RENTON, Wash. — It's safe to say Carlisia Minnis lives and breathes fashion. It’s a passion that started as a young child making clothes for her Barbie Dolls and has grown into a 20-year career as a designer. She now runs her own label Mac Fashion based in Seattle.
“I think what excites me about fashion is just it's unlimited," Minnis said. "I can literally create anything.”
Creations like a dress inspired by a trip to Paris and tropical gowns made from real foliage. She even made the dress she wore to our interview with her that morning.
“I didn't have anything,” Minnis said. “So I said why don't I just make a little dress and so just while I was eating my yogurt and granola, I sewed it together.”
That talent and drive caught the eye of Menka Soni, the co-chair of North American Fashion Week. She invited Carlisia to show a collection alongside other local and international designers. The event will be held Sept. 16-19 at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington in Renton. This year’s event will be a celebration of diversity as well as a platform to talk about equity and inclusion in the fashion industry.
“It's a great collaborative event,” Soni said. “We all are going to come here and define any boundaries that will just make you know, really culturally closer to each other.”
The four-day event not only brings people closer together but gives them an opportunity they might not get otherwise.
“When we talk about inclusion, we invite people, but we never invite them to the dance floor,” Soni said. “This platform, we are not only inviting them, but we are also going to hold their hands together and walk the walk on this runway.”
North American Fashion Week is part of a weekend-long celebration for Renton’s 120th anniversary. Other events include the Multicultural Festival, an International Food Festival, and fireworks at Gene Coulon Park. The events will take place Saturday, Sept. 18.
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