With a July 4 preview event and outfits from 12 local designers and 18 boutiques, this year’s PUSH Fashion Show is all grown up. 

by Kelly Drake . photos by Jen Lepkowski

The PUSH Fashion show in July is shaping up to have all the glam of a big city runway but clothes without the designer price tags. “I want to dispel the stereotype that shopping local is expensive,” says Sonia Hendrix, who organized the first PUSH Asheville fashion show last April as a fundraiser for A-B Tech. The first event was a funky, smallish affair in The Garage at Biltmore Village and showed clothing from a handful of boutiques. This year the show at The Orange Peel involves 12 designers and 18 boutiques, plus a “style lounge” for selling accessories. The lineup of designers includes Stina Anderson of Arteries, Alexis Gault of Lush Life, and up-and-comer Stephanie Winger-Geisler. Get ready for Civil War-inspired tail coats made from up-cycled jeans (Anderson), vintage sailor-themed garb (Geisler), and skirts and dresses cut from never-worn vintage fabric (Gault). The style should positively scream “Asheville.” Elisa Jimenez, the New York City fashionista from Project Runway who was the star of last year’s Asheville HATCHFest, will do her signature “spontaneous couture” on-the-spot dress-making performance. July 16, 8pm.. The Orange Peel. Tickets $15 ahead or $20 at the door. www.theorangepeel.net.