By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A group of local designers aim to push Rockford’s fashion forward with a first-of-its-kind runway show inside Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens.
The Gilden Paradise Fashion Show will feature styles from Kelvin Candie, Cre8tive Genius, RKFD and Collettia Berryhill. It’s the first fashion show ever held inside the conservatory’s glass house and a fitting end for what Candie, the event’s creator, has branded Fashion Week Rockford.
“To have an event like this at the conservatory, it’s something that has never been done before,” Candie said. “It will be a great thing to get the city involved, apart from the Fashion Week, to just share this moment and say we made history together.”
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The event begins at 5 p.m. Saturday at the conservatory, 1354 N. Second St. The show makes creative use of the space with the walkways inside the tropical glass house serving as the runway.
Candie, the designer behind the brand The High & Mighty, has previously held Fashion in Bloom shows at Rockford Art Museum. In this new show, the goal is to give local designers a chance to showcase their brands and create a little healthy competition among designers.
“By creating this podium, in the long run it improves how we create our products as people in Rockford,” Candie said.
Berryhill, who offers free sewing classes to anyone who wants to learn at Cleta’s Stay and Sew, 1029 S. Main St., is both a designer in the show and the guest of honor.
“One of the reasons I want her in the fashion show is to bring awareness to what she’s doing,” Candie said. “We’ll be honoring her for what she’s doing so far.”
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He also hopes the show can help inspire the next generation of designers.
“Seeing is believing,” Candie said. “Hopefully when they see a fashion show like that it can spark something and they can pursue that path.”
About | Gilded Paradise Fashion Show
When: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23
Where: Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, 1354 N. Second St., Rockford
How much: $35 general runway seating; $300 for VIP seating
Tickets/info: nicholasconservatory.com/events/paradise-fashion-show
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas