The annual event will take place at the Moxy Hotel from August 16-21, with nightly parades.
A far cry from the catwalks of Milan, London, Paris and New York is the tiny Portland Fashion Week.
It may be small, but they do things in a big way, like striving to be carbon and plastic free, not working with designers who use animal products, and generally being sustainable.
Marking 20 years since its inception, Portland Fashion Week, which includes nightly shows at 8 p.m. and hair and makeup done for the public to see, takes place at the Moxy Hotel, 585 SW 10th Ave. ., from August 16 to 21.
Portland Fashion Week is run by the father-daughter duo of Tod Hunter Foulk, the executive producer, and Fiona Foulk, the executive director.
Designers from all over will display their creations, some 15 in all, including:
• Sheltersuit, which sustainably designs and manufactures, in the Netherlands and South Africa, products especially for the homeless. Sheltersuit Label works together with high-end fashion brands, making streetwear from recycled materials. The protective suit and protective bag will be displayed in Portland; will distribute bags of shelter in the winter with the help of the Rose Haven Community Center and Day Shelter.
• Wildling Shoes, from Germany and manufacturing in Portugal, makes sustainably produced minimalist shoes using organic cotton, hemp, Tencel, wool, linen and washi paper, all combined with cork and recycled rubber soles. He uses recycled and leftover materials extensively, even with his newest “vegan” shoe.
• And Go Eyewear Group will be another big company at Portland Fashion Week. Originally from Brazil, it now distributes all over the world. “It’s not a real sustainable (effort), but it’s okay,” said Tod Hunter Foulk.
Portland Fashion Week persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic, holding events in 2020 and 2021. It has been held in various indoor and outdoor locations over the past 20 years. It is one of two notable fashion shows in Portland, the other being FashioNXT in the fall.
Tod Hunter Foulk, a Portland native with roots in Eastern Oregon, whose signature look includes a cowboy hat, became involved with Portland Fashion Week because of his daughter, who had a passion for fashion. “She’s the boss, I just do things,” he said.
“The designers are the stars, not the producers.”
He does talk about working on conservation efforts, while applying sustainability to fashion. “We called it eco-fashion” in the early 2000s, said Tod Hunter Foulk. Time magazine and the Huffington Post are among the outlets that credit Portland Fashion Week for its independent status and sustainability work, as well as its influence on other fashion weeks.
For more: www.PortlandFashionWeek.net.
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Source: pamplinmedia.com