THE RUNWAY REPORT: What’s Hip. What’s Hot. What’s Now! That was the theme of this year’s Ebony Fashion Fair which marked the 51st annual edition of the show. Thrilling, Exciting, Suspenseful, Colorful and Extraordinary are the best words to capture the essence of this year’s show.The models owned the stage as they came out clothed in original designs by Luca Luca of New York, Christian Lacroix, and Marc Bower just to name a few. The artistic expressions that the designers conveyed through their pieces were second to none. Some of the garments created, literally looked liked walking masterpieces. The theme this year was very relevant, every garment, whether it was evening, couture, or urban wear, all personified “What’s Hip, What’s Hot and What’s Now!!!What’s Hip is the “Man Style” look that is in this season for women. “Man Style” best explained is when women wear tailor-made suits, or putting a nice tailored jacket over a beautiful dress. Another style that is hip this season is the Grundge look; taking the grundge style and putting an urban wear feel to it. If you really want to be fashionably hip this season just be yourself. Fashion is a means of expression so express yourself as loudly and boldly as you please without fearing the opinions of others. Trend setters never fit into the mold of fashion society; instead they step out of the box and create original looks. At first it may be rejected or even laughed at but eventually someone will be attracted to your style and it will rapidly spread. What’s Hot are the colors of this season; which are purples, burgundy, mustard, and black just to name a few. These are being complimented with bright vivid colors such as lime greens, neon orange and hot pink. Embrace color this season, don’t be afraid to mix and match unconventional shades. There was a couture piece created by Italian designer Gianni Calignano shown that was a pink and red mix. It communicated to me and said, “Be colorfully liberal!!!” Whatever you want to combine in your ensemble, do exactly that. Whether it’s apple green and magenta or turquoise and yellow, whatever you do, choose not to have any fashion boundaries!!!!What’s NOW are furs and feathers. Chinchilla furs mixed with feathers is a look that’s in and now this season. A piece that really captured my attention during the show was a black couture evening gown with a black feathered hat. That garment was bold and risky; very few people would be daring enough to wear it. Watching that garment be displayed on the stage showed me that if you aspire to be a designer you must be willing to take risk, even the risk of your creativity being rejected. The fashion industry is a world with no limits. You are free to create anything your mind can imagine!!!! Who would think to create a feathered evening gown? Even though it was all feathers it surprisingly possessed elegance like a garment that would only be worn to a gala. Fashion trends and styles change so rapidly that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with what’s now. Be bold, creative, and limitless this season. Don’t be afraid to step out of the norm and the ordinary. Be unique. Be you. You don’t always have to flow with the stream of fashion, sometimes its okay to break away and create your own stream.As a designer I have learned to appreciate the originality that God gives you. Learn to embrace who you are and then clothe that person, instead of trying to clothe yourself to be someone else. Wearing what’s hip, what’s hot, and what’s now is fine, just be mindful to do it in your own way.www.myspace.com/a_ngelene
