The inaugural Philadelphia Fashion Week will take place October 8-10 2009. When I first heard about this event during the summer of 2009, I immediately knew that [the3st] had to cover it! It’s so great to be able to see our local community rise to the challenge of showcasing its fashion prowess to the entire fashion community.

Michael Anderer | Head Buyer for Matthew Izzo

Kristie Bergey | Owner of the KB Experience

I had the pleasure of interviewing two of the three directors of the show: Executive Director Kristie Bergey and Creative Director Michael Anderer. Their stories of how they came together on this project is a true testament to the power of passion and the sheer amount of work that went into making this fashion week successful.

The original drive for the show came from the director’s individual realization that there was a wealth of fashion talent within Philadelphia. Michael realized this through his experiences as the head buyer for Matthew Izzo and Kristie through her event productions firm the KB Experience. Through their own past professional experiences, the directors came to know each other and it wasn’t long before the idea of a Philadelphia Fashion Week popped up.

Wanting to keep a local edge, Philadelphia Fashion Week is a celebration not only of fashion, but also of local culture, local talent, and local fashion. The designers being showcased at the fashion week are all local talents. In establishing their niche as a show about local designers, the Philadelphia Fashion Week promises to play a vital role in supporting the local retail economy and encouraging consumers to look beyond large fashion chains and retailers. In expressing their support for local talent, Kristie and Michael highlighted an important insight that I completely agree with. Oftentimes, consumers in the pursuit of fashion look far towards large, globalized brands for fashion direction when they fail to see that local fashion provide a more affordable avenue towards being unique, trendy, and supportive of the community. I believe that this show will help people make this insight as well when they see the wealth of creativity abundant in the collections presented.

But this dream came at the cost of countless hours on the part of the directors and those involved in making the show into a reality. Both Michael and Kristie confided that there were serious obstacles they faced in planning the week. Their passion though proved to be greater than the challenges they faced. Now, with less than a week to the event itself, the directors are pleased to announce they estimate around 1,500 to 2,000 attendees for the show- an impressive number, especially for the inaugural Philadelphia Fashion Week.

I encourage any of you who haven’t bought a ticket yet to do soon! You can find out more here. Buy your tickets here.