Phoenix Fashion Week 2012 Opening Night at Talking Stick Resort

By Becky Bartkowski Fri., Oct. 5 2012 at 1:00 PM

Categories: Events, Fashion

Photos by Melissa Fossum

Brittany Brown walks during Mariska's show at opening night of Phoenix Fashion Week 2012.

A strong finish rewarded those who stuck around for all nine designers who showed at opening night of Phoenix Fashion Week 2012 at Talking Stick. Granted, with proceedings running about an hour behind schedule (fingers crossed seating issues are ironed out for the next two days) we can't blame the herd of folks who split during an oddly placed intermission -- with just two designers left in the evening's lineup.

But catching the finale from L.A.-based established designer Mariska was worth the wait -- and the un-fun sitting through Living Dreams' palm tree-stamped T-shirts and tie-dye onesies from OfraStyle. Closing the evening with a focused, well-made, and trend-conscious line of leather trim, elegantly structured coats, and a lust-worthy pair of ruched pants.

Photos by Melissa Fossum

One of Kent Denim's shirtless wonders

Photos by Melissa Fossum

One of Davinci's looks

Ending on such a strong collection made the disparate quality levels between designers all the more apparent. Established designers Kent Denim, Davinci, and Café Bleu were sometimes entertaining, but mostly just okay.

Really though. What was with the shirtless male models? Did that not seem like a Zoolander-y joke?

Our favorite men's item of the night was Kent's closing piece: a beautifully paneled leather moto jacket. Davinci looked like the erratic wardrobe of a golfer playboy crossed with Ben Wyatt from Parks and Recreation. While, Café Bleu's button-down shirt shapes sometimes struck us (some were flared like women's tops) we weren't crazy about the button choices or the excessive use of paisley.