Perhaps not quite up to the standards of the holy quartet of cities who host what is informally known as fashion month (New York, London, Milan, and Paris), D.C. is doing everything in its efforts to establish a noteworthy fashion week of its own.
D.C. Fashion Week is now in its 10th year, and its 225,000th (or so) social media follower, as executive director and founder Ean Williams was eager to share at the Kickoff Reception and Eco Fashion Show on Monday.
The Eco Fashion show hosted around 250 eclectic audience members at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Penn Quarter, as well as the four featured eco-friendly labels on show: Project Blue Wrap, Red Zipper, Simply L3ve, and Isagus Extroversions.
“Going green” is typically a term that makes fashion editors tremble as sustainable fabrics and a primary focus on ‘eco-friendly’ techniques don’t typically lend themselves to the most wearable or stylish clothing.
Simply L3ve came closest to creating apparel that a normal person might actually consider buying, with its Delpozo-meets-Christopher-Kane vibe mixed in with the accessibility and simplicity of Loft. They took great effort to make sure their dresses didn’t look like they had been made out of trash bags, while one such trash bag-laden look was actually shown by another designer.
Nevertheless, some quirky touches, atypical to the more prominent fashion weeks, ended up being highlights of D.C.’s show. Models of all races and sizes were featured (a perennial hot topic in the fashion industry), and one designer even walked the end of her show instead of taking the traditional curt bow.
Participating designers are diverse. Emerging designer April Mehraban, who shows Saturday, Sept. 28, described her design aesthetic. “I love vintage inspired clothing that I add a modern twist to. Sultry fabrics and couture finishes complete the looks,” she said.
Meanwhile, another emerging designer Kenneth Wells Jr. of Underground Market Clothing Company draws inspiration from the ups and downs of his life: “Over the past 10 months I’ve lost a close family member, a job, have been homeless living out of a truck … all while building the brand and designs,” he said.
“I take that energy and allow clothes to be my canvas to express my emotions and state of mind. In hopes to inspire and motivate, not only myself, but others to keep going, and keep fighting in their pursuit for happiness.”
This fashion week will run until Sept. 29 when its 19th International Couture Collections show will present. Until then, there are set to be parties, emerging designer showcases, and international shows. And, unlike Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and the like, tickets for these shows can be purchased online, rejecting the exclusivity factor typically associated with the fashion industry.
In any case, if Ean Williams has anything to do with it, D.C. Fashion Week is sure to continue running, and hopefully growing, for years to come.
