Tampa Bay Fashion Week just wrapped up our 8th annual event (Sept. 16-19, 2015)! This year came with a new designer-centric format – instead of a runway show, we held trunk shows as well as fashion presentations. Our designer trunk shows were held at what we called PURE Haus (PURE = Pop Up Retail Experience).

PURE Haus was held at International Plaza and Bay Street and allowed people to meet with the designers and shop their collections. Our pop-up shop was open the duration of the mall hours (10am-9pm), and at designated times during our week, fashion lovers and the public enjoyed a presentation of the designers collections on display.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16 and Thursday, Sept. 17, the following fashion designers showed:

Accessuri by Rachana Suri: A focus on eco-organic fashion with a purpose of giving women a choice to purchase earth-sustaining products. Rachana also uses her clothing line to bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking and how to stop the epidemic. Rachana shares her mission on ABC Action News here.

Accessuri by Rachana Suri

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Allison Elizabeth Design by Allison Bailey: This is Allison Bailey’s first time showing in Tampa Bay Fashion Week, and she showed her latest swimwear collection at this year’s event, highlighting high-waisted styles, lace and more and boldly highlighting women’s confidence!

Allison Elizabeth Designs by Allison Bailey

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CAITE by Karyn Seo: After 30 years in the industry Karyn believed that by launching her own company she would be able to be the best mother when her daughter was born while maintaining a strong and healthy career in the fashion industry. Karyn showcased a contemporary clothing collection with unique embroidery designed for all women.

Caite by Karyn Seo

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Jessica Martinez: A recent graduate from Sanford Brown IADT School of Design, Jessica brought her one-of-a-kind designs, all made by hand. She is excited about her future in the fashion industry and we’re excited to see where the future takes her!

Jessica Martinez

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Rhonda Shear Couture: Always a showstopper, Rhonda featured her couture dress collection this year, as well as her lounge wear and intimate apparel. The goal for her designs are to embrace the female body and all of it’s curves while remaining comfortable!

Rhonda Shear Couture

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On Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19, we had:

Magenta by Wendy Ohlendorf: From Portland, OR, Wendy brought her modern and romantic one-of-a-kind dresses to our stage. Wendy’s love of creativity and travel are very apparent in her designs, as each piece represented a work of art.

Magenta by Wendy Ohlendorf

Magenta by Wendy Ohlendorf

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Cerulean Blu by Desiree Noisette: Desiree brought us her colorful resort wear collection based out of St. Petersburg, FL, with soft fabrics and artistic designs. The variety of lengths, styles and colors, make Cerulean Blu’s collection easy transitional pieces to wear any time of the day.

Cerulean Blu by Desiree Noisette

Cerulean Blu by Desiree Noisette

Cerulean Blu by Desiree Noisette

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Be-Bops Custom Swimwear by Priscilla Kidder: Priscilla is committed to providing custom swimwear that helps women feel more confident in what they wear. Her goal is to help all women feel beautiful and comfortable while wearing swimwear that flatters in her vintage style, quality collection.

Be-Bops Custom Swimwear by Priscilla Kidder

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Oscar de la Portilla Escandon: Traveling all the way from Cuba, Oscar brought garments that are all hand-painted and vibrant in color. He mixed art, stones and metals into his unique and inspiring Spring 2016 collection.

Oscar de la Portilla Escandon

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Elizabeth Racker Designs: Ready-to-wear apparel that is fashion-forward, Elizabeth brings high-quality garments that are perfect for any occasion. Always staying up on the latest fashion trends, Elizabeth makes sure that what you will be wearing is eye catching and unique!

Elizabeth Carson Racker Designs

Elizabeth Carson Racker Designs

Elizabeth Carson Racker Designs

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In addition to all of the spectacular designers we had showing this year, we also enjoyed a special Student Designer Showcase from Sanford Brown IADT School of Design. The students designers included: Francesca Buot, Jessenia Ocasio and Lakesha Johnson.

Sanford Brown IADT School of Design: Francesca Buot, Jessenia Ocasio and Lakesha Johnson

This year’s beneficiary Dress For Success, and we held a purse drive the duration of the PURE Haus event. Thank you to those who donated purses! Dress For Success helps women thrive in their work and life. The mission of Dress for Success Tampa Bay is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women to thrive in work and in life.

We appreciate all of you who came out to support Tampa Bay Fashion Week! If you have pictures you would like to share, we invite you to use #TBFW #FWTB #TBFASHIONWEEK!

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~FWTB Stylista Rechael