There were obvious projections about how the Derek Moore spin on Guyana Fashion Weekend (GFW2), dubbed ‘Journey’, at the Aracari Resort on Friday last was going to turn out — good or bad — it was somewhere in between.
To consider it in absolutes would be to ignore the fact that the collections were unveiled at GFW 2, and that only so much more could have been done with them to create a different feel. Derek sure tried, but came up short on quite a few, though he managed to inject more flair into them.
The hot-blooded collection of designer, Keisha Edwards desperately craved the indulgence of Derek’s playful mind, which went as far as to use actual vehicle rims (the ones with heavy bling) to add to the dominatrix, commanding feel of the pieces; it worked like a charm. The collection sprung to life with a new sense of meaning and Edwards’ focus laid bare — she must have been inspired after seeing Rihanna’s “Shut Up and Drive” video. Her clothes had said it before but never so clearly.
If anything, Derek seemed to want to startle people, as opposed to letting the collections flood the stage in the usual, sometimes boring sequence. His openings were well-crafted offering up either weird images of men dancing in cloth or women in mannequin poses.
His own collection felt different as he offloaded the micro-bikinis and beach shorts using more prison-links and adding a more feminine touch. Regrettably, the ‘wow’ effect that gripped GFW2 was not just there anymore.
Shaundel Burch-Smith’s collection, which did not feel like it was quite ready for the GFW stage, incredibly matured under Derek’s direction. What she did differently was unleash a full bikini line without confusing it with other pieces and it was a hit. Shaundel obviously has a fascination with bikinis and she should probably keep it that way.
There were hardly any dull moments but certainly collections that were dull and even with a Derek Moore resuscitation failed to impact any differently though the real story of the night was not so much the clothes but the models; it was the strangest line-up of local models in recent memory.
Designers such as Andrew Harris and Marcia DeSantos have staying power, which is why their collections and leave the fashion weekend stage for a smaller one and still impact have the same kind of appeal- you just want to get your hands on one of the pieces. Derek did not attempt to change anything as far as the two collections went; he allowed them to flow as they did previously though his choice of models made quite a difference.
As it turns out local model, Melessa Payne can save a collection by just modelling one piece and she did on Friday night last. Derek used her several times and the more comfortable she looked on the catwalk, the easier it was to digest some of the collections.
There were a few bumps along the road on the journey through Derek’s mind and as it wrapped up, it felt incomplete but still enjoyable.
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