design: Magali Corzo. photo: Pete Springer
The crowd at last night’s fashion show, STRUT, was in the kind of mood approximating that of what a friend once called “woo girls.” What’s a woo girl? we asked at the time. “The girl who’s sitting on her boyfriend’s shoulders at the Guns n’ Roses concert with both arms pumping the air shouting, “Woooo!” You know.
The crowd filled the hot pink striped palace, the stage archway studded with giant hot pink cushions as seven Portland-based fashion designers and labels sent out spring looks on the runway at Wonder Ballroom. Color drama didn’t stop on the runway with JustOut’s Jim Radosta in best-shirt-of-the-evening: a Wonder Bread polka dot polo.
design: Leanimal. photo: Pete Springer
design: Leanimal. photo: Pete Springer
Leanimal opened with a magnificent coat with bubbled collar and cuff, and followed with several voluminous, swingy, kneelength dresses for the most dramatic looks of the night. Her midnight blue minidress with its high collar spilling into an ascot-like ruffle was the evening dress of the evening. For day, her plaid shirt that peplum-ed out underneath it’s tiny navy short vest was excellent.
design: Rachel Mara. photo: Pete Springer
It’s almost too easy to love Rachel Mara’s hot jumpsuit. “I believe in miracles….”If you missed the weather report that pants waist lines are rising, Rachel Mara’s Rachel Gorenstein didn’t, showing high-waist pants with a clever faux cummerbund. Her skinny black sateen pants and linen wheat-colored bermuda shorts suit were sharp, but the ivory 3/4 sleeve dress with its stand-up collar was sensational. It’s this last, the kind of understated but smart look that another Portland designer, Adam Arnold, does so well that won’t elicit catcalls on the catwalk, but will be the best dress in the room no matter where it’s worn.
design: Makool. photo: Pete Springer
Spring at Makool is playful and cute with sweet little cotton tops with curved yokes and flutter sleeves (think Marc by Marc Jacobs, Chloe, etc.) and short shorts with piping that made them look like revisited 70s track shorts (in a good way). Fabric printed with cross-stitched abc’s turned up at waistband and yoke in several looks. Her cute shorts overalls in an overdyed mattress stripe were audience faves. But we’re feeling dresses this spring and her two last looks, a little chocolate milk bubble dress and a flirty little light blue mini are on our wish list.
Jonny Shultz Designs dresses are characterized by their hand-crocheted trims, softening the edges of every look and making them faves of gals who want a simple frock with a little kick, a little something extraordinary. Jonny Shultz’ ivory tone-on-tone print peplum-waist dress (hip-length ruffle falling from the waist) was super as was his golden bubble dress that evokes an illuminated jelly fish as it floats down the runway. The racerback on his camel bubble minidress was a smart little surprise.
WeMa stuck to a palette of black and grey–save one lovely, airy ivory babydoll top shown over a black unitard–and when one of the frequently appearing black fabrics was a pinstripe, the whole collection took on a fall vibe. Wendy Martin showed simple colorblocked dresses, wearable draped jersey halter tops, and longer skirts (below the knee), one in grey with pintucks radiating from a point on the waist.
Magali Corzo’s knockout look was a dress in dirty rose jersey draped so artfully, caught up twice on the torso, it was liquid sculpture. It’s one thing to see the draping on a Grecian marble or a black and white photo of Vionnet, it’s quite another to see it marching down the runway, swinging and folding around a body. She did a number of wearable dresses with little details like a buttoned-up bucket hem, but perhaps the best was an ivory sundress with a chevron-pieced bodice.
Sameunderneath was the only designer of the night doing menswear, and it was in a casual vein. The pumpkin yoked polo with snap breast pockets was a smart step up from printed t-shirt and the men’s jackets are the kind of casual but put-together cool we’ve come to expect from Sameunderneath. For women, the purple floor-length jersey dress imprinted with blossoms was a casual showstopper while the brown jersey knickers with zip-front top made a standout urban day look. If we can just get gentlemen (of all ages) to eschew the below-the-knee short, we’ll be all set.
Additional photos of the evening in part two….
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