Neat PEOPLE: Pet talk with designer Seth Aaron Henderson
April 8, 2010 by karenvitt
Filed under Neat PEOPLE, Neat STUFF
Boutiques Unleashed is tomorrow night, and local designer Seth Aaron Henderson (of Project Runway 7 fame) is busy putting the final touches on two designs for the benefit people and pets fashion show. Henderson will dress two therapy animals-turned-models, Smokey (a llama), and Miss Mollee Muffin (a rabbit), and he’ll accompany Smokey down the runway. We caught up with Henderson this week to ask about his part in what he’s calling “Project Petway.”
Are you getting ramped up for the big pet fashion show tomorrow night?
“I’m excited and honored DoveLewis asked me to be a part of Boutiques Unleashed. I love animals, and I can’t think of a better way to help them than to get involved in this event.”
So you’re designing outfits for both a rabbit and a llama. Will Miss Mollee trade in her feminine frocks for some sexy Seth Aaron black leather, zippers and studs?
You will just have to wait and see whatz up for Friday’s show…
The event benefits the DoveLewis Pet Loss Support Program. Have you ever lost a beloved pet?
No, but it would be so weird. I’ve had tons of pets in my life, but most were smaller – like Guinea pigs – and only lived a few years. Now we have a 10-year-old Boston Terrier named Chopper. Hopefully he’ll live 16 to 18 years!
Are your pets jealous they don’t get to come to the fashion show, too?
Yeah, they’re jealous! They’re probably going to tear up my house when I leave and I’ll come home to a big mess.
How are you going to make it up to them?
Hopefully I’ll find something cool at the show to bring home to them – treats or pet clothes.
If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?
Most of my friends call me a raven, because I like sparkles. I am easily distracted by shiny things.
If you were a Boutiques Unleashed pet model, what celeb would you want to walk you down the runway?
Marilyn Manson.
What’s your take on Portland’s fashion-slash-design scene?
Portland has a lot of amazing apparel designers, but not a lot of fashion designers – and they are two very different things. Fashion is a statement that starts with a piece or a vibe that is then translated down to ready-to-wear and apparel designers. There are great apparel designers and seamstresses in Portland making things someone will love in a store, but they’re for the public and not something you’d put in a runway show. There are not a lot who could design a collection for Paris Fashion Week.
Do you have any favorite local shops?
Anne Bocci is great because it feels so intimate, like you’re at someone’s house. And I like the vibe at The English Dept.
What is the first thing you do when you start to work on a new project?
Drink Rock Star.
If you could have any designer make a custom piece just for you, what designer would you choose?
Alexander McQueen, though that’s hard now. Maybe a suit. His work was so graphic, that’s what I loved about it.
Is there anything you’ve designed that you are more proud of than anything else?
Whatever I did last. Everything can always be done better, and I always learn from my last.
Watch a Boutiques Unleashed preview! Tune in to KOIN 6 Keep It Local from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. this afternoon for a preview of the Boutiques Unleashed benefit fashion show. Henderson will be on air meeting model Miss Mollee rabbit for the first time, and you can see some of the boutiques and pets featured in tomorrow night’s event – including Pin-Me Apparel model Karen Vitt of The Neat Sheet and her Bengal cat George.
Watch Seth Aaron Henderson on Project Runway tonight! The show is heating up for Episode 12, with just five designers left. Join us at 10 p.m. for The Neat Sheet’s weekly Project Runway viewing parties and cocktail specials at Tanker Bar.
Boutiques Unleashed
8 p.m. Friday, April 9 (doors open 6 p.m.)
The Tiffany Center, 1410 S.W. Morrison St.
$60-$100; 971-255-5938 or purchase tickets online
www.boutiquesunleashed.org
If you like what you see on The Neat Sheet, please consider becoming our Facebook Fan and/or linking to us from your site. We need your help to spread the word so we can keep it up!
