Seattle Fashion Week, Unicorns, and Blayne

Published April 22, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.

There’s been a Seattle Fashion Week since 2003, though it’s possible that you haven’t heard about it until now…and that’s because like any annual BFD event in the works, each year it gets bigger and better. But this year--from the major sponsors, packed after-parties, talented designers, and headliner Blayne Walsh from Project Runway--it was pretty hard to miss.

Seattle Fashion Week is actually more like a weekend, but no big deal. It was still pretty badass. We attended the couture finale of SFW and got a chance to visit with select couturiers and see Blayne Walsh’s collection up close and personal. Stayin’ true to his Project Runway days, Walsh still incorporates coherent touches of neon boldness into his work with electric yellow amidst an earthy scheme of browns, black, and ivory. But this time his pieces were more tailored, fitted, and functional as opposed to his signature big and loosely fit randomness. Featuring denim, leather, and nylon, Walsh describes his functional street wear as "the possible lovechild of a vampire and Native American" and had this to say about the look of his hometown: "Seattle‘s fashion is like a unicorn. It‘s rare but once you see it, it‘s beautiful and exciting."

And love him or hate him (but how could you hate him? He’s so nice!), Blayne Walsh is inarguably doing tons for Seattle‘s fashion community, from his fashion-forward streetwear line, to supporting local student fashion shows and DList Magazine events. And even in the middle of the fashion show of the year, he reminds us that "going to the bar is more important than when you’re at the bar…fashion is about the streets." Gangster.

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