By Ava Holly
The room began to get silent as guests made their way to their seats. Once again, we found ourselves at the Showboat, Atlantic City, in the beautiful new Terminal Convention area for Atlantic City Fashion Week.
For 24 seasons executive producers Lamont and Jeana Bowling have been bringing their “Passion for Fashion” to Atlantic City. This season did not disappoint with beautiful models and fashions from over 80 designers.
The venue was set up perfectly with a small food vendor area, retail vendors from a wide variety of products and of course, the beautiful runway which was laid out like a maze. Shiny white tile adorned the runway itself, surrounded by the seats for guests, the media pit and the VIP front row exclusive.
This season, the center of the runway area was adorned with yellow balloons/balls displaying the ACFW theme. Gracing the runway on Saturday was supermodel and actor Gio Delavicci. Catch him in episodes of “John Wick” and “The Blacklist,” among other things. Way to go Gio.
Music was provided by the ever popular DJ Luna as models graced the elaborate runway to give us a glimpse of all the designers’ hard work.
There were a lot of bold patterns displayed this season as well as bridal and couture looks. It was interesting to see the models walk straight out, then turn down another path, then turn again to head towards the media pit, where the action happens for them, and then turn back to complete a course around an innovative runway layout.
Students from Rowan and more showcased designs on Thursday evening along with kids’ fashions. Then Friday and Saturday took off with shows presenting street wear, bridal wear, swimwear, and couture to name a few of the highlighted looks.
Hats off to all of the people who make this event so special including front end supervisor Manny Bowling, event director Mercedes B. Franklin, media director John Staples, hair and makeup, music, creative directors and more.
The evening would not run smoothly without production assistant Sherrye Smith Hawkins who oversees everything that is going on.
If you were a VIP ticket holder you not only got to sit in the front row, you also got the swag bags and a fresh new copy of Industry magazine.
Lamont and Jeana are excited to be coming back to Atlantic City in May. Follow them on social media outlets to see when designer applications are being accepted and for model castings.
You can also find them at www.atlanticcityfashionweek.com for more information.
