4 minute read

Fashion is a family affair

By Rory Harbert

Astylish four-year-old dances as a DJ, his face covered in silver bling, creates an energetic atmosphere with bumping music and flashing lights. People, dressed for the occasion, start to take seats and line up against the wall. Then even more arrived. Patio chairs, benches and stools—the neatly arranged folding chairs were not enough for the large crowd eagerly streaming in, moments before the start of the event to see the dazzling display of garments put together by local designers and stylists.

Advertisement

Blo Back Gallery and Southern Colorado Fashion, a local fashion collective, hosted the stylish event on Jan. 21. This was Southern Colorado Fashion’s first event of this kind.

DJ Deuce, wearing a striking custom silver mask made by Ray, introduced the designers and their models as well as the dancing group, who set the scene. SouthPaq dance crew, worked the circuit, giving the audience a front-and-center look at the intricate choreography from each member.

The fashion showcase included an array of collections: Customs by Ray (Ray Tiscareno) with handmade mixed-media pieces; Kween Kreations (Kei Kreator) specializing in tie-dyed apparel; Pueblo Drip (Jai Von Westphalen) with sustainable, vintage fashion; and Love Gives Art (Ginna Alejandra Pollock) sharing her “#wearableart.”

Ray’s manager is his wife, Schakara Tiscareno, who is the CEO, founder, director and producer behind Southern Colorado Fashion. Schakara has been in the fashion industry for a decade, having even walked the runway for the Fall New York Fashion Week in 2017. The two have a son together named Muki. Ray and Muki walked the catwalk, hand-in-hand, during the curtain call, where the designers got their due and were applauded for their work.

Schakara explains that the two did not meet because of fashion, but that Schakara’s experiences in fashion piqued Ray’s interest in starting his own line.

“It’s interesting, I started in fashion,” she said. “But he really didn’t have any idea of it. So, he really was just my biggest support coming into my events. Then after we had our son, he just wanted a stress reliever… So, we’ve kind of gone full circle. It was never something that he had done with intention. It just naturally fostered and happened from a hobby.”

Ray Tiscareno’s creations begin with inspiration from other fashion enthusiasts and then he builds off it, asking himself, “whoa, I like that, but what if….” With this vision in mind, his goal is to keep his custom pieces accessible.

“My collection is really based on bringing quality

Southern Colorado Fashion creates art and community

that exposure to Pueblo, so they can be able to express what they want. “ of clothing with a reasonable price,” Tiscareno said. “I didn’t come from a background of money, so I felt lucky whenever I had a new piece of clothing.”

The event not only showcased Southern Colorado fashion but turned the spotlight to a team of diverse and dedicated models. The 15 models that kept the crowd entranced were: Angelo Rodriguez, Addison Doub, Caitlyn Resch, Sai Hudspeth, Luke Woods III, Courtney Lehrer, Devonta Woods, Larissa Chavez, Ryan Alishio, Devlin Schumacher, Zacharia Nicola, Nekia Seaberry, Forest Archuleta-Soto, Katrina Driggers and Morgan Cox.

Jai Von Westphalen is the stylist behind Pueblo Drip, a LGBTQ+ and latin-owned thrift shop located 416 N. Santa Fe Ave. They collected vintage pieces and styled all of the outfits for their models. Around 20 pieces appeared in the show, all sourced from their secondhand shop. Westphalen said that sustainability is important, which is a motivating factor in how they see fashion.

“I think it is a good time to normalize wearing something that has been used, breathe new life into it and making it in your own,” Westphalen said.

Ray finds the process of making custom clothing “stress-relieving,” but only if it’s a challenge.

“If I feel like making a piece is too easy, it’s not the piece I want to make,” Ray said. “I want to make a piece that I am going to mess up once or twice on, learn from it and come back to be able to make it quality.”

Joking about Ray and Schakara being called a power couple in the local fashion scene, Schakara replied, “I can appreciate it. With any relationship you want to lean on each other’s strengths, try to foster [them] without judgment, and providing grace with our weaknesses. That’s a great way for us to collab and come together.”

Southern Colorado Fashion was built to bridge the gap between talent and access, an access to a platform, resources and community.

“We have the resources, we have the talent, we have everything we need here in Southern Colorado,” Schakara said. “There just hasn’t been a platform.”

Ray, who works as a forklift operator in a warehouse in addition to making apparel, sympathizes with artists who need to make a profit or at least cover travel costs when showing their fashion.

“I feel like there is some artists that are just holding in their talent because they don’t have the means to make it down to Denver or somewhere where they can get exposed,’ Ray said. “Our mission is to bring

Westphalen explained that using older garments is not a problem for creating unique styles.

“It is actually easier, knowing that you can clash older style eras and mix-and-match with modern and make it your own,” they said.

Nekia Seaberry, friends with Westphalen, says whenever her friends need someone to “walk around and be ostentatious in public,” she is the first one they call. Seaberry moved from New York in 2014.

“You get to see a lot of different outfits and style, coming from a big city,” Seaberry said. “So, I think I brought that big city mentality to Pueblo.”

Seaberry said she is excited to participate in the next showcase in April.

“The other models are so sweet,” Seaberry said. “There’s a family energy where you take care of each other… I love that sort of community you get to build in events like this.”

Customs by Ray can be found at Independent Records on 420 W. Fourth Street. Kween Kreations will be showing “Everything You Can Dream in BLACK’’ with Unique Week of Fashion on Feb. 10 at the Mirius Gallery at 1144 Broadway in Denver. Pollock hosts a community-based project called Pueblo Gives Art, which is hosting the “Love Me, Love Me Not” vendor market at 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 11 and 12 at Renewed Wholesale, located at 720 S. Main Street. Westphalen’s Pueblo Drip will also be there. Pollock’s work can be found at The Sacred Bean and Eclectic Company.

STRIKE A POSE!

Blo Back Gallery hosted Southern Colorado Fashion’s first showcase. Four designers sent their wearable art down the catwalk on 15 talented models.

This article is from: