VOLUME at VALT: Saturday November 19:

Having my tickets on my phone, for the first time, was an unnerving experience. What if the battery ran out, what if the photo didn't come up, what if no one could read it? But it was a smooth, friendly registration, as always at VALT events. Love that each night featured opening remarks, just to give us a nice, loud, word map of the line-up. The theme, VOLUME, was evident in many ways, through sound, through the sheer volume of designs shown in the collections, the voluminous number of photos taken, the range of music by Suzka and Sundran, the oohs, ahs, screams and cheers from the crowd, so much a wall of sound. Where are you Phil Spector?

Lots of color and dance from Pocket Venus! More neons and flash from Midnight Neon Clothing and Alkymiya Gallery. My favorite designs were from Taye Tality Couture! WOW, I want them all. Beautifully made, each a Marie Antoinette or Met Gala spectacular. Beauty by Impairment was a reminder of how much effort it can take to be 'beautiful' and that dressing was often a two person job, in years past, beauty still requires a lot of work, especially as bustles and corsettes make their way back onto runways of the world. Shiverz Designs makes those fabulous hats/headpieces that are so complex in their colors, textures, materials, layers and heights. These would greatly enhance anyone's head. Imagine how they would enliven an evening at the Art Gallery, (FUSE) Dinner En Blanc, the Dayton Cup or, alternatively and mischieviously, how about to the grocery store, on a rainy Monday morning. How over the top, how imaginative, worth all the planning, volumes of it: VALT 2016!