Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

and finally…

What do you get when you cross a – fashionister in skinny pants, polka dot bow tie, thick curled pomaded, tri-color hair with –  a skinny, hip, young & clever looking, green-haired fashionista girl wearing black from head to toe?   Why of course, it’s photographers at the 2015, fundraiser fashion show.

The En Vogue Goodwill Fashion show, welcomed Emmy award-winning Tim Gunn and Denver’s own Mondo Guerra, to the cirque d’cool on Thursday night.

Of course it was snowing like a tasmanian devil outside. But that mattered little to the sold-out extravaganza, where fashionistas of all ages gathered at Union Station, come hell or ten foot snow.

Always a sell-out, this event benefits Goodwill’s career development programs. Mondo Guerra, wearing a self-designed tight-fitting Matisse-inspired black & white suit, polished off his look with spit-shined patent leather shoes and no socks. He told the audience how he loves Goodwill thrift stores. When he was just falling in love with fashion & design he spent lots of time and, little money, in thrift stores. He’d take the clothes home, take them apart to study the design, the stitching and fabric. It paid off. He was winner on the debut season of Project Runway All Stars. Today he has a clothes line and an exclusive eyewear collection inspired by pop culture.

Tim Gunn, “Under the Gunn,” a co-host and mentor of Lifetime’s Project Runway, met Mondo during season eight and, as they say, the rest is history. Gunn said each year when he’s en route to the west, he starts to think of Denver girls. He envisions them in jeans, boots, hats, big winter coats. But when he gets here, he is thrilled to see the fashion conscience females in this Western metropolitan city. He mentioned great taste in boots, sweaters, scarfs, jewelry and the creative mixing of stylish vintage and high fashion. Pat yourself on the back Denver Girlie Q’s.

The select fashion designers were high school students under Mondo’s directions. He suggested they create designs that were reminiscent of fleeting fashions which passed through these marbled walls of the hundred year old Union Station.  They listened and went to work; elegantly mixing a Great Gatsby look with hip, sassy Western style that showed maturity and serious fashion-astute design talent.

…And the audience was pretty cool, too.

Fashion in Denver. Pay attention. Next up, the Paper Fashion show next month…