#emma berg

[letoilemagazine]

April may be the cruelest month, but in Minneapolis, it happens to be the most fashionable. In her column this week, Beth Hammarlund previews the biggest local fashion shows coming this month, including shows by Emma Berg, Joynoelle, Envision, The I Am Everything benefit show, and more.

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[letoilemagazine]

by Beth Hammarlund

In just three short years, Dress Rehearsal has gone from being held in a private residence to the Jaguar dealership in Minnetonka to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. That’s some serious upward trajectory. The annual benefit, brainchild of local power couple Cory and Stephanie Lake,  showcases vintage designer looks from private collections, a pop-up jewelry boutique for Stephanie Lake Designs, and a runway presentation of looks by Emma Berg. This year, the exclusive event was co-hosted by the MIA’s Friends of the Institute and served as the one and only full presentation of Berg’s Fall/Winter 2013 Collection. Proceeds from the event will be used to fund new youth-oriented film-making and storytelling programs at the MIA.

The presentation began with a dazzling selection of vintage treasures. A gold-threaded 1960s Christian Dior wool suit made a stunning appearance, as did a painstakingly beaded vintage chemise and a lavender ruched Sybil Connolly gown. A five-pound Naeem Khan golden tunic and a custom cotton candy pink tulle coat both earned audible gasps from the audience. My personal favorites were a Felicity Brown ombré gown, a Paco Rabanne plastic fringed tunic, a canary yellow fairy tale dress with by Bullock’s Wilshire, and a mod Martin Starr gown covered in sparkling paillettes. Several of these looks made appearances at last year’s event (most memorably the Dior suit and the custom tulle coat), but they were certainly worth the encore presentation.

Christian Dior Wool Suit

Bullock's Wilshire Empire Dress

Vintage Beaded Chemise

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[faceugly]

Tonight was amazing

[letoilemagazine]

This week check out new designer consignment shop Mona Williams in Northeast Minneapolis, head to JCPenney to see the latest designer collaboration lines, and take in fashion shows from Joynoelle and Dress Rehearsal, which will debut new pieces from Stephanie Lake Design and Emma Berg alongside vintage couture.

NOW OPEN

Mona Williams

@ 18 University Ave NE Minneapolis

Hours: 11 am-6 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays

Named for a fashion idol from Kentucky, Mona Williams was the first American to be declared Best Dressed Woman in the World in 1933 by the top Paris designers. Now Mona Williams has become the newest designer vintage consignment shop in Minneapolis. Founder Patric Richardson ran designer apparel at Nordstrom for ten years, so it is safe to say he knows high style. Find all the top brand name labels like Versace, Yigal Azrouël, Zang Toi, Jason Wu and more. Among his finds are Lanvin ballet flats and Louis Vuitton purses, priced at 25 to 33 percent of the original retail price. Carrying everything from vintage to last seasons’ best, Mona Williams is sure to make a glamorous addition to Northeast.

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[letoilemagazine]

By Beth Hammarlund

Last night, devotees of the local fashion scene packed Cosmos Restaurant in the Graves 601 Hotel for a glimpse at Emma Berg’s upcoming Fall/Winter 2013 Collection. The full collection won’t hit the runway until Dress Rehearsal, an annual fundraiser using fine design to promote exposure to the arts for disadvantaged youth on March 7 at the MIA, but Berg chose to participate in Minneapolis-St. Paul Fashion Week by giving her patrons and supporters a little taste of what to expect next month. There was no runway show. Instead, Berg presented her looks in a salon-style presentation, with models from Vision Management Group atop pedestals to showcase looks from the designer’s Spring/Summer 2013 Collection — which debuted last Fashion Week last September — and seven teaser looks from her Fall/Winter 2013 Collection. In between both 15-minute showcases, a group of male models showed off polished looks provided by Highcroft Merch, a new boutique located in the Graves from former Elsworth owner and local retail vet Keith Dorsett.

Head to letoilemagazine.com to read the full review

[letoilemagazine]

By Beth Hammarlund

Minneapolis-St. Paul Fashion Week is well underway and last night’s runway presentation at the Graves Hotel featured an impressive round-up of local talent, including several designers who will be presenting full collections later in the week. The Red Dress Collection highlights local designers and local models, all showing off an interpretation of the classic red dress. All proceeds from the ticket sales and silent auction benefit Go Red, the American Heart Association’s initiative for women.

Thom Navarro and his lovely models

Hosted by the CW Twin Cities’ Carly Aplin, the event opened with Maria Legatt, a survivor of heart disease who shared her personal battles with the audience. Legatt wore a gown by Thom Navarro, who also dressed an adorable seven year-old survivor who accompanied Legatt down the runway. Though Legatt’s dress wasn’t my favorite of the evening, I adored the pint-size party dress that Navarro created. Designing for children is a tricky business, but Navarro’s design was charming and appropriate. And judging by his young model’s joyous turn down the runway, she loved it just as much as the audience.

Head over to l'étoile to read more

[letoilemagazine]

As New York Fashion Week winds down, Minnesota’s version kicks off. Minneapolis-St. Paul Fashion Week — rebranded from MNfashion Week in 2012 — offers a tasty little slice of what’s happening in local fashion. Things kick off with this weekend’s Red Dress Collection, featuring red dresses by a bevy of local design talent. Things continue next week with showings from Emma Berg and a new slew of emerging designers, plus a show featuring local resale and vintage shops at the MIA on Thursday. MSPFW’s crown jewel, the Shows, ends the week on a high note with highly-anticipated collections from local designers Max Lohrbach and Ivan Idland, who haven’t shown since 2011, plus local favorites Samantha Rei, Christopher Straub and Caroline Hayden.

Click HERE to read the guide!