Words and picture by Olla Ubay

Sacramento Fashion Week is not the event to discover that there is a huge run in my tights. This is, after all, where people who have a love affair with clothing go to see the best of Sacramento’s fashion.

Dressed in a bohemian kimono and 6-inch platforms, I felt confident among the printed skinny jeans and perfect pouted red lips. I sat down to watch the show and then found the rip from toe to thigh. How embarrassing.

But, back to the business at hand. Sacramento Fashion Week was created to bridge together the work of fashion artists(designers, models, photographers) with the entrepreneurs of fashion (store owners, modeling and talent agencies) Sacramento Fashion Week hosted its ninth event this past week. The week-long affair launched with showcases of local boutiques, which showed off latest fashions and then two nights of local designer shows.

The local designer showcases ranged in artistry. There were well-tailored wearable pieces and high fashion lit-up sculptures, as well as excellently executed other-worldly wonders.

There were fairy princesses in flowing laced skirts and dresses by Gina Sanchez. The models wore ethereal drapey pastels with stiff antlers.

Eastern Asian, Indian and African traditional cultural influences were clearly present in Peter Srichan’s men’s and women’s wear.

Rebecca Cahua gave audience members bad-ass swimwear fit for Cleopatra as modeled by hard-bodied beautiful models. Head jewelry coupled with strappy one and two pieces wasn’t just sexy, it was queen-like.

A pink hooded dress by Latiya Gholar (pictured, middle) was the most memorable piece. With a very small skirt opening, it allowed little room for the model to catwalk. Her footsteps ever-so-delicately (but still fiercely) tiptoed down the aisle with spectators cheering her on. She worked it for fashion and we appreciated every small step.

Kimberley Eanes showed the best executed collection (pictured, at right). Every piece was perfectly tailored to the models’ body. There were no short-cuts; her pieces had an exact fit and the formal pieces were fit for an Oscar night. Her casual rompers hugged curves and highlighted a perfect body. I was close to tears when all the models came out to applaud her as I could see every exact line, all the thought she put into the collection and the hours and hours of work that she cut, sewed and pressed to make it to this night. She took a bow and I realized that this moment is what the people behind Sacramento Fashion Week wants to give us.

After the show, I followed the well-dressed crowd out into the main area to congratulate the designers. While high-fiving a model for braving a rough walk while wearing a pair of pinching high heels, another model complimented my choice in shoes. I sheepishly pointed out my massive run in my stockings. She grinned and showed me the bruise on her knee.

“This was from playing soccer.  I walked the runway with it and I didn’t notice until now,” she told me.

Local fashion has come a long way in the nine years that Sacramento Fashion Week has been putting on these events. It gets more glamorous as time goes by but the heart and soul of style here has always been genuine.