Save the Dates: Great Fashion Events

My favorite time of the year is just around the corner – fall! With that, so are the fashion shows! Here are some upcoming shows you do not want to miss. Every show is tied to a charity so why not kill two birds with one stone – a great night out with your girls while supporting a local charity!

Product Runway
What: 18 leading interior designers, architects, and students will flaunt their creativity by sending couture garments crafted from a diverse range of interior materials and finishes down the runway. Innovative teams from regional firms will design and construct their creations using everything from carpet to lighting – as they compete for prizes and bragging rights!
When: Friday, August 28th Doors open at 7PM
Where: Seattle Exhibition Hall
Benefiting: Seattle Ronald McDonald House & IDCW
Tickets: http://www.productrunway.com/about.html

Fashion Faux Pas to Fashion Fabulous!
What: The Ruby Room invited talented local fashion designers such as MAC Designs, Tiffany Miller and Sabrina Couture to work their magic with Ruby Room gowns that weren't asked to the prom. The designers will make them the belles of the ball and you'll have the chance to take home a one-of-a-kind gown! You will also have the chance to bid on two round trip JetBlue tickets, a relaxing stay at the Inn at Langley, a SilverLake Wine Frenzy and much much more! Last year they exceeded their fundraising goals and with your help they'll do it again this year.
When: Saturday, August 29th Doors open at 7PM
Where: Paramount Theater
Benefiting: The Ruby Room
Tickets: http://www.rubyroomseattle.org/

Fashion First’s 6th Annual Fashion Show
What: Watch all your local fashion boutiques such as La Ree, Merge, and Clutch come together for one hot night filled with fall fashion! You will be the first to see what these boutiques will be stocking on their shelves in time for the fall.
When: Thursday, September 17th Doors open at 7:30PM
Where: Qwest Event Center
Benefiting: Starlight Children’s Foundation
Tickets: http://www.fashionfirstseattle.com/tickets.html

The Bellevue Collection: Fashion Week
What: The Bellevue Collection presents six days of fashion displays including a special screening of The September Issue, Nordstrom fall fashion show, and a first time ever Front Row Fashion show, a collaboration with Vogue.
When: Tuesday, September 29th – Sunday, October 4th
Where: Bellevue, WA
Benefiting: Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue
Tickets: http://www.bellevuecollection.com/fashionweek/fw_tickets.php

Imagine! – 2009
What: The International Academy of Design & Technology’s 3rd Annual Fashion Show - Imagine! will take place on the grounds of their fabulous campus in Tukwila under canopies and in tents in the same style as the celebrated Fashion Week at Bryant Park in New York City. On this very special Friday evening they are proud to present to you some of their top student designs – the best of the best that their fashion students have to offer.
When: Friday, September 18th @ 8PM
Benefiting: The International Academy of Design & Technology
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70045

Luly Yang Annual Couture Fashion Show
What: Every year Luly Yang’s newly designed couture collections are first revealed at her annual couture fashion show before they go on display at her store. Luly’s couture collections are stunning and unique. You can also find a theme behind the creation of her designs.
When: October 9th, 2009
Where: Fairmont Olympic Hotel
Benefiting: Camp Korey
Tickets: email fashionshow@solomonevents.com

Collaboration: Vogue and The Bellevue Collection's Fashion Week '09

It is not hard to miss the major development and renovations in downtown Bellevue these past few years especially the endless expansion of The Bellevue Collection. This place easily became one of my favorite spots to shop for luxury brands and it continues to get better with new retail store openings such as Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, True Religion, and 7 For All Mankind (yes, you can now find these stores in Bellevue Sqaure).

Every year The Bellevue Collection hosts their own fashion week on the Eastside and today they announced some very exciting news - The Bellevue Collection will be collaborating with Vogue to bring you Front Row Fashion! This will be a runway show produce by the fashion magazine and will feature fashion from The Bellevue Collection. Ann Vincent, the director of merchandising for Vogue will be sharing fall fashion must-haves. Also included in the six day extravaganza is a special screening of The September Issue at Lincoln Square Cinemas. Yes, all very exciting stuff!

Here are all the details of what you can expect to see...

BELLEVUE, Wash., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bellevue Collection announces today a collaboration with the recognized authority in haute fashion coverage, Vogue magazine, for Fashion Week '09, September 29 - October 4, 2009. In addition to a special Vogue fashion presentation, this fourth annual event will include proven favorites such as the Nordstrom Fall Fashion Show, a runway show by David Lawrence showcasing Italian designer fashions, a cutting edge hair and fashion show by 7 Salon and Zebraclub, and VIP Shopping Night at The Bellevue Collection.

New this year is Front Row Fashion presented by Vogue, a spectacular runway show designed and executed by Vogue magazine with fashions from The Bellevue Collection. This exclusive presentation will bring the fall trends straight from the pages of Vogue to Bellevue's Fashion Week runway. Special guest, Anne Vincent, director of merchandising for Vogue, will be sharing this fall's must-haves.

