Friday, October 2, 2009

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.

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