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The first issue of 2015 is here! Read the March issue of FashionFeedLV.
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FFLV
FASHIONFEEDLV | MARCH 2015
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T
PRODUCTION
EDUCATION
MEMBERSHIP
YOU: The CreativeUS: Your Resource
#CreativityIsContageous
300 N. Las Vegas Blvd. Suite 120Las Vegas, NV 89101
702.476.5552
Stitch Factory members have access to exclusive industry networking opportunities, a fully-integrated and inspiring
studio to co-create, a platform to showcase their designs, as well as in-house production services and mentors.
Stitch Factory is committed to pushing the boundaries and fundamentals of design to ignite originality and innovation,
while emphasizing relevant content and industry applications. Our multi-tiered education programs offer everything from
creative workshops to technical design to brand development and the business of fashion.
At Stitch Factory we believe communication and great relationships are the foundation of strong partnerships. Your vision is Our vision, and we pride ourselves on the execution of that vision. Stitch Factory’s production services cover concept to consumer and include: conceptual design, trend forecasting, sourcing, line-building, pattern-making, sample-making, tech packs and manufacturing. Stitch Factory is also committed to the exploration of new opportunities, collaborations and resources to further support the success of our clients.
StitchFactoryAd_FFMarch2015.indd 1 2/25/15 2:31 PM
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T
PRODUCTION
EDUCATION
MEMBERSHIP
YOU: The CreativeUS: Your Resource
#CreativityIsContageous
300 N. Las Vegas Blvd. Suite 120Las Vegas, NV 89101
702.476.5552
Stitch Factory members have access to exclusive industry networking opportunities, a fully-integrated and inspiring
studio to co-create, a platform to showcase their designs, as well as in-house production services and mentors.
Stitch Factory is committed to pushing the boundaries and fundamentals of design to ignite originality and innovation,
while emphasizing relevant content and industry applications. Our multi-tiered education programs offer everything from
creative workshops to technical design to brand development and the business of fashion.
At Stitch Factory we believe communication and great relationships are the foundation of strong partnerships. Your vision is Our vision, and we pride ourselves on the execution of that vision. Stitch Factory’s production services cover concept to consumer and include: conceptual design, trend forecasting, sourcing, line-building, pattern-making, sample-making, tech packs and manufacturing. Stitch Factory is also committed to the exploration of new opportunities, collaborations and resources to further support the success of our clients.
StitchFactoryAd_FFMarch2015.indd 1 2/25/15 2:31 PM
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VEGASFASHION
KNOW-IT-ALLFULL PHOTOSHOOTS
FASHION BLOGGERS
RUNWAY SHOWS
EVENT COVERAGE
BONUS CONTENT
The Who, What, and What to
Wear of Vegas.
FASHIONFEEDLV.COM
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Sasha Heist PhotographySashaHeist.com
“This is me on the regular, so you know.”
- Shamir Bailey
To everybody, but especially all you bloggers:
So it’s time to roll it out againSwipe through these pages with your mind and soulDraw an outline around your essenceMake yourself wholeNo one here will smudge you
Celebrate the new springwith a consciousness worthy of the budsFifty shades of pale disconnectmay never a garden grow
Walk brightly on the runwaywearing pieces of clothing made by friendsLet artists paint your facearms, stomach, back and hands
Document the moment du jourits yours to blog or textor instagram or tweetand send it to us
For it would be our dearest, greatest honorto present itin this precious spacewe have madefor exactly these purposesWe do it on the regular.
To the moon and back,
@FashionFeedLV
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www.annabeejewelry.com
Contributors
March 2015
FFLVContact:
FashionFeedLV @ Stitch Factory300 N Las Vegas Blvd. Suite 120
Las Vegas, NV 89101Submissions: [email protected]
Creative Director | Catherine TreuEditor-in-Chief | Steven StrazzulloLead Photographer | Charles Henry
Fashion Editor | Asia ThorntonLifestyle Editor | Sunnie HeersSocial Media, Junior Editor | Yves NguyenStreet Style | Stacey ShivelySocial Media | Hagan CrearWeb Design | Mauricio Morales Video | Isaiah Macala Business Manager | Ricardo Ehmann
FFLV
FASHIONFEEDLV | MARCH 2015
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MARCH
On the cover:Asia Thornton models for lo-cal designer Hotelier
EventsFebruary Events #19Event Calendar #22
WHO&WHATLocal Gram #26Street Style #30Local Jewels #33
The Fashion TeaThe Junior League #36WWDMAGIC Re-cap #39Local Designer: Hotelier #44
PLUSHealthified Comfort Food #51Fashion Week Las Vegas: #52Season 6
SpreaditorialStitch Factory #60KNYEW #69Exile on Main #78
Blog Spotlight: #56Illegal Tendr
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Events | February
LOCAL
1. Design by Ninety 9 at day 1 of Fashion Week Las Vegas Season 6 2. From Left to right: Cat, Steven, Asia embarking on the fashion tradeshows 3. Derrick Barry from Divas Las Vegas walking the run-way for Daniel Hernandez during Las Vegas Fashion Week 4. Dress by Adaobi Gogo at Fashion Friday at the David Tupaz Showroom 5. Menswear by Carina Roman at Fashion Friday 6. Design on the
runway at the Aldo Mencatto event
FASHION.