In addition, Lincoln Square Cinemas will be the site of the greater Seattle/Eastside director's screening of the new documentary The September Issue. Offering unprecedented access into the making of the world's most famous fashion magazine, The September Issue illustrates Vogue's extraordinary influence on fashion, culture and on the market. The debut will be followed by a special Q & A reception with Director R. J. Cutler.

"With all of the new luxury brands choosing to open at The Bellevue Collection (Burberry, Michael Kors, 7 For All Mankind, Hugo Boss, True Religion) plus the broad collection of haute designers featured at Nordstrom and boutiques like David Lawrence and Mercer, partnering with Vogue to present our major fashion event was a perfect match," says Jennifer Leavitt, vice president of marketing, Kemper Development Company (KDC), owners of The Bellevue Collection. "This partnership speaks to the affluence, sophistication and fashionable sensibility of our core customers. We are ecstatic to be able to bring Vogue to the Northwest for Fashion Week at The Collection."

Anne Vincent, who has been with the business side of Vogue for eight years spearheading events, presenting fashion and beauty trends and serving as TV spokeswoman will be on hand for media interviews.

Major events planned for Fashion Week '09 are as follows:

Sept. 29 The September Issue Special Screening with director R.J.
Cutler, Lincoln Square Cinemas

Sept. 30: Nordstrom Fall Fashion Show, Hyatt Regency Bellevue

Oct. 1: Italia: Life in 'I' Style presented by David Lawrence and the
Italian Trade Commission, Hyatt Regency Bellevue

Oct 2 Sweat and Spice Spectacular, lululemon athletica, Hyatt
Regency Bellevue

Oct. 3: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Tiffany & Co. at Bellevue Square

Front Row Fashion Presented by Vogue, featuring Anne Vincent,
Vogue magazine, Hyatt Regency Bellevue

VIP Shopping Night at The Bellevue Collection, featuring a
host of exclusive offers from stores throughout The
Collection.

Oct. 4: Urban Blowout, cutting edge hair meets cutting edge fashion,
7 Salon and Zebraclub, Hyatt Regency Bellevue

For more information, visit www.thebelleuvecollection.com/fashionweek.

About The Bellevue Collection

Located in the heart of Bellevue, Washington, The Bellevue Collection includes Bellevue Square, Bellevue Place and Lincoln Square. With a distinctive collection of 250 of the finest shops, 19 sit-down restaurants, a 16-screen premier cinema, 700 luxury hotel rooms and 10,000 free retail parking spaces, all in one location. The Bellevue Collection is an experience unlike any other in the region. It is located on Bellevue Way between NE 4th and NE 10th Street in downtown Bellevue, just across Lake Washington from Seattle.

SOURCE The Bellevue Collection

So ladies, save the dates: September 29 - October 4, 2009 for The Bellevue Collection Fashion Week! Stay tuned and UFN will certainly keep you posted on more info, tickets, etc.

2009 Nordstrom Designer Preview Fashion Show

Honestly, I didn't sleep well last night because I was too excited about attending tonight's Nordstorm Designer Preview Show. There were three things, to be exact, that I was anticipating: 1) testing out my new Canon SLR because I was getting super tired of producing poor photo quality to all you readers; 2) Fall fashion! I love love love fall fashion; and 3) the designers! Oh, I'm talking about Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, and my girlfriend Versace! Yes, they were all there.


Held at the Paramount Theatre, the doors opened at 6:30pm for guests to enjoy cocktails and hors d'oevuvres while they mingle and did some boutique hopping. Each designer featured in the fashion show had their own little boutique set up for guests to get a better look at the garments that were being featured in the show. Guests were also able to pre-order the featured fashion; however, the only thing missing were the actual designers. Oh how a girl can wish...


So just how I like it, the show started at 8:30 as promised. Guests were seated fairly quickly and the show was rolling in no time. Already too ecstatic about the show and antsy to see what's to come, I was thankful that there weren't any long speeches. We got the chance to meet the new Seattle Art Museum's president to whom the show was benefiting and then out strutted Gucci.


The featured designers in the Nordstrom Designer Preview show were Gucci, Missoni, Stella McCartney, Marni, Versace, Nina Ricci, Marc Jacobs, Dries Van Noten, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana, and Chanel.

This was by far one of the best fashion shows I've attended thus far. It was so well organized and the fashion did not disappoint. I will go to bed a happy girl tonight!

You can see all of the photos I took from the show here.

InspirAsian Fashion Show

The International Examiner celebrated their 35th Anniversary at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Pier 66 this evening. The agenda included a live auction, dinner, and a fashion show featuring local Asian designers.

Five designers were chosen to showcase their collection. They included:
Bo Choi: Graduate of the University of California at Davis in Fashion Design and Studio Art. All her pieces were in black proving that one girl can never have too many LBD's.

