Portland Fashion Week concluded on Sunday, October 12, leaving in its wake questions about what the relationship is, and should be, between fashion and entertainment. At the official Portland Fashion Week (PFW), where the audience was invited into the “fashion theater” nightly, clothing was presented alongside supplementary entertainment, on opening night when a high school dance troupe took to the runway. It’s all well and good, I suppose—but if you were in it for the clothes, you may not have had the easiest time of it last week.
The PFW runway was, as is typical of such events, host to collections of varying quality, and altogether too much jersey. Newcomer May Tee and the reliably good IDOM line were safe bets on the taste factor, and Icebreaker, Nike, and Sameunderneath held pleasant surprises, but mediocrity reigned over much of the week’s events, and was lacking the jaw-dropping moments of last year’s fashion week (Leanne Marshall‘s fabulous organic/alien shapes, the Collections designer night) that had the press sitting up and paying attention. That air of excitement and possibility was notably deflated this year, in part because after more or less uniting the local industry, once again PFW saw a dispersal of talent, with many of the events happening outside of its purview actually showcasing the best of Portland fashion. Altogether, there was a sense of lost momentum.
Outside the fashion theater, designers showed their lines informally. Adam Arnold invited people for champagne, cake, and a chance try on his latest pieces, but the crowd was so thick that it was a competitive endeavor to actually reach the garments, which included the ultimate Portland must-have: a black unisex waterproof cycling jumpsuit with plenty of pockets, a hood, and a wrapping face guard. So, so necessary.
RunAway, featuring the work of six designers, plus live music, DJs, and film projections, was completely off the hook, the Someday Lounge’s at-capacity walls bulging with excited attendees who bounced along as models shared the stage with the enthusiastic musicians. It was a great time, but again difficult to get a good view of the clothing. The leather and feather belts Gretchen Jones whipped up for her MOTHLOVE line were completely badass from across the room, but I’m dying to see them up close. Julia Blackburn‘s Dust line of texturally rich magpie-gypsy looks also demanded closer inspection.
Those who attended the church & state show Saturday evening came away enraptured with Rachel Turk and Nathaniel Crissman‘s reinvented Americana aesthetic, which featured high waists, easy dresses, and rompers.See and read more about all the week’s events and photos on mod.portlandmercury.com.
Portland Fashion Week (PFW) is not in the business of “uniting the local fashion industry”, Marjorie, just like NY FW is not in the business of uniting any specific group of fashion designers.
The job of fashion week production is to provide a stage and showcase for designers who want to take advantage of that for furthering their commercial success and make the decent living that they deserve but often struggle to make. I believe, Portland Fashion Week did an awesome job by creating the amazing setup, production and organization and drew national and international attention to Portland’s fashion industry, which even Portland mayor recognized. If you had gone to shows in NY FW in Bryant Park tents or in LA FW in Smashbox studios, as I did, you would have known, that, this was a world class staging and production they presented here.
In my view, it was the most well produced and well organized fashion event Portland has ever seen at such a big scale and Portlanders should be proud of it. I was in PFW every day and I have seen PFW attracted press from all over the world, as far as from NY, Canada and Europe, and buyers from major retailers, like Mario’s and from other countries in Europe, which is another big way PFW hit the mark of fulfilling its objective, not miss it. I would assume, you, as a board member of PFW would take note of those things, and share some responsibility of the limitations you mentioned. I have noticed, in this story you conveniently forgot to mention that disclaimer that you are a PFW board member, unlike the story you wrote last year. Why is that? I still see your name as a Board member in their website.
Is ignoring to mention the positive things of a fashion week and bashing it, because some of your personal favorite designers aren’t there considered fair journalism?
Thanks,
Sachin Thomas
sachin@pdx.edu