Like most Valley fashion designers, Bill Berry is strapped for cash. The 22-year-old Scottsdale native still lives at home and mends his cartoon-inspired creations to the sounds of Duran Duran, dreaming of the day Phoenix will rival New York and Los Angeles in the fashion industry.
Judging by the audience's interest at the first show of the Phoenix Infusion Fashion Series, Berry and the nine other local designers featured may be waiting a while. 'O' restaurant and lounge, which is hosting the series, is hopping, but it would be a stretch to say people are there for the fashion. Most are gathered in support of a friend, whether it's a designer, a model or even the hairstylist, while others are just there to see and be seen. Some are even oblivious to the fact that there is a fashion show.
"[This] is more of a marketing thing for the club," says 25-year-old Justin Holmes, an ASU business management student who brought a caravan of friends to the show in support of friend and designer Shiry Sapir. "No one comes here to see the clothes. They come here for drinks and to see the [models]. It doesn't seem like Scottsdale's a fashion Mecca; [the show] is kind of a joke. There's no one in Scottsdale that's really moving up in fashion."
Holmes adds that he's not being pessimistic he's just being realistic, but ask the designers and they'll tell you that he's just wrong.
Other designers featured in the show are Phoenix fashion pioneer Angela Johnson, Mondesi by Louis Dorman, Susan Di Staulo of Contra Mondo, Apriba by Allison Baker, Jennyvi Dizon, Hip Divine by Casey Pearson, LuLu Belles by Louise Jay and ALM Designs by Art Matthews. While all of the designers admit Phoenix may never be able to compete with the likes of London, they agree that fashion in the Valley is on its way up.
When Sapir, an interior designer, decided to give fashion a try, she headed straight to New York. After discovering it's not easy to make it as a designer in the Big Apple, she came to what she considers the next hot spot for fashion - Phoenix. It's Phoenix's time to shine, she says, and "one day L.A. and New York will look at us just as we look at them."
Di Staulo has been designing her flirty, ultra-feminine line for more than 10 years, but after feeling lost in a sea of hopeful designers in New York, she too decided to head west where she could be the big fish in a smaller pond.
"The opportunities here are amazing," says Di Staulo, 40. "It's a small environment and everyone's very receptive."
Unfortunately, those opportunities haven't started paying off yet, but Di Staulo says she hopes the fashion series will open people's eyes - and wallets - to the talent of local designer. Buyers were rumored to be mingling at the show among Scottsdale's trendsetters, which had many of the designers crossing their fingers.
"I have no money!" Di Staulo says. "We work out of our living room, and we design on spit and a prayer. If someone came up and said here's $100, go buy some bread; that would be great."
Though he's not raking in the dough either, Berry remains positive that fashion is on the rise in the Valley. He bets that within the next two years "fashion as people see it in other cities will come here."
"Arizona's still a baby," he says. "Arizona's always two or three seasons behind, but with shows like this Phoenix can start to grow and can become an epicenter for the fashion community."
If Berry's dream is ever going to become a reality, he may want to start looking for a more fashion-savvy audience. Half the people at the show seem more interested in the bartender than what is happening on stage, and at times it was hard to tell whether the crowd was cheering for the sexy models or the cutting-edge designs.
Daniel Babcock, 28, and Courtney Battista, 26, are two of many pessimists who don't have the same faith in Phoenix's fashion industry as the designers do, but they agree that there are "some pieces worth seeing." They made an appearance at the show because their friend did the model's hair, which Battista says was "the best part of the show."
"Even if fashion is bad it's still inspiring," she adds.
Allison Baker, 23, brought her line Apriba to the Valley in January, and says she has faith in Arizona and its designers. She says the presence of local designers in the Valley is "refreshing," and she hopes conservative Arizona dressers will start to embrace them. To Baker, a University of Arizona costume design graduate, the Fashion Infusion show is just another night on the job. She spends the early part of the evening mingling with friends, like most of the seasoned designers, and sipping on grape vodka infusion martinis. Meanwhile, the amateurs are running around making last-minute alterations and trying to calm their nerves.
Once the show gets underway, everything comes together - for the most part. Sassy local models from the John Robert Powers agency teeter down the makeshift plywood runway, trying to be graceful without landing on their ass. There are a couple slips and trips but it doesn't matter because the fashion speaks for itself. From Berry's vinyl record handbags to Matthews' tuxedo evening gown, the fashion is innovative and edgy, but definitely wearable. All of the designers make a point of creating clothes that people can actually wear.
"You should have fun with your clothes," says Baker, whose line is comprised of flirty tube tops and sexy mini skirts. "When I dress someone I want them to get noticed, not the clothes. You should dress for yourself; do what fits you."
As for staying fashionable on a college budget, the consensus for the night is vintage, vintage, vintage. Thrift stores can be your best friend, advises Baker and Di Staulo.
"Go through your mom or grandma's closet," Di Staulo says. "Then take the scissors and do whatever it takes to make it yours. Fashion is about style, originality and authenticity, which is more important than keeping up with the trends."
Reach the reporter at jaime.schneider@asu.edu.
