Last week, I went to three Saint Louis Fashion Week events: Fall Into Fashion at the St. Louis Galleria, Indulge at Plaza Frontenac, and Project Runway Fashion Show at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. I thoroughly enjoyed all three shows, but as a huge fan of Project Runway, the latter was definitely my favorite.

Before the show even got started on stage, there was a presentation in the lobby by Scarlett Designs of adorable vintage inspired looks. Once the show got started inside, there were short videos introducing (or re-introducing, for most of us) the Project Designers with a few words about the inspirations for the collections they were going to be showing that evening. The designers (who were all there to take their walks after their looks were presented) were: Laura Kathleen, Michael Drummond, Casanova, Anthony Ryan, April Johnston, Viktor Luna, and Joshua McKinley.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Photos by Mark Schwigen for ALIVE Magazine — Photos by Mark Schwigen for ALIVE Magazine

Michael Drummond (a St. Louis Native) kicked things off. Loved the bondage-y strips - I ran into the model on the left outside the show, and she told me that the vertical strips on her garment were actually strips of X-rays - how cool.

Anthony Ryan's collection was meant to be (in his own words) what American fashion would have evolved had Christopher Columbus not discovered the "new world". I loved the geometric tribal details.

April Johnston was memorable on her season of Project Runway for rarely straying from black, but she pulled a 180 and showed an all-white collection. Elegant and edgy, perfect for the goth bride!

Laura Kathleen (also a St. Louis native) created a collection for the "woman she aspires to be" and it had a few of her signature jumpsuits along with some great not-so-basic black dresses. The one on the right was also worn for the evening by the fabulous Samantha Chadwich, ALIVE Magazine Fashion Editor.

first image by me, other photos by Mark Schwigen for ALIVE Magazine

Here are a few looks from the other designers' collections, L to R, Casanova, Victor Luna, and Joshua McKinley.

The evening was an incredible experience, seeing how movement, art, design, makeup, and music come together to create a true performance. If you're interested in more details about Fall into Fashion and Indulge, check out some of my fellow bloggers for their writeups: Economy of Style, Light Sleeper Heavy Dreamer, A Little Slice of Pye, and Bangles and Bungalows. And, if you can believe it, the fun's not over yet - there are several great shows this week, including two that feature local designers - go here for tickets!

saint louis fashion week part 1