I Don’t Have to Leave Denver for High Fashion, Thanks to Color of Fashion

A Letter From The Editor: Why Abby’s Been Rooting for Color of Fashion Since Day 1

I’m born and raised in Colorado and have never lived anywhere else. But somehow, I managed to find some of the settings here that feel bigger than Denver. One of which is Color of Fashion. 

Their first runway show in 2021 took place at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, a very special place that I now know is an institution at the root of Denver’s arts and culture scene. The first season was two nights, with the second show at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms. I attended both alone, with a press pass and an outfit styled for the occasion. 

I was 21, working as a Fashion Editor and about to graduate college a semester early. I didn’t know what I was missing before that first season of Color of Fashion, but afterwards, I knew my trajectory would never be the same. 

Seeing art as clothing on a runway was exhilarating for me. I loved observing the attendees. I loved that I was alone and could take it all in silently. I loved that I had a small notebook in hand, like a true journalist, just how I had been picturing the career I wanted. 

Fashion is meant to be intriguing. The brands we wear and the way we wear them are purposeful. An avant-garde look is an extra layer of the mystery: who is the person behind the design, and who is the type of person wearing it? 

I learned more about fashion in one evening during that first season of Color of Fashion than I had learned in my entire life. I interviewed the founders, Alicia Myers and Samantha Joseph, who now six years later have become very dear friends and partners of mine. Back at my college apartment, I filed away the business cards I had collected throughout the evening from photographers, vowing to update my media list in the morning. It was easy to write a recap article; I was filled with inspiration and could basically copy the quotes word for word from memory. I couldn’t wait to publish the article the very next day. 

Looking back, I fear this could be the catalyst for mine and Jordan’s standard that event recaps should go up the next day. A journalist must be timely, and at this point, it’s in our blood. 

Each season to follow, I attended Color of Fashion shows with a fresh pen and a 10/10 outfit. 

The CoF ladies prove that a venue matters, but it’s what happens backstage that is the bread and butter. Their carefully picked collaboration of hair and makeup artists, models, and designers are what bring the world of fashion to Denver. That global fashion influence that I was craving had appeared in a city where khakis are encouraged, and for the record, I am totally okay with that. But I am especially thrilled about a high fashion runway collection. 

Each year, I find myself curious and inspired. Between the host venues, the attendees and the tone of the evenings, Color of Fashion is never an average night in Denver. It’s something really special. 

I remember the first CoF season I spent with Jordan. Hosted at Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park and then Denver Union Station, to the average Joe, one thing was clear: CoF knew how to do it big. But to what was now 23-year-old me, a pen and notepad in hand after launching The Curio Cabinet months earlier, the takeaway was that these ladies were legit. They could secure a partnership like nobody’s business, especially because what they were doing was cultivating a setting in Denver that hadn’t existed prior. They created spaces defined by elegance, style and a feeling that only attendees could understand. 

Since their first show, CoF has brought designers to Denver who are also creating something that didn’t exist before. It takes a visionary to craft something that is one-of-a-kind. Color of Fashion is handpicking talent from across the world and bringing just that to Denver-–visionaries. 

Over the years, I have felt myself grow up in different spaces, especially at Color of Fashion shows. I learn from the experience each time—whether it be meeting new faces backstage, or understanding the artists behind the craft when a look is on the runway. I have learned so much from Myers and Joseph, who have faced plenty of ups and downs, accomplished major goals, and created something from the ground up. Not only is CoF a non-profit, it’s a feeling and an experience that can’t be replicated. 

This season promises the style and togetherness that Color of Fashion is known to bring. I’m in awe as Myers and Joseph work in the background, more than you could possibly imagine, to bring a global runway show to Denver. Six years in, they will be honoring mother-daughter duo House of Aama, a dynamic team rooted in familial and cultural heritage. 

Founded by mother Rebecca Henry and daughter Akua Shabaka, House of Aama has always been more than clothing.

“We are really increasingly honing into our archive practice and the archival part of our research practice,” said Henry. With her career as a lawyer, history and the significance behind it is at the core of her practice. As a result, “we also have a focus in our collection on the past and bygone eras, retro looks and vintage looks, we can find and source a lot of information in our own family narratives,” Henry continued.

With a 30-year age gap, Henry and Shabaka are constantly learning from one another. They are also taking inspiration from Henry’s mother, a seamstress herself and also a genealogist and archivist who grew up in the South. She often related to folklore and textiles, discovering how we translate that subject matter into storytelling and passing it on to her daughter, Henry.

With family at the forefront of the brand, “I feel very interconnected in the process of the stories that we’re telling and how they then show up” said Shabaka.

While it is a milestone to be bringing an acclaimed global brand like House of Aama to Denver, Color of Fashion also continues to invest in the youth entering the fashion industry. 

Alongside their teen workshop program this season, CoF is giving an emerging designer space to share a collection in a career-launching way. 

Founded by Lily Lee-tangredi, Lilith in the Sky is a brand featuring a collection of entirely hand sewn pieces. As a student at RMCAD, it’s Lee-tangredi’s first runway show. And actually, it’s her first time visiting her school, as she has been enrolled online and is moving to Denver from Portland in October. The school also sent Lee-tangredi her first mannequin recently. 

All these first are only a fraction of the inspiring story behind Lilith in the Sky, a brand with lace at its foundation. 

“I would say it’s very gothic, Victorian… a little bit wedding inspired,” said Lee-tangredi. “[A wedding] shouldn’t be the one day you are wearing the coolest thing ever. It should be everyday.”

Menswear is also taking the runway at CoF this year, bringing both heritage and class to Denver’s fashion scene. As a featured designer of an emerging brand, Vincent Greathouse is debuting his legacy this season. 

I say it’s his legacy because I already know that Greathouse will be admired and respected by many. From merely one conversation with Greathouse and many more to come, I can practically feel his passion and love for both the people in his life and his sense of purpose. His brand, Vinnage Abroad, is transforming the intersectionality of fashion and Black heritage. For menswear especially, this is both innovative and transformational.

Greathouse’s mother was born in 1968 in Selma, Alabama. She raised Greathouse to be well-traveled and to appreciate art of all forms. 

“We are telling that story, being able to have access granted. Because we finally had access,” said Greathouse. “If everything goes right, I can pass this on to my family and I can give them something to be proud about.” 

In referencing a golden grill and his favorite rappers, Greathouse shared, “yeah, that’s my culture too. I ride for it, 100%. But there’s also another side to it that’s not being told.” 

“My grandfather’s brother trains horses,” Greathouse continued. “So he has a whole ranch. That’s not talked about.” 

Vinnage Abroad is inspired by the well-traveled, multifaceted man who shows up in spaces as authentic to himself and his heritage. While the basketball players at high school saw themselves looking in a mirror when it came to their idols in the media, the Black males on the fencing team were left to wonder why they didn’t receive the same praise. Vinnage Abroad challenges this, spotlighting the refined taste and style that has been embraced by Black men for generations. 

“That taste can balance itself, and you can allow appreciation for both if you allow the world to collide and blend the way that they’re supposed to,” Greathouse added. 

I can’t wait to experience these artists firsthand this season, pen and notebook in hand. As each model hits the runway, I will welcome that feeling that I am in the right seat, in the right place, at the right time. And I have Myers and Joseph to thank. 

So when I put on my casual pearls in the morning (yes those exist and I very much believe in wearing pearls with a t-shirt) I don’t question my choice to stay in Denver. While a city like New York or Paris might offer me a chance to gawk at cutting edge fashion on a regular basis, it’s Color of Fashion that makes me feel alive. Everybody in the room is there for a reason, and that is something that cannot be replaced.