Each season of Denver Fashion Week, the audience at every show has the opportunity to vote for their favorite designer and collection.
Across all eight nights of Denver Fashion Week Spring 2025, over 40 designers showed unique collections that pushed the boundaries of each theme and reinterpreted high fashion at its best. Here are the audience picks for each night.
Sustainable: GARMS 1 of 1
After a monumental year showing collections in Wyoming, Milan, New York and Paris, GARMS 1 of 1 brought a gritty and electrifying energy to the Denver Fashion Week runway. Designed by Arianne Burback, the collection was an eye-catching mix of innovation (see the top made from a Doc Martens sole) and tongue-in-cheek snark (like a shirt reading “FEED ME MICRO PLASTICS”).
And though these details were highlights in the collection, Burback’s segment as a whole was built on the unexpected, with unconventional silhouettes, pattern clashes and bold textures that won over the audience at the very beginning of the week.
Swim & Resort Wear: Beach Haus
For Denver Fashion Week’s first-ever Swim & Resort Wear show, Beach Haus showed a vibrant collection that demonstrated how diverse swimwear can be. Straying from the traditional silhouettes in swim and resort fashion, designer Priscilla Varner brought a wide range of looks to the DFW runway, featuring shawls, boleros, sheer dresses and flowing linen pants. Even the classic swimsuits were carefully accessorized with arm bands, chunky necklaces, gloves and — in some cases — a studded leather jacket or a sheer black duster.
Ultimately, the Spring 2025 Beach Haus collection made an impact because of this wide range: while it showed swim and resort wear for nearly every aesthetic, the collection was made cohesive by the model’s comfortability, confidence and unapologetic attitudes.
Streetwear: CAKEBRAIN
As the audience choice for this year’s Emerging Designer Challenge, it’s not a surprise that CAKEBRAIN won over the hearts (and votes) of the DFW crowd as well. And this accolade is well-deserved: on a night stacked with innovative collections, CAKEBRAIN managed to stand out with a beautifully unsettling take on streetwear.
With slow-moving models dressed in upcycled military wear, heavy makeup and — in one case — a purge mask, the collection had an altogether eerie energy. This energy was made even more poignant when designer Ethan Hernandez revealed that he was the face behind the mask, surprising audiences with one more twist before ending his segment.
Maximalism: SKYE|AIRE
Between SKYE|AIRE and Factory Fashion, every Denver Fashion Week season guarantees at least one collection from powerhouse designer Skye Barker Maa. This season, Barker Maa showed collections at Adaptive, Maximalism and Youth + Mommy & Me, each one a master class in intentionality, creativity and out-of-the-box design.
Her winning collection for Maximalism with SKYE|AIRE was a love letter to transformation, with a consistent butterfly motif and growth from fierce tension and muted tones to bright colors and flowing fabrics. Barker Maa’s daughter danced down the runway en pointe to indicate the coming of the second half of the collection, concluding with a model dressed in billowing tulle, moving with a wind machine to represent wings of her own.
Society: Timeless Trend By Ameliah Tene
Timeless Trend By Ameliah Tene won the judge’s vote at this season’s Emerging Designer Challenge. For the Spring 2025 Society show, designer Katherine Peko-Mavaega brought the same devotion, creativity and cultural pride to her Denver Fashion Week debut, producing yet another winning collection.
READ: CAKEBRAIN and Timeless Trend Win Emerging Designers Challenge Spring 2025
From the pounding backtrack and striking textrues to bold and traditional Pacific Islander accessories and headwear, Peko-Mavaega’s collection was an homage to her heritage and her familial connection (bringing her children and mother, who serves as the seamstress for the designs, out on the runway with her).
Bridal: BŌDA
Bōda Bridal designed by Destrie Dee and Paula Strasburg, earned the audience’s vote for Bridal at Denver Fashion Week. Each look was a testament to expert craftsmanship and romantic vision, with gowns that ranged from modern mermaid cuts with removable trains to voluminous and fairytale-inspired gowns that seemingly floated down the runway.
Flowing veils, sheer gloves, structured hats and long, dramatic trains elevated the collection’s dreamlike aesthetic, while intricate embroidery added depth and detail to every silhouette. The result was a cohesive yet diverse showcase that redefined contemporary bridalwear with elegance, precision and undeniable skill.
Youth + Mommy & Me: Champlain Couture
While couture does not typically go hand in hand with bright colors (or youth models, for that matter), Missy Champlain of Champlain Couture has never been a designer who leans into the “typical.”
As the closing collection for Denver Fashion Week, Champlain Couture brought florescence in every shade and texture to the Youth + Mommy & Me runway. Each model was dressed in either colorful satin loungewear or an intricate full-skirted gown, complete with bright coordinating accessories. And though Champlain showed over 30 looks in her collection, each model was dressed intentionally and meticulously — and each model was clearly having a good time.
All photography by Weston Mosburg.
