If you weren’t there, I’m sorry. Fashion Fight Night III was off-the-hook awesome. Eight hundred of the Twin Cities’ most stylish fashion fans packed Uppercut Boxing Gym, sipping on signature cocktails, wine and beer, and cheering on their favorite fashion photographers. (Check out the complete event photo gallery.)



I was one of five judges, along with jewelry designer Robyn Robinson, stylist Grant Whittaker, trend expert Sara Rogers and LEAD board member Uri Neren. We rated the contestants on things like versatility, use of the ring and overall photography. The crowd also got in on the action, cheering for their favorite stylists-model-photographer team.



American Idol Season Six finalist and Chanhassen Dinner Theater actress Timotha Lanae sang the national anthem and kicked the evening off on an ultra-stylish note.



First up was Ali Jagoda’s fabulous team. They put together three chic looks and wow, could that model move. She was all over the place, twisting and diving and tumbling and turning. So fun to watch!

 

Team Jennifer Cress was in the opposing ring rocking the haute couture. Their styling was some of the best I saw all night. Huge bouffant! Puffy sleeves and skirts! Love it!

 

Cress and co. took home the prize, but let me tell you: it was a close call. In between bouts, the crowd was treated to a Richard-Moody-produced fashion show, featuring Belle Reve, Covered boutique, and men's custom designer Humble Fashion. This was a great addition to the event and the crowd definitely showed their appreciation.

 

Next up, Ingrid Werthman hit the ring where her team whipped out the first surprise of the night: a trampoline! The model—the only solo male model of the night—worked it like you would not believe. Acrobatic modeling is the wave of the future.

 

In the next ring over were Justin Grierson and his team. This was another example of styling gone awesome. And whoa, what a gorgeous model. How is this girl not on an Italian runway somewhere?

 

Ingrid Werthman left with the top prize, but again, it was a close call. Next up, more fashion! The second half of the runway show featured local boutiques Il Vostro, Pink Door, Shorty’s Loft and Humble Fashion. I may or may not want to own everything they showed (even the men’s stuff – hey, don’t judge).

 

For the final round, Photogen, Inc. took the stage and brought it old-school. Oh man, did they bring it. Sexy, smoky and delicious. Lead photographer Eliesa Johnson used both a male and female model and it was hard to tell who was hotter. This round featured the second surprise of the night: confetti! Watch her team get ready here.

 

In the opposing ring, Nic Marshall and his fabulously fierce styling team kicked things up a notch with leather, chicken wire and the most surprising surprise of them all: twins! The first 2/3 of the shoot-out featured model Breezy by her lonesome. But just before the bout came to a close, her twin Coco materialized and they hit the craziest poses of the night. How do I get that limber?

 

As always, it was near impossible to choose between the two groups, but Photogen ended up taking the prize. On behalf of METRO, thank you to all the photographers and their teams for putting on such an amazing night! Thank you also to the boutiques and sponsors for dazzling the crowd and ensuring we all had a blast. My head is still spinning—in a good way.

Check out the gallery below for oodles of shots from the night—if you were there, you're probably in at least one! (and we found additional photos here, here and here)