Shiree Houf’s gold-themed design from Highball Halloween 2022, titled “King Midas,” retold the story of King Midas with a pirate twist.
Credit: Tony Bentivegna
Halloween is the season for horror movies, pumpkin carving and dressing up as someone — or something — else for one magical night.
Saturday, the Short North Art District will temporarily transform into an elaborate Halloween fashion show that spotlights the creativity of multiple designers, adding flair to the spooky season.
This fashion show is none other than Highball Halloween, an annual event where attendees can dress up and enjoy the avant-garde garments constructed by participating designers, live music and multiple food vendors, Betsy Pandora, the Short North Alliance’s executive director, said.
“Highball is the nation’s most elaborate costume party,” Pandora said. “It is truly a festival of the sights, sounds and visuals of the most creative people in Columbus.”
What makes Highball truly special, however, is the multitude of personal fashion quirks each designer brings to the table every year, Pandora said.
Gerardo Encinas, a local boutique owner and featured fashion designer in this year’s event, said he has been designing garments for as long as he can remember but officially started his own brand in 2012.
“I think since I was a kid, in my mind I’d say that I wanted to be a fashion designer,” Encinas said. “When I made the decision to focus 100 percent on my fashion career and had the savings to afford my passion is what really started my career in the fashion world.”
Encinas said his style — defined by bright color palettes and consistent use of floral prints — sets him apart from others in addition to the inspiration he adopts from his own culture.
“I’m always trying to put some of my country, Mexico, into my work,” Encinas said. “I’m very visual so whatever I see, I transform into my designs. You can choose a design from my first collection and choose another one from my last collection and put it together so that it will match.”
Encinas said his love for Halloween stems from the experimental and vibrant nature of the holiday, particularly in the costume department.
“I love to make costumes,” Encinas said. “I’m doing more couture fashion but combining it with costumes. Highball allows me to join two things that I love and turn it into a beautiful piece that I get to show off to the audience.”
Shiree Houf, a freelance costume designer also participating in this year’s Highball, said she discovered her passion for design in college and has now worked in the industry for more than a decade.
“I’ve always been making things my whole life,” Houf said. “I was already working in the costume and scene shop for theater at my college, and I realized that these are viable career paths. I could just make things for a living.”
Houf said her visions can come from almost anything, so long as it tells a story she can convey through her work. Drawing inspiration from whimsical, out-of-the-box artists like Italian designer Franco Moschino, Houf said her style encompasses a little bit of everything.
“I love having fun,” Houf said. “I love looking at historical costuming, other artists’ paintings — sometimes materials even inspire me to tell a story. The crazier the story I get to tell, the better.”
Participating in Highball as an Ohio native is a major personal accomplishment for Houf, especially since she said it allows her loved ones to attend and see her work on display.
“I’m a firm believer in doing good art where you’re planted,” Houf said. “Doing the best art for those who have raised, supported and invested in me is an honor and more fun than anything else.”
Houf said she especially cherishes Highball because of the creative freedom it lends its designers, the professional connections it fosters and the budget it grants its competitors to create their designs.
Annie Travis, another Highball 2023 designer, said she always hoped to pursue advertising and design but had no costume-making experience until she participated in Highball 2012. It was this experience, she said, that expanded her advertising ambitions to include the clothing side of design.
Travis, also the founder and creator of Modern Material — a Columbus-based merchandising and marketing company — said the sheer extravagance of Highball is what pushed her into the clothing and costume business.
“It’s over the top,” Travis said. “The costumes in the couture show are crazy. That’s why I love doing Highball, it’s just a fun show.”
Travis said her style as a designer can be chalked up to pop culture and music icons such as Gwen Stefani, her self-proclaimed “style icon,” and Madonna, who inspired her to blend fashion and music together.
“My designs have always been kind of rock-’n’-roll inspired but still kind of feminine,” Travis said. “I always have a lot of studs and embellishments, but I like to mix it with feminine details like ruffles and lace.”
Though all three designers have different styles, backgrounds and reasons for participating in Highball, all agreed the crowd and its reactions are one of the most rewarding things about being a designer.
“As long as I can create a reaction, any reaction at all, I feel like I’ve done my job,” Houf said. “It can be negative or positive. As long as there’s a reaction, that makes me happy.”
More information about this year’s Highball Halloween, including how to purchase tickets, can be found here.
