BlackNLA Press Release

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Isidra Person-Lynn
(323) 295-7911
Media Director

West Coast Fashion Summit Struts Black Fashions on the Runway, Features Black Hair Industry at the L.A. Black Business Expo and Trade Show 2003

LOS ANGELES—Stylish fashions, seasoned well with artistic ingredients from the culturally rich African Diaspora, will be in the spotlight as the exploding African American fashion industry is put on display at the 15th Annual Los Angeles Black Business Expo and Trade Show (LABBETS), the weekend of Sept. 12-14, at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The annual West Coast Fashion Summit, featuring something special each day of the Expo, has not only added a third fashion show, but also an exciting Salute to The Queen –Ahneva Ahneva, hair and fashion seminars and an ongoing Center stage Showcasee..

“We have our own style, and fashion is big business,” says Myra Wallace, Fashion Summit director. “That’s why we want to expose our African American fashion designers to the black consumer because today’s consumer doesn’t have to settle for clothing that doesn’t fit.

“By extension, since the shows attract thousands, these designers and models are showcased to the larger buying public as well.”

Wallace is in her fourth year as Fashion Summit director and producer, and is recognized for her collaboration of business and fashion. She has served in every facet of the fashion industry, including designing, marketing, and advertising.

The Expo’s West Coast Fashion Summit will showcase the hottest new fashions from African American designer labels for fashions for men and women, including Alejandra Jackson, Tasha Moniqu Carter, Le Chemise LTD, My Styli Designz, Nondi Luxe, Kitrell’s, Isaac Charles, Erica Victoria Collection, Warren George, and Deanzign.

The Fashion Summit will also offer valuable insights into the business side of the fashion industry, as well as how to start and manage a successful business in the fashion industry.

The Expo is definitely about business, says Harold Hambrick, Expo executive director.

“We are excited because the Expo is taking the shape of what any good Expo should be,” says Hambrick, “a showcase for exciting new businesses, a showcase of events to promote those businesses, free seminars to teach others how to cope with those businesses, and a diverse cross section of our community coming together—young and old, of varied interests—to create a strong network toward the common cause of black entrepreneurship.”

The West Coast Fashion Summit 2003 will feature:

· The “New Designer Showcase,” which will showcase student and new designers in a brief fashion show (Center Stage in the Fashion Pavilion) on Sept. 13, 1 to 4 p.m.

· The West Coast Urban Fashion Show (Main Stage) on Friday, Sept. 12, 4 p.m., which will showcase some of the top local and international urban clothing lines, modeled by teens who truly feel the vibe of the new casual streetwear. Sunshine Forte and Ayana Harrell will coordinate this new addition to the Fashion Summit.

· The West Coast Fashion Conference, on Saturday, Sept. 13, beginning at 9 a.m. (conference rooms), coordinated by Clotee Mac Afee of Stitches Technology Sewn Products Business and Career Center Inc., which will offer networking opportunities with professionals in all areas of the apparel/fashion industry. The conference will feature lectures, demonstrations and the opportunity to pose questions to fashion industry professionals. Topics to be discussed include product development, marketing, business planning, careers sin the fashion industry, and much more. Guest speakers include designers Karl Kanai, Kevan Hall (Coutre), Lance (Dada Foot Wear), Ron Finley (Drop Dead Collexion), and Angela Dean (Deanzign).

· The West Coast Haute Couture Fashion Show 2003, directed for the second year by Davide Stennett, which will hit the high fashion runway on Saturday, Sept. 13, 6 p.m. (Main Sage), offering the surreal, exotic, unique and exciting world of fashion through the eyes of today’s cutting edge black designers. A fashion salute to Ahneva Ahneva will be held at 5:15 p.m.

· The West Coast Hair Conference, coordinated by Josef Stephenson of The Mobile Salon, which will be held on Sunday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., to discuss the business behind the twists, curls and twirls of today’s hair fashions. “The Salon Business” will be addressed in Room A, and “Salon Demonstrations” will take place in Room B, both on the 2nd floor.

· The West Coast Clipper Competition, a barbering competition for the West Coast Title, which will be presented on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2 p.m. (Center Stage on the Expo floor). Andis Clippers, is sponsoring the competition, showcasing the talents of finalists from Los Angeles, Oakland, Las Vegas, and San Diego, who will compete in a winner-take-all battle for a $2,000 prize. Andis Clippers will offer $5 haircuts all day at their Expo booth.

