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EBONY BRINGS RED HOT FASHION TO PINE BLUFF

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, March 7, 2009 10:44 PM CST

Fashions from New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan and more did their little turn on a Pine Bluff catwalk Wednesday night.

Special to The Commercial/Mike Adam

And model Merkeycia Carter from El Dorado was a big part of the internationally renown 51st annual Ebony Fashion Fair.

“It’s a blessing,” Carter said. “I love traveling the world.”

About 400 people attended the 2008-09 Runway Report held at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts Center.

And this wasn’t your vanilla ice cream, straight-path model walk. These models jumped and shimmed and jived — showing off the lovely art of the clothes they wear.

“It’s a lot of work,” Carter said. “We practice for a month and that’s it.”

Practice starts in Chicago in August and September touring follows for several months.

A cast of 13, including a commentator, two male models and one plus-sized women’s model, make up the entire on-stage crowd.

The Fashion

Carter wore some of the more daring clothing during the show including a nearly invisible gown with black beads scrolled on the fabric.

Jada Collins was the emcee for the show, explaining to the audience what the 2008-09 year held for fashion.

“Hot pants are set to make a come back,” she said, as the first of several pairs of short-shorts paraded on stage.

Collins warned that the style should be worn by the young, and not necessarily the young-at-heart.

The 3-piece hot pants suit with argyle-style stockings could have Pine Bluff fashionistas liking the new conservative man-style look.

The show’s palate leaned heavily toward red, a color theme for the show.

“Let me tell you ladies, a red dress is very, very trendy,” Collins said.

Even men’s fashion followed the bright color, with one model showing a trench coat and long-johns in red.

“It’s like seeing a horse of a different color,” Collins said.

Designers seemed set on bright colors for the season, among the more popular creme, platinum and black, there were splashes of teal, royal purple, mustard, peach and lime green.

Color was later upstaged by the fur and feathers sprouting from every available surface.

Carter wore a hat, full-length skirt and jacket completely covered in dark green cockatiel feathers.

One model sported a mini skirt made of fur. Another displayed a coat with overlapping layers of fur and orange feathers.

Where the texture wasn’t eccentric, the print was. African themes were prevalent with animal prints, blocks of color and different styles of fabric creating a kaleidoscope for several outfits.

The crowd oohed and ahhed over the latest fashions, encouraging the models flaunting their stuff.

The charity

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Tau Phi, the local graduate chapter, find funds for supporting its scholarships for local students through events such as the Ebony Fashion Fair.

James Horton, chairman for the event, said he thought the event had a good turnout for a bumpy economic climate.

“It’s down all over the country,” he said, of the show’s attendance.

“It’s not as bad as what we expected,” he added.

The fraternity has awarded more than $75,000 in scholarships and grants for higher education.

Horton said the show was one of few in the area where locals could wear their finery, an opportunity many used — taking the time to don their trendiest look.

“This is one of the greatest events that comes to town,” Horton said.

One of Omega’s talent show winners was present at the event, Sierra Beleford. She’s won the event two years in a row.

This year she sang “Open My Heart.”

Beleford said she had a great time, and is interested in the world of modeling.

Wednesday, it was the sparkling clothing that caught her eye.

Her favorite outfit?

“The last dress with the diamonds.”

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