Graham

Following up on the recent thread that showed excerpts from the thrilling Lane Bryant runway show from Las Vegas, here at last are all seven complete segments of the show, uploaded today by Lane Bryant itself.

I have placed the opening segment first and the finale last, of course, but since the other portions aren't numbered, I have arranged them in order of excitement and beauty, starting with the most captivating.


Opening





Western

This portion opens like a Shania Twain video. It's definitely the most colourful, energetic, and beautiful segment. I like the fact that Candice has a touch more fullness at the waist than some of the other girls. She's almost a true plus-size model.

But the shining star is Lauren, who closes the segment. She appears in the best look of the entire show at 3:57, with so much energy and catwalk charisma. She has a beautifully soft waist. If only she were at least one size fuller-figured.





Animal Instinct

This is the portion with the adorable plush toys. Sarah Slick has a great figure and works the catwalk best in this segment, really playing with her plush tiger. If only she might adopt a different hairstyle - keeping the length, but trying something other than those overly severe, straight-down bangs. Even brushing the bangs to the side would be a prettier look.





Glitz and Glamour

The opening with the guys is a bit much. The GQ models were used more effectively in the Western portion.

Lovely Lauren enters at 2:49, and watch for an exciting look at the camera from her at 3:11.





French Inspired

The business with the puppies looks a bit better as a complete segment than it did in excerpts. It's wonderful to see the slight curves along Candice's back. The camera directly at the foot of the runway is set too dark, though it has the most important (head-on) angle, but the other cameras are sufficiently bright.





Not So Neutral

This is a clothing portion rather than lingerie. Lauren enters at 1:14 and performs very well, although here the fact that she is faux-plus is evident. It's the only strike against her, and she is still the standout girl in this show.





Finale




- - - - - - - -

All in all, a really exciting show. The fact that the models were 12/14s and a couple of 16s means that it was superior to the previous Lane Bryant runway shows from the early 2000s, where skinny, underweight 10/12s abounded. But the girls still should have been at least one size bigger across the board.

Technically, the only criticism is that the frame rate for the videos was a bit low. Lane Bryant could and should have uploaded these segments in high definition. Surely that's how they were filmed. I'd love to buy a DVD or Blu-Ray of the show.

The clothing was pretty, the concepts very clever (especially the plush toys and the Western segment). I love the joyful, relaxed attitude of all of the best models in the show, and the fact that most of the girls at least had a bit of softness in their figures and weren't overly "toned." A couple of the girls were not completely comfortable; perhaps they lack experience. But all in all, a sensational event.

I just wish that some Judgment of Paris favourites (Kelsey, Katherine, Kailee, etc.) had been included as well. They would have truly owned the runway!

Pamela

No question that it was a fine event from Lane Bryant, with top-notch production values. It was colourful, vibrant, and the girls clearly had fun. I liked the sophistication of the 2000 show, but this was a different animal, and the joy in the models' smiles was infectious. Lane Bryant has always done fine lingerie, especially in colourful citrus hues, like the yellow item that Lauren was wearing. Altogether, the styling was great.

The title-card graphics introducing the different segments were a nice touch. Those were probably inspired by the 2000 show. I think, however, that these videos might be using different soundtracks than what the girls walked to on the runway in Las Vegas. That's just a guess.

Generally, the models were a bit better in terms of size than the girls in, say, the 2002 show, but roughly equal to what they were in the 2000 presentation, so there's no question that the company could and should have used fuller-figured girls. It's not like these were universally the top runway walkers in the industry (e.g., one of the blondes other than Lauren seemed a bit uncomfortable on the runway), so I'm sure that LB could have found any number of curvier models who would have been just as dynamic, if not more, on the catwalk. Just look at Katherine Roll's confidence in her bridal runway pictures, or Lindsey at FFFWeek 2010, or Kelsey in her catwalk-style videos for Torrid. Or Mayara Russi at FWPS.

Size 18s, 20s, etc. do just fine on the runway, as FFFWeek and FWPS have proven. So model size is the most obvious area were Lane Bryant could have improved this event.

But it was better in every way than, say, the One Stop Plus runway show from last year, or any Elena Miro show ever, so there was a lot to like in this production. I hope that LB will do more projects such as this in the future.

MelanieW

The only other criticism I would make - or rather, lets call it an "opportunity for improvement" for future shows - is that this event didnt attract nearly as much publicity as the 2000-2003 shows. Whether it was because those were held in New York rather than Las Vegas, or for whatever reason, those were much better publicized. They were covered on every news channel and entertainment-news program around. The supplementary videos from the 2000 and 2002 shows on YouTube indicate this.

But perhaps this 2011 production was a case of Lane Bryant gingerly putting its feet back in the water, and the next show (because I hope they will do more) will be even more widely publicized. AND will feature some fuller-figured models!

But bravo to LB on a very fine event.