Published On:Wednesday, August 25, 2010

ISLANDS of the World Fashion Tour, the most recent off-shoot of Islands of the World Fashion Week, made its second cross-country (USA) stop in the windy city, Chicago. The show, executed to a full capacity house of 300 persons, took place at the chic Loft on Lake facility in the renowned West Loop.

Known for its keen sense of style, even in architectural design, and the existence of the Magnificent Mile of designer boutiques and upscale retail stores, Chicago offered the perfect setting to present the exquisite creations of four award-winning designers from the exotic islands of Indonesia, Jamaica, Madagascar, and The Bahamas. The guest list included the who's who of Chicago's social, government, and fashion circles. Attendees included Candace Jordan of "Candid Candace", Saira Mohan, Trevian Kutti, Corri McFadden, Ashley Drapers, Barbara Samuels, and Kristen Fredricksen Skordillis.

Schedule

The show, co-hosted by Factio Magazine, kicked off with the designs of Harl Taylor BAG of The Bahamas, followed by Nadya of Bali, Indonesia, K-Bobby of Jamaica, and closed with Eric Raisina of Madagascar. The models came from Factor of Chicago, and were joined by Kendrick Kemp from The Bahamas, the Male Model Muse for Islands of the World Fashion Week.

Chicago follows the success of the inaugural stop on the tour in Palm Desert, California, in March. There, the designers of Islands of the World Fashion Tour joined other designers during Fashion Week, El Paseo.

After Chicago, the tour will stop in Miami on October 23, during FashionMiami and Funkshion activities. The tour then climaxes with the three-day event, Islands of the World Fashion Week, scheduled for Nassau, Bahamas, during November 11-13, at the newly opened hot spot, Club Luna, which will be transformed into a dream runway stage for the event.

Special Features

This year Fashion Week will take on two special features: A competition titled "In Search of the Next Oscar", where a designer from a group of five finalists will be selected for presentation of his/her collection during New York Fashion Week in February, 2011. The competition is in recognition of the achievements of Oscar de la Renta, whose roots are in the Dominican Republic. Fashion Week will also highlight the creativity of Haiti against the backdrop of the tragedy of the earthquake by featuring five designers from Haiti in a special performance "Fashion Cares for Haiti: The Relief Benefit Fashion Show". The objective is to focus attention to the ongoing needs for development and rebuilding after the earthquake, and to highlight the value of encouraging trade and support for the indigenous fashion industry in Haiti in addition to the demand for aid.