Portland Fashion Week

It took me two and a half hours to drive to Portland to attend Portland Fashion Week and it was well worth it. If you didn't know, Portland Fashion Week is the only fashion week in the world that’s focused on eco-friendly apparel. I couldn't wait to see the bamboo runway or photograph side by side with Fashion Wire Press.

The featured designers for the Saturday night show included Jason Matio, Seattle designer Lizzie Parker, Jantzen Swimwear, and Mehdi.

Here are the highlights of each collection…

JASON MATIO

Sequins, sequins, sequins!!!

MEHDI

Mid-eastern inspiration

LIZZIE PARKER

Romantic flows

JANTZEN SWIMWEAR

Strategic usage of fabric to enhance a woman’s best assets

Two Amazing Fashion Shows in One Night

This past Friday night was a hectic one for Tarah and I because of one little problem: we were booked to attend two shows in the same night. The two shows were the 2nd Annual EcoLavish Fashion Show and Luly Yang’s annual couture show. The good news was we made it on time to catch both shows. The Luly Yang show started a little earlier than EcoLavish so we were able to dash out during Luly Yang’s intermission to make it to the Engine Room at Georgetown Studios for EcoLavish. The bad news is that we missed Luly Yang’s finale. Hey, you lose some, you win some right?

EcoLavish was put on by Half Past Lavish (an event planning company ran by FGI member Courtney Russell) and the goal behind EcoLavish is to prove that eco-friendly apparel can be stylish, fun, and anything but boring. Being that this is the only fashion show in the northwest with a green runway and full on eco-friendly designers / apparel, I think Courtney is on to something big. The designers included Renee Corrick of Six Degrees, Kimberlee Iblings of Deco Modiste, Teresa Remple of Texture Clothing and finale designer Lizzie Parker of Lizzie Parker Eco Atelier.

Here are some of my favorite looks of the night…
RENEE CORRICK | SIX DEGREES


LIZZIE PARKER | LIZZIE PARKER ECO ATELIER



Texture leggings

The Luly Yang annual couture show was held at Fairmount Olympic Hotel with the theme ‘The Creation’ which was influenced by Michelangelo’s artwork. Just like the previous years, Luly Yang donated a portion of the proceeds to Camp Korey, a camp in Carnation, WA fully staffed with a medical team and counselors for children with a serious illness to attend. We were able to catch the Camp Korey show where the children wore Luly Yang on the runway and the client portion of the runway show where previous client walked the runway with their custom made garment.


Camp Korey Super Star


Clients of Luly Yang

After attending both shows, Tarah and I joined our blogging friends Jess and Nadine for a late night dinner at Taco Del Mar.

BFW: Sweat and Spice Spectacular

I attended the Sweat and Spice Spectacular as part of Bellevue Fashion Week tonight and didn’t have any expectations at all with one exception – I was expecting to see some athletic wear. The event description states, ‘enjoy savory treats, witness incredible live performances, explore our latest functional product line and leave inspired.’ They were able to deliver all that they promised and more.

The event was presented by Lululemon Athlectica with all proceeds benefiting the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club. The show started out with Bollywood Infusion Dance Performers and they did an awesome job! Then we had Kathy Haggart, president of the Boys and Girls Club welcome the audience with a thank you to the attendees. Shortly, Allison Forsyth, owner of Lululemon Athelectica and Canadian alpine ski team alumnus took the stage. She shared with us her story of becoming a professional athletic and the day her race ended due to a crash days before her chance for the gold medal during the 2006 Olympics. She also shared with us a tear jerking story about her mother who was diagnosing with breast cancer and how fortunate she felt to have come home from the Olympics to spend time with her before her passing. The speech was definitely a little longer than I had expected but as promised, she did inspire me. She left us with the message that life happens and when it does you can either say, ‘poor me’, or pick yourself back up and keep going. I thought that was a positive message for the little ones who did attend.

Now the crowd was ready for the fashion! When the models entered the runway, they were not your typical female model – 5’9, 105lbs, and check bones has high as a sky scraper. Instead they were athletics who worked in the fitness industry walk the catwalk with their tricks. Bev Currier and Maika Manring from The Bar Method stood on the run way with a balancing act on double bars all proving that the gear they were wearing from Lululemon Athelectica was indeed functional.

After the show ended, Tarah and I were grabbing our cap for our lens when we spotted a group of girls battling at the end of the runway mimicking the tricks they were just presented with. It was quite adorable.

This show was definitely for people who have a strong love for the active life and the gear necessary to make it happen. Yes, not so much for me.

Nordstrom Bellevue Square Fall Fashion Show

Held at the Hyatt, the Nordstrom Bellevue Square fourth annual fall runway fashion show was a sold out event. With approximately 500 guests, 100% of the ticket sales went towards the Detlef Schrempf Foundation! Featured designers included Diane von Furstenberg, Elizabeth and James, Haute Hippie, Hugo Boss, Leifsdotter, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Milly, Rag & Bone and Vince.

The essential items for Fall 2009 according to Nordstrom are…

For women… leather, updated sheath dress, the ‘boyfriend’ blazer, ruffled blouse, leggings, tall boots, seasonless sandals, and metal hardware.

I’d like to add faux fur…


And deep colors…


For men… leather, a cardigan, lean silhouettes, plaid, boots, Nordstrom guide to men’s style by Tom Julian.

…and I totally agree with lean silhouettes..


Stay tune for more photos of the runway show at photos by youa kong blog.