Au Courant 2014: An Evening of Fashion & Philanthropy

Fashionistas and philanthropists came together on a beautiful Friday evening in June at Belle Mer in Newport for an extraordinary showcase of style. Through the collaborative efforts of Child & Family and StyleWeek Northeast, Au Courant celebrates and promotes the extraordinary creative talents of some of the finest designers in the region including Nick Pini, Jess Abernethy, Jonathan Joseph Peters, Sarah Prost, Luke Aaron and Avni Trivedi. (For bios on each, CLICK HERE.)

Following cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the lawn, it was time to take in the looks on the runway in the Water Salon:

There shouldn’t be any pressure on what to wear to a fashion show, and StyleWeek Northeast founder Rosanna Ortiz has said her hope is that StyleWeek attendees have fun–not stress–with their own fashion choices for such an event, but I wanted to try something, well, a little “inside the box.” The Rent the Runway box, that is. The one stop online shop to rent dresses & accessories by famous designers has become a national favorite among those whose closets aren’t typically stocked with Monique Lhuilliers, Badgley Mischkas and Halstons. There was so much to choose from but I ultimately decided on a unique Nha Khanh dress that celebrated the season with an interesting edge:

The Nha Khanh Hydranga Dream dress retails for $1085.00 but is just a $150.00 rental. It’s made from floral printed chiffon (I pretty much never wear florals but this was such an artistic pattern) is sleeveless, has a crew neckline and invisible back zipper. But it’s most dramatic feature is the sheer chiffon “cape.” I pushed it to the limit by ordering this dress on a Tuesday for a Friday evening event, but it arrived in plenty of time. (Typically Rent the Runway offers customers two sizes with a rental–one  a size bigger or one a size smaller–as a back up. There wasn’t a second a size up available but I took a chance and it worked out fine!) Inside the Rent the Runway box was instructions and a padded UPS return envelope, so after the weekend I popped up to the UPS Store on Bellevue Avenue and (sadly) shipped it back to RTR.

I would absolutely Rent the Runway again and highly recommend it! CLICK HERE for more on how RTR works.

Most photos by Mia Lupo. Visit her blog by CLICKING HERE. Rent the Runway offered a credit to experience the service, I provided an unbiased review. Special thanks to Child & Family and StyleWeek Northeast organizers.