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AUTHOR: insatiable ON 04-15-2009 (HITS 1152)
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 Date:
Sunday, April 5th, 2009
Place:
Maplewood Women's Club
60 Woodland Road
Maplewood, NJ 07040
Designers:
MP Sportswear, LaLeik, 247, Core Customs, Hoody Wear, Chosen Royalty, Couture Boutique, Hood Star Luxrury, Fashions For, Something Unique, Milan Couture, K-Fax, Qurashima's Closet, El-O-Shay, Dice City, Errol T. Claxton (ETC), and Ciera Masai.
Scenario:
Fashion Industry Legend, Tyrone Chablis and Wes of MP Sportswear collaborate and bring GLAMOROUS to the runway!
To a nearly packed house, Tyrone Chablis, a NJ fashion Industry Professional for more than 25 years and Wes of MP Sportswear (Bloomfield, NJ) showcase some of NJ's hottest designers. The atmosphere was special. This was a showcase that truly featured Real Models, Real Designers, and Real Fashions. The show exhibited a host of designers, a host of decent models, and entertainment.
As a Fashion Industry Professional for nearly 18 years myself, I focus on several aspects of a fashion show production. My primary focus is on the audience, the ambiance, the models, and last but certainly not least, the fashion.
The audience was a bit subdued, most likely due to the fact there were mostly parents of the models attending the show. In other words, it was an older crowd. On many occasions, the commentator/host, Mr. Tyrone Chablis attempted to pump up the crowd with many rhythmic chants and verses. At times, the DJ, Nix-N-The-Mix added his two cents to attempt to excite the crowd. The crowd at times got excited, but overall was very subdued. My rating on the Audience is a C+.
The Maplewood Women's Club is centrally located in the downtown Maplewood area. A historically beautiful building with High arching ceilings in the main hall, perfect for a fashion show. I must admit, I was a bit surprised at the lack of decor with regard to the staging set-up. With a title like GLAMOROUS, I expected to see a Glamorous staging set-up. What I did see was a relatively dark room with no professional lighting and no raised runway platform. In other words, I expected to see all the fashions clearly and not struggle to see due to the lack of proper lighting and no raised runway. Unless you sat in the very front row, your view was obscured. My rating of the ambiance is a C-.
The models. There were many, many new faces with alot of potential. Though there were at least 6 models that had no reason to ever think about modeling again, overall, the models were good. Although I didn't have an opportunity to interview any of the models, there were at least 8-10 that caught my eye and I would absolutely LOVE to work with in the future, lol. Overall, I would rate the models with a B.
The highlight of my evening were the fashions. The designers were very diverse. I do believe with the type of show this was, there were a couple of designers that had no reason to even think about calling themselves designers again. I'm not here to criticize anyones creativity, but if you're going to have a title with a sub-title "Real Fashions" at least have ALL designers with real fashions! I will say 95% of the designers were EXCELLENT. Those that were clearly a cut above the rest were, LaLeik, Core Customs, Couture Boutique, Something Unique, K-Fax, Qurashima's Closet, and Errol T. Claxton (ETC). That's not to say the other designers aren't talented and creative, I'm simply focusing on the Stand-Outs. I had the opportunity to interview a few of the designers. Ms. Qurashima Robinson of Paterson, NJ aka "Qurashima's Closet" featured cocktail dresses, club wear, Bustier's, and at times, a very colorful collection. If you're looking to paint the town red, Qurashima's Closet is for you! Ms. Qurashima describes her collection as, "Sheek, Fun, Flirty, and Affordable!" I definitely agree with that!! She can be reached by email at qrobinson777@live.com.
I also had the opportunity to interview up and coming designer, Ms. Yolanda L. Bennett of Couture Boutique in Newark, NJ. I truly enjoyed Ms. Bennett's very sheek and sexy collection of designer swimwear. Very well crafted, very well put together, very much couture. Excellent! I asked Ms. Bennett to describe her collection, she states: "Couture Boutique: Fashion Passes, Style Remains!" An awesome motto. She also states she tries to "Bring a customers ideas to fruition." Ms. Bennett states that she could not do this with out the help of her team members "Sakiyyah and Renee." She reminds me that "she does not only create swimwear, but custom clothing for trend setters." She ends by stating her collection is "Not the Norm and the collection Stands Alone!" Very well said Ms. Bennett, very well said! I expect to see big things from her in the near future. Watch out for Couture Boutique aka DDW (DaDaWear)! You can reach Ms. Bennett at 973-687-4097.
Though I cannot find it in me to give an "A" grade for the designer segment of the show (due to 2 or 3 not-so-good designers) I can give the designers an A- thanks to the designs of Qurashima Robinson (Qurashima's Closet), the fabulous Ms. Yolanda L. Bennett (Couture Boutique), and others. What lacked in ambiance, made up with fashion. Oh, Mr. Errol T. Claxton (ETC) was awesome as usual, lol. Great job Errol!
So, to recap, I gave a C+ (audience), a C- (ambiance), a B (models), and an A-(designers). The overall grade for the "GLAMOUROUS" fashion show is B-.
I did have the opportunity to interview one of the shows producers, Mr. Tyrone Chablis. He states, "the show lived up to it's name! The designers showcased their best, the show was everything I expected! I'm just glad the people enjoyed the show and are happy!"
I personally look forward to more up-coming shows and events from Tyrone Chablis and Wes!!!! You can reach them at 973-259-9300.
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