The balmy, sun-drenched atmosphere of downtown Madison finally seems to have caught up with the rest of the world’s fashion fever after an unbearably long season of bleak weather. At last, spring fashion is in full bloom; people can be seen popping in and out of the trendy Bop on State Street, happily clutching newly purchased Juicy Couture sundresses and Marc by Marc Jacobs shades, while on the far east of the continent Chlo?’s eye-popping brushstroke dress and Michael Kors’ Impressionistic flowered creations fill the coat hangers at Bergdorf’s.

The weather has just recently become warm enough to don those summery frocks that graced the pages of Vogue since December 2007, and in some stores, select spring fashion items are already going on clearance. But such is the fast-paced reality of the current fashion industry, and as far as the swift fashion world is concerned, spring is out and fall is in.

But for Madison residents, the fun in the sun has yet to begin. From today through Saturday, Madison Fashion Week is hosting downtown spring and summer 2008 ready-to-wear runway shows, complete with an accessories show, helpful discussion panels and workshops on fashion, modeling competitions and, of course, the obligatory after-parties.

“Originally, I wanted to hold Madison Fashion Week during February, which is when the fall fashion week is going on in New York,” said event producer Kristi Moe during an interview with The Badger Herald. “But it was ultimately decided that the event would be held in April, which is important because in Madison the only way to do Fashion Week is by orienting it towards the consumers themselves, instead of the fashion industry professionals.”

Being the first event of its kind in the city, Madison Fashion Week is indeed a pioneering occasion, albeit a fashionably late one. Many fashionistas may wonder about the delayed timing of the event, especially since spring fashion weeks are traditionally held September through November, while designers and fashion houses showcase their autumn collections January through March.

According to Moe, Madison Fashion Week differs from the fashion weeks of New York, Milan or Paris. Often held months in advance of their respective season, conventional fashion weeks offer designers an opportunity to present their new collections for magazine editors, the fashion press and retail buyers who, in turn, are provided with a chance to either arrange to purchase the designer’s lines for the upcoming season or incorporate the designers into their retail marketing.

“Fashion Week is always held several months before the actual season, and we are in the season right now,” said Jennifer LaMore, owner of Madison-based retail clothing store J.LaMore. “And I don’t think there are a whole lot of designers here in Madison who are able to show an entire fall collection at this point.”

Granted, Madison is a relatively obscure site on the world map of fashion — with its dearth of a local fashion industry and the inability to provide a thriving fashion market that would support and promote local designers, the idea of emulating the fashion weeks New York or Milan would prove to be almost entirely unrealistic. Clearly then, Madison Fashion Week is by no means oriented toward the international jetsetters who frequented last year’s Fendi runway show on the Great Wall of China, nor will its audience expect to stare up at mastermind Karl Lagerfeld as his models frolic upon a runway stage fashioned into a revolving Chanel-on-crack carousel.

“We, in Madison, obviously cannot do it that way. For right now, it’s really just capitalizing on what is going on in pop culture,” Moe said. “America is obsessed with fashion right now, even in Madison. Everyone wants to be a part of it.”

Indeed, in the past decades, fashion has evolved from being an entity once the province of the society’s elite to a readily accessible and commercialized entertainment form. Think of Target and Gap’s recent collaborations with hotshot industry designers and big-hit television shows such as “Project Runway” and “America’s Next Top Model,” which have gained international popularity.

This is not to say that Madison Fashion Week is entirely without the glitz and glamour of the fashion world.

“We have been receiving a lot of industry interest,” Moe said. “I have had agencies in New York and Los Angeles contact me, and even some models from Janice Dickinson’s Modeling Agency have shown great interest and have been amazingly supportive.”

With intentions to cater to the current fashion trends and local context, Madison Fashion Week will feature Madison retailers that will showcase interpretations of today’s fashion from the fashion capitals around the world. Also, strongly paralleling the industry’s current obsession with eco-friendly, or “eco-chic,” garments are local student designer Kayla Garland’s environmentally conscious creations reconstructed from vintage clothing.

“Madison’s strength in any of its industries is the various collective nature. Madison is a very liberal and progressive town that is still rooted in a lot of tradition,” Moe said. “I think that is what we have going for us in the fashion scene, and that we have a lot of potential.”

As Moe puts it, the collaborative efforts of the participants in the event will hopefully bring fashion to the forefront of Madison’s culture.

LaMore adds, “For me, the goal of Madison Fashion Week is to create an awareness that fashion does exist here in Madison, and that we are not just a bunch of cheeseheads.”

For information about schedules, locations and tickets, visit Madisonfashionweek.com or contact Kristi Moe at [email protected].