Syracuse Fashion Week came from a local designer with a knack for putting on a good show, and now it’s entering its fourth year.

Lisa Butler, who has a background in theater, started her design business in 2004 and began hosting fashion shows to promote it. After Butler staged several shows in the Syracuse area, other designers began asking her if they could collaborate with her. In 2010 Butler began Syracuse Style, an annual fashion show. Four years later, Syracuse Fashion Week was born.

The Daily Orange spoke with Butler to learn more about Syracuse Fashion Week, which runs from April 26-29.

The Daily Orange: Can you tell me a little bit about the different events and what distinguishes each of them?

Lisa Butler: Our first is called the Landmark Theatre Window Project… We found windows that face out on Clinton Street and Jefferson Street. For one hour, we put a live model in the window. It’s really cool.

Next week, we start with the actual runway shows. This year, we are presenting all original designers…It’s what we’ve been working toward for years, and it’s finally come to fruition. There will be individually owned local boutiques showing and also some Syracuse students. It’s going to be a very elegant event.

Saturday night is the underground show. It sells out every year. It’s cool. It’s a small venue and when it’s sold out, it’s sold out.

Sunday is a 3 p.m. matinee out in Cazenovia. We have a really fun assortment of stores and designers out there. Family friendly — we’re showing children’s looks, a lot of original designers and we’ve got balloon animals, face painters, farm animals, so it’s going to be a really cute show. Every year we make sure people get a really good value.

The D.O.: How has the event evolved as time has passed?

L.B.: Every event has a different history. (Something) that I like to accentuate is bringing people to places and venues in Syracuse that they might not have been to before. The Hotel Syracuse reopened a couple of years ago, and I think it’s important to bring people back to the space to see the beautiful architecture. We’ve done things at historical mansions, CrossFit gyms … I like to have unique venues to bring people to.

One of my personal goals this year was to make our production values a little better, to really emphasize the show in addition to the fashion, so I hope we’re able to achieve that. A lot of people do fashion shows, but sometimes you just walk down the runway and walk back, so we like to have a high production value, great lighting designer, interesting little set pieces, and hopefully it will be theatrical as well as fashionable.

The D.O.: How many designers are you showcasing? Is there a tryout process for them to be in the shows?

L.B.: I think last time I counted there (were) 48 different designers, boutiques and stores that we are showcasing. … People will come to me, and I’ll say no to a couple of people when I don’t think their items will make a cohesive collection or show. Many people I have worked with before, and I know they’re going to bring something to the table. I do have a couple of brand new people who have never done this kind of thing before.

The D.O.: Anything else you feel we should know?

L.B.: Additionally, I just want to say that we’ve raised money and awareness for the Food Bank of Central New York. So, we always donate a portion of our proceeds there.

(And) I say, especially to men that might balk at the idea of their significant other going to a fashion show, many men are really surprised when they sit and watch a show at how wonderful it is. It’s not just fashion or something you see on TV. It’s an actual show.

We brew a beautiful signature beer, called Runway Rose. It is a light ale and it’s pink, brewed with rose hips and lemon. So, if you get bored with the show, grab a beer.

This year, we have clothes for men, women and children. The children designers, we’ve always had maybe one. This year, we’ve got three. And we also have a junior portion of the show. It’s kind of fun to see children on the runway. They don’t get nervous, they are fearless and they’re, of course, cute.

The other thing is, especially at the gala, you’re not going to see clothing per se during some of these sets. They’re fantasy, they’re avant-garde, others that are just bringing very different looks.

Published on April 17, 2018 at 9:18 pm

Contact Neha: ntandon@syr.edu