With Song’s strengths came in the execution of their garments, but the range of sophisticated pieces to those that bordered on junior left some confusion as to the demographic.
6OPENING NIGHT – With Song
With Song’s strengths came in the execution of their garments, but the range of sophisticated pieces to those that bordered on junior left some confusion as to the demographic.
7OPENING NIGHT – With Song
8OPENING NIGHT – With Song
9OPENING NIGHT – Song Hong
Song Hong impressed with a slew of models slowly walking while swathed in beige knits and cashmere. Each ensemble had wearable, cozy pieces with many crying out to be part of a rainy Portland winter.
10OPENING NIGHT – Song Hong
Song Hong impressed with a slew of models slowly walking while swathed in beige knits and cashmere. Each ensemble had wearable, cozy pieces with many crying out to be part of a rainy Portland winter.
11OPENING NIGHT – Song Hong
12OPENING NIGHT – Song Hong
13DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
Marcela, last year’s winner of the Emerging Designer competition, showed the most everyday, wearable collection of the entire week. This was a line of beautifully made pieces that aren’t just for runway pizazz, but actually to get up and life your life in every day (and look good doing it).
14DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
Marcela, last year’s winner of the Emerging Designer competition, showed the most everyday, wearable collection of the entire week. This was a line of beautifully made pieces that aren’t just for runway pizazz, but actually to get up and life your life in every day (and look good doing it).
15DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
From little work dresses to skirts and jackets, each piece made functional sense, while also looking sleek.
16DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
From little work dresses to skirts and jackets, each piece made functional sense, while also looking sleek.
17DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
18DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
19DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
20DAY TWO – Myriam Marcela
21DAY TWO – Devonation
Designer Devon Yan was formerly a Portlander who once sent his fledgling line down the runway with big ideas and some room to grow in construction. Years later this co-ed line was sexy, well-made, tailored, interesting, and just the right bit of unusual.
22DAY TWO – Devonation
23DAY TWO – Devonation
I was particularly impressed with Yan’s jackets for men and women, which all had something to make them sing from interesting details to unusual patterns.
24DAY TWO – Devonation
Designer Devon Yan was formerly a Portlander who once sent his fledgling line down the runway with big ideas and some room to grow in construction. Years later this co-ed line was sexy, well-made, tailored, interesting, and just the right bit of unusual.
25DAY TWO – Devonation
26DAY TWO – Devonation
27DAY TWO – Devonation
28DAY TWO – Devonation
29DAY TWO – Devonation
30DAY TWO – Age to Come
I don’t have children, and I don’t know if children are into wearing all black and white. But I do know that these kids looked cool as hell and I’m pretty sure felt that way too.
31DAY TWO – Devonation
32DAY TWO – Devonation
I was particularly impressed with Yan’s jackets for men and women, which all had something to make them sing from interesting details to unusual patterns.
33DAY TWO – Devonation
And a couple of really pretty gowns, because hey why not?
34DAY TWO – Age to Come
35DAY TWO – Age to Come
I don’t have children, and I don’t know if children are into wearing all black and white. But I do know that these kids looked cool as hell and I’m pretty sure felt that way too.
36DAY TWO – Age to Come
37DAY TWO – Age to Come
38DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
Walter Mendez was one of the only designers to kick of his segment with a bang. Local model Sarah Schroeder floated out on her point shoes like a beautiful swan in her perfectly fit dress, dancing and going on tip toes down the runway.
39DAY TWO – Age to Come
40DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
Mendoza’s line wasn’t big enough to seamlessly transition from the one semi-casual outfit here to the fancy frocks that followed. And while he mainly showed special occasion, I actually felt that this little bouclé suit number was his strongest ensemble.
41DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
Mendoza’s line wasn’t big enough to seamlessly transition from the one semi-casual outfit here to the fancy frocks that followed. And while he mainly showed special occasion, I actually felt that this little bouclé suit number was his strongest ensemble.
42DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
Mendez knows sexy silhouettes for a woman like no other. His design skills produced one best dressed red carpet look after another. However the fabric choices did not seem up to par with the quality of design, with shiny fabrics looking akin to activewear, and none of the dresses lined with the horsehair hem on display for each look. If the customer is fancy enough to need this lovely of a dress, she’ll need higher quality fabric.
43DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
44DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
The requisite shock value dress.
45DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
46DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
One of my favorite dress designs of the week! That color! That sleeve detail! That fabric 🙁
47DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
While impressively runway pretty, the amount of ruffles and embellishments at the hips is what many women steer clear of.
48DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
49DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
Walter Mendez was one of the only designers to kick of his segment with a bang. Local model Sarah Schroeder floated out on her point shoes like a beautiful swan in her perfectly fit dress, dancing and going on tip toes down the runway.
50DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
51DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
Mendez knows sexy silhouettes for a woman like no other. His design skills produced one best dressed red carpet look after another. However the fabric choices did not seem up to par with the quality of design, with shiny fabrics looking akin to activewear, and none of the dresses lined with the horsehair hem on display for each look. If the customer is fancy enough to need this lovely of a dress, she’ll need higher quality fabric.
52DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
53DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
The requisite shock value dress.
54DAY THREE – Stephanie D. Couture
Longtime local designer Stephanie Dong showed the shortest collection of FashioNXT which made it hard for the audience to leap from this one ready to wear look to her evening wear. That being said, this is the first RTW look I’ve seen from Dong, and I hope to see more.
55DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
One of my favorite dress designs of the week! That color! That sleeve detail! That fabric 🙁
56DAY THREE – Stephanie D. Couture
57DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
58DAY TWO – Devonation
59DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
60DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
A FashioNXT newcomer, Dream Dress showed heavily embellished bridal looks that had great shapes, and too many add ons. If we could pull off some of the lace and rhinestones and get to the dress designs below, I think there is great promise there.
61DAY THREE – Walter Mendez
62DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
While impressively runway pretty, the amount of ruffles and embellishments at the hips is what many women steer clear of.
63DAY THREE – Stephanie D. Couture
Longtime local designer Stephanie Dong showed the shortest collection of FashioNXT which made it hard for the audience to leap from this one ready to wear look to her evening wear. That being said, this is the first RTW look I’ve seen from Dong, and I hope to see more.
64DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
65DAY THREE – Stephanie D. Couture
66DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
An example of something that happened throughout several lines at FashioNXT and the red carpet in general. Just as in matching nude nylons to your leg, the color of nude netting against models skin tone is make or break for a look.
67DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
A FashioNXT newcomer, Dream Dress showed heavily embellished bridal looks that had great shapes, and too many add ons. If we could pull off some of the lace and rhinestones and get to the dress designs below, I think there is great promise there.
68DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
69DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
70DAY THREE – Lenzanita
Lenzanita is line that continually comes to FashioNXT and obviously has great love and admiration for the show they put on. That being said, it’s not a line I can put my finger on. The fringe and grommets go so costumey, I can only see them working in a music video (where they’d actually be great), but as far as the streets of Portland, it’s just not working. Perhaps I need to get over to the Dakotas and check out their grommet game.
71DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
72DAY THREE – Wendy Ohlendorf
Ohlendorf steered clear from a traditional cohesive collection which threw me off a bit during the show. But when looking at the pieces as individuals there were several lovely dresses topped with custom floral pieces.
73DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
An example of something that happened throughout several lines at FashioNXT and the red carpet in general. Just as in matching nude nylons to your leg, the color of nude netting against models skin tone is make or break for a look.
74DAY THREE – Wendy Ohlendorf
75DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
The dress the designer wore on the runway was one of my favorites of the collection! Keep up this look!
76DAY THREE – Wendy Ohlendorf
77DAY THREE – Lenzanita
Lenzanita is line that continually comes to FashioNXT and obviously has great love and admiration for the show they put on. That being said, it’s not a line I can put my finger on. The fringe and grommets go so costumey, I can only see them working in a music video (where they’d actually be great), but as far as the streets of Portland, it’s just not working. Perhaps I need to get over to the Dakotas and check out their grommet game.
78DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
79DAY THREE – Lenzanita
80DAY THREE – Lenzanita
81DAY THREE – Lenzanita
82DAY THREE – Lenzanita
83DAY THREE – Lenzanita
84DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
Michelle Lesniak introduced her collection wearing the dress she had bought to walk down the aisle in. Her wedding, recently called off, was the catalyst for the collection she debuted entitled Pin Me/Pierce Me. She told the crowd it was based on the 1950s fraternity tradition of pinning a girl as a promise of engagement and the pierce me was how your heart feels when it’s called off. And as she sang Nancy Sinatra’s lyrics, “Bang, Bang, my baby shot me down” to the audience with a wavering voice, I felt it was the most touching, emotional introduction to a line I’ve ever seen.
85DAY THREE – Wendy Ohlendorf
Ohlendorf steered clear from a traditional cohesive collection which threw me off a bit during the show. But when looking at the pieces as individuals there were several lovely dresses topped with custom floral pieces.
86DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
In addition to the emotional aspect, Lesniak also showed herself to be one of the most mature designers in town. One who truly understands a line should include all types of clothing–think pants, blazers, blouses–and not just dresses.
