Couture costumes in Short North

Highball Halloween couture fashion show

Highball Halloween blanketed the Short North Arts District in high fashion Saturday during the couture costume fashion show.

The event (sporting a grand prize of $1,000) featured area designers and their Halloween creations. A glittery, cocktail-dressed bumble bee; a curvy, furry werewolf one-piece; and a sultry dominatrix on stilts were just a few of the detailed fabrics and themes working the runway.

The judging panel was also top class, with Project Runway alums Terri Stevens and Althea Harper on hand to offer the final verdicts. The show also saw an appearance from Mayor Michael Coleman (pictured in photos 14 and 15) and was emceed by drag queen extraordinaire Nina West, 2008 Entertainer of the Year (pictured in photo 1).

Click through the gallery to see some of the models, and be sure to check out our preview story of Highball Halloween (featuring an interview with the event's organizer, John Angelo). Also take a gander at some pictures from other Halloween shindigs around the country in our Halloween parties coast to coast gallery.