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Saturday, April 28^th

It was an intimate setting for the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST) benefit and fashion show, held at the Paul Hotel in NYC.

Joanne Marcella, the Executive Producer, greeted me and my colleague, and led us to the two contestants for this year’s competition. The theme was the 1920’s. The goal was to design a garment that was the Bee’s Knees. The contestants were tasked with explaining their creative process and convincing us that their garment depicted the roaring twenties in all of its complexity. Fashion is influenced by the society that surrounds it. The 1920’s was an era of social change, jazz, the suffrage moment, hemlines were rising and florals and soft pastels were the rage and so I was very curious to see what these contestants brought to the table. As Coco Chanel explains:

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

The contestants Kyle Denman and Hawwaa Ibrahim, both brought their “A” game to the competition. They individually explained to us what the competition meant to them and how they came up with their ideas.

They both did a fantastic job connecting their creative process and designs to the 1920’s era. Yet, there could only be one winner and after much deliberation, we choose Kyle Denman. Kyle’s design, presentation, and creative process represented the roaring twenties. The dress resembled an overflowing wineglass. In addition to the fabric and fit, the dress was a sharp contrast to the previous Victorian era. The dress reflected a time of prosperity, elegance, risk and clearly resembled the exotic art deco fashion of the 1920’s.

Congratulations Kyle and we look forward to featuring your design in future issues of i-Fashion Magazine.

We arrived early afternoon on April 14th. Despite the surge in temperature in NYC, the weather on Vineyard was chilly but beautiful. The goal of the event was three-fold; increase our network, build community for our July show and present L’ Antonio line as the transition wear of the Vineyard. We succeeded on all fronts. We hosted a meet and greet at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown and were graced with the presence of local talent; from a radio host, to an Editor-N-Chief of the local fashion magazine, to a pioneer in small business development, to renowned artists, photographers and designers. I was grateful for the warm welcome, positive response and interest in both i-Fashion Magazine and L’ Antonio. Stay tuned…

It was the last day of March and spring was in the air. Cars flooded with models and photographers trying to get their positioned shoots, welcomed me as I approached 172 Classon Ave in Clinton Hill Brooklyn, NY. From that scene alone, I was intrigued. I stayed to the side as I watched the man himself, Mr. Don Pittman, position several models in front of a red vintage Chevy. A crowd gathered outside and I made my way upstairs to find several set-ups with models and photographers shooting different scenes. Along the right wall was a slew of hair and make-up artists busy at work, preparing models for their selected shoots. The atmosphere was festive and free resembling the spring weather outside; models and photographers expressing their creativity and talent. The whole concept was truly fascinating because you had a diversity of models and photographers shooting different scenes in one location. Fortunately, I had the chance to speak with Mr. Don, thankful that he made time to chat given all that was going on, and he shared that his ultimate plan is to take the show on the road. We wish him the best.