87DAY THREE – Wendy Ohlendorf
88DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
89DAY THREE – Wendy Ohlendorf
90DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
91DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
Michelle Lesniak introduced her collection wearing the dress she had bought to walk down the aisle in. Her wedding, recently called off, was the catalyst for the collection she debuted entitled Pin Me/Pierce Me. She told the crowd it was based on the 1950s fraternity tradition of pinning a girl as a promise of engagement and the pierce me was how your heart feels when it’s called off. And as she sang Nancy Sinatra’s lyrics, “Bang, Bang, my baby shot me down” to the audience with a wavering voice, I felt it was the most touching, emotional introduction to a line I’ve ever seen.
92DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
Mondo Guerra introduced his collection by speaking of how he challenged himself to stray from his typical pattern and color. Instead he used all white, but managed to use fabric texture to create the signature Mondo clash we all know and love.
93DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
In addition to the emotional aspect, Lesniak also showed herself to be one of the most mature designers in town. One who truly understands a line should include all types of clothing–think pants, blazers, blouses–and not just dresses.
94DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
95DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
96DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
Beyond Guerra’s detailed design and knack for the Zeitgeist of cool, he also understands that the head to toe styling is as important as the designs to really sell a look,
97DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
98DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
99DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
100DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
101DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
102DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
103DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
Mondo Guerra introduced his collection by speaking of how he challenged himself to stray from his typical pattern and color. Instead he used all white, but managed to use fabric texture to create the signature Mondo clash we all know and love.
104DAY FOUR – Designer Mondo Guerra
105DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
106DAY FOUR – Seth Aaron
I’ve had my ups and downs with Aaron’s line. I was a huge fan of his first collections, then didn’t understand his phase of covering models faces and purple leather gloves, but this was a resurgence of the honeymoon. Once again back to his exquisite tailoring (look at how that pattern matches up on the back), Aaron did his best dark, casual glam I’ve seen in years, and I was happy to see it.
107DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
Beyond Guerra’s detailed design and knack for the Zeitgeist of cool, he also understands that the head to toe styling is as important as the designs to really sell a look,
108DAY FOUR – Seth Aaron
109DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
110DAY FOUR – Seth Aaron
111DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
112DAY THREE – Dream Dress by P.M.N.
The dress the designer wore on the runway was one of my favorites of the collection! Keep up this look!
113DAY FOUR – Mondo Guerra
114DAY TWO – Oscar Mendoza
115DAY FOUR – Designer Mondo Guerra
116DAY TWO – Devonation
And a couple of really pretty gowns, because hey why not?
117DAY FOUR – Seth Aaron
I’ve had my ups and downs with Aaron’s line. I was a huge fan of his first collections, then didn’t understand his phase of covering models faces and purple leather gloves, but this was a resurgence of the honeymoon. Once again back to his exquisite tailoring (look at how that pattern matches up on the back), Aaron did his best dark, casual glam I’ve seen in years, and I was happy to see it.
118DAY THREE – Lenzanita
119DAY FOUR – Seth Aaron
120DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
121DAY FOUR – Seth Aaron
122DAY THREE – Michelle Lesniak
Ah FashioNXT. Like an on again/off again boyfriend, you weave in and out of our lives each year, sometimes charming us, sometimes bringing drama. This year you were on your best behavior, with tents that stayed in place despite the torrential downpour, a house packed more for the local designer night than the big visitors, and sheer dresses as far as the eye can see.
Night One On opening night Mayor Charlie Hales introduced FashioNXT and the international partnership with Shenzhen, China by telling a cute story about how he proposed to Nancy Hales on the Great Wall of China. This is the second year of devoting an entire night to this symbiotic relationship–last year local designer Cyndi Koon was hired by one of the Shenzhen labels to design and has been trucking back and forth between Portland and China for months. The takeaway I’ve had each year is the level of craftsmanship and knowledge of construction is at an incredibly impressive level.
Night Two This night was devoted to local designers and was my favorite of the week. Former Emerging Designer contestants Myriam Marcela and Devonation debuted fantastic collections, and my normal grumpy ‘tude about childrenswear mixed into an adult fashion show was erased with the cool kids that presented the Age to Come line. And of course, there was the Emerging Designer competition that begat its own review here.
Night Three A night that was a mixed bag of local and visiting designers, and frankly designs that were hit or miss. After a first half that ran the gamut from highly embellished wedding gowns to fringed leather rompers the final collection from Michelle Lesniak was by far the most emotive, cohesive collection straying away from the seemingly thousands of gowns we saw over the week to offer a full line of dresses, blouses, pants, and accessories.
Night Four The finale night was all about Project Runway. Sweet Mondo Guerra (still one of the most fun interviews I’ve done) presented an all white, modern collection along with a talk about eschewing what’s expected of you, while Viktor Luna turned up the futuristic notch to a dial fiddling between next wave modern and costume. Closing out the show was Seth Aaron who for the first time in years presented a full line showcasing the impressive tailoring and attention to detail (back seam pattern matching!) that made him a twice over winner.
