The Homer Fiber Arts Collective has offered the community of Homer fall fashion shows for decades but took several years off with the COVID pandemic. The organization brings the event back for a fall 2023 show with “Camp.” Contributions to the show will come from around the state.
Homer’s Wearable Arts fashion show was first started in the community in the 1980s. By the 2000s, fiber artists started producing a show every other year with the most recent show in 2018. The 2018 theme was “Time Traveling: The Retrospective Show.”
The show took a hiatus during the COVID pandemic, but is now back with the theme of “camp.”
The four primary organizers of the event are Kari Multz, Lynne Burt, Ann Margaret Wimmerstedt and Marie Walker. The group decided to bring the show back this year because they were receiving so many public requests and comments, Multz said.
They came up with the theme for the year by trying to think of something that would be inclusive across variations in the community, especially gender.
“The word ‘camp’ has such a diversity of meanings — it doesn’t have to be literal. Some people think of going camping with your family or friends, some people think of something like theater camp, some people think of it as a close group of friends. It’s also something we think of coming to Homer to do and celebrate the beauty of the landscape around us,” Multz said.
The show will entail a primary fashion runway with four stages to spotlight the clothing set to look like different styles of camps. These will include a base camp, an ocean theme camp, a woods camp and a “glamp camp.” The models in the show are campers hitting the runway trail to visit the camps, according to Multz.
“We’re also excited to have a projectionist who is helping us display scenes from around Homer,” said Multz.
The DJs for the evening event will be Sierra Moskios and Tyler Schlieman. The Sea Legs, Homer’s stilt troupe, will also join for appearances throughout the show. There are currently 16 models planning to participate.
Multz said this is probably the last year of planning the event for this group of women and they’re looking to pass the event off to new coordinators. Multz says she’s confident that others in the community will take on Wearable Arts in the future.
“I have a lot of young friends in the community who do performance art and put together amazing events and I think they’ll step up and put their spin on it,” Multz said.
The deadline for submissions is the Oct. 14. Multz has already received some submissions and has had calls from people around the state. The average show usually includes 60 to 100 pieces.
“One person I’m really looking forward to show casing is Abigail Kokai who makes the stuffed fabric whales in Homer. She has started making some clothing. She used to be a more sculptural artist but she’s integrating clothing now. Another artist is Elise Shinsky who attended fashion school in Kansas City. She’s been making garments that she dips in beeswax. I’m excited to bring her into the show,” Multz said.
Multz said she also expects to see pieces from more long-term Homer fiber artists like Nancy Wise and Kiki Abrahamson, who have traditionally provided submissions.
“There are also quite a few new fiber artists in town and because of my shop, The Fringe, I end up talking to people about the opportunity of this show frequently and am always encouraging people to participate. So, I think we’ll have quite a few pieces to include this year,” Multz said.
Two 90-minute show will take place back to back on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at Land’s End on the Homer Spit. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online through Bunnell and in person at the Homer Bookstore and The Fringe. Submissions for the show can be dropped off at The Fringe on at Land’s End on Oct. 15.
