The Northern Light

Some Alaskans tend to hold fashion in less esteem than people living throughout the rest of the United States. But as the number of stores and boutiques carrying designer names has slowly multiplied in Anchorage in recent years, so has local interest in what is hot in the fashion world.The changing environment has also proved friendly to local aspiring fashion designers.Tanner Randall, owner and designer of Nanuq of Alaska, had his first fashion show at Her Tern Sept. 1. "Brand awareness is really important," Randall said. Each of Randall's hand-made scarves, hats, vests, pants, jackets and headbands has a polar bear icon sewn on it.Nanuq means "polar bear" in Inupiaq, the language spoken by Inupiat people whose traditional lands lie on the North Slope and in Northwest Alaska as far south as Unakleet. Randall said he chose the name and logo for his fashion designs because he thinks the polar bear is associated with strength in Inupiat culture. The fashion show attracted a large crowd and exposed more Alaskans to the local design scene. But Randall is not the only force trying to make headway with designs.Another local designer, Dionisia Menegatos, has a different outlook on Alaska fashion. Menegatos, owner and creator of Dionisia's Designs, embellishes new and old clothing with sequins, beads and other materials to create unique pieces. Though the clothing does not necessarily pay homage to Alaska, her home state, it does reflect the free spirit often found here."I have an idea and I just go with it," Menegatos said. She hand-draws each pattern for clothing ranging from tank tops and mini skirts to jeans and jean jackets, depending on the season, and never creates any one piece to look the same. Currently, Menegatos' designs can only be found at the downtown boutique Out of the Closet, but she plans to one day open her own shop and perhaps expand to other states.The seeds of a local design scene may be already planted, but local fashion stylist Dzagbe Manning said it has only barely started budding."The state of our local design is that there really isn't local design," Manning said.Manning attended high school in Anchorage but went to London for a fashion-design education. She graduated from Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design with a degree in fashion before returning to Alaska to become a fashion stylist. Her business, Stylized Fashion and Image Consulting, helps clients to dress fashionably in a way that expresses their individual style. "Anchorage is a difficult location to start doing designing in," Manning said, "and it's equally hard getting the fashion education you need in Alaska."Manning said that although there are talented and intelligent potential designers in Alaska, more often than not they move to the 48 contiguous states to become successful. She said designing locally entails extra expenses, including the extra cost of shipping textiles to Alaska. Manning said the lack of education opportunities for aspiring designers, combined with the higher costs of designing in Alaska, holds back the Anchorage fashion scene. She suggests those interested in fashion educate themselves.When asked what the future holds for Alaskan fashion, Manning said expansion and growth will be steady, similar to the last five years.Menegatos plans on experimenting with sweaters and other warmer apparel this coming winter, something the designer hasn't done much of yet.Randall's line focuses on winter fashion, but in the spring he will hold another fashion show and will have more apparel to fit the warmer season. He agreed Alaska could benefit from a more informed fashion and designer scene.

"I would love to see Alaska grow and be exposed to more culture," Randall said.

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