World-class fashion designer Cesar Galindo lights up the biggest runways in New York. These days, he’s center stage on Broadway in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

Skylight Music Theatre’s salon was packed last night as Galindo unveiled his original designs for Skylight’s upcoming production of Gioachino Rossini’s "Cinderella." He also offered an intimate fashion show of his latest contemporary line, CZAR, which was recently featured in Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

Personal ties bring the Bravo Television fashion star to Milwaukee. Skylight’s artistic director  Viswa Subbaraman met Galindo years ago through a mutual friend. Every time they crossed paths, Galindo would ask when they could collaborate on a production. They found the perfect project, in a modern adaptation of Rossini’s opera "Cinderella (La Cenerentola)," in which the evil stepsisters are obsessed with fashion and Cinderella’s big night out is based on Truman Capote’s 1966 real-life Black and White Masquerade Ball.

"So here I am," Galindo said, "standing in front of you, commissioned to do the opening opera for the new season in Milwaukee. The synergy is fantastic. I can’t wait to see the production unfold."

According to the theatre's marketing director Jennifer Samuelson, it’s a storybook pairing for the Skylight.

"None of us could believe it," Samuelson said. "Then his sketches starting coming in, followed by boxes and boxes of shoes and clothes from his studio and warehouse, and we knew it was real." 

Skylight’s production of Cinderella runs Sept. 19 through Oct. 5. For more information on the upcoming production, go to the Skylight's website. 

In the meantime, you can meet Galindo this weekend. He’ll be at the CZAR trunk show at Aversa at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale on Saturday and Sunday.

"I just love to make beautiful clothing, " he said, "and my muse is you, as a woman."