Portland’s calendar of runway shows was rather dense in 2014, and one of the biggest productions was Portland Fashion Week. The story of the show’s origins and owners is somewhat complicated, but in the past couple year’s it’s made a point of being an inclusive, high profile venue for the city’s young talents, both in front of and behind the scenes.
Jessica Kane has been figurehead for the show’s most recent incarnation, and is typically well regarded for her networking skills and positivity. However, late yesterday afternoon she sent out this announcement of her resignation:
Today is a day that came much sooner than I ever expected, but change is often necessary for growth and my time leading Portland Fashion Week has come to an end. While it has been enormously rewarding on a personal level and I will forever be grateful for this experience granted to me, I have resigned the position of Executive Director as of Dec 2014.
We all went on this adventure together and I believe much was gained from the last two years of hard work by so many. I grew as a leader, a business woman and a friend because of you – and I can’t express my gratitude enough to the hundreds of volunteers, to the sponsors designers models, to my business partner Sarabeth Chambers who invested in me and continues to support my vision, and to my team at SKORCH for letting me step away to help PFW re-build. I feel so fortunate and yet it’s all so bittersweet, because I knew it couldn’t last forever. I have fallen in love with the people of Portland and my team, but it’s my time to move on.
I will now be once again devoted to the future of my first love, SKORCH, celebrating a 7 year birthday and the expansion of what is already a global destination for all things plus size fashion reaching a QUARTER MILLION people every MONTH – simply amazing. I hope to continue partnerships built, just on another level and wish everyone a wonderful and successful 2015.
Please direct any correspondence regarding PFW to Tod Foulk. To contact me regarding SKORCH or other business inquiries, my email is jessica@skorchmagazine.com
PFW is one of the few shows that has grown to include two seasons. Spring dates have yet to be announced, but I imagine this is a pretty big blow to the organization that in some ways is still trying to find its sea legs. Here’s hoping they have a backup plan.
- Portland Fashion Week via Facebook