Photo by From the Hip

Leave it to the quirkiest of the area’s holiday traditions to spin fashion on its head with the “Unway” Runway — a reverse fashion show that invites audiences to walk around and view inspired fashions while designers and models remain stationary.

Held in partnership with Factory Fashion, designers and models will be assigned a thematic zone within DCPA Off-Center’s Camp Christmas immersive installation. There they will interact with ticketholders, take photos and complement the creative environments.

Skyeiaire by Heather and Jameson. Photo courtesy of Factory Fashion

Forget “Made in the USA” from the ’90s. Instead, embrace Colorado couture. Nestled in Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace, Factory Fashion is part-design-studio, part-sewing-school and 100% focused on quality fashion from local artists.

“They want ‘made in Colorado,’ and it’s just like the farm-to-table or the craft beer industry,” designer Lisa Ramfjord Elstun told Colorado Public Radio. “People wanna know where their clothes are made. And so if we can say they’re made here in Denver and in Colorado, it would be fun to see that happen.”

And that’s just what owner Skye Barker Maa set out to do — create opportunities for up-and-coming designers.

“I think Denver is a great place for it,” Barker Maa said in an interview with The Aurora Sentinel. “And I think there’s a good solid need for it, but finding a place where you can pay the rent and do that is hard.”

So she’s created Factory Fashion where designers, tailors and seamstresses have found a supportive creative outlet and steady work.

Factory Fashion. Photo by Tony Gallagher Photography

The Mini Inc(ubator) offers workspace and a small runway where designers can create and present their original works of art. Additionally, the company offers small batch manufacturing that turns out limited edition garments.

And while they also provide services from alterations to custom bridal gowns, this entrepreneur fosters aspiring designers as well. Similar to Neighborhood Music School that outgrew Barker Maa’s basement and now thrives in Central Park, Factory Fashion offers fashion design and sewing classes for youth (ages 7-14) to adult (15+).

This educational opportunity is actually folded into the reverse fashion show at Camp Christmas. Eight professional designers and eight student designers were challenged to activate Camp Christmas for a fashion takeover. The designs will complement Lonnie Hanzon’s array of themes in the 15,000 square-foot extravaganza of holiday cheer that returns to The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace (Nov 16-Dec 24).

Held on November 28, this one-night-only event will feature two fashion shows back-to-back. A designer youth showcase will occur from 5-6pm and a showcase for professional regional designers and models will run continuously from 6-8pm. (Note: the last timed entry begins at 7pm.)

Tickets to the Factory Fashion Reverse Fashion Show at Camp Christmas go on sale October 27.