This week's Fade to Light fashion show features mood-setting film projects to accompany each designer. With a mix of new and returning participants, this edition of the twice-yearly event also features an appearance by Louisville's Gunnar Deatherage, who you may recognize from a little show called Project Runway. Also catch him this week at a trunk show with Portland designer (and fellow Runway alum) Michelle Lesniak. Meanwhile, some of the night's designers give a peek into what they have in store. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, Wed Aug 26, $12-50; Gunnar Deatherage & Michelle Lesniak trunk show, 1123 SE Market, Sat Aug 29, noon-6 pm
Altar's Cassie Ridgway:
This is [Fade to Light producer] Elizabeth [Mollo]'s once-in-a-blue-moon foray into design. We both have our independent voices heard: mine with a focus on billowy, simple design, and Elizabeth's on tailoring. The collection, called "The Altamont Collection," includes menswear. The color story is pretty black, but we have mixed in very luscious textiles including jewel-tone velvet burnouts and geometric motifs. The entire collection is inspired by the 1960s psychedelic rock band Aphrodite's Child.
WWJJD's Jeanne Tunberg:
We are presenting spring/summer 2016. Our inspiration is taken from the cultural phenomenon surrounding the PDX airport carpet pattern. With free and easy silhouettes that pop in an allover print, the collection is fun, accessible, and will "take off" at any moment... pun intended.
Sara Bergman:
I have been thinking of the intersection of dark glamour and athletics—so perhaps this is my take on "health goth." I've been using a lot of cocoon silhouettes and distorting a classic tailored men's shirt. There will be some strange cutouts and a few magic amulets thrown in!
Also, I made a video with Leah Brown (leahbrown.tv). We will show a short version at Fade to Light, and then the director's cut will have a web release on August 27. Our visual references included 1960s sci-fi and Jil Sander print campaigns from the 1990s.
Gunnar Deatherage:
This collection is titled "The Bird Lady," and is based on a dream I had about an older woman sitting in a park feeding birds. It is rich in color and texture, and is evocative of a mixture between Wes Anderson and Harry Potter movies. This is my fall line for the current season, and has a lot of wools and rich, thick satins with velvet accents, bold jewelry by Bobby Foxx, and custom hats by Sarah Havens.
• The cute-as-pie Sellwood/Moreland neighborhood invites you to "sale away the day" with their annual passport event, where you can cruise via free trolley rides to take advantage of discounts, refreshments, and prize giveaways at participating retailers. Sellwood/Moreland, Sat Aug 29, 11 am-5 pm, sellwoodwestmoreland.com
• The San Francisco-based Urban Air Market takes its second stab at a Portland event, with a mix of vendors that emphasizes sustainable practices and handwork. No need to waste a minute of the late-summer heat by shopping indoors! NW 13th & Hoyt, Sun Aug 30, 11 am-6 pm
• Portland has just one residence designated as a National Historic Landmark: The Aubrey Watzek house in the West Hills was built in 1937 by the untrained John Yeon, yet is considered the most influential example of domestic architecture in the Northwest. Today's edition of the Sunday Emporium takes a closer look, with a talk by Randy Gragg, director of the U of O's John Yeon Center, as well as the fantastic mix of vendors you've grown accustomed to. Rejuvenation, 1100 SE Grand, Sun Aug 30, 11 am-4 pm (talk at 2 pm)
• Rock 'n' roll venue the Doug Fir is hosting, appropriately enough, the Rock 'n' Roll Flea Market, with vendors selling vintage and homemade objects of the rocker bent, along with cheap records and more to the tune of Danny Dodge and DJ J-Star. Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, Mon Aug 31, 6-10 pm
