Did the Frick’s Adorning the Boudoir go too far?

The Place: Friday night at the Ace Hotel Pittsburgh in East Liberty.

Baby, it’s cold outside (but hot in here!): Let me preface this by saying that I love The Frick Pittsburgh’s newest exhibit “Undressed: A History of Fashion in Underwear.” It’s a chic, exciting exhibit that I encourage everyone to see while it’s here through the holiday season. And I understand what the mission of The Frick Pittsburgh is evolving to be, a fashion-forward museum capturing the spirit of the past and reinventing it for modern audiences. I’m on board.

But what I was not on board with was the fashion “show” that took place at the otherwise fabulous Adorning the Boudoir event that was held to engage and inspire the next generation of museum enthusiasts. While the party itself was sultry, fun and titillating (I mean, who wouldn’t love a bunch of lingerie-inspired looks sauntering around a gym, washed with red lights and glowing with candles?) the display that took place on stage — which was supposed to be a high-end fashion runway experience produced by Lawrenceville’s Pulchra lingerie shop — devolved instead into auditions for the next Ron Jeremy film. With everything going on in the world, the show was a tasteless example of what happens when you are tone deaf. This was not sexy — it was embarrassing. It didn’t elevate, it degraded. And while Pulchra’s fashions themselves were beautiful, I was too distracted to notice. I wish the runway show would have lived up to the audience who came dressed to impress in vintage robes from Shadyside’s Eons, lingerie-inspired looks from different eras, and sexy rompers. We want to celebrate the body in all its glory. We want to embrace different shapes, ethnicities and ages through a lens focused on empowerment, not exploitation.