West Coast Fashion Summit Presents quot;Masqueradequot;
The fifth annual West Coast Fashion Summit presented its fashion show on Sept. 7 as part of the Los Angeles Black Business Expo and Trade Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The theme of this year’s show was “Masquerade,” which was selected because “masquerade means creating an illusion, having fun and unveiling new dimensions in fashion,” according to Davide Stennett, the show’s director.
Highlights of the show included the sizzling, sexy knitwear designs of Gigi Hunter, which were showcased on celebrity model Nautica de la Cruz from local radio station 100.3 The Beat, and the plus sizes of Ashley Stewart, which showed to healthy applause from a number of women in the audience pleased with fashion-forward styles in their sizes. Oliver Twist designer Christopher Enuke presented his eccentric mix of knitted, multicolored jackets and rock-inspired blouses, while La Boom delivered a retro juniors line.
Swimwear, too, had a retro flair with designer Nondi Luxe’s offering, which included hot pants as a part of her swim fare. Also at the show, Queen Ahneva Ahneva presented her new QAA jean couture line. And the female portion of the crowd rocked enthusiastically to the music played as U.S. Male showcased its men’s furnishings line.
Other fashions in the lineup included knitwear by Gig Hunter, menswear by Isaac Charles, men’s suits by Morovati Uomo, urbanwear by Urban Systems, dress shirts by Jim Kelly and eveningwear by J. Poole.
Wendy Raquel Robinson from television’s “Steve Harvey Show” served as the event’s emcee. —Darryl James
