This week’s local style and shopping highlights include the continuation of Fashion Week MN’s spring season and more.
The “Coalesce” fashion show returns for the spring season of Fashion Week MN this Friday. (Image: @michellelee.photography)
NOW OPEN:
Sovereign Collective opens first showroom at Nolan Mains: Nolan Mains’ ever-evolving retail lineup has a new addition: Sovereign Collective, a locally based store delivering a unique international experience with goods from over 100 artists and designers from nearly 20 global cities. First launched two years ago as an online marketplace by local entrepreneur Molly Hanten, many of the showroom’s brands are exclusive to the store and new to the Twin Cities. Learn more at MSPmag.com. Now open @ Nolan Mains, 3921 Market St, Edina, @shopsovereigncollective
DAILY THROUGH SUNDAY, 4/30:
Bunny Days at Grethen House: The designer retailer’s annual Bunny Days event is back. How it works: Get a scratch-off card at either location and bring your items up to the register. Then scratch off your card to find out whether your discount is 20%, 30%, 40% or 50% off. Online, you can take 20% off any purchase, and you can get the deal multiple times online until the promotion ends. Ends Sunday @ Grethen House, 4930 France Ave S, Edina, grethenhouse.com
TUESDAY, 4/25:
Fashion Week MN: Northern Lights: This third annual collaboration between Native Nations Fashion Night and Fashion Week MN is a celebration of indigenous creative expression through fashion, designed to elevate and inspire the human spirit and connect across cultures. This show showcase the lifeways of the Yup'ik of Alaska and the Great Lakes Woodlands Anishinaabeg through three fashion designers: Delina White, an Ojibwe fashion designer from Leech Lake; Golga Oscar of the Kasigluk Elders Traditional Council - Yup'ik Nation; and Lavender Hunt of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. There will also be a pop-up marketplace of goods from indigenous makers, a live DJ and full bar.. Tuesday 5pm–11pm (7pm show) @ Machine Shop, 300 2nd St SE, Minneapolis. GA tickets $75 (VIP sold out) @ fashionweekmn.com
TUESDAY, 4/25 & sunday, 4/30:
Sip N Bloom Flower Arranging Workshops: Try your hand at flower arranging with a workshop hosted by Sip N Bloom. Create your own design with the help of Sip N Bloom's master florists, with two experience level options. All materials are provided, including a vase for you to take your creation home. Visit Sip N Bloom’s website for more upcoming workshops. Tuesday at 6pm @ AxeBridge Wine Co, 411 N Washington Ave, Minneapolis + Sunday at noon @ Lakes & Legends Brewing, 1368 Lasalle Ave, Minneapolis; $65–$85 per class @ sip-n-bloom.com
WEDNESDAY, 4/26:
Fashion Week MN: Luxe Streetwear: This fashion show fundraiser for Lovely's Sewing & Arts Collective (LSAC) celebrates community and covers youth scholarships for learning the art of sewing, fashion design and entrepreneurship. Produced by LSAC founder and Qe’Bella Couture designer Keiona Cook, the show features spring collections from 13 local couture and custom streetwear designers, a high school designer, print streetwear designers, and the LSAC youth showcasing their skills through different art forms. A highlight is sure to be the local runway debut of HAWWAA Designs by Hawwaa Ibrahim, a non-binary, Muslim fashion designer who competed on Project Runway Junior. Wednesday 6–9:30pm (show 7pm) @ Machine Shop, 300 2nd St SE, Minneapolis. GA tickets $35 (VIP sold out) @ fashionweekmn.com
THURSDAY, 4/27:
Open House at Corazon: Head to Lake Street gift shop Corazon for a spring open house event and shop their latest collections. Christi Gereau will be modeling clothing from the shop paired with one-of-a-kind jewelry by Susan O. Horowitz’s SHExclusive—which will also be available for purchase—and photographer John Botkin will be taking photos of the attendees. Thursday 4–7pm @ Corazon, 4646 E Lake St, Minneapolis, @corazoncollections
Fashion Week MN: Golden Magazine presents Dare to Be Golden: Golden Magazine, a visually compelling student-run magazine, is back for its second Fashion Week MN showing with Dare 2 Be Golden, a fashion show expanding the reach of the fashion community to Minneapolis youth to provide a space to cultivate new relationships. Celebrating the power of getting dressed and showing up as your authentic self, the show will feature runway collections by a group of five local fashion designers and four student designers. Thursday 6–9pm @ W Minneapolis - The Foshay 821 S Marquette Ave, Minneapolis. Tickets $25 @ fashionweekmn.com
