The annual Content showcase hosted at Portland's Ace Hotel has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov 14! For the uninitiated, Content was originated by a team led by a pre-Project Runway Gretchen Jones, who envisioned an installation-based showcase for Portland's design professionals to translate their inspirations and identity in a format that was expressly focused on artistic expression, without the fundamental commercial aspect of, say, a trade show or even a runway event.

While Content was originally constructed for apparel and accessories brands, over the years it's expanded to include housewares, pattern design, and scents, among other like-minded endeavors. Each designer or brand is given a room on a designated floor of the Ace to trick out, creating a sort of interactive pop-up museum experience, as attendees wander through rooms that vary wildly in aesthetic and experience. What it's not about is a series of rooms with clothing racks and salesmen (though the event's adjacent pop-up shop in the Cleaners is always not-to-be-missed).

An all-star cast of they city's talent has been part of this event over its past five years (full disclosure: I've helped out on the event for three of those five years, and have agreed to be involved in some capacity this time, too), but this year the Ace team has decided to shake things up by putting a call out for interested participants rather than create a lineup solely by invitation:

This year Content is looking to find those hungry and ambitious up-and-comers who have never participated and believe they can inject the show with something refreshing and new. Fresh-faced designers with forward-thinking views on creativity, innovation, inspiration, and relevance, and who have a clear sense of what's nouveau are encouraged to apply. CONTENT veterans and returning favorites are of course as welcome as ever. In keeping with past years, the event will still incorporate elements of press, retail in the form of "CONTENT: The Store," etc, but a new approach and application process is being employed to hopefully produce the best CONTENT to date. So with that, we are putting out a call to all clothing designers, artists, makers, and creatives who call the Rose City home to apply to CONTENT 2015.

Applications are due August 31! Details are just around the corner...