On a warm evening in downtown Eugene, the usually busy streets were interrupted by a large white stage protruding from Kesey Square. The stage was surrounded by three groups of meticulously placed chairs, and Billie Moser stood giddy with anticipation, waiting for the fashion show to start.
“It’s like a party at my house,” said Moser. “What is it if nobody comes?”
This is the downtown area’s fourth annual fashion show. Moser is the community events manager for the Community Events Office and has worked on the fashion show for three years.
Laura Lee LaRoux and Mitra Chester, local designers and shop owners contracted to run the show, chose Sustainable Style: Style Through the Ages as this year’s theme.
“It’s a theme that resonates heavily with the Eugene community and our current situation in the world,” said Chester. The theme is meant to reflect Eugene’s sustainable values, as well as honor the city’s upcoming 150th birthday. The show contained an estimated 80 percent recycled materials.
The event, which is part of Eugene’s Summer in the City Series, has evolved over the past few years, much like the downtown area.
“It was kind of thrown together the first year,” said Moser. Yet the event was extremely successful. Since then, Moser and her colleagues have looked hard at why they want to have the fashion show and whom they want to attend.
“We wanted to bring people downtown to see that downtown is changing and it can be a great place for all of us,” said Moser.
There have been many changes to the show since its origin. Previously the show had been separated from the downtown streets by fences and suggested a donation. This is the first year the show has occurred without fences or donations, creating a more open and inviting feel.
“The downtown has changed so much we feel we didn’t need the fences any more,” said Moser.
Summer in the City’s mission is to facilitate change in the downtown area, and to develop a place that attracts people from all ages and all walks of life. Moser is charged with creating events downtown that appeal to her target audience.
“Downtown is the heart of every city,” said Moser. “And we want it to be a place where people want to come to.”
As showtime approached, the seats filled and the crowd buzzed with excitement. Families, elderly, and teens gathered round the stage waiting for the show. A girl with a blue Mohawk stood three feet away from an elderly woman in a 1950s style striped dress, as Eugene’s fashion community waited for the event to begin.
The crowd fell silent as Rio Towner, the show’s MC who was also voted Eugene Weekly’s sexiest bartender, took the stage to start the show. The show began with collections from Nobody’s Baby and Eugene Jeans that showed fashion from the civil war to the 1970s.
The collection began with a 1920s bejeweled bra and underwear set, followed by a dress and parasol that could have been plucked straight from “The Pirates of Penzance.”
Next, Spandex Body presented looks from zebra spandex pants to a white lace negligée.
Chester opened her collection with gothic-style children’s wear, and had a notable repurposed black and white bikini. LaRoux’s collection featured dresses repurposed from men’s button ups, and a yellow and black jumpsuit.
The crowd cheered as look after look came down the runway, showing off local models, designers and garments that represented the ethics of the town that came together. The show represented the community’s interest and passion for local economy and fashion, but also something more.
As the sun went down and local designers followed their models down the runway, the stage acted as a bridge between what was and what could be in downtown Eugene.
To the right of the stage, an empty and broken down building held a sign that read ‘For Lease.’ Of the building on the other side of the stage Moser said, “That used to be a skeleton of a building, it was completed two years ago, and now the first and second and third floors are almost full.”