Indigenous Designs Fall Fashion Show

More than 150 people turned out for an evening of fashion, food, music and fun at a fundraiser hosted by Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative and featuring the new fall line of clothing of Indigenous Designs, a Santa Rosa organic clothing company.

The July 30 event at Santa Rosa’s Glaser Center garnered an estimated $2,000 for three local groups -- Daily Acts, Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy, and GoLocal. An exact tally of the amount raised is expected shortly.

“We thought it was a really great event. It was very lively and fun,” said GoLocal's team. “It turned out even better than we expected, as far as turnout, the vendors that participated, and the partnerships that we made. We hope it will become an annual event.” 

It was an evening of firsts: The first major fundraising event for GoLocal, the first local fashion show for Indigenous Designs, which has a unique fair-trade partnership with artisans in the Andes to handcraft the company’s knits and the first time the three nonprofits have come together for a single event. 

“It was a pretty unique event, the combination of the three nonprofits working with Indigenous Designs,” GoLocal said.  “It’s the first collaboration of this kind that I’ve seen.”

Half a dozen businesses donated their time and their wares to help make the event a success. 

Peter Lowell’s donated and catered a tempting buffet of finger foods, including vegetables and other produce donated by First Light Farms. D’Argenzio Winery poured its inviting Russian River wines, and fine cheeses were available from Redwood Hill Farm and Creamery.

Guayaki and Traditional Medicinals offered tea. Elle Lui Salon dressed the fashion models’ hair, and The Powder Room donated makeup. Popular local musician Ali Weiss sang and played the acoustic guitar.

“It was a fundraiser, but it felt more like a celebration,” Rajala said.

But the high point of the evening was a fashion show by Indigenous Designs, a Santa Rosa clothing company that uses fair-traded organic fibers and knits handcrafted by artisans in the Andes.

Enthusiastic applause greeted volunteer models Trinity Wood, Rebecca Bautista, Fiona Young, Rita Young, Nikee Boyle and Rachel Garrett as they walked and swirled across the stage, showcasing the soft, contemporary designs of Indigenous’ new fall collection and its enticing array of cardigans, skirts, shawls, shirts, and accessories.

Audience members had an opportunity after the show to buy the designs at half the retail price. The clothing will be custom-made for the buyer, and 20 percent of the evenings’ sales were donated to the three nonprofits, said Matt Reynolds, Indigenous president and cofounder.

 “It was so much fun,” Reynolds said. “It was really great to start something we could probably do on an annual basis.”

Throughout the evening, local businesses and supporters of the event displayed an array of local wares, among them shoes from Sole Desire, cosmetics from The Powder Room, skin products from Pure Skin, and T-shirts from GoLocal. West County Play Station encouraged fitness, Osmosis reminded event-goers of the value of healing massage, and Sonoma Chocolatiers, which also owns Infusions Teahouse, offered tempting chocolates.

 “Local Eco Hero” awards were presented to Mary Munat, director of “Green Mary,” who created a business recycling waste from special events, and Trathen Heckman, executive director and founder of Daily Acts, a nonprofit that seeks, by education and example, to create a healthy, just and reverent human culture, one act at a time.

The Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy trains people to become leaders for public policy that is environmentally friendly, socially equitable and economically viable.

The Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative is composed of businesses, individuals, non-profit organizations and government entities and seeks to nurture a resilient, thriving local economy in Sonoma County.