Not So Bad Afterall

Hello from the great Pacific Northwest!!!

Well fashion is a bit different here. It is not as I remember. Having left the area to pursue my own path over 20 years ago, it is interesting to be back as more than a visitor. The sights and sounds that I remember are still here and the sleepy little town that I left is now a bustling metropolis. As you make your way between Seattle (the main city in the area) and the Eastside (which is the land of Microsoft) it is really great to see the entire persona of the area shift.

I grew up on the Westside (in Seattle) and twelve years ago, my parents packed in city life and moved to the burbs. At the time everyone was horrified. However, I must say that being able to escape the city and get into an area where there are trees, open spaces and neighbors at a distance is great. Okay, I am only a 10 minute drive from downtown Seattle so I am not remotely located in West "get me out of here".

One of the great things is being able to check out the site of one of the divisions of the Fashion Project. It has always been our intention of locating the multi-label showroom in Bellevue. Until this trip, I had some reservations. The intent was based on my father's assessment of where it would be best to capitalize on the love of fashion, the availability of customers and of course, the access to money.

Okay, there are a lot of Microsoft people here and they are not hurting for resources. But what I did not realize is the number of women who have time in their days to do nothing but hang out and shop. It is great. I went into a Nordstrom Rack at 11 AM on a Friday morning and it was packed with the line going out the door. This told me all I, and the rest of the Fashion Project Team needed to know. A multi-label showroom, open to the trade and to the public wholesale+ will be an incredible venture here.

Not only are there women into fashion, they are into the art of the bargain. In the right location we can also capture the women from Seattle who are willing to make that 10 to 30 minute trip across the pond (Lake Washington) to get that great Balenciaga at a great price. Not only that, I need to 'brave up' and see if I can get an appointment with Kemper Freeman and have a discussion about his love of fashion and his willingness to be a sounding board, participant and part of this great venture.

Fashion Week in Bellevue is sponsored by Mr. Freeman, who is of all things, a real estate developer. I'd love to have some insight as to what triggered his love of fashion and how he melds it with his love of development. However, he may be just like me.

There is a beauty and simplicity in the design of a building or a complex. Underlying the simplicity that everyone sees is an intricacy that you would only recognize if you truly understood the beast. Maybe it is the same as the sweep of an archway or the curve of the treatment of a great skirt, or the combination of a series of building to form a beautiful complex or the seven easy pieces that allow you to build a wardrobe using system dressing. Whatever it is, Mr. Freeman brings the women of Bellevue an incredible fashion experience each fall.

Okay it is not a preview of what is coming in spring. It is actually a series of trunk shows featuring the fashions that are available for the current season. While for those of us in the industry, it may be a technical blunder, we need to remember that we are a privileged few who get to go to runway shows, hang out at showrooms and brush elbows with those who know what is coming. The rest of the world sees snippets of what is coming by browsing through magazines and logging onto websites to see clips from runway shows. Mr. Freeman puts them all front-row, center and gives them the fashion thrill they all seek.

So as I continue to settle in for the next couple of weeks, I will keep you abreast of 'fashion in the Pacific Northwest'. I will also say this; if Mr. Freeman desires to make Bellevue the fashion capital of the west coast, I am willing to help him do that. This is home for me and frankly, while the scene in LA is vibrant, bustling and established, this is the land of Nordstrom, Inc.; it is the land of Microsoft; it is a place with an extremely independent, can do attitude. Frankly, being a Pacific Northwest girl, we can take LA, no problem. All we need to do is band together and make the statement that Bellevue is fashion's new Mecca on the west coast.

We will take this one step at a time. First LA, then New York. We will leave Paris and Milan alone. They will always be fashion. However, maybe with the love Mr. Freeman has for fashion and my unstoppable (and yes somewhat over-the-top) belief that this really is the place, who knows? It could happen.

a la prochaine
Debra
posting from Bellevue