I never quite know what to say about events like Runway to Rooftop, a fashion show of women’s clothing from the via C boutique of up and coming designers, without sounding like a total windbag. I liked the production, interspersing a well paced show with short entries from the 10 Tiny Dances series. The crowd was fresh and sort of mid-formal bohemian, looking good. I like that the merchandise is available to examine and shop, although the tight crowd made serious browsing unpleasant. At the end of the day these big department store fashion shows are just fancy ways to shop. Nothing wrong with that I guess (although I would so rather see clever, well heeled Portlanders drop their money on equally elegant if more obscure pieces at Una, or on custom Adam Arnold), but it’s hard to think of something to say when the clothing being shown isn’t new design and the up and comers are still names you know: Anna Sui, Philip Lim, M Missoni… So just enjoy some photos courtesy of Minh Tran.