Sophie Dawson

Here is a lovely design by my favorite fashion designer, my wife! She's pretty much amazing (and beautiful, that's her modeling her design)

Sophie The Star

Sophie's first mini-collection made up of linens, poly-blends, and silks.

Fullgive

These bags are my new "Matty Must-Have" as in I must have one soon or I think I'll go into a depression - or at least a mild funk.  They're a bit pricey for the average joe but the craftsmenship of these bags is pretty incredible and sometimes spending a bit more for something this great is worth it. 

They're made by a local artisan from Provo and the guy is totally chill.  He recycles leather material to make the bags, bracelets, and other items.

Leather Briefcase

Canvas Messenger Bag

Leather Macbook Case

You can check out his stuff at his etsy shop here

Now I just have to save my pennies to be able to buy one of my very own.

SLC Fashion Stroll 2011

As Sophie and I dive into the fashion world through Sophie's education we are able to analyze and experience some unique and interesting things and quite possibly refine/develop our way of seeing the creative world along the way.

Last night we had the opportunity to attend the bi-annual SLC Fashion Stroll put on by local businesses, designers, and the Salt Lake Fashion Institute (where Sophie goes to school).  The idea is to extend the popular SLC Gallery Stroll from the 2D world to the 3D world (as stated by Fashion Stroll founder Matt Monson).  This event allows local artisans to set up booths to market their work and fashion shows for local design talent to strut their stuff.

Over the last few weeks I have taken a keen interest in the career Sophie has chosen to take on and have been researching the local fashion scene.  I have read several articles about how Utah fashion is rapidly evolving and how local talent is gaining increasing notoriety - for example Project Runway alum like Keith Byce and Mckell Maddox (her stuff is pretty great by the way).  This event really let Sophie and I experience what's going on locally and even to see some upper level Fashion Institute students put their work on the runway.

Jordan Halverson

I have to say that the local designers are very "creative" however I get the impression that the SLC aesthetic caters to a very particular brand of customer.  The fashions we saw were (in my opinion) edgy, somewhat alternative, vibrant, innovative, and in some instances a bit trashy.  I don't say that to be mean but the designs we saw definitely lacked some elegance and sophistication that I feel appeals to most consumers.  I get the "this is walking art" thing but the stuff still has to be wearable! It needs to inspire but capture the heart of what people want to or wish they could look like.  For example Jordan Halverson (who is all the rage here) sent down a piece that looked like he cut up his grandmothers old kitchen set and stuck it on some unsuspecting bypasserby (the models in the show WERE NOT professionals).  The first thing Sophie said to me when she say it coming down the runway was "on lui a mis la table a manger?".

He did get a bit better as his collection went on however, and my favorite was the look of seperates pictured above.  You can check out Jordan's work here.

From the other "professionals" there was some things that I liked a bit better including Suzanne Clements work which was a bit sexy but still refined.  I also loved that she made professional looking pieces while not shying away from color.

You can check out her line sorryclementine here.

The last professional designer of the evening was Danny Nappi who has been fortunate enough to show his work around the country and was definitely Sophie and my favorite.  What I liked best about his clothing is that it looked expensive and professionally crafted.  Some of the other pieces shown throughout the evening looked a little craft project-esk.

Danny specializing in custom denim creations, claims to be able to provide his clients with the best fitting pair of jeans they've ever owned, and wins the award for most awesome line name "Nappi Clothing".  You can check him out here.

The next show was the Vitamin Water inspired looks from the Fashion Institute students.  Each student was given a flavor of Vitamin Water (they sponsored the show) and had to come up with one look that embodied that flavor.  The eight looks were then judged and the winner won a cool $1,000 prize.

Let me say that I was impressed with the craftsmenship of the participants but some of the design choices were just not cutting it for me.  I hate this evening gown look that straight jackets the legs down and then decides to explode at the ankles - you know the flaminco dancer type like this acai berry/Spain inspired piece from Amparo Nakagawa.

Or Vitamin Water "squeezed" from Sterling Bitsue.

Unhonestly the only dress that I even remotely liked was this one by Emily Nixon and that was only because she had a girl that at least looked like a model and cause the other ones I just thought were unflattering or way too over the top.

I was not one of the judges however and the final two looks came down to this Vitamin Water Energy one by Zoe Zoberski 

 
And this Zero Glow inspired one by Kelli Lynn Baker

The difference between the two came down to seven points and Kelli Lynn took it with "night at the club Barbie" and $1,000.  Overall it was a good show and experience and even though I didn't like most of the designs I was still impressed by the amount of work the designers put into their shows and pieces.  However, let me just say that Sophie's sketches blow all these cats out of the water and I look forward to seeing those designs come to life over the next couple of years!