Nau Is Back!

The event was held at the Grand Central Restaurant and Bowling Lounge in Southeast Portland.

Nicole Portrait, a student at Paul Mitchell the School, styles Bonnie Royle’s hair in the makeshift dressing rooms at the bowling alley. Students from Paul Mitchell did the styling for all three designers. The model’s jacket is by Holden.

While stylists and models bustle backstage, the audience waits for the show to begin.

In its segment of the show, Lizard Lounge incorporated looks by Nau, the Portland-based outdoor/lifestyle clothing manufacturer that folded last year after a brief (but critically acclaimed) run, only to be revived by Horny Toad, the clothing company that owns Lizard Lounge.

“What made the brand [Nau] great the first time out of the gate is still there—even better, I think,” says Lizard Lounge marketing manager Sean McGuirk. “The looks are edgier and more form-fitting. There’s also more color in both the men’s and women’s lines. We mixed Nau with pieces from Lizard Lounge for a really great urban effect.”

Tito Chowdhury (left), executive director of Portland Fashion Week, and other guests during Lizard Lounge’s portion of the fashion show.

Jill Spitznass, our style editor, says, “I loved the styling at this show—the little tweaks and gestures that give a fashion show personality and invite the viewer to take a second (or third) glance.”

The models’ dark nails and sexy footwear (like the pumps worn with skinny jeans and a parka), are spot-on for Portland, Jill notes. “This is the way we want to dress: inspiring, thought-provoking, and clever, with just a dash of the ‘you-and-what-army’ attitude that makes us a fashion mecca.”

Kate Zivney and Danny Cecil, both stylists from Paul Mitchell the School, watch the show backstage.

Pictures are taped to clothing racks to provide instructions for assembling each model’s look.

The audience hangs over the second story balcony as the show unfolds.

A fashion show volunteer applauds.