Famed fashion designer Catalin Botezatu launched on Friday evening his Epoch collection to an audience of over a thousand people who enjoyed the event staged in the courtyard of the former summer residence of Baron Samuel von Brukenthal in Avrig - Sibiu County. Models dressed in spectacular Baroque-inspired outfits exuded glamour, despite having to walk one of the longest and hardest catwalks in their career, the designer told AGERPRES.

Some of Catalin Botezatu's creations featured in Avrig will be seen again at the end of August at the Grand Ball of Monte Carlo that precedes the opening of the Venice Film Festival, and which is placed under the High Patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.

The Epoch collection was launched on the first day of the Finest Fashion Fest; on Saturday evening Catalin Botezatu presented another collection on the Celebrity Alley in the historic center of Sibiu City.

"This collection was created especially for that place, for the mansion, with immense evening dresses fitted with trains about 3-4 metres long. The focus there was on pomp, on luxury. (...) This was maybe the longest catwalk, which was very demanding for the girls. It's very difficult to walk down the stairs in such heavy, elaborate gowns and in high heels, and last but not least, to also get into the specific mood, because in front of the fountain of the Avrig mansion we created a cornucopia table, there were candlesticks and candle arrangements everywhere. There were two upholstered armchairs to seat the girls and boys who interacted in graceful scenes, clinking wine flutes, so that was a show we staged to fit the venue, you were watching a show in which the models had turned into actresses and actors, and why not, into counts, countesses or princesses from that time," Catalin Botezatu told AGERPRES in an interview.

After the launch of the Epoch collection, Baron Brukenthal's summer mansion in Avrig hosted another national premiere - the first olfactory dinner accompanying a fashion show.

"I enjoyed an extraordinary audience, I think that almost a thousand people attended the event and there were another 400 guests at the olfactory dinner, which for Romania was another never-seen-before feast, held in the French Garden. Everyone asked why olfactory? Olfactory because the chef set off from a perfume and the dishes were actually created around that fragrance. Every product, from the appetizer to the dessert, had that hint of the perfume the chef had started from. This was another high-magnitude event," Catalin Botezatu explained.

The launch of the new collection also brought to Avrig famous French hairstylist Laurent Tourette, who also owns a salon in Bucharest and who is considered one of the top ten hairstylists in the world, according to Catalin Botezatu.

"We brought the famous Laurent Tourette, one of the world's top ten hairstylists. Twice a year, he, alongside another nine hair artists, set the hairdo trends, at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. They launch the trends to an audience of 4,000 people. He's been part of my team for years now, he's my friend and I don't go anywhere without him. The same happened [at Avrig], where they created Baroque-style coiffures decked with crowns, gorgeous hair arrangements and extensions," said Catalin Botezatu.

The spectacular dresses presented at Avrig caused a sensation, and some of them will be seen at the end of the month, at the ball of Prince Albert of Monaco that opens the Venice Film Festival, where Catalin Botezatu was invited.

"Some of the dresses premiered here will also go to the Venice Film Festival, where we participate in the opening. So, on August 29 - 30 I'll be in Venice, at the film festival, at the Prince Albert Ball," Catalin Botezatu announced.

The summer residence of Baron Samuel von Brukenthal in the town of Avrig is the property of the Evangelical Church and is currently managed by a private investor. The venue has hosted fashion shows before.

Botezatu's fashion shows were part of the Finest Fashion Fest, one of the fashion festivals that take place in Sibiu every year. AGERPRES (RO - author: Isabela Paulescu, editor: Karina Olteanu; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)