Milwaukee Fashion Week 2017 - Perspective

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Milwaukee Fashion Week is back at it again with the controversy.

MKE FW 2017 event, hosted at the Milwaukee Athletic Club had already retrieved “local” traction before the week had even arrived. From culturally disruptive media pre-coverage to the grassroots MKE fashion world feeling once again slighted by the “politics” of the event, there was already some pushback to even attend.

CW staff attended the last day of the event, hoping that just observing a sample of this year's show would be more beneficial to MKEFW and our readers since our presence last year seemed to create a little bite back behind the scenes. (Reading the press credential agreements this year was quite insightful). Nonetheless, we saw what we saw.

Our favorites of the night:

  • Sarah Lauren Fashion, with her satin bases, smooth transitions, and unexpected use of material.
  • Em.Ris, with the dark tones, concepting, and staged fashion experience (the headphones….genius!)
  • Ieri Designs by Allison Jarrett, For the tailored suits with vibrant color and pattern selection.

Things we could do without:

  • The unfinished and unhemmed worked that was allowed on the runway.
  • The very unproportional crowd demographic. (Analyze the culture).
  • The stage setup.

Instead of going on we rather give you a glimpse at ONE narrative participants and the community are having about MKE FW:

Richon for EmRis
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(From Facebook- Both Richon & Lupita were told their perspectives would be shared.)

 

We also received a perspective submission by another one of our readers and MKEFW models, Roshá Brister:

Rosha for EmRis
“It was my first time being a part of Milwaukee’s Fashion week and I have to say the experience wasn’t as hectic as my time at New York’s Fashion Week. I walked for designer Em’Ris, whom I have had the pleasure of working with on several different occasions. Hair and makeup prep was at 3 p.m., on the last day of the event. When I walked into the venue I was very surprised as to how un-athletic and elegant the club was, which I most certainly did not expect. I got to the hall and checked-in and took a seat. The halls setup was really nice and well put together; it definitely fits the mood of a fashion show. One thing that caught my attention was the stage, I was a little perplexed about its setup. It was about a 2ft. stage that models had to step onto when coming from behind stage. In my opinion, it would have just been best to leave it out altogether.  However, I did like the lighting; it brought out the light pink walls and white lining of the walls. This made the hall have an ambiance that was soft and inviting.
Behind the stage was organized in regards to understanding who was doing what and it was easy to locate your designer. I really enjoyed their model call system to ensure each model had their hair and makeup done on time and in an orderly fashion. Though this was well set up, I will say my hair and makeup experience was not the best by the slightest bit. The makeup/hair stylist that was assigned to my designer was not well versed in how to beautify and style darker complexions and hair types. I mean the lady did not brush my edges, honey! That’s important. I’m natural with locs, and still, I manage to have my edges looking together. Although that was simple for me to take care of, it was very disheartening that she was not prepared to do darker complexion women make up. She did makeup for another model and I, and honestly, it looked a hot mess. Good thing as a model, I brought my own foundation, mascara, and eyeliner; unfortunately “we” just have to be prepared for the unprepared.
The show started at 7 p.m. and Em’Ris line went on just before the first half. As a model, this was the least stressful setup that I had experienced. The staff was very organized in informing us when we needed to be dressed and where we’d go to enter the stage. The group of models and of course the designer Emily were amazing and we really killed our segment on stage! I would definitely participate in MKE Fashion Week again.”


So there you have it. Perspective is key to making the proper impact on the community in which you claim to serve, no matter what event it may be.

Like we say here at CopyWrite… #DoBetter

/CW