013 as well as a couple of RAW Artists Minneapolis showcase events. She recently relaunched her brand as OtherRealm.
Sarah Furnae
Sarah has shown at Envision in the past - I remember beaded and iridescent details so what she showed at Black Hearts Ball seemed about right.
Lux Et Voluptas
I loved the rose motif and the flow of different fabrics together.
Yessenya
Yessenya’s looks were distinct in the use of white in contrast with bright colors like red, light blue, and yellow. I am still very into the waist detail on the red pants with the bow back of the white top.
Form Over Function
I fell in love with Form Over Function the first time I saw the line at RAW: Exposure. The androgyny and rock n roll inspired pieces combined with the contrasts in materials really attract me, and the performance aspect to the line’s runway segment was also interesting.
Danielle Everine
I’ve seen some of Danielle Everine’s pieces at other shows but especially loved the hair and makeup styling here. And those (hand painted?) pants.
Right after booking tickets, I asked Thom if “Black and White Ball” meant literally black and white, or just formal and black tie. After confirming I needed a black and/or white outfit, I decided that instead of wearing the same old little black and white dress, I opted to rent one from Rent The Runway*. I rented two dresses, opting to wear the more flattering and festive.
The dresses: “Camille” by Nha Khanh and “Spiderweb Gown” by ML Monique Lhuillier.
The winner:
Photo by Chloe Krenz Photography. Vegan leather clutch by Stella Grey, bracelet from TJ Maxx.
Kate Spade phone case, YSL pumps
Spike earrings by Goldfine, embellished industrial barbell by Metal Mafia from Body Art Forms, neon lipgloss by expressions.
I loved that the “spiderweb” lace hem complemented the Swarovski Crystal Patina spike earrings I bought from Goldfine:
After this Black Hearts Ball experience, I’m hoping to make it to the next one!
*If you sign up via my invite link, you will get $30 off your first RTR rental and I will get $30 off my next one.