Downtown Eugene


Friday, February 18, 2011

The Promenade


In every old city there's a street which the population pours onto, each evening and holiday, dressed their best, with a wide range of social motivations. It's an important, delightful, community-building exercise.

In modern cities, the Promenade somehow spawned the Catwalk. There are local runways and transnational ones, and they all invariably draw crowds. The one on Ken Kesey square in downtown Eugene, on August 18, 2010, drew as many people as could possibly fit into the streets -- on a Wednesday! The garments varied considerably in quality, but the models were all normal people, making the show much more about community than fashion.

In Eugene, designers are often associated with one of the many unique second-hand garment shops, which have a somewhat ideological bent, promoting reuse as an ecological good. These vintage shops are at the center of organizing fashion events.

Hoping to turn last year's audience into more of a fashion movement, and perhaps inspired by the revolutions in the middle east, the organizers are expanding from a fashion day to a fashion week this year. Here are the details, just announced:

First Annual Eugene Fashion Week

Paris? New York? Portland? They all have a Fashion Week & now Eugene will too! Over the course of 2 weekends Deluxe, Redoux and Kitsch will produce 5 shows. These shows will be grouped by design style and each will include an opening act/performance, the fashion show, a meet-and-greet with designers & hair/makeup artists, and a DJ or other entertainment. At each event there will be limited vending for the designers of that show. The main vending event will be at Cosmic Pizza on May 1st. The shows and locations are as follows:

4/22/11 Friday
Green/Eco-Fashion Show (on Earth Day)
Agate Hall

4/23/11 Saturday
Ready To Wear Show
Location TBA

4/29/11 Friday
Club-wear Show
Cowfish

4/30/11 Saturday
Avante Garde/Costume Show
Oak Street Speakeasy

5/1/11 Sunday
Vending Event
All Ages Show/Childrenswear Show
Cosmic Pizza

As usual, we will have numerous meetings beforehand to discuss details. Please pass this information along to anyone wanting to participate.
The dates and locations are below:

2/22/11 Tuesday
First Designer Meeting
7 pm at Kitsch

2/29/11 Tuesday
Model Call
6-8 PM at Oak Street Speakeasy

2/29/11 Tuesday
Deadline for Participation
Paperwork must be turned in to Deluxe, Redoux Parlour,
or Kitsch