HighBall finds inspiration in fashion from all over, but we're particularly excited to have some exciting, fashion-forward boutiques right here in our 'hood. Take a look at this chat we had with Maren Roth, proprietor of ROWE, who gives us a taste of what we can expect from her looks on the runway at this year's HighBall.
What made you want to get involved in HighBall?
This is actually my first experience participating in Highball, but from what I know it is a really exciting way to get the community inspired and involved on a large scale. It creates a larger than life celebratory feel that naturally lends itself to gathering a large excited group! In turn, it gives people a reason to come to the Short North, experience the bars, restaurants and become more aware of the types of businesses that exist here, like Rowe. Even though we are closed during Highball, the window shopping is a great calling card to peak a potential shoppers interest and inspire them to come back and visit us during business hours!
Why do you think so many fashion artists call Columbus home?
We have a wonderful arts community, one that not only brings in great artists, but breeds and fosters them. Not only do we have wonderful schools like CCAD, we have fantastic galleries, high end art collectors, the Wexner Center and the Columbus Museum of Art, both incredible institutions that keep artists interested in making Columbus their home. It's often the people that make the place and not the place that makes the people, but in our case we are lucky that it's both!
How would you describe the design aesthetic of the looks you’ll be sending down the
runway?
Wearable Glamour!
Who is your favorite designer?
In general YSL, at the moment I am loving Alexander Wang, Tom Ford and Burberry Prorsum.
HighBall goes hand in hand with Halloween this year, so I gotta ask. What is your favorite Halloween candy, and why?
My favorite candy ever is DOTS, I prefer gummy candy over chocolate any day and Dots are the perfect mix of not too sweet gummy candy. I can eat boxes of them in one sitting!
What kinds of items can people find at your shop that they might not get to see on the
runway?
Rowe is a mix of sophisticated styles with a bohemian twist, not unlike my personal style. We have 2 types of shoppers, the chic professional gals that like to pick things up to wear to an event or out on a date or girls night and serious fashion girls that don't follow trends and beat to their own fashion drummer, so they will pick up great layering pieces, a really amazing jacket or one of a kind necklace or scarf that they know they can't find anywhere else. Although we can't be everything to everyone, we have a fantastic mix of dresses, skirts, sweaters, coats, bags, shoes and jewelry. We have great gift selections as well and we truly do have both affordable priced items such as $60 tops and $30 earrings as well as aspirational items to keep our fashionistas appetites satiated, excited and inspired!
Along with having great things, we have amazing sales gals/stylists in the store that can help some of the more fashion challenged customers put amazing looks together. We want our customers to know that fashion is our art and we are here to help them, we want them to utilize our knowledge and innate fashion sense to put together amazing looks for them!
How would you describe Columbus style?
Columbus style spans the fashion spectrum and I am constantly inspired by the people I see on the streets of Columbus, OH.
To see more of Maren's ROWE styles, be at HighBall on October 28th. Be sure to follow us on twitter @highballcbus for the latest updates, and invites your friends to join you at HighBall on Facebook! Ciao!
