Don’t sleep on Haiti!
A few weeks ago I reported the news about Haiti’s first fashion week and by the looks of the pictures, this was a successful high fashion event.
While the entire Caribbean is known for regular celebrations, colorful people and beautiful beaches, the country of Haiti has had a less joyous couple of years. In an effort to redeem the spirit of the once French colonized country, the European Union sponsored the first Haiti Fashion Week in Port-Au-Prince. As expected the designer’s showed eclectic lines filled with bold prints, intricate beading and carefree cuts. Hats off to the country for reviving itself in a fashionable and fun way!
World-class fashion has gone on display in impoverished Haiti. Nearly three dozen designers showed off their latest tropic-centric creations at Haiti Fashion Week, which ended Sunday. Visitors came from places as close as the neighboring Dominican Republic and as far as Japan. Organizers say it’s the first time such that a fashion show of this scale has taken place in the Caribbean country, which is still slowly rebuilding from the massive earthquake in 2010 that destroyed thousands of buildings and displaced more than a million people. The European Union-backed fashion show was a rare forum for Haitian designers to bring wider attention to their long-overlooked work. Dominican designer Socrates McKinney says Haiti has “a very strong culture, and that in some sense has to be reflected in the fashion.” – Washington Post
- A model presents a creation by Haitian designer Michel Chataigne during a runway show at Haiti’s first Fashion Week in Port-au-Prince November 11, 2012. The shows concluded on Sunday. REUTERS/Swoan Parker (HAITI – Tags: FASHION)
- A model presents a creation by Haitian designer Michel Chataigne during a runway show at Haiti’s first Fashion Week in Port-au-Prince November 11, 2012. The shows concluded on Sunday. REUTERS/Swoan Parker (HAITI – Tags: FASHION)
- A model prepares in front of a mirror backstage before Haiti Fashion Week in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012. Photo: Dieu Nalio Chery / AP
- A model has her makeup done backstage before the opening of Haiti Fashion Week in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2012. Photo: Dieu Nalio Chery / AP
- A model wears a creation by Haitian designer Gaelle Nerette during Fashion Week in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012. Photo: Dieu Nalio Chery / AP
