The San Francisco Secret Boutique Blowout sale is a secret no longer. Here are the details on where to go tomorrow to take advantage of a one-day sale with over 500 dresses, jackets, tops and more.
More San Francisco shopping…
Tomorrow: SF Secret Boutique Blowout
April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
New School: Fashion Incubator SF Launches
April 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Fashion Incubator SF designers Bethany Meuleners, Paloma Von Broadley, Sabah Mansoor Husain, Justin Jamison, Tony Sananikone and Tamara Jaric.
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown stopped by the opening celebration to chat with designers and view the space.
SF Board of Supervisors President David Chiu helps Fashion Incubator SF's inaugural group unzip its ribbon, instead of the traditional cutting.
Spotted at last week’s launch event for Fashion Incubator SF: everyone from Former Mayor Willie Brown to designers such as Zoe Hong, Joseph Domingo and the gr.dano team to media notables such as 7×7 President Todd Sotkiewicz and the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Anastasia Hendrix.
While much has been written about the new initiative that now calls the 7th floor of the Macy’s Union Square men’s building home (including coverage by yours truly), the launch event gave the considerable crowd that gathered a first look at the space, which includes offices for each designer, a classroom and a communal workroom with cutting tables, dressforms and machines.
“Fashion is an industry that used to be very significant here in San Francisco. In fact, beside tourism, it used to be the number two industry here in the City. And it’s my hope that the work that we are doing with Fashion SF and the work that these young people will be doing will help to make sure that we bring that business for the future,” Board of Supervisors President David Chiu told the crowd.
The program, a non-profit modeled after similar incubators in Toronto and Chicago, offers six emerging designers 12 months of workspace, classes, networking and career development opportunities. Designers tapped for the program’s inaugural year in San Francisco are Bethany Meuleners, Paloma Von Broadley, Sabah Mansoor Husain, Justin Jamison, Tony Sananikone and Tamara Jaric.
Photography courtesy Fashion Incubator SF
More San Francisco fashion news…
Party Seen: Free Dirt Apparel Launch Party
March 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Free Dirt apparel on display for guests and newly anointed "Dirt Heads."
Party guest Michael Wasserman hams it up with the "Dirty Sanchez" T-shirt.
Local favorite Tnt Deejays helped the Dirt Heads shut the party down.
Party guests show off their Free Dirt hats on the dance floor.
This past Saturday North Beach played host as “dirtheads” flooded in for the launch of Free Dirt, a local brand with a healthy dose of in-your-face attitude celebrating the arrival of a new online store and men’s clothing line featuring brightly-colored jackets, hats and (it’s true) a t-shirt dubbed the Dirty Sanchez*. On the scene: friends, bloggers and photographers hitting the dance floor and downing mini tacos.
The Free Dirt Twitter feed was highlighted on the dance floor so partygoers could look for cues to throw up drawn-on finger mustaches for chances to win Free Dirt apparel. I tracked down designer Peter Vandendriesse to gain some additional insight into his dirt-y world:
Your clothing fits the high energy of your launch party. How do you describe the Free Dirt aesthetic?
All of our apparel features bright and clean designs influenced by the rural, gritty lifestyle. This matchup- rad meets rural – sets us apart from other brands and attracts the type of guy we hope to dress.
How did you come up with the name Free Dirt?
I founded the company a little over a year ago as a side project for my dirthead friends in Davis. These friends, who love to cause a ruckus, have a knack for making good natured people feel very uncomfortable. Their actions, and the sight of a “free dirt” sign on a long drive back from Vegas, are what sparked the brands creation.
Friends join Free Dirt designer and founder Peter Vandendriesse, who was sporting the Windsnapper jacket.
View the complete Free Dirt’s collection in the online shop.
Photography by Sara Iravani
*If we end up ranking in Google for this phrase, well, I guess that’s just gonna have to happen. A whole new readership awaits!
Runway Recap: Project Fashion Show
March 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
An annual production by the San Francisco Fashion and Merchants Alliance, the Project fashion show brought a number of local design talents to the runway during its 2012 show, held in February. Here, we recap select looks from each of the participating designers, who delivered a range of apparel for men and women in style that went from whimsically youthful to urban and sleek.
Alyssa Nicole
Alyssa Nicole wedding gown
Bradley Douglas Jordan
Bradley Douglas Jordan
Cirque Noir by Dallas Coutler and Melissa Tan
Cirque Noir by Dallas Coutler and Melissa Tan
Cirque Noir by Dallas Coutler and Melissa Tan
Eimaj Design by Jamielyn Dugan
Eimaj Design by Jamielyn Dugan
Rogue
West Coast Leather
West Coast Leather
Zubauen by Amanda Tran
Zubauen by Amanda Tran
Photography by Aura O’Brien for SF Indie Fashion
Aura O’Brien is an award-winning photographer and Marin native who has shot for Seventeen magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Curve magazine, Mediabistro and many others. In 2011, she showed her work in anotherPERSPECTIVE: 2011 Art Show in Mill Valley and frequently shoots commercial and individual projects ranging from high fashion and editorial to weddings and boudoir photography.
More San Francisco fashion shows…
Fashion + Tech SF: Fashion Startups
March 22, 2012 By 1 Comment
Style You's Jon Lam discusses his startup, which aims to offer personalized photo shoots to its subscribers.
This past year has seen an explosion of fashion startups in San Francisco. With the popularity of mobile devices and tablets, the demand for new ways to buy online, conveniently and with as few clicks as possible, has skyrocketed. Along with that, we’re seeing new concepts designed to help women shop more effectively sprouting quickly to fill this emerging niche in the tech market (case in point: the number of recent Stanford graduates now proclaiming, “I have a fashion startup!”)
Still, what do engineers and fashion stylists have in common? That question was part of a recent discussion at Fashion+Tech SF, a series of workshops created by the San Francisco Fashion and Merchants Alliance to link fashion and technology players in the San Francisco Bay Area. As it turns out, plenty.
During short presentations given by a group of 16 presenters that included fashion startups such as Boutine and Style You, as well as fashion labels such as Saga Swimwear, players on both sides of the fashion and technology equation shared their ideas. Among these ideas were new, innovative takes on virtual “how-to” styling guides and personal makeovers complete with fashion shoots and personal stylists.
Attendee checks out some of the proposed merchandise from a online retail start-up.
Presenting Gorilla Workshop, an online design collective that promotes street wear style clothing.
Fashion designer Liz Vranesh listens during the discussion.
After listening to a few presentations, I headed over to talk to Pramod Dabir. What had brought him to the event?
“These events are good for networking and getting exposure,” Dabir told me. He was there to make new connection for Boutine.com, a social commerce website he founded that features new and emerging designers. Their hook is the ability to create and follow personalized online shops that shoppers curate and earn 10 percent commission on sales.
Not everyone in attendance was a startup founder. Stylish fashion illustrator Emiah Gardner told me, “I came because I’m beginning to look for funding [for my illustration blog]. I wanted to get a feel for what is in the market and what other people are doing.”
Others were there to learn more about the San Francisco fashion community.
“I just moved here from Colorado, and I’m trying to get involved with the fashion scene in SF,” explained designer Liz Vranesh.
Intrigued? Check out upcoming Fashion + Tech SF events here.
Photography by Shaun Tiangsing for SFFMA
