This year, the Mercury marches into its second decade of shining a light on the city's independent fashion scene with our 11th annual runway showcase, Open Season. The show has taken a variety of forms over its lifetime—this will be our third year as a multi-evening festival rather than a huge one-night affair. Its steady growth has demonstrated one thing: As much as Portland has changed, for better and worse, our interest in small, character-driven businesses remains.

In a sense, certain retail benchmarks signaled the city's development: The high-profile arrivals of H&M, Madewell, and Steven Alan gave us a new level of urbanity. But the true appeal of Portland lore is always felt more deeply in the small studios and shops that house original talent, even when—maybe especially when—those artisanal products are found in shops that simply traffic in good design, and aren't necessarily flying utilitarian or activist flags of local glorification.

It's a huge source of pride to be able to reflect back on who we've showcased over the last 10 years, as many alumni continue to define what it means to be an entrepreneur outside the realm of mainstream fashion. Portland's relative lack of industry structure has been both a boon to individualism and a setback to economic relevance, but this community continues to figure out new innovations, just like other local industries (food, winemaking, bicycles, apothecary, etc.).

If it felt forced, I would have stopped producing Open Season many years ago, but the excitement of working with each year's artists—not just the designers, but the models, makeup artists, and stylists—propels it onward. The 2015 shows are a little ways off, but I wanted to give your calendar fair warning. The barriers to entry are intentionally low: Hours are early evening, and tickets are cheap, so if you're relatively new to checking out Portland's dynamic apparel industry, this is a perfect, casual introduction.

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