It was a freezing Sunday afternoon in the middle of Sundance as I stepped out of my Old Town apartment to wait for an Uber. I’d normally take the bus or walk if I were heading to Main Street. But this occasion — en route to Park City Fashion Week wearing paper-thin, satin pants and 4-inch heels — definitely merited a driver.
I stood on the slushy sidewalk, staring at the app. The black rectangle — my Uber — was just a minute away. But instead of turning left onto Park, it started snaking its way through every street but mine.
It was now four minutes away. Then eight. Just enough time to second guess my whole look. I dashed inside my place and changed into jeans and lug-soled wedge booties. For the moment at least, fashion would have to take a back seat to mountain-town reality.
Fashion is easy. It’s what you wear. Style is a bit more elusive — it’s how you wear it. Here in Park City, it pays to have a smart mix of both. Listen, if I’m gonna break my ankle, it’s gonna be shredding Jupiter in ski boots, not teetering up Main Street in Manolo Blahniks.
The founder of Park City Fashion Week Kim Kienow says there are two types of style in this town.
“There’s the Park City local and there’s the people who think they’re dressing like a Park City local,” she says. “There’s an overall theme that it’s more casual, with a Western or outdoorsy flair. We definitely lean toward functional over flashy.”
Outside the fashion show, I met up with my friends Larry and Chris, each living proof of Kim’s point of view.
Larry, a finance guy and rippin’ skier, was just being Larry in a wool flannel shirt, jeans and one, tiny fashion nod: a pair of white leather trainers.
Chris, on the other hand, was a whole look. The lead designer and owner of the East Coast luxury boutique Respoke, he handcrafts footwear and clothing from vintage designer scarves. Chris was decked out in his own designs — a velvet jacket embellished with handsewn, designer-scarf patches, tight cargo jeans and a pair of Respoke hightops made from repurposed Hermes scarves.
The three of us went inside and took our places in the standing-room-only balcony. It was the perfect vantage point to survey the scene below, straight out of central casting for “Zoolander” meets “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” There was certainly more Botox, boob jobs and blonde extensions than I’ve ever seen assembled in one place, at one time.
Beyond that, trying to spot a common thread was virtually impossible. There was a woman in a bright-red fur coat, white boots and a Louis Vuitton bag sitting next to a woman in a beige sweater and suede hiking boots. There was a man with a bald head and a long, silver beard wearing a jacket covered in shiny, rainbow paillettes.
There was Miss Utah in a jeweled crown and sash, wearing a satin evening gown. There was a woman with a Carhartt beanie decked out like a cool, boho skater chick. There were Adidas track suits, embroidered biker jackets, cowboy hats, lace gowns and trad-wife hair bows.
And then my buddy Ryan showed up. Some people dress for approval. Ryan dresses for himself, with a zero-fucks-given flair. A long-time Parkite, he designs and sews his own clothing as well as a line of tote bags made out of repurposed sails. The faux-fur ski pants and Brady Bunch patchwork vest that he wears even on serious pow days are the envy of every park rat.
For the fashion show, Ryan sported a pearlescent, vegan leather jacket he’d whipped up the night before, ski pants he’d sewn with embroidered patches and L.L. Bean duck boots. The look was set off with a huge pair of ’70s sunglasses and a silk ascot. It was authentically Ryan all the way.
So much fashion going on — and the show hadn’t even started yet.
Finally, PC Fashion Week founder Kim Kienow took the stage. Dressed in a cream-colored jacket over black fishnets and pointy-toed Chanel booties, she was definitely expressing her own unique style.
As she told me later, “Style is intrinsic. For me, it’s based on my mood and the personal feelings that I want to portray. Style can’t be duplicated. It’s something that develops over time like your personality itself.”
Some outsiders interpret Park City style based on the ostentatious image of wealth they see on Bravo-lebrities or Instagram influencers. But, as genuine locals know, it’s more about being pragmatic while still expressing who you are. And that kind of authenticity can be incredibly magnetic.
By the end of the show, Ryan had people asking to try on his vegan-leather jacket. His style stood out as much as it intrigued — outshining some of the priciest designer looks. Even in a setting full of luxury labels, genuine personal style has its own power — especially when it’s expressed with such unapologetic originality and flair.
For me, there was one collection in the show that really shined — literally. Salt Lake City designer Hannah Gordon’s line of puffy, cloud-like skiwear radiated with built-in lighting. Sure, these ski suits might be totally impractical in real life.
But they made me think: fashion fantasy can be an exuberant act of expression and defiance. Especially today, under the weight of the world’s uncertainty, we can shine our light however we like. And that’s a kind of Park City style we can all reflect.