Opening Ceremony's Political, Celeb-Filled Fashion Show Gets Our Vote

Few shows this New York fashion week have been as buzzy as Open Ceremony’s (sorry, Kanye), with its promised all-star lineup of comedians and famous faces fronting the event. As the presentation drew nigh, rumors that a faux pageant-type situation involving the likes of Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Girl Meets World actress Rowan Blanchard, and Orange Is the New Black’s Diane Guerrero and Natasha Lyonne began heating up. Then Opening Ceremony confirmed it: Sunday night was going to be a Pageant of the People — as per the brand’s signage and hashtags, that is. Oh, and Claire Danes, Andrew Garfield, and Aziz Ansari would also be there.

The show notes, penned by OC’s Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, called the event a “tribute to the democratic process and the diversity of those who participate in it,” with a theme of “foster[ing] cultural exchange” and the “American immigrant experience.” Yep, things were about to get political up in here.

Rather than a Trump v. Hilary moment, the show was intended to get people involved in and excited about the democratic process. A suited up Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein hosted, telling jokes and one-liners to the mostly staid crowd as models sauntered by wearing OC’s boldly printed and color blocked collection (much of which is currently available for purchase at Saks) . Other stars in attendance took their turns on stage discussing modern-day issues: Ali Wong spoke about juggling motherhood and work, Rashida Jones talked refugees, Natasha Lyonne denounced NYC’s constant construction, and Rowan Blanchard explained the ups and downs of being a feminist, etc. Aidy Bryant, Jessica Williams, and Aubrey Plaza joined as well.

But perhaps the most poignant quote of the evening could be attributed to Goldberg, who urged attendees to vote in the upcoming election by saying, “You should vote — because if you don’t vote, you can’t bitch.” By the way — the venue was set up with voter registration booths. It’s not every day you see a fashion show that speaks about real life issues, and then actually follows up on them, eh?

That Goldberg popped up at one of the hottest shows at fashion week isn’t actually as random as it may initially sound. In May, the actress announced that she’d be executive producing an upcomingdocumentary series following a group of transgender models, set to debut on the Oxygen network this fall, called Strut.

She’s also been somewhat of a front row fixture in New York over the past several seasons. Though she’s never been been one to follow trends — or start them (unless you’re counting bleached out brows?), Goldberg has sat catwalk-side at such big name shows as Zac Posen, Tracey Reese, Diane Von Furstenberg, Ralph Rucci, and Hood by Air. Plus, she’s been posting some unbelievably endearing video reviews of the fashion shows she’s attended recently on her Facebook page. I’d highly recommend checking them out.

All in all, Opening Ceremony’s star-studded Pageant of the People gets our vote for the most fun show of NYFW. But if we could make just one amendment… Please, Humberto and Carol — could you live stream it next season?

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