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MARCH
For event coverage, please contact [email protected]
Launch My Line 9 Week Intensive CourseMarch 10
@ Stitch Factory
Intermediate Fashion Design (Pattern-making focus)March 10
@ Stitch Factory
Launch My Line 9 Week Intensive CourseMarch 10
@ Stitch Factory
Wool Felting: St. Patty’s EditionMarch 12 6-9pm
@ Stitch Factory
JLINSNIDER SS15 Runway Show benefitting the Wom-en’s Engagement CouncilMarch 12 7pmSONSLV.com
@ SON Studios
Fashion Feed guest appearance on Downtown PodcastMarch 12 9pm
@ Scullery
Fashion Forward hosted by Junior League of Las VegasFinal contestants from the Clark County School District show their designs on the runway & compete for a grand prize.March 14 2pm
@ Fashion Show MallTickets: jllv.org
Saint Patty’s Day Stumble$20. Portion of the proceeds will be donated to Grant a Gift Autism FoundationMarch 17 6:30pm
@ Stitch Factory
Business of FashionMarch 24, 31, and April 7
@ Stitch FactoryCreate your own Leather VisorMarch 26,27 12-3pm
@ Stitch Factory
Fashion Friday March 27 5:30-7:30pm
@ David Tupaz Couture Studio
Legal Fashion Part 1 & 2: Intellectual Property and Label-ingMarch 31
@ Stitch Factory
Stitch Factory has a lot going on, and we love it! Go to stitchfactory.com for more information on details, times, pricing, and other classes!
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Local-Gram
YOU SHOULD KNOW@
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@sued
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odel, Youtuber, LV Princess
http://ww
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SFTxGYPSY
Oh, and follow us too.
@fashionfeedlv
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Street Style
Jacket | RhapsodielleNecklace | ClairesDress | RossShoes | BCBGTights | Target
Photo couresy of Stacey Shively of offtheblvd.com
MA
NB
UN
LYFE
If you have any interest in men at all, you may have noticed a trend that seems to be sprout-ing up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Anyone?
Yes. It’s here, and don’t worry about missing out on this one, the Man Bun 2015 is a new strain, particularly hard to get rid of, and non-discriminating. Any man with hair and the ability to use a rubber and is fair game.
We first noticed this upsurge at the POOL Tradeshow in February. Topknots, bro-knots, messy knots, and several other variations were coming at us from all angles. After Asia counted 21 in what seemed like 5 minutes, it was pretty clear that this had become, dare I say it? A phenomenon. The 136K Instagram fol-lowers loving @manbunmonday would not disagree.
And, as this legit piece of prose was percolating, it came to my attention that an underground move-ment of manbuns has arisen in DTLV. In honor of that movement, and in the spirit of David Beckham, the man who spearheaded it all, Fashion Feed would like to dedicate their Instagram for the next month to our very own, zen loving, Las Vegan, manbun men.
Street Style
#MANBUNMARCH
By C
atherine Treu
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Local Jewels
NATASHA MORSE. ENOUGH SAID.Fresh from Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week in New York, Jewelry Designer Natasha Morse fills us in.
Inspired by the metaphysical proper-ties and healing energies of gemstones, Natasha Morse Designs is a striking collection of handcrafted necklaces, earrings, bracelets and more. Morse, who moved to Las Vegas shortly be-fore she launched a line last August at Fashion Week LV, is self-taught in the art of making jewelry and creates noteworthy statement pieces that are vibrant and colorful, yet wearable any-time, anywhere. Her stunning Aphro-dite necklace, worthy of a true goddess, was recently seen on Jennifer Lopez in the February issue of Latina Magazine.
Cat: Where did you show and what parties did you go to?Natasha: I showed my AW15 accessories collec-tion at two runway shows. There was supposed to be three runway shows, but there was a scheduling con-flict since the shows were on the same day at two different venues. The first show was with Ellements Magazine - Full Court Run-way on the 15th which was also televised by VH1 and the other show was with couture designer Pamela Humphrey at the Penn Hotel in Madison Square Garden on the 19th. My new collection is also cur-rently being showcased at Bene Rialto Showroom in NYC and during Magic Market Week. As far as parties, there were so many! The Fendi Event,
Ellements Event, Uomo Mod-erno’s The Maserati Char-ity Event, The Red Event, and of course all the fash-ion designers’ afterparties.
C: How was the Experi-ence in general? Was this your first time showing?N: I usually travel back to NYC every season for FW and Market Week. We usually
showcase my newest collec-tion during Market, but this is the first time I did runway. I will be back next season to showcase at the MBFW in collaboration with a top de-signer which I cannot divulge as of yet. Overall experience was magical! Hectic, but to-tally worth it! It is definitely an honor to have been in-vited to participate in NYFW.
Picture or just jewelry pic
Local Jewels
Interview by Catherine Treu
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Fashion Tea | Junior League
Junior League of Las Vegas Presents Fashion Forward: Passport to Fashion.
Fashion Tea | Junior League
By Catherine Treu
ative concept behind a ready-to-wear garment. Cities were chosen based on their cultural uniqueness and spanned the globe. As part of the elimination round that took place in December, students presented their idea, along with a sketch, to a panel of judges. In addition, each contestant constructed an A-line dress as part of the challenge. Scores were based on execution, neat-ness, professionalism, and creativity.
