OSU designers head north to make industry waves

Everything old is new again in the Philomath home of local designer Laura Nash, who looks for inspiration everywhere from the Victorian period to her mother’s 1950s wedding dress when creating her “modern vintage” formal wear.

On Thursday, she’ll unveil her spring and summer collection at “Portland Fashion Week.” Though some finishing touches still need to be made, and Nash suspects she’ll be sewing hems and tweaking designs up until the show begins, the event marks the greatest test to date of Nash’s sewing and designing skills, creative outlets she first began experimenting with at age 10.

“Design is really addicting to me. I love it,” she said.

Nash, 46, graduated from Oregon State University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in apparel design. The mother of four is one of eight OSU students, alumni and faculty who will showcase their wares at Portland’s answer to the highbrow runway shows of Paris, New York and Milan.

Right now Nash relies on word of mouth and traffic on her Web site, www.gownsbylaura.com, for business, and creates sophisticated, conservative gowns tailored to her customers’ bodies and styles.

If all goes well in Portland this week, and she catches the attention of buyers, Nash hopes to start selling ready-to-wear pieces in boutiques, in addition to the custom designs she currently offers.

Nash will show nine looks, worn by different models, and several handmade feather headpieces at Portland Fashion Week.

One design, modeled by Corvallis resident and Philomath High School graduate Ronnie Hansen, is a sage green polyester silk evening gown.

Nash knows her fashion lingo, and describes it as having a princess-seam bodice, a straight skirt, neck and hip drapes, raglan sleeves and black appliqué.

Among the OSU undergraduate students joining Nash at the show are Melissa Ward and Tonja Schreiber.

Presenting in a major fashion show is a chance for Schreiber to show all those former classmates who poked fun at her for being too trendy that she really did know what she was talking about, wearing capri pants and wide belts around Alsea before they became popular wardrobe staples.

Despite not living in the most fashion-forward city, her Alsea neighbors have provided Schreiber with support over the years, attending her shows, helping sew projects and babysitting her 2-year-old daughter Madeline.

Schreiber, 21, is a senior majoring in apparel design. Her focus is on wedding dresses, which she’ll display at Fashion Week. She’s hoping the event helps her land an internship in the industry.

“I love weddings, and wedding gowns are the most elegant thing for a woman to wear. I love the way wedding dresses can just make a woman feel like the most amazing, beautiful person in the world, and I would love to be able to create that feeling for women,” she said.

While Nash favors vintage and Schreiber leans toward wedding gowns, Melissa Ward, a 20-year-old Bend native, most enjoys designing costumes.

“Costumes are an inspiration to me because they are a perfect marriage of free and structured design. There are specific skills and styles for recreating period-style clothing that take great love and study of the art of costumes,” said Ward, a junior majoring in apparel design and minoring in costume design.

At Portland Fashion Week, Ward will showcase designs specifically created for the event. In addition to historical influences, she finds inspiration in her favorite designers, notables such as Dolce and Gabbana, Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix.

After graduating from OSU, Ward wants to design haute couture in Tokyo.

“I idolize the Japanese style of design in that they break away somewhat from the traditional silhouette that is common in the West,” she said.

Ward also found inspiration in Marianne Egan, an OSU apparel design instructor who’s also presenting at Fashion Week.

During a summer course, Ward learned from Egan how to design with corsets.

“I didn’t know the first thing about understructure before that class, and now I am just taking the first baby steps into it. My entire collection is based off of corsets now.”

Egan, who is coordinating OSU’s involvement in Portland Fashion Week, will show off her lingerie and evening wear designs Thursday.

The event is intended to put Portland fashion on the map, but it’s also a chance for OSU to display its design program, according to Egan.

“We want to merge our department with what’s happening in Portland’s fashion scene. This also gives our students an event to look forward to and create crazy, off-the-wall designs,” she said.

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.

At a glance

Portland Fashion Week began Oct. 20, and continues through Friday. Thursday’s show features the designs of Oregon State University faculty, students and alumni.

Melissa Ward, Tonja Schreiber, Alaina Shea, Diem Le, Marianne Egan, Morgan Trove, Lenore Semperviren and Laura Nash of Gowns by Laura all will participate.

The reception begins at 7 p.m., followed by the fashion show at 8. The event takes place on the 43rd floor of the U.S. Bancorp Tower, 111 S.W. Fifth Ave., Portland.

General admission tickets cost $10 ($15 at the door), and VIP passes cost $30 ($40 at the door). Entrance to after-parties is $10.

Details on today’s and Friday’s shows are available online at www.portlandfashionweek.net, where tickets can be purchased.