Alaska’s (Fashion) Capital Brings Back Fashion Week

Designers, models and fashion enthusiasts from across North America descended on Juneau over the weekend for the second annual Alaska Fashion Week, bringing impeccable taste and one-of-a-kind looks to the capital.

The event went smooth as silk, said Cordova Pleasants, one of the organizers, and was about twice the size of last year’s event.

“The first one was in 2020, but it was extremely low key. We did not sell tickets due to COVID. So it was more like a meeting of the minds,” Pleasants said. “Last year was the first year we produced a show where we were able to sell tickets.”

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Balancing planning for this year’s event with constantly moving COVID levels and mitigation measures was a delicate act, Pleasants said.

“We started (planning) to go in November, having conversations. By January, we were going full force,” Pleasants said. “It was very difficult to plan something that could be cancelled. That was over our heads the whole time.”

The event is unique to Juneau, said Dana Herndon, who along with Pleasants and Maggie McMillan helped organize Fashion Week.

“These designers said, we’ve never done a show like this before,” Herndon said. “(He’s) telling the Alaskan fashion story: People are saying, Does Alaska have a fashion scene?”

Chameleon models during Alaska Fashion Week on May 7, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Sydney Akagi Photography)

Chameleon models during Alaska Fashion Week on May 7, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Sydney Akagi Photography)

Edgy fashion

More than 200 guests, designers and other attendees were part of the event, which began May 5, Pleasants said. Approximately 30 models and 18 designers with their collections were part of the show, hailing from places like Fairbanks, Kenai, Valdez, New Mexico, Oregon, Canada.

“We had people from Fairbanks who came. We had people from the southeast. We had a lot of people from Anchorage,” Herndon said. “We had a lot of lifelong Alaskans come to the Southeast for the first time for Fashion Week.”

One designer, Victoria Kakuktinniq of Victoria’s Arctic Fashion, an Inuk designer from Nunavut, Canada, was a featured designer, having appeared at fashion weeks in Paris and New York.

“She loved our show the most,” Pleasants said. “This was the first show she had to see her designs come down the runway.”

Events included tours, cocktail parties, a designer market, drink tastings, and the parade. None of this would be possible without local partners and sponsors, Pleasants said.

“We had a number of sponsors that we worked with. Those participated in or gave to the show in some way. We had local sponsors but also sponsors from outside of Juneau. One of our major sponsors is a store in Fairbanks,” Pleasants said. “It was very valuable to fashion designers and retailers because they are the only place in the state where they meet.”

Alex Vicario, Hien Tran and Lisa Puananimohala'ikalani Denny model during the Alaska Fashion Week runway event on May 7, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Sydney Akagi Photography)

Alex Vicario, Hien Tran and Lisa Puananimohala’ikalani Denny model during the Alaska Fashion Week runway event on May 7, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Sydney Akagi Photography)

The designer market, where designers could sell newly modeled clothes, was also a huge success, Herndon said, with thousands of dollars in transactions.

“We had a designer market where people could buy looks straight off the runway that was a huge hit,” Herndon said. “Everyone was excited to use the collections. It was good in every way.”

The novelty of the festival and the Alaskan fashion scene itself meant the event was also unique, Pleasants said.

“We did things in a completely different way,” Pleasants said. “Retail is looking for designers. Many of these designers are so new and fresh that they don’t know how it works. It’s great that designers come to them.”

Fashion Week’s focus was slow fashion, Pleasants said, a more handmade, small-batch fashion based on locally sourced materials, as opposed to mass-produced, mass-appeal fast fashion.

“It was written in our mission statement for fashion week. We saw a neglected demand for slow fashion in the fashion world. We wanted to be at the forefront of that because we see that so much of fashion is about fast fashion,” Pleasants said. “This was their chance for them to really make an impact.”

The biggest designers at the event brought examples of their fall lines, which won’t be released until August, for interested retailers to view, Pleasants said.

“I’ve met with a designer and I’m ready to place an order for October,” said Pleasants, who also owns Resolute Boutique, located downtown. “That gives him time to find a manufacturer, which he hasn’t done but wants to do, and to get his products in the store.”

Photo courtesy of Sydney Akagi Photography Models Chameleon, left, and Élise Pypaert pose during an Alaska Fashion Week event on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of Sydney Akagi Photography Models Chameleon, left, and Élise Pypaert pose during an Alaska Fashion Week event on Saturday.

sidetone

The show also did immediate good for downtown stores, vendors said.

“I can say that we definitely appreciated what we saw. There was a spike in traffic on the pier. There was an uptick in sales,” said David Summers, owner of Alaska Knifeworks. “Especially after the pandemic, we feel that everyone who comes to the city is really nice.”

Summers said he and other business owners on Merchant’s Wharf saw an increase in traffic and sales from the Fashion Week crowd, which stood out a bit from the regular tourists.

“The patrons were very kind. We enjoyed meeting the artists and designers heading downtown,” said Summers. “They tend to be extroverts. Your fashion cannot be seen behind closed doors. You have to go out there and show it and that’s what they did.”

The beginning of the season tends to be a bit slower, Summers said, and the festival was a nice boost.

“It is the beginning phase. We are removing cobwebs and putting products and training staff. We all saw an uptick in business and for that we are very grateful,” Summers said. “This time of year, things are a little slower. It’s a big blow to the arm.”

Summers said it’s been great to see Fashion Week grow, and she was certainly grateful for the increased business.

“We saw it in real dollar sales at the dock. We saw them and they were there,” Summers said. “I’m definitely looking forward to it coming back next year. I hope to keep good communication with them. Maybe there’s a retail shopping day that makes sense for that group next year.”

Expanding partnerships and more activities are also on the minds of organizers, Herndon said.

“I would love to do shopping events next year. That’s something I’d love to include,” Herndon said. “Encouraging community members to collaborate with us is on my agenda for next year.”

With expectations for 2022 shattered, the future calls, Pleasants said. People already want to book next year, Herndon said.

“It’s the best in the state. We hear you,” Pleasants said. “It was much better than we expected. Any problem that happened was just small potatoes. Everyone who came from out of town brought their A-game.”

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or [email protected].

Source: www.peninsulaclarion.com