Denver Fashion Week’s Society Uplifts Designers From Around The World – 303 Magazine

What was once replacing a Ready-To-Wear Night at Denver Fashion Week (DFW), Society has come into its own, becoming a crowd favorite and drawing designers from around the world. On Nov. 14, DFW showcased designers from Georgia, India, Utah, Mexico, and of course, Denver. 

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The show was met with excitement by its host, 9News’ Entertainment Anchor Erica Lopez, wearing Mio Mora, and a dance/rap performance by Sir Devon. 

Designs by Tyne Hall, Keti Vani, S. Nicole by Shabeba, Seintana Couture, The Stitch Fitz, M. Bolden by Rachel Marie Hurst, and Mio Mora all brought their A-game, with collections truly resembling each designer’s identity. 

Tyne Hall 

Opening the show was a dark and sultry collection, with visual threads of asymmetrical hemlines, side cut-outs and corsets with unconventional necklines. The collection is called, “Sanguinary” according to designer Tyne Hall, and is inspired by her love for bloody horror.

“It’s about assassins or the Femme Fatale, I love horror movies, and every horror movie poster is red and black these days,” Hall said. “I also created my own print, so it’s sort of like my own movie poster in a way.” 

The opening model, with long sleek hair like Morticia Adams, wore a black form-fitting garment made of lace and sheer, accentuated with red moth appliqués, reminiscent of cult classic, Silence of The Lambs. 

With an intense blackened eye darting back and forth on the screen behind them, the models’ looks had common threads of sheen and sheer textiles, black patent leather platform shoes, and Hall’s signature print for the collection, slightly blurred and abstracted faces.

The collection was a love letter, with bloodied fingerprints and kisses, to horror movies and the alternative subculture. Much like the rest of Tyne Hall’s works, the collection allowed for both Hall’s personal expression and an opportunity for models and audience alike to tap into their dark feminine energy. 

Keti Vani

Coming from Georgia, designer Keti McKenna of Keti Vani showcased her classic silhouettes abstractly inspired by various natural landscapes. Vani’s educational background in geophysics, paired with her expertise in various aspects of the fashion industry over the past 23 years blend to create both formal and more casual, RTW apparel.  Most looks included a signature charcoal grey, white and black abstract mineral design, while others used a deep blue pleated textile to create matching top and skirt sets. One dress highlighted oversized florals, inspired by Georgia O’Keefe, with a form-fitting and preppy cut. Long suede fringe, low-rise denim on denim, and various hues of brown told a story of nostalgia and appreciation for Earthy visuals.   

“If you look at my collection, a lot of prints resemble the textures and minerals of the Earth, as well as art,” McKenna said. “My work is my art. I don’t want to go to trade shows or create disposable clothing, I want to create wardrobe pieces that last forever.”

S. Nicole by Shabeba 

From hand-beaded and hand-painted skirts to matador-inspired bold garments, Shabeba McDonald of S. Nicole described her collection as influenced by her love for Spain and cultural appreciation. Pieces varied from a chartreuse men’s suit with bedazzled Catholic iconography on the center back, complete with unique front cuts and shimmering shoulder pieces, to a women’s all black, mermaid style dress and matching overcoat. The collection included regal, simplistic high-fashion looks and more complex designs, all cohesively styled with red roses in the model’s hair to embody the matador narrative. 

“I started designing when was 14 years old, I made my best friend’s prom dress so I guess from that point on I was like, ‘Let’s keep going’ and I went to design school in Atlanta for two years. Everything I do is all one of a kind custom pieces,” McDonald said. 

McDonald hails from Kansas and walked the finale walk with her two kids, of course dressed in S. Nicole originals. Her finale walk melded together a story of appreciation for culture, with the confidence and attitude of luxury fashion techniques. Every piece was a stand-out in the best way, with either bold reds and blues, gold accents, ornate masquerade masks, and more. A personal favorite included a bright yellow dress with asymmetrical ruffles, styled with a hand-made bright red matador jacket, emblazoned with gold embroidery and a diamond cross on the center back. McDonald’s specialty in draping shined through in the various gowns, shawls and shapes she creates through satin and velvet fabrics. 

