What you need to know about the Woman’s Department Club’s fashion show and luncheon

Hundreds of colorful butterflies flying about and hot pink bougainvillea vines filling spaces will plant a garden into the Woman’s Department Club for “A Style for All Seasons” Fashion Show & Garden Party Luncheon.

The WDÇ “garden” will be designed and decorated with faux florals from New York by well-known Designer/Stylist/Dennis Beckman and his sister, Deb Cockrell, owner of Enchanted Garden. “The club will be transformed into an enchanting garden setting filled with purple and blue morning glory flowers highlighted with hundreds of colorful butterflies,” said Beckman.

Models will wander around the floor, answering questions while they show off their outfits. The Sept. 26 fundraiser will be presented at WDC by the club and Cockrell, with WDC members informally modeling the fashions. Veronica Lashley is the event chair.

Beckman is famous locally for designing elaborate crowns and masks for Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex royals starring in grand balls. He has created masks for many years and shipped them around the world, and hats for Easter Parades in San Francisco. When he exhibited his local crown jewels of masks several years ago at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, fans lined up an hour in advance and stretched to the sidewalk. “Museum officials told us at the time that it was the largest crowd for an exhibit they ever had,” said Cockrell.

Beckman will introduce hats created just for the show. Some are elegant and traditional, while others are frothy and pure fun. (You will see a frog in the center of one garden-inspired hat.)

Fall-themed masks adorned  with fluttery, faux fall branches and butterflies fill  an arrangement for a mask.

Enchanted Garden’s will show a variety of show-stopping clothes accessorized with Enchanted’s elegant and unusual jewelry, shown as soft, melodic mood music plays in the background.

“Mainly tops, such as robes, jackets, tunics, wraps, some for day, other for evening” is how Cockrell describes the cutting edge samples. “Fashions include whimsical and fanciful artistic wraps, scarves, hand-crafted beaded purse and unique jewelry and accessories designed in the USA and around the world.”