There’s more than one enticing reason to shimmy over to The Lab tomorrow night for the annual Thread | Bare fashion show and live auction. Scantily clad models? Check. Locally-made, independent fashion? Done. A chance to support a creative arts organization while hot people take their clothes off? Totes magotes. Need we say more?

Each year, the event sends daring (not to mention charitably-minded) models in local designers’ garb down the runway. While the MCs of the night describe the clothes and cajole the crowd into parting with their hard-earned cash for a good cause, onlookers bid on garments that, in turn, come off on the stage and end up in the highest bidder’s hands. Really, for everyone, the situation is win-win. Except, perhaps, the models left standing there in pasties. But last year, they didn’t seem to mind.

Local literary diva Michelle Tea MCs this year, while an appearance by SF Boylesque promises added entertainment. Items up for auction hail from local labels such as Miss Velvet Cream, Mittenmaker, Stars + Ravens, Alexandria Von Bromssen, Medium Reality and others.

A portion of the proceeds from the evening and a follow-up trunk sale on Saturday benefit programs at The Lab.

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But what you may not have heard about yet is SFMade, a new non-profit organization whose entire mission is supporting and promoting the companies and manufacturers behind these products, as well as the much-needed jobs they create.

“Since opening our doors in January, companies have been coming to us in droves. They identify with being part of the SFMade community, and they are looking for very specific assistance and resources to help them  run their manufacturing enterprises. We have really tapped into a need, and we’re the only organization focused entirely on supporting and building the manufacturing sector in San Francisco,” says SFMade Program Director Janet Lees, who founded the Fashion Industry Network program at San Francisco’s Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center.

On June 9, SFMade officially launches its presence in the City with Ramp It Up!, a fundraiser soiree honoring Anchor Brewing Company Chairman Emeritus Fritz Maytag at the SoMa headquarters of Ritual Coffee Roasters. With a host committee chaired by Mayor Gavin Newsom, the party promises an opportunity to meet and shop local purveyors from the fashion, food, eco and home interiors industries while mingling with some of the most influential folks in the City.

The evening offers further enticements for local style hounds in the form of exhibits from labels such as Rickshaw Bags, Cordarounds, Baby Leo Designs, Couture by Juliet and Slainte Bags, among others.

We dare say it’s a not-to-be-missed event for anyone who supports the locally-made movement in San Francisco.

SFMade Ramp It Up! Fundraiser and Launch Party, June 9 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Ritual Coffee Roasters, 1050 Howard St., SF. Tickets ($35).

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Our very-visual, (almost) chatter-free snap judgment of the day: the new Give Tool Frame Traveler, $360. Along with making stylish travel gear ready for those upcoming summer trips, this local company donates 10 percent of its annual net profits to charitable causes.

Want to peruse the collection in person? RSVP to rsvp (at) shopgive (dot) com by May 31 for next week’s Give Trunk Show at Two Skirts, when 20 percent of the evening’s proceeds will benefit the San Francisco Parks Trust.

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The best part about this upcoming San Francisco fashion show (besides, of course, local retailers showcasing their latest and greatest)? Dogs on the runway! We hear there will be some special four-legged models donning sweet collars and haute hoodies alongside the 30 or 35 looks culled from sources such as Dema, True, Loyal Army and The Mission Statement.

Proceeds benefit Rocket Dog, a local non-profit that does amazing work helping dogs-in-need find homes (including one of ours, where five-year-old Dixie has ruled the roost since being adopted from the organization as a puppy).

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We don’t know about you, but we’re all for fashion on a grand scale. Hence our excitement over this weekend’s Charity Fashion Show, billed as the largest fashion show on the West Coast.

Held annually on the Stanford University campus in front of a crowd that approached 2,000 last year, the event is a student-produced, charitable event featuring professional and emerging designers. Among the notable labels participating in this year’s show are Betsey Johnson, Nanette Lepore, Priestess NYC, Tosca Soraya, Kent Denim and Shin Choi. Followers of the Bay Area fashion scene will recognize plenty of local names, including Alexandria von Bromssen, Kitty Andrews, Paul’s Hatworks and Isharya. Proceeds from this year’s show benefit micro-finance non-profit Kiva.

If this year’s show is anything like the inaugural show last May, expect a huge tent and impressive raised runway to showcase the collections, which varied in size from designer to designer, but on average numbered around eight to 12 pieces each.

For a taste of what’s ahead on Saturday, check out our videos from the 2009 Charity Fashion Show.

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http://charityfashionshow.org/charityfashionshow_designers10.html