Meet Pink Tartan's designer, sip champagne and peruse her new fall/winter collection

Meet Kimberley Newport-Mimran, the fashionable designer behind the coveted Pink Tartan collection, whose fans includes the likes of Kate Hudson and "Sex and the City" star Kim Cattrall. Newport-Mimran will be in town Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Downtown Nordstrom (Individualist department), and will be available to answer questions and help you select pieces of her collection for your own wardrobe.

Guests will enjoy tray-passed hors d'oeuvres and champagne while viewing the fall/winter 2009 collection through informal modeling and a flat-screen presentation of the Pink Tartan fashion show that took place in Toronto this past spring. Newport-Mimran began Pink Tartan in 2002 with the goal of creating beautifully crafted apparel. "I continue to design fashion-forward, wearable clothes," Newport-Mimran explains. "Clothes that can take you from day to dinner."

The new collection is edgy and bold as well as classic. "I took a lot of inspiration from Grace Jones. It's a very strong and androgynous collection," Newport-Mimran says. "I also took a lot of inspiration from the '80s."

Leather skinny pants, fur jackets and even a pink jacket with an oversized neck stand alongside classic suits that are modernized with a deep neckline and pushed-up sleeves. One of my favorite outfits from her Toronto runway show pairs this jacket with a black miniskirt, embellished tights and heels.

The details are what sets Newport-Mimran's collection apart. For example, this season she created a black military coat with fuchsia buttons and a classic little black dress with ruffled sleeves as an embellishment. Strong shoulders are evident throughout the collection as well. Newport-Mimran takes the time to make the interior of her apparel just as important as the exterior; each of her pieces is as luxurious to have on your body as it appears.

The fall/winter collection is marked by rich fabrics such as wool, cashmere, houndstooth, tweed, taffeta and even velvet. "I love natural fabrics and I love mixing textures," Newport-Mimran explains.

Shoppers can find Pink Tartan locally at the Downtown and Bellevue locations of Nordstrom, and at the new Neiman Marcus.

The Nordstrom event does not require an RSVP; for more information, call 206-628-1111, ext. 1230.

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