Five years of successful fundraising through fashion started with a sketchbook and a simple desire to serve.
When Clare Gauster talks about the beginnings of the Clare to Clare Fashion Show for a Cause, that's the gist of it. But she doesn't spend much time on that part of the story because the focus is, and always has been, about raising money for Clare House, the 24-hour emergency shelter for women and children, run by Catholic Social Services and in its 30th year.
"This year we're hoping to make $100,000,"said Gauster, who serves as the show's director. "I think the first year we made $10,000."
The fifth annual fashion show is Saturday, July 27, at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center. Seven Anchorage shops -- Bottoms Boutique, Circular Boutique, Flawless Gemstone Apparel, Fourth Avenue Boutique, Lulu E. Bebe Fashion Boutique, Posh Boutique and Stallone's -- will participate, and the Alaska Native Arts Foundation will open the show with a collection of clothing designed by Alaska Native artists from across the state.
Fashionable fundraising, inspired by providence
The idea for the original show was born from a fateful meeting with a nun who was visiting Anchorage while Gauster volunteered at Clare House. Sister Xiomara Mendez from the Dominican Republic was teaching sewing classes to Clare House residents.
She was a fashion designer, Gauster said. "I had a sketchbook and was designing a line of dresses. She started asking questions."
A common interest in fashion led Mendez and Gauster to stitch together the concept for a show that would include Gauster's own designs and raise money for Clare House that summer.
"Because it was for a cause, it was really meaningful to people, but the fashion was a breath of fresh air to fundraising events," Gauster said.
Currently, Clare House offers families a communal-style living arrangement for 30 days, oftentimes not enough time to recover from homelessness and successfully transition into independent living, said Catholic Social Services Executive Director Susan Bomalaski. But money raised from Gauster's fashion shows has directly supported building new Clare House facilities, scheduled to open in mid-August, which will double the available living space.
The new shelter will allow families to live in individual units and will accommodate families for up to two years, Bomalski said. It's a significant upgrade for one of Alaska's largest shelters: Clare House serves approximately 500 women and children a year and about two-thirds are kids.
"It's distressing that there are the numbers (of homeless) to begin with. There are just all kinds of reasons that people end up homeless," said Kim Stalder, who owns Circular Boutique and has participated in the Clare to Clare show every year. "It's the opportunity for awareness through an event that's fun."
The show has evolved, growing bigger and keeping the runway concepts fresh, but always staying true to the original focus on fashion for a cause. This year, the boutiques represent a range of styles, and a mix of men's and women's wear will be on display. Each store will get the chance to send its own concept down the runway, and the audience is promised a few surprises along the way: Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan made a guest appearance as a model last year, so anything's possible.
The looks from women's boutique Circular will take a cue from fall 2013 fashion week events found in major cities. Stalder said Circular's offerings will include a calm, serene vibe, an attempt to bring high fashion to the runway and a sneak peak at the store's fall lineup.
Bottoms Boutique, a specialty store that offers jeans and shoes for both men and women, will embrace technology's place in the style scene, and owner Casendra Bowen has teamed with Ice Diva Designs to complete her geek chic looks.
"People like to see what we're bringing and what we're going to do because we're younger and crazier," Bowen said. "We have to find some way to make it epic each year and not redundant."
Doors for the fifth-annual Clare to Clare Fashion Show for a Cause open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.clarehousebenefit.org.