PINNACLE a 360° Fashion Experience

After selling out twice, it was clear: Everyone wanted to be here. Columbia Plaza is officially on the map.

PINNACLE began with my love for the 29th floor of Columbia Plaza and desire to share its unique, raw space with anyone that was willing to come up! Don’t even get me started on the views- on a clear day you can see the horizon 20 miles in the distance.

The idea to bring the Cincinnati community into Columbia Plaza while creating a platform for local designers to showcase their talent came from a sense of frustration that there were not enough opportunities for creative growth and success here in our hometown. With events like BLINK and Luminocity in addition to the fashion shows curated by Cincy Chic drawing huge crowds, it was apparent the city wanted more!

As planning for this event commenced, we committed to supporting Cincinnati vendors. PINNACLE became an outlet for local photographers, musicians, and entrepreneurs.

The event began at 7:00 and our favorite bartending team, Cincy Bartiste, was serving up custom cocktails and Taft & Rhinegeist beer. A local harp and flute duo filled the first floor lobby with elegant, classical music. Our neighbor, Wild Eggs, provided delicious bites for all attendees to enjoy. Twin Spire Photography snapped photos throughout the evening and on the black carpet while an Urban Blooms pop up living wall made the ideal backdrop for an Insta-perfect selfie.

AND THAT WAS JUST ON THE FIRST FLOOR!

At 8:00, the elevators opened and guests were whisked up to the top of the building. The 29th floor has panoramic city views and is a stark contrast to the modern, chic, multi-million dollar lobby. It is this juxtaposition that inspired the creation of two opposite atmospheres at the event to highlight the beauty of the different spaces- upscale sophistication in the lobby and urban eccentricity on the 29th floor.

Self Diploma’s DJ Drowsy flooded all 20,000 square feet of space with sound. There was an additional bar on the top floor and guests could enjoy their drinks as they graffitied all over a 20 ft blank wall. By the end of the evening, almost every white area was covered in color.

And then it was showtime. The peak of PINNACLE was a collaborative fashion experience that showcased 7 local designer’s* most current collections. “Floating above Cincinnati, eye-to-eye with the top of the Fifth Third Center and the Carew Tower, models began coming down the runway” (1).

Each brand brought their own individual style to the show. “While Grind and Glaze’s fluid, minimalist clothing was modeled by slow, methodical, 360-degree turns, LivLocal’s athleisure streetwear bounced down the runway as the models skipped and strutted.” (1). The music selected to accompany each collection was curated and cut by DJ Drowsy to match the looks going down the runway and add to the aesthetic of each designer.

The crowd of tenants, brokers, industry leaders, professionals, and fashionistas gathered around the exhibition portion of the event as the runway show concluded to meet and greet with the designers and see each piece in the collection up close.

A dance party took over the runway bringing the perfect end to the perfect night. So many people came together to make PINNACLE at Columbia Plaza a huge success and we CANNOT WAIT to bring you another ground-breaking event.

“We all have a dream & they [the designers, models, photographers, entrepreneurs] were one of the few to see their dreams come true in real life” (2).

PINCH ME.

To see more photos from the event, check out our Facebook page.

*featured designers: Calle Evans, Grind and Glaze, Philippe Haas Bespoke Tailoring, Jonathan Mezibov, FWHRL, LivLocal, loner

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