ONE OF THE MOST anticipated group sales, the PDX Collective Sale, is back and bringing together 10 of Portland’s top boutiques to offer major savings to customers. Participating shops include Bridge & Burn, Adorn and its adjoining shoe store Gild, Radish Underground, Ecovibe Apparel, Parts + Labour, Parallel, Eg Page, John Fluevog, Mabel & Zora, and Folly.
The Cleaners at Ace Hotel, 403 SW 10th, Sat Sept 16, 11 am-6 pm, Sun Sept 17, 10 am-5 pm

Have you always wanted to get the in-person, inside scoop on what makes some of Portland’s most beloved designers tick? Look no further than Meet the Designers: A Portland Fashion Tour presented by Fashion Collective Portland. Headed by longtime Portland fashion chronicler and former Mercury Managing Editor Marjorie Skinner, this tour will stop at five different boutiques: Haunt + Holly Stalder Designs, Six/Seven, Garnish, Amelia, and Altar. While all these brands have seemingly different aesthetics and customers, they all have one thing in common: producing house lines, which are more often than not designed and manufactured under the same roof as the boutique, so you can literally see a garment go from the preliminary design stage to its final destination on the sales floor. Light refreshments will be provided.
Tour begins at 811 E Burnside, Sat Sept 24, 1-5 pm, $30

Taste of Style, an event that features creative and avant-garde makeup, hair, and fashion to raise money for Oregon Food Bank, will host their annual event. “Taste of Style is produced by a committed group of volunteers who are dedicated to fighting hunger,” say the organizers. “The event benefits Oregon Food Bank in support of its mission to eliminate hunger and its root causes—advocating for change, strengthening local food systems, and educating our community.” Participating salons include Utopia Salon and Day Spa and Cut Loose Salon, and participating schools include Mt. Hood Community College Cosmetology and Northwest College, as well as The Art Institute of Portland.
District East, 2305 SE 9th, Sat Sept 24, 5:30 pm, $25-$50

Portland’s seriously got game when it comes to the plus-size fashion scene, and the proof is Knock Out, a fashion show and pop-up event that’s completely devoted to plus-size apparel. Check out the latest from Copper Union, Chubby Cartwheels, Amelia, Hubris Apparel, Re/Dress, Allihalla, Bombsheller, and Proud Mary Fashion, as well products from Chubstr, Archive Six, and State of Wellness. Also on the docket is guest speaker Jes Baker, author of The Militant Baker blog, as well as the book Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls.
Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, Sun Sept 25, 12-4 pm, $10

FashioNXT will close out the 2016 fashion show season with its four-day event showing Portland “what’s next in fashion.” (Full disclosure: I’m the runway producer of this event.) The first day opens with current Portland Project Runway contestant Sara Donofrio, as well as the always much anticipated UpNXT emerging designer competition. The second day focuses mainly on ready-to-wear from Portland designers Myriam Marcela and Shea Wilcox, as well as a collection from Stephanie Says, who recently left Portland for Los Angeles. Ending the evening will be a bridal collection from Ryan and Walter, as in Walter Mendez. The third day features evening wear and couture from Wendy Ohlendorf and Stephanie D Couture, as well as a second, much more expansive couture collection from Walter Mendez. The week will end with collections from Melynda Valera (Los Angeles), Julie Danforth (Seattle), Romey Roe (New Orleans), and Portland’s own Michelle Lesniak. While FashioNXT is not exactly a Portland-centric show per se, it is a great setting to see fashion from other parts of the country that one may not see otherwise, and a nice way for these out-of-town designers to experience all that Portland has to offer. See the complete schedule at fashionxt.net.
Venue TBA, Wed Oct 5-Sat Oct 8, doors at 6 pm, seating at 8 pm, ticketing info at fashionxt.net/tickets