Fashion Gets Fresh

Annual Gen Art runway show has dazzling designers and groovy goodie bags

By Mary Damiano

A dress from Shumaq, the label by Miami natives and sisters Vanessa and Jaqueline Barrantes, who will show their line in Gen Art Fresh Faces 2008.

Every fashionista worth the title knows it’s all about the gift bag. More than a thousand people are expected at the Gansevoort South Hotel in Miami Beach on April 12 for this year’s Gen Art Fresh Faces 2008, the runway show that gives Miami a firsthand look at a number of the region’s emerging designers. Some will come for the fashion. Others will come for the parties. All will leave with a gift bag.

That treasure trove of high-end goodies was still growing at press time, but the bulging bags already include full-size products from Redken, hundreds of dollars in gift cards, CDs, T-shirts and items from past Fresh Faces designers.

“Last year we had Amy Winehouse’s CD in the gift bag — before she blew up,” brags Monica Glass, regional director of events for Gen Art.

Of course, before they can rifle through their gift bag, the hip and happening will be treated to the latest looks from up and comers, brought together by Gen Art, the organization created 13 years ago in New York as a vehicle to help artists from many disciplines get their work shown. Gen Art’s Fresh Faces shows have helped many emerging designers, including Zac Posen, Rebecca Taylor, Chaiken and Shoshanna.

A selection committee of designers, fashion writers, boutique and department store buyers choose each year’s participants. Eligible designers must have been designing under their own label for one to seven years, have at least one retail account and be based out of Florida or Georgia.

This year’s catwalk will include women’s wear designers Megan Huntz, Dresses and Shumaq by sisters Vanessa and Jacqueline Barrantes; swimwear designer Fabiana Ferreira; menswear designer August Alexander by Courtney Alexander Russell; and accessory designers Malcolm Fontier, Nazly Villamizar and Septimo by Silvia Fassardi and Gustavo Rohrscheib.

Since the inception of its Miami edition five years ago, Gen Art Fresh Faces attendance has more than doubled. Its popularity and respect in the industry have also grown. It’s no surprise, then, that Gen Art joined forces with Project Runway, the Bravo reality series that has brought runway style and emerging designers into America’s sensibilities and living rooms like no fashion magazine ever could. For three of the show’s four seasons, Gen Art has done casting, bringing the very best new designers to the attention of the fashion world and its increasingly devoted public.

Glass believes the popularity of Project Runway has had an effect on the Fresh Faces audience.

“It further legitimizes what Gen Art is doing and has been doing for over 13 years,” says Glass. “Years ago, the public just wanted to see people they knew already. Now, thanks to programs like Project Runway, people are excited to see someone first.”

Glass says the designers in the Gen Art Fresh Faces show have evolved from past years, from a quintessential Miami aesthetic to a New York sensibility. She cites Uli Herzner, a Miami-based designer who was a Fresh Faces participant in 2006 and went on to be a contestant on the third season of Project Runway.

“When she did Fresh Faces, her look had that bohemian, Miami vibe to it,” says Glass. “This year, the Miami designers are producing designs that can work anywhere.”

Glass believes Miami has emerged as a fashion “it” place and is on its way to having, like Los Angeles, a pretty strong market.

“We still have some growing to do, but it’s exciting,” she says. “We have a fashion week almost every other week, so that’s a good sign.”

Fresh Faces in Fashion 2008 will take place on Saturday, April 12 at the Gansevoort South Hotel, Spa and Residences. The event includes reception, fashion show and after-party. Tickets are $45 for general admission and $75 for VIP access. Call 305-695-8200 or visit www.genart.org.