THURSDAY, 4/27–SUNDAY, 4/30:
Larissa Loden Birthday Sale: St. Paul-based jewelry brand Larissa Loden is hosting a special birthday sale in honor of its founder, Larissa Loden. For four days, shoppers can enjoy exclusive discounts on all in-store and online purchases. The more you spend, the more you save with tiered discounts of 10% off orders of $50 or less, 15% off orders of $51 to $100, or 20% off orders of $100 or more. Thursday–Sunday during store hours, on store & online @ 2032 Marshall Ave, St Paul, larissaloden.com
Art in Bloom at Mia: One of the Twin Cities’ rites of spring is the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Art in Bloom event, in which classical works of art have served as the inspiration for floral arrangements for more than 30 years. The event features imaginative floral interpretations of selected works of art from Mia’s permanent collection, created by more than 100 individual and commercial florists with flowers from Bachman’s. The floral festival is on view all weekend, and you can also enjoy a lecture or demonstration or free docent tours. Thursday–Sunday @ Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2400 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis. Learn more & get tickets @ artsmia.org
FRIDAY, 4/28:
Night Out with North Suburban Center for the Arts Fundraiser: The North Suburban Center for the Arts is in danger of closing its doors. To help raise much-needed funding, the center is hosting a night of craft beer, "craftivities," music, dancing, and a silent auction during the event. There is also an online auction this week leading up to the event with auction items from local makers like Sidecar Ceramics, Cry Baby Clay and Roseline's Candles. Friday 6–10pm @ Forgotten Star Brewing, 38 Northern Stacks Dr, Fridley. Tickets $20 @ northsuburbanarts.org
Fashion Week MN: Coalesce: Voices: Coalesce, an AAPI organization focused on celebrating AAPI + BIPOC voices, hits the runway for its second year with Fashion Week Minnesota. This season, the team will bring a biopic experience to attendees by creating collections inspired by their stories and the lived experiences that influence their work. In addition to collections from ten designers from the AAPI community, the show will feature a special collaboration by RedGreen Rivers, M. Heurh Designs and Ka Oskar Ly. Friday 6–9pm (7:45pm show) @ Mosaic Venue, 817 S 5th Ave #300, Minneapolis. GA tickets $65 (VIP sold out) @ fashionweekmn.com
FRIDAY, 4/28 & SATURDAY, 4/29:
Cast & Charm Vintage Garage Sale: Instagram-based vintage housewares shop Cast & Charm is moving its inventory to a new location—but first, they're having a garage sale. They're unloading inventory including rugs, laps, glassware, decor, kitchenware and more. Cash only. Friday 10am–5pm & Saturday 9am–1pm @ 5645 4th St NE, Fridley, @castandcharm
FRIDAY, 4/28–SUNDAY, 4/30:
St. Paul Spring Art Crawl - Downtown & Historic Lowertown: This open studio art fest long ago outgrew Lowertown and now sprawls throughout downtown St. Paul, stretching along Grand and University Avenues, and spans across multiple weekends in April and May, with events including open studios, dance, musical performances and interactive demonstrations. This weekend’s highlights take place in downtown and historic Lowertown St. Paul. Hours vary by location. Check out the art crawl website for a full listing of artists and information. Friday–Sunday @ various locations, St. Paul, stpaulartcollective.org
SATURDAY, 4/29:
Minneapolis Farmers Market: Spring Opening: The largest and most famous farmer-managed market in the state, the Minneapolis Farmers Market makes its outdoor debut for the season with tons of vendors every Saturday morning, including fresh produce, plants and locally made products. Saturday 6am–1pm @ 312 E Lyndale Ave N, Minneapolis, mplsfarmersmarket.com
Market Collective MN Makers Market: Led by local maker Chingona Goods, Market Collective MN is a market collective that prioritizes BIPOC and queer vendors and allies, with a different group of makers each market. This weekend’s market heads to Indeed Brewing with goods from a group of 16 local makers, including original art, crystals, candles, jewelry, needlepoint art, hot sauce, pottery, plants, coffee and more. Saturday 1–6pm @ Indeed Brewing, 711 NE 15th Ave, Minneapolis, @marketcollectivemn
