Hosts

The Denver Style Expo is being organized by Dana Cain Events.

Read all about Denver Style Expo hostess
Dana Cain in this Westword cover story here.Dana Cain has created and hosted more than 150 events in the Denver area, and won five Westword "Best of Denver" awards. With events ranging from the Denver Modernism Show and the Colorado Chocolate Festival... to the Imagine Peace Paint-In, Cain tends to design events based on her own interests and passions, and has filled some of Denver's largest event venues. She began organizing public events when she was in High School, and it has been a lifelong passion. 

Dana has also become very involved in Denver's art community, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Denver's Art District on Santa Fe Drive, and on the Event Committee for the River North Art District (RiNo). Dana is on the Create Denver Advisory Committee.

Also part of the team are Mona Lucero and Fashion Denver owner, Brandi Shigley, both won Westword's "Mastermind" award for local fashion. They are two of the leading names in Denver fashion design, and will be Executive Consultants and Industry Promoters for the Denver Style Expo.

One of Mona Lucero's first memories is drawing her grandmothers' face on the side of a shoebox. At that moment, she knew that she wanted to be an artist. She went to art school and graduated from the University of Colorado with a  Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. While there, she was inspired by soft sculpture and wearable art. All the while dressing as eccentrically as she could think, she found a new love in fashion design. She moved on to graduate with an Associated Degree in Fashion Design at F.I.T. in New York.

In 1993, in her constant search to bring together art and fashion, she designed and created her first hand-dyed and screen printed collection and began to sell her bags and clothing to fashionable shops. In 2002, she opened her own boutique in the Denver's Highlands. Now in addition to designing, making patterns and managing production, she toils through unsolicited sales calls, paperwork and internet email hoxes in order to bring unsuspecting Denverites the newest and hippest in "Tres chic/tragique chic."

Fashion Denver is the brainchild of Brandi Shigley, a fashion designer and musician who broke into the fashion world with B.Shigley Designs, her own line of handbags.

Brandi had a passion for handbags since the age of nine when she made a paper license with matching paper wallet to go with her paper handbag. She got her hands on a sewing machine and that was the end of that. Successful in Denver, Brandi moved out to Southern California for over two years before returning to her native home of Colorado.

She also had a brief stint selling her handbag line at a boutique in Paris and London.

An entrepreneur for nearly a decade, Brandi started Fashion Denver five years ago as a way for local up-and-coming designers to display their works a seasonal fashion market as well as outside of the fashion market. Along with helping new designers build up their business, brands, and public relations, the showroom is an exciting new venture for Brandi and her clients. Taking over the space was a risk worth taking.

Brandi's drive and determination won her recognition all across Denver and beyond. She received the Mastermind Award from Denver's weekly newspaper Westword in 2005, was accounted for in the “Top 40 under 40” by the Denver Business Journal, and also featured in the 5280 Magazine's “Up and Comer of the Year” in 2005 as well as a "One to Watch" in International Design Magazine. To see more press, visit Shigley's blog!

Brandi's motto has been “Do what you love, love what you do,” and she happily facilitates a variety of boutiques, artists, and independent designers to navigate their way through the creative and business aspects of the fashion industry.

Vince Varia: Fashion Director

Born into a family full of beauty industry professionals, Vince entered beauty school while still in High School, and began his professional career in 1981. He received advanced training from Vidal Sassoon Academy, and gained experience as an educator and platform artist with Sebastian Int’l.  Vince worked in several Denver area salons before becoming a commercial hair and makeup artist. In addition to work in Denver, Vince traveled extensively, creating high fashion hair and makeup for 15 years in the New York, LA and Miami markets. Vince’s work has been seen in many top fashion publications, including Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Passion. He worked as lead hairdresser for several movies before opening Salon Varia in 1997. Vince is an inspired colorist and brilliant hair cutter with a laid back light hearted demeanor and a wicked sense of humor.  Visit Vince Varia's d-Tangle Salon on S. Colorado Blvd, and his website at www.d-tangle.com.

Jeff Ball, Vivid Photography Studio: Expo Photographer

Jeff Ball has been capturing images of Denver’s thriving art and fashion scenes since 1998.  As a veteran Mile-High photographer, Ball draws upon the city’s vibrant culture and creative energy to inspire his work.  He studied at Metropolitan State College of Denver where he received his specialized degree in photography.

For over a decade, Ball has been an instrumental part of Mondo Guerra’s creative team, photographing the designer’s striking portraits and bold fashion.  Ball’s images have been featured on Project Runway as well as in local and national publications.

Ball is the owner of Vivid Photography Studio in Denver, where he resides with his partner, Remigio Darby. Visit his website at www.jeffballphotography.com.

$1 of EVERY ticket sold goes to the Colorado AIDS Project.
Buy tickets online now at www.denverstyleexpotix.eventbrite.com