Babes in Toi Land
Scottsdale Fashion Week
By Kimberly Hundley

When internationally acclaimed designer Zang Toi signed on for Scottsdale Fashion Week, producers knew the event had turned a couture corner, saucily striding into its third year on the Scottsdale Waterfront.

Once Zang announced he would come, we were getting calls from as far away as Paris,” says Cynthia Dunn, spokesperson for SFW, Nov. 6-8. “Of course, we’re also working with regional and local designers.”

Toi landed the coveted closing spot for New York Fashion Week in February, establishing himself as the designer to watch this year. Those lucky enough to score a ticket will see Toi showcase his dramatic Spring 2009 collection, even as overheated Valley dwellers are frantically shoehorning fall looks into their closets before Christmas.

Downtown Girls
More than a few Downtown Scottsdale boutiques and designers will strut their stuff on SFW runways. Semifinalists Studio Joy Li and Lillian Lottie Couture are set to showcase three designs each in the SFW08 Designer of the Year competition, staged in the main Waterfront Runway Tent on Friday night.

“We design and produce everything in-house,” says Meghan Lawlor, co-proprietor with Jenny Pinto of Lillian Lottie, specializing in bridal, evening and cocktail dresses. “For the runway, we’re thinking about textiles that are really going to flow and beading that will reflect the light. This will be a great finish to all our hard work.” The pair has been feverishly crafting all-new designs for the competition as well as the Wearable ArtWalk showcase.

Increasing buzz about Li’s soft clean designs ensured her a spot again this year in Canal Restaurant’s “After the Runway” lineup. Catch Li at 10:30 p.m., Nov. 8 (Veuve Clicquot will serve free champagne for the hour). “This is the first time the public will see the new line,” Li told the Downtowner. “Arizona customers are being offered the “First Cut” of limited-edition styles … I want to get the message out to women of ‘confidence redefined’—to inspire women to embrace their own personal style”

Our Town
But nearly every runway show has some connection to Downtown Scottsdale beyond SFW’s locale, observes Dunn. For example, Moody Blues boutique will stage a grand opening on the Waterfront concurrent with its runway debut. And many shows feature clothing and accessories from Scottsdale Fashion Square stores and nearby boutiques.

This time around, the event boasts two runways—the prestigious Waterfront Runway Tent with reserved seating, as well as the open SouthBridge platform for indie designers. “You are really going to see some amazing things on SouthBridge because every designer on that runway is up-and-coming,” Dunn says. And don’t forget the wealth of upscale shopping opportunities at the adjacent Luxury Pavilion, she adds.

Attendance estimates are anybody’s guess. Last year’s crowds were estimated at 20,000 and producers speculate that number will grow by one-third. This much is certain, says Dunn: “We are not New York Fashion Week, and we’re not Milan. And that’s totally wonderful for us. We like to say, in a fun way, that the FBR Open is to golf what Scottsdale Fashion Week will become to fashion.”

Scottsdale Downtown Liaison Robin Meinhart confirms this is one event she doesn’t intend to miss. “It doesn’t get much better than Fashion Week. I don’t know if it’s more exciting to see what’s on the runway, or the people watching the runway,” she says. “It’s the best people-watching you can imagine.”

Wearable ArtWalk08
Art as Fashion
A veritable “Who’s Who” of the world-famous wearable artists will swathe Downtown in vivid silks, awe-inspiring textiles and stunning patterns at Wearable ArtWalk08, the official opening of Scottsdale Fashion Week, Nov. 6.

Attendees will have a tough choice. Unlike last year, models won’t parade the arts district sidewalks Milan-style, but will sashay simultaneously down three runways at 7 p.m. along Marshall Way, Main Street Plaza and SouthBridge. “We did that on purpose,” says Beverly Roman of artspace gallery, a key event organizer. “We thought about staggering them, but people won’t go from one thing to another, and we don’t want them to be focused on the venue but on the galleries and buying pieces. The gallery displays are just as interesting as the runway shows.”

The showcased pieces and many others will be for sale at nearly 30 galleries and shops throughout the arts district. Local participants include Lillian Lottie Couture, Jewelry by Gauthier, Galina Couture, Pineda Covalin (fiber), and Peggoty Christensen (fiber). Australia jewelry designers Jennie Riley and Jason Burnett, whose native-inspired ornaments have seduced the Hollywood crowd, are flying from Down Under to attend.

What exactly is wearable art? “The difference between our work and the work you see on Saturday is it’s a one-of-a-kind thing,” Roman explains. “These [artists] are people who lovingly create individual pieces. They get thrilled about putting together that piece; it’s not a line, like Zang Toi. And if you’re not wearing them, you can hang them on the wall because they are just that beautiful.”

