San Francisco Fashion Week: Staying Local and Going Green

Published by Vanessa Brunner under Events

Even though New York and Los Angeles might be seen as the fashion centers of the United States, since moving to San Francisco I’ve learned that this definitely doesn’t mean there’s a lack of fashion in this city. It just looks towards a different arena. Rather than catering to the YSLs, Guccis, and Pradas of the fashion world, San Francisco fashion tends to encourage and support the growth of local merchants and designers (which, due in part to SF’s green reputation, includes a lot of eco designers), both through Fashion Week and various associations.

A gorgeous promotional shot from the 2009 San Francisco Fashion Awards, which took place at the swanky Hotel Phoenix

The San Francisco Fashion And Merchandising Association is a social network and forum that does a lot of work in the eco-fashion arena. The SFFAMA aims to support up and coming sustainable projects, as well as the local SF Fashion industry.

Originally, the SFFAMA was created to create and encourage conversation between local merchants and fashion entrepreneurs. Founder Owen Geronimo believes that these two groups need to form an alliance, promoting creative cooperation and opening business opportunities.

Currently in the process of becoming a non-profit, the SFFAMA sponsors and supports the majority of high fashion events in the city. The annual San Francisco Fashion Week highlights new and innovative local designers. SFFAMA’s goal is to reinvent SF’s Fashion Week into a place that recognizes the unsung heroes of the local fashion scene, and put San Francisco “on the map of the fashion world.”

Fashion Feud is basically Project Runway live: two designers completing a look on stage with limited time. It's also one of SFFAMA's most popular events.

What I love about the SFFAMA is that they look beyond the obvious. This organization sees more than fashion shows when they look at SF Fashion, and they encourage others to do so as well. Also, since so many designers in this city are aware of and passionate about the eco movement, there is a larger percentage of eco-designers and gorgeous green gear.

(See: Mr. Larkin, SUST, Ocelot Clothing, Del Forte Denim, and more)

A perfect example of this is The Economics of Art group, a spinoff of SFFAMA. A series of lectures benefitting San Francisco Fashion Week, TEA focuses on how to create smart solutions that address the impact of our current financial crisis on creative industries in the United States.

The annual San Francisco Fashion Awards, also sponsored by Geronimo’s endeavors, reward the epitome of the SFFAMA’s philosophy regarding innovation and local merchandising. This year’s event awarded the Visionary Fashion Designer award to Miss Velvet Cream, whose Miss Velvet Cream Salvage pieces are made from recycled vintage, unwanted clothing donated by clients, or flea market collections.

Overall, the point I’m trying to make is that San Francisco Fashion Week should not be underestimated. The Bay Area is known for producing a constant stream of innovation, and fashion is no exception to that. The ideas being shown here are groundbreaking, changing the way we approach fashion and consumerism in general–helping us look towards a greener and brighter future.

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