Down and Out in Denver

So much fun did Alastair and I have on Friday night at Design After Dark that it’s taken us till today to report on it.  DAD is the big fundraiser for the Denver Art Museum’s Department of Architecture, Design, and Graphics, and this is the third year in a row that Alastair and I have attended.  And aren’t we glad we did!

The event was packed, filled with the art and design crowd of Denver (yes, such a thing exists!  we promise): architects, fashion designers, graphic designers, furniture designers, artists, and all kinds of admirers and fans.  One of the things this means is that some of the people were actually well dressed!  I know, I know, difficult to believe; this is Denver, after all.  But when you get this many design-conscious people in a room you actually get some decent outfits as well.  People’s clothes fit! (Including men’s pants and jeans; on this issue, see Alastair’s recent post here.)  And some might even be called fashion forward.  Alastair and I don’t flatter ourselves that we necessarily fit into that category — we dress ourselves in the well-fitted grays and blacks of the sophisticated urban homo; tasteful and understated without pushing the envelope too much — but we recognize interesting fashion when we see it.  And it was there to be seen this past Friday!  Of course because there are so few chances to dress up in Denver, some people took this as an opportunity to go a little overboard.  Word to the wise, ladies: prom dresses are for one occasion only.  And some of the boys suffered from the opposite problem, natch: jeans and sloppy shirts untucked.  This is Denver.

DAD winner by Semple Brown Design and Cataform

But enough of dress.  This years’s DAD theme was SKIN and so all contributing designers fashioned a composition with skin as its theme.  These pieces were offered up in a silent auction, as were many other items (at least twice as many as last year) donated by local businesses and individuals: artwork, furniture, gift certificates, accessories, you name it.  The auction process could have been a little more streamlined, it must be said.  There was some confusion about when it actually closed, meaning that some people bid within the allotted time but had their bids discounted by overzealous auction-closers with red markers. Yours truly lost out on a truly bizarre looking lamp that I thought was a lock.  Alas…

The drink — wine, beer, and vodka cocktails — was included in the price of entrance, doing away with the complicated drink-ticket system of years past.  Wise move, planners!  And while the food was just as tasty as last year, there was definitely less of it.  Some of us need to buffer that open bar with a little sustenance!  That said, it was all tasty, especially the Asian-themed table complete with any number of dumplings, won tons, crab rangoon, and spring rolls.  All in all, the DOD boys had a fantastic evening.

We wish all DOD readers a great weekend as we jet off to opposite coasts for some more fun and excitement away from the surprisingly design-conscious state of Colorado!