MINNEAPOLIS — The creative team behind a sold-out Minnesota Fashion Week spring show is gearing up for an encore. Coalesce Collective MN, an AAPI organization with a mission to celebrate creatives in the AAPI and BIPOC communities, is hosting Coalesce: 1922, a runway show with an art installation. The event will take place Monday, Sept. 19 during Fashion Week Minnesota's week-long stretch of fall shows.
The show will take place at the American Swedish Institute and features seven designers from the AAPI and BIPOC communities.
Mao Xiong, the show's producer, said it was important for her to include BIPOC representation among not just the designers but every other aspect of the show's production as well – from the hair and make-up, to the DJ and backstage team.
"I feel like the last couple of years really highlighted the pain that our communities go through," Xiong said. "And I think that a lot of times, when you’re a creative, especially within our communities, you reach from that pain. You reach from the experiences."
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A "VIP experience" will start at 6 p.m. on the first floor of the Turnblad Mansion, where guests can enjoy cocktails by Slate & Stone and view art installations and model vignettes curated by the Coalesce team.
The runway show will be hosted in the courtyard at The American Swedish Institute. Guests will be able to mingle and enjoy music and cocktails pre-show, with the runway show starting at 7:30 pm.
The spring show, which was emceed by KARE 11's Sharon Yoo, sold out within two weeks.
"I think when our show ended, I walked away from it pretty emotional because of the response that we had prior to the show as well as after the show," Xiong said.
Xiong said she hopes people continue to support the creators long after the show is over.
"Go out there, reach out to them, hire them, connect them with someone who you think they could produce an outfit for," she said.
Tickets for Coalesce: 1922 are available here.
Tickets for the rest of Fashion Week MN's Fall Fashion Week are available here.
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