Vivian Hsu: Vivian has a broad background when it comes to fashion. I've seen her photograph the hottest fashion shows, I also know that she's model, and now a designer too. She's well rounded when it comes to fashion so I wasn't surprise to see her exquisite collection of evening gowns. Each gown portrayed elegance and rich jewel-like colors.

Jessica Louie: After earning her B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington, she will be continuing her education and pursue a fashion degree from Parsons School for Design. I loved the simplicity of Jessica's collection and her collection was very fun and flirty with full shirts and bouncy dresses that strut the runway.

Kelly Su: After graduating from the Art Institue of Seattle, Kelly spent the past 6 years designing for Nordstrom's Halogen and lingerie label. Pieces from her collection were versatile from day to evening and was made for the girl on the go.

Lennura Zhataganova: As an international student from Kazakhstan, she will be graduating from Seattle Central Community College in Apparel Design this June. Her collection was inspired by fabric colors and textures which explains the memorable yellow hip length coat.

It was truly inspiring to see the talents of the Asian community together in one evening and the event was overall fun and enjoyable.

Earth Day

The goal behind Earth Day is to cause more awareness and appreciation of our earth's environment. This day is celebrated in over 140 countries. However, being that I am a Seattlelite, every day feels like earth day. The people here really embrace being eco-friendly in every possible way. Think of our intense recycling system that comes with a cheat sheet, our local restaurants and their eco-friendly to go boxes, the number of workplaces that participates in composting, etc. It's unavoidable. Being green is really the new black and this is definitely not a FAD or trend because I don't see it going away... ever.

So fashionistas, what can you do to support your environment? Shop with our local eco-friendly designers and boutique. For starters I recommend you visiting FashionEthic.com. FashionEthic is an online boutique founded by Candice Caldwell in 2007. Fashion Ethic is centered around three principles: 1) providing you with the best in fashion-forward and forward thinking apparel so you can build a wardrobe you feel good about; 2)bringing the boutique experience online; and 3) supporting and promoting ethical designers who make fashionably responsible choices in their materials and manufacturing, labor and business practices, and social responsibility. Shop at FashionEthic.com now and any purchases of $35+ made through May 1st is 30% off. Use the code "EVERYDAY" at checkout.

As for designers, one of our local favorite eco-friendly designers - Lizzie Parker will be opening her own store in Issaqauh this weekend (and coincidentally, I was scheduled to interview her today). Her Fave-T (organic t-shirt) was recently featured in InTouch Magazine and in honor of that, this weekend they will be up for grabs at 2 for $80 (normally $54 each). Her mission is to bring women chic fashionable clothing with organic, eco-friendly, and locally made designs.

Happy Earth Day and Happy Shopping!

Seattle Fashion Week

Tonight I attended the Seattle Fashion Week kick off party at Amber in Belltown. After a year hiatus, Gabe Choy and his team are back.

Here are the details for the upcoming shows:

Thurs, April 16
Independent Designers Showcase
@ Fremont Studios
Door open at 7PM

Fri, April 17
Urban Retailers Show
@ Fremont Studios
Doors open at 7PM

Sat, April 18
Couture Finale Fashion Show
@ Fremont Studios
Doors open at 7PM

Please note that all the shows are 21 and over with a strict dress code. It is not too late to purchase tickets if you haven't already done so here.

For more information about Seattle Fashion Week, visit their website. Urban Fashion Network will be at all shows and of course, covering all the details for those of you who can't make it.

Be a Recessionista Event

Urban Fashion Network will be at the next Girl Power Hour networking event for women. Here are the details…

Seattle, WA / April 2, 2009 – Girl Power Hour, Seattle’s premier woman’s professional networking experience, hosts the final installment of a special 4-part series called The Power Of Focused Intention with guest speaker and author Jill Keto who will offer money saving tips and discussing her book Don't Get Caught with Your Skirt Down.

Girl Power Hour occurs the third Thursday of every month for young professional women to connect and share ideas at stylish venues across town. Each event explores an empowerment theme, boasts an inspirational guest speaker and a charity connection. Girl Power Hour also offers a fun, friendly environment, swag bags, door prizes and cocktail specials.

When: Thursday, April 16, 2009 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Where: Alchemy Collection 2029 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98121

This very special, exclusive event will host only 150 women - first come, first serve. Tickets are $25.00 online at www.girlpowerhour.com

Enjoy complimentary food and drink provided by Gourmondo, Pearl Vodka and Propel Water. The first 50 women will receive swag bags and the 50 to sign up will receive either an eyebrow consultation and wax or a 5 minute massage at the event from Radiance Medispa.

Girl Power Hour will also hold a mini-"swap" hosted by Urban Fashion Network and invite attendees to bring one viably fashionable accessory for this fun and free activity.

Washington CASH (Community Alliance for Self Help), a non-profit that helps small businesses get the funding they need is the charitable partner for this event.