Get ready to STRUTT your stuff

The wearable art runway show STRUTT is back with plans for crazier, bolder and far more absurd outfits than ever before.

Every year extreme artworks grace the bodies of artists as they descend in Niagara to produce a show that would put the outfits on the fashion world’s catwalks to shame.

In its 13 year, STRUTT has become a signature event for Niagara. This year they have added an art exhibit, guerilla interventions and street performances to this year’s lineup.

“The thing with STRUTT is that almost anyone can participate. We have some very accomplished career artists and we have high school students. When you engage your imagination everyone becomes an equal,” said Stephen Remus, Minister of Energy, Minds and Resources at Niagara Artists’ Centre.

“So without overstating it, with so many people involved in STRUTT — hundreds of artists, performers, technicians, musicians, volunteers and the audience dressing up and getting into it too — it becomes a form of community self-expression.”

Nothing is out of the ordinary. With past shows bringing in more outrageous outfits than the next that have included attire made out of film negatives, leaves and stuffed animals, Lady Gaga might seem like the norm – except not as cool.

“The cowboy chaps made of hotdog wieners was an indelible moment – and the guy who performed it, Pascual, was a French semi-pro ping-pong player and he really out-did himself,” said Remus.

“We’ve had acrobats wearing Glam-Rock police riot gear that would have embarrassed Mott the Hoople. You see these things, and you think, oh yeah, that’s the kind of town I live in.”

Events like STRUTT become a defining cultural event for the area. It is what makes Niagara a distinct arts and culture hub.

Be prepared for some new and exciting additions to this year’s event including the first multi-performer wearable art piece, called an Exquisite Corpse that 10 people will wear.

“The runway show on Nov. 3 seems to be gathering into a perfect storm, some kind of a post-apocalyptic thing — like Mad Max Braun — wound into a Fellini film. A lot of the wearable art that was submitted this year is darker than the stuff in the past and we have Old World Vulture and members of the Niagara Symphony providing the music so it will be epic,” said Remus. “It’s shaping up to be the party at the end of the World. I guess too much of the American election campaign has been seeping into people’s lives.”

The launch party will be taking place at Mikado on Nov. 2 with the runway show taking place on Nov. 3 at the WS Tyler Warehouse in St. Catharines. Doors open at 8:00 p.m. and the runway show begins at 9:00 p.m. This year there will be over 40 wearable artworks from artists all over Ontario. Tickets start at $35 per person and tables start at $400.

For ticket purchasing information, visit struttwearableartshow.ca or call 905.688.5550 ext. 3257.