German Designer Embraces Houston and a Go Red For Women Fashion Night — Rieke Common Goes On Safari
Elizabeth Anthony Keeps the Fashion Fun Rolling
BY Shelby Hodge //
Hillary Holmes Archer models Rieke Common at the Elizabeth Anthony 'Go Red for Women' fashion event. (Photography by Christina Griffin, WDR Imagery))
The 10th anniversary of the Elizabeth Anthony “Go Red for Women” Houston fashion evening turned into a colorful affair, beautifully staged in the parking area in front of the Uptown Park boutique and featuring the latest looks of German fashion designer Rieke Common.
As is tradition, a number of women dressed in red for the celebration of the American Heart Association’s female-focused initiative. And then there were the inspired fashions of Maison Common on the runway.
Shortly before the evening celebration, PaperCity sat down with Common for an insight on the collection named African Adventures. She explained that this somewhat unexpected theme is the result of a painting she found in a design studio in Como, Italy.
“I saw this beautiful one. It was reading Africa somehow,” Common says. “The colors were African. These sand colors, kind of orangey, beige sand, earthy colors. I kind of liked it because I never did this before.
“I’m not a beige girl and I said why not? Why not do something that I’m not necessarily comfortable with? And a lot of women like this color and it’s looking good on their skin. So I said let’s try this.”
In response to the theme of the collection Elizabeth Anthony created an Africa inspired setting for the fashion presentation, one that cleverly recreated the images in the Maison Common look book.
Thanksgiving and Christmas Items
What would Rieke Common like for shoppers to take away from the playful collection?
“I hope that they see this kind of twist that I did. It’s not really so serious,” Common quips. “We don’t do open heart surgery although that is pretty much the thing that you do here in Houston. Because they have the best heart surgeons in the world.
“This is something that is fun. It should be fun. It shouldn’t be taken so seriously. It’s just a hint of safari. It’s not that you wear it and they say ‘Oh, she’s going on safari.’ It’s just something to talk about, whimsical. I hope that the women come tonight have a sense of humor. They have to have a sense of humor to wear this collection.”
Go Red for Women leaders joining professional models on the runway in Maison Common African-inspired fashions included Hillary Holmes Archer, Jeanna Bamburg, Lara Carter, Jennifer Maxwell, Anne E. Neeson, Stephanie Tsuru and Mandy Williams.
In the spotlight were Go Red for Women chair Jeanna Bamburg, CEO of The Woman’s Hospital of Texas, who spoke on the importance of women focusing on heart health; Elizabeth Anthony owner and the evening’s hostess Julie Roberts; and KHOU Channel 11 reporter Cheryl Mercedes, who served as emcee.
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