Open Season: Fashion Show

Fashion is something I totally struggle with.  I really admire people who know how to dress.  I just get by with stuff from the mall.  Express, Macy’s, Old Navy.  I just don’t like shopping that much.  I wish cool clothes would just magically appear in my closet, but until I get a personal shopper that’s not going to happen.  All those mall clothes made me feel especially un-stylish at the fashion show I went to last week.

The show is called Open Season and it’s hosted by the Portland Mercury.  This is the second time I’ve been to one of their shows.  The first time it was much bigger, at the Wonder Ballroom.  This time, they split the event up into 4 nights and hosted each at a local bar as kind of a “fashion show happy hour”.  I bought tickets for the last of 4 nights, a show at Dig a Pony.

Since it’s a bar there is no chance of putting in an actual runway, so they taped lights to the floor to make a runway around the bar.  Then there were a couple small platforms for the models to stop on.  I thought it worked great.  Of course, after grabbing drinks we camped out along the runway so we would have a good view, who knows if the people behind could see.

My apologies for the cell phone pics.  I got shy about using my big camera.

The name of this show is Immaculate Martin.  It was advertised as a secret collaboration between two of Portland’s top local designers.  During the show everyone, the models and the designers, wore masks and kept their identities hidden.   I left still not knowing who the designers were, but the secret was finally revealed (at least to me) over the weekend in the Mercury Fashion Blog MOD. That link has more photos too.

Drum Roll…………………….Elizabeth Dye & Adam Arnold!  I don’t know much about Adam Arnold, but I do know Elizabeth Dye!  She has a shop in downtown called The English Department.  I went there to look at dresses when I was getting married.

Overall, Immaculate Martin was a great show, really appealing to my tastes.  The clothes were bright and colorful summer wear.  Prints were a continuing theme with dresses made out of floral and geometric patterns and a jacket with a Pendleton design. I really loved the surprising keyhole cuts on a number of the dresses, both interesting and unexpected.

While most of these clothes would never fit me in a million years… those models were TINY,   I found myself saying “I would totally wear that” over and over.  The designs were realistic.  Pieces that you could easily wear to look and feel great.

The entire show was just excellent.  A fantastic collaboration and a great presentation.  It made me wish I had gone to the other three nights of shows.  I enjoyed it so much, I think I’ll hit Portland Fashion Week this fall, but before I do, I need to get an outfit that isn’t entirely Express and Old Navy.