WHAT was formerly the Guyana Fashion Weekend has this year been transformed into the first ever Guyana Fashion Week event, which will showcase an entire week of festivities, according to GFW CEO Sonia Noel.

Just recently, GFW team members hosted their launch at the Hermanston Lodge, and the content reeked of glitz and glamour, even as it dictated the high level of designing creativity that was employed this year by designers.
Speaking at the launch, Noel noted that the newly-initiated event will, this year, be even more glitzy and glamorous than ever before. And aspiring designers who are very talented but not yet quite ready for the runway will also have a chance to shine, since Noel and her team have created a special programme that will showcase their work at this year’s Guyana Fashion Week.

To date, eight such designers have been shortlisted, coming from areas like Georgetown, Linden, Bartica, and Berbice.

Thanking the attendees, Noel explained that the GFW has grown since its initial launch in 2007, and is indeed garnering lots of international attention. She said that although this is the sixth leg of the event, her committee envisions the time when GFW will celebrate one hundred years of ‘fashion splendour’.

Noel was very excited at the launch, noting she was feeling the vibes and the energy generated by projects surrounding the event. She said that discipline has been a key factor instilled in models this year, as they continue their journey of nurturing young minds.
This year also, the GFW team is focusing on the culinary arts, and at the launch, attendants were awed and mystified by the creative display of designers’ apparel on showcase. They were even more surprised to see dresses made from butter and chocolates.

GFW Artistic Director Richard Younge indicated that he is very thrilled to have been working with the GFW team over the years. He noted that the event provides space for new growth in the creative, visual, graphic, makeup and photography arts.

Calling the GFW a “Caribbean aesthetic with a Guyanese flavour”, Younge commented on the allure surrounding the event, noting that there can be no room for anything “limp and unsystematic” in presentation.

The event was chaired by Russell Lancaster, who is also a member of the GFW Committee.