Vincentians in for fashion treat

Seasoned models, as well as up-and-coming ‘fresh faces’ are invited to attend a model call tomorrow, for what is expected to be a one-of-a-kind fashion show, featuring Project Runway finalist Viktor Luna.{{more}}

The March 2 event, dubbed Déjà Vu, is being organized by local fashion designer Kimon Baptiste, who returned from a three-month internship with the New York-based Luna in October last year.

Baptiste, speaking to SEARCHLIGHT this week, said the concept for the event developed while working with Luna on his spring and summer 2013 collection, a suggestion that Luna liked.

“When we were there, we had many days when we were in the studio and I would talk about St Vincent, and I would talk about our music, our culture, our fashion,” Baptiste said.

“I was a little homesick, so that was a way of sharing a little bit of my home, so I spoke about St Vincent quite a bit, and then I just threw out the idea of him visiting the island and us doing something together in terms of a fashion show, and he was quite responsive to it, so we just sort of built on that.

“When I got back, I started throwing out the ideas to a few people that I thought would have been interested as sponsors and I just started getting things together from there,” she added.

Luna, a finalist on season nine of Project Runway, entered the international limelight following his stint on the show, and may be one the few international fashion designers to have his pieces paraded on a runway in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Baptiste said that the designer is excited about coming to St Vincent, to not only see what we, as Caribbean people, have to offer regarding fashion, but he is also looking forward to experiencing the country’s black sand beaches that he has heard about.

The former Miss SVG and Miss Carival said that the upcoming event would not be restricted to clothing, but will also feature other designer pieces, in a setting not seen before in St Vincent.

“It’s not going to be just a runway show; there will be the fashion village… that’s going to have miscellaneous designers. So, what I want to do is have different huts with different types of designers involved, so we will have an accessory hut, where we have people that design handbags, necklaces, earrings. So, it’s not just clothing designers we want to get other designers involved as well.

“You’ve heard before that fashion is a cycle, fashion is not really anything new; it’s just seen in a different way. So that’s basically where the concept of Déjà Vu came about, it’s just a cycle and I kind of just wanted to showcase how over the years my style has developed….”

One of the most successful designers of evening gowns for the Miss SVG pageant, Baptiste pointed out that apart from pieces from herself and Luna, a number of local and regional designers will also be on show.

Tomorrow’s model call takes place from 1 to 3 p.m., and will be held at the Kimmystic Clo store, upstairs the Y De Lima building in Kingstown.

The call is open to both male and female, and the females are required to bring along shorts and heels.(JJ)