Each September, fashion insiders begin the twice-annual extravaganza of wooing the world’s top designers’ collections for spring, known as fall fashion week.
The fashion-obsessed flock to New York, London, Milan and Paris to exclusively eye the next season’s dress code.
But this fall, a modest city once unknown for a worthwhile style scene, has attracted international design talent and press as the globe’s “greenest” fashion week.
The only fashion week in the Pacific Northwest, Portland Fashion Week began in 2003 but this year has undergone a serious makeover.
The event’s execs hope the city’s reputation of sustainable-friendly living coupled with the event’s promotion of eco-couture will foster magnetism after a few so-so years.
“It is our sincere hope to expand the sustainability aspect within art, culture and fashion, bringing (sustainability) to the forefront of Northwest fashion,” said Tod FoulkCQ, Portland Fashion Week co-executive producer, who uses his design roots to coordinate the week’s events and, of course, spot emerging design talent. “The art and culture scene has burgeoned here due to our ‘cool and hip’ reputation.”
And that may aptly describe Portland’s recent style evolution. Since Portland Fashion Week’s inception in 2003, more designers have blossomed, boutiques dotting the local shopping boulevards of NW 23rd Street, Hawthorne Boulevard and Alberta Street have flourished, and the city has now officially entered the arena of global fashion potential.
“Fashion is captivating to everybody,” said Portland Fashion Week co-exec Tito Chowdhury, who describes the Portland fashion scene as ‘thriving.’ “It’s the most effective way to bring attention to the city – its livability, its creativity, its energy, its sensibility.”
Even Italy, the country home to brands Prada, Dolce e Gabbana, Fendi and Gucci, has taken notice of Portland Fashion Week. Book Moda, the Italian fashion bible that interprets and reports trends straight from the “catwalks of the world,” featured a one-page Portland fashion week spread in its August haute couture issue. The article reads: “(Portland) moves and is growing day by day, thanks to a new generation that enlivens all fields of creativity, art, music, architecture, photography and…fashion.”
The event has garnered press because of its green theme.
Portland Fashion Week’s eco-friendly values are implemented in production, materials for the runway, the venue, the lighting, the textiles and the designers’ creations, the makeup worn on models and even organic appetizers, Chowdhury said.
“Our drive is to make ‘sustainable’ not just a catchphrase but an active way of life, a business model for the world,” added Foulk, who also collaborates with executive Christopher Cone.
The three men joined in 2006 to makeover the event under the direction of Portland Fashion Week Productions LLC.
Foulk not only intends for the event to create a strong network of local designers and promote the city’s vibrant fashion scene, he wants to supercharge the Northwest with creative energy so that eco-fashion becomes synonymous with Portland.
Possible? Maybe: Ten high-end sustainable designers, including Portland native Anna Cohen and renowned creators from the U.S. and Europe are snipping and tailoring their spring 2008 garments for the revolutionary event, Chowdhury said.
“We’re making our ‘lil’ Northwest secret’ not so ‘lil’ or ‘secret’ anymore,” Foulk said.
Event: Portland Fashion Week 2007
Why: It’s dubbed the most sustainable fashion week in the world and features internationally recognized designers to promote the city’s vibrant style scene
When: Oct. 19 to 27
Where: 5555 N. Channel Ave., Portland, Ore.