The 60 students that made it to the next round joined Dalisa Cooper, Ju-nior League Chair of Fashion Forward, at Star Costume to shop for materials in early February. Star Costume, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a Vegas institution. Stocking fabric, trimmings, and each year, they gra-ciously sponsor nine yards of fabric for each second round contestant, as well as offer up expert advice on how to properly choose and cut it. Fash-ion Feed was able to chat with a few of the contestants from Southwest Career and Technical Academy dur-ing their shopping experience there.
“In Barcelona, the matador and bull fighting culture has been banned due to safety reasons for the bulls,” says Shaelyn Dieter. “I wanted to incorpo-
rate the ending of an old tradition with the blending of a new modern tradi-tion.” Dieter’s vision, intentional or not, is akin to Dolce and Gabbana’s Spring 2015 campaign, an impressive choice, to say the least. Her materials of choice include a black stretch velvet for a fit-ted pant and a red stretch taffeta with a gold lining for a matador-style cape.
Veronica Macsurak(pictured left), who took her inspiration from the Ksch-essinska Mansion in St. Petersburg, designed a concept around the archi-tectural structure and the woman it was built for in the early 1900’s. Achieving the title of prima ballerina assoluta, Mathilde Kschessinska dis-posed of Russian Tsars like they were boy-toys and scandalized most of Rus-sia until she was forced to flee during the Revolution. Fantastic stuff. Ev-ery great dress needs a great story to go along with it, and Macsurak seemed to understand this implicitly.
The contestants have only a few weeks before their final round of judging, which will take place on the prestigious runway at Fashion Show Mall on March 14th. Hulin Chen(pictured right), win-ner of last year’s competition, was able to produce an entire collection as part of the “Artist in Residence” package offered by Artifact Boutique, a Town Square based store. Her pieces were available for purchased in early Septem-ber, dissappearing shortly thereafter, leaving the writer of this piece regret-ful she wasn’t able to ger her clutches on to any. “The Fashion Forward com-petition has opened so many doors for me,” says Hulin. “I obtained an intern-ship at Artifact after the competition, and even got to meet many influential people in the Junior League. These are great things to put on my resume and portfolio, which will defintely help me with my college applications.”
Proceeds from Fashion Forward sup-port the Junior League of Las Ve-gas and its mission to promote vol-untarism, develop the potential of women and improve the commu-nity through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
As the fashion industry continues to impress itself onto the ever-expand-ing cultural canvas in Las Vegas, the Junior League is doing their part to help inspire, challenge, and educate budding high school designers in the Clark County School District. Mod-eled after the popular TV show “Proj-ect Runway”, the seventh season of Fashion Foward is well underway, with this year’s design theme as “Passport to Fashion.” With both community outreach and fundraising at the heart of the program, it has quickly become one of the most popular events that the Junior League holds each year.
For this years challenge, contestants were assigned to a city and instructed to research it from an artistic standpoint, using its features to help form the cre-
Saturday, March 14 2pmFashion Show Mall
Tickets: GA $40; VIP $60More info: jllv.org
Fashion World
TRADESHOWTRENDS
Our Fashion Editor Asia goes inside WWDMAGIC and brings us back a
glimpse of what to expect for the coming year.
Fashion World
WWDMAGICRECAP
By Asia Thornton
Once again I have been called by the fashion Gods to take advantage of cover-ing the world’s largest fashion convention known as WWDMAGIC. Spanning over three days, it is a time for everyone from around the world to visit the great city of Las Vegas with one specific thing in mind, fashion consciousness. Whether you are a buyer, exhibiter, or press, ev-eryone gathers for three days to discuss nothing other than garments, styles, and projections for upcoming trends, my kind of heaven. Rather than giving a gener-alized recollection of the events, I felt it best to organize my trip day by day.
"ITS LIKE WINDOW SHOPPING, BUT EVERYTHING ON DISPLAY IS FOR THE NEXT SEASON!"
Fashion World
DAY ONE:The first day had put me in a rather hopeful mood, although I have been to several of these conventions and therefore devel-oped a better understanding of the gist of how these things run, my goal in attending was simply to network. This year I went not only representing myself as a blogger, but also joining forces with my Fashion Feed LV family, because collectively we’re a ba-dass team with impeccable style (insert finger painting emoji).
The first Fashion Feeder I met up with was Steven, and in-stantly we headed to our favorite section. POOL showcases artsy, manufactured-in-America gems that are more diverse in comparison to the rest of the show. Here brands like Lip Ser-vice, Freddie Rojas, Tripp NYC, and even Jeffrey Campbell can be found. Alongside the aisles of vendors are live art demon-strations taking the entire three days to complete. There is a free spirit vibe and sense of personal pride in every brand dis-played at this particular show, needless to say I dig these people.
After walking around and catching up with a few favorites, Ste-ven and I decided it was time to venture onto the rest of the sec-tions. However, my Mulder Platform heels by Jeffrey Campbell seemed to have other plans in mind. Instantly after leaving POOL, one of my shoes fell apart (it wasn’t even nighttime and I was al-ready stumbling out of my heels). A good fashion savvy woman never leaves the house without multiple options for these sort of things, so we went back to my car and replaced my deceased Jeffrey’s for my UNIF Goner Heels, a significant jump in height.
After my unforeseen wardrobe malfunction was taken care of, Cat from Fashion Feed met up with us to really explore all that was exhibited for the upcoming fashion season. After realizing that I probably would not even consider wearing most everything in the ultra contemporary and swanky PROJECT/ENK/WWD sections, I adverted my goal of the show to counting how many man buns there were, as there seemed to be quite a lot at the show. I ended day one with a reasonable count: 21 man buns.
