Event Review: Fashion Feud Seattle

As reported in The Dress Code last week, there are occasionally fashion shows and things that resemble fashion shows in Seattle.

Last Thursday was one such event, which singlehandedly proved why, perhaps, the city would be better suited to stick with things it's good at, like pub crawls on bicycles and being surly.

The first round of Fashion Feud Seattle, which is sponsored by Scion and hosted by (?) DList Magazine and Joan & Jared (for whom I could not find a website), is part of a national (read: three-city, including and limited to Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco) competition to find and showcase the talents local designers. This round, as with the other three in the coming months, was held at Citrus Ultra Lounge on South Lake Union. Each round will crown one winning designer, who will then advance to a final competition in the hopes of a cash prize.

Yup.

Fashion Feud is a Project Runway-ish fashion competition, wherein two designers are given two pieces of material, one model, and one hair-and-makeup team apiece. In one hour, they make a design, sew it, and put it on their models.

Competing designers were Lina Zeineddine and Jessica Chaffee, hair and makeup was provided by Swink Style Bar and 7 Salon, respectively, and the models were provided by TCM Models & Talent. The looks were judged by local writer Alison Brownrigg, and TCM owner Terri Morgan, who both emphasized that the dressed should be "wearable, not costume-y."

All of this is pretty cool in theory, what with the whole use-of-local-organizations, and maybe even in practice at other venues in other cities. And the idea of a live fashion show is entertaining and fun.

But Citrus and DList definitely did not pull it off.

The main issue with this event was the total lack of organization. I attended with my friend, blogger Kelly Clay, who, when we first entered, asked me if I was sure I'd gotten the date right. There were no posters, no promotional information, and no one to help us find our way in. There was, however, a gigantic swag table with slap bracelets (remember those?), beanies, and bottle openers from Scion (unofficial tagline: It Looks Like a Cakebox, but This is America, Right?), a crowded bar, and a very small, hard-to-see stage, hidden between two walls of fluorescent bubbles.

The event began about 45 minutes late, which was just enough time to order one (1) cocktail and receive it. Which is not quite enough cocktails to be intoxicated enough to handle the thumping faux-fashion-show music, fist-pumping (really!!!) happening at the table beside us, or the shame at ordering a drink called the "O.M.G."

To watch any of the action on said stage, viewers were crammed alongside tables of unsuspecting happy hour patrons and over-worked cocktailers who seemed miffed that they hadn't been asked to model. Citrus has not staffed for the event, and while the hostess was pretty good at smizing, she didn't seem particularly anxious to make eye-contact or answer questions.

According to Fashion Feud's main website, photographers must apply for a pass to take photos. From the number of iPhones and Nikon CoolPix being used, Citrus didn't seem to be enforcing this rule with an iron fist. Though this rule did start to make sense - during the event, the only thing most spectators could see were the backs of photographers and gigantic lenses. Too shy to jump alongside the seasoned pros with my little Lumix, I missed a lot of critical snipping and styling.

I did manage to get a few photos to help illustrate the general atmosphere. Below, you'll see some designing and some modeling.

As for the actual designs, Lina's dress was a shoulder-baring halter of sorts which utilized both pieces of fabric (one solid, one polka-dotted) and hung in a decently flattering way. While more popular on Fashism.com, Lina's look lost to Jessica's semi-shapeless, mono-color sheath with strange shoulder accents. I was unable to get my own photos of these looks for the aforementioned visibility-related reasons, but you get the idea. Jessica will be advancing to the next level.

Overall, the event was too chaotic to be exciting, but too slow to be very enjoyable. Also, it was on a Thursday, so the fact that it started late was irritating and tiresome. On a Friday, in a larger space that was better staffed and less headache-inducing, Fashion Feud might have been a pretty decent time.

If you'd like to see what's up (and get a free snap bracelet!), there are three more events at Citrus for your enjoyment. There's no cover, but do have some cash on hand for drinks. You'll need them.

Fashion Feud // Citrus Ultra Lounge // 1001 Fairview Ave N #2000// Round Two: March 2, 7 p.m., Designers: Morgan Carson and Justin Bartle // Round Three: April 13, Designers TBD // Round Four: May 18, Designers TBD //