Story by Alison Moran
Photos by Nick Cote and Blake Hamilton
“You paid the price for the whole seat but you’ll only need the edge,” announced a man clad in a ringmaster suit at Saturday evening’s 4th Annual Carnival of Couture hosted by Eugene clothing stores Deluxe*Kitsch*Redoux Production. In fact, many were without a seat as the excitement of witnessing the collections of 13 local fashion designers attracted an unprecedented amount of spectators to the Lane County Fairgrounds Expo Halls, all eager to get a glimpse as a pageantry of models strutted various garments up and down the catwalk.
The collections ranged from the mildly bizarre (faux fur leg warmers, butterfly wings, and Geisha-esque muumuus) to the charming (flowing floral dresses) to the sexy (mini skirts for, as designer Jessica Hickey suggests, “women wild as a mink but sweet as soda pop.”) Sticking with the theme of the night, couture and carnival were the twin motifs backstage, as dressers, models, and designers alike scrambled to find hair spray, high heels, and, in the ensuing calm, hugs from congratulatory supporters. In the midst of the pandemonium, Ethos met up with three of the designers to get the skinny on the business of fashion.
1. Allison Ditson, Allihalla
Alison Moran: Did you study fashion in school?
Allison Ditson: Well, I was home-schooled so technically yes because my parents taught me to sew.
AM: How long have you been making clothes?
AD: As long as I can remember.
AM: What inspires you?
AD: I use a lot of recycled material, so usually the actual material will take form. I like to look at little details in things and I’ll employ those in my clothes.
AM: What do you specialize in?
AD: I like to try and find equilibrium between comfortable and fashionable. I like to take into consideration how actual clothing feels.
AM: What are you currently working on?
AD: I’m working on swimsuits for the summer.
AM: Are swimsuits hard to make?
AD: Yeah, definitely.
It has to be fitted right; it has to be structurally sound. I was talking to this guy who bought one of my suits and he was having a hard time keeping it on when he surfed [laughs]. I have to use a surger to do a certain stitch so the seams don’t break.
AM: If you could collaborate with any designer, who would it be?
AD: I don’t know. That’s tough. All of them.
AM: What’s a normal day in the life? Do you make clothes everyday?
AD: It feels good when I do. It feels good to wake up early and sew before I go to work. Any spare time. You can’t do too little.
AM: What are your hopes for the future?
AD: I only recently started considering fashion as a main focus. I hope people keep liking my stuff.
2. Yuki Conlon, Armored Heart
AM: Did you study fashion in school?
Yuki Conlon: I started making clothes when I was in high school. I was originally studying fashion, but I switched my major to business. I forgot about fashion. I’ve been volunteering at the shows before. This year, I decided to do a line just for fun.
AM: How many years have you been volunteering?
YC: I’ve been here since the first one, but I missed last year’s.
AM: What inspires you?
YC: I like the juxtaposition of hard and soft. I like hard rock. I like girly, frilly nonsense too.
AM: What do you specialize in?
YC: This line has a lot of leather and chain. There’s some lingerie.
AM: What’s next for you?
YC: Well, I quit my job, so I have no idea. As far as fashion goes, it’s so fun. Maybe I should drop business and do something creative.
AM: If you could collaborate with any designer, who would it be?
YC: Leanne Marshall, the Portland native who won Project Runway. I like her feminine form.
AM: What’s a normal day in the life? Do you make clothes everyday?
YC: I don’t but I should.
AM: What are your hopes for the future? Do you see yourself making clothes?
YC: If not for myself then for friends, yes.
3. Andrew Helms, Grintage
AM: How did you get into fashion?
Andrew Helms: My junior year of high school I went to New York City, and I was exposed to the fashion industry for the first time. I want to go into fashion advertising, and making clothes is a good way to be creative.
AM: What inspires you?
AH: What inspires me? [Laughs] Well, the name of my line is Grintage, which means to take something ugly and old and make it beautiful. My whole aesthetic is vintage inspired – bringing the 1940s, femme fatale look into 2010.
AM: What do you specialize in?
AH: Womenswear looks: dresses, shirts, tops, shorts.
AM: Why women’s and not men’s?
AH: Menswear is extremely difficult. Being a student, I have a limited amount of time, so I’m hoping to expand into menswear sometime.
AM: If you could collaborate with any designer, who would it be?
AH: Definitely Marc Jacobs. He’s so creative, so New York, so edgy. He’s definitely my guy.
AM: What’s a normal day in the life? Do you make clothes everyday?
AH: I go to school, go to advertising meetings, go to the library, go to the gym, and then I sew. I’m busy.
AM: What are your hopes for future?
AH: I’m going to move to New York and pursue fashion advertising. My dream job is to be the creative director for GQ. Maybe I’ll design clothes. We’ll see.
Read more about the event and other featured fashion designer, Harlequin.
