This will be my first blog post since moving from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia this year! This past September I had the opportunity to attend one of the fashion shows during Philly Fashion Week (PFW) 2018. It was really exciting to see the difference between fashion weeks in both cities. It was also great to get my first taste of the Philadelphia fashion scene and meet some of the photographers here as well. But here I’m going to talk more about PFW, the designer whose show I attended and the runway show itself!
Since 2006, PFW has been bringing together all aspects of the Philadelphia fashion community by hosting fashion events, to include runway shows, mixers, and seminars. Each year designers, stylists, MUAs, models, photographers, bloggers and more come together from all over the Greater Philadelphia area and surrounding metros to be a part of this fashion filled week. Produced by Kevin Parker & Kerry Scott, the majority of the 2018 PFW events took place in the Philadelphia City Hall and Dillworth Park from September 24-30. Across nine runways shows, PFW brought us street-wear, formal, curvy, kids, and Avant-garde fashion. The fashion show that I had the opportunity to cover was the Conrad Booker La Grande Carnival, which was located in the North Portal of Philadelphia City Hall on September 25th.
Conrad Booker is an American fashion designer and an artist who has been in the industry since 1990. Conrad’s fashion pieces are artistic creations inspired by architectural design. I would compare his work to the likes of major designers such as Iris van Herpen and Paco Rabanne. Along with Conrad’s interesting fashion wears, he is also known for his oversized handbags and accessories.
This was the first year Conrad Booker had a solo runway show during PFW. Themed for the circus, this runway was equipped with a woman on stilts, a ringmaster, an aerial dancer, and masked ladies modeling a compilation of Conrad’s collections. The aerialist performed throughout the show on her apparatus centered in the North Portal of City Hall, while models strutted the runway between the pillars. Conrad showed every aspect of his design repertoire including Avant-garde gowns, extreme headpieces, oversized handbags, and custom shoes. One of my favorite looks of the night was this gown of braids and flowers with pink pumps, silver face mask, and round headpiece. See more pictures from the runway below.
Just by seeing this one show, I can’t wait to see what else the Philly fashion scene has to offer. I look forward to going to more fashion events throughout the year, but I especially look forward to next year’s PFW. I would also love to see more of Conrad Booker’s work as well. I am really interested in doing a photoshoot involving his handbag designs. I think we could create some beautiful imagery together!
