Fashion show to rock runway in Winter Park

 

(Photo:MarieProm UK)The words “Fashion Week” might stir up images of the Big Apple and Bryant Park, but for those on Park Avenue, they hit a bit closer to home.

The fifth annual Luma Fashion Fete will take place Oct. 30 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and this year’s theme is “Day of the Dead.”

The Winter Park restaurant Luma on Park will host the luxury fashion experience, produced by Jane Layne Events. The event includes two high-end fashion shows, live entertainment, dancing, gourmet food and hand-crafted cocktails.

The fashion shows will be styled by Tammara Kohler, stylist and owner of Fused Fashion, and models will walk down the runway in high-fashion, gothic-inspired designs.

Luma Fashion Fete was created as a way to advocate local brands and designers within the Central Florida community.

“We want Winter Park to have a thriving community,” Kohler said. “It’s so easy to overlook the up-and-coming, but working with the locals and supporting locals — supporting the grassroots — there’s a lot of ingenuity there.”

Rachel Mizrahi, vice president of events for Jane Layne Events, said the event sells out every year.

“All the trendsetters of Central Florida will be there,” Mizrahi said.

Luma Fashion Fete coincides with Park Avenue Fashion Week, which began Oct. 25 and lasts for seven days with trunk shows, parties and exclusive sales that all lead up to a runway show on Nov. 1.

“People wait for this all year. We want to kick off a really stellar weekend of fashion, celebration and beauty,” Mizrahi said.

One goal of Park Avenue Fashion Week is to seek out up-and-coming designers and college students aspiring to be designers to compete in a Project Runway-style competition. The five finalists present their work on the runway in the finale show on Nov. 1.

This is the eighth year of Park Avenue Fashion Week and Michelle Marks, the Park Avenue Fashion Week coordinator and owner of Shel Marks PR & Events, said her goal is to show people what Park Avenue has to offer.

“I want to bring the community and people on the outside in to see the boutiques, bars, hotels and restaurants and gain awareness of Park Avenue,” Marks said.

UCF alumna Analys Sanchez is also on board as the Shel Marks PR & Events social media strategist and project lead for Park Avenue Fashion Week. Sanchez graduated in August 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising.

“Being able to be a part of this is a dream come true, both career-wise and personally,” Sanchez said. “This is the largest and most challenging project I’ve worked on, but I saw areas where it could be improved, and I am confident and excited to be working on this and be challenged on a new level.”

Morgan McGee, a senior event and hospitality management major, is a lead intern for Shel Marks PR & Events, and works alongside Sanchez as a social media strategist and project lead for Park Avenue Fashion Week.

After interning with Shel Marks PR & Events over the summer, McGee was asked to be the lead intern for Park Avenue Fashion Week.

“I am hoping to get out more team-building and event experience,” McGee said. “We do a lot of events and each one is different and exciting, but this one will be different for me due to the sheer size, so this will be a great event to add to my portfolio.”

McGee said it’s her responsibility to make sure guests have a memorable experience.

“It is important to me because this job and this Fashion Week is something people look forward to every year, and to be a part of the team that puts this show on is exciting,” McGee said.Read more at:marieprom.co.uk Prom Dresses