Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter
A model at the International Mecca of Style fashion show struts down the catwalk in an Ande Sew Collection design on Saturday at the UWI Auditorium. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
LUMINOUS VOLUME, delectable prints and texture dominated the catwalk at International Mecca of Style on Saturday night. The large Assembly Hall at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, proved a very good venue for the spectacular show for Style Week Jamaica.
As designers from Jamaica, the Caribbean, New York and Paris showcased their Spring Summer 2006 collections, it was obvious that 'old world charm' was back, buoyed by lots of colour. The theme remained consistent throughout many of the collections.
Designers typically did not scrimp on fabric, and many others like Yolande Bennett, Siim (Tropical Gothic), Valerie Gregory McKenzie (Asia Song), Pat Blackman, and Xulibet had an appreciation for lines and detail.
Wide A-line skirts were accented by flowing, asymmetrical hemlines. Others had gathers at the waist or ballooned at the hem. But even though there was an abundance of fabric, designs were still sexy and fun, stylish and sophisticated, or clean and simple.
SEDUCTIVE SILHOUETTES
Valerie Bennett's collection was sexy and casual, utilising lots of flowing fabrics, asymmetrical hemlines and pastels or bright colours. The skirts had long splits which overlapped to form seductive silhouettes.
Siim's 'Tropical Gothic' collection was a unified theme in black and white with a hint of pink. True to Siim's architectural influence, the cuts and finishes were detailed even as the fabric moved along the body creating a wonderful combination of style and elegance.
Vietnamese designer, Valerie Gregory McKenzie's Asia Song, proved to be one of the best collections of the night. Made from silk, the designs were simple and elegant and combined influences from old and new fashion trends. Peasant dresses, some cut on the empire line, were stylish and sophisticated, others lined with fabrics of a different colour, added dimension and texture to the design. The Asia Song Collection also had menswear, shirts also made of silk and decorated with pastel floral prints.
Pat Blackman, Barbadian designer came to conquer the world of fashion and brought with her linens, cottons and colour to do so. Cutwork squares in brown and orange dominated her designs which also had a touch of another period in fashion. A dramatic black and white wedding gown ended her presentation.
The Xulibet Collection out of Paris closed the show with a presentation of colour and graphic word patterns that spoke of the collection's influences. One knickers had perhaps the most discernible word in the collection, 'Jamaica', written across the waistline in bold block capitals. White on red, Black on green, yellow on black, letters in bold caps dominated the fabric and formed part of the aesthetic in a collection that was youthful and fun.
Even the men and male designers got in on the fun for Spring/Summer '06. Jamaican designers Carlton Brown, Les Campbell and Barbados' Roland Bascomb all utilised prints and florals in their designs. And for men, prints did not stop at the shirt tails but in many instances was the point of the outfit, extending to close, and loose-fitting trousers as well.