Over the three days of the Expo, the West Coast Fashion Summit will present a Fashion & Beauty Pavilion and “Show and Tell Center Stage,” showcasing and offering for sale products and services from a variety of fashion and beauty companies and beauty schools.

This year, the Fashion Summit has merged the annual Afrocentric wedding feature with the West Coast Fashion Show. Instead of the wedding contest—culminating in an Afrocentric wedding, wedding designs of Ahneva Ahneva will be featured in a special tribute beginning at 5:30 PM before the Fashion Show on Saturday. As an added attraction, some of the prizes, such as the Southwest Airlines Vacation, usually won by a couple for their honeymoon, will now be available to all Expo visitors to enter to win.

More than 400 of the over 36,000 black businesses in the Southland, including financial institutions, contractors, publishers and manufacturers, will showcase their diversity of services at this year’s Expo, a realization of “cooperative economics,” according to Hambrick, where business owners meet, network and establish working relationships that last beyond the three days of the Expo.

“Remember, when the Expo is over,” says Hambrick, “we still conduct business all year round.”

The 15th Annual Los Angeles Black Business Expo and Trade Show will be held Sept. 12-14, noon to 8 p.m. daily, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., in downtown Los Angeles. Daily admission is $5 for adults (per day) and free for children 12 and younger (must be accompanied by an adult). Convention Center parking is $10 per car (carpooling is suggested). For more information, call (323) 290-4743 or visit www.blackbusinessexpo.com.

Sponsored by: Premier: Farmers and City of Los Angeles; Theme Partners: One United Bank and Lawry’s; Partners: Wells Fargo, Citibank, Washington Mutual, Union Bank of California, Wilshire Metro Worksource, Cerritos Center, Southwest Airlines Vacations, Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, Southern California Edison, and Media Partners: 100.3 The Beat and KJLH. Print Media Partners include the Los Angeles Sentinel, L.A. Watts Times, Wave Newspapers, the L.A. Weekly, Riverside Black Voice News, Inglewood Today, Rolling Out, Upscale Magazine, Pace News, Freedom Journal, KTYM, ACC Church and Community News, Black Entertainment Magazine, Black Meetings and Tourism, EURWEB.com, and Save the Date. For weekly updates about the Expo, visit www.ExpoUpdate.com, a free weekly news and photo service published by the Los Angeles Black Business Expo and Trade Show.




			Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Isidra Person-Lynn (323) 295-7911 Media Director West Coast Fashion Summit Struts Black Fashions on the Runway, Features Black Hair Industry at the L.A. Black Business Expo and Trade Show 2003 LOS ANGELES—Stylish fashions, seasoned well with artistic ingredients from the culturally rich African Diaspora, will be in the spotlight as the exploding African American fashion industry is put on display at the 15th Annual Los Angeles Black Business Expo and Trade Show (LABBETS), the weekend of Sept. 12-14, at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The annual West Coast Fashion Summit, featuring something special each day of the Expo, has not only added a third fashion show, but also an exciting Salute to The Queen –Ahneva Ahneva, hair and fashion seminars and an ongoing Center stage Showcasee.. “We have our own style, and fashion is big business,” says Myra Wallace, Fashion Summit director. “That’s why we want to expose our African American fashion designers to the black consumer because today’s consumer doesn’t have to settle for clothing that doesn’t fit. “By extension, since the shows attract thousands, these designers and models are showcased to the larger buying public as well.” Wallace is in her fourth year as Fashion Summit director and producer, and is recognized for her collaboration of business and fashion. She has served in every facet of the fashion industry, including designing, marketing, and advertising. The Expo’s West Coast Fashion Summit will showcase the hottest new fashions from African American designer labels for fashions for men and women, including Alejandra Jackson, Tasha Moniqu Carter, Le Chemise LTD, My Styli Designz, Nondi Luxe, Kitrell’s, Isaac Charles, Erica Victoria Collection, Warren George, and Deanzign. The Fashion Summit will also offer valuable insights into the business side of the fashion industry, as well as how to start and manage a successful business in the fashion industry. The Expo is definitely about business, says Harold Hambrick, Expo executive director. “We are excited because the Expo is taking the shape of what any good Expo should be,” says Hambrick, “a showcase for exciting new businesses, a showcase of events to promote those businesses, free seminars to teach others how to cope with those businesses, and a diverse cross section of our community coming together—young and old, of varied interests—to create a strong network toward the common cause of black entrepreneurship.” The West Coast Fashion Summit 2003 will feature: · The “New Designer Showcase,” which will showcase student and new designers in a brief fashion show (Center Stage in the Fashion Pavilion) on Sept. 13, 1 to 4 p.m. · The West Coast Urban Fashion Show (Main Stage) on Friday, Sept. 12, 4 p.m., which will showcase some of the top local and international urban clothing lines, modeled by teens who truly feel the vibe of the new casual streetwear. Sunshine Forte and Ayana Harrell will coordinate this new addition to the Fashion Summit. · The West Coast Fashion Conference, on Saturday, Sept. 13, beginning at 9 a.m. (conference rooms), coordinated by Clotee Mac Afee of Stitches Technology Sewn Products Business and Career Center Inc., which will offer networking opportunities with professionals in all areas of the apparel/fashion industry. The conference will feature lectures, demonstrations and the opportunity to pose questions to fashion industry professionals. Topics to be discussed include product development, marketing, business planning, careers sin the fashion industry, and much more. Guest speakers include designers Karl Kanai, Kevan Hall (Coutre), Lance (Dada Foot Wear), Ron Finley (Drop Dead Collexion), and Angela Dean (Deanzign). · The West Coast Haute Couture Fashion Show 2003, directed for the second year by Davide Stennett, which will hit the high fashion runway on Saturday, Sept. 13, 6 p.m. (Main Sage), offering the surreal, exotic, unique and exciting world of fashion through the eyes of today’s cutting edge black designers. A fashion salute to Ahneva Ahneva will be held at 5:15 p.m. · The West Coast Hair Conference, coordinated by Josef Stephenson of The Mobile Salon, which will be held on Sunday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., to discuss the business behind the twists, curls and twirls of today’s hair fashions. “The Salon Business” will be addressed in Room A, and “Salon Demonstrations” will take place in Room B, both on the 2nd floor. · The West Coast Clipper Competition, a barbering competition for the West Coast Title, which will be presented on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2 p.m. (Center Stage on the Expo floor). Andis Clippers, is sponsoring the competition, showcasing the talents of finalists from Los Angeles, Oakland, Las Vegas, and San Diego, who will compete in a winner-take-all battle for a $2,000 prize. Andis Clippers will offer $5 haircuts all day at their Expo booth. Over the three days of the Expo, the West Coast Fashion Summit will present a Fashion & Beauty Pavilion and “Show and Tell Center Stage,” showcasing and offering for sale products and services from a variety of fashion and beauty companies and beauty schools. This year, the Fashion Summit has merged the annual Afrocentric wedding feature with the West Coast Fashion Show. Instead of the wedding contest—culminating in an Afrocentric wedding, wedding designs of Ahneva Ahneva will be featured in a special tribute beginning at 5:30 PM before the Fashion Show on Saturday. As an added attraction, some of the prizes, such as the Southwest Airlines Vacation, usually won by a couple for their honeymoon, will now be available to all Expo visitors to enter to win. More than 400 of the over 36,000 black businesses in the Southland, including financial institutions, contractors, publishers and manufacturers, will showcase their diversity of services at this year’s Expo, a realization of “cooperative economics,” according to Hambrick, where business owners meet, network and establish working relationships that last beyond the three days of the Expo. “Remember, when the Expo is over,” says Hambrick, “we still conduct business all year round.” The 15th Annual Los Angeles Black Business Expo and Trade Show will be held Sept. 12-14, noon to 8 p.m. daily, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., in downtown Los Angeles. Daily admission is $5 for adults (per day) and free for children 12 and younger (must be accompanied by an adult). Convention Center parking is $10 per car (carpooling is suggested). For more information, call (323) 290-4743 or visit www.blackbusinessexpo.com. Sponsored by: Premier: Farmers and City of Los Angeles; Theme Partners: One United Bank and Lawry’s; Partners: Wells Fargo, Citibank, Washington Mutual, Union Bank of California, Wilshire Metro Worksource, Cerritos Center, Southwest Airlines Vacations, Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, Southern California Edison, and Media Partners: 100.3 The Beat and KJLH. Print Media Partners include the Los Angeles Sentinel, L.A. Watts Times, Wave Newspapers, the L.A. Weekly, Riverside Black Voice News, Inglewood Today, Rolling Out, Upscale Magazine, Pace News, Freedom Journal, KTYM, ACC Church and Community News, Black Entertainment Magazine, Black Meetings and Tourism, EURWEB.com, and Save the Date. For weekly updates about the Expo, visit www.ExpoUpdate.com, a free weekly news and photo service published by the Los Angeles Black Business Expo and Trade Show.