Portland Garment Factory will blow your mind

Britt Howard, the brilliant designer behind the Portland Garment FactoryPortland Garment Factory’s visionary clothing will keep you on your toes. In a manner typical for her work she takes things farther than you would expect and pulls it off with mastery and grace. Her latest show broke all fashion show conventions as her models wandered with searching eyes through Ron Toms Bar along a runway snaking through the interior, around the bar and out into the late evening sun. Along the way models slipped out of and into new layers, a kaliedescope of simple shapes shifting before our eyes. Live music played on the main stage adding to the immediacy of the event. Britt is all about reinterpretation and reinvention. Models carried clutches fashioned from a patchwork material that as it passed on the runway may be carpet padding. Some dresses shimmer with an air of industrial fabric that, draped elegantly on her models sent a buzz of “I need that” through the crowd. What a privilege to be a part of this evening.