By Olivia Novotny / Murphy News Service
Minnesota Fashion Week puts a spotlight on the flourishing local fashion scene.
Jahna Peloquin, a local fashionista and one of the organizers of Fashion Week, said there’s been growing interest about local designers and retailers.
“There has been a lot of excitement around in the fashion community and beyond,” Peloquin said. “People are showing up to these shows that aren’t the usual crowd, it is a very diverse group of people who are starting to get involved in fashion in the Twin Cities.”
One of the events, “The Shoot: Part 2,” held at Shelter Studios in Northeast Minneapolis on April 16 gave spectators a behind-the-scenes look at a live fashion shoot featuring local clothing and accessory designers. Many more people attended the spring event than at the first one in the fall, said Lauren Neal of Neal Jewelry.
Krysti and staff work to adjust lighting while stylists modify the outfit. Photo by Olivia Novotny
The main draw of the event was that it is a collaborative shoot, each piece coming from a different designer. The art director and stylist pull pieces from different collections, putting it together in one cohesive look.
The goal of the event was for the public to see stylists in their world and how they work. People usually just see the end results of these shoots in magazines or on advertisements — not all the work on the front end, such as lighting adjustments, photo editing and shooting back-up photos, among other things.
The pieces used in the shoot come from collections apart of “The Shop,” a pop-up retail experience featuring several local brands including Neal Jewelry, Gina Marie clothing, ACG clothing, Ruby3 hats and Crystal Quinn shoes and handbags.
This event is good for the businesses because they get a chance to sell their items to the general public, and also have their work featured in a photoshoot, Neal said.
Digital tech Anna Rajdl works with Krysi to edit the coloring on the photos. Photo by Olivia Novotny
Breanna Vick, an attendee who is new to the fashion scene, said it was very interesting to see how stylists put together outfits for shoots, and the camera and technical equipment that goes into producing the best photos.
“I am interested in photography, and it is cool to get kind of this first-hand look at some of the equipment, and be able to talk to workers about jobs in fashion,” Vick said.
Anna Rajdl was working as a digital tech on the shoot, editing the photos as they came in. “My job is to make sure the photos coming in from Lauren’s camera look good, that they’re in focus, and that everything is connected and working right, shooting over to the projector,” Rajdl said.
Rajdl said she has recently been getting more involved with the fashion community with Lauren Krysti, the photographer she works for. She described the community as a “nice niche.”
In addition to The Shoot’s success, other events hit record numbers with over 1,000 attendees at “Envision” this year, Minnesota Fashion Week’s largest event. Black Magik Woman II had more than 400 attendees on this spring, compared to last spring’s event, which had about 175 people.