Grease & glamour: Fashion Houston photo shoot gets down and dirty in car repair garage

New York, Milan, and Paris have completed their fashion weeks. Now it's Houston's turn.

On Monday, the second annual Fashion Houston kicks off four nights of runway styles from 14 designers, ranging from seasoned pros, such as Carmen Marc Valvo, Douglas Hannant, and Barbara Tfank, to up-and-coming stars-to-watch, including Patrick Schwarznegger, Aries Milan and Jerri Moore.

 The shoot took place in Momentum Audi's well-shadowed and mechanically-adorned garage, combining the elegance of Moore’s gowns and the beauty of high performance automobiles. 

 To set the stage for the big event, photographer Dustin Mansyur teamed with creative director Neal Hamil for Fashion Houston's ad campaign. 

Styled by Leslie Rivas, with hair and makeup by Ceron, and gowns by Moore, the shoot took place in Momentum Audi's well-shadowed and mechanically-adorned garage, combining the elegance of Moore’s gowns and the beauty of high performance automobiles. (Audi is a prime sponsor of Houston's fashion week.)

Moore's designs are ultra-feminine, making them a good match with the luxurious Audi A8 and high performance Audi R8. For the shoot, Rivas chose a glamorous emerald green silk charmeuse gown, dubbed the “Kelley,” worn by Page Parkes model Lindsay Mallia.

“We felt the juxtaposition of the elegance with the industrial element of the garage creates a nice tension," Mansyur explained. 

While Moore’s color and fabric shine through in the classically-styled gown, Mansyur’s composition of the vehicles and post-production effects intensify the richness of the subjects, tying classic fashion with a modern-day need for speed.

“Leslie (the stylist) help me put together the look of an updated 1920's glamour. I wanted the classic in connection with the modern…that juxtaposition to be present in the photos,” Mansyur explained.

With her love of film, Moore draws much of her inspiration from classic Hollywood glamour. “Styles I see in black and white films, I bring to life in color and update them,”  she said.

Ceron’s team enhanced the feeling of Moore's vision by adorning the models with finger wave glamour curls and penciled thin brows. It all made for a stylish way to kick off Houston's stylish week of fashion.

Annina Stefanelli writes a fashion and style blog, Cinched at the Waist.

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