Tension and excitement started to build the moment the drag-clad, stiletto-booted Tommy Chiffon parted the curtain at the Vynyl club in Hollywood. From there, designer Grant Krajecki did his thing: letting the Psycho Dance Sho communicate the Grey Ant aesthetic in a series of vignettes by the magnetic dance troupe. One of our favorites was the three late ’70s/early ’80s babes in mechanic-style jumpsuits who drenched their hair in water and delivered a sequence that was oh-so “Flashdance,” sending the crowd into hysterics. Then there was a feel-it-in-your-gut moment when a man tied a woman’s wrists with a rope to subdue her, took a box-cutter knife and sliced the gathered black dress off of her to reveal swimwear. Trouble is, we later learned, her screams weren’t part of the act, the man accidentally cut her leg. An emergency room visit and 20 stitches later, the dancer is doing fine, according to Krajecki’s publicist. There was another eyebrow-raising moment when four men forcibly restrained a topless woman, suggesting something more sinister. With all of that going on, you almost forgot to look at the clothes, which, we have to say, were great. The Grey Ant “Runaway” collection, for example, drove the point home with mud stains splashed up the back of utilitarian pants, as if an escapee had worn them while making a break. A pair of women’s pants had permanent crease marks at the hip, as if from sitting in a car for hours. The asymmetric hair and purple triangles of makeup on dancers, who wore pastel blouses with shoulder rolls, told us that Krajecki is fascinated with a time when ’70s disco collided with ’80s punk and is at the forefront of a revival.
(from left)Top:Anna Huling at CLAD, Michelle Mason, Brave New Unwired World. Bottom:Estevan Ramos, Menage a Trois at PCT, Grey Ant, Sheri Bodell at the Collective Fashion Show.
