Dallas Opera Goes Couture to Launch New Season

The Dallas Opera goes couture this fall with a stunning fashion show featuring styles by world-class Italian designer Roberto Cavalli, as well as six custom-made gowns created by internationally renowned designers inspired by each of the operas presented this season.

The First Sight Fashion Show and Luncheon will be held on Thursday, October 23, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. The opera-themed gowns will also be presented on the red carpet for the opening night of "The Marriage of Figaro." They will later be auctioned individually by international auction house Heritage Auctions as a fundraiser for the Dallas Opera.

Roberto Cavalli is a luxury boutique that offers the Italian designer's lifestyle brand of women's ready to wear, accessories, handbags, shoes, and sunglasses. The fashions presented at First Sight will be from the 2014 Fall Collection and include sensational evening wear selections. Cristiano Mancini, Director of Marketing for Roberto Cavalli International and well known in the fashion world, will be in attendance to introduce its fashion show.

Rhonda Sergeant Chambers of RSC Show Productions, the Chair of the Fashion Show, has secured the participation of six tremendous, in-demand designers to create the custom fashions. All of the style-makers are based in Dallas and are known internationally for their innovative haute couture clothing. Their spectacular original gowns will be unique, opera-inspired creations.

"The Dallas Opera provides an experiential event with a seasoned blend of entertainment, arts and fashion for the First Sight Fashion Show and Luncheon. How thrilling when an artistic community offers so many genres of amusement and merriment! We are delighted to coordinate this event once again and are honored to work for such an amazing team at the Dallas Opera," said Ms. Chambers.

"The First Sight Fashion Show and Luncheon, featuring our internationally home grown designers, along with the impressive talent of our featured designer, Roberto Cavalli, will delight everyone's fashionable needs. How wonderful is it that Dallas has so much talent to offer? To impact our emotional and cognitive senses... this fashion extravaganza will be like no other!" she added. Participating designers include Elizabeth Anyaa, Michael Faircloth, Abi Ferrin, Khanh Nguyen, Edo Popken, Nicolas Villalba,

Event Architect/CEO of Triad Event Solutions, Jeffrey Horn, will design First Sight together with Larry Leathers. According to Horn, an event must create a meaningful experience for guests, so his signature style, which combines artistic sensibility with a hint of whimsy, provides the perfect foundation. "First Sight is going to be exciting, with a high-tech runway and an Everest Artist's Pallet of beautiful frosty blues," he said.

Larry Leathers is a designer based in Dallas whose work spans a variety of creative fields from retail display to event and exhibit design to prop fabrication for film and theater.

For more information, visit DallasOpera.org.