In the name of new experience, I accepted an invitation from fab journalista and fashionista A to attend a launch party for a new fashion TV show at the ICA. And that was before I knew there was an open bar. Apparently StyleBoston is the new thing on New England Cable News (NECN), covering all sorts of Boston stylishness not least including an opening at Gallery Kayafas I attended some weeks ago with ace marketing analyticist L.
You can read the full detail of the fashion on A’s boston fashion blog, but I’ll echo her comments on our invisibility as apparently too old, too fat and simply too boring to be photographed even in passing by the assorted photographers professional and amateur. As a sometime photographer myself, I’m pretty well attuned to when I’m being shot, especially when strobe is involved. I’m pretty sure we weren’t captured once in a couple of hours of working the museum. That said, when we interviewed and photographed people about their outfits, they were always flattered by the attention and quite willing to pose.
The ICA served admirably as a venue between the end of Shepherd Fairey’s run (finally) and the start of a Damien Ortega show, but the whole thing reminded me of the old question of “flight or invisbility.”
Somewhat like “cheese or chocolate” the question of which superpower you would choose is a great conversation topic and probably a decent half-assed personality test. I remember hearing a piece on the topic on This American Life, but I always trace the meme back to Jonathan Lethem’s powerful novel Fortress of Solitude, in which a magic ring bestows one power or the other on its wearer (possibly both in some cases) depending on the person. Some choose invisibility and some have it thrust upon them I suppose.
After the party, we meandered over to Sportello, Barbara Lynch’s mod South Boston homage to lunch counters and did what fashion models only wish they could do, we gorged on carbs.
I enjoyed a creamy corn risotto with chanterelles and pancetta and A had the bigoli with zucchini. Since I still don’t have a television, I guess I’ll never know if I appear in the background of an establishing shot on StyleBoston … unless alert limeduck readers let me know.
Oh, and one more thing. You at the StyleBoston party, you know who you are: 1985 called, they want that tunic back.