A Man With a Dream (connected to an incredible vision)

If you live on the west coast the default fashion Mecca is Los Angeles. The scene in San Francisco is pretty fractured and sleepy. There are some great designers in San Francisco but aren't very cohesive so their voice is weak, and there isn't really a cohesive fashion district.

As you continue up the west coast the next stop for fashion is Vancouver, BC (Canada). So the industry has completely disregarded Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. As far as it is concerned those two places warrant no special attention and fashion does not exist. They forget that it is the corporate headquarters of Norstrom.

Oh how wrong they are. Enter Kemper Freeman, Jr. with the fashion vision and a dream to make Bellevue, Washington the next fashion Mecca. For our readers from western Washington, Kemper Freeman is known as a real estate developer. His family almost single-handedly brought a small farming community (Bellevue) into the modern age and made it into a jewel to rival Seattle in terms of culture, shopping, entertainment and industry. So, if you hear someone say Kemper Development it is indeed the same man.

Your question is how is a developer connected with fashion? Well the Bellevue Collection, which includes Bellevue Square, is the shopping destination and should not be missed. Okay, there is Bravern but its only claim to fame is Neiman Marcus. Bellevue Square has so much more appeal. Not only that, it has Fashion Week!!

The people who guard the industry ignore it and say that it is really a series of trunk shows and does not deserve mention. I disagee. Not that it isn't slightly misnamed, but it is a start and will turn into a real fashion week in time. I am convinced that a perosn with vision and drive can accomplish anything.

So, watch out Los Angeles. You will have some stiff competition. You may have celebrity and a fashion district. However, a fashion district is easy to create and celebrity is fleeting. In terms of beauty, style, culture and class, Bellevue just may have you beat. Once you feel Kempr Freeman coming up behind you to steal the fashion ring it will be too late. He will have everything else in place and the only thing left will be grabbing that ring.

Personally, I hope he is successful. How cool would it be to have Mercedes Benz Fashion Week New York AND Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Bellevue?

a la prochaine

Debra