DAY TWO:I was a little apprehensive to enter Agenda, considering the stretched idea of what “Street Style” really is. Agenda proved to be primarily subcategorized into urban fashion, basically meaning millions of booths all featuring black and white screen printed tees, how original.
After talking to a few brands at the convention, I noticed there was a common pattern between their descriptions of who they were style-wise, in short my light interviews all went a little like this:
Me: Interesting brand you have (insert compliments while simul-taneously browsing the booth and looking like I have an interest in buying said garments) what kind of style would you say this is?Brand: Glad you like our stuff! Our line is defintely more street style and based off... (insert personal story that in the grand scheme of things ultimately refers back to a line con-sisting of 25+ black t shirts with pictures and typography).
To be fair, not every single clothing company show-cased at the trade show sported the same lack of imagination, but it got me thinking...what has the ur-ban community really transformed into? Is this all that they get? Black joggers and camo pants with black tees and the latest Nike’s? Maybe I’ve deterred myself too far away from completely grasping both the male and female perspective on how to dress, because I know there has to be more elevation to an outfit than simply adding mesh detail and jer-sey print. Nevertheless, me and my friend were less than disappointed when it came to relishing in the eye candy heavily provided before we even went through the entrances. I personally believe in al-ways trying to find opportunity where it is given, and make the best of a situation. Continuing my count of man bun’s, I successfully ended my day two on the number 48, in addition to the day before.
DAY THREEThe last day is really about covering your basis and making sure there isn’t any important people/places unvisited. Aside from a few cash&carry spots I had my eye on, Magic was ultimately completed for me, so the Fashion Feed team made a last round up at the convention center to get a quick look at everything. At this point, I was officially exhausted from fashion week mania and opted to collect booth information from the new and upcoming brands that caught my attention. It’s like window shopping, but everything on display is for the next season! After meeting some new faces, we decided that the day’s goals had been accomplished and that it was best to call it a day and prepare for the final fashion week runway show later that night. However, being me, I can’t completely walk away from something until I feel like I’ve sa-vored everything offered to me. One more hour later, I ran back over to POOL at The Mandalay Bay to score some last minute cash&carry deals I had been eyeing since day one. Much to my satisfaction I walked away with a Killstar shirt and the cutest witchy best friend heart necklace set by Paolo Loves to Shop. All in all, a very gratifying end to the convention madness.
In short, man buns were the “it” male hairstyle, street style apparently is cosistent of black and white typography tees, and bohemian contemporary ruled the booths of Magic, but I scored some pretty good deals and met some important people, so who am I to get upset that my favorite trends wern’t dominating the mass market like I had expected.
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HOTELIER
Local Designer
Move over Couture Houses of Las Vegas, Hotelier is here to bring us something new.
Photographed by Charles HenryModel Asia Thornton
Local Designer | Hotelier
TITLEBlurb
1. Tell me about the man behind Hotelier.Well my name is Carlos Medina, I’m 25 years old and am originally from Los Angeles. I moved to Las Vegas at the age of 15. It wasn’t till I was about 18 and began to work in hotels along the strip that I took an interest in fashion. We have a lot of high-end luxury retail stores here in the city that you don’t see throughout most of the country. So I would browse around our malls and try to understand why people would want to spend tons of money on clothes, I was fascinated by the idea of people buying what is essentially artwork in the form of clothing. So I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in fashion. I chose fashion design in particular because I’ve always been super hands-on and super controlling with everything that I do, I thought that this would be a good fit for me.
2. Talk about your brand, vision, and where you are taking both of those within the next few years. The name of my brand is Hotelier, it is still a very young and small brand that I manage singlehandedly. Like I said before, I initially became exposed to fashion when I started to work at hotels on the Las Vegas strip, so I found it rather fitting to call the brand Hote-lier, being that I have been one for nearly a decade. Consequently, I became inspired by fabrics that I would see around my workplace. I drew inspiration from bed skirts, comforters, furniture and even curtains that I would find around the hotel. Like I would look at a comforter and think, hey this would make an awesome sweater. Ac-tually a lot of my early work was mostly composed of heavy fabrics like vinyls and upholstery. My work has slowly changed over time and I don’t think it will ever stop evolving. I think it’s a little early in my career to define the Hotelier aesthetic, but I will say that when designing, I always try to keep symmetry in the garment and I am also very drawn to color blocking.
3. How do you get inspired for your projects?My inspiration comes from many places. It can be places I visit or people I meet that trigger inspiration. When I go to fabric stores and find cool fabrics that I’ve never seen or worked with before in combination with dreams I’ve had (including day dreams haha), all of those things combined are really what helps me determine what direction I want to go in creatively with my clothing. I recently have been really interested in the new wave of sportswear meets evening wear trend that I believe is here to stay. I love the idea that you can
throw on a pair of tennis shoes with your suit nowadays, still look stylish and no will look at you funny because the world we live in today is all about being on-the-go. Everyone is so busy. So I try to keep that in mind when designing.
4. The fashion scene in Vegas will be changing dramatically over the coming years, do you plan on continuing your fashion career here? That’s a good question. I love Las Vegas and yes, the fashion scene is changing and growing very quickly here which is exciting to me, to say the least. Will I stay here? I’ve been able to reach people all across the U.S. and even a few in other countries without having to leave this city thanks to the Internet and social media. However, as a brand that is just starting out I have to stay open to opportunities for expansion, and that can sometimes come with the need to relocate. It is much to soon to know the answer to that right now, but I can say that I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.
