Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

An after-hours circus

San Diego Clubkids performed
San Diego Clubkids performed
Circus-themed models visited with guests during the cocktail-free cocktail hour

When I scored tickets to ARTessence’s CAPTIVATE: Cirque de l’Artisan, a fashion show in Middletown promoted as “providing the experience of a party and a show in tandem: live graffiti artists, professional dance teams, aerialist performances, circus acts, and talented DJs,” I wasn’t holding my breath. After all, the City of San Diego is the fashion equivalent of Little Rock, Arkansas. My tickets were said to include cocktails and complimentary valet parking —that was not the case. The only parking spot I could find was in front of a nude photography studio where two men were relieving themselves against its exterior.

Andre Soriano plants a kiss

However, when I stepped inside the event, I was pleasantly surprised. The location was terrific: a warehouse with high ceilings was decorated in a kitschy circus theme. More importantly, the people-watching was terrific. Andre Soraino, recently seen on Rihanna’s Bravo series Styled to Rock, was in attendance. He stumbled about with a posse of followers. He posed for photos with everyone and their mother and made a generally brilliant spectacle of himself.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Dress by WishNow

Featured fashions included Shekhar Rahate, winner of the Versace Award for Global Excellence in Fashion and regular in New York Fashion Week, De Marcus, Zavval, and WishNow. Featured artists were Krissy Fernandez (Junk & PO), Jimmy Ovadia (The Art Of Jimmy Ovadia), Danny Suhendar (Danny Suhendar Photography).

Cirque de l’Artisian opened with San Diego Clubkids. The performers wore elaborate costumes and strutted down the runway doing elaborate dances and contortions.

Victoria Roberts and model

Victoria Roberts of WishNow, the San Diego Fashion Week 2013 third place winner, had a runway show of frilly, Lolita-style dresses.

Overall there were some major kinks in the event. They needed more seating and the pacing of the runway shows was a bit of a train wreck. However I think that ARTessence has major potential. I’m looking forward to their next event.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”
San Diego Clubkids performed
San Diego Clubkids performed
Circus-themed models visited with guests during the cocktail-free cocktail hour

When I scored tickets to ARTessence’s CAPTIVATE: Cirque de l’Artisan, a fashion show in Middletown promoted as “providing the experience of a party and a show in tandem: live graffiti artists, professional dance teams, aerialist performances, circus acts, and talented DJs,” I wasn’t holding my breath. After all, the City of San Diego is the fashion equivalent of Little Rock, Arkansas. My tickets were said to include cocktails and complimentary valet parking —that was not the case. The only parking spot I could find was in front of a nude photography studio where two men were relieving themselves against its exterior.

Andre Soriano plants a kiss

However, when I stepped inside the event, I was pleasantly surprised. The location was terrific: a warehouse with high ceilings was decorated in a kitschy circus theme. More importantly, the people-watching was terrific. Andre Soraino, recently seen on Rihanna’s Bravo series Styled to Rock, was in attendance. He stumbled about with a posse of followers. He posed for photos with everyone and their mother and made a generally brilliant spectacle of himself.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Dress by WishNow

Featured fashions included Shekhar Rahate, winner of the Versace Award for Global Excellence in Fashion and regular in New York Fashion Week, De Marcus, Zavval, and WishNow. Featured artists were Krissy Fernandez (Junk & PO), Jimmy Ovadia (The Art Of Jimmy Ovadia), Danny Suhendar (Danny Suhendar Photography).

Cirque de l’Artisian opened with San Diego Clubkids. The performers wore elaborate costumes and strutted down the runway doing elaborate dances and contortions.

Victoria Roberts and model

Victoria Roberts of WishNow, the San Diego Fashion Week 2013 third place winner, had a runway show of frilly, Lolita-style dresses.

Overall there were some major kinks in the event. They needed more seating and the pacing of the runway shows was a bit of a train wreck. However I think that ARTessence has major potential. I’m looking forward to their next event.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Next Article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader