On the Catwalk, Yeah

It’s easy to mock the world of professional modeling from behind the comfort of our laptop screens and the forgiving waistbands of PajamaJeans. (Pass that bag of Late Night All Nighter Cheeseburger Doritos, please.) But every day, professional clothes hangers, we mean models, must face grueling denial, physical fatigue, and a series of existential conundrums. For instance, are they really wanted only when they’re 17 or younger? What happens if they are, in fact, too sexy for their shirts? Robyn Peterson aims to answer many of these burning questions in her one-woman production, Catwalk Confidential, which opens this Thursday at the Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theater. A Miami native, Peterson was swept into the world of Paris modeling in the early ’70s, at the tender age of 16. She quickly became a top model in the era before supermodels, when the industry was even looser and more grueling. What’s it like to be made to feel ancient by age 20? With its constant hand-wringing over age, this cautionary comedy might have you dropping the Doritos and reaching for the Retinol eye cream, stat. Expect scandalous tidbits about photographers such as Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin, and designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint-Laurent. Though there’s no dress code for the performance, we suggest that, no matter how comforting, you leave the Crocs and Snuggie at home.
March 17-20, 8 p.m., 2011