The 2017 Cars & Couture Fashion Show presented by Architech
The 2017 Cars & Couture Fashion Show presented by Architech, and produced by Fashion District NW, was held on Saturday, July 22nd at Lemay - America's Car Museum in Tacoma. The event was emceed by Juliet Dang and highlighted five local couture fashion designers with runway showcases. The designers included Dawnamatrix, Gustavo Apiti Couture, Dream Dresses by PMN, Carole McClellan, and Lisa Marie Couture. Featured accessory designers included Love Letters Intimates, Namiko Abloom, Opearl Brands, Shady Bitch Eyewear and Victoria Stowe Collection.
My favorite collection from the show was Dream Dresses by PMN. I met the designer, Phuong Minh Nguyen at Fashion Week at The Bellevue Collection in September 2015 after she won that year's Independent Designer Runway Show with her beautiful collection of red accented wedding gowns. It's so amazing to watch her continue to produce glamorous custom-made couture pieces. Every time I see a new dress, I suddenly have the urge to get married all over again. This show was no different. The attention to detail and grandness of each gown took my breath away.
Here are my favorite gowns from the show:
Another collection that blew me away was Lisa Marie Couture. There was an air of sophisticated effortlessness to the gowns, but what I loved about the collection was how well it paired with accessories from Namiko Abloom. It almost seemed like the jewelry was part of the dresses.
I was also excited to see the latest from Gustavo Apiti Couture. If you haven't heard, designer Gustavo Apiti has been selected to participate in this year's Independent Designer Runway Show at Fashion Week at The Bellevue Collection. I had the pleasure of attending his runway show last summer and I'm excited to see what comes down the runway at IDRS.
Dawnamatrix brought quite a bit of spice with looks by designer Dawn Mostow. With each look I saw, I seriously questioned, "How can they walk in that?!" I was fascinated with the models' abilities to pull off these latex-designed pieces. The brand has continued to gain a lot of attention from high-profile celebrities and publications such as Katy Perry, Bella Hadid, Kylie Jenner, Vogue, Interview, and CR Fashion Book.
The last designer on my list is Carole McClellan, winner of the Independent Runway Designer Show at Fashion Week at The Bellevue Collection in 2012. This was the only designer I wasn't familiar with so I was excited to see something new. I was very impressed with the edge factor of this collection. I loved the bold statements with the repurposed fur designs. The hair and makeup (by Gene Juarez) helped to pull these bold looks together.
Overall, the event was a fantastic way to force me to wear heels again and reconnect with some fashion folks including Erin Reddick of LYREL Media, Frilancy Hoyle of Fri's Closet, Yuliya Suleymanova of Suley Era, and the always stylish Seattle Gents. I'd personally like to congratulate David Bailey and his team at Fashion District NW for hosting a fabulous fashion show. David and I go back to Seattle Fashion Week 2015 so it's great to see him branch out and produce a high-caliber fashion event. I can't wait for next year's show!
For more information on the designers, visit carsandcouturenw.com and visit Fashion District NW's Facebook page for more photos from the show!
Fashion District NW is an organization that was formed to educate and connect the Northwest fashion communities. This includes designers, boutiques, models, photographers, hair and makeup artists, and fashion bloggers. The organization recognizes the great opportunity for growth in fashion in the Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver areas. The goal is to connect new talent, fashion professionals, industry insiders, and fashion enthusiasts, as well as provide exposure and visibility for the NW fashion industry, Fashion District NW's mission is to educate the fashion community by providing online resources, consulting services, and workshops for all area of the fashion industry. Our services include: producing fashion shows; organizing trunk shows and networking events.