Last year’s WearableArt debut sparked a shopping frenzy. Roman laughingly remembers how galleries couldn’t keep display forms properly attired in their wearables. “It was embarrassing. People were taking them off and buying them—and they are very anatomically correct, our forms!”

Election Night Preview
For a sneak peek of Wearable ArtWalk08, drop by Canal Restaurant on the Waterfront at 8:30 p.m., Nov. 4, where you can watch the presidential election returns in style. Sixteen models sporting 16 looks will take to the glittering runway that snakes through the dining room.

Downtowner Insider Picks
Thursday, Nov. 6
7-9 p.m. Wearable ArtWalk08 in the arts district, featuring three simultaneous runway presentations and fashion-as-art for sale in nearly 30 galleries and shops; evening includes open access to Luxury Shopping Pavilion.

Friday, Nov. 7
Noon-5 p.m. Elite of New York Model Search at SouthBridge (free) features local beauties competing for a top-agency contract.

6 p.m. SFW08 Designer of the Year/Garage Children’s Clothing runway show. In Scottsdale’s answer to Bravo’s Project Runway, 10 of the state’s top designers compete for the crown. Look for Downtown’s own semifinalists Meghan Lawlor (Lillian Lottie Couture), and Joy Li (Studio Joy Li). Garage, a SouthBridge area boutique, will close cute.

7:15 p.m. Estilo Boutique & Twist, both Waterfront boutiques, showcase seven L.A. designers with cutting-edge collections.

8:15 p.m. Moody Blues, opening on the Waterfront in conjunction with SFW, shows three L.A designers, including a denim label that recently debuted on MTV’s The Hills.

9 p.m. Dillard’s latest in contemporary apparel is presented by Emmy-winning stylist Rebecca Weinberg of Sex in the City. Now we can see how those purses, shoes, belts, jackets, etc., come together to make fashion magic.

Saturday, Nov. 8
3-4 p.m. Check out two independent designers in a free show on the SouthBridge runway: Allison Leigh Apparel’s Spring 2009 collection, and Moss Spa swimwear.

7 p.m. (SouthBridge runway) Pineda Covalin, with a locale on Stetson, presents a contemporary interpretation of Mayan and Azteca designs in silks.

10 p.m. New York couture designer Zang Toi shows his Spring 2009 selection, paint still wet from N.Y. Fashion week.

Scottsdale Fashion Week, Nov. 6-8
Where: At the confluence of SouthBridge and the Waterfront in Downtown Scottsdale, near Camelback Road and New Marshall Way; the open-air SouthBridge Runway features independent designers, while the Waterfront Runway Tent has reserved seating for select collections

Cost: $30 general admission includes SouthBridge runway shows, Luxury Shopping Pavilion, SFW activities; free access to SouthBridge runway and shopping pavilion until 6 p.m., Nov. 7-8; $37.50-$130 gets you a reserved seat per show in the Waterfront Runway Tent (priced according to designer); $400 Super Ticket reserves a seat for every runway show either Friday or Saturday night

Tickets: Buy now at www.ScottsdaleFashionWeek.com, or call 877.840.0457; for a full runway schedule, visit the website

2008 Runway Schedule
Friday, November 7
4:00 PM - Runway Magazine
5:00 PM - Destiny’s Bride
6:00 PM - FOX10 Designer of the Year/
Garage Children’s clothing
7:15 PM - Estilo Botique & Twist
8:15 PM - Moody Blues
9:00 PM - Dilliard’s

SOUTHBRIDGE RUNWAY
Noon-5:00 - SFW & Agency Arizona present Elite of New York Model Search
6:30 PM - Stacie May
7:00 PM - Mysterious Masquerade
7:30 PM - Desiato
7:50 PM - Emily Miller
8:10 PM - V Marie by Rickie Gonzales
9:00 PM - Team Red Bull -
NASCAR Fashions
9:45 PM - Misty Dawn Swimwear

Saturday, November 8
1:00 PM - Theory by Neiman Marcus
2:00 PM - Banana Republic
3:00 PM - Marciano
5:00 PM - Metropark
6:30 PM - Jean Paul Juene
7:00 PM - Jhane Barnes by At Ease
8:00 PM - Nordstrom
9:00 PM - Rolf’s
10:00 PM - Zang Toi by Neiman Marcus

SOUTHBRIDGE RUNWAY
3:00 PM - Allison Leigh Apparel
3:30 PM - Moss Spa
6:00 PM - Bri Bridge Rock Couture
6:30 PM - John Paul Juene
7:00 PM - Pineda Covalin
7:30 PM - Life Path Tees / Champagne Dreams
8:00 PM - Angela Johnson Designs
8:30 PM - Cinzia Designs
9:00 PM - Amelia Walsh R.A.W.
9:30 PM - Barking Fire by Patricia Fistes-Adams
10:00 PM - Jacqie Perry Swimwear