The Bellevue Collection Supports Fashion Designers
The Bellevue Collection just recently wrapped up its Fashion Week, closing out events like the Nordstrom Fall Fashion Show, the Posh Party Beauty & Trend Show, and Vogue’s Front Row Fashion.
The opening night paid tribute to a growing segment of the fashion world: independent designers. The first Independent Designer Runway Show was held In partnership with Fashion Group International (FGI) and Femfessionals in Seattle. The show was a culmination of months of work by the designers, organizers and judges, and brought a spotlight on the strength of the independent designer movement in the Puget Sound area. It also helped secure the future of one local designer.
“Fashion is our largest category of retail at the Bellevue Collection,” states Jennifer Leavitt, VP of Marketing for The Bellevue Collection and Kemper Development Company. “Creating this fabulous opportunity for local designers to compete and show their point of view was a natural next step. We have an opportunity to assist the growth of the fashion offering in the market and to extend our helping hand to an industry that is so important to our company and community.” The relationships built over the duration of the event are sure to pay off for years to come.
Eight designers brought their designs to the stage that evening, showing their work to an audience that included representatives from Vogue. The winner, Carole McClellan, has worked in leather and fur for years. “I’ve always worked in fur and leather with recycled and repurposed pieces that I completely take apart and put back together into a contemporary configuration.” She upon her traditional themes into a completely new collection for men and women.
“When I think of the Bellevue Collection it is a destination place to shop for luxury goods,” said McClellan. “When this (opportunity) came up I thought, ‘O.K., this is fabulous’. I could never as an independent put up this type of staging and have full roster of models and hair and make-up and all of the PR support that goes with it.”
All her hard work paid off when the panel of judges selected her as the winner. Her prize package includes $5000 in Fashion Funds to help build her design business.
