I rarely think of the words “circus” and “fashion” as being related, but I was proved wrong on Saturday night by EnspiRED’s 10th annual fashion sh
ow.
The show was broken into eight sections, each with a different theme, from Clown to Doll to Street to Burlesque, etc. The “Clown” set was comprised of pretty normal fashion but with fun details like clown noses on some of the male models and a particularly memorable skirt lined with balloons on the underside. This was probably the section with the strongest follow-through on theme, although the “Dolls” segment’s dewy pink lipstick and creepy body language was cool as well.
But atmosphere aside, the obvious core of the show was the fashion itself, and I was not disappointed. The menswear was mainly comprised of black and dark colors, and was very structured and made up of lots of layers. There were a lot of very strong coats and hoodies; one dark, white speckled hoodie came with a black cowl pulled up just under the eyes of the model. Another strong moment for the menswear was a black sweater absolutely decked out in jewels.
The women’s fashion shone as well. A few standout looks included a leather miniskirt paired with a cream blouse and black necktie, a soft grey sweater dress extending all the way to the ground, a two-tone feathery coat, and a glittery vest 
over a sleek leather jumpsuit. And every eye in the room was fixed when a girl stepped out in a knee length plaid skirt and a tough-as-nails leather bustier. The combinations and architecture of the style at this show could only be described as fierce. Some of the robes and dresses the girls in the “Burlesque” portion stepped out in made my jaw drop, from a full-length sheer black robe printed with white flowers to a long beaded black gown. And when a girl in the “Street” set stepped out in nothing but thigh boots and a crewneck proclaiming “Greatness” all I could do was agree.
EnspiRED integrated a few other arts into the show as well to help introduce each new segment. Before the “Clowns” show, two students stepped out and began juggling, staying out at the sides of the runway for the remainder of that section. 
The “Dolls” show was introduced by a girl dancing down the runway in a way that was both unsettling and mesmerizing. And the “Street” show started with a performance by Michigan’s percussion performance group, Groove. I’m a huge fan of groove, so this was really exciting for me, and the performance was excellent. It definitely helped to bring up the energy of the room.
The designers included in the show were Pitaya, Kemi, Verbana, Today’s Clothing, Caleb Moss, Spectacles, RAGSTOCK, Anjeil, Victoria Secret, Grant 
Henerson, and V2V. While a few looks looked like something you could just find on the rack in any store, the bulk of the fashion displayed were very thoughtfully constructed and paired, and the thematic looks for each show were very clever, such as the softer babydoll dresses in the “Dolls” show and the crop tops and jackets in the “Street” show.
Overall, Rouge was a fun and interesting way to spend a Saturday night. it was very meticulously put together, the fashion clearly carefully chosen, as well as the performances and atmosphere. The show did suffer a little purely from technical difficulties and a crowd that appeared to be much bigger than the space allowed for, but the models and the clothes rang true. I’d definitely recommend attending future shows. 
