RALEIGH -- If the weekend's SPARKcon festival was all about showcasing the area's imagination, fashionSPARK was the dazzling accessory.
Friday night's high-energy runway fashion show, now in its fifth year, showed off some of the area's best in fashion and jewelry design. This year's runway, set up in the middle of downtown's City Plaza, again displayed a range of design that's cropped up in the region, with nearly two dozen new and seasoned designers offering fashion for women, men, children -- even the hipster cyclist.
For a second year, local high-end jeans maker Raleigh Denim was among those stealing the show, sending down the runway an expanded collection that proved yet again that Sarah and Victor Lytvinenko know how to make far more than just jeans.
Although Raleigh Denim is best known for its denim sold in Barneys department stores throughout the country, the Lytvinenko's showed a collection of tailored pieces, including jackets and thick shirts for men and athletic shorts, skinny jeans and dresses for women, all made with the usual Raleigh Denim attention to construction and detail. They also experimented with different fabrics, including a shiny denim for the skinny jeans, and a thick cotton for a structured field jacket for men.
The stand out from the collection was a highly wearable - and sellable -- belted semi-sheer black shirtdress.
Ahpeele, another fashionSPARK veteran, also hit the fashion sweet spot with a chic collection for men and women of bold geometric prints in shades of gray with pops of magenta. It was a surprising departure for Adam and Hiromi Peele, who traditionally have gravitated more toward nature-inspired prints, including flowers, leaves, fish and birds.
Favorites from the collection included a large polka dot cape-like poncho and a short gray romper over a magenta bracelet sleeve T-shirt.
One of Raleigh's best known jewelers, Molly Anderson of mollybeads, joined the runway for the first time this year pairing her stunning pearl, rhinestone and crystal beaded collection with a bridal line by Payton-Alexis Brown, an eco-friendly designer. Among the standouts from Anderson was a short clustered necklace with pearls, handset rhinestone cluster balls and vintage Swarovski crystals.
"It was fun to do this because it took me out of the box," said Anderson, who sells her work in 50 stores throughout the Southeast, including Charlotte's in Raleigh. "I've never done jewelry for a bride before."
FashionSPARK newcomer Gabrielle Duggan, a recent graduate of N.C. State's master's program at the School of Design and a veteran of State's Art to Wear fashion show, again showed the audience what can be done with something old; her collection was made from reused materials. One sweater was made from the yarn of an unraveled Perry Ellis sweater. A handbag was created from sheep wool that family members found for free on Craigslist.
"I'm not marketing it as eco or green, it's more just about consumer consciousness," she said.
She said her fashionSPARK look was a slight departure from her Art to Wear days. The garments were more realistic, wearable and chic, she said. "My general inspiration was the movies, old 'Star Wars,' 'Mad Max' and 'Aliens.'"
Lindsay Kay's models were nearly as playful and adorable as the clothes they wore on the runway. Kay, a recent Meredith College graduate, created must-have children's wear for girls in pale yellows, light blues and white. The well-crafted dresses and frocks had subtle design embellishments, including lace trim, sashes and sleeve ties that could have easily gone frilly and over-the-top girly, but instead stayed true to the playful aesthetic of the collection.
"I wanted to find the balance between the two," said Kay, who teaches apparel at Broughton High School.
Marie Cordella, one of the area's most prolific artistic fashion designers, showed a highly wearable collection of dresses, including two standout black and white cocktail dresses. The most stunning of the two was an edgy but elegant asymmetrical strapless knee-length dress with a quilted black bodice and a layered cream skirt.
Other show favorites included a tan plaid capri pant and reverse black lace cardigan from Jessica Domino's Domino line; Payton-Alexis Brown's deep V-neck sapphire gown and wedding gown made from used coffee filters; and a fitted black mini cocktail dress made of Italian embossed fabric with feathers on the shoulders by Crystal Pickard of Bookie Designs.
It wouldn't have been fashionSPARK without the dramatic collections that are less about wearability and more about imagination and daring design. Zac Schell Designs hit the runway with a jaw-dropping collection of somewhat wearable chainmaille and metallic armor, including a pair of chain and leather chaps. FYSH Clothing returned with hip screen printed logo T-shirts. And Street Mode 22 had all eyes watching with a collection of daringly short partywear.
"There's such a huge range at fashionSPARK," Duggan said. "You have a lot of different things represented. It really shows the creativity of our area."
