Fashion: Menswear amplified at Voltage

Dudes, have you felt left out watching models parade down the runway at the annual Voltage fashion/rock show at First Avenue? Do you yearn to see menswear make its mark alongside sister creations from local designers? Wish no more, for your wildest sartorial dreams are about to come true.

Although Voltage has featured some menswear in past years, the 2010 edition boasts the talents of two much-hyped designers who specialize in garments for gents. Voltage newcomers Raul Osorio and Kevin Kramp are putting the finishing touches on suits and knitwear for fashion-minded men.

Osorio, 25, who hails from Honduras and recently attended Minneapolis Community and Technical College to study apparel and design, learned to sew as a child from his mother and grandmother, who owned a sewing academy. That familial expertise came in handy -- his mother visited to help him complete the sewing for his 13-look Voltage line.

"My Voltage collection is my baby," he said. "I wanted to create something tailored, vintage-inspired and innovative. At the time, I found myself feeling not quite so masculine anymore and wanted to embrace the feminine part of my life." He channeled that into creating draped shirts in vivid pinks and purples. Osorio's Voltage collection, including suits and jackets, is based around an earthier palette.

"Jackets are basics to me," he said. "I thought about my background and being Hispanic. [The jackets] are based on the look and cut of matador and mariachi jackets, but turned into something wearable for any time of the day."

For the more adventurous sort, Osorio also offers what he calls "baby suits" -- fitted jackets accompanied by minuscule shorts. "They look dressy and classy. You can wear them all summer and be extremely comfortable," he said.

Osorio's designs are "unique but subtle," said Voltage founder Anna Lee. "Draped shirts are very accessible to guys without being ostentatious."

"I think men have always been interested in clothes whether they'll admit it or not," said Lee. "Now, people are more courageous. If you're a menswear designer, it's a different balance [of] making something unique that men might buy. How many times can you do a woven shirt?"

Kramp knows all about knitwear with a twist. The designer, who attended Brown University in Rhode Island and worked in the fashion industry in London, is relentlessly creative when it comes to shapes, proportions and patterns. His work, which he says is best worn by a "globally nomadic tribe of free-thinking, ruggedly elegant men," uses cashmere, mohair and angora, among other things, to create exciting, intriguing silhouettes. Kramp's intricate sweaters and drop-waist trousers may raise a few eyebrows from Minnesota men, but he's not worried. "I appeal to individuals who can interpret a garment with their own brain, instead of being told what to wear and how."

Ladies, don't fret. The rest of the Voltage design crew has big plans for you, with a mix of established designers and newcomers. "It's not so much that they're new," said Lee, "but that they're new to Voltage."

Pa Thao, designer for her line PFT Couture, has worked in fashion for more than 10 years, although this will be her first Voltage show. George Moskal, who showed a Voltage collection a few years ago, is back to present his line of soft-draped garments. Other featured designers include Frances Zerr, mplsart.com's Emma Berg, Kelson by Brianne Jones, Carmichael Claith, Danielle Everine and Elena Mercurio.

"What I love about doing this show is that we can keep evolving," said Lee.