Fashion Week Fun

Dancing Dallas bar mitzvah teen conquers New York Fashion Week

Having conquered the Internet with a video of his bar mitzvah dance, Sam Horowitz has now set his sights on the world of fashion. The Dallas teenager was front and center at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week over the weekend, scoring prime seats at such shows as Lacoste and Rebecca Minkoff and interviewing South Korean designer Son Jung Wan backstage immediately after her runway presentation.

"I love fashion because you can really express yourself. Clothes speak for you, so when in doubt, wear a hot outfit," he explained before the start of the Son Jung Wan show from his prime front-row seat next to his Dallas publicist, Joanne Yurich.

"I love fashion because you can really express yourself," Horowitz said from his front-row seat. "Clothes speak for you, so when in doubt, wear a hot outfit."

Although only 15, this is Horowitz's third time to take in the New York Fashion Week scene. "I love Fashion Week, seeing all the cool people at Lincoln Center and, you know, being inside the tents, seeing what's hot for next season, because you always have to be thinking ahead," he said.

Horowitz reports on fashion in his "Sam Says" segments that air twice a week on his YouTube channel. His topics range from how to dress for cold weather to a critique of the red carpet fashions at Golden Globes and Grammys and the evolution of JLo (Jennifer Lopez).

Although fashion is his passion, he loves to entertain too. A 2012 video of his Broadway-style dance routine at his bar mitzvah at the Omni Dallas hotel, where he dropped from the ceiling and performed a choreographed routine to a Lopez tune, garnered more than 1 million visits on YouTube.

Before heading back to Dallas, where he is a freshman at Parish Episcopal School, Horowitz singled out his Fashion Week favorites. "I love Lacoste because they're going back to their simple style, the tennis look of how it used to be, back to the basics. A beautiful collection full of clean lines and patterns," he said.

"And Rebecca Minkoff was beautiful. It was kind of all browns and reds ... and very urban cowboy-inspired with fringe. I love fringe."

Horowitz aspires to one day have his own show on television or even be a part of Fashion Police. Until then he fits in his fashion critiques amid his studies, which his parents and teachers don't mind, he said. "As long as I keep up with my [school] work, they approve."

Sam Horowitz (left) poses with designer Son Jung Wan at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Sam Horowitz and Son Jung Wan backstage at New York Fashion Week

Photo by Joanne Yurich

Sam Horowitz (left) poses with designer Son Jung Wan at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

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COUNTRY CACHET

Cirque du Soleil in Dallas boasts Western costumes by Beyonce stylist

Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

Songblazers will be in Houston through August 11.

Entertainment circus tour Cirque du Soleil has mounted a new US tour, one that represents its first foray into an unlikely milieu: country music. CalledSongblazers, it comes to Dallas during the State Fair of Texas with a celebrity behind the scenes: famed stylist Zerina Rosette Akers who created the costumes for the show.

This marks Akers' Cirque du Soleil debut, but she has years of experience in the fashion world. She was Beyonce's personal stylist for nearly a decade and has styled other big names in the entertainment industry, including Houston native Megan Thee Stallion, Chloe and Halle Bailey, and more.

Western influences have taken over mainstream fashion over the past few seasons. Icons in the fashion industry, including Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Dior, and Chloé, have created entire collections around Western style. With Songblazers, Akers had the opportunity to do the same.

"I was inspired by country fashion and country music past and present. I really dug into a ton of different musicians and artists, but also runway style and fashion and how it's incorporated to have the best of both worlds of fashion and music meet," Akers says.

Cirque de Soleil Akers added to Songblazers by telling the story of country songs and music through her designs. Sketch courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque costumes are famously flexible and versatile, allowing the performers to move freely during their performances. According to Akers, she worked with the commonly known aspects of country fashion, adding a Cirque du Soleil essence paired with modern Western-influenced fashion. And, of course, spandex. "Everything has to be spandex 'cause we gotta move," she says.

One of Akers' favorite creations for the show was the famed nudie suit. For those unfamiliar with nostalgic country fashion, a nudie suit is a highly embellished stage costume that became a status symbol of country music performers dating back to the 1950s.

Cirque de Soleil Western Akers designed her version of the famous country music nudie suit. Sketch courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

For many, it became a symbol of the American Dream. Akers created her own version for Songblazers.

"My favorite style piece of the country aesthetic is the nudie suit. It's so glam and rooted in culture and performance; it's just gorgeous," she says.

To complement the costumes, Vanessa Ashley, makeup specialist for Cirque du Soleil, says the color palette for the show is vibrant and happy. She pulled from the colors of the costumes to create a palette of blues, oranges, pinks, and purples. The makeup team teaches the artists how to do their makeup and hair by giving them lessons so they can complete their looks on their own weeks prior to the show.

Songblazers runs September 25-October 11 at the Music Hall at Fair Park. Tickets to the show include admission to the State Fair of Texas for the day of the show only, parking not included (does not include September 25-26).

Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

Songblazers will be in Houston through August 11.

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