When the annual theme for Artrageous is announced, Nashville’s clothes hounds go into overdrive to find —or make — that perfect outfit.
This year’s Roaring 1920s speakeasy look is presenting an opportunity to go all out, which is exactly what event and after party planners had in mind.
“I’ve heard a lot of people are excited about being able to dress up for the event,” said Gary Gaston, who along with Ryan Moss is co-chairing the after-party for Artrageous 21: Glitz & Glam. “People are showing us their costumes, and it’s all fashion that really goes back to the 1920s. Some men are renting tuxes and suits, and a lot of women are either renting dresses or pulling something together out of what they already own. Everyone’s very excited about it.”
The theme came as a happy surprise to some, as it’s an election year and there was no small amount of worry in the community that the overarching theme might be on all things political. Visions of conservative blue suits, sensible shoes and flag lapel pins danced uneasily in some heads. Happily, the only fringe element at this year’s bash will be on the bottom of skirts.
“We hadn’t had a decade theme in quite a while, and this was something that works with the times,” said Brian Pickler, event co-chair. “It’s classy, but it’s still fun and campy. If people want to wear jeans and a blazer that’s fine, but it’s really an opportunity for gangster and flapper attire and we think people are going to go all-out for it.”
While they’re keeping mum on the details, Gaston and Moss say that the after party at Limelight in East Nashville will most definitely keep the glamour alive well after the gallery buses stop running.
“It’s an incredible venue, with a lot of wide-open space,” Gaston said. “Everyone’s going to go around to the galleries, and then converge on this speakeasy that we’re creating. It’s going to have that secret-location feel, a place that’s a little off the beaten path. People are going to come up to this unassuming-looking place and then enter this beautiful, glamorous room.”
The after party, which will run from 10 p.m. to midnight, is a shortened version of previous years, but that too is part of the ongoing evolution of Artrageous, Pickler added.
“We wanted to add an extra hour to the gallery tour so that people would have plenty of time,” he said. “We want them to hit as many as possible before going to the party, which won’t be any less fun for being a little bit shorter than it’s been in the past. We’ve just shifted the focus back to the galleries more this year.”
From sneak peeks at costumes to what he’s hearing from gallery owners around town, it appears that the buy-in for this year’s theme has been strong, Gaston said.
“Once we’d put our vision out there everyone has really picked it up and run with it,” he said. “This theme had been talked about before, so there was a lot of excitement when it was announced. I think everything’s working out really, really well.”