For five years, Seattle-based fashion designer Bryce Rail has hosted Pride Fashion Week, a runway show that uplifts the Queer community and promotes gender diversity and inclusivity. The event also raises money for Lambert House, a local LGBTQ+ youth community center, through a silent auction.
The fashion brands sponsoring and debuting designs for this year are Kilvani Designs, Jersey Virago, Painted Lotus Designs, and, of course, Bryce Rail Couture. The show was hosted by Meiko Parton of Mr. Gay World Washington, who is also listed as a sponsor. The Otter Bar & Burger establishment in Eastlake also sponsored the event.
The first catwalk of the show presented garments by Kilvani Designs, a brand that utilizes body chain jewelry in its products. Numerous examples of intricately tailored silver chains were draped over entirely black fabrics. The look was dark yet elegant; one can only admire the enigmatic stoicism displayed not only in the designer's work but also in the body language of the runway models.
The host introduced himself to the crowd in similar Kilvani garb and hosted PFW’s own Mr. Gay Washington competition, complete with an interview with and performance by each of the contestants. Sergei from Russia modeled a burnt-titanium chest piece with ornate spikes resembling olive branches, a look that would later be revealed to be a part of a collection of similar wearable art designed by Bryce Rail Couture in collaboration with Painted Lotus Designs. The next contestant was Bryce Rail himself, modeling a sparkly pantsuit, high heels, and other jewelry — a commanding presence.
A surprise performance ensued from Miss Pierce County: an amazing saxophone solo. It wouldn’t be a Queer performance without a little drag artistry, which was provided by drag queen and designer Sreya Nerraw.
After the intermission, the second catwalk presented styles from Jersey Virago Designs, which made use of an all-white palette, followed by a switch to a purely red one. The white garments were reminiscent of a wedding, while the red, flowy fabric drew visuals of blood escaping a wound, as if the designer were speaking to the struggles the LGBTQ+ community endured to achieve marriage equality. (The combined black, red, and white color schemes are often used to offer a chic, European style, evoking an air of drama, mystery, and grace.) This culminated in a design that didn’t follow the two main palettes; instead it was a light pink, with splotches of blue and white.
The third and final catwalk featured the full collection of chest pieces designed by Bryce Rail Couture and Painted Lotus Designs, alluded to earlier by Sergei. Each had its own colors and design aspects that made them unique in some way, but also similar overall. This all made sense at the end of the show, when the host closed with the message that we are all unique but still one in the same: whether you’re Gay, straight, cis, or Trans, we are all human at the end of the day.
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