“My inspiration comes from the Latino culture which highlights bold color, a lot of glam, also some of the cultural aspects from Spain like the flamenco the matador, it all gave me direction,” McDonald said. “I can change an outfit about 20 times before I get it the way I want it, but I like the draping aspect because you can kind of play with lines, you can get really creative with it.” 

Seintana Couture

To an upbeat instrumental, models walked the runway wearing contemporary streetwear that spoke for itself. Mitchelle Santana of Seintana Couture and Emerging Designer Challenge winner originally from Mexico, utilized the spiral motif in innovative designs, including an all-white ensemble with white fabric pieces doubling as a second layer and as pants pockets. Most looks were oversized with layered garments, such as one white deconstructed pants turned into a skirt, with a black layered skirt underneath, creating dimension and depth to the looks. Black leather pants became a statement piece with, bold white stitching and oversized cargo pockets down the front of the legs, and vice versa —white pants and dresses included black, full body sized circular spirals, representing Santana and her life values. 

“When I was a kid I really liked fashion design, I taught myself and have just always loved it,” Santana said. “Seintana Couture is all about giving you streetwear and classy at the same time. My brand gives you something you can wear in both places, this is the first collection ever and it’s so exciting.”

Makeup was strategically coordinated to match the black and white garments, with spirals on the model’s eyes and faces. The Junji-Ito-inspired looks also utilized ruffled collars, bringing a slight whimsical nature to the overall alternative streetwear looks. 

“The spiral means the circle of life for me, it’s inspirational,” Santana said. “I want people to see it’s about fashion, expressing yourself, what you think, what you feel. It’s not just wearing clothes, it’s more than that. You have to look great, people can see everything about you in your clothes.”

The Stitch Fitz

Designed by Lindsay Fitzgerald, The Stitch Fitz brought sexy and effortless simplicity to the catwalk. Fitzgerald is from Salt Lake City, Utah premiering her looks for the first time in Denver, and described her collection as being inspired by the flowing movement of water, and nature overall.  

“I’ve just always liked sewing and it’s slowly progressed, I started by making clothes for myself and I was always making fancy stuff that I could never wear so it made sense to make it for models,” Fitzgerald said. 

Styling was kept minimal with slicked back hair, small hoop earrings, and simple glam. The pieces themselves were well form-fitting, some with wrap-around scarf attachments that draped elegantly behind the models, while others, like the black fishnet two piece set with structured tulle on the bust, were more risqué. Muted colors, dresses with all over sparkles, organically shaped silver accents, and rose appliqués were seen throughout, enhancing the classy but alluring style of The Stitch Fitz. 

“I love nature so a lot of this was inspired by water and the movement of the Great Salt Lake. I love bold statement pieces and playing with and manipulating fabric. My favorite designer is Cult Gaia, so that’s a big inspiration,” Fitzgerald said. “I just want people to feel confident, feminine and something they would wear out that nobody else is going to see anywhere else.”

M. Bolden by Rachel Marie Hurst

Rachel Marie Hurst (RMH) is a DFW veteran, this time taking the runway by storm through her trendy office-siren-turned-night-out looks through her boutique brand M.Bolden for the first time ever. Mixing and layering denim with button-ups, pearls and leather, and tapestry ensembles with fur coats, this collection was one that felt accessible and empowering for any woman. One look paired a folded-down tweed corset over an all-denim pants and long sleeve look, giving a new take on the infamous Canadian Tuxedo to be an It-girl look this Winter.  

“We really wanted to play with this idea of taking workwear pieces but making them sexy or sleek or adding in some lingerie-esque pieces into it to make it very lady-like and boss babe,” Hurst said. 

The collection, “Nightshift” was styled with thigh-high boots with pearl and sparkle accents, as well as various clutches and oversized bags, similar to the iconic Bottega Veneta intrecciato weave that complemented the various day to night looks. The final look, a black mini dress, glimmering with appliqués and styled with a leather under-bust belt harness and a sheer black cape, was the only look that Hurst designed by hand, sprinkling in a touch of her personal brand to the catwalk. 

“This has been a different challenge because it’s my boutique and not something that I make. I think going into this I thought it was going to be a piece of cake and it was quite challenging to represent each woman that I want to personify in my boutique,” Hurst said. “We get to show a lot of layers which we don’t normally get to do and there’s something really cool, more streetwear or RTW looks. I always like to end with something that feels most original to myself, and so we had to add a pop of RMH in there.”

Mio Mora