Two local companies strut their stuff, putting San Diego on the fashion map

By Tim Parks
SDUN Reporter

Although Paris, Milan, London, New York City and Los Angeles are widely considered the “couture capitals,” San Diego has its own share of fashionable denizens, prominent designers, boutiques – and even the ability to stage its own New York City-style fashion shows for both women and men.

San Diego Uptown News turned to two San Diego-based fashion companies, G.O. Fashion and Rufskin, to get the lowdown on what exactly is entailed in putting together a “Project Runway”-type of show. In a fashion sense, there are very similar practices in perfecting the art of the catwalk but there are also a few marked differences between prepping the two sexes for their strut time.

First we asked the new kids on the block, G.O. Fashion, about how their first female-based fashion event came about.

Glenn Osbourne, Michelle Garcia and Casey Blatt (the team behind G.O.), all share a mutual love for being in vogue, which dates back to their younger years.

Garcia, 23, explained that her fashion obsession emanated from when she “used to play with Barbies, and line them up and take their pictures when I was nine,” which she later parlayed into a job with Betsey Johnson’s Las Vegas-based boutique, while Blatt, 28, can trace her style roots back to the adage of “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Since middle school, my mother has been a powerful force in the San Diego fashion industry, starting one of the first major high-end clothing boutiques in North County San Diego,” Blatt said. “I have always had a part in the family’s business and have used my passion for fashion to contribute to the Tobi Blatt empire’s visual merchandising, buying and styling since a very young age.”

Osbourne, also 23, got his start in the industry more recently.

“In college, I tried to put on a fashion show for the Greek system,” he recalled. “And a week before the big festival for the Greek system in the spring, the school closed my fraternity house. And I was told that we couldn’t have any events outside of the campus, which is where my show was, so I had to cancel everything. Two years went by before another opportunity presented itself.”

That opportunity was when the trio (along with Gretchen Productions) got their proverbial feet wet (although it wasn’t Blatt’s first shot at production) at “Runway at the Park” in March.

However, first G.O. Fashion had to come up with what that they wanted to convey wordlessly through the fabrics that would adorn the models. This ended up being a 10-month-long labor of love.

“It’s everything from getting your concept and creating your story, to executing it, to pulling in your beauty team with hair and make-up and styling – so that everything’s cohesive with the story that you’re wanting to tell,” Garcia explained. “That’s the most important part, is telling your story. Once you have that and you tell it, it all just seems to come together.”

“The music, the choreography – it comes alive,” Osbourne said. “In a fashion show, you go in there to not only see the clothes, but you’re there for the environment. You’re there for the intimacy of the show and it really draws you in, all of the music outside, the lighting, the furniture, the people, the vibe – it takes you to an enchanting place in fashion.”

“This was the first show I had done on my own, without my family’s brand behind me, and was the first large scale fashion show I had produced in the public eye,” Blatt added. “Besides the sourcing out of designers, models and hands it took to physically get the runway built, most of the stress came the day of the show, as we were tying together all the loose ends, and paying all of our attention to the details that seem to escape the mind in the months leading up to the event. The good thing is my partners and I thrive off of that chaos.”

The event, held at the Park Manor Suites penthouse area, featured designs by Betsey Johnson, Tracy Jean and previous “Project Runway” contestant and current San Diego resident Gordana Gehlhausen.

Of course, models are needed to people the catwalk, which is a job unto itself, Osbourne said.

“[The designers] leave it for the team to cast because they kind of give you an idea of what’s going to look great with that particular piece,” Osbourne said.

“With G.O. Fashion being both P.R. and production, our vision is what the designer wants,” Garcia added. “So when they’re coming to us they’re going to trust us with what exactly their vision is, and we basically take that and times it by a million and really bring their vision and our vision to life together.”

The threesome – even seasoned pro Blatt – said they were wracked with anxiety about what potentially could go wrong with their endeavor.

“There’s a lot of pulling out your hair,” Garcia said with a laugh.

