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Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, SohoMuse

By Peter Elston

SohoMuse, “the trusted source for creative professionals” co-founded by Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, seventh generation heir of shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, in collaboration with Jez & LiveRocketStudios, attracted a crowd from the worlds of finance, society, celebrity, fashion, and tech.

Costin is co-founder and president of the career networking site SohoMuse, a platform for creative professionals across the globe to network and collaborate across various creative industries. SohoMuse, launched in 2018, counts many of the world’s top creatives as members, including fashion designers Malan Breton and Nicole Miller, and New York Times fashion writer Ruth La Ferla. 

A singer-songwriter, and a successful tech entrepreneur, Costin began her career as a singer-songwriter, landing her first record deal in the U.K. at the age of 21. In 2010, she founded her own record label, a venture that garnered her the title of Billboard Recording Artist with all singles landing in the top 10, with her latest single at top 5. Costin also released a jewelry collection inspired by the Vanderbilt family heirlooms on HSN. The homage line paid tribute to her prestigious family history.

Set in the sexy, all black, two story LiveRocketStudios event in New York City in the newly renovated Seaport area, “Ignite The Runway” was presented in this “salon noire” which featured two circular staircases which proved to be a magnificent backdrop for this innovative manipulation of Fashion, Music & Art & Tech, succinctly woven into a tapestry of visual eye candy whereby each fashion designer & performer was introduced by their beautiful muse and host of the evening, Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin. She introduced musical performances interspersed between each designer’s debuting of their micro-collections for Spring-Summer 2023. 

Participating Fashion Designers included Victor de Souza, In Earnest by Byron Lars & Sheila Gray, Celestino by Sergio Guadarrama & Kade Johnson, Argenis, and Manuel Tiscareno. 

This unconventional manner of showcasing design collections emulated that of a cabaret or Broadway show rather than the traditional designer collective with a traditional runway. As guests marveled at the fashions, they enjoyed the stellar performances from Tarralyn Ramsey-Pop-Gospel Singer, Sydney Palmier-Indie-Pop chanteuse, Mari Burelle, in addition to an exceptional performance by the Joffrey Ballet School dancers who performed to songs by Lady Gaga.

On the 2nd floor, SohoMuse utilized the massive raw space to curate an art exhibition enlisting Israeli-born, nature-infusing artist, Rotem Reshef whose sprawling naturescape canvases gave the impression of being in a forest with compositions emulating fluid streams of consciousness which were painted with elements of flora which you could smell. Juxtaposed against those were innovative LED backlit cityscapes from artist Michael Victor, quirky illustrations from new artists, 18-year-old Remy Rivers and model/artist Emma Deegan who also walked in runway shows. 

SohoMuse, since its inception, has taken the path less traveled by supporting the global community of creatives and always serving up experiential evenings, online master classes, topical symposiums which highlight the multiple verticals of creativity and highlight topical issues of the day.

Additionally, a trailer for an upcoming documentary concerning the history of the Vanderbilt family’s interest in Fashion and how Consuelo is helping to connect the next generation of creatives will be released at the Sugar Loaf Film Festival 2022. 

Event Sponsors at the event included LiveRocket, Impact Partners, JPMorgan Private Banking, Ghost Tequila For more information on SohoMuse,
visit sohomuse.com