Connecting the dots of Iowa’s fashion talent

Iowa is probably the last place most people think of when it comes to fashion, but not for Simeon Talley and Amanda Lesmeister, co-founders of Iowa Fashion Project.

After graduating from the University of Iowa and working for the Barack Obama presidential campaign, Talley, originally from Columbus, Ohio, never expected he'd stay here.

'I assumed Iowa didn't have cool things,” he said. But when he opened his eyes, he realized 'tons of people were doing cool things,” he said.

So he decided to do a cool thing of his own, launching Guns x Butter - a T-shirt line inspired by politics and contemporary culture - in 2014.

Then, in 2015, Talley organized the Work Hard/Play Hard fashion show for EntreFEST, a three-day entrepreneurship and innovation conference in Iowa City.

Meanwhile, Lesmeister, a Cedar Rapids native, was living in Spain, working for a marketing company and maintaining her fashion blog, Midriff Madrid.

Talley stumbled upon the blog and reached out, inviting her to Iowa City to collaborate on the EntreFEST fashion show.

When the fashion show was over, they thought, why stop there? They saw something more for Iowa's fashion community.

There was an 'undeniable energy” at EntreFEST's fashion show, Lesmeister said. 'People came out that we'd never seen before.”

They began talking with the community and found there was interest and talent in fashion here at home, but there wasn't a great way for creatives to showcase their work or a central location to shop - unlike fashion capitals like New York, Los Angeles, Milan and Paris.

'Iowa has a fashion community, we just need to connect the dots,” Lesmeister said.

Lesmeister and Talley began Iowa Fashion Project in Iowa City in 2015, hoping to 'elevate fashion in Iowa” by connecting creatives in the industry throughout the state and providing opportunities to showcase their work through events such as launch parties and fashion shows.

Since then, Iowa Fashion Project has hosted four shows including Flyover Fashion Festival in May 2016. The two brought the project to Cedar Rapids with a launch party in October and are planning another for Des Moines this spring to kick off upcoming fashion events in those cities. Their vision is to expand throughout the state and to continue to have 'bigger and better events,” Talley said.

On Thursday, they'll host perhaps their biggest fashion show yet: 'Sleigh the Runway” at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Cedar Rapids.

The show will feature 16 boutique designers and 20 models from Iowa, a cocktail party starting at 6:30 p.m. and a fashion show on the DoubleTree's escalators at 8 p.m. General admission is $12, while a $22 VIP ticket affords runway seating, exclusive offers from vendors and a champagne toast with models, designers and producers afterward.

Talley and Lesmeister continue to grow more ambitious with each show, they said, but agree there's a lot more they still can do.

They hope to create a sustainable and profitable business, for example, and will announce a new $12 membership program following 'Sleigh the Runway.”

The program will give members access to member-only events, a member directory and job board, discounts to retailers, brands and designers and to the organization's events and creative marketing services, reduced fees for workshops, networking opportunities and other fashion industry resources.

'We're focusing on creating value for our community that's indispensable,” Talley said, adding that fashion is no longer just for the world's fashion capitals.

'You don't have to leave the state to be an artist,” Talley said. 'What's special about Iowa is we have a community that's supportive and interested. They are our cheerleaders. Whatever you're creating in, you can do that in Iowa. The community will rally behind you.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8364; elizabeth.zabel@thegazette.com