October 2011 was the last time Adam Arnold hosted a formal presentation of a new collection. Not that he hasn't been busy. In addition to designing for clients, he's had some interesting side projects, like creating costumes for the Oregon Ballet and an abstracted but wearable series of responses to a sculpture at the art museum. Tonight marks the end of that hiatus, though, with a long-awaited collection inspired, in part, by the death of the grandmother who taught him to sew, back in December, the explosive energy of spring, and the tension of the city as it becomes stodgy in its incrementally won legitimacy. As usual, Arnold says it best in his own words:

"There's just something boiling under the surface and it's going to crack," he predicts. "And it's your responsibility as a creative person to respond to the undertones in society or your life. Certain aspects are being pulled out and commercialized in this way that needs to be blown up or flipped over. Someone needs to push the button on it. I'm using that impetus for change as an inspiration."

Read the whole thing here, and see the (free) show tonight at the Adam Arnold Studio (338 SE MLK) at 7:30 pm.