Elements of Fashion showcases Denver urban designers

Posted by andreamerida on Apr 1, 2009 in Denver Fashion Designers, Local Fashion Shows | 1 comment

by Juliana Echavarría, Fashion Correspondent – juliana@dfbeat.com

On Friday, March 13, 2008 the Elements of Fashion event showcased street wear and upscale party wear. Nikki and Aisha, owners of Elements of Fashion, wanted to “take attendees from noon to night.” They did more than that; they transported the crowd to the 1980s with some of the most fabulous hair, makeup, and urban fashion designs available in Denver. The event was a fusion of pop, rap, and hip- hop. Aisha referred to it as “pop-culture times 10.”

Dress by 9 ether

Prior to the show, the excitement was spread out to every corner of Theory – the well-recognized bar downtown (also known as the old Real World House). From their style to their vision to the advertising elements that they employ, Nikki’s and Aisha’s creativity is perceived through each area of their business. They brilliantly used the periodic table to promote the fashion show and their creative personalized services. In the same way that the periodic table displays all of the chemical elements, the Elements of Fashion event displayed all the elements necessary to look modern, sexy, and confident at every hour of the day.

Made-up models

Their vision was executed perfectly; to say that Denver Fashion Beat was pleasantly surprised by the overall execution of the show and the styling of the pieces is an understatement. From the moment the first model walked out, styled with a jaw-dropping big 80s hair style and attention-grabbing, over-the-top makeup, created by Ed Gilesspie of Over the Top and David Rico of Blondies the Beauty Shop, the crowd knew that it was in for a great show. This fabulous hairstyle was sported by all the female models; it was accessorized with double and triple varied colored hair strands, some meticulously braided and positioned by the side of the head or wrapped around the rest of the hair. The men’s looks were predominately influenced by Kanye West and the 80s style. Male models sported gelled Mohawks, 80s styled jeans (tight at the top, structured under the knee) with elaborate black and white designs in the back-pockets, and full- grain, tumbled nubuck leather high-toppers provided by Family Affair.

The first brand to showcase was 9 ether clothing, its unique take on vintage reconstruction. Their designs included a kimono-inspired dress cinched at the waist and accentuated with a tutu skirt made of vintage tulle. 9 ether also showcased a mixture of polyester and cotton t-shirts. Every 9 ether t-shirt is a unique piece. In order to effectively capture a true vintage worn – in feel, the fabric with which the t-shirts are made of is put through an extensive process showing years of weathering. In addition, the t-shirts are meticulously combed for softness and comfort. Denver Fashion Beat loves 9ether clothing not just for its fabulous vintage garments but for its social responsible initiatives as well. For instance, a portion of each of the t-shirts sold by 9 ether clothing is donated to the African Well Fund – an organization which provides access to clean drinking water to communities in rural Africa (click here for more information about the African Well Fund).

Family Affair, one of Denver’s premier street wear boutiques, provided most of the clothing that Nikki, Aisha, and stylists such as J Wakeen Mitchell of Unique Styles used to showcase their wardrobe styling capabilities. Family Affair is revolutionizing the Denver shopping experience by offering its clients salon services, exclusive innovative street wear designs, and cutting edge lifestyle goods all under one roof. In other words, you can step in to Family Affair get a hair cut, pick out a new outfit, and step out fresh. Some of the brands seen at the Elements of Fashion event that can be found at Family Affair are Twelve Bar, 3sixteen, Tank Theory, Mishka, FiveFour, and Gourmet.

Our favorite spring look for women was put together by J Wakeen: a chic high neck sleeveless chiffon top paired with the hottest Spring ’09 trend – the walking short(or city short).  J Wakeen described it best as “stylish affordable elegance.” As most of our loyal readers have come to find out, Denver Fashion Beat loves prints! That is why this top is a favorite; it is imprinted with various black and white print combinations, some even zebra styled, accentuated with vertical ruffles that run from top to bottom, and semi – cinched at the waist providing the illusion of a small waist, or in your case, emphasizing it.

Gear by Akomplice

Finally, Akomplice, a Colorado based, internationally owned, and respected fashion line created by two brothers- Mike and Patrick – when they were only 18 and 20, reinforced its presence as a fashion line to be reckoned within the snowboard, hip-hop, and rap community. From Big Boi of OutKast to Turtle from Entourage to Jay-Z, all the hot artists within the hip-hop community can be seen sporting Mike’s and Patrick’s creations. A line created “for the kids, by the kids,” Akomplice is unapologetic about its thought provoking concepts, out of the box designs, and clean yet gritty in your face style.

As Patrick told Denver Fashion Beat, “we are inspired by living life in the fast lane, art, politics, hip-hop, philosophy, nature, cinema, and music…we are inspired by life.” At the Elements of Fashion event, Akomplice pushed the envelope once again by showcasing t-shirts screen printed with texts that raised more than one eye-brow. One of Akomplice’s best selling t-shirts and coincidentally the one that grabbed our attention the most was a black cotton t-shirt, also available in Navy, with a white imprinted Lady Liberty on the right front side and an above over the shoulder screen printed text that reads: “America is filled with gangstas, from your neighborhood drug dealer to our government. It’s time to realize and recognize. Here Liberty comes by the gun from sun up to sun down. One.”

The Elements of Fashion event proved that the fashion industry in Denver is experiencing the first signs of a strong and long-awaited upsurge of fine artistic talent that is longing to leave its stamp in the national and international fashion scene. The night was a much needed reminder that the City of Denver is full of underground designers with a very bright future. Fortunately for all of us Denver fashionistas, Nikki and Aisha plan to continue to spice up the Denver fashion scene, and we cannot wait to see what else they come up with in the near future.