FRESH Fashion Show 2012

This past spring, I had the opportunity to attend a local fashion event hosted by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation. I was super excited for this event because my coworker, MD, was featured on the runway! It's like knowing a local celebrity. I think it's fun to be starstruck on occasion.

I was accompanied by MK, another coworker, and we were impressed from the start after seeing the likes of this in Westin's ballroom:

From the hair to the body paint to the nails: Glam!

The show featured mainly girls, but some guys got in on the action too.

Soon it was time for the initial event! (I apologize for the quality of many of these photos. Technically, I wasn't supposed to be using my camera, so a lot of these were done in a rush.)

MD and several other girls started the action by strutting the runway in jeans, white tops, and designer bags (drool). Apparently, the entire backstage area was on major lockdown because of all those bags!

MD on the right; her cousin is on the left.

Check out the shoes! I'd be useless in those.

Like I said, the guys worked the runway also. MD tells me they were pumping irons backstage. Funny!

Not a single mistake! I would have definitely tripped or cracked a smile by this point.

The fashion show featured all local designers. The designs covered everything from urban style to wedding gowns to clothing featuring natural elements.

Love everything from the neck up on this one. Plus the glove.

Yes, one designer (Virginia Foster) made her clothing line out of thatch and other local plants. It was actually our favorite collection! So creative. But also scratchy.

More thatch! This time in a wedding dress...

...which converted into a cocktail dress. (Since apparently everyone needs two gowns these days.)

Even the hosts, Kareem Nelson Hull and Janelle Muttoo, got to switch up their looks several times throughout the show.

Another friend, KD, is a staple of the Cayman catwalk, and was looking as sleek as ever.

During intermission, I wandered around, taking a few shots of the room.

The first two rows of seats got access to the bubbles.

A makeup booth in the corner offered free makeovers.

Back at our seats, MK chatted with a young guest who was there to see her rugby coach. Local events mean lots of familiar faces.

The show also featured the unique sunglasses of twin designers Coco&&Breezy. I was so distracted by the challenges of the dresses these models had to wear (seriously, some of them could barely put one foot in front of the other) that it took me a second to notice the uber-glammed eyewear.

But really, how could you miss the likes of these shades? Borderline scary, if you ask me.

And here are Coco&&Breezy themselves! They collaborated with Horacio Esteban to design a pair of sunglasses that feature Caymanite, a local semi-precious stone.

The final collection featured wedding gowns from Kidan Brooks, and we were pleased to see MD included in this lineup as well!

KD reappeared on the catwalk, keeping my camera clicking.

And then right at the end, after I'd zipped up my camera bag and was ready to head for the door, all the models reappeared on stage for a final encore appearance. Luckily, MK was ready for it. There's our MD, center, finally cracking a smile for the camera!

    photo credit: MK

I'm glad we were in attendance at this fashion show. Local events are a great way to see the talent the island has to offer, and it no longer surprises me when an acquaintance is part of the mix. Besides, being starstruck is way more fun when you actually know the stars.

Well done, MD & KD!