During Fashion Week at The Bellevue Collection there are many stylish events to enjoy, but one of my favorites has to be the Independent Designer Runway Show or IDRS. The incredible talent that is showcased every year is so inspiring, and getting to meet the designers and see their work up close before the runway show gives the event a very personal feel. The sold-out IDRS affair always attracts an avant garde crowd, where style is as much on display off the runway as on.
Since 2012 The Bellevue Collection has kicked off its Fashion Week with IDRS. The IDRS program has given a platform for local designers to gain exposure, receive mentoring and take their designs and ideas to the next level. Ten designers are chosen to participate in the program, whose many many months of designing, mentoring and producing culminates with a runway show. Designers will be chosen for the ten coveted spots based on their creativity and originality, workmanship, their business model, including brand positioning, selling and distribution model, marketing strategy and the presentation of their line.
Runway shot from IDRS 2014
In addition to having ten looks featured in the runway show, IDRS particpants will also each be featured in profile pieces in Seattle Met Magazine, be highlighted during Fashion Week, and receive mentoring from a panel of fashion industry experts throughout the process. The designer chosen for top honors at the show will receive a $5000 cash prize furnished by The Kemper Freeman Family and The Bellevue Collection to help continue their line. The winning designs will also be on display at Bellevue Square during the month of October.
Think you have what it takes? Applications must be in by March 15, 2015, followed by a group of selected designers being interviewed by the judges panel. The ten designer participants will be announced April 17, 2015.
Click here for the application and more information regarding IDRS 2015. And good luck—as always, I look forward to more great things this September.
Fashion Week at The Bellevue Collection is September 23-27, 2015.
