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| My photo of a design from JA Apparel |
September 25, 2010
On Saturday night, I attended the much anticipated couture fashion showcase which closed out this year's Detroit Fashion Week. The show was held at the Royal Oak Farmers Market and the rustic location, complete with bugs and flies, was an interesting juxtaposition to the high fashion clothing and the decked out fashion patrons.
The show attracted Detroit's most fashionable sporting both high style urban wear and glamorous evening wear. There was even a surprise guest in attendance. What would a fashion show in Motown be without a Michael Jackson impersonator in the mix? Yes MJ was in the house and the tween fashionistas were in heaven, running from their front-row seats to touch the King of Pop. (Sorry, no photos of that)
The show started with designs from JA Apparel. When the first model appeared on the runway, I felt a little déjà vu and realized I had viewed these fashions and models before at The International Academy of Design and Technology's Sixth Annual Imagine Fashion Show in May. It was just as exciting to see the designs from Matthew Berger and Aaron White this time as the last since the drag queen models put on just as good of a show as before with glam posing and kiss blowing. Matthew and Aaron are costume designers and their fashions do turn heads and make a definite impact on the runway.
(Correction 9/27: Matthew Berger is no longer part of these designs. JA Apparel is made up of Jordan Woods and Aaron White.)
Designer Janel Lafleur showed very short baby doll dresses, short shorts and leather corsets mixing the hard with the soft.
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| Click to enlarge |
Designer Reginald Robinson showed an all black collection that included lots of dresses from floor length to micro mini. Every women should be able to find a little black dress of choice in this collection.
Designer Terrah Bonhard showed blue jeans and (really short) shorts for every body shape along with figure hugging t-shirts.
Men's fashion was also part of the evening with jeans and shirts from the Uneek Collection.
Designer Leslie Austin showed a collection of flirty dresses - all very cute and fun.
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| The 14 year old designer takes her bow... |
The collection of the night in the totally adorable category was from 14 year old designer Lela Bocci. It was all sweet and colorful, but with a definite urban edge. The designer even had the models walk to her own theme song with live rapping.
What is a fashion show without a wedding gown? How about an entire collection of wedding gowns and evening attire from designer Ariel Taub. They were all very beautiful with tight corsets.
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| Designer Beulah Cooley ends the evening with her bow |
The evening ended with a large collection by designer Beulah Cooley. The clothes were all well tailored classics from solids to florals. This designer with over 30 years in the business showed a little of everything that a woman would want in her wardrobe. When I saw the clothes coming down the runway, I thought they all looked very "Michelle Obama" and according to the program, Ms. Cooley did design an Inaugural gown for the First Lady. I think the First Lady needs to come to Detroit and check out this collection.
Can a Dress Save Detroit?
Time Magazine asked the question "Can a Dress Save Detroit?" when referring to Detroit Fashion Week. While no one industry can bring back economic prosperity to Detroit, I saw real talent on Saturday night at the Detroit Fashion Week Couture Showcase. Talent and Tenacity? Yes, those two things can save Detroit and the fashion industry in Detroit has both.
Leave a comment below and tell you your thoughts on Detroit Fashion Week.
Click here to read my review of Detroit Fashion Week Salon Showcase Event
Enjoy!
Disclosure: I received a media pass to attend this event
Like the photos in this story? (yes I took every single one)
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