Fashion & Beauty

New York City Living 360

Fashion Week Goes Tropical to Aruba in Fall of 2011

The New York autumn chill is getting a bit nippy with the wind already biting through my Land's End fleece jacket. I'm already day dreaming about lounging on a tropical beach sipping on a tall frosty cocktail with tradewinds blowing across my face instead of falling leaves.


Next fall, if you're like me and ready to hit the wind and still suffering from New York Fashion Week withdrawal you can combine your love of fashion with tropical breezes thanks of IMG, the producers of. the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

IMG Fashion has partnered with the Aruba Tourism Authority and the Aruba Fashion Group to consult on the creation and execution of a yearly fashion, entertainment and lifestyle event.  "Aruba already offers some of the best designer retail offerings in the Caribbean, and we feel strongly that this new partnership with IMG and the launch of the Aruba in Style event will help to elevate the island's reputation as a mecca for fashion and style," said Mr. Otmar Oduber, Aruba's Minister of Tourism, Transportation and Labor Affairs.

Right now it's a toasty average of  80 degrees in Aruba.  The island, located about 20 miless off the coast of Venezuela offers a unique nature experience with pristine beaches and tradewinds blowing on one side of the island and cacti and desert on the other side.  The island population is a historic mixture of Arawak Indians, Spanish explorers, African slaves and Dutch conquerors.  And the food is fabulous, so why not fashion to the mix!?



Aruba in Style, will be a high profile event mixing fashion shows, parties  and presentations and bringing together designers, celebrities, models, fashionable consumers.  There will also be a "Fashion Night Out" type of event featuring unique in store shopping experiences, open to the public events and exclusive invitation-only soirees. 


Aruba, already a popular wedding destination will also, incorporate bridal collections into event.  Damilice Mansur, a principal of the Aruba Fashion Group is convinced this event can be " the most fashionable event in the region highlighting Aruba as the leading fashion and entertainment destination in the Caribbean."
IMG, a leader in the management, production and creation of global fashion platforms, will bring its expertise in establishing an events global presence as well as industry and designer contacts to the event.

Photograph by Mousa

Designers, models and celebrities have not signed on yet, but we can expect to get more details in the coming year.  "This is a tremendous opportunity for us," said Peter Levy, Managing Director of IMG Fashion Worldwide.  "We have often looked towards this region as a place where a strong, global fashion event could take place and were lucky enough to find creative thinkers in the Aruba Tourism Authority and Aruba Fashion Group who shared our vision for something both sophisticated, cool, and distinctly Aruban."

Photos Courtesy of Aruba Tourism Authority

http://www.aruba.com