What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1027295
SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2018 WHAT'S UP! 9 COVER STORY FAQ NWA Fashion Week Schedule of Events Drake Field 4500 S. School Ave., Fayetteville All main events begin at 7:15 p.m. Sept. 20 The Idle Class Black Apple Awards Featuring: • 2017 Black Apple Award winning fashion designer Rosie Rose • Musical guests • Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese Designer Showcase AAFF Student Designer Showcase • Dasia Rose (Arkansas Fashion School) • Robbie's Era (Arkansas Fashion School) • SkyBlue by Abby Alba (Arkansas Fashion School) • Sara Wilson (University of Arkansas AMPD) • Jam (University of Arkansas AMPD) • Cottonistas (University of Arkansas AMPD) Sept. 21 Runway Shows • A. Brook's Designs and Apparel • Exclusive Company • MarleyMack Unique Boutique and Gifts • Felix Bui • Don Morphy • Elizabeth Koerner • Fox Trot Boutique • Damned 2 Divine • Hubbard Clothing Co. • INKJNK ft. Gean Lee Sept. 22 Runway Shows • Richie Clark Clothing • christianMICHAEL • Herron Hats • A'Lyece Lenae Designs • Hubbard Clothing Co. • RGene featuring O'Faolain • 22nd Element Clothing and Accessories • Lorto Momolu Ashley Little (Ellen Elaine) "I started sewing when I was around 4 or 5," says Ashley Little, who will mark her sixth show with NWA Fashion Week on Sept. 22. "My mom taught me and all of my sisters. I can't even remember not knowing how to sew, to some extent." When her mother passed away from cancer when Little was 14, sewing took on even more importance in her life. "It really turned into a kind of legacy. I do have a passion for it, but that pushed me even further." Little's fashion line, Ellen Elaine, was created by combining her and her mother's middle names. Little went on to teach sewing at the university level — receiving a master's in apparel design — and opened Material Concepts, at 130 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville, where one can see original work by Little and other Northwest Arkansas-area designers. "NWA Fashion Week, for me, has given me the opportunity to design — meaning, while I love to design, if I don't have a place to showcase it, I don't prioritize designing," she explains. "I have work and alterations and clients, and that's what pays the bills. But NWA Fashion Week gives me an opportunity to both create and showcase my designs, to justify the time and money that it takes to do it. It helps me creatively, to become aware of my aesthetic as a designer and who I am as a designer." Little says her fall show will feature mostly formal wear, "to showcase for the fall formals coming up." "My design aesthetic is classic, timeless, slightly sophisticated, with a rock edge — I always say, if Jackie Kennedy or Audrey Hepburn were going to a Jimi Hendrix concert, they would wear my clothes." Rosie Rose (Rosie Rose Designs) "I had been doing design for a while before [my first show with NWA Fashion Week], but I didn't really have a venue to show in," says Rosie Rose, whose designs will march down the catwalk Sept. 20 — her fourth show with the organization. "I had an online presence, and that's where most of my customer base was — people I had met through my Etsy shop. I had customers from all over the world, but no local following. So it was this amazing thing when Fashion Week started back up, and suddenly I had this opportunity to reach more people. I've gotten a lot of new, local customers from it." Rose says when she apprenticed with a designer in Eureka Springs, the world of fashion opened up to her. "Sometimes, you're an artist, and you have an idea but can't make it come out the way you want it to. Finally, I got training, and could make anything I wanted." Photo credit NWA Fashion Week Rosie Rose says of her upcoming fashion show, "I don't want it to be all size 2 models. I don't want people to look at it and say, 'Well, I wish I could wear that.' I want it to be appealing to everyone." See Fashion Week Page 37