Taylor Bennett from Augusta, Georgia,(left) and Olivia Richard from Statesboro, Georgia, both model for Halo while wearing Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2014.
Meredith Gray, co-chair of The Art of Great Fashion.
Guests were free to roam through all three floors of The Telfair.
Photos by Crosby Ignasher
Written by Gracie Wachtel and Amy Stoltenberg
The Art of Great Fashion’s annual event took place on Monday evening at the Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center for the Arts. Meredith Gray, the event’s co-chair and a portfolio critic for SCAD’s fashion department, utilized her fashion connections by locking in the participation of Marc Jacobs International, which showcased at the event its Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2014 collection.
Marc Jacobs is a line Gray has worked with for years.
“I was actually Marc Jacobs’ very first editor when I was at Harper’s Bazaar. They hired me from Vogue and they gave me the emerging design talent, which nobody else wanted to cover at that time,” said Gray.
After moving to Savannah to leave the “rat race” of the big city, Gray ran into Robert Duffy, the president of Marc Jacobs International.
“When we were forming the concept for [2014’s] The Art of Great Fashion, I reached out to Robert for Marc Jacobs’ participation in the event,” said Gray. “It took four months for me just to get approval, because Marc was in the midst of four different collections, going between Europe and New York and traveling all over the place.”
The collection was exhibited in a narrative form as models circled around the grand staircase and then filtered on throughout the rest of the museum.
The models were styled by Gray and Roz Rodriguez, the store manager of the Marc by Marc Jacobs here in Savannah. Six SCAD student volunteers helped out behind the scenes. Directing and positioning the models fell to the SCAD students as well.
SCAD student Patrick Murphy was one of the 21 models cast for the show while classmate Tripp Armstrong served as an ushers for the event’s VIP room.
Throughout the museum, six fashion photographers spaced themselves out to take pictures of the rotating models.
Catered hors d’oeuvres, smooth pop music remixes, an open bar, and Marc Jacobs’ sleek designs created a cool and sophisticated atmosphere for the presentation of fashion and art.
“It’s incredible. There’s an open bar and everyone here seems very happy. There is such a positive vibe,” said Adam Intrator, a SCAD alum and Marc by Marc Jacobs store employee.
Models were brought in by Halo, a modeling agency based in Savannah. Will Maizel, a model and first-year SCAD architecture major from Buffalo, New York, appreciated the opportunity to model such a high-end collection.
“It’s awesome that this is my first modeling gig and it’s for Marc Jacobs,” said Will. “My favorite part was the moment right before we all walked out, when we were getting ready and we put our clothing on and I realized, it’s real.”
The models were stationed in multiple areas of the museum, from the staircase in manikin form to a more social setting on the floor, integrated with the viewers.
“It feels really great [to wear Marc Jacobs]. The clothes come with a certain mindset. They make me feel like I should act like a boss,” said Olivia Richard, one of Halo’s many models.
Positioned like life-sized dolls, the models appeared motionless yet graceful at the same time.
“They just said to stand casually and be interactive with the audience,” said Halo model Taylor Bennet.
Local Savannahians attended the event to support both the museum and the collection.
“We wanted to do a mother-daughter date to just get out and see Savannah, stuff that we don’t normally do. We like the live action photo shoots that are going on, the walkway and the interactive nature of it all,” said Ali Misroon, a Savannah resident who attended the event with her mother, Andi Misroon.
The 16th annual Art of Great Fashion Event pair high-end fashion glamour with true genteel, Southern style for fashion and art lovers alike.
Editor’s note: changed “Savannah’s Jepson Center” to “the Telfair Museums’ Jepson center.”
