Yacht Haven Grande sizzled with sexiness and attitude on Thursday, October 4th as Virgin Islands Fashion Week kicked off with the Official Opening Ceremonies which featured music by the St. Thomas All Star Steel Orchestra and a performance by the Heritage Dancers, paying tribute to the Virgin Islands Culture. Alexis Ryan, Loraine St. Aimee, Kaishah Peters, Janay Reymond, Al Haynes, Jeff Purcell, Lisa Mosley were among the designers who presented the public with a taste of their individual collections.
A high light of Virgin Islands Fashion Week was the showcase featuring up and coming 17 year old designer, Allora Tutein of St. Croix. She modeled her designs at the Fashion Market Expo which was held at the Tutu Park Mall.
The Caribbean Catwalk Runway Show was held at Frenchman’s Reef Marriott Hotel on St. Thomas. This spectacular event brought together fashion, beauty, music and art from all over the Caribbean including Guyana, Bermuda and St. Maarten among others. The audience was captivated by the creativity, ingenuity and craftsmanship that were displayed.
Other designers presenting their latest collections were Sonia Noel of Guyana, Amethyst Richardson and Zakiya Douglas of Bermuda, Onika Best of Barbados, NATTY Garments, AGAPE and Christ Couture Fashions of the USA, Jeff Purcell, Nayda Young, Sandal Sole, Riddim Driven (House of Ashanti/VP Records) and Haynes Designs of St. Thomas and Jamal Drummond of St. Croix
Virgin Islands Fashion Week Special Guests included Miss Teiko Dornor, model and TV presenter, from London who modeled and conducting interviews for her program ACCESS which is aired on OBE TV in London.
The culmination of the week-long fashion celebration was the Swimsuit Fashion Show and Calendar Release party at Magens Bay, sponsored in part by PriceSmart. Throughout the week all of the designers flooded the stage with remarkable pieces and presented the latest fashions from their line.
International media representatives from over 6 countries covered this incredible fashion and entertainment event including SHABEAU Magazine, Couture Magazine, Caribelle Magazine, POSH Caribbean Magazine and CORE Magazine,
Official sponsors included Yacht Haven Grande, USVI Department of Tourism, Government of the USVI, ACE Flight Center, Regal Limo, Celebrations, Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Hotel, PriceSmart, Magens Bay Authority, concert works and Megamix Productions. Media partners included Ackley Media Group Stations, Face – to- Face on Channel 12, VI Source – the VI #1 internet newspaper.
Virgin Islands Fashion Week would like to extend a special thank you to the general public, sponsors and well wishers for their support of the event.
