Bellevue Fashion Week: Independent Designer Fashion Show

BlueShoes Media attended the Independent Designer Fashion Show last Wednesday. As part of Bellevue Fashion Week, an Independent Designer Fashion Show was hosted by The Bellevue Collection. The fashion show gave local designers an opportunity to connect with industry buyers. Fashion Industry experts made the final decision on the top ten designers.

The finalists were: 

• Ampersand As Apostrophe by Jessica Park
• Built For Man by Francisco Hernandez
• Masha Osoianu Design by Masha Osoianu 
• Carole McClellan by Carole McClellan 
• KateS Mensah by Kathy Sabin-Mensah
• Anne Sylvain by Patricia Raskin
• Bd Homme by Banchong Douangphrachanh
• Olga Szwed by Olga Szwed
• Lisa Vian Hunter and Lizzie Parker from the NBC show Fashion Stars. 

For photos from the event, click here. 

Style Tour with Stacy London at Westfield Southcenter

Westfield Style Tour Fall 2012 took off on Saturday, September 22nd with an appearance made by What Not To Wear's Stacy London. 

The Style Tour itself took place on the weekend of September 22nd-23rd and will continue next weekend through   September 30th.  Check the website for more details.  Anyone can have free beauty makeovers, and receive professional fashion consultations with top stylists trained by Stacy London. 

Shoppers are welcomed to a Westfield Style Salon, specifically designed for women who want to unleash their inner fashionista.  Each attendee is given their own Westfield Style Manual with how-to's for dressing, style trends, and beauty secrets that work for each individual.  Shoppers can also visit the Westfield Beauty Bar, where they can experience a free one-on-one session with a fashion consultant as well as a free makeup consultation.

I personally had the pleasure to meet Stacy London herself: 

Charisma Yaranon, BlueShoes Media (L) and Stacy London (R) 

Thank you Style For Hire, Stacy London, and Westfield Southcenter Mall for having us! 

Fashion Designers, Attorneys and Professionals Gather for Keeping Control of Your Designs

On April 23, 2012 nearly twenty Seattle fashion designers and industry professionals gathered at Karr Tuttle Campbell for “Keeping Control of Your Designs: An Intellectual Property and Branding Workshop for the Seattle Fashion Industry.”  The workshop aimed to review branding objectives for fashion companies/designers and insert the importance and timing of intellectual property into the discussion. 

Patent attorney Priya Sinha Cloutier and publicist Amalia Martino joined to present this seminar hoping for an eye-opening conversation regarding the intersection of intellectual property law, branding and public relations.  Much of the discussion touched on:

• establishing company values
• thinking beyond the logo and doing homework when creating a brand
• managing the brand and being prepared for a "crisis"
• protecting work with intellectual property
• options (and limits) in IP protection
• IP is part of the investment

In conjunction with MyEdmondsNews.com, the workshop will expand into The Incubator Project: Fashion through the end of 2012.   Two designers who attended the workshop will get into the weeds of intellectual property and branding, discover a suburban marketplace, and share the experience with others with continued consultation and monthly exposure from MyEdmondsNews.com, a hyper-local online publication that is at the heart of the Edmonds, WA community that reaches 70,000 unique visitors a month and has content sharing relationships with the Seattle Times and the Journal Magazine.

Additional Designer Opportunity from Keeping Control of Your Designs

The professionals behind “Keeping Control of Your Designs:  An Intellectual Property and Branding Workshop for the Seattle Fashion Industry” are happy to announce an exposure opportunity through The Incubator Project: Fashion, in conjunction with MyEdmondsNews.com.  While it offers some exposure, this goes beyond a PR/publicity idea.  It's designed to get into the weeds of intellectual property and branding, discover a suburban marketplace, and share the experience with others.

MyEdmondsNews.com is a hyper-local online publication that is at the heart of the Edmonds, WA community.  It reaches 70,000 unique visitors a month and has content sharing relationships with theSeattle Times and the Journal Magazine.  The Incubator Project (tm) exists to reach beyond a single seminar and share lessons in branding and intellectual property to artists, entrepreneurs and inventors through storytelling and other opportunities. 

MyEdmondsNews.com and The Incubator Project: Fashion, will:

• document the branding and intellectual property lessons and decisions through video and print
• feature the designer on MyEdmondsNews.com
• shadow the journey from Spring to holiday shopping season with regular updates on the MyEdmondsNews.com special feature
• offer limited consultation beyond the initial seminar, and
• introduce products to retailer(s) in Edmonds, WA
• culminate with a holiday event in Edmonds, WA

If you are interested in being considered for this opportunity, please email the following information tojsmith@karrtuttle.com by Friday, April 20, 2012:

• Name
• Email
• Phone
• Company Name
• Company Website, Facebook and Twitter Handle
• Short paragraph about branding or intellectual property challenges you’ve faced in past year OR why you’d like to participate.

The small print....

1. Must attend “Keeping Control of Your Designs:  An Intellectual Property and Branding Workshop for the Seattle Fashion Industry” on April 23, 2012.
2. Must have ability to produce products to sell in a commercial boutique.
3. Must have a $1,000 budget or access to funding to follow through on branding/legal advice, including design patent and trademark applications (exceptions may be made upon request and circumstances).

Ana Louie Holiday Party

On December 1, 2011, forty of Ana Louie's closest friends joined together for the Holiday Party.  Le Petit Shoppe in Seattle's Laurelhurst neighborhood graciously hosted the event and offered a 20% discount on purchases throughout the evening.  Families were encouraged to attend and children enjoyed the hot cocoa station, complimentary finger foods and some nail art by Drew.  Tons of family fun on a chilly but rain free Seattle night.

 Me, Tiffany and Cynarah 

Ann Marie, Drew and Myself

Miss Sophia 

The Louie family 

Photos by Team Photogenic

425 Magazine 5th Anniversary

On November 3rd I joined friends and colleagues to celebrate Five Years of 425 Magazine, the authority of the Eastside.  In a more than challenging economy when many publications are closing their doors or going on-line only, this is quite an accomplishment.  Kudos to them!  On a personal note, I have to say that 425 Magazine is one of my favorite outlets to work with.  Always responsive and open to ideas, they have a great staff and a clear direction. 


The party was hosted at the Luwa Gallery in Bellevue and the venue itself was an interesting departure from the normal club or restaurant.  Again, creative.  The food and drink were great and I was thrilled to be able to relax and chat among some of the best.  


Thanks for having me. 

Lauren Foster, fashion editor, and myself. 

Myself and the fabulous Miss Drew.

Seattle THREAD Show and My New Ring from Lunaversoul

This past weekend I joined some friends at the THREAD Show at Seattle's Fisher Pavilion in the Seattle Center.  Although the event has been on my radar for years, I've never actually attended so this was a good opportunity to just enjoy it.  


There were a lot of accessory companies and prices seemed to hover around the $50.00 mark.  I was surprised to see art, on-site t-shirt creation and craft tables, as well as many designers from Portland, OR.  A few designers or full lines were showing and the quality was pretty high.  There were munchies such as Luna Bar and a beer/wine garden.  I must say, on an early Sunday afternoon, it was tough to make good of the drink ticket that came with my entry.  


I couldn't pass up this darling ring made by Lunaversoul and between the three of us I think we spent around $200.  Other good finds were Weber Line, Marca Shoes offered beautiful hand-made leather shoes from Colombia and I recommend GNRL.QTRS for the man in your life. 


TREAD Show = good day out with girlfriends.  Would love to hear how designers fared.