Well-dressed men, trendy women and a 100-foot runway in the middle of an industrial district... for a minute there, I forgot we were in Tampa. But then, there it was, the 90-degree heat and the 170 percent humidity, reminding us that this is Florida and as much as we may think the idea of a fashion show in an abandoned warehouse is a good idea, it is also as hot as the inner sanctum of hell. Not to say that Garment District 813 this Saturday night was a hot mess, quite the opposite actually; it was a pretty fabulous night of fashion in Tampa.
Ben Chmura and Raven Reda each showed collections that distracted us from the sweaty messes we had all become throughout the evening, and the runway was lined with Tampa media-types, photographers and fashionistas. Jesse LeNoir of Project Runway was in attendance with his wife and they were very sweet and excited to be there to support fellow contestant Ben. Jesse didn't even seem to know that I was the podcaster who had snarkily referred to him as Captain Jack Sparrow for the entire season. (Sorry, Jesse, you seem like a really good guy... even if you do dress up as a pirate sometimes. Let's be friends, k?)
