Apparel Magazine Newsletter 1/22/2009

March 1-5 Aspen, CO. Aspen Fashion Week On the agenda: The first-ever Aspen Fashion Week seeks to fill a void by shining a spotlight on the booming skiwear industry; it will serve as a consumer showcase and industry marketplace for winter sports products, a fast-growing sector that took in nearly $3 billion last year, including $661 million in apparel, $663 million in accessories, and $571 million in equipment sales, according to Snowsports Industry of America. According to its organizers, Aspen Fashion Week will celebrate fashion Aspen-style, with nightly fashion events, in-store presentations, and après-ski soirees. Luxury retail stores throughout downtown Aspen will host 15 designers as they present their Winter 2009/2010 collections to fashion buyers, media, and customers from around the world, offering a sneak preview of next winter's looks.

Women's Wear Daily; 12/23/2008

First Ever Aspen Fashion Week to Debut in March by Peter Kray

Aspen, Colo. (Ski Press)-The first-ever Aspen Fashion Week will shine a spotlight on the booming skiwear industry from March 1-5, 2009.

Aspen Fashion Week will serve as a consumer showcase and industry marketplace for winter sports products, a fast-growing sector that took in nearly $3 billion last year, including $661 million in apparel, $663 million in accessories, and $571 million in equipment sales, according to Snowsports Industry of America.

Combining the stunning backdrop of the Rockies with Bryant Park glamour, Aspen Fashion Week will celebrate fashion Aspen-style, with nightly fashion events, in-store presentations, and après-ski soirees. Luxury retail stores throughout downtown Aspen will host an estimated 15 designers as they present their Winter 2009/2010 collections to fashion buyers, media, and customers from around the world, offering a sneak preview of next winter's hottest looks. Organizers said that the event will expand in 2010 with full-scale runway productions.

The event is the brainchild of Lisa Johnson, the former vice president of the Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) and an avid skier and fashion enthusiast. During her tenure at ACRA, Johnson oversaw marketing and promotion for Aspen's signature annual events, including the Food & Wine Classic and HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. “Winter sports and resorts attract 6 million of the most affluent, influential, and athletic consumers in America, and while more and more leading designers are catering to this A-list group, up until now there have been no flagship fashion events to reflect this trend,” said Johnson. “With Aspen's status as the king of ski resorts and winter culture, Aspen Fashion Week is ideally suited to be an important stop on the annual fashion week circuit.”

Slope-Side Fashion Events - Aspen Fashion Week Targets Chic Snow-Bunnies

The inaugural Aspen Fashion Week will occur from March 1-5, 2009. Each night, glamorous affairs will feature the “Mountain Lifestyle” in winter sporting goods and fashions through in-store events and parties for the snow-savvy.
Approximately 15 designers will flaunt their Winter 2009/2010 collections to those in attendance, which will include media and fashion buyers. What better venue is there than the majestic Rocky Mountains to unveil the latest in slope-side gear?
Sponsors of the ground-breaking affair include W Magazine and the St. Regis Aspen resort.

Aspen Fashion Week 2009

The first ever Aspen Fashion Week (March 1-5) promises to bring haute couture to the mountains. Founded by resident fashionista Lisa Johnson, the event will showcase designer skiwear, winter resort and snowboarding fashions, plus accessories. At the very least, it will provide one more reason to book a spring mountain vacation....

First-Ever Aspen Fashion Week Slated for March

The first week of coming March will bring something unique to Aspen. The city famous for its skiing resorts will witness fashion models engaged in catwalks. Lisa Johnson, former Director of Marketing, Aspen Chamber Resort Association, is set to bring inaugural Aspen Fashion Week from the first to fifth of march in 2009.

However, the inaugural fashion week is not going to be a mega event. It will consist only of on-mountain parties, in-store presentations and after-hours parties. Hopefully, the second version slated to be held in 2010 will see a substantially upgraded sequel. Because that edition will see the use of white tents and runways reminiscent of New York Fashion Week.

Though organizing a fashion week in Aspen, a heaven for ski lovers, has raised many eyebrows, Lisa Johnson is pretty hopeful and predicts a healthy fashion business in the town. The former director termed the fashion show as "a perfect marriage of fashion and winter ski culture."
The theme of the fashion week, though not announced officially, seem to highlight this relation. According to Johnson, about 12 designers will come with self-designed fashion apparel reflecting the mountain culture. The models are expected to put on "winter resort wear, ski and snowboard apparel and fashion accessories representing the mountain lifestyle."

Johnson took almost one and a half year to materialize her dream. She describes her job as a director of marketing for Aspen Chamber Resort Association as the real inspiration to organize such a fashion week. According to a report, the job forced her to think of the next big event in town."I wondered why, with all the high-end retail, in a town that really is the king of ski resorts and winter culture, there wasn't something that specifically focused on fashion," Johnson says. "It's something that's in all of our lives, for locals and tourists, whether it's walking around town or looking good on the hill."But this fashion week seems not to open its doors to everyone. "We're going to really focus on media in year one. Media, people in the fashion industry and just key people in the fashion world so that it can grow in the future,” Johnson reported. Surely, the common fashion lovers have to wait, at least upto the second show.

Aspen Fashion Week 2009

Aspen Fashion Week 2009 will be held at TBC from March 01 - 05, 2009. The Aspen Fashion Week is a destination fashion event designed to showcase and market winter resort, ski and technical outerwear in the home and playground of the most stylish consumers. With informal presentations, apres showings, on-mountain events and late night fashionable soirees, 2009 will launch the hottest fashion event to hit the Rockies.