For eight years, Fade to Light has been the fun fashion show we could count on. It makes total sense, then, that producers Elizabeth Mollo and Greg Cline have figured out how to keep the good times coming. The show, which centers on a multi-media approach where designers team with filmmakers for opening shorts, bands for live runway music, dance teams for choreographed sets, and other dramatic flairs, will move entirely online. 

Though it’s impossible to replicate the chatter and excitement of a live runway show (bug, heavy sigh), Fade to Light might have the best chance of any fashion show. That’s because we as audience members have already been trained to know that the digital shorts that accompany the show are as integral to the event as the collections. This installment of Fade to Light features fashion films from the likes of N’Kossi Boutique, Folly, and Cassie Ridgway of Altar Houseline.

“It felt important to participate in Fade to Light because for years, this event has delivered so much vibrancy and joy to our design community; we want to support it as an organization to the same degree that it has supported our art form,” says Ridgway. “Events are under incredible pressure to 'pivot' in a dynamic way, and Fade to Light has always set the bar higher and higher for itself as a fashion event, and this new digital landscape will be no different. Elizabeth and Greg put their whole hearts into producing something authentic, enriching, and innovative.”

The digital showcase is trying to bring an IRL element to the show, encouraging ticket holders to forgo the Saturday night sweatpants and dress up. Pull out that killer local look, snap a selfie and upload it to Instagram with #fadetolight2020. The show will be reposting them on the Fade to Light account in a virtual red carpet so we can do what God intended at a fashion show—check out each other’s outfits.

Listen: Portland Monthly editor in chief Marty Patail talks with style editor Eden Dawn about recent small business news, including an update on Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s eviction moratorium on commercial leases, as well as how retail and fashion in Portland are adapting to the coronavirus. 

Fade to Light: A Multidimensional Fashion Event