Thursday, March 14, 2013

Designer Spotlight: Carla Violet Coultas

We adore our designers and appreciate their support!
Carla Violet Coultas is a Florida-based designer who specializes in high fashion, alternative and edgy designs. She sees designing as a way to mix different fashions together, namely, throwing elements of men's fashions in with the delicate and feminine touches of women's fashions. She has also been known to add lots of harsh contrasts to otherwise fluid and simple designs. Carla began selling her line here in Gainesville in 2012 and is currently designing a new line that will be available for sale to the public in April of this year. Her line can be purchased locally at Ingénue Avenue, located in downtown Gainesville.

Makeup Artist Spotlight: Sheena Cuccia

We adore our makeup artists and appreciate their support!
Makeup is all about bringing the drama, something Sheena Cuccia does very well. The professional makeup artist, hair stylist and creative director is an undeniable talented triple threat. Her work has been featured in fashion photography, commercial shoots. She even has experience with conceptual projects, along with television, film and theater makeup design and special effects. Sheena’s work is bold and fabulous, perfect for Gainesville Fashion Week 2013.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Jewelry Designer Spotlight: Jurney Jurray

We adore our jewelry designers and appreciate their support!




Family-owned and operated, Jurney Jurray produces unique and handcrafted jewelry. From drop earrings to cuff bracelets, many pieces contain materials such as shells, feathers, stones, glass….and everything in between. We can’t wait to see the models sparkle while wearing Jurney Jurray’s  distinct collection on Wednesday, April 3.

Visit http://www.jurneyjurray.com to view and purchase jewelry.

Jewelry Designer Spotlight: Stella and Dot

We adore our jewelry designers and appreciate their support!



Feminine with a bit of edge, Stella and Dot accessories are among the most coveted. Commonly seen on celebrities and hit television shows like Gossip Girl, the boutique-style jewelry is sold exclusively through in-home Trunk shows and online. Craving new arm candy for spring, we're thrilled for Stella and Dot to be featured on Wednesday, April 3 at Gainesville Fashion Week 2013. Unique, bold and oh so trendy, the collection is a must-see. 

Visit www.stelladot.com for looks and Trunk show information.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Designer Spotlight: Macy's

We adore our designers and appreciate their support!


The beloved department store will be revealing some of its newest looks during Gainesville Fashion Week 2013. Geared toward men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes, Macy's carries the most in-style and budget-friendly looks of the season. Make sure to drop by the local Macy's in the Oaks Mall. 

6671 Newberry Road
Gainesville, Florida 32605

Phone: 352-333-2300

Designer Spotlight: Tanya Brown


We adore our designers and appreciate their support!


We are thrilled to announce that Tanya Brown will be showcasing her designs on Sat. April 6 at Gainesville Fashion Week 2013.

Born in Gainesville, TanyaB graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology in 2009 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and Merchandising. The up-and-coming designer's eclectic, trendy style can be rocked by women of all ages.


Designer Spotlight: Jacquelyn Brooks


We adore our designers and appreciate their support!
GFW is pleased to announce that designer Jacquelyn Brooks will be showcasing her collection this year.

Jacquelyn Brooks is a Gainesville native, and she is a professionally accredited fashion designer who graduated from Florida State University.

Her dreams of bringing high fashion to Gainesville came true in 2007 with the opening of her own design and tailoring business on University Avenue.  Her company, Jacquelyn Brooks Designs, works with women in the local community to design custom wedding gowns, formal attire and her expanding collegiate dress collection.
www.jacquelynbrooks.com

Jacquelyn Brooks’ company is located at:
(352) 375-6462

Designer Spotlight: Francine Elizabeth Schulze


We adore our designers and appreciate their support!

We are so excited to announce Francine Elizabeth Schulze as one of our designers for Gainesville Fashion Week 2013. She will be showcasing on Saturday of fashion week.

Francine Elizabeth Schulze is from a creative European family of artists, filmmakers, jewelers, sculptors, seamstresses and architects. Francine has been designing, sewing and producing beautiful original clothing, jewelry and weavings since she was a young child.

Clients commission Francine to create custom pieces for a special event, or just to enjoy looking their best in something unique. Her fashion looks include a range of soft, natural fabrics used in simple and appealing day wear, and glowing silk or satin pieces for glamorous evening wear. These designs include many interesting details mixing intricate beadwork, weaving and unexpected features. The back of a dress or top can be the best surprise!

Francine's gemstone, crystal and pearl jewelry can be a showpiece on its own. Every outfit and showpiece is not only interesting and beautiful, but is also crafted with perfect workmanship.


The Model Photo Shoot


Cantina is usually the place to be for Sunday Funday, properly speaking.