5. Describe your first fashion sketch. It basically looked like a Picasso on crack.
6. You are an accessory, what are you? When it comes to accessorizing, I believe that less is more. Person-ally, I don’t wear accessories. If I had to choose I guess I would say a baseball cap, I hate doing my hair so 9 times out of 10 you’ll catch me wearing one.
7. Give me the tea on a new collection your working on. I’m currently working on a small spring collection that I hope to be able to share with people for the first time through FashionFeedLV. The “tea” is that it’s like nothing I’ve ever done before and I’m really excited to show it. I’m also nervous because people are going to see a different side of Hotelier.
8. What sets you apart? I don’t really think too much about what sets me apart from other designers. That’s not to say that I don’t know what other designers are doing because I do. But I think that if your work comes from a personal and genuine place, that alone will set you apart from every-body else.
FOLLOW: Instagram @hotelier Twitter @hotelier Facebook.com/Hotelier
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PLUS | Food
COMFORT FOOD+
By Sunnie Heers Healthy pizza? Superfood ice cream? Yes, it can be done. These body-lov-ing modifications of everyone’s two favorite foods are simple to make and guilt free.
VEGAN PIZZA
CHAI ICE CREAM
Ingredients1 cup chickpea flour1/2 cup water1 tsp olive oildash of salt1/2 cup marinara or pizza saucehandful of shredded kale1 tsp olive oil1/2 cup vegan cheese
Ingredients1 can coconut milk, refriger-ated a day before using2 packets chai tea1/4 cup coconut oil1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)1 tbsp ground flax1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 °. Line a baking sheet with parch-ment paper. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, water, 1 tsp olive oil and salt until thoroughly mixed. To prepare crust, spread mixture out in a circular shape (or multiple circles if making individual piz-zas) until it’s about 1/4” thick. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, until edges are slightly crispy. While crust bakes, toss kale in a small bowl with 1 tsp olive oil. Remove crust from oven. Flip parchment paper and crust upside down on baking sheet. Gently pull bak-ing sheet away from crust. Spread sauce over crust. Layer kale over sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in over for 5-7 minutes. Slice and enjoy right away.
Chill the coconut milk and freeze an ice cream maker the day before making ice cream. Brew a strong cup of chai tea (2 packets tea mix with 1 cup boiling wa-ter) Steep for 10 minutes then stick in the fridge. In a blender, scoop the coconut milk, coconut oil, agave, flax, vanilla, and cinnamon. Once tea is luke-warm (or cold) pour it in too. Blend ingredients until creamy and pour into ice cream maker. Follow man-ufacturer’s instructions to make ice cream. Freeze in an airtight container for two hours for a sturdier ice cream. Let thaw 15--30 minutes before scooping.
Vegan Pizza Recipe + photos: thecolorfulkitchen.com
Coconut Chai Ice Cream Recipe & photos: theyoopergirl.com
HEALTHIFIED
PLUS | Fashion Week Las Vegas
Photography by Roger TalleyFull coverage of Fashion Week Season 6 on
FashionFeedLV.com
Twice a year Las Vegas becomes a fashion epicenter. Buyers, manufacturers, designers, models, bloggers, and the like descend upon WWD Magic, and the slew of other trade shows that have sprouted up alongside. It’s a whirlwind week, and for the last three years, Milka Von Rhedy has added to the excitement by producing six successful sea-
sons of Fashion Week Las Vegas.
The event, held in February and August, showcases the work of designers from all over the world, and brings forth an abundance of new modeling talent every season. Mod-els compete to win a highly coveted contract with Envy Models, and gain the experience needed to embark upon a
professional modeling career.
Season 6 of FWLV, which was held February 17-19, under-went a venue change; moving to the charming Baobab The-ater in Town Square. Parties were held afterwards nightly at the Blue Martini. Opening night featured designs from Australian Aida Zein with her brand Ninety-9, FWLV vet-eran designer Daniel Hernandez with his ready to wear col-lection, and finished with a dramatic show from designer Nicklaus Jones with his “Adaptation” collection, spawned
from his Twisted Liar label.
DAY
ON
E
PLUS | Fashion Week Las Vegas
Night two began with Bulgarian designer Vaselka Krachunova of VHK Fashion. She showcased a chic, yet multifunctional ready to wear collection, which was divided into 3 segments: casual, elegant and
travel wear.
Then the male models of FWLV took over the stage, wearing nothing but the undergarments from a collection called “Viced” by Las Vegas local Victor Herrera. No one seemed to mind one bit. How many het-
ero males go to Fashion Week anyways?
To close out the show, NYC based brand, “Flee God” attacked the stage with their savvy streetwear line that got everyone’s attention. Founder Edward Ortiz, aka Skimz, came up with the name based on his belief about life. “We live this everyday - doing and being the best, coming from nothing and making something, striving for greatness in all aspects of life,” he says. “Based on this, I came up with the acronym FLEE, standing for Fashion Leaving Energy Everywhere, and
that’s how the brand was born.”
DAY TWO
+
PLUS | Fashion Week Las Vegas
Wassa Coulibaly formerly of Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, and proprietress of the Baobab Theater, launched her 2015 Couture Collection on night three. Inspired by her origins in Senegal West Africa, the line was sensu-ous, colorful and seemed to flow in rhythm to the beat of the drumming duo that flanked the runway. The audience would certainly finish out the week with a window into Wassa’s world, and she allowed us in as only the
most gracious of hostesses would do.
