Despite the heavy rainfall outside, the atmosphere inside Boothbay Harbor Shipyard on Saturday, June 17 was abuzz as the public gathered for the 8th annual Fishin’ for Fashion.

Ticket holders began arriving at 1 p.m. for drinks and appetizers, serenaded by the jazz stylings of The Wharf Cats. 

Emcee Michael Maxim began the event by sashaying down the runway to Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” donned in a rainbow shirt and matching sweatband to the crowd’s furious applause. He introduced the three judges: Reagan Cola is a Boothbay native and graduated from Lasell University in May with a degree in fashion marketing. She also was the student category winner in 2018. “It’s a full circle moment,” she said. 

Lori Reynolds first visited the region over 20 years ago with her now-husband, and immediately fell in love with the community. She is the creator of the former, annual Harbor Fest, and co-creator of Fishin’ for Fashion. Donna Maxim, Michael ’s mother, is a retired elementary school teacher who spent over 30 years teaching in the region and now spends her free time quilting. Her mother, who attended the fashion show several times, died recently so Michael dedicated this year’s festivities in her honor. 

The first original design was Lorna Andrews, modeled by Andrews’ granddaughter, Olivia Paolillo. The dress had a modern evening dress appeal with a fitted black neoprene top, white marine shrink wrap skirt, and flowing red mesh overlay created with shellfish bags. The overlay was also decorated with shrink-wrap flowers. 

The best Original Student Design award went to Shea Fritz, who modeled her design alongside fellow Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES) sixth grader Elise Wilson. The girls wore matching red dresses made from sail cloth complete with most of the sail’s original hardware. Both dresses were largely handsewn, earning their respective fathers a shoutout by the emcee, “These girls are both lucky to have fathers that are skilled with a needle and thread, so Happy Father’s Day to them!”

July Hasch was an instant crowd favorite, appearing in a silver-studded, tuna-inspired 1920s flapper dress with a detachable fringe skirt. Hasch drew inspiration from the region’s annual Tuna Challenge. Hasch’s work has been a consistent favorite, and there was no breaking the streak this year as the design went home with both the Judges’ and People’s Choice for Best Design.

The Judge’s second runner-up was Cheryl Nelson’s design, modeled by Kyra Blake, called “Sailaway Wedding Dress.” The dress was entirely handsewn from a 30-foot x 30 foot sail, attached was a 6-foot long train which flipped up to harken to the original purpose of the material. A part of Nelson’s own 35-year-old wedding dress was sewn into the hem for good luck, which paid off!

The award for best handbag went to Kate Lamontage. Lamontage wore her own design, alongside Darlene Carmolli’s, made from sail cloth and a vintage boat cushion. Lamontage has a background in fashion design and is a self-employed designer of clothing, jewelry and handbags. 

The rest of the designs include:

From Team Calypso, worn by Savannah Compare, was a fusion dress inspired by the Red Queen in “Alice in Wonderland” and Calypso from “Pirates of the Caribbean” made from white sail material, orange fishnet, and orange rope to create bodice detailing. 

From Earl Brewer and modeled by Charlee Fuchswanz, was a short white dress made from white marine shrink wrap, a skirt overlay of lobster trap links, with a necklace of mussel shells and periwinkles. 

Carson Fassett wore her own design with her dog, Chaos, much to the audience’s delight. Carson was outfitted in a vintage sail dress while her furry companion was ready for a fishing trip with his sail vinyl vest, hat pocket fishing pole, and lures.

Viven Fahlgren is a soon-to-be 13-year-old who attends North Yarmouth Academy, and her design was modeled by Maple Behrends. The little girl stole the show as she raced down the runway in her orange-purple ensemble made of sail and life jacket materials.

The original designs were interspersed with showcases of styles available at local stores with models Colby Allen, Julie and Paul Roberts from the House of Logan, Hailey Erskine; Sea Bags, Pam O’Connor; AE Home, Natalie Mayotte and Megan Cope; Janson’s Clothing, Hali Goodwin and Alec Reitter; Windjammer Emporium, Janne Quinn: Kamala Boutique, Carrie Langlois, Nicola Metclaff, Mary Lou Teel and Susan Endicott; Calypso’s.

At press time, the amount raised had yet to be tallied. Proceeds from ticket sales and the eight auctioned handbags are slated to benefit Project Graduation and the Fishermen’s Memorial Fund.

Here is a video of the event by LCTV.org