This year marks a new decade for the Portland Mercury's annual spring fashion showcase. Open Season—a four-day series of happy hour fashion shows—celebrates its 11th birthday with a fantastic lineup of design talent—STARTING TODAY!

All shows (excluding Thursday's, scheduled for 6:30 pm to give you a little more time to scoot out to the Canton Grill for Adam Arnold) start at 6 pm (but get there close to 5 pm to claim a good spot and a drink or two) and are just $6 ($9 at the door; pro tip: a series pass runs just $20!). Buy your tickets now if you haven't already, and take advantage of this unfussy opportunity to get to know some of your city's finest fashion designers. First up:

ALTAR (Monday June 15, White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th)

At the close of 2014, Mag-Big—a local design-dedicated boutique founded by Cassie Ridgway right in the mess of SE Hawthorne—was in an incubated state, preparing to reemerge as Altar. Gothier, a bit harder, and in possession of a deeper understanding of tarot cards than her Mag-Big predecessor, the Altar customer can prepare for the first public viewing of their foray into swimwear. It's a welcome diversification from a prolific design house that runs lean and delivers interesting, few-of-a-kind items that are completely affordable.

Their approach—one that values small-batch manufacturing—keeps costs and therefore price points reasonably attainable. Fashion's expensive reputation is often earned, but brands like Altar and the lines they carry in-store represent an important middle ground between mass-marketed pricing and bespoke.

Plus, Altar's designs, which favor dark hues, sheer paneling, and discerning patterns, are hot; as fun as they are, they'll also last through more than one revolution of your style's solar system—they're prepared to go full metal, but they'll clean up real nice for the office, too.

Preview more of the designs you'll see this week at Open Season here!