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The Veil’s industrial-modern vibe is the perfect setting for a fashion show; this is the setup before guests arrived. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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Jess Erwin works as an experience producer for the Frontier Project by day and moonlights as a mermaid with the River City Magnolias, a local water-ballet group. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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“You’ve got to live it to get it.” It’s Ellie Burke’s motto as a yoga instructor and life coach, and it fits in perfectly with the Ikigai way of life. As a yoga instructor, Burke intimately understands the need for a closet full of cute yoga pants that can transition from the mat to the grocery store. Here, Lester paired the Superfun pants with a denim button-up for a casual but cool look. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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For an enterprising 20-year-old like Julia Warren, a neon-pink and bright-blue ensemble is a perfectly bold choice. She founded Celebrate RVA at just 16. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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These tie-dye pants on Brittany Mullins become evening-appropriate with a black tank and a pair of killer heels. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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The marketplace opened after the runway show, where some of the event collaborators had their products available to purchase. Says Amy Brachman, “All of these businesses are the product of people listening to their intuition.” (Photo by Megan Parry)
Do beer glasses and fashion plates make for a perfect pairing? Rosé Instagram tags may suggest no, but the Veil Brewing Co. and some of Richmond’s most stylish women give the combination an emphatic yes. This past Sunday, the local brewery hosted the Ikigai runway and shopping event, benefiting the nonprofit Celebrate RVA and put on by a group of RVA-based entrepreneurs in the fashion and wellness spaces.
Ikigai is a Japanese term, loosely translated to mean “intersecting what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what will financially sustain you.” In other words, it’s that elusive and coveted lifestyle of finding your passion and being able to pay your rent doing it.
“It’s about being propelled by the authentic voices inside” you, Superfun Yoga Pants founder and Ikigai co-collaborator Amy Brachman explains. The former 9-to-5er left the corporate world to devote her energy to running an online shop dedicated to crazy-printed, well-fitting yoga pants — a total Ikigai move.
Each model rocked two separate looks for the runway show. Richmond-based personal stylist Sydney Lester of Chic Stripes put the outfits together using yoga pants from Superfun Yoga Pants, Mollie Virginia Made leather goods and Brittanny Chanel Jewelry, with the rest of the pieces coming straight from the models’ own closets. Smoke and Mirrors, a salon located just off Boulevard near Broad St., created everyday, lived-in hair that was equal parts aspirational and attainable.
The models, or “#RVAbossbabes” as they were affectionately called throughout the event, are four local entrepreneurs themselves. Brittany Mullins, of Eating Bird Food, is a health coach and personal trainer, Ellie Burke is a yogi and life coach, Jess Erwin is a member of the local water-ballet group (yes, you read that correctly) River City Magnolias and Julia Warren is the founder of Celebrate RVA, a nonprofit (and the beneficiary of the event) that provides underprivileged kids with a balloon-filled, sugar coma-inducing birthday party.
