Skidmore College Element Fashion Benefit

Dan and I hopped in our car at noon on Friday the 13th and schleped our butts to Saratoga Springs, NY to visit my Alma Mater, Skidmore College, several good friends of mine, Liz Cobb, Lauren Cognato and Helen Thompson and to rub elbows with Patty Pawliczak whom I worked for in the Costume Shop.

Patty was great to touch base with as she suggested some excellent fabric stores in Massachusetts I should frequent...one she raves is "bigger than the garment district in New York". Mmmm YazBerry likes the idea. She also alerted me to a very exciting once per year flea market that is dedicated to purely vintage clothing and textiles...excuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin.

Anyway, back to my point. My motivation for going to Saratoga in the first place this weekend was due to the invitation from Lauren to attend the Skidmore College Element Fashion Benefit. (Check out the great poster to the right by Artist and Designer Deb Wenof, '07). All proceeds from the Element Fashion Benefit were donated to Art for Refugees, an organization dedicated "to engage both children and adults in refugee communities in visual, performing and creative arts drawn from their own cultures." Please check out their website as this is an awesome organization!

We loved many of the designs modeled at this show, some of our favorite designers include: Kim Bevan & Ashley McEvoy (co-designers) whose contemporary flares on classic designs and color combinations were superb and crisp(Kim Bevan Modeling their creation at left).

Olivia Janczyk had body hugging dresses in bold color combinations. We absolutely loved her dress composed of large bold blocks of color (pictured below on Model Blair Costello (far right with back to camera. Also pictured are her Models Emily Schor and Shay Roberts, and in jeans is the Designer herself).
We also enjoyed Alison Hunt's designs but were unable to track down photos (btw, all photos are credited to their anonymous authors and can be sourced to facebook.com)


Dan and I ran into Sandi Cun, a suitemate of mine for a year in college, in the Costume Shop before the show putting finishing touches on one of our all time favorite designs in the show! Her sense of color and line are stellar! (Designer Sandi Cun pictured at left with Model Nurys Garcia in one of the best designs in the show. Pictured at right are Sandi's Models Nurys Garcia and Shardae Gonsalves).

Emily Newton was also a favorite of ours; not only did she design but she also played a key role in organizing this event. Her pieces have whimsical and intricate details and her use of fabric is quite impressive. Our favorite piece by Emily is the black and ivory ballerina dress pictured at the far left. (In the picture at left are Emily's models from left to right: Holly Keating, Andrea Marks, Emily Newton - Designer, Michal Adut & Lindsay Thomas).




Deb Wenof, who was also both a Designer and major organizer for this event, had absolutely wonderful designs. She used striking color combinations and delicious textures! (Pictured below are Designer Deb Wenof and her Models Danielle Coccomo and Emily Kaplan (with back to camera)). We really enjoy the colors combination and textures on the piece worn by Emily Kaplan. (Pictured at right is Model Rebecca Horton). The textures on the piece worn by Rebecca Horton are excellent.


In conclusion, a supurbly excellent, fun and fashion filled fling in the fantastic town of Saratoga Springs, NY...