Fashion Designer Shows at New Neiman Marcus

New York fashion designer Erin Fetherston came home to the East Bay Wednesday and showed off her spring collection, marking the first fashion show at , which opened March 9.

"I grew up going to Walnut Creek to go shopping," marveled Fetherston, 30, a native of Piedmont who now lives in New York. "This (Broadway Plaza) was my hometown mall." Back then, she looked forward to visits to Nordstrom at Broadway Plaza.

Friends and family from Piedmont crowded around a tight little fashion runway on the second floor of Neiman Marcus, along with some 100 other fashion enthusiasts.

Fetherston's spring collection was inspired by a "sixties point of view, the energy of pop culture then." Fetherston saw a 1960s photo of actress Mia Farrow wearing a butterfly mask and butterflies became a recurring motif in her dress collection. The butterfly motif flutters brightly in Neiman Marcus as well, which uses butterfly mobiles as an architectural accent at many stores, including the new one in Walnut Creek. Fetherston's signature mix of colors is ivory, blush and black.

Fetherston was talking to a buyer a couple of months ago who told her that Neiman Marcus was about to open a store in Walnut Creek, and the fashion show came together from there. There will probably be two more fashion shows this season running through July, said Meghan Mino Murray, public relations manager for Neiman Marcus in Walnut Creek.

Other fond East Bay memories for Fetherston are ice cream trips to Fentons Creamery and Restaurant on Piedmont Avenue, Oakland.