In case you didn’t know, Seattle has a Fashion Week. According to the Mistress of Ceremonies at tonight’s finale event, it is one of only thirteen in the U.S. That may have some significance considering Seattle is ranked 23rd in population, but maybe not, also considering the larger cities include Columbus, OH and Detroit, MI. This week lasted four days and was comprised of two runway shows and an art show/auction. Crazy, hot action, I can assure you. I happen to be employed by one of the featured exhibitors, so I was able to attend both runway shows for free (skipped the auction, since that too obviously involved spending money).

Thursday night’s show was held at Neumo’s and featured ensembles from Atsui Tokyo, Moda Europa, Kenneth Cole, and Ed Hardy (perhaps others). The best part of the evening was having drinks, eats, and conversation with a group of friends before, during, and after. The show itself was not that impressive. None of the clothes were really notable, and the production was quite off. Too much time passed between each collection. A couple of these “intermissions” were filled with performances by a local hip hop duo and pop singer April Villanueva.

Saturday night, being the big Finale, I expected something a bit more spectacular. True, the venue was a bit classier, and we were admitted as VIPs, so we got goodie bags. However, the show was just not good. On the runway we saw Atsui Tokyo, Kenneth Cole, Ed Hardy, Road, Arden B., and MNG. Anything ring a bell? They were again plagued by excessive time lag between collections, though not as bad as Thursday. The dj was definitely not the best I’ve ever heard (not even close), and I was really starting to think the MC had suffered a stroke earlier in the day. According to the program, she’s a professional actress, public speaker, voice over artist, and host of live events. (She’s also modeled for Lockheed Martin and the Department of Defense. Wrap your head around that.) She missed cues, mispronounced, had her dress fall open . . . I honestly felt sorry for her. If she’s like that all the time, I wouldn’t expect to hear from the Miss Downtown Kirkland USA again too soon.

Oh, and let me not forget to at least mention the singing act for tonight, Maryline Blackburn – beyond description.

Beyond production values and professionalism, Seattle Fashion Week just missed the mark. My feeling as I was sitting in my plush seat, begging for someone, anyone, to get on with the show, was that Seattle Fashion Week should be about Seattle fashion. Road is designed in Seattle, and Atsui Tokyo and Moda Europa are local shops, but where were the independent Seattle designers? Where were the boutiques from Capitol Hill, Fremont, Ballard, Belltown? I know there is local talent just itching to be shown, so let’s show it.

I thought to myself that I should contact SFW organizers and give them an earful. Convince them they are going about it all wrong, and not even doing a good job at that. But my second thought was, maybe I should just organize something myself. We shall see . . . we shall see . . .

P.S. I have just created a Flickr group for Seattle designers, so join and spread the word!