Art met fashion

by Annalisa Millo in She Culture | 0 comments

Imagine a fundraiser, spearheaded by women, staffed by women, featuring women, for the benefit of a non-profit women’s organization. If the sound of that doesn’t make you giddy for feminism, I’m not sure what else will.

The third annual Art Meets Fashion event was held Oct. 15 in a warehouse in the up-and-coming industrial Granary District of Salt Lake City, proceeds of which went to the Young Women’s Christian Association, and was organized by some of the city’s best assets: Heidi Gress and Anne Cummings-Anderson of Aperture Marketing.

From what I’ve seen, Aperture is doing some of the best work around to raise the bar for a more vibrant, more cultured Salt Lake City, by providing the general public exposure to some of our state’s best and most talented designers, artists and performers. It is exactly what this town needs to help cultivate the arts and fashion industries in our own backyard.

The event featured a runway showcasing local fashion designers, mostly women, including Shelly Huynh, the fashion design team from Salt Lake Community College, Andrea Hansen of Pretty Macabre, Andrea Black of House of Black, DesNeiges Gregory of Modscene Swim and Whiskey Kissed Lingerie, Roberto Leone of Leone Collection, Danny Nappi of Nappi Clothing and Mary Rino of Lily Bride Designs.

The runway show was juxtaposed with visual art pieces and installations from local visual artists, performances by local musicians, poets, dancers, performance artists and even trapeze artists. Custom lighting by and décor by In The Event wowed everyone, the staff donned sharp, all-black attire and the attendees were a refreshingly diverse crowd – jeans and T-shirts among three piece suits and a few evening gowns.

I was impressed by how approachable the event was; it’s easy for a fashion show to quickly turn into a pretentious affair, leaving many of the guests feeling uncomfortable. The general vibe at AMF was exciting and pleasant, aesthetically delightful, and, aside from a couple (I’m assuming) unpredictable and unfortunate technical glitches, the crowd seemed to overall thoroughly enjoy the event.

We look forward to what all the artists, designers and performers have in store for us in the future, and we’re all anticipating the next superior event from the folks at Aperture.