Celebrity designers to participate in 6th annual Benicia Fashion Runway Weekend
Emmy Award-winner and Oscar nominee Patricia Field will be the featured designer this year for the Benicia Fashion Runway Weekend that starts Friday and runs three days.
Other noted designers also will participate this year, said promoter Christina Strawbridge, owner of Christina S Fashion Destination and City Council member.
Field received an Emmy for her costume design for HBO’s “Sex and the City,” and she was nominated for an Oscar for the film “The Devil Wears Prada.”
Also attending this year is David Dalrymple, designer for “The House of Field” whose couture will be shown as the finale of the runway show, Strawbridge said.
Dalrymple designs custom pieces for such entertainers as Beyonce, Britney Spears, Pink, Jennifer Lopez, Lil’ Kim, Bette Midler and other celebrities.
Returning this year is Richard Hallmarq, who appeared on Season 11 of the show “Project Runway.” He will bring his recent New York Fashion Week collection.
Also participating this year is Emily Payne, a current “Project Runway” contestant. The San Francisco designer will bring Leathertongue, her high-end streetwear label, Strawbridge said.
Strawbridge’s own store, Christina S, 370 First St., and Be Chic Boutique, 309 First St., will show the fall collections of their exclusive designers. The two stores annually collaborate on the event, the proceeds of which partly go to the Benicia State Parks Association. The event has contributed $2,200 to the nonprofit parks group in the last three years, Strawbridge said.
Benicia Fashion Runway Weekend began as a Benicia Main Street program, but when that nonprofit’s fall calendar began filling, Strawbridge and other merchants took it on independently.
They concentrated on promoting Benicia as a fashion, beauty and spa destination. Two years ago, the event shifted to the Arsenal, but last year Strawbridge brought it back to First Street where patrons can take advantage of downtown restaurant dining and shopping between attending fashion events.
“We focused on the talent this year. We’re stepping the event up five notches,” Strawbridge said.
She said celebrity participation began when Hallmarq walked into Christina S four years ago, before he appeared on “Project Runway.”
The two developed a business relationship that led to his participation not only in last year’s Benicia Fashion Runway Weekend but also the annual fashion show that benefits the Community Action Council.Hallmarq has worked with Field, who invited him to participate in New York Fashion Week. After last year’s Benicia show, Hallmarq told Strawbridge, “I think we can get Patricia” for the local fashion weekend.
Field and Hallmarq in turn helped encourage the other designers to participate in the event. “He’s very generous with the people he knows,” Strawbridge said.
Also participating are Julian Chang, who designs sophisticated evening wear in Miami and clothes such stars as Britney Spears and Gloria Estefan; and Arturo Rios, whose vintage and contemporary hat designs are worn by Lady Gaga, Tyra Banks and Paris Hilton.
This is Field’s first appearance in the Bay Area, but she’s helping to make her visit to Benicia memorable and in keeping with the show for which she won an Emmy, Strawbridge said.
Strawbridge had asked if anything from “Sex and the City” might be available for display during the event, and Field had an item in mind but had specific requirements — Strawbridge must have a mannequin, and it must be a pretty one, not a featureless, abstract model.
Strawbridge assured her she had one, so Field agreed to bring the famous pink tulle tutu that Sarah Jessica Parker, who starred as Carrie Bradshaw, wore during the opening credits of “Sex and the City.” The skirt will be displayed throughout the weekend show.
Benicia Fashion Runway Weekend starts at 6 p.m. at The Rellik Tavern, 726 First St., with a celebration of Field’s career, “Film, Fashion and Cosmos.” Strawbridge said the event includes some informal modeling, Absolut’s cosmo tastings and clips from shows and movies on which Field has worked.
All-day, in-store trunk shows, style demonstrations and special appearances will take place Saturday at participating stores, Strawbridge said. A pre-show reception, “Wine and Fashionable Tastes,” will start at 6 p.m. at Treasury of Commons, First and D streets.
The Grand Finale Runway Show will start at 7 p.m., featuring Field, fashions of The House of Field by Dalrymple, Hallmarq’s New York Fashion Week collection and Payne’s Project Runway Season 13 fashions as well as Fall 2014 ready-to-wear designs from Christina S Fashion Destination and Be Chic Boutique.
During the event, a collector item, a red tutu paper dress from Papyrus, will be sold at auction, Strawbridge said. Another prized item for the auction is a Sex in the City book Field will sign. Both items’ sales will benefit the Benicia State Parks Association. After the runway show, stores will stay open until 10 p.m. for “Shop the Night Away.”
The fashion weekend resumes from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday with “It’s a Wrap,” a continuation of trunk shows and in-store fashion events.
Friday event tickets are $30 and Saturday tickets are $40, available at Be Chic Boutique, 309 First St.; Christina S Fashion Destination, 380 First St.; Studio 41, 700 First St.; Benicia Main St., 90 First St.; and online at www.beniciafashionrunway.com.
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