By Paul Thompson
Northeast News

The Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is laying out the red carpet next weekend for a fashion show with a distinct international flavor.

Fashionista Weekend will begin on Friday, April 6, at the EGG Business Incubator, and continue throughout the weekend. The event will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday night, continue from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday, and conclude on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The centerpiece of the event will be a red carpet fashion show on Independence Avenue at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 7.

“We’re going to have fashion from around the world,” said Bobbi Baker-Hughes of the Northeast Chamber.

In addition to fashion, African music and dancing will also be highlighted during the weekend-long event. Musician Dominic Leek, from the Dinka tribe of South Sudan, will perform throughout the weekend and during the fashion show. Inside of the EGG Incubator space, Rick Gordon of Russian Winter Records will be playing guitar and harmonica.

Five creators will be showcased during the fashion event: clothing designer Kechena Richardson, clothing and accessory designer Dulce Ortuno, clothing designer and fashion show co-producer Asunta Majok, and out-of-state jewelry designers from JT Designs and Wild Willow Jewelry.

Richardson is a full-time fashion designer who also works part-time as a sewing instructor at Gladstone Elementary School, where she teaches sewing for the Local Investment Commission (LINC) after-school program. She derives her inspiration in part from infrastructure and 3D images.

“I try to go more for the 3D aspect, and then try to conform that into a wearable design,” Richardson said.

Richardson’s work can be found at Kechena Designs on Facebook and Instagram, and her work can also be found at kechenadesignscc.weebly.com.

“I’m all for the international, because you know I’m originally from Haiti,” Richardson says. “Anything that can showcase culture and your heritage, I’m all for it.”

Ortuno, of Mexico, owns the El Bazaar de Dulce Boutique located at 6510 Independence Avenue. Though she has a physical location on the Avenue, Ortuno likes to advertise her latest designs on social media, and her ‘Dulce Ortuno-Medrano’ Facebook page features a wide variety of styles.

The store is open Monday through Friday, and shoppers can expect to find unique accessories, shoes, clothing, earrings, necklaces, wallets, and purses, among other items.

For Ortuno, the chance to participate in Fashionista Weekend was an opportunity to jump at.

“I like that it’s part of the area,” Ortuno said through an interpreter. “I’ve been part of other projects and fashion shows, but I haven’t been part of one that is here locally. I like that, because I like to meet new people and I’m always looking to build a bigger network.”

Majok, who was born in Ghana to a Liberian mother and a Sudanese father, will serve as the co-producer of the fashion show and will coordinate the models for the event. She is hoping to open a clothing line in 2019 that is inspired by the “luxuriousness of women.”

“I’m just trying to bring back modesty to women,” Majok said. “Letting them know that we can wear covered up clothing and still be sexy, still be feminine, still be empowering.”

According to Majok, she was inspired to start creating her own fashion line after meeting Richardson and seeing her work. She added that she’ll have a few scarves to sell during the Fashionista Weekend, in addition to her work organizing the fashion show.

“The first thing I wanted to create was my scarf line, because people love scarves,” Majok said. “They either wear them around their neck or in their hair; I was like, ‘What if I took the scarf, combine it with my African culture and designed something that everyone can love and still cover up and be beautiful with it?’ I love colorful stuff, and I like to mix and match.”

Baker-Hughes said that Majok introduced her to Richardson, who together helped inspire the showcase of talented and creative women.

“Asunta approached us. She came to the Chamber of Commerce wanting to start a business here on Independence Avenue. She in turn introduced us to Kechena, who is a designer,” Baker-Hughes said. “They’re strong business women who came here to survive, and now they are truly blossoming. What better time to blossom than the spring?”

Baker-Hughes added that the weekend is all about highlighting the powerful international women who have made the Historic Northeast their home.

“We continue to celebrate the community that we live in and that we work in,” she said. “We thought that we really should share some of the culture that just exudes throughout the community.”