To close out the week, Daniel Hernandez showed a stunning Red Car-pet 2015 collection, with a special performance by Derrick Barry, Britney
Spears impersonator from Divas Las Vegas.
Lastly, the model competitions winners were announced by Daniel Ma-han, owner of Envy Models, who awarded a one year modeling contract to
Breanna White and Fabian Lopez.
Season 7 is already in the works, so buckle up.
DAY THREE
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AFRIQ EXPRESSIONS“Statement making ou.its with a global inten4on”
www.afriqexpressions.com
ILLEGAL TENDR.
Blog Spotlight
Illegal Tendr is a fashion brand and blog conceived in 2013. The name is a par-adox linking the contrasting qualities of a woman who is found untamable, yet sweet. The motto, “A Lawless Muse,” is inspired by the mythological Triple Deity represented by three Goddesses who act as one. Each Goddess holds a differ-ent character attribute and together, they create a powerful harmony. The dy-namic can include a combination of traits, such as youth, power, and wisdom, or strength, kindess, and intellect. The founders, Aimee and Roxanne, created Illegal Tendr with the hopes to reach out to females or anyone embracingly in tune with their diverse and boundless character.
ILLEG
ALT
EN
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Aimee Aimee is the creative director of Illegal Tendr. She graduated from FIDM Los Angeles in 2013, majoring in Fashion Design & Business Management. Cur-rently, she works for the bohemian clothing and jewlery company “Gypsy Junkies”, as assistant to the creative director. Growing up in strict Catholic schools up until college could have ironically sparked the tone for her free, un-conventional and creatively experimental lifestyle. She is highly inspired by beauty, feminity, music, new experiences, and diamonds in the rough. Her role in Illegal Tendr encompasses fashion design, graphic and web design, blogging and videography. She looks forward to the creation and release of the brand’s first clothing and jewelry collection.
RoxanneRoxanne is a 21 year old by product of two hippy parents from the Philippines. Born and raised in Las Vegas, she grew up with a family who is just as old fash-ioned as they are unconventional, which probably set the foundation for her paradoxical nature. In high school, she received her AA through the dual credit program at CSN HS. She’s currently finishing her BSBA in Entrepreneurship at UNLV and works for the NV Small Business Development Center as a business counselor, specializing in branding, marketing, and digital media. In addition to her role as a blogger, Roxanne is the Public Relations & Marketing Director for Illegal Tendr. Pulling inspiration from youth revolutions in the Beat Era and the 1960s-70s, she hopes to establish Illegal Tendr as a key influencer of her genera-tion.
The Blog (blog.illegaltendr.com)The Blog serves as an outlet, platform, and channel for anything inspirational - ranging from music, video, interviews, personal style, and eye-opening adven-tures. Aimee and Roxanne strive to make it a psychedelic trip in itself, offering dark side insights and bright side perspectives. Blogging their eclectic taste in music, the two women want to embark the listener through a vortex of experi-ences through sound. Their tendency to gravitate towards nostalgia and sensory stimulation inspires their love for video documentation. The blog also features interviews of remarkable brands and artists that they meet along the journey of this passion project.
ShopIllegal Tendr is eager to launch an anticaptingly huge release for their online shop. Creating for the psychedlic muse, upcoming collections will include a su-per unique array of garments and statement accessories. Stay tuned!
Now, homemade natural raw pet food locally available direct to you. For more information please call 702.353.8362 or
Wedding Photography • 702.773.0438TwoPeasPictures.com
Stitch Factory EditorialALL SEWN UP.
Stitch Factory Editorial
WN UP.With expert instruction, production, pro-motional goods of all kinds, and a com-munity of creatives, Stitch Factory helps to turn fashion dreams into realities.
Once known primarily for feathered headdresses and fanny packs, the Las Vegas fashion scene is growing and making a name for itself. Officially opened in Janu-ary 2013, Stitch Factory, located in the city’s reemerging downtown, has been helping to encourage that growth through classes suited to professionals, hobbyists, pro-duction services, brand consulting, and more. However, it’s the company’s role as a point of connection for de-signers and creatives in Las Vegas that sets it apart.
Stitch Factory was founded by Meghan Boyd Mossler and Jen Taler, both studied design and previously had careers in the fashion industry. Mossler studied fashion design and merchandising at Brenau University in Georgia and Taler studied apparel design at Texas Tech. Both women worked as buyers at Zappos before joining forces to cre-ate a space that encourages entrepreneurs to take the next step in developing their own fashion businesses.
To do that, Stitch Factory provides a wide array of educa-tional opportunities: including technical and DIY courses. The nine-week fashion introduction course, business of fashion course, and a course focused on pattern making are also available online. There are DIY classes for hobby-ists to make jewelry, accessories, gifts, little black dresses, skirts—the list goes on and on. “The DIY classes are a gate-way drug for creativity,” Taler jokes. Technical courses for professionals include everything from draping and shirting to a full nine-week “Launch My Line” course that provides a broad overview of the industry. Other technical courses offer budding entrepreneurs lessons in intellectual property and the business of fashion. Open labs and mentor hours provide much-needed support and guidance. The nine-week introduction course, business of fashion course, and a course focused on pattern making are also available online.
