'Night Aquatic' takes the plunge with underwater-themed couture

Move over Milan, New York City and Paris, the hottest new fashion destination just might be Albuquerque. And it’s got a style all its own.

On Saturday, July 26, Albuquerque Fashion Week will present “Night Aquatic,” an evening of fashion, food and fun with underwater-themed runway collections by the city’s up-and-coming designers.

Madison Van Der Lingen, co-founder of Albuquerque Fashion Week, is the runway coordinator for “Night Aquatic.” She worked with a board of local fashion industry professionals to select 13 designers from the 30 who applied. Her own brand, MadVan Design, is headlining the evening with what she calls “some nutty outfits.”

Although many of the designers’ looks are playful and fun, reflecting Albuquerque’s flair for offbeat aesthetics, Van Der Lingen said guests should be aware that “Night Aquatic” is still “an evening of evening wear,” not a costume party, and “dress codes will be strictly enforced.”

“Think cocktail hour or evening wear attire,” Van Der Lingen said. “With a hint of ‘aquatic,’ if you want to get creative, but you don’t have to be aquatic.”

“But there will be mermaids there,” she added, “so dress to impress the mermaids.”

Van Der Lingen was born and raised in Taos, which she described as sartorially conservative.

“When I dressed up as a teenager, I had drinks thrown at me,” she said. “It’s such a small-town mentality. But here in Albuquerque, I can dress as weird as I want on Central, and I’m fine.”

“Night Aquatic” will take place at the Oasis Event Center, formerly Salt Yard West, a venue that’s been reinvented by local investors Laura and Eliot Goldstein.

“I knew them (the Goldsteins) from a show they did called ‘Not Your Mother’s Bridal Show.’ It was a bridal event where you could find all your vendors for your wedding, but with a more alternative style, like for the goth girls,” Van Der Lingen said.

Given the Goldsteins’ enthusiasm for alternative fashion, a collaboration with Albuquerque Fashion Week made sense. And Oasis had everything Van Der Lingen was looking for in a venue, including a courtyard big enough to accommodate outdoor dining under a canopy and a bevy of boutique fashion vendors.

The evening will begin with performances by Emariposaa, whom Van Der Lingen describes as a “local pop star,” and Paris Jaramillo, an experimental acrobatic performer.

“Then, starting off the runway shows, we have Radioactive Neon Noir by Jhené Chase.” Van Der Lingen said. “For her collection, she’s doing a lot of neon, like bioluminescent sea creatures.”

“I see myself as a storyteller,” Chase said. “Whether that’s through clothing or an installation art project or a film script, telling stories is at the basis of all of it.”

One of Chase’s new looks is inspired by a vampire squid. “A dominatrix of the deep,” she quipped.

Other looks in Chase’s collection are inspired by Portuguese man o’ wars, jellyfish and decorator crabs.

“Decorator crabs are crabs that tear off pieces of other creatures, like anemones, and then they use those stinging cells on their own bodies,” Chase explained. “So, they look like they’re covered in rainbow flora.”

Another young designer, Robbie Zanotti, is showcasing his second runway collection at “Night Aquatic.” His first was for Pink Pony Circus at Studio 303 in March.

“Zanotti is a budding designer,” Van Der Lingen said. “We are interested in seeing his work, because it comes from a theatrical point of view.”

Like several of the “Night Aquatic” designers, Zanotti came to couture from the world of costume design.

“Coming from a theater background, you have to make everything big to have people see it from far away. So, I’m used to having really big designs,” Zanotti said. “I like to go overboard and really push the limits.”

Although he didn’t want to reveal too much about the new collection, he said one of his looks incorporates “a real shark jaw.”

Cassidy Kurowski and Christine Mitchell aka “April June” are two other emerging local designers making names for themselves. In addition to presenting their own runway collections at “Night Aquatic,” they are co-producing the event in collaboration with Van Der Lingen. Kurowski said she expects “Night Aquatic” to attract VIPs from the film and television industries.

“A lot of our designers have worked as costumers, so they have experience in the film industry,” Kurowski said. “Some of our models are SAG (Screen Actors Guild) actors, too. So, it’s cool to see those worlds meld a bit and come together to support each other.”

In addition to the fashion, “Night Aquatic” will feature immersive art installations by veteran Burning Man sculptors, as well as video art by the Video Wizards.

Mitchell said, “‘Night Aquatic’ means everything to me. I’m putting my heart and soul into it.”

“Creating community is one of the biggest elements, just to bring other people into it and support and celebrate each other,” Mitchell said, “because I wasn’t able to find that in my life for so long.”

The designers said Albuquerque’s fashion scene is characterized by its community-oriented, inclusive values — a marked contrast from the elitism people often associate with haute couture.

“I was born and raised in Albuquerque, and I’ve lived here my whole life,” Kurowski said. “I think it’s great that we still have a sense of community. But it doesn’t matter who you are or where you grew up. Everyone should be able to create and wear and put on your body whatever makes you happy and what makes you feel confident.”

Albuquerque has a strong thrifting culture, as well, which is reflected in many of the designers’ work.

“For my collection, I used almost entirely secondhand materials such as preowned clothing, blankets, fabric napkins, curtains and hand towels,” said Briana Salazar, creator of Salvaged Nostalgia. “Sustainable fashion is really important to me and something I strive for when I’m creating.”

“I never expected to get involved in runway fashion,” Mitchell said, “probably because I had a stereotype in my head that it’s kind of toxic and problematic and not inclusive. My concept of how I would be involved with fashion was making recycled or upcycled clothes and maybe taking them to festivals or doing pop-ups.”

Mitchell said she was pleasantly surprised to discover such a vibrant community of designers in Albuquerque who are all committed to “celebrating diversity and making sure that everyone feels safe and included.”

Several designers also mentioned being inspired by Albuquerque’s weirdness and grittiness, which gives a unique vitality to its fashion scene.

“Albuquerque is definitely a monster town,” Chase said. “Albuquerque loves monsters. We listen to monster music and heavy metal. So, a fashion show like this works here, because the culture finds this kind of stuff fun. In a town that loves Wednesday Addams, a runway show about creatures from the deep is gonna land pretty well.”

“It’s definitely a contrast to Santa Fe,” Chase continued. “You can go to Santa Fe and hear the opera, and that’s great. But then you can come to Albuquerque and see evening wear looks from the deep.”

Van Der Lingen said local fashionistas attending “Night Aquatic” should take note of their favorite looks, because they’ll have a chance to shop many of the collections at a trunk show to be held at Thrive Cannabis Lounge in August.

She and the other organizers said they hope events like “Night Aquatic” will not only give a much-needed platform for local designers but will also help make fashion fun and accessible for more people.

“One of the most exciting things is having people get involved (in fashion) who never thought they would,” Mitchell said.

'Night Aquatic' takes the plunge with underwater-themed couture

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