The air buzzed with anticipation as the room filled with journalists, photographers, videographers, and friends of the designer. Cupcakes by Desserts, a Tawny Ong creation, in one hand and Champagne in another. Guests milled around the room socializing over nibbles and sips as they gathered Wednesday evening for designer Sally Wu’s presentation of  Act 1, her debut collection, at Chamber’s Fine Art.

A long diagonal divided the gallery, and a single spotlight hit upon a tan box. The lights flickered, a soft melody enveloped the room in escalating, powerful, rhythmic precision. Models began their long stride marches in shades of black, natural, nude, plum, and peacock. Rich tones of modesty reflected the beams of the photographers’ flashes, including those of Patrick McMullan and Steven Ekerovich. Durable yet refined fabrics including stretch wool, boucle, suede, cotton stretch jersey, silk, and satin, demonstrated a wearable, functional, and elegant collection. As the last model took her final stride backstage, the crowd flourished in conversation and anticipation for the collection’s release this Fall.

Backstage flooded with supporters, celebrating the work of Designer Sally Wu, Hair Director Marcos Diaz, Make-up Artist Laura Pugliese, and Producer Katie Collins. In a backstage interview with the designer, she described the inspiration behind the collection. “The idea that drives the Fall/Winter 2010 collection is complicated/simple. To be complicated is easy but to be simple is very complicated. It takes lots of thought process and trials, revisions to get to simplicity.”

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