Bernina Fashion Show News

Rendezvous will be the last Bernina Fashion Show! Here's the email excerpt from Karey Bresenhan, via the QuiltArt mailing list. . .

From Karey Bresenhan, Director - International Quilt Festival:

"The wearable arts world has long enjoyed the tradition of a prestigious runway show at the International Quilt Festival to showcase the latest, most innovative techniques and designs. In the last 30 years, many of you have contributed your late-night hours, creative energies, and heartfelt passions to present today's American haute couture. Under the sponsorship of first Fairfield, then Bernina, the evolution of wearable art has come a long way, and this exciting journey will continue but without the Festival Fashion Show as a staple at the International Quilt Festivals. The 2008 collection of Rendezvous will be the last of the Festival Fashion Shows as we have known them. Rendezvous will continue under the Bernina name through the end of the Chicago runway show next spring. In Long Beach next summer, the show will be presented but under the aegis of Quilt Festival without outside sponsorship. Unfortunately, the current economic turmoil combined with steep increases in our production costs have forced Bernina and Quilts, Inc. to reconsider this event. Quilts, Inc feels a commitment to you, the designer whether you have only recently submitted a portfolio, have pursued this dream for years, or have contributed many times and we will actively seek a way to continue to incorporate wearable arts into our shows. There could be another runway show in the future, or we may take a completely different approach. We will continue to honor wearable art as an important expression of creative talent, exquisite workmanship, and extraordinary vision as we chart this new course."
Karey Bresenhan
Director, International Quilt Festival