Fast on the heels of END, yet another line of shoes is launching in Portland, helmed by yet another high ranking alumnus of a local looming sneaker monolith: former president of Adidas America and Adidas Japan, Rob Lansgstaff's new baby is RYZ (END's co-founder, Andrew Estey, was global director of footwear design at Nike). Its concept is one that attempts to harness the power of popular vote to determine its product designs. The company has developed a template (a basic canvas high top) that anyone can design embellishing graphics for, and then submit it to the RYZ community, where it will be voted on—the winning design will then go into production, and the winning designer will see a $1-per-pair-sold profit share. Plus of course all the fame and glory relative to the winner of an American Idol contest, except not on TV, and with sneakers, of course. But you get the idea.

Tonight is the launch of the line, and five local designers are finalists to become the very first winning designer. One of them is Jason Ehlers, who has demonstrated some (perhaps) less wearable shoe creativity in the recent past, and less recently made headlines as "Caveman," a distinction for which he paid a rather heavy price. Sight unseen, my vote's probably going to go for his design, but I'll be there tonight to check out the other contenders. Stop by the gallery event and vote for your own favorite tonight from 6:30 pm on (the winner will be announced at 9 pm) at souk (322 NW 6th, Ste 200). Hang out and sample goodies from Mt Hood Beverage and Simpatica, but then move along, friends. The space has a limited capacity, and the more votes that can get in, the more democratic the results will be.

PS: Do you want fashion to be democratically elected?

Seems like more than two scant years have passed since Mabel & Zora first set up shop at 1468 NE Alberta, but something tells me they've been keeping closer track than I have! Swing by the NE location (not to be mistaken for the newer spot in the Pearl) tomorrow evening from 5-8 pm for champagne and cupcakes and 14% off all Joe's Jeans (including summer-appropriate Bermuda shorts). And, if you can't make the party itself, the sale will run through Sunday, so if you need some summer denim you can still get in on the action.

I'm on the advisory board for Portland Fashion Week, and last night we had a meeting. While my contribution has been (and, I feel like, as someone who also covers the event, kind of has to be) mostly low-level, one thing I can do is make sure that people know about it, particularly local designers, who should be aware that applications are now being accepted for the October series of shows. There's always been some debate about these events in the community. One of the main things that I hear are local designers who feel threatened by having a fashion week in Portland, because they feel the lack of desire to conform to what other cities do is an important part of why they are in Portland rather than… one of those other cities. I'm curious about what people have to say now after last year's event, and how that is shaping expectations for the coming one. How do you feel about the "green" angle? Some call it a trend and a gimmick, but it's the only real toehold Portland has in the fashion world at large, and is something that has the power to drive national and international interest to a Portland event where our designers could have a chance to be seen by some of the higher ups. Beyond fashion, having a well supported event of this type could contribute to luring progressive companies to the city (jobs! cool jobs!). One of the things that comes up during these meetings is the contention that Portland sucks at marketing itself, and has the attitude that we're so awesome the world is just going to come to us. Thoughts?

Babette (208 NW 13th) has never really been on my radar, mainly because it's a chain, with origins in San Francisco (aside from PDX and SF, there are flagship stores in New York, Chicago, and Scottsdale), and because I'm outside its demographic (this rather informative article in the San Francisco Chronicle concurs):

Her customers are loyal and used to finding certain staples. Her clothes aren't for the trendy. "I pay attention to fashion, of course," Pinsky says. "It's not like I'm an artist and my way is the only way to go. My customers are contemporary women. They want to keep up with fashion, but they don't want to look like their teenagers."

The core Babette customer is about 45, arty and well traveled, with a income sizable enough to afford a $260 top or a $450 coat. The forgiving nature of the fabric and the simple silhouettes of her pieces work on most frames. "You can walk into my dressing room and there will be a 6-foot-tall woman and little mini thing, and they can both wear the same outfit."

(I may not be a teenager anymore, but I'm a lot closer to being one than having one.)

The company, which had its biggest break in the '80s with its signature pleated raincoats is celebrating its 40th anniversary with the launch of Babette: Designing a Vision, a (ghost written), image-heavy tome available only at Babette stores that chronicles designer Babette Pinsky's career, which is marked by a specialty in pleating (check out the video the Chron also made of her Oakland factory, in which they demonstrate some of the techniques that originate from ancient Egypt.) She'll be at the store this Saturday, 1-4 pm, for a signing, which might make for a good opportunity for Portland designers interested in the sculptural potential of pleating (coughEmilyRyancoughLeanimalcough) to pick the brain of one of the forerunners of the technique.

The '80s-era Babette pleated raincoat, photographed by David Perez.