Ashley Fullwood is a recent graduate of the nine-week intro-ductory course, and she’s currently enrolled in Stitch Fac-tory’s shirting course. Ashley was recently hired by Stitch Factory’s resident member Mad Hatter Warped & Woven, a local company weaving beautiful, fashionable babyslings and other baby items. “The most important thing I have learned (from the “Launch My Line” course: how important
it is to understand every aspect of the design process. A lot of people assume it is just about being a visual artist, but understanding more and working with people throughout the process, like your pattern maker, can really help you to save a lot of time and money in the long run,” says Fullwood.
In addition to their in-house instructional opportunities, Stitch Factory has been hosting a monthly speaker se-ries, Behind the Seams. The series has featured fashion heavyweights like Donald J Pliner, Katie Butler of Nine West, Jake Bronstein of Flint & Tinder, and Peter Kim of Hudson Jeans. The talks are free and open to the pub-lic. Attendees also take part in workshops while enjoy-ing an opportunity to network, learn, and inspire one another. One membership benefit is one-on-one mentor hours with fashion industry leaders. Local designer Coco Johnsen says about the educational opportunities avail-able at Stitch Factory, “For people who are trying to pos-sibly become designers or who are interested in the indus-try, they provide great educational services, classes, and speakers who can speak from their own perspectives.”
But Stitch Factory is more than just a place to learn. It’s also a place to turn those big ideas into goods to take to the marketplace. The company offers production ser-vices from concept to consumer such as manufacturing, tech packs, pattern making, sample making, grading, fashion illustrations, and sourcing for designers. “They are very efficient getting production done on time. They reach out to other production locations and publica-tion. They are very good at collaborating,” says Johnsen.
The company’s team of ten boasts backgrounds including fashion design, retail, pattern making, finance, graphic de-sign, photography, manufacturing, buying. “It’s a big point of difference for us,” says Mossler. “I don’t know of another factory who has such a broad range of experience who can help their clients go to market and also have the varying points of perspective that we offer. We help our customers build relationships that build their business.” Mossler also points out that building these types of businesses in Las Vegas can have an impact beyond the fashion world. “Di-
versification of industry in our city is huge,” she says. “Peo-ple talk about Las Vegas being disconnected, so it’s nice to have a hub for so many creative people at Stitch Factory.”
Aspiring designers are not the only ones who can have their visions made real at Stitch Factory. The company offers pro-motional goods for all kinds of businesses. They produce merchandise and promotional goods such as t-shirts, bags, coffee cups, hats and more. These are are important brand-ing tools for various businesses, and, as Mossler puts it, “everybody needs swag.” Stitch Factory not only produces the goods, but their team also provides in-house graphic design, merchandise assortment planning, and visual mer-chandising. Additionally, they have begun handling shipping and logistics for other companies selling merchandise on-line. Stitch Factory has been working with a number of lo-cal businesses including eat., Nacho Daddy, O Face Dough-nuts, and others to produce custom merchandise along with visual merchandising for their locations and websites.
Education, production, and promotion are all important aspects of what Stitch Factory provides to designers and entrepreneurs, but it’s the support of having a true com-munity hub for people in the fashion industry that has come to mean so much to its members. Membership op-tions include a community level that provides basic access to the facilities and its offerings. Creator level member-ship offers shared workspaces, a higher level of support, designer showcases, and more. Designer level members have access to dedicated workspace along with a lit-any of support services including access to industry ex-perts who can help guide the growth of their businesses.
Anna Swonetz, whose company anna bee jewelry works out of Stitch Factory, recalls the first time she walked through its doors. “Before I thought of moving here, I did a female entrepreneur event. I came here and walked in, and I was like, ‘this is my dream.’ I had never seen anything like it.” The physical facilities are indeed impressive, but it’s the cre-ative energy that fills the space that makes it truly unique.
“It’s a support system—brand consulting, private events,
it is nice to have feedback from other designers. You can speak with them about your projects and get feedback,” says Johnsen. It’s a sentiment shared by Swonetz. “When you are on your own, you only have your own thoughts. Working and being around other creative people, it’s just so stimulat-ing, so much fun,” she says. “This is a creative community.”
Local swimwear designer Samantha Tor of Sam-nangs, puts it another way. “Being an entrepre-neur is difficult, and sometimes you feel alone, so having a membership at Stitch Factory, you have a sense of having friends, people who you can talk to.”
Mossler and Taler feel the rewards of working in such a creatively charged space, too. “When people come in and they get really excited, their creativity is energiz-ing and inspiring to us,” says Mossler. “There’s no bet-ter feeling than to help someone to realize their dreams.”
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English jewelry designer Anna Swonetz has been designing jewelry for family and friends since she was a little girl. “I never thought it would be possible in England to make jewelry professionally,” she says. After relo-cating to San Diego 10 years ago, and working alongside her photographer husband, she knew that she hadn’t yet fulfilled her own creative dreams.
“My mother-in-law invited me to go to a jewelry party, and I didn’t want to go,” Swonetz recounts. She went, and while what she found was lovely and meaningful personalized jewelry, it just wasn’t to her liking. “Jew-elry that means something is often done in an old-fashioned, mumsy kind of way. I like clean lines, geometric shapes. I thought, ‘I can do this, ’ cre-ate meaningful jewelry with an element of fashion, that’s modern,” she says.
