so happens that we have several organizations moving the needle further in both of these fields. In fact, Arizona has become a training ground where designers come to share their collections and engage. And the established high-end fashion houses have come to recognize the unique beauty of the Southwest. This progress has taken decades and been made possible with the help of many innovators. Thanks to their efforts, Phoenix is on the precipice of prominence. LabelHorde was among the first to emerge in our Phoenix fashion ecosystem. This platform was designed for emerging designers when there was nothing connecting the fashion community. This free directory where people can find Arizona fashion businesses as well as an annual show featuring more than 60 local designers started a buzz about Arizona as a potential place to do business. “When I moved back to Arizona in 2001 after working in the Los Angeles fashion industry, I nearly had to change careers because of the lack of local industry,” said Angela Johnson, co-founder of LabelHorde. “I decided to change the situation instead and started scaffolding an emerging community of designers through a fashion directory called LabelHorde.” Fast- forward nearly 18 years and Arizona now boasts a burgeoning industry that includes hundreds of designers and other professionals as well as multiple schools offering fashion programs, multiple fashion weeks and organizations offering industry networking, education and more. Fashion Group International (FGI), the gold LabelHorde is a directory of fashion businesses operating outside typical fashion industry cities. Design by Fashion Group International member Heather Petrey. Fashion Group International helps its members become more effective in their careers. 36 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | NOVEMBER 2018

Iris van Herpen in collaboration with Julia Koerner from the collection of Phoenix Art Museum. John Galliano for Maison Margiela from the collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Alessandro Michele for Gucci from the collection of Phoenix Art Museum. standard in fashion network groups, came to Arizona in 2000. This global, nonprofit, professional organization was founded in 1930 in New York City to benefit the fashion industry. FGI currently has more than 5,000 members in the fashion industry, including apparel, accessories, beauty and home. A branch here in Arizona is yet another sign that Phoenix is becoming an epicenter of design. Any talk of fashion in Phoenix has to include Dennita Sewell’s work with the Arizona Costume Institute at the Phoenix Art Museum. Sewell’s experience working at the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art gave Arizona’s fashion community a real boost when she moved to our state. Her work has legitimized Arizona as a place of substance in the fashion field and her keen eye has curated an assortment of designer pieces, collections and shows that are educating our citizens on the beauty of fashion while attracting the attention of other markets and fashion leaders. The latest fashion exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum, on view through March 24, 2019, explores the concept of hyper-current fashion. Presenting garments by designers such as Comme des Garçons, Iris van Herpen, Yeohlee Teng and Gucci (all of which are recent Museum acquisitions), ultracontemporary shows how fashion is responding to an increasingly diverse and fluid global society through designs that reference and interpret various aspects of contemporary culture. “It’s an exciting time for the museum to collect GIVING IN STYLE CONTINUED NOVEMBER 2018 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 37