EVENTS
HARLEM COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
Emerge! Celebrates 10th Anniversary Fashion Show in Virtual Harmony
By Audrey J. Bernard
Harlem Community Newspapers | March 4. 2021
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ew York Fashion Week’s fall/summer collections are held in February during Black History Month and the Emerge! Fashion Virtual Runway Show, which was celebrating a decade of delivering fashions from top Black and African designers, was one of the first to sashay down the “Reimagined” virtual runway with a beautiful display of designs created by Black designers from the United States, London & Africa! The Emerge! 10th Anniversary fashion extravaganza was hosted by Claire Sulmers of Fashion Bomb Daily, with special guest presenters Andre’ Leon Talley (former Vogue contributor), and Fern Mallis (creator of
10 Haus of L.A.
New York Fashion Week). Emerge! 10th Anniversary designers unveiling their newest designs via creative vignettes included Terri Stevens of Funkinbeautiful Designs (Chicago), Scalo Designs (Johannesburg), Jesu’ Segun London, Orla Couture (Lagos, Nigeria), Haus of L.A. (Los Angeles, Chicago). The virtual event also featured congratulatory remarks from fashion & style notables, an excellent performance by Yanna Cello, a nostalgic look back over the 10 year history of Emerge!, and special clips from Emerge! In addition, EMERGE! Design Talk, which covered today’s fashion challenges, featured London-based designer Ozwald Boateng, urban street wear designer Karl Kani & iconic model Pat Cleveland. Each year the Fashion Innovator Award is presented to a fashion leader, visionary, and innovator who has paved the way for other artists in the industry and who has made a huge impact in the fashion industry. Fashion Bomb Daily’s Claire Sulmers presented the coveted award to celebrity stylist & “image architect” Law Roach for his impact
Dionne Williams, Terry Stevens in shaping the global fashion industry. “Stylist and Image Architect, Law Roach, undeniably transforms celebrities into fashion icons and I am grateful to him for accepting this award,” stated Sulmers. “I am so excited about the anniversary show,” says Dionne Williams, creator and producer of Emerge! Fashion Show. “When I created Emerge 10 years ago my purpose was to highlight the creativity and art that designers create for the runway. I am always
Scalo Designs
Funkinbeautiful Designs
at awe at the talent and gifts that designers bring to light.” Sponsors for the show included AMBI Skincare, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, LAMIK Cosmetics & ORS Haircare and GFNTY. The virtual event streamed on GFNTV. com and on www.Emergerunwaynyc.com. GFNTV is a premiere online video network, which also streams live on various platforms including ROKU & Apple TV. (Photos courtesy Emerge!)
About Emerge! Brands EMERGE! A Fashion Runway Show, EMERGE! Design Talk, and the Fashion Innovator Award are all brands of, or are created and produced by Dionne Williams of D. Williams Public Relations Group. These have become among the top emerging designer platforms during New York Fashion Week, and have been consistent in providing national outlets for emerging designers to showcase their work. Hundreds of designer submis-
Scalo Designs
Jesu'Segun sions are reviewed by an elite designer committee, which selects some of the top designers from around the world to be featured and/or honored.
