San Francisco Fashion Week 2006: Colleen Quen

Elegance was in the air as veteran San Francisco designer Colleen Quen showed an array of evening gowns, evening suits and cocktail dresses that had Asian touches with bright-red silks and black moireacute; intermingled.

The evening suits were fitted with longer skirts and jackets that had lots of nips and tucks and ruffles. One outstanding blue silk gazar mini-dress was resplendent with lantern sleeves that evoked fashion touches from China.

Quen’s theme for her Spring/Summer 2007 collection was compassion. “It all has to do with our world and how we are in need of compassion. So my garments have a lot of icon pop art graphics to express that compassion in hearts and flower shapes,” said the designer, who is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in San Francisco.

Quen has been in the industry for more than 20 years, doing design and pattern-making for companies such as Gap Inc., Eileen West and Wilkes Bashford, but branched out on her own seven years ago to design intricate and unique pieces for special occasions.