Silk It: Amy Milbrandt Summer Blouses Collection

There’s nothing fussy about the simple silhouettes and clean lines of the just-launched summer 2011 blouses collection from FIDM alum Amy Milbrandt, and that’s exactly the point. Currently learning couture techniques under the studied hand of Colleen Quen, Milbrandt calls the look of her latest pieces “luxurious minimalism.”

In creating her 100 percent silk blouses ($112-$138), Milbrandt drew inspiration from the femininity of French designer Jeanne Lanvin’s work from the 1920′s and 1930′s and wanted to mix hints of that aesthetic with her own edgy take on simple shapes. The resulting tops and tanks in black, grey and vivid coral, red and blue are meant to work as easily with weekend denim as they are with office-appropriate skirts and trousers.

You’ll find the collection available as of this week on Milbrandt’s online shop. Skirts are made using limited edition fabrics and are available by special order.

Below, more photos from this local line.

More San Francisco fashion news….

Photography courtesy of Chase Milbrandt

Flake Factor: Fashion Network’s Snow Show

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On Saturday, we saw spied quite a rare San Francisco sight: snow. As we watched models donning looks from local designers such as Christopher Collins, Verrieres & Sako, Joseph Domingo, Bacca Da Silva, Dcepcion and Colleen Quen saunter down the center of newly-opened Pigment Cosmetics, white flakes flurried around the party’s entryway. And even though we knew they weren’t real, we marveled all the same. How often do you get to see snow on Market Street, even if it is fake?

The fun of flakes was hardly the only special effect at the inaugural event of the San Francisco Bay Area Fashion Network, founded by designer Joseph Domingo. Almost every guest at the event wore head-to-toe white and every look sent down the center aisle by the participating designers embraced the evening’s chosen hue. There were also cute-as-can-be mini cupcakes iced in white waiting around every turn in the predominately white-washed space.

After the show, which ended with each designer taking a turn before the crowd with models in signature looks, we were happy to find many of the designers chatting with guests and generally making merry (more than a few air kisses were blown and glasses of Chardonnay raised high) as the party continued into the night.

[Photos: Clockwise from top, looks by Bacca Da Silva, Joseph Domingo and Verrieres & Sako]

And a few more images, courtesy of Pigment Cosmetics:

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More independent fashion events

SF’s First Lady Dons Local Independent Designers

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We were pleased as punch to get a sneak peek at the Bare Magazine December photo shoot with San Francisco First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom and even more so when we glimpsed the work of local designers featured prominently not only within the shoot, but on the magazine’s cover. That delicious poppy-hued dress Siebel’s wearing on the cover comes from the Christopher Collins spring 2010 collection.

“Our idea for this season was to put it on and walk out the door,” Collins told us when we asked him about the line during a recent phone chat.

Also featured in the shoot were pieces from Colleen Quen and footwear from Pacific Heights’ HeidiSays Shoes.

Along with a photo shoot in the Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square, the UC Berkeley publication dishes on Newsom’s relationship with the Gav and her everyday fashion choices.

See it for yourself when the issue drops next week.

[Photography: Erika Veliz]