Swonetz went home that night and announced to her hus-band that she knew what she wanted to do—start a jew-elry company and call it anna bee (bee is her college nickname.)”
The company started in her garage with Swonetz poring over books, videos, doing research, and a lot of trial and error. A friend introduced her to the buyer at Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and they became her very first client. Since then, her client roster has grown to include heavyweights such as Pottery Barn Kids, Red Envelope, and Sundance Catalog along with boutiques around the country.
The Swonetz family relocated to Las Vegas last June to join the creative community they found here, and anna bee jewelry began her membership working out of Stitch Factory after being housed in a private studio near the beach in San Diego. “People think we’re mental for moving to the des-ert from the beach,” she says. “But working and being around other creative people, it’s just so stimulating, so much fun. We bounce ideas off each other. It changes the atmosphere,” she says of her membership at Stitch Factory.
ANNA SWONETZANNABEEJEWELRY.COM
Coco Johnsen grew up in foster care where social services programming lead her to discover a love of arts. But it was a chance encounter on a New York subway that served as her introduction to the world of fashion. Discovered by a modeling agency, Johnsen went on to model in national publications and campaigns and
work with world-renowned photographers.
Johnsen’s love of sketching, which began when she was a young girl of eight years old, led her back to school—at Los Angeles’ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. “At the time, LA was becoming more on the map for high fashion, and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week launched there. My work was submitted, and that was my first fashion show right out of the gate,” she recalls. From there, she left school and started her
own company.
Another chance encounter lead her to find a fashion home in Las Vegas. After attending Stitch Factory’s Be-hind the Seams Fashion Speaker series with her mentor, Johnsen, now a Las Vegas resident, found just that. “I wanted to find a place in Las Vegas that I could work with to manufacture my clothing. I’m a made in the USA brand. Working with someone locally meant I didn’t have to travel back and forth to LA,” she says. Stitch Factory is now producing pieces for her collections, which she produces twice a year. Her collections include “luxurious and stylish clothing and accessories,” which Jensen describes as inspired by Diana Ross in her
iconic role in Mahogany, along with American design superstar Oscar de la Renta.
“I’ve come to realize that Las Vegas fashion is growing and on the map,” says Johnsen. “And Stitch Factory is like a fashion family here.”
COCO JOHNSENCOCOJOHNSEN.COM
Stitch Factory Editorial
Ronnie Tanner started out designing t-shirts and hats, drawing up his ideas and handing them off to others to make them into a reality. But that wasn’t enough for this burgeoning businessman and designer. “I wanted to be a de-signer, so I was looking for ways to expand my knowledge,” he explains.
“I found out about Stitch Factory in the newspaper. I had never really sewn before, but I took a sewing class at JoAnne’s,” says Tanner. He followed that up by enrolling in Stitch Factory’s nine-week “Launch My Line” introduction to fashion course in order to grow as a designer, creative, and entrepreneur. “They were really helpful in asking questions, picking your brain, things that you never thought of. That really helped me to focus on what I wanted to do, “ he says.
What Tanner wanted to do was to start his own line of men’s pants, which is currently in development. Through trial and error and the retooling of a store-bought pattern, Triple T Clothing is nearing its official launch. Tanner describes the looks as classic but also “outside the box,” with a focus on stitching in bold colors, along with creative embroidery and embellishments. “So much work goes into stitching up a pair of pants, but it often gets over-looked,” he says.
Of course, Tanner also credits the team at Stitch Factory with being a big help in his efforts to get his business off the ground along with ongoing support of his efforts. “They have open labs every Thursday. I come in and co-work. Their production team is usually there working late, and they are always willing to help.”
RONNIE TANNERTRIPLE T CLOTHING
FACEBOOK: TRIPPLE T CLOTHINGTWITTER: @TRIPLETCLOTHINGINSTAGRAM: TRIPPLETCLOTHING
Stitch Factory Editorial
“I’ve lived here since 1995,” says Samantha Tor. “And I’ve been in the nightclub business since 2000. I’ve seen the transition from nightclubs into day club parties.” From there came part of her inspiration for swimwear line Samnangs. “I love fashion as a way to express yourself. Women love to have unique swim-wear to show off their style,” says the designer.
Tor has been working on her line for about two years, but kept running into what she describes as, “closed doors”—prohibitive costs, production minimums, and the need to travel to Los Angeles to make her dream into a reality.
Through a friend of a friend, Tor was introduced to the crew at Stitch Factory. “I was working with a group in LA, and that cost a lot of money because of travel, so finding someone lo-cally is a big help and really convenient,” she explains. Now working with Stitch Factory to help with sourc-ing for her line, she is hoping to officially launch Samnangs in March.
Not only has Tor found Stitch Factory to be helpful in producing her line, but also in helping her to feel em-powered to follow her passion as an entrepreneur. “Being an entrepreneur is difficult, and sometimes you feel alone, so having a membership at Stich Factory, you have a sense of having friends, people who you can talk to, even if it’s just to ask about something simple like a stitch. Sometimes you need a buddy, and they are very helpful,” she explains.
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Photographed by LJ DillaModel Franco Adonis
Xhem Wovem Button-ups: Control Sector
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Alicia Hart: Collage ArtistCollection will be on display at Bar&Bistro in the Arts Factory and at Re-
claimed Art Co-Op beginning March First Friday 2015.
More info: [email protected], Instagram: aliciaAhart
March | Last Look
Cat’s new shoes:Andy Warhol x Converse Lows
