Dan's Papers - October 12, 2007 - review: afternoon elegance

Kleinfeld generously sponsored an Afternoon of Elegance this past Wednesday to benefit The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, a not-for-profit arts organization that needs to raise almost a million dollars a year "to keep their doors open and the curtain up."

As part of their ongoing efforts to find new and inventive ways to cover the annual budget, the Center's Advisory Council and Kleinfeld owners, Mara Urshel and Ronnie Rothstein (great fans of the Arts Center), put their heads together for a tantalizing Afternoon of Elegance, a glamorous New York City Fashion Show, we're talking old world elegance with a dash of bold modern style, at Kleinfeld's magnificent 35,000 square foot showroom on West 20th Street in the heart of trendy Chelsea.

"I thought 'perfect.' It's a great way for us to not only showcase our beautiful venue, but the perfect way to support the Performing Arts center." said Mara.

One hundred and seventy five lucky guests attended a private Champagne Reception and Fashion Show at Kleinfeld's extraordinary fashion emporium. The event began at 4 p.m. with a champagne & hors d'oeuvres reception in the dramatic grand foyer of Kleinfeld's Manhattan salon, which runs the length of a New York City block and took one back to a long gone era of elegance. The piece de resistance, however, was yet to come on the runway in the adjoining showroom.

Although Kleinfeld, founded in 1941, is a New York institution renowned for the largest selection of designer wedding gowns anywhere, they also carry evening suits, cocktail dresses, and formal gowns with designer labels from all over the world. The breathtaking models were beautiful, tall and thin, reminiscent of Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn and Michelle Pfeiffer, as they came onto a proscenium stage and made their way down the raised runway in shimmering creations. These haute couture fashions made for exciting theater and guests applauded their approval as the models sashayed down the runway in a total of 37 elegant ensembles to pulsating music provided by Five Star DJ Entertainment.

Near the end of the show a beautiful model clad in yet another stunning evening gown tripped and fell to the floor, apparently writhing in pain as the next model stepped right over her. Then suddenly she was up on her feet pulling a microphone from her studded evening purse, launching into a jolting rendition of "All That Jazz." Yes, it was a divinely dramatic staged moment that had the delighted guests singing along, but wait this was just the beginning of the musical entertainment as two handsome tenors clad in black appeared on stage singing an Italian aria. Within moments one of the men began seducing the patrons with a sexy version of "You're Just Too Good to Be True," that had the gals giggling with joy and just as he finished he turned to me, looking me directly in the eye and said "I know what you're thinking. I should be ashamed of myself," as he moved to the next willing patron. "The Drinking Song," from La Traviata performed with much bravado by all the singers was next, followed by "New York New York," and the models final parade down the runway in evening gowns.

Before heading out into what remained of the perfect day, we were feted to delicious deserts; warm chocolate cookies and milk, lemon squares, chocolate covered strawberries and more champagne served on silver platters.

One lucky guest was the winner of first prize in the raffle and will be treated like royalty with the opportunity to experience Kleinfeld's impressive service first hand by having a custom evening gown designed, created, and fitted especially for her by their top notch team, a value of $5,000 that will undoubtedly have her feeling like a million bucks.

Coinciding with the event is the premiere of the new series "Kleinfeld Unveils" on TLC (The Learning Channel) this Friday, October 12.

Gordin & Christiano are theater critics. Barry Gordin is an internationally renowned photographer. They can be reached at bg6@verizon,net or visit their website at www.theaterlife.com.