Three evenings each summer, the base of the Millennium Bridge becomes Denver’s most stylish acre. People walking over the bridge from LoDo stop to gawk and residents of the East West Partners real estate development surrounding the venue hang out on their balconies to take in the alfresco action below. They see girls in strapless neon minidresses and cage heels. Guys in linen pants and fedoras. Free- flowing libations, sizzling kebabs on grills and live music.
For the past five summers, the Riverfront Park Fashion Series has held a monthly outdoor show featuring food and fashion. It attracts a crowd eager to dress up and not afraid to pay for an evening of entertainment. Plus an after party.
The first year, the audience numbered 200. At the recent show, 850 people attended.
“The way I look at it is, you have to be entertained and happy from the moment you walk in,” says Tobie Orr, who has produced the event for five years. “When people spend money to go out, they want to get a lot for it.”
In addition to two fashion shows per evening, she works in dancers and DJs, cabanas with lounge furniture, and such details as wine bottles with the host’s name printed on them.
The July show featured party frocks and whimsical knits from Betsey Johnson and high- end dresses from Colorado designer Gabriel Conroy. Between the two fashion segments, 25 dancers from Cherry Creek Dance Studio performed a choreographed routine that ranged from swing and jazz to pop and hip-hop. Members of the audience joined in for a little of the “Austin Powers” theme song and “Thriller.”
Paige Jackman, manager of the Betsey Johnson store in Cherry Creek North, says she attends the events even when her employer isn’t a sponsor.
“We came last time for a girlfriend’s birthday party,” Jackman said. “It’s definitely Denver’s A-list of people who like to get dressed up and go out. It’s kind of like not being in Denver for a night; it’s more like New York.”
On one side of the venue, a row of pink and white tents held clusters of people who lounged on sofas, nibbling sushi and pickled vegetables from Zengo. The tab for hosting a cabana for eight friends was $1,500. On the other side of the venue, reserved catwalk seats were $75. General-admission minglers paid $50. They sampled cupcakes and kebabs, rum drinks and Chilean sauvingnon blanc.
Orr says admission would be much more expensive if she didn’t have underwriting from East West Partners, 140 volunteers, and food and liquor supplied by sponsors. “We’d have to charge $200 per ticket,” she said. A portion of ticket sales from each evening is given to Railyard Dogs, a nonprofit group that is designing and building a downtown dog park. “It’s important to keep the focus on the community with local designers and stores and Railyard Dogs,” Orr says.
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
