Fashion Knockout

Four designers showed off their finest work to a packed house at the thirteenth annual Fashion Knockout, presented by Waki Wear. The event took place on July 19, 2009. 

The outfits were sent down the runway while the designers' identities were kept secret (so as not to influence voting.) At the end of the show, the designers were identified as Aziza YasmineMiguel OsborneYolanda Ballard and Kimberly Craig.

The designers' pieces were diverse, to say the least. Yasmine's outfits were constructed of real human and artificial hair. The hair gave her pieces a consistent fringed, soft look.

Osborne used vibrant colors to make his pieces pop. His two-piece men's outfits - one in green and yellow patchwork, the other in black and red denim - offered a unique twist on the usual blandly colored male wardrobe.

If Osborne's trademark in his pieces was color, Ballard took the opposite approach. Her pieces were all primarily black, some with white accents. Two of her outfits, modeled to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal," were black with white-and-black piano key-esque accents. Appropriately, the pieces were complimented by sparkly white gloves.

Craig's pieces can be summed up in one word: fun! Her most creative outfit consisted of a bright orange top and matching A-line skirt that, when removed, revealed a cheeky pair of white shorts. 

At the end of the show, awards were presented to the winners. They were:

People's Choice (voted by the audience)
First Place Yolanda Ballard
Second Place Aziza Yasmine
Third Place Miguel Osborne

Judges' Awards
First Place Yolanda Ballard
Second Place Aziza Yasmine
Third Place Kimberly Craig

Tuesday, July 21, 2009