Designer Hernan Lander is holding private viewings for press and buyers at his midtown studio following his triumphant runway show at Gotham Hall during New York Fashion Week. Lander highlighted iFashion Week’s “Emerging Designers” Fashion Show.  He wowed the audience at Gotham Hall, just a stone’s throw from The Tents. The young Dominican-American designer is continuing to create what he considers cutting edge clothes with a feminine spirit.  Working from his studio across the street from Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Landers is giving buyers and the press a close-up viewing of his collection at his studio on Thursday, October 1, and Friday, October 2, 2009. With his masterful draping of jersey and silk wool, he created combinations of classic Grecian images with off the shoulder styles and form fitting dresses accentuated with flowing materials.  His color choices, he said, were African-inspired — desert colors of sand, wood, black with explosions of gold metallic detail.

The iFashion Week{end} which ran from September 10-19, 2009, produced by SEG Corporation and iConcept Media Group, featured five emerging designers from across the globe, including two Project Runway alumni, Teri Stevens and Kinley Collins.  iFashion Week{end} provides a platform for the discovery and promotion of new talent in the world of fashion. This event marked the commencement of a seasonal fashion showcase that aims to introduce new talent, trends and fashion translation.  Runway shows, cocktail parties, presentations and other events were held at various locations in New York City to usher in the new generation of high fashion designers.

“I let the fabric talk to me,” says Lander.  “I wanted to create a collection that was easy to wear and easy to play with,” he says.  “When you’re wearing solid colors you have more choices for combinations.”  Lander honed his craft collaborating with prominent New York designers, such as Rogelio Velasco and Ralph Lauren.  He was working for the Donna Karan Collection until December 2008, when he stepped off to live his own dream.

Lander says his latest creations, combining femininity and glamour with a sharper edge, is perfect for the strong woman who knows who she is and what she wants. “The inspiration behind the Spring 2010 collection comes from the contrast between the industrial and the natural feeling you can find in Africa,” he says.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is celebrating the legacy of fashion designer Arthur McGee with a luncheon on Monday January 26 from 12Noon-2:30PM with remarks by Cicely Tyson.

Born in 1933 in Detroit Michigan, Arthur McGee began his fashion career at the age of 18 when he entered a scholarship contest sponsored by the Traphegen School of Design in New York, advertised in a local Detroit newspaper. Inspired by his mother who often created her own fashions, Arthur submitted the winning design and set his course for Manhattan.

Mr. McGee went on to study a the Fashion Insititute of Technology (FIT) where he honed his skills for millinery and apparel design. He began working for the American Couturier Charles James while a student at FIT and later produced his own designs while pursuing employment in New York’s apparel industry.

In 1957, Mr. McGee became the first African-American to run the design room of an established Seventh Avenue apparel company, Bobby Brooks. His remarkable talent and the broad appeal of his work transcended racial barriers, selling to such stores as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Henri Bendel, Bonwit Teller, Bergdorf Goodman, and Lord & Taylor. He opened his first store in the early 1960′s on St. Mark’s Place in New York City where his clients included Cybil and Richard Burton and Arthur Mitchell of the Dance Theater of Harlem. He became the designer of choice for many celebrities, including Lena Horne, Cicely Tyson, and Stevie Wonder.

Known as the dean of African-American designers, Mr. McGee mentored many young talents, including Aziza Braithwaite Bey (Elena Braith) and the late Willie Smith, paving the way for designers of color. For more about the fashion designer visit his website at www.arthurmcgee.com.