In mid-October, StyleWeek held an intimate 10 year anniversary fashion show in Providence, Rhode Island and it was one of the best things I've seen in a while. This small celebration made me realize how much I missed art, fashion and seeing people. Normally, StyleWeek is held every fall and winter over the course of three evenings at the Rhode Island Convention Center, highlighting multiple up-and-coming designers from the Northeast. However, this time it was a small outdoor show at the lovely Capital Grille, which is one of my favorite places to dine in the city. The Capital Grille's outdoor patio turned into a runway and you had beautiful downtown Providence as the backdrop. The fashion show was done safely and you felt the good energy by all.
The past few months have been a roller coaster, but I love how StyleWeek pivoted to make a more intimate and interactive show highlighting great local talent with the SEED competition and handbag designer, Kent Stetson. The SEED competition is one of my favorite parts of StyleWeek every season and it always happens on opening night. High school students from Lincoln School create amazing runway designs all with reusable materials in different textures that are edgy, feminine and stylish. One design was showcased per student to a panel of judges with one lucky winner of the night. These ladies nailed the competition and it was hard to pick just one to be the winner.
Student designs from the SEED competition
The second and final act was a creative show by Providence-based handbag designer Kent Stetson. It started with "Gray Areas" an interactive video followed by a fabulous runway display bringing his everyday musings to life. I loved this part of the show so much from the video, cool music to the models walking the runway. I love how he incorporated technology to tell a story about his designs followed by models down a runway. Some of the pieces were made with remnant materials from his first bags designed years ago and all were designed at home during quarantine. The most interesting piece of the night was a chain piece which had an armor like feel, which was both feminine and playful.
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