Nov. 10, 2006

By LEILA KHEIRY

Frontiersman Palmer soon could become the Milan of Alaska - the fashion Mecca of the great north - the Paris of the Last Frontier.

It all starts tonight at the Palmer Depot, with what likely is Palmer's first runway fashion show, featuring original designs by the Valley's Myriah Moore and Donna Corneille, along with national name-brand fashions and accessories.

In a world of Carhartts and bunny boots, Moore - who grew up in Palmer - hopes to inject a little more style into the Valley. She opened her women's clothing shop, Anything Goes/Runway 49, in February, after a few years of working in Anchorage and adding to her portfolio, which she began at age 16.

The fashion show is a sort of introduction - a belated grand opening - for her business, she said, but it's also a way to have fun, provide some entertainment and become an active part of the community.

Today's event is an all-day art affair at the Palmer Depot, with a variety of booths opening at noon.

Moore said the offerings will include henna tattoos, photography, ceramics and more, all open to the public.

The booths close at 6 p.m., and the fashion show is set to start at 6:30.

Girls from the community will strut their stuff on the runway, displaying Moore's “glamour punk” line of clothing, pieces by Corneille, who owns the Seams Right shop in Palmer, and other items from Anything Goes. Following the show, Moore said, there will be live music by local bands. Refreshments also will be available, and she expects the event to last until about 11 p.m.

“I'm sponsoring it all,” Moore said. “I hope to do it every three months. I hope to stress myself out.”

Moore said when she was growing up in Palmer, there wasn't much to do.

“I remember my friends vandalizing telephone booths,” she said. Although, she clarified, “I never did.”

She moved out of state for a while, saw all the fun stuff there was to do, and wanted to bring it all home, which, she said, is how the runway show came into being.

The fashion show will feature a variety of styles, she said.

“It's going to be everything from vintage to the little black dress,” Moore said.

Most of the pieces also will be appropriately modest, but “there's going to be some shock in there,” she said, declining to spoil the surprise by mentioning what that shock might be.

Moore describes her line of clothing as “glamour punk:” the kind of outfit you can wear to work, but at the end of the day, you take the jacket off and there's no back to the shirt.

“It's nothing scary at all. It's just a little edgy,” she said.

Her inspiration is her favorite designer, Zac Posen, said Moore, and while she never studied fashion design in college - her major was digital design and advertising - she has designed clothes on her own since she was a teenager. She didn't sew until recently, though, and always got other people to actually make the clothes.

A few years ago, Moore took a few sewing classes, got tips from people who knew what they were doing, and started making her designs come true by herself. She worked out of her home in Anchorage for a while, she said, but then moved home to Palmer and opened her shop.

Corneille, who opened her seamstress shop just three months ago, also has worked with clothing and design for many years.

“I've been sewing for people most all my life,” she said. “Whether it was being paid for it or not. I have a passion for sewing.”

She makes special occasion clothing, and can help people with hard-to-fit sizes, she said. She particularly loves making wedding dresses and other fancy, detail-oriented outfits.

“I love the tedious sort of stuff,” she said, although she's more of a “sweatshirt, blue jeans kind of gal” herself.”

Corneille said she didn't have a particular style for her original designs, except for stylish, modern-day clothes. She will make just about anything to order, though.

“Somebody could come up to me with a picture, and I can help them do what they want to do,” she said.

Contact Leila Kheiry at 352-2270 or at leila.kheiry@frontiersman.com