Fashion abounds in the forecast for Juneau this week

A runway show in the rain may not be the ideal setting for most fashion designers, but Dana Herndon says it’s just another element that makes Alaska style unique for the third annual Alaska Fashion Week that begins Thursday.

“We always account for that,” said Herndon, one of the event’s co-founders. “We are not afraid of rain. We want to present clothes that are appropriate for the environment in which we are located. Plus we have an umbrella.”

Annual three day event featuring some 20 local, Alaskan, and international designers highlighted by the runway show downtown from 2-4pm Saturday on Ferry Way, despite the forecast pointing to a rainy weekend. Other events included a flight tour of Taku Lodge where a photo shoot would take place, a lunch and dinner reception, a designer market, and a “party after party” featuring Ketchikan’s Dude Mountain Band.

“This year is bigger than ever,” Herndon said. “I don’t want to say better, because every year it has improved and every year it has been great.”

A model wears a jacket under overcast skies in downtown Juneau during Alaska Fashion Week 2022. Rain was expected for most of this year’s three-day show which started Thursday, but an organizer said clothes and models had been prepared for the runway show to go ahead. regardless of the weather. (Photo courtesy / Sydney Akagi Photography)

Herndon said Fashion Week organizers got about 100 applications from designers, only about half of which were eligible for consideration.

“There has to be an Alaskan connection and it could be a designer from Alaska or a designer working in Alaska,” he said. “There has to be ties to sustainability as well.”

Among the design list, according to the event’s website, are ArtBug Studio, Beth Bolander, Sarah Dexter Designs, Alaska Soles, Bering Sea Designs, ArtistNatalie, Caplan Anderson, Alpaca International, Bella Dahl, Chameleon Cooper-Lykes, Lily Wooshkindein Da .át Hope , Finesse Denim, Cool GoldbergBelle, ABLE, GarnetAnn, Cold Bay Studio, Sunrise Creations, and Alaska Fashion Week in-house Vintage Collection.

As for what’s considered fashion for Southeastern Alaska in 2023, Herndon says local designers are showcasing a mix of the new and the traditional, as well as the stylish and the practical.

“Alaska Soles, she’s from the Southeast,” Herndon said. “He mixes contemporary and traditional designs. So he would use a material like sealskin. He sealed the earrings and whatnot. Natalie Weinberg, that’s a different approach. He is a painter and digital artist based in Juneau. She’s just an Alaska-based artist going into design, so she makes jewelry and clothing accessories that are hand-painted, block-printed, and digitally created.

The show also featured 26 models—nine from Juneau, nine from other parts of Alaska, and eight from the US and Canada.

A full schedule of events, tickets and other information is available on the festival’s website at www.alaskafashionweek.com.

• Call Mark Sabbatini at [email protected] or (907) 957-2306.