Boston brings unity with Emerging Trends Show

THE 2011 EMERGING TRENDS SHOW was an incredible success, advancing Boston’s development in the fashion industry. The fourth annual fashion event was held on September 24, at the Cyclorama in Boston. It brought together emerging designers, buyers, sponsors, press, media and local fashionistas. The uniqueness of the show is what wins over the audience year after year. There were entertainment, photo ops, networking, sample sales and vendors displaying a variety of merchandise.

Doors opened at 8 P.M. for guests. They had the opportunity to walk around and shop at the variety of vendor booths outlining the venue. There was everything from clothing, shoes, handbags, jewellery and beauty products. Some of the designers showcased, like Sterlingwear of Boston, Lady Baptiste and Ashley Zaba had their own vendor booths allowing attendees to view their look books and purchase items directly from their collection.

The show started precisely at 9 P.M. hosted by Rachel Barker, former Miss New Hampshire and entertainment reporter. This was an exclusive opportunity to see innovative collections from 17 of the most talented up-and-coming designers from all over the world. The diversity of designers is what makes this such an amazing event. Each collection possessed its own individuality and character, changing the mood constantly. Each design was a piece of art, displayed down the 80 ft runway. The show was broken up into three sets with intermission breaks in between. The intermission breaks allowed guests to shop at the vendor booths, mingle among other fashion amateurs, or grab a drink at the bar. That’s something that makes this event so exceptional; it’s more than “just” a fashion show.

The first set of the show opened with Wallace Playford, a fresh, futuristic and vintage collection. The runway went back in time with styles from all different periods, and demonstrated a creative interplay of colors, patterns and textures. The following designers were Garde De Avente, Lyndsay Lee with Eclectic Originals, KALB&ETIW, Lady Baptiste, Halldora Eydis Jonsdottir, and Boston Platinum. Lady Baptist owned the runway with her flirty retro designs. Her collection is inspirational to women creating a sense of power.

Sterlingwear of Boston.

The second set opened with Vintage Boutique by Karmaloop.com and was followed by Ruby Johnson with Emanuela Aureli, Ashley Zaba, Gate 26 and Casebale, Dina Trindade, TrashGlam, and Sterlingwear of Boston. All of the collections in this set were bold and had their own distinct personality. The whole atmosphere in the Cyclorama would change drastically depending on the designer. Ruby Johnson with Emanuela Aureli’s collection was extremely feminine, featuring florals, sheer fabrics, and a dreamy whimsical touch. TrashGlam intensified the mood with their sexy burlesque and dominatrix inspired collection, filling the runway with vixens on the prowl in the dead of the night.

The last set of the show featured the three headline designers, Linda Rowe Thomas, Rana Al Soliman and !Nu.I. They all rocked the runway and presented strong splashes of colour making the collections really pop. First to show off their talent was Romas by Linda Rowe Thomas, who emphasized sophisticated elegance. This collection was fresh and clean, and was the perfect mixture of timeless classics and contemporary style. Rajadano’s collection was focused mainly on accessories. The brightly coloured handbags take three months to complete because of all the intricate detail and labour.

The show ended with !Nu.I (above right), whose collection defined innovativeness and creativity. Her designs were very unconventional and combined patterns and silhouettes that most people wouldn’t think would work, but !Nu.I knows how to make them work. •

Above left Lady Baptiste. Above right Boston Platinum.


Ruby Ellen and Emanuela Aureli.


Above left Ashley Zaba. Above right Gate 26 by Andy Jacques and Caseable.


Above left Sterlingwear of Boston. Above right Linda Rowe Thomas.


Above left Rajadano. Above right !Nu.I.

An array of collars
Lola Saab meets Christine Rhee and Linh Thi Do, who have created their new accessories’ label, Eleven Objects, which kicks off fall 2011 with a range of creative and expressive collars