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Summer - 1985 - Perry Ellis, One of my first fashion jobs, and I was on my way to my first overseas business destination, Morocco. To say I was excited is like saying the sun can cause a heat rash, its just a fact, and I was geared for fun! The trip was 3 days, and then on to China, but that was three days I will always remember fondly. The food, wonderful cheerful people, and the culture that left me wanting more. I have never been make, alas, but at least in this fashion expedition, I can return in my heart. In this expedition, I designed casual sophisticated men's wear looks that are comfortable and very stylish.
I have lived in many places on this earth during my career as a fashion designer. From the finding inspiration in the countrysides of Japan, to roaming aimlessly in the mysterious back alleys of China Town in NYC, looking for exotic fashion finds and 'knick-knacks' that most people never discover. When I travel to a city, I always ask around to find the more 'fashionable' sections of that city. From San Francisco to Los Angeles, I am always drawn to parts of these cities that inspire me as a designer. I have lived in NYC for over 23 years, seen much of what this city has to offer and find so much of her inspiring. One district of Manhattan inspires me the most, and that is Harlem. In these looks, I wanted to explore candy colored faux furs (animal friendly ofcourse), beautiful,textured boucle' jackets reminiscent of the iconic Chanel boucle' jackets, and supremely cut suits. All would be accessorized with modern pocket books, clutches and shoes that were vivid in color and textures. The end look would be imaginative, statuesque, and stylish, fit for a daring woman that desires to make and entrance, uttering one word.
I created this project for a few reasons, along with my 12 year old sewing machine,serger, and 21 year old well-known sewing mannequin, "Samatha" ( I aquired "Samantha" while a attending Parsons School Of Design and she is even signed by my then fashion critic of my senior show, the now world famous style-master Marc Jacobs.), to show admires of my work the many facets of my talent. From conception to actual sewn samples I do myself, I try to be as free and unbounded with my skills as a designer as I can. The second reason is very important to me. Our Amazon forest are being decimated at an increasing level. Though through conservation efforts, many of these destructive practices are being curtailed, it is still a MAJOR problem in that regain of the world. As many of you know, the Amazon region provides much of the earths' oxygen, but many people forget about the beautiful indigenous people that call these forest home. There are still over 200 indigenous groups in the Amazon Rainforest , talking 180 different languages and each with their own cultural heritage. If you narrow your view to language families you will still find 30 different language families in the Amazon rainforest.
