by The Editorial Staff
Washington D.C. dictates a lot of things in the world but fashion is not one of them. As a city it dresses conservatively with a few exceptions and as a market it is very small and does not have a flagship design school to produce a consistent flow of native fashion designers. In this sort of climate you would expect the fashion industry (specially the native grown ones) to suffer and that may be partially true. That being said, DC still has an undercurrent of really young designers coming through and this fashion week gave a good account of the creative process of the designers. Among the DC bred designers Kari Bare Couture provided a very americana collection that came across as not only unique but also commercially viable and environmentally sound. Another standout from the show was Nandi which created an eclectic mix of evening wear that showed exceptional promise.
Among the non-native/ international designers Nooshin Moradi provided a strong collection that stemmed from her work as a textile artist. Iranian by birth but Manchester based designer created a narrative that felt like an equipoise between persian imagery and western functionality. It is likely that she will make a strong impact in europe if she continues to produce elegant couture consistently.
Damini Summers collection from Lagos, Nigeria was another collection that excelled and provided a strong account of color and design fusion.
Few designers from Estonia like Ivo Nikolo and Oksana Tandit brought in scandinavian minimalism within the proceeding. A whole host of Estonian designer provided a glimpse of where their industry is heading and in many ways seemed like a mini copenhagen fashion week collection with strong lines, minimalism and above all functionality being at the center their design philosophy.
As DC fashion week closed off it's 25th showing under the careful tutelage of Ean Williams it was evident that despite a less than ideal market, DC designers are making progress and will continue to do so.
