Day 2 of the Aruba Fashion Week, opened at the Marriott Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino, with three local designers, Andrew Steba, Javan Croes and Maison Ryon.
Steba is a self-taught sewist — I guess he means he hovers between one who sews and artist, SEWIST, very clever and fits him well.
His clothes are very ballroom-ish, mostly full length, with a synched in, tiny waist, frills, and swirls, capes, and trains, some off the shoulder, and often accented with an oversize vavoom floral element, on one shoulder, in shiny, flowy, sexy materials, mixing geometric patterns and flat, pure colors. I saw he dresses most of our royals, Miss Teen Aruba International and Miss Universe Aruba 2023, and Elvis Lopez of Ateliers 89 proudly reports the majority of Aruba’s new designers are students of Ateliers, including the talented Steba.
Glamour is his specialty and he does it well.
Javan Croes stands for diversity. His collection is designed for just about anybody in need of an outfit for a special occasion. I have seen some of his collections before. He considers himself a pret-a-porter designer that’s inspired by island living and the island’s tropical climate. He highlights bright colors, and adapts his designs for an elegant, curvy, feminine client and the occasional man. His runway collection Bloom Vibrante is accented by small capes and short trains, solo sleeves, bare midriffs, floral patterns, and some monochrome silhouettes. One of his models, a young man, Shawndrè Geerman, contributes regularly to Down Syndrome Awareness with local and international modeling assignments. Javan, who is a business and management graduate, first showed off his work here in 2018, having completed a fashion course at Ateliers 89, but he has been interested in fashion since the day that he was born, he says.
The third collection by Maison Ryon, by designer Ryon Dijkhoff incorporated a great sound track with poetry and graphics, complementing the jewelry, casual clothes and silk scarves titled the Heritage collection.
All designs were inspired by the island’s Amerindian heritage, reflecting the brand’s mission of breathing new life into Aruban pictographs and petroglyphs, as wearable art. The jewelry follows the ancient designs, delivering ethnic and symbolic pieces, in 14K gold and sterling silver, with semi-precious beads.
The stone-age designs also adorn the shirts, sweats and tees offered as part of that collection. Four different designs of original floor tiles inspired the rich and colorful silk scarf collection, worn as shawls, wraps, tops, belts, and bandanas. The dynamic collection representing the island’s heritage, also delivers bathing suits, caftans, long skirts, tops, and dresses, long and short.
80 pairs of sunglasses followed, presented on the runway by models, males, and females, in spanks. A clever, striking backdrop for the beauty and functionality of Tom Fords eyewear collection, that went on and on for almost 30 minutes!!!
New Anchor, a well-made quality leisurewear line, from Colombia, was followed by Castaner from Spain, Jolie Jewelry Boutique from Aruba, and Jesus de la Garsa, from Mexico.
The Aruba Fashion Week, AFW2023, a three day event, in its fourth edition, returned to the island with local and international collections, workshops, after-parties, and a BUYERS EVENT at the Ritz Carlton.
The Aruba Fashion Week counted on the support of: Aruba Marriot Resort, The Ritz- Carlton, Aruba, Courtyard by Marriot, Garage Centraal, Gold Coast, Renaissance Mall, Setar, Lava Glass Studio, Gianni’s Group, Departamento Di Cultura Aruba (DCA), Bodegas Papiamento, Cava Wine & Spirits, Kerastase, Revlon, Caya House, Caribbean Print, Elite Productions, Smart Rental, Romano Travels, House of Mosaic, PR Vibration, Agilex, Digitalview, Ingenius Business Solutions (IBS), and 360 Viewer.
For more information, please visit www.arubafashionweek.com
Social networks @arubafashionweek on Instagram and @arubafw on Twitter
Congratulations to Angel Leon, the tireless organizer who has been taking about ArubaFW since the day I met him at least a decade ago, and thank you sponsors for providing us with a great show.
