Liliana Rhymer wore a black romper, beige high heels and a wide grin as she walked the stage on Saturday during the Global Glamour Runway Show on Saturday at the Multi-purpose Sports Complex.
Ms. Rhymer and four other Virgin Islanders — Akeem Stanley, Rhenique Cooper, Sasha Richards and Ruth Headlam — were the first cohort of Summer Sizzle BVI Emerging Designers.
On Saturday, their outfits were featured alongside the work of more than a dozen designers from abroad, culminating three days of parties and other fashion events organised by New York-based Virgin Islander Terry Donovan.
British fashion photographer Nigel Barker, a former judge on America’s Next Top Model, hosted the event for the first time.
“I’ve done Fashion Week in New York for almost 22 years; Fashion Week in London; Fashion Week in Milan; Fashion Week Paris — and in fact fashion weeks in all over the world,” Mr. Barker told the audience. “But one of the most important things to me is the fact that BVI has attracted designers from all over the world. That says something about the fact that designers take the BVIs seriously. Means you’re doing something right.”
Indeed, the show included designers from around the Caribbean and as far away as New York and Japan, whose outfits ranged from swimsuits to bridal gowns to children’s wear.
The fashion weekend also brought visitors from abroad.
Sarah Slabisak, a physician from Dallas, booked a trip to the territory just for the show, she said.
“I needed to escape from work,” said Ms. Slabisak, who watched most of the show while standing next to a group of photographers at the end of the runway. “It was glorious; it was fabulous.”
Though she was impressed by most of the outfits, clothing by US designer Cesar Galindo and Japanese designer Yumi Katsura stood out the most, Ms. Slabisak said.
“What makes a fashion show is the energy that it brings to the audience,” she said. “Not everyone that attends a fashion show is a fashion connoisseur, so if you pull people in that are not into the fashion scene, that, to me, is what brings the whole thing together.”
See the July 21, 2016 edition for full coverage.
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