Denver Fashion Week’s Emerging Designer Challenge is back for another season that will showcase the talents of some of the best up and coming designers.
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On August 3, at The Dairy Block, five designers will go head to head in a competition where the audience and a panel of judges will each select a winner to make their DFW debut this upcoming Spring season.
This season’s competitors are Violet Hues, Three Eyed Art Collective, Légère, Seintana Couture and Grey Walls.
Violet Hues
Self described as a “Twenty something stylist trying to keep things real,” Violet De Vries is a hair and sustainable fashion stylist, who looks forward to experimenting with storytelling through her collection. De Vries is familiar with volunteering for and producing fashion shows but is excited to focus on making connections during the Emerging Designer Challenge.
De Vries also hopes to communicate her brand message, #LiveAuthentic through her collection. The designer explained that growing up in a religious household encouraged her creative styling. Her European-inspired fashion, combined with mixing masculine and feminine styles gives her a unique, eclectic style.
Unafraid to play around with patterns and textures, De Vries’ intricate designs are everything one can expect from a creative, fashion hairstylist. Having participated in hairstyling for DFW in past seasons, De Vries is no stranger to the DFW environment.
Her ability to push the fashion boundaries and fuse alternative shapes, patterns and nature into a cohesive design makes her a lethal competitor.
Three Eyed Art Collective
In 2017, designer Sraw Areloano began thinking about creating a clothing brand that featured shirts, hoodies and shoes as the main selling points. In 2019, Natyli McChesney joined Straw on this journey in helping to create an official business plan of opening a body art shop while also selling clothing. However, due to COVID, they had to put this dream on pause.
Once the world opened up again, they soon found themselves attending various conventions where their inventory grew so much that they opened an online commerce store and started producing enough clothes to keep a steady inventory.
From “calligraphy” to adorning their custom shoes with jewelry, all pieces from Three Eyeed Art Collective are original. They’re excited to break into the fashion industry and garner new design perspectives.
The team previewed some of their designs as vendors at Denver Fashion Week in the Spring and look forward to sharing their fashionable sense of humor on the runway in August.
Légère
Designer Zach Mick recently graduated from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Lakewood. A Colorado native, Mick rediscovered his love for the arts and jumped headfirst into the industry.
The new graduate has volunteered in Denver Fashion Week shows, participated in student runways, and interned with DFW designer veteran, Matilda Marginal. Mick said he’s excited to bring conceptual, avant-garde pieces that combine 3D sculptural with clothing. He explored his theme of “art as an escape,” through unique materials like bendable wood and water in vinyl.
It’s his ability to create the unconventional that makes Mick a standout designer and competitor.
Seintana Couture
Designer Mitchelle Santana is excited to bring elegant everyday style mixed with a hint of streetwear to the DFW runway. Inspired by her Mexican heritage and old money influences, her one of a kind designs bring a unique cultural, glamor twist.
Santana discovered her love for sewing, tailoring and design by making clothes for her dolls as a child. The designer said she’s most looking forward to seeing her designs on models for the first time.
“Fashion is more than just wearing clothes, it’s self-expression, it’s passion,” she said.
Grey Walls
Designers Serge Valdez and Trey Charnon said that their streetwear brand is a lifestyle.
“We chose to compete in the designer challenge to showcase our debut collection. We intend to show off our skills as we work to build a collection for Fall 24′,” They said.
They said that their upcoming micro-collection is titled “Everything Unfortunate, Tragedy.” Between their acid washed, ripped jeans and t-shirts with phrases like “I Wouldn’t Like Me Either,” it will indeed be a noteworthy collection.
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