Beach Day, The Beat Cup Drum Line, and RETROMODERNFUTURE Fashion Show - Dada, Delray Beach - June 9
Brennan Forsyth June 11, 2012 9:44AM
Beach Day and The Beat Cup Drum Line
RETROMODERNFUTURE Fashion Show
Dada, Delray Beach
For the full slideshow, click here.
Better than: Schlepping through the mall
As the early days of June plod on toward the official start of summer, few would argue that it has in fact already begun. South Florida is flush with 85 degree heat and perpetually gray western skies all wrapped up in a dense, cable knit humidity. The RETROMODERNFUTURE Fashion and Hair Runway Show was a fitting tribute to the season at Dada in Delray Beach. Models from Resta Salon showcased vintage summer wear from Fort Lauderdale's newest vintage shop Public Image along with designs from Delray based Michelle Parparian. Music was provided by The Beat Cup Drum Line as well as Hollywood's own Beach Day who have recently signed to Kanine Records and were playing their last South Florida show before embarking on their first national tour.
A crowd of several dozen were crammed into Dada's tree-shrouded courtyard for the fashion show with many spilling past the picket fence onto the sidewalk. PBR and Narragansett cans were abundant, and the audience was unable to keep beads of sweat from blooming on their brows.
Tattooed models with multi-colored hair strutted along the outdoor runway to the buzzing strains of The Sonics. They sported '60s mod looks, summer dresses, and vintage tennis skirts, delightful anachronisms seemingly made to be worn in 2012 South Florida.
"These are one of a kind pieces you can't find in the mall," said Michelle Parparian, organizer of the show. She noted that a lot of designers are harkening back to the 1960s and ever earlier thanks to the popularity of shows such as Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire, but says "You can pay $50 at a vintage store for something you'd pay $300 for at a mall." Public Image owner and operator Andrew Vincent agrees and hopes more people will spread the word about his new shop located next to Radio-Active Records in Fort Lauderdale. "But just like a good record shop no one ever wants to give away the secret!" he says. The Beat Cup Drum Line, vibrant, percussion-centric musicians from The Beat Cup Café in Delray, performed between the two runway shows, adding elements of guitar, keyboards and verse to rhythms otherwise exclusive to drum circles.
Beach Day rounded out the night, playing a ten song set in Dada's un-airconditioned living room as fans and well-wishers bobbed and twisted to their breezy, jangly sound and fanned themselves with shirt collars. Beach Day's music is crafted with a reverence for the '60s girl groups and garage rock they adore. It accentuates a particular fundamental of living in South Florida that is often overlooked. Beyond the club culture and celebrities, the revered and reviled basketball players, the vice, the scandal, and our tendency to make the Weird News section of the AP wire with such alarming regularity, lies a basic tenet of life: It's fun! Nights such as this are a reminder that bottle service on South Beach isn't necessary when all you need is some good looking threads, danceable music, cold beer, and a few friends to have yourself one hell of a summer.
Overheard quote of the night: "Chicks with tattoos, man. Wow."
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Brennan Forsyth
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