“I think the basic fear before a show is for all your worst nightmares to come true,” Blatt said. “My only real fear as the lights went on was that others wouldn’t understand our perspective. Glenn and my love for fashion and production are unique in the sense that we see things differently, but have mastered the art of blending our views together into something that is completely fresh, inspiring, and multifaceted.”

The team was satisfied with the results of their effort.

“Thankfully, the 250-plus guests at our debut show can affirm that what we have come up with is something that we have always known San Diego has been craving,” Blatt said.

“San Diego needs a fashion scene, a real fashion week,” Osbourne said. “There are fashion shows that are around, and fashion presentations, but, to say the least, they don’t really represent the fashion industry here in San Diego very well.”

Rufskin’s Jason Wimberly is in charge of more than just slapping on a pair of the eight-year-old North Park company’s trademark denim, underwear or swimwear on a male model prior to sending him down the runway. After all, an international company doesn’t just name anyone to be its global sales director. But Wimberly, 27, still keeps his hands in the runway game.

Wimberly said he found his way into his tailor-made career “by winging it as a young kid” – owning a boutique on Fifth Avenue at age 19. Then he jumped onto a bigger ship when Neiman Marcus enlisted his aid as a “modernist specialist” and gave him the challenge of raising Gucci sales by 20 percent in a year. Wimberly rose to the occasion and bested those figures to 300 percent in just six months!

Three years ago, Wimberly met Rufskin creators Douglas Coats and Hubert Pouches at a pool party.

“They both have huge backgrounds in the fashion business,” he said. “They have designed for everyone from a Parisian fashion house to Victoria’s Secret. Doug was actually a model in Italy 20 years ago when they met, and Hubert was his agent, and hence a love affair that’s lasted 20 years.”

“Rufskin was born,” he said, “almost 10 years ago now from a need for sexy low-rise denim, and they started making it for their friends. They were literally making it out of their garage and backyard, and stitching it all by hand, and it just kept growing.”

This pop and pop production eventually went retail and now includes a flagship boutique at 3944 30th St. in North Park, and a New York City store, while other retail outlets carry the brand across the U.S. and worldwide.

With a product that proved so popular, the Rufskin family (they are a tight-knit bunch, including Coats’ identical twin brother) went about bringing their wares to the masses via models, music and runways.

Putting together a show is still a somewhat taxing occurrence, Wimberly said, but they are using a new streamlined process.

“This year we had our biggest annual show that happens here in San Diego,” he said. “One of the keys to it going smoother was having less hands involved. In the past we’ve had shows with 30-plus models, 60-plus looks and a crazy, huge production, which are wonderful, of course, but it’s also more stressful. So this year we slimmed it down and did 12 really solid professional models that were amazing and did really strong looks and stories.”

Wimberly said that even though Rufskin staffers have a lot of expertise in producing shows, the behind-the-scenes drama is present at every show.

“It’s always the same thing backstage,” he said. “People running around naked –‘Where’s this?’ ‘Where’s that?’ But it’s those last two days before the show that there’s something not fitting or something’s not scheduled on time. And it definitely gets very stressful, but this last show was easy.”

Finding the right venue can be just as important as who will sport the fashions, Wimberly said.

“At Rufskin, we really try to do a lot of unique and different things,” he said. “Obviously, you can do a runway show anytime, anywhere. The shows at nightclubs go very much with our vibe; we’re fun and upbeat and not so super serious. So we tend to show it at evening events, because it’s more lively for us.”

The company receives hundreds of applications monthly to be featured in ads and on the runway. Rufskin prefers a distinctive look for their male models. Wimberly said there is a “science” for who sells what.

“It’s amazing to see what different types of models sell different merchandise,” he said. “With stuff that’s on e-commerce, you can have the same stuff on two totally different models and sales will be totally different. So that’s a whole other scientific part of it, but we definitely go with that sexy ’70s rough-and-tough kind of look.”

Looking ahead, Wimberly said Rufskin is considering using a model-wrestling match in New York City to highlight Rufskin designs.

“We try to think of ways to showcase the direction and showcase the brand without doing a plain ole runway show, which anyone can do,” he said.

For more information on G.O. Fashion, email [email protected]. For Rufskin, go to rufskin.com.