Be Chic Boutique, Christina S Fashion Destination, Miguelena and Piccolo owners come together to produce the annual Benicia Fashion Weekend October 19. The 4th annual event kicks off with three days of fashion, including a runway show at the très cool Historic Benicia Arsenal event venue at 940 Tyler Street. A wine and hors d'oeuvres reception and Trend Raffle Live Auction precedes The British 80's Rock the Runway fashion production, inspired by the recent Olympic closing ceremony. Fashion fun continues downtown Saturday and Sunday with in-store trunk shows, personal designer appearances and hair and beauty demos.
In previous years, Fashion Weekend has featured trends from the Benicia fashion boutiques in addition to designs from Stephanie Verrieres of Verrieres and Sako and Marlowe Bassett, both graduates from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. In 2010, a portion of Jay Nicolas Sario’s New York Fashion Week collection from Project Runway Season 7 was presented as the show finale.
Last year's Legends to the Future production featured Bay Area designers Richard Hallmarq, lead designer for music legends, with his line “The Collection,” Kathleen van der Spek’s classic sophistication and contemporary designs and Samuel Formo's space age modern fashion collection. The show also included Lluvy Gomez from America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4 and Betsy Johnson’s favorites from her 2011collection.
This year, each store will be featuring a select designer to be highlighted in the runway show. Models will circulate informally during the reception with clothing and accessories from select stores on First Street. 25% of the proceeds go to the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park. Tickets can be purchased from participating stores or online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/263454.
