Five Caymanian women will be strutting down the catwalk at one of the most highly anticipated events in the fashion industry, New York Fashion Week, being held 7-12 Feb. 2024.
Shannon Crew, Sydonie Barrett, Leilani Eden, Mili Almaguer and Alana Tooker will be accompanied by local fashion designer and CEO of Cayman InStyle Fashion Week, Norma Ebanks, who is no stranger to the international showcase and will be presenting several pieces from her latest collection.
“I’m partnering with the TFL, which is The Fashion Life tour, and the ladies and I will be taking part in a show on 10 Feb.,” Ebanks told the Compass. “As a designer, it’s exciting every time I go, whether it’s New York, London, Milan, Miami…it’s just a way of giving me that international exposure that I wouldn’t get just sitting down in Cayman. It’s also very important to have our local models in my own collections during NYC fashion week.”
New York Fashion Week is the biggest platform for international designers, offering celebrities, industry insiders and enthusiasts a glimpse into the latest collections, trends and styles.
This month, the autumn and winter collections will be presented, with the spring/summer lines on show in September. As always, the week dedicated to all things fashion will feature exclusive events, workshops, designer presentations, and trendy parties.
The models have had a full week of training locally in the lead-up to leaving for NY. On The Fashion Life tour, Ebanks said, the women will also go through a boot camp and train with a number of top models in the US.
“Each model will be showcasing 20 pieces from the Norma Ebanks Design collection as well as… [get the] opportunity to wear other collections from international designers at the NYC fashion week,” she said.
Ebanks, who leads a modelling agency in Cayman and trains aspiring models for local and international opportunities, said once models come from an established agency, designers are more confident in selecting them.
“I want the best to walk in my show, and that’s what I want for my Caymanian women… to be able to go out there, establish themselves, and network with other designers, so we can put ourselves on the map.”
Following fashion week in NY, three other Caymanian models, Georgina Kerford, Alisha Millwood and Brianna Livingston, will get their time to shine at the London version.
All seven women will then join some 120 local models back home for Cayman InStyle Fashion Week 2024, which will be held from 18-21 April.
According to an InStyle Fashion Week press release, the fashion extravaganza “promises to be a celebration of style, creativity, and community”.
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