Mario De La Torre pops the question to Evette Smith. All pictures by Jon Malan.
De La Torre Asks Girlfriend to Marry at His Style Fashion Week Show
Mario De La Torre introduced Purpose, the Fall/Winter 2018 collection from his self-named Mario De La Torre label at Style Fashion Week Palm Springs April 7. But he could have called the show Proposal.
At the end of the runway show at the Palm Springs Air Museum, De La Torre proposed to his girlfriend Evette Smith. The show had a happy ending. Holding their infant daughter Vivienne, Smith said yes. The proposal was complete surprise for Smith. De La Torre didn’t tell anyone that he was going to propose. But friends of the label thought there was something different about this night.
“I was so nervous,” De La Torre said. “People were saying ‘You’re always so chill. What is going on?’”
He described the post-show scene as ‘blissful chaos,” what with a big crowd cheering when he got down on one knee to ask his girlfriend to marry him.
Before the fireworks of the proposal, the 20 piece runway show included some notable changes from past Mario De La Torre shows. It was the first time the De La Torre label showed a maternity dress. It was the first time a male model, named Korrie Hayes, walked the show. It was the first time De La Torre used faux fur. Musician Damon Aaron composed three original songs for the Purpose runway show.
The Fall/Winter 2018 also offered exaggerated sleeves on some pieces. But De La Torre still holds to his minimal aesthetic. “There is some complexity with the looks, but I like simplicity. I also like comfort. Everything had stretch in it. I wanted women to roll out of beds in the clothes, but still look fabulous.”
