Innovation, style, artistry, creativity, glamour, excitement – mere words are not enough to describe what the audience can expect from the hottest new event at this year’s expanded Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival!
If you haven’t already heard, St Lucia HOT COUTURE on May 7 is a first for the island’s fashion industry. Blending the best of local, regional and international talent in design, modeling and event management, the show is powered by a dream team of local industry professionals with the St Lucia Tourist Board in the driver’s seat. Inventive twists include the venue, as the glittering runway show will be staged at the brand new Audi Showroom at the Meridian Place, Choc Estate, with its sleek, modern design underpinning the style and vision of HOT COUTURE.
THE TEAM BEHIND THE SHOW
The region’s top glossy magazine for women, SHE Caribbean is throwing its weight behind the event. Led by the inimitable Mae Wayne, SHE magazine has driven the cause of Caribbean fashion for over 10 years, and Mae is thrilled that the newest addition to Jazz will allow St Lucia to stamp its presence on the regional fashion landscape. Mae will further lend her expertise in her capacity as Production Manager for the event.
Creative Director Vincent McDoom is the flamboyant French/Saint Lucian fashion celeb and actor whose experience in the European industry is unparalleled. His enthusiasm for HOT COUTURE has been electric, his stylized imprint on the concept of the show is undeniable and he has personally coached and mentored the lineup of local models since way back in March. Says McDoom, “Whether or not the SLTB realises it, they have created a whole new industry (in St Lucia).”
The design of the HOT COUTURE venue is no longer a closely-guarded secret and the SLTB is proud to host the event in the newly commisioned, ever-modern glass architectural masterpiece, The Audi Showroom at Meridian Place. Adrian Augier’s Landmark Events promises a cutting edge, futuristic feast for the eyes, designed to dazzle and compliment the mood of the evening.
Styling the models’ hair will be popular coiffeur Emile Williams of Emile Hair Design, leading a cadre of local stylists many of whom are graduates of the National Skills Development Centre (NSDC) certification programme. The SLTB sees this collaboration as important to its mandate of skills development and capacity building through the hosting of the St Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival. A make-up team is headed by Sacha Cosmetics and M&C Drugstore, official distributor for Sacha Cosmetics.
THE DESIGNERS
A pepperpot of local and regional designers guarantees that HOT COUTURE will be diverse, eclectic and sensational. Emerging St Lucian designers will have the opportunity to show their talent alongside established Caribbean names like Claudia Pegus, Heather Jones and our own Queen Esther of Kuumba Designs. Fresh local brands in the lineup include the ethnic–inspired J’aeylu, funky sisal & fabric Perry Bags, and cocktail dresses from Incognito. Party chic, resort and swimwear, jewellery, handbags – the HOT COUTURE runway promises to feature HOT looks from HOT fashion houses and for the closing piece expect HOT to get Haute! Look out for our Designer Profiles feature in the STAR next week.
THE MODELS
Hand-picked by the HOT COUTURE casting team in March, the fresh faces of St Lucia’s modelling industry have been hard at work under the tutelage of runway diva Vincent McDoom, whose exacting standards have been challenging but equally rewarding. Balancing books and water-bottles on their heads, they have clocked quite some runway mileage in preparation for the show of their lives, and as McDoom arrives back this week for final HOT COUTURE preparations, the pressure is bound to be ‘on’. Joining the newbies will be international success stories Denise Lay, Portia Chery, Annaliese Dayes and Mala Bryan, whose careers are proof that Saint Lucian talent is an important export. The complete model lineup will be featured in the May 4 issue of the STAR. Look out for model profiles in 2nite Magazine!
As the countdown to May 7 ticks away, the St Lucia Tourist Board and SHE Caribbean are energetically hustling behind-the-scenes to guarantee that the inaugural St Lucia HOT COUTURE will be breathtaking. Deputy Chairman of SLTB, Thaddeus Antoine, reports that the entire Jazz & Arts Festival team is excited at the prospect of adding a fashion event of this international standard to the event calendar, declaring that “HOT COUTURE is destined to become a must-do during the festival, in the same way as the mainstage Saturday and Sunday shows. Just as St Lucian musical talent is in the spotlight, the fashion industry of St Lucia will also get the opportunity to shine.”
Call the Saint Lucia Tourist Board for ticket information and further details. Tickets can be booked online on www.stluciajazz.org.
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