After eight days and 342 runway shows, Fashion Week tends to drag a bit. Everyone is on their last wits and the slightest provocation could cause a serious disturbance in the force.
At last, there is a cure!
The Child Magazine show Friday afternoon did just the trick. From the moment the house lights faded and then came back on, magic filled the air.
Children ranging from 4 to 14 (approximate guess based on appearances) walked the runway in outfits from various designers, including Baby Phat, Phat Farm, G-Unit, Laura Bennett, the Olsen twins, Payless, Kenneth Cole and dozens others.
Some danced down the runway. Some struggled to walk. Some hesitated under the lights. Some walked twice. Some breakdanced. It was youthful exhuberance at its purest, and it was the best way to end Fashion Week.
Tim Gunn, the top dude at Parsons and a "Project Runway" star, said he couldn't think of a better way to wrap up his week in the tents.
"I wouldn't have the guts to do the things those kids did," he said afterward.
With every child came applause and cheers. From the crowd. From the families. From the media. It was a bolt of energy the likes of which can't truly be defined unless you were there. Watching it on television, the Internet or your Cingular phone won't do it justice, but it will give you an idea. (Click here for show photos.)
Most fashion shows are the same. Stoic looks on the models' faces and wanna-be Enya techno-house-electronica music. Heatherette, Betsey Johnson and Baby Phat always stand out as different vibes because of the scene and the music. Add Child Magazine's show to that list of must-see runway shows during Fashion Week.
Any show that can successfully blend Italian classic Eh Campari," old-school rap classic "King of Rock" by Run-DMC and new pop hit "Wind it Up" by Gwen Stefani into the same show deserves its props.
Even Russell Simmons, Rev. Run, Kimora Lee Simmons, 50 Cent, Tim Gunn and all the others there enjoyed the vibe. But don't be fooled. The kids are the real attraction.
They were so adorable posing and hamming it up for the cameras. A few kids gave a Sammy Sosa chest thump and finger kiss to the cameras. Some pointed to family and friends in the crowd. One kid stopped on his way back down the runway and tried to save Miracles with some electric boogaloo breakdancing steps. The crowd roared.
Another young girl did her runway thing, then made a second trip to help an even younger boy overcome his fears and walk to the end of the runway. By the look in his eyes, he had been crying a lot backstage, obviously scared about what lay ahead. Again, the crowd roared.
In a week and an industry filled with plastics, both cosmetic and personality, ending it with pure innocence gives you hope that there is some good in this world.