It’s a quiet Friday in Stina Sayre’s tiny clothing store, near the Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven. The quiet is unusual for early August, when tourist foot traffic generally makes it difficult to look forward to any free time in the early afternoon. But the owner and designer makes the best of the downtime, shuffling between clothing patterns and swatches of fabric spread out across a broad table at the back of the room, where her unique designs are born and come to life.

Her petite frame boasts slender but sculpted arms that peek out from a soft, sleeveless baby blue top that comes from her collection. She embodies the theme of her clothing; soft, but strong. On Thursday, she will marry those two seemingly paradoxical traits on the runway, at a fashion show to benefit the Yard dance and performing arts colony.

“It’s industrial elegance,” she said of the collection that will appear at the show, which will begin at a hangar of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport at 5:30 Thursday. “It’s all inspiration from aviation.”

She offered up a preview of the clothing in the show, just a sliver, hesitant. “It’s almost like I don’t want to, because I want it to be a surprise,” Mrs. Sayre said. But she went ahead anyway, throwing a light-colored leather aviator jacket over her shoulders, then pointing to the flowing, brightly-colored sundress that she’ll pair it with on the runway. “I like the strong with the feminine,” she said. “For me, sexy is strong. It’s more about strength than vulnerability to me. And that’s what I do.”

She pointed to another dress, with feminine flow and technical lines. And across the room, at a sturdy but stylish handbag. “That’s why the hangar works, and airplanes. It’s technical . . . And it’s the same thing you see in my handbags. It’s tough stuff, but it’s so elegant. That’s what you look for in a bag,” said Mrs. Sayre.

Her work reflects her life in many ways. Mrs. Sayre is a Swedish import who met her husband in the U.S. at a windsurfing world circuit match, where they were both competitors. He was a summer Islander growing up, and now the couple lives here full-time. Mrs. Sayre knows the plight of a busy woman; she juggles the demands of raising kids while running and stocking her boutique with self-designed and handmade clothing. And that’s just the kind of woman she hopes to outfit in her collection. “It’s strong and sexy, but it’s not vulnerable. That’s what I’m looking for in my designs. I want women to feel empowered in my clothing. When you wear it, you can go and do what’s important to you,” she said.

Mrs. Sayre never formally studied design, but considers it her art. She was surrounded by plenty of artistic influences growing up. “I have it in my blood. My whole family are artists,” she said. “And then we have a little business in the genes, too.” Her grandfather owned several clothing stores in Sweden, where Mrs. Sayre got an early peek at the fashion world, working in the stores.

Along with a keen business sense, she’s carried her love of the arts with her through the years. Perhaps that’s why she’s dedicated herself to planning the runway show for the Yard, in the busiest chunk of the season, for the second year in a row.

“We all need inspiration in our life. And I love the arts, I’m an artist,” Mrs. Sayre said. “I think it’s important that we all contribute what we can contribute. Some people can give money, I can give clothing and help [the Yard] create an event, and raise money that way. So there’s different ways we all can help, and we all do it different ways, and this is my way of doing it.”

Mrs. Sayre said the Yard has been the source of inspiration in her clothing design over the years. “I go away from there and I’m just elated. And it helps me in my work,” she said, pointing out in the summer program all the shows she has attended so far this year. She is still amazed by the level of talent that the performing arts organization is able to attract to the Island. “If you look at the program of the Yard, my hair stands up,” she said.

This year’s fashion show will be slightly different from last year’s, which was held in Oak Bluffs, at the Sweet Life Cafe, while guests enjoyed dinner from restaurant owner Susan Guerin. Sweet Life will cater the event at the hangar, but the fashion show will really take center stage. “This year, we’re going to do cocktails. It will be small food. It’s all about the art,” said Mrs. Sayre.

There will be plenty of familiar faces at the show, including some of the models whose images hang on the white walls of the Stina Sayre boutique. But the idea is that the fashion show will open new opportunities for the Yard by introducing new faces to the organization. “We all have our little groups of connections and people,” she said. “The Yard is so incredible, and I want people to know. So I’m just feeling that maybe I can bring a new crowd.”

Runways Merge, A Fashion Opera Extravangaza, presented by Stina Sayre and Wendy Taucher, begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the big hangar at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport. Tickets are $50 for general admission and $300 for benefactor front-row seats. To reserve, call 508-645-9662 or visit dancetheyard.org.