As rumors continue to circulate about the supposedly upcoming Merge event scheduled vaguely for sometime this fall, date and time TBA, participants and events TBA, the PR contact has left unanswered my last two inquiries regarding the event. Is it going to be on Sept 25? No response. Can you confirm that this event has been canceled? No response. The most recent post on the Merge Facebook page appears to be FaceSpam, "Hey I have great news. Did you know that if you have a computer you can start making money right now ?" Etc. Likewise, the formerly bubbly Twitter account went from regular posts like "The best accessory is your personality! What quality do you admire that complements fabulous fashion? A smile? Charm? Elegance?" to absolute silence after "PDX Fashion Friday!" was declared on August 27. So... is it safe to say it's off? I'm going to go ahead and assume it's off.
But, never fear, the intrepid Jillian Rabe, who always seems to be neck deep in various fashion-y concept projects, has put together another event for this evening's opening night of the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (is that redundant?) running through this Friday the 10th. It's open to the public, but tickets for those not already registered for the conference are going for $35. For that price you'll see lines like Looptworks, Clair Vintage, and Carolyn Hart.
Clik here to view.
Your green for green tourism. Other suggestions for conference goers if they want to explore Portland's eco-conscious fashion landscape: Head down to Stars to check out Frocky Jack Morgan's one-of-a-kinds, up to Redux for a huge selection of materials re-purposed into accessories—in fact the whole 811 E Burnside building is packed with plenty of designer store/studios where you'll find tons of small-production clothing and accessory lines (Sword + Fern, Haunt), plus of course, the always-green vintage option (Golden Rule, Bombshell, a million great places all over the city). While you're at it, call up a small apparel producer like the Portland Garment Factory to see if they'll show you around the studio, where Portland designers come to have their small runs of apparel produced locally. Likewise, area designers like Adam Arnold and Liza Rietz produce almost all of their output as it's ordered, and are great examples of small fashion businesses that produce high fashion with minimal waste.
Just to name a few.