We did that too, naturally, but this time we actually started the festivities at the Cabana Beach clubhouse, where we had our first official GFW Photo Shoot.
Every season, this photo shoot is the beginning of the legit GFW prep phase. The model list is finalized, and now the real work begins.

Walking clinics, fittings, dress rehearsals, editorials, hair, makeup and wearing out every single article of black clothing you own = our life for the next 5 weeks. Yeahhhhhh buddy.

But we can’t do any of that without first having our models really stretch their legs! And these pretty ladies and gentlemen came and served some runway realness, some of them for the very first time!

Personally, this was my second Official Photo Shoot (I modeled once upon a time when I was just a little wisp of a boy…two years ago), but the excitement was still the same, even if I was behind several camera phones working and not werking.
It’s all suddenly and seriously real once you get to the Photo Shoot; it’s almost more than you imagined. For example, I remember trying out to model for GFW 2011, making it, and thinking, “Hmmm, that’s cute, GFW, real cute,” but then:

1)     You arrive wearing some fierce all-black outfit (mine, then and now, was an exercise in subtle cross-dressing…it’s really hard to find black clothes for guys in the spring, just fyi), with your hair and makeup on point.
2)     The impeccably coordinated Model Team greets you, takes your name and gives you the GFW t-shirt that you will cherish forever.
3)     You pose in front of an all-white background, feeling very much like Madonna in “Lucky Star,” when our Director of Photography or one of his talented interns gives you direction on how to pose.
4)     You desperately recall and implement every sound byte of modeling advice you ever heard Tyra say on ANTM / you just try to look sexy
5)     It’s over and you mingle and feel fabulous and so legit.
For the most part, that is still how things happened this year, but we did change it up a little. We asked the models to bring a change of clothes (something casual and collegiate) for an impromptu photo shoot in Cabana’s lagoon.

I was seriously impressed by the professionalism and pure intuition that our models brought to the Photo Shoot. Not only did everybody look absolutely on point, model like pros and mingle like seasoned socialites, but they hopped-to as soon as a photographer asked them to “pose like this” or “act like you’re just casually talking.”

And these children can WALK, too! I conducted a brief walking clinic on the pool deck, and after just a few run-throughs, I exhausted my “expert advice.” So many naturals!

The day moved back and forth from outside to inside, old friends caught up and new friends were made. We had a special visit from the legendary Gwen Rahn, who’s now living the dream in NYC. We celebrated the engagement of our fabulous and seemingly inexhaustible producer, Tiffany. And we had some delicious sandwiches from Hiro (spicy mayonnaise on a sandwich is a brilliant innovation, guys <3 p="">

It felt like the first week of school, when all these different people start to look like they fit together. I just kind of sat back and said to myself, “That’s cute.” But really it is: we’re a big, cute family and we’re going to do great work together this season.

It will be a fun six weeks leading up to our runway shows. We have lots planned for you to follow, including the pictures of our models and our new website! And some secrets, too =P

 X np

Friday, February 22, 2013

GFW Models for the 2013 Season


From our casting call on February 3rd to our callbacks on February 6th, GFW has seen Gainesville’s hottest strut their stuff on and off the runway…shirts optional for males, of course. Our guest panel of judges was just as pleased about the amazing amount of talent present at our callbacks, which took place at Cellar 12 downtown. After hours of sorting through applications and watching nearly 200 models work it once more, our models team has selected the best of the best for this year’s Gainesville Fashion Week.

We are so pleased to announce our 2013 models, and we can’t wait for what’s in store for this beautiful and talented group of individuals:

Females:

Nodira Abdukhamitova
Kristal Acosta
Kaitlyn Benjamin
Victoria Burney
Lindsey Buz
Bridget Coleman
Nikki DeGance
Beatrice Dupuy
Ann Durrenberger
Ronica Gandola
Emilia Guzman
Brittany Heuser
Whitney Jones
Heather Jones
Michelle Lüchau
Serenitye Massey
Jade Massey
Tanima Mehrotra
Brittney Mims
Rachel Moore
Olivia Newan
Kristina Orlando
Sarah Parmenter
Tori Petry
Cynthia Plunkett
Carrie Poole
Erica Reed
Effie Rodriguez
Erica Roskovich
Katrina San Juan
Victoria Sanchez
Lauren Staub
Brittany Strizelka
Daniela Suyos
Tessa Syvertsen
Brittany Wood
Candace Yusuf

Males: 

Kevin Anderson
Jose Ceballos
Charles Chen
Jeremiah Corley
Sean Deeb
Austin Dulak
Jordan Fishman
Karan Gaekwad
Christian Gonzalez
Theron Gray
Kamryn Johnson
Amir Khiabani
Kirill Korytov
Andrew Lenz
Bryan Smith
Brad Thomas

XOXO,
The GFW Crew