'Fashion Story' tells tale of style, charity

Vivid colors and luxury fabrics in mixed-and-matched outfits will dominate the runway next week, when models will showcase the Saks Fifth Avenue fall collection for a children's charity.

"A Pittsburgh Fashion Story" -- expected to benefit more than 200 children and their families through Allegheny Children's Initiative Inc. -- features designers including Chanel, Escada, Max Mara and Burberry. Combinations will show up in many outfits, producers say.

"Saks feels that women don't really dress head to toe in designers," says Richard Bryan, the show's fashion stylist who works in Saks' visual merchandising section. "You mix designers to show your personal style."

Local professional models -- 10 women and three men -- will showcase about 60 outfits, some of which show hints of style from the '30s through '50s. Saks professionals will style the models' hair and apply their makeup, which will foreshadow the clean, polished look of autumn, says producer Tara Rieland, marketing director for Oxford Development Group.

Bryan plans to dress models in fabrics with rich tactile properties, such as satin and corduroy, velvet, furs and tweed. Jewel-toned colors such as wine and sapphire will appear on many outfits, along with hot seasonal accessories such as capes, scarves and brooches.

Outfits can mix different designers, along with the casual and the fancy, and a vintage look with a more contemporary one, Bryan says. For instance, a $4,000 Chanel jacket might be paired with Seven for All Mankind jeans and a ribbed tank top.

Organizers of the inaugural fashion show hope to make an annual ritual of the event, which would continue to support the children's initiative, a division of Kennedy-based nonprofit Citizen Care Inc. The initiative helps children with behavioral and emotional challenges, and their families. Money from the fashion show will be earmarked for a fund that would provide services not covered by insurance or public funding, says Douglas Spencer, executive director of the initiative.

Those services include emergency prescriptions for the uninsured and underinsured, social and recreational outings and school supplies, he says.

John Lamberson, event chairman, chose the Children's Initiative for a beneficiary after he and his business partner, Darren Morningstar, volunteered for Citizen Care and saw the need. He and Rieland put together the show, along with several other friends who love fashion.

"We thought, 'Why don't we do something that we all love• Have fun with it and help this charity at the same time,'" Lamberson says.

Additional Information:

A Pittsburgh Fashion Story

When: 8:30 p.m. Friday. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from Deja Vu Lounge served at 7 p.m.; dancing will follow, from 9:15 to 10 p.m.

Admission: $45 in advance; $60 at the door

Where: J. Verno Studios, 3030 Jane St., South Side. Free parking and shuttle service provided from UPMC Jane Street lot

Details: (412) 431-8006 or (412) 778-2579