[new_royalslider id=”44″]
The fourth annual M.V. Fashion Week, which wrapped up Saturday night with a splashy runway show, featured eight events, clothing by six local designers, half a dozen jewelers, fall looks from 10 Vineyard stores, eight hair and makeup stylists, and more than 30 models.
Most important, the weeklong event raised thousands for benefiting organization Angel Flight Northeast. Fashion Week is the sole Vineyard fundraiser for the all-volunteer nonprofit that provides free air travel to and from medical appointments for those in need. Since its inception in 2011, M.V. Fashion Week has provided $20,000 for Angel Flight. According to founder/organizer Trena Morrison, this year’s event was the most successful so far in terms of money raised.
Thursday’s fashion show and dinner at Lure featured new designs by established designer Stina Sayre, whose boutique on Main Street, Vineyard Haven, offers high-quality fashion with a European flair, and the mother/daughter team of Randi Sylvia and Marlene DiStefano, whose Kenworthy line of designs can be found at StudioShop in Oak Bluffs.
Friday’s show at Dreamland spotlighted casual looks from local stores as well as the work of two local bathing-suit designers. The willowy Dynasty Models, imported from Boston, flashed lots of skin while strutting the double, two-way runway and posing on a small elevated platform in bikinis, shorts, and cover-ups.
The real drama could be found at Saturday’s finale — also at Dreamland — where Karen Trotier of Menagerie showcased showstopping designs. Models were decked out in hats decorated with gilded horseshoe crabs, capes and bodices made from clamshells, a conch-shell headdress, a giant top hat garlanded with ferns and green mini lights, and — the final bit of drama — a precariously tall set of antlers fashioned from tree branches. Not everything was strictly for show. Ms. Trotier’s evening looks feature lots of sequins and feathers, long trains, and highly textural fabrics, but maintain a dramatically elegant feel.
On the other end of the spectrum, new designer Lauren Morgan presented a line that was remarkable for its simplicity. Working mainly with luscious solid colors — lemony yellow, melon, robin’s-egg blue — Ms. Morgan has a great sense for breezy, untailored design with flair. Her signature look combined a flattering free-flowing shift dress with architectural elements or feminine adornments adding interest up top. It was an impressive, very professional debut from the Vineyard’s latest designer.