Baltimore Struts Its Stuff

"I hope you biked here," designer/Whamcity member/general hallucinogen of creative expression Michael Farley said in introduction to Sustainable Fashion night of the Baltimore Fashion Week. A makeshift runway spanned the belly of St. John's Church on 2640 St. Paul Street.

"[Fashion Week] was started by a group of vegetarians instead of bulimics like the rest of fashion," quipped Farley as he delivered a casual presentation of "sustainable fashion" as the "green" solution to an industry built on excess and from the hands of child laborers in sweatshops. "If Bangladesh were underwater, where would the GAP make their clothes?"

Farley's "Green is the New Gray" was by far the highest fashion of the night. It was white pants with maroon piping. It was a raspberry bodysuit with a navel-hitting neckline and hoodie/scarf creation, breathtaking in its minimalism and elegance. It was lots of draping and earth tones and an incongruous pair of lime green shorts. One dress seemed to be constructed (or deconstructed) of layered T-shirts that was ready to be worn right off the runway. There were unfinished seams and jagged edges that screamed "Self-taught designer!," but in the end they added to the eco-friendly aesthetic. I guess.

"Revamp," the lovechild of design team Spoon Popkin, took to the runway. While "Green is the New Gray" used the unfinished look to its advantage, Spoon Popkin's first ensemble - a flirty light pink tulip dress - sported a torn seam, which was the gaping hole in an otherwise well-constructed line.

"Revamp's" designers collected fabrics and clothes from vintage stores and used them as palates for more modern looks. The line was more ready-to-wear than "green" and succeeded in taking grandma's floral prints and making them sexy. One look was a green floral printed skirt and blazer combo. Blue tulle peeked out cheekily from under the tail of the blazer, adding a saucy touch to what could have been a mousy outfit. The pi??ce de r??sistance, a caramel houndstooth tweed outfit, was not only impeccably crafted but was also both classic enough to wear to work and edgy enough to wear for play.

Thrift Store Thieves' contribution to the sustainable show was either a swimwear line or a wardrobe for global warming. Their take on the future of sustainable fashion, a series of ripped t-shirts and strings, covered the bare minimum. Many of the models sported more body paint than actual clothes and "jigged" rather than strutted down the runway. Their show had more nip-slips than a night with Paris Hilton, with ample tan lines and pubic hair accents for the men's line.

Bringing an end to the Sustainable Fashion show was "Made in Able." The line, the most ready-to-wear of the bunch, was a compilation of street-wear fashions. Sleeveless hoodies paired with striped shirts and shorts seemed more L.A. than Baltimore, but it reflected the traditionally spring lineup of fall fashion weeks. The runway theatrics matched the energy level to the spirit of the clothes. My favorite look was a simple jean skirt and a T-shirt paired with a studded bandana, very urban-street-thug-moves-to-the-suburbs. Fashion Week, already having finished its Thursday show, hadn't yet lost any steam.

On Friday, storm clouds drove the hotly-anticipated outdoor Couture show inside the Metro Gallery.

Like any good fashion show it started late. Nicolette LeFaye's designs were first in an amazing display of costume creation. One look was a blue velour empire waist gown, the model adorned with what seemed to be a gold tree on her head. At one point a man stumbled onstage, visibly uncomfortable in heels, wearing a delicate wedding dress which lay in stark opposition to the stiff mohawk spilling over his forehead. One gown, a black and gold lace piece that left little to the imagination, was nigh red-carpet worthy and harkened back to an era where pin-up pictures were the epitome of coy sex appeal.

Tita Rudledge's designs weren't couture in the "fantastical dress" sense. Rather they were more in the '20s era flapper style and were painstakingly hand-beaded, a requirement for couture. What heroin-chic was to the '90s opiate-chic was for Rudledge's line. Models with lopsided tiaras sauntered down the runway with beaded tassels swaying. One dress, a peach gown with spaghetti-straps, stood out above the rest, detailed with intricate beading that glittered blindingly under the spotlights. Some looks seemed unfinished, but it was a coherent enough line to be marked in memory as something more wearable than couture.

The last to be exhibited was April Camlin's creations for "Happy Accident." Camlin was one of the masterminds behind fashion week and it was only appropriate for her designs to run as the grand finale.

The first look was a black gown with a pleated leather train. The grand ribbons that tied the back together and the tiny brooch that opposed it in the front gave the gown a grandiose, cathedral-like look. Indeed, Camlin's inspirations were gothic architecture and baroque details which she tried to effect through her clothing, in her own words, as "dark and mysterious."

With its dark colors, heavy fabrics, and Nordic feel, her show beautifully embodied her gothic intentions in a way that was both high fashion and thought-provoking (imagine Alexander McQueen lost in Siberia and forced to design his way out). The best example of her creative genius was a black velvet cocktail dress capped with a fur cape and hood, creating a unique, boxy silhouette. Some looks were unabashedly Flintstone-esque, primeval as it were, garnished with fur and jewelry made of chunky beads and animal bones. At times the drapery was excessive, a veritable parade of curtains. The staple of the collection (aside from the first gown) was the floor-length cotton piece held together with antique pins and fitted with a cashmere-like sweater on top of it. Camlin's collection, as a whole, was beautifully pieced together.

Baltimore Fashion Week was less formal than its predecessors in New York, London and Milan but no less committed to the industry. If you didn't make it out this year, you should clear your schedule now for 2008.