A 150-year-old brewery building in Lafayette Square that once housed a rooftop restaurant destroyed by fire is about to host something entirely different: a luxury runway show. Haus of Night, a 200-person capacity fashion event featuring five independent St. Louis designers, is set for October 18 inside Gatsby Events at 2017 Chouteau Ave.
The venue sits inside the Centennial Malt House, an 1876 structure originally built as a malt mill for the Schnaider Brewery and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005, according to St. Louis Magazine. That same building previously housed rooftop restaurant Vin de Set, PW Pizza, and 21st Street Brewers Bar until a September 2022 rooftop fire caused extensive water damage across the lower floors, as reported by KSDK. The damage was severe enough that water used to fight the fire soaked every floor down to the basement, forcing all three businesses to close permanently by March 2023.
From Fire Damage to $2 Million Restoration
St. Louis architect Rich Conyers and his wife Cally Conyers purchased the fire-damaged building and completed a $2 million renovation, converting it into Gatsby Events, the Prohibition speakeasy bar, and the Malt House Lofts apartments. The renovation preserved the building's exposed brick walls and original wood beams, per the same KSDK reporting. That transformation from disaster site to multi-use event and residential space now sets the stage for Haus of Night's runway lineup.
Haus of Night will run on October 18, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m., a pre-show starting at 5 p.m., and the runway experience beginning at 6 p.m., according to St. Louis Magazine. The show is presented by XO Model & Fashion Agency and Major Key Management, and it will feature designers Kaylin's Kreations, Malia Rose Designs, Lamont TC, San, and BBQue Closet Collection. Organizers describe the event as pairing high-fashion editorial imagery, original music, live performance, and luxury nightlife culture, with tickets sold across general admission, VIP, and front row/prestige tiers. Attendees are told that black attire is heavily encouraged for the evening.
Designers With Runway Track Records
Among the featured names, Bridgette Murphy leads BBQue Closet Collection, a St. Louis-based lifestyle brand specializing in custom styling, themed looks, and tailored urban wear; Murphy taught herself to sew before launching her custom styling business, according to Bold Journey. Designer Malia Rose of Malia Rose Designs has previously presented collections at regional multi-designer showcases, including The Bureau Fashion Week in October 2025, a showcase that featured more than 35 regional designers, per The Bureau Fashion Week.
The evening's soundtrack has its own local pedigree. St. Louis record producer and mixing engineer Richie IV of The Mantra House produced original musical arrangements specifically for the Haus of Night runway show and pre-show, and will also DJ the event, according to details listed on Eventbrite. Performances will also come from Bo Dean and Juno. Bo Dean, a St. Louis hip-hop artist and music educator, previously hosted public discussions at the Saint Louis Fashion Fund about using entertainment to positively impact local youth, as Hoodline reported in 2019.
Built on an Earlier Film-and-Fashion Pairing
Haus of Night is not the first collaboration between its co-producers. XO Model & Fashion Agency and Major Key Management previously co-hosted The Devil Wears Prada Premiere & Runway Experience at Galleria 6 Cinemas in April 2026, an event that combined a movie screening with a live runway presentation and drew approximately 120 attendees, making it one of the cinema's larger opening events. Major Key Management, a St. Louis-based digital strategy and branding agency that helps creative professionals build commercial brand strategies, collaborates with local agencies to produce branded fashion experiences of this kind.
Haus of Night will also include an interactive photo experience, a media step-and-repeat, and an on-site creator marketplace, along with signature cocktails and custom zero-proof options for guests. Ewing Media, which served as official media for STLFW, will professionally capture the event.
Part of a Broader St. Louis Fashion Moment
The October runway show arrives amid a rising wave of independent fashion programming across St. Louis. It follows Black Creatives in the Lou's handmade showcase at City Foundry and designer Umi Dreami's solo runway show inside the Saint Louis Art Museum, both staged in 2026. Independent St. Louis designers are increasingly securing prominent local cultural institutions and venues for their work, a trend that places Haus of Night's 200-capacity showcase inside a rebuilt 19th-century brewery building squarely within that momentum.