Hmong Arts & Craft Fair: Come support your local Hmong artists at this arts and crafts fair. There will be many items to shop for such as canvas paintings, prints, jewelry, clothing, home goods, books, baked goods and much more. A full vendor list will be posted on the Facebook page. Saturday 10am–4pm @ Eagan Community Center, 1501 Central Pkwy, Eagan. $5 entry fee for 16 & older (seniors + 15 & under free). Free entrance 2–4pm to all, facebook.com
Hovden Wear Spring Pop-up: Minnesota-based clothing brand Hovden Wear is heading back for a spring pop-up at Ingebretsen’s, a local staple for Scandinavian heritage and shopping. Founded in 2014 in Portland, Oregon, the Scandinavian-inspired apparel brand relocated to Minnesota after local Norwegian language specialist, Elizabeth Moorhead Curtiss, took over the brand. Hovden Wear “creates clothing for today's lifestyle,” inspired by traditional Scandinavian work clothes. Handmade by craftspeople in Europe and the U.S., their high-quality garments use 100% natural fabrics and sustainable production methods. Saturday 10am–4pm @ Ingebretsen’s, 1601 E Lake St, Minneapolis, ingebretsens.com, shop online @ hovdenwear.com
The Hmong Thai Fashion Show: Known for its annual Fresh Traditions Fashion Show held every fall, the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent is debuting a new spring show featuring six Hmong designers from Thailand to share their unique clothing designs. The event is preceded by a Hmong vendor showcase. Saturday 3–9:30pm vendors, 7pm show @ Union Depot, 240 E Kellogg Blvd, St Paul. Tickets $60+ @ eventbrite.com
Fashion Week MN: The Fitting Room presents EVOLVE (SOLD OUT): Produced by local boutique The Fitting Room, the finale event for Fashion Week MN’s spring season features all local designers and their capsule collections from ready-to-wear to couture. Join us for an evening of celebrating local MN designers and their collections! The runway lineup includes Foat Design, Danielle Everine, Scott J Lehmann, Joeleen Torvick, Van Quigg, Alma Mia, Anyse Fashion, ACG and more. All collections as well as designers’ current collections will be immediately available for purchase after the show in a curated pop-up. Saturday 6:30–10pm @ The Museum of Russian Art. 5500 Stevens Ave, Minneapolis. SOLD OUT, fashionweekmn.com
SATURDAY, 4/29 & SUNDAY, 4/30:
Spring Markets at the Arb: Stroll through the Arboretum’s captivating spring blooms while shopping from up to 60 local artists and artisans during select weekends in late April and May. Market sellers will be set up in various locations throughout the Arboretum grounds, including near the buildings and gardens featuring spring blooms. Check out your favorite sellers from past years and discover new ones. Included with daily admission ($15 for ages 16+). Saturday & Sunday 10am–4pm, plus additional dates through 5/28 @ Minnesota Landscape Aboretum, 3675 Arboretum Dr, Chaska, arb.umn.edu
Keg & Case Weekend Markets - Final Weekend: Join St. Paul food hall and marketplace Keg & Case for pop-up shops from local makers, food trucks and more. This week’s vendors incudes Small Things Fair Trade (fair-trade goods), The Bloom Bums (healing crystals and more), Right & Weft (fiber art and decor) and more. Saturday & Sunday 11am–8pm @ Keg & Case Market, 928 7th St W, St Paul, www.kegandcase.com
Bizarre Bazaar Spring 2023: Come out and support over 30 local makers of art, jewelry, ceramics, glass, herbal medicine, clothing, zines, paintings, prints, apothecary items and so more at this annual indie craft fair. There will be different vendors both days, including Las Ranas Jewelry, Pyoni Apothecary, Bib Bubbe Energy and others. Saturday & Sunday noon–6pm @ Ivy Building (south side), 2714 E 27th St, Minneapolis, @bizarrebazaarmpls
SUNDAY, 4/30:
Blooms and Brews Spring Market: Minneapolis Craft Market is headed back to Lakes & Legends Brewing for its spring market. Find goods from a group of local makers just in time for Mother’s Day. Bonus: Local floral studio Sip N Bloom hosts an optional floral workshop during the event; sign up at at the link. Sunday noon–5pm @ Lakes & Legends Brewing, 1368 Lasalle Ave, Minneapolis, mplscraftmarket.com
