The Fashion Affair: Local Fashion Hits the Runway in Grand Forks

Arts | August 19th, 2016

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia.underlee.nelson@gmail.com

For hot local fashion, music, drinks, food and a champagne toast as the sun sets over the rooftops of downtown Grand Forks, get to The Fashion Affair on August 25.

This event will (literally) roll out the red carpet to showcase unique looks from 11 regional boutiques and shops, including Avant Hair and Skincare Studio, RH Standard, Kittsona, Voxxy, Pretty b., CURIOUS Clothing, Glitz Glam and Tan, Affairs by Brittany, Two-Twenty "Bling" Boutique, Key Bliss Boutique and Mainstream Boutique.

The Fashion Affair is back for just its second year, but organizer Rachel Eider of RH Standard says interest in this year’s event is strong. “This show is blowing up,” she said. “It’s all local boutiques, local clothes, local hair. It’s just trying to promote as much local shopping as humanly possible.”

The event’s centerpiece is a nearly hour-long fashion show that features models showing off looks from local shops. It’s a high-energy, live-action love letter to North Dakota style that’s unlike any other fashion event in the state. Each outfit is different and is modeled by someone with their own distinct style and variety of body type. The result is a more representative and inclusive feeling than a typical high fashion runway show. Looks range from casual outfits to special occasion dresses to more avant-garde ensembles.

The Fashion Affair definitely shows the range of clothing and styling options that are available when you shop with local merchants. As for those who say that they need to shop online because boutiques don’t offer enough options, Eider just smiles and insists that it’s time to give these small businesses another look.

“We have 220 models walking in the show, 20 from each store,” Eider says. “That means there are 220 outfits, all different from each other. That is literally 145 days short of wearing something different every day for a year.”

Attendees are encouraged to dress up in styles from their favorite local boutiques for the show. Use the hashtag #TheFashionAffair on social media to be a part of the scene online and to show off what you’re wearing.

The Fashion Affair kicks off with a social hour at 6:30 p.m.. Brick and Barley Bar and Restaurant, HELIX Wine and Bites and Rhombus Guys Brewing Company will sell selected drinks and nibbles for a quick taste of the evolving Grand Forks culinary scene. The social hour, the fashion show that follows, a champagne toast and an after party featuring live music from Town and Country are included in the $35 ticket price.

Editor’s note: Alicia Underlee Nelson is the power behind prairiestylefile.com

IF YOU GO:

The Fashion Affair

Thursday, August 25 6:30-10pm

4th floor of The Ramp at 4th St. and Kittson Ave. (55 S. 5th St.),Grand Forks.

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