State's top designers converge in Hampton Roads
Searching for high-end fashion in Hampton Roads may seem like trying to find a mermaid in Arizona.
But there's more 'Project Runway' action going on in Tidewater than people may think. And that's exactly the message Ann Leister plans to proselytize during Virginia Fashion Week, which is taking place in Williamsburg for the first time this year.
During the five-day event, scheduled for Oct. 9-13, dozens of Hampton Roads and Richmond-area designers will send their creations down the runway in what Leister describes as the area's only New York City-style fashion event.
Leister began the showcase in 2007 as a way to promote her modeling agency and offer local designers a chance to test their skills at a professional fashion event. While bridal shows and urban designer events are more common in the area, high-end couture designs are harder to find.
'Fashion is art'
From the beginning, the fashion week events have taken place in Norfolk or Virginia Beach, Leister's hometown. This year, Virginia Fashion Week's main events move to Williamsburg, where Leister hopes to draw crowds from both Hampton Roads and Richmond.
The move also, in part, pays homage to groups in Williamsburg who are working to make the Colonial town an arts destination.
'Fashion is art,' says Leister. 'There are so many talented people in Virginia. We want to do what we can to let Virginia be known for that a little bit.'
And designers at Virginia Fashion Week are getting noticed. Last year, a Chesapeake designer was spotted at the fashion event and asked to design clothing for a movie. The production, Leister says, is still in progress.
Still, pursuing a dream of fashion design in an area that is heavily traditional and mostly transient can seem futile.
Second careers
Many local designers, like Gayatri Khosla, have pursued fashion as a second career.
The York County mother has paired her upbringing in India with her love for modern American fashion to create a comfortable, practical and beautiful sari that will be featured on the runways of Virginia Fashion Week.
'This is a way we can fuse our love for India and our new home,' she says, referring to her business partner and childhood friend Rati Bahadur.
Designing under the label Yatra Collection, the ladies are more focused on retail than some of the other designers participating in Virginia Fashion Week. The Yatra Collection of saris and tunics is sold at more than 75 boutiques around the country; Khosla and Bahadur employ a team of artisans in India to handle the intricate embroidery on each piece.
'This show will be the first time we have used professional models,' Khosla says. 'We carry size 2 to 16, and we always use real women to showcase our looks. My main model is my hairstylist.'
Lipgloss & Stilletos
Fashion design is also a second career for Leslie Thompson, of Newport News, but she admits her looks are primarily designed for the runway.
Thompson describes her collection as avant-garde. And the name of her business - Lipgloss & Stilletos - suggests that her designs are meant for those women who wouldn't dare leave the house without those fashion staples.
'It's bold,' she says, 'No one would wear it walking down the street, unless you're bold. And that's me, basically.'
From leather hi-low skirts to capes and thigh-high leggings, Thompson's line is dramatic, inspired by the Paris runway, she says.
The Newport News mother started her career as a model, but left the business to raise a family. Last year, she decided to visit Virginia Fashion Week wearing her own creation. Now, she is preparing to show her collection at the event.
'I never knew it could get this far,' she says. 'If you're looking to get involved in fashion here, you need to go to the shows. There are a lot of designers that are looking for assistants to help them backstage, and that's where you can learn so much.'
As for Thompson, she learned the technicalities of design from watching her mother and grandmother sew. As a runway model, she reveled in the designer clothes she got to wear, and mimicked their choices of fabrics and sewing techniques to teach herself how to design clothes.
That's the story for many fashion designers who originate from the Hampton Roads region. With no formal training programs in the area, hopeful designers must travel, teach themselves or call on local mentors.
It's who you know
Truly, in Hampton Roads, it's all about who you know. And everyone knows Mr. Carlyle.
Thompson, for example, met Carlyle Williams at last year's Virginia Fashion Week. He encouraged her to create a collection, and two weeks after the official launch of her Lipgloss & Stilletos line, she was invited to take part in a New York Fashion Week event.
Mr. Carlyle, as he prefers to be called, can give a long list of fashion ventures he is involved in. And the list of things he wants to do is even longer.
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