Urban Jungle Flea Market: Urban Jungle’s Flea Market features various vendors selling ‘80s, ‘90s and Y2K-era vintage clothing in their back lot. Expect vintage with a streetwear vibe plus modern streetwear resale, sneakers, art, food and drink, and more from local resellers ands shops. Head to their Instagram to learn more. Sunday 11am–6pm @ 1419 S Washington Ave, Minneapolis, @urbanjunglemn
CONTINUING:
Como Park Conservatory Winter Flower Show: Get a taste of spring at Como Park Conservatory’s Winter Flower Show, which closes this weekend in its Sunken Garden. The 2023 Spring Flower Show will feature hundreds of white and purple tulips with daffodils, pansies viola and delphinium. Open daily through Sunday, 4/30 @ Como Park Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Dr, St. Paul, comozooconservatory.org
Our Seams: Diana Albrech: With Our Seams, Minneapolis-based photographer Diana Albrecht presents a beautiful new portrait series that explores style and fashion as a form of cultural preservation as well as her own experiences at the intersection of transnationalism, queerness and style. Diana is a queer, Korean adoptee and a self-taught photographer who also works as an art director in the advertising space. On view through 5/5 @ Public Functionary, Northrup King Building, 1500 Jackson St NE #144, Minneapolis, publicfunctionary.org
Not Just for Dolls: Paper Dresses: A new mini exhibition on display in the back window case of McNeal Hall features some of the most iconic paper dresses produced, including the “Paper Caper” by Scott Paper Company, dresses by popular manufacturer Mars of Asheville, and the “Souper Dress!” Paper dresses, one of the first examples of fast fashion, came onto the market in 1966 thanks to a clever advertising campaign by the Scott Paper Company. While the fad quickly faded due to the earth-conscious hippie movement, advances in clothing manufacturing, and the fact that the paper garments became “dangerously flammable” after washing, they’re still an iconic piece of fashion history. Now on view @ Goldstein Museum of Design, 1985 Buford Ave, St Paul, @goldstein_museum
UPCOMING - JUST ANNOUNCED:
Black Fashion Week MN’s Spring Season: Mark your calendars—Black Fashion Week MN has announced its spring dates. The event is a platform to showcase talented Black and Brown creatives in the Twin Cities fashion industry. 5/5–5/13 @ various locations. Get tickets @ eventbrite.com
Defining Derby Benefit Fashion Show: Don your best Derby-inspired cocktail attire for this fashionable soiree celebrating the Kentucky Derby, benefiting Children's Hospital Association. The main event is a Derby-inspired fashion show styled by Grant Whittaker with clothing from MartinPatrick3, bespoke hats by Celina Kane and hair and makeup by Haus Salon. The event also includes cocktails and a live telecast of the races. Saturday, 5/6, doors at 3pm, fashion show at 3:45pm @ Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis, 245 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis. Tickets start at $120 @ childrenshospitalassociation.org
6th Annual Kentucky Derby Twin Cities Party: This party celebrates elegant hats, dresses, seersucker and Mint Juleps as it honors the annual tradition of the Kentucky Derby, with live models showcasing couture ensembles by local designer House of Klynn, prizes for best-dressed judged by Richard Moody and friends, a telecast of the event, live music, cocktails and more with proceeds benefiting the Newborn Foundation. Saturday, 5/6, from 2–8pm @ The Westin Edina, 3201 Galleria, Edina. Tickets from $25 @ eventbrite.com
Runway For Hope: This annual fundraiser event includes a fashion show featuring looks showcasing spring trends benefiting the Hope Chest for Breast Cancer Foundation. Sunday, 5/7, from 10:30am–12:30pm @ Galleria, 69th & France, Edina. Tickets $125+ @ runwayforhope.givesmart.com
Sip N Bloom x Amy Seaman present SS23 Fashion Show: The immersive fashion experience presented by Sip N Bloom and stylist Amy Seaman returns for their annual spring show. The beach cabana–themed event will showcase new spring creations from some of the best fashion and accessory retailers and designers, plus shopping pop-ups. Tuesday, 5/23, at 6pm @ The Beach Club, 3141 Dean Pkwy, Minneapolis, $75+ @ sip-n-bloom.com
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