CONTINUED

OLLOWING ON the heels of New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in February and the fall 2003 shows in London, Milano and Paris, the fashion caravan stopped over briefly in Miami for the fifth annual Fashion Week of the Americas, an international event that played host to over 30 designers from the Caribbean, Europe, Central and Latin America, Canada and the United States. Organized by Beth Sobol of Sobol Fashion Productions, Inc., the event also attracted many members of the international press and buyers, as well as an appreciative local crowd.
   ‘As our global community becomes more cohesive, we see [fewer] boundaries as we embrace each other’s cultures, integrating them into our own, yet retaining our own distinctive style and essence,’ remarked Ms Sobol at the opening of the week’s festivities. ‘Latin and Caribbean designers continue to assert themselves in defining—and impacting—the world of fashion [and] our fifth anniversary edition celebrates this unity and diversity like no other year before, further strengthening Miami’s reputation as an international cultural powerhouse.’
   Between the fashions, the sun, the surf, the parties and a closing night ceremony during which New York City’s favourite redhead, Patricia Field, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement in Fashion Award, Miami and the Fashion Week of the Americas turned out to be more than we expected it to be.
   One immediate conclusion one arrives at when viewing these collections is that while New York, London, Paris, etc. clearly showed designs meant to reflect the upcoming fall or spring season(s), in Miami, location dictated otherwise. If anything, attendees saw an equal mixture of fall 2003 and a possible preview of spring 2004 looks from the participating designers. This reflected their countries of heritage and the seasonal and climate changes they experience at home.
   Further adding to the basic truths of Ms Sobol’s statements, it was quite clear that some of these designers could have shown in New York or any of the other major fashion capitals and would have been found just as receptive an audience. Of course, not every collection was a winner but several did standout as prime examples of great designs (and designers with a lot of potential) that transcend all boundaries.

continued

‘Latin and Caribbean designers continue to assert themselves in defining—and impacting—the world of fashion’