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Fashion Fair Goes On Glam Odyssey

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By CLOE CABRERA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 31, 2008

TAMPA - Luvator Nelson was 23 when she attended her first Ebony Fashion Fair show in Tampa.

That was 35 years ago, but Nelson's voice still resonates with excitement.

She spent hours selecting the red evening gown she wore to the most exciting fashion show she ever saw.

"I was like, 'Oh, my God, I'm going to the Ebony Fashion Fair!'" recalls the 58-year-old retired account executive. "Tampa isn't a place where you can do a lot of dressing up, but this is one event where you could."

And then, at Tampa Theatre, she saw them: beautiful black models wearing the latest in haute couture from the world's top designers.

"It was fabulous to see all those black models looking so gorgeous in those clothes," she says. "These were regular blacks modeling and traveling the country before there were Naomis Campbell and Tyras Banks. That's not something you saw a lot of.

"The presentation was just amazing - the lights, the music. There was dancing. It was like a cabaret show. It was exciting from beginning to end," says Nelson, president of the Derrick Brooks Charities Youth Auxiliary, which is hosting the fashion show.

Nelson hasn't missed a show since - except the time she allowed her daughters to go without her when they started high school. And she will be there again Sunday, when the Ebony Fashion Fair makes its annual stop in Tampa at the downtown theater. The theme of the 50th annual show is "Glam Odyssey: A Fashion Journey Into Bliss and Beyond."

The show also will be presented Monday at Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg. The host of that fundraiser is Zeta Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

The world's largest traveling fashion show will spotlight haute couture from such notable designers as Christian Dior, Bob Mackie, Dolce & Gabbana, Nina Ricci and Oscar de la Renta.

"Whatever is going on in fashion right now you will see in this show," says Lisa Garner, chairwoman of the Tampa event. "It's the best designers have to offer, and it's presented in such an entertaining way."

The tour visits 180 cities in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. And although the Tampa show regularly competes with the ultimate sporting event, the Super Bowl, it's usually a sellout, attracting the best-dressed black residents in the city. Every event benefits a local, nonprofit charity.

The St. Petersburg show will benefit community projects.

The Tampa show will raise money for the Derrick Brooks Charities Inc.'s youth programs, including the Girls Rights of Passage mentoring program that teaches young girls self-esteem, etiquette, public speaking and other life skills. Participants will attend the show and assist backstage to get a firsthand glimpse at how black women can succeed in the modeling industry.

"We want them to see how ladies are supposed to present themselves, how they can walk and how beautiful black models are," says Garner, a mentor with the program. "We want them to be able to see themselves up there one day, to know that it's not out of their reach."

Along with trends for 2008, "Glam Odyssey" will celebrate the fashion show's 50th year by featuring styles from the years gone by. Models will don selected designer duds from 4,000-plus past shows for the tribute, says assistant producer Kenneth Marlon Owen.

"It's going to be a parade of glamour from 50 years of high fashion," says Owen, who has been with the show for 24 years. "It's fascinating to see how the fashions, and the designers, have evolved through the years."

The two-hour event will feature nearly 200 outfits - ranging from daytime attire to slinky evening gowns to provocative lounge apparel - modeled by two men and 11 women. Steering the spectacle will be velvet-voiced commentator Jada Collins, an author and Fashion Fair Cosmetics model.

The garments are not what one would find at the local department store, Owen says. But savvy shoppers will get ideas for how to put together less-expensive, edited-down looks. The idea is to pick up key elements such as a feather trim or a bit of sparkle and incorporate that into your own wardrobe.

"In fashion today, there really aren't any major trends you can put your finger on," Owen adds. "It's really become a mixture of what you make it. You can create your own glamour and tailor it to your own personal style."

Don't expect prune-faced models strutting down the runway. Fashion Fair catwalkers play as they sashay, engaging the audience with humorous skits and plenty of surprises.

"This is a vehicle of entertainment," Owen says. "Our ultimate goal is to entertain you and expose you to what's happening in fashion. Fashion is the star of the show, but we want to excite our audience and leave them wanting more."

EBONY FASHION FAIR

WHEN AND WHERE: 3 p.m. Sunday at Tampa Theatre, 711 N. Franklin St.; 8 p.m. Monday at Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg

TICKETS: $30 in Tampa, available at the box office; Derrick Brooks Charities Inc., 1920 E. Hillsborough Ave., Suite 200; Tampa Bay Beauty Institute, 5016 E. Busch Blvd.; and Big Al's Precious Hair & Barber Salon, 6202 Palm River Road; in St. Petersburg: $30 in advance, $35 at door, $21 for students, available at James B. Sanderlin Family Center, 2235 22nd Ave. S.; call Ruby French, (813) 258-1283, or Lisa Garner, (813) 629-4488, in Tampa; or Christa Bruning, (727) 776-1084, in St. Petersburg

Reporter Cloe Cabrera can be reached at (813) 259-7656 or ccabrera@tampatrib.com.

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