Tallinn Dolls Show, 1/10/2013: The Mayor, Liis Lemsalu and the Swimming Pool
Tallinn Dolls' autumn / winter show (the company is known as Doll Label outside of Estonia) was staged in the unusual venue of Reval Water Park, newly-opened, and looking fresh and shiny. It was either an unbelievably decadent choice of stage for the show, or an impressive risk - and everyone had their own opinion. From my own point of view, the general theme of "Reflections" worked well on top of the water, and the lighting gave a completely different angle to an already confident collection, designed by Mari Martin and Kirill Safonov, which contained girlish frills, old-school full skirts, military-style streamlining and very modish floral prints. The designers recruited a number of celebrity models to walk the runway with the professionals - one of the stars was Liis Lemsalu (shown in the first picture in the gallery), the winner of the Estonian version of Pop Idol in 2011 and now the closest Estonia has to Alicia Keys.
The occasion brought a visit from Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar to cut the ribbon. After that, and an impressive if alarming display by a male gymnast on a temporary platform above a swimming pool, it was time for the real business of the evening to take place: the launching of Tallinn Dolls' collections for autumn and winter.
The pictures, below, can be viewed full-screen by clicking on them, and you can navigate between them using the arrow keys.
AMENDMENT: Following feedback, I have deleted the paragraph about the "two-metre drop" in the temporary fittings around the spectator area. This was factually incorrect, and was intended as a light-hearted remark showing my own clumsiness, and was not intended to cast any aspersions on anyone involved in preparation for show. I apologise for offence caused.
