Men’s fashion shows sure are getting a lot more fun in H-Town. The second annual “Rock Your Socks Off” runway presentation at M Penner Tuesday night engaged an enthusiastic audience with lots of beefcake, including bare-chested cowboys, chefs and angels with black wings, along with cutting-edge menswear looks modeled by some of Houston’s stylish men.
Scott Bayley, Alberto Cardenas, Dr. Stephen Chen, Charles Clark, Ben Harwood Rose, John Guess Jr., Michael Pearce, Jeff Shell and Randy Sim rocked the catwalk with finesse and fun. Pearce pulled out his iPhone and shot a selfie while Guess put on a pair of nifty sunglasses and posed for photographs.
Bob Cavnar came attired in a motorcycle jacket and kilt, provoking some guests to remark that he had the best looking legs in the room.
The show featured looks from John Varvatos, Orlebar Brown and cutting-edge designer Vivek Nagrani, who has branched out from designing eye-catching socks into a full menswear line featuring luxurious fabrics in classic styles.
"To me this is what clothing should be," Nagrani said backstage after the show. "It should be low maintenance, sexy, elegant, but still easy to wear so that you’re not confused. We engineered it so that every piece is a go-to piece. We just set our own pace. And do things we feel are right for the customer."
Nagrani also designed special socks with the heart-shaped Recipe for Success logo, for sale at the store for $40, with half of all sales going to the non-profit that was the evening's beneficiary. Also for sale in a silent auction were a couple of pairs of Nagrani-designed socks signed by former president George H.W. Bush, a noted socks aficionado.
Store owners Murry and Karen Penner said they were looking for a more fun show than last year and catwalk coordinators Lenny Matuszewski and Tamara Klosz-Bonar complied by producing a dazzling presentation featuring buff male models in little more than underwear and socks. They even included a Recipe for Success theme when a male and female model came out in chef's attire, looking reading to cook something up.
Afterwards, guests adjourned to the nearby Tasting Room in Uptown Park for dinner. Seen in the crowd were the evening's hosts Leisa Holland-Nelson and Laura Max Nelson, Yvonne Cormier, Melanie Lawson, Bobbie Nau, Sandra Porter, Franelle Rogers, Summar Salah, Neal Hamil, Dr. Franklin Rose, and Recipe for Success founder Gracie Cavnar, with husband Bob Cavnar, attired in a motorcycle jacket and kilt, provoking some guests to remark that he had the best looking legs in the room.
Models on the runway showcase underwear and socks.
