After years of strutting her stuff as a leggy Sports Illustrated model, Shakara Ledard is making waves in another dimension of the fashion world. The exotic Bahamian model made headlines this past week, when her new label, Roxs, was showcased at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan New York.
In a fashion show tagged ‘The Venue,’ featuring independent designers, Ledard and her models hit the runway and made an impression on the audience.
“I’ve always believed that modelling was going to be a transitional tool into something else; I just didn’t know what that something else would be,” Ledard told CBSNews.com backstage, before her debut runway show last Monday during Fashion Week in New York.
Fashion Week is the annual North American showcase, featuring the spring collection of over 100 designers. Shows are held throughout midtown Manhattan, including at the exclusive “tents,” a 65,000 square-foot temporary structure, set up in Bryant Park. The exclusive show is open only to industry folks, designers and their friends, the super rich or A-list celebrities.
This is Ledard’s second collection, which she named “School of Roxs.’ The collection is a playful melange of prep and punk rock, featuring items pieced together with leathers, herringbone and plaids. The fabrics are stacked and meshed.
Although Roxs’ show was not held at the ‘tents’ (it was held instead at The Metropolitan Pavilion, about a dozen blocks away from Bryant Park,) it was filled to capacity during the mid-day Monday. Its first-floor showcase room was jam-packed with models, Aveda stylists, spectators and goodie-bag collectors. “I am so excited, I cannot even describe it,” she beamed. “We’ve been working so hard on this collection.” The creator of the show, Ron Smith, was happy that the show was not staged at the tents. “We’ve been able to do something a little bit more creative, a little bit more relaxed, a little bit more low-key than going to the tents, which is…hectic,” he said.
By Betty Vedrine, Nassau Guardian Features Reporter
