After touring through Minneapolis, Chicago and Los Angeles, the Macy's Glamorama entourage finally took the stage in SF last Friday, at the nearly sold-out Orpheum Theater. 

This year's theme -- ARTrageous -- really set the course for the evening, with a powerful movement of art (everything from Degas' ethereal dancers to Banksy's iconic street graffiti) playing backdrop to several dance performances and fashion shows.

The mini runway collections were staggered between and during musical sets, creating an easy flow of fashion, music and art. Overall, the Rachel Roy, Tracy Reese (who also made a special live appearance!), and Karl Lagerfeld for Macy's Impulse collections really tore up the catwalk. For menswear, the Kenneth Cole's show, which featured models on a conveyer belt, was modern, gritty and certainly the most notable.  

And now for the music... Electro-rock quartet and breakthrough Asian American group, Far East Movement, was the first act to take the stage. As expected, the high-energy performance of their mega-hit, "Like a G6," really shook things up.

Next came Bruno Mars, much to the delight of teenyboppers screaming from the balcony. The lyrical heartthrob came on in a black suit and sporting a pompadour, and tore it up with his brass band. His voice was as clear and on pitch as his moves were suave and sexy. Whatever your musical genre-snobbery may be, after the performance he gave, Mars is a hard one not to like.

Today, the spectacle is seen as a trendy, fashion-meets-music party, but Macy's Passport Glamorama began in 1982, in the Macy’s employee cafeteria as an HIV/AIDS awareness benefit. The philanthropy continues today. Between musical sets, Kathy Ireland announced a special tribute to Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who used her influence to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.  This year's Glamorama proceeds will be donated to local non-profits: AIDS Emergency Fund, Glide Foundation and Project Open Hand. 

Lily Ko (lily.7x7 @ gmail.com) studied fashion design and merchandising at Central Saint Martins and the Academy of Art University. In addition to writing for 7x7, Lily is an editor at SF Station, works as a freelance stylist and covers food, fashion and fun on her blog, Curated SF.