Andrew Sugar

The date was set, the fliers were on their way and the ads had hit the press. The crew at the PDX Fashion Incubator was geared up to cap its second annual Fashion Week with a finale extravaganza at the swank dance complex Lush/Level on Aug. 22--until club owner Andrew Sugar decided it was time to get his rogue on.

According to PFI's director, Stella Farina, the knavish tale goes like this: In May, Farina and her staff approached Sugar about having their gala at his club, which is PFI's neighbor in Old Town. He readily agreed.

"I told him he wouldn't need to do anything except make money on food and the bar," says Farina. "We'd provide the entertainment and equipment."

Part of the agreement was that PFI could keep all of the proceeds at the door. At $15 a pop for an expected crowd of 1,000, the door take would help support the 2-year-old PFI in its mission to help fledgling local designers make it.

PFI printed 10,000 postcards advertising the event at Lush/Level. It put ads in Portland Monthly, Oregon Business Magazine and--ahem--WW. But last Wednesday, Farina got an unexpected call. With the event just a couple of weeks away, Level's manager informed her that Sugar was now demanding 25 percent of the door proceeds.

Even the manager felt bad about Sugar's change of heart, Farina says. "He told me, 'I'm so sorry, I have no idea why he's doing this,'" she says. "He even bought me a drink."

Though Farina called Sugar several times to negotiate, he still hasn't called back. (Sugar didn't return WW's calls, either.) Luckily, PFI was bailed out--this time by another neighbor, the all-ages Roseland Theater. The show, as they say, must go on.

WWeek 2015