Oseas Villatoro Presents Men’s Wear at a Hot New Venue
by Stylishly Aubree Lynn
Stylist/Writer/Producer
Within the past year Oseas Villatoro has upped his fashion game from women’s wear to solely focusing on men’s wear and landing himself in a boutique on University Avenue in San Diego called Manfest. This store has only men’s wear and carries local designers as well as novelty items. Villatoro wanted to highlight his collection and developed a show to feature two looks on 11 models. And he had one model closing the show wearing a grandiose garment created by Erik Benson. I was asked by Villatoro to style these looks top to bottom using his designs from shirts with prints, hooded zip-ups with flower embroidery, mesh flower prints, and also men’s swimwear.
Being a stylist I get in the zone. It doesn’t matter the event or the type of show we are doing. The outfits, collaborating designs with accessories, and color swapping to make certain elements on the ensemble pop off to the viewer is my ultimate goal. My inspiration is to make the audience want to look just like the model wearing the designer’s garments, while adding their own flare. After the first styling session for this fashion show my goal was attained.
Five o’clock curtain call took place at Manfest on May 11, the evening of runway 12 models. On hand were designer Oseas Villatoro, painter Erik Benson, stylist Stylishly Aubree Lynn, emcee Racquel D. Yarborough, and photographer Alexandra Images. Oseas and I conquered the fitting of 22 looks all before walking down the street in model like swag over to InsideOUT, the venue for the 6:30 p.m. men’s wear show.
While entering InsideOUT, a restaurant and bar site for the fashion show, I saw the designer and architect of this hot new venue and made my move to reconnect. Mike Burnett and I had met at Andy Warhol’s PoP Factory event back in 2017. I recalled that he had the most amazing suit on and it sparked a conversation. Following that introduction I had the pleasure of styling him as he told me about this venue he was creating, a living space that also has a bar and restaurant in the courtyard and a ramp walkway for events and runway shows.
And here it was standing in all of its glory, among red staggered buildings standing out on University Avenue. It has a vibe of San Francisco meets Los Angeles. Though I cannot attest to the food (though it looked and smelled amazing), the drink I had, complimentary of Mr. Burnett, was exceptional. It was a mango Chile cocktail with Chile candy wrapped around my straw. It definitely gave me something to enjoy before the show.
I got to my seat high above the runway just before the show started. It was everything magical of course; the models were amazing. Racquel rocked the microphone. The grand finale presented Vivvi TheForce wearing an Erik Benson painted floor length skirt with train. Painted words trailed down the back and the front was the InsideOUT building also painted on fabric. The center section opened up to fabric and the word Hillcre was prominently displayed in bold letters. This is with reference to Hillcrest. The model also wore Lady Gaga type platform heels. This was truly a jaw dropping finish.
The night could not have gone better. Everyone seemed to be truly enjoying themselves. As the sun was setting on May 11, 2019, I was heading to dinner with my husband and wrapping up my picture perfect 34th birthday. That’s because I had the opportunity to style a show and celebrate my day with family and friends. It was the ultimate way to start my next year of life.
A huge thanks to all of the following: Oseas Villatoro for his sweet spirit and never ending creations; Manfest for allowing us to overtake his Boutique; InsideOUT for hosting; all the models for their time, being prompt and their killer runway walks; Erik Benson for his creative edge; Racquel for her energy and passion behind the microphone; Alexandra Images for those amazing photos and attention to detail; and to Mike Burnett for remembering it was my birthday and providing me with a special drink. Burnett’s dream to make InsideOUT a reality for all to enjoy has been accomplished. It truly is an outstanding venue and San Diego social hub.
Category: Entertainment, Events, feature, Local News
