Cody a fashion hot spot for a night

Fashionistas would hardly place the tourist town of less than 10,000 in the same league as other global style capitals, but for one day every year, Cody becomes the epicenter of Western fashion.

The Cody High Style Fashion Show has grown so big in the past 15 years that organizers will stage two shows tonight, along with a free party open to everyone to kick off Rendezvous Royale, Cody's annual week of art and design events.

Dozens of models will show off clothes, jewelry and accessories made by 18 designers coming from as far away as North Carolina and Texas, and as close by as Sheridan Avenue.

The show offers a chance for less-known designers to make a splash at a long-running event attended by locals and high-rollers in town for the Buffalo Bill Art Show and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's Patrons Ball.

But it's also a prime showcase for more established designers to have their work seen in an important market for Western tastemakers.

A mainstay of the show for years has been Manuel, the single-named designer who, throughout his half-century career, has dressed single-named stars ranging from Elvis to Cher.

This year, Manuel Cuevas Jr., or Manny, the single name by which he is known in the fashion world, is presenting a new ready-to-wear line developed with and inspired by his father.

Wear It Out Manuel features Western fashions and fabrics that evoke the looks created by Manuel for Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan and even The Beatles, whose Sgt. Pepper outfits were Manuel creations.

Scarborough Evening News about Make Me A Model competition

SCARBOROUGH people are being given the chance to become a model in a special competition launched by the Scarborough Evening News.

The "Make Me A Model" competition is being run with Boyes and The Foto Shop and so far more than 60 people have entered.

The Foto Shop is Boyes' new partner in creating its spring fashion campaign and so it is looking for models for a variety of indoor studio and outdoor fashion shoots.

An extra category has now been introduced. The categories are:

0-2 years 3-5 years 6-11 years 12-17 years 18-30 years 30+ years

David Walker, manager of The Foto Shop, said: "So far we have had about 60 entries.

We are really pleased with how it is going. The categories which haven't been as popular are the 18-30 and 30+ categories so we are urging more people to enter those.

"This is a great opportunity for people who would like to

get into modelling to give it a shot.

''All winners will have a professional portfolio put together.

It would be very exciting for them."

There will be a male and female winner of each category.

Love is Everything

At the age of eighteen, Ashley Paige ventured out on what would be one of the greatest adventures of her lifetime. She left Florida with three suitcases, three-hundred dollars in her pocket, and a dream. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, she put herself through school. It was no easy task, but the tenacity and belief in her dream, allowed her to stay on the path toward becoming the innovative designer that she is today. She is known for her custom-knit bikinis, and the best part is, you don’t have to be a celebrity to own one!

The designs of Ashley Paige can be seen on celebrities and world-famous models on the pages of magazines such as, Vogue, Sports Illustrated and 944. Her designs are truly extraordinary and are in the closets of many A-list stars. The list of celebrity patrons includes Mariah Carey, the Hilton sisters, Carmen Electra, and Kim Kardashian, to name a few.

Tanya Hutchison, a Detroit native and mother of five, won TV Land's competition

Tanya Hutchison, a Detroit native and mother of five, won TV Land's competition this summer for middle-aged models on "She's Got the Look" with Kim Alexis.
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What contributed to her win, she says, is the confidence she developed while dealing with the reality show of her youth, growing up with a mother who struggled with drug abuse.

Tanya, who graduated from Western Michigan University, credits teachers and coaches at Highland Park High School for believing in her when she doubted herself.

At home: Tanya lives in Orange County, Calif., a mother to four sons and one daughter, ages 8-16. She met her husband of 18 years, Charles Hutchison, on a Valentine's Day blind date in Los Angeles.

Before TV Land: Tanya was a former Ebony Fashion Fair model. She also produced fashion shows, etiquette seminars and pageants and started a nonprofit called Phenomenal Women Inc. An essay she wrote -- "Never Ever Give Up" -- was published in "Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul."

What she won: She has a contract with the Wilhelmina Models and a spread in the August issue of Self magazine.

What it feels like: It's a sense of accomplishment," says Tanya, "just knowing that if you stay true to yourself and believe in yourself, the impossible can happen."

Beauty dos: "First thing in the morning, I wash my face and head to the gym. That stimulates my inner body and mind, and it makes me feel awesome."

Childhood obstacles: "People see me and think: 'She's had a charmed life,' " says Tanya. "I grew up in Detroit with a mother that was not very responsible. I was left alone, and my siblings and I were placed in foster care. I was legally adopted by my grandparents and was reared by them."

Dollard swimsuit photographer and fashion models

The majority of fashion photographers born to a chilly climate fantasize about the moment in their careers when they can feel sand sift through their feet and a salty breeze blowing in the air. Dollard des Ormeaux’s Norm Edwards, a self taught, portrait photographer since 1999, is no stranger to capturing a turquoise landscape in panoramic view, with a sparingly clad supermodel, also in view.

On Aug. 25 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico he will be competing in the internationally recognized Ujena Bikini Jam 2008 contest, an event that unites 75 photographers with over 150 models from around the world.

Regardless of the eye candy factor, working with eight or more supermodels from six a.m. until 11 p.m. in Mexico isn’t just a laid back day at the beach, “You get up at sunrise, you shoot all day, its non-stop,” Edwards said. Contrary to what a lot of people think, when you’re working all day with them you don’t see them that way.

This year, Edwards has the added pressure of being the only Canadian photographer representing his nation at the Ujena jam. I am a bit disappointed there are not more photographers from Canada. I am proud to print the Canadian flag on all of my shirts.

But Edwards, established as he is in the realm of photography, is himself a relative newcomer to the industry, as well as to the West Island. Bikini models plays a good roll in fashion photography. His life reads like a racy novel; he ran away from his home in St. Jerome at the age of 16, moved to Vancouver where he joined the army and spent time in the Middle East, owned a business or two before finally settling down in the West Island with his wife, who is a family owner of the well known hip hop dance school, 8 Count, for love, marriage, and a lot of picture making. I’ve always been a fan of photography. Since I was a boy I owned every magazine from National Geographic to Playboy.

The gowns and garments on the catwalk at Hamilton's Founders Theatre

Models sashayed along, in makeup and high heels, but what adorned their bodies was far from expensive. Most items were sourced from rubbish bins, industrial and business waste and op shop finds.

And it was the designers who suffered for fashion, rather than the models.

Sara Devcich, who was runner up in the Avant-Garbage section, made a sexy evening gown out of eel skins. Devcich convinced the Eel Trading Company, in her hometown of Levin, to send her the left over skins.

"They stunk," Devcich told the judges. Over a period of weeks, she cured them out in the carport, rubbing them down with kerosene and baking soda.

"Our neighbour thought something had died in the bushes," said Devcich.

The finished result was worth all the nose holding, although last minute handstitching and tweaking meant the cured skins began to release odour during the judging that would have appealed to any stray cats in the area.

Entrants told of broken sewing needles, damaged irons covered with melted plastic bags, and digging through rubbish.

Alana Scott, who won the evening's Creative Award for her angelic mini skirt, six foot-long sweeping train and giant wings, also got dirty to impress the judges. The piece took approximately 27,000 white duck feathers and 500 hours to complete. Scott said the feathers, from a local duck farm, arrived "soggy, smelly and yellow," and had to be washed and dried before being turned into a stunning piece. Innovative ideas makes fashion modelling a place for creative designers.

New pants of bikini fashion from Japan

Outrageously sexy bikini pants from Sanna's Brazil Fashion, a Japanese clothing company, blur the line between blue jeans and a string bikini. And you know what? I'm all right with that!

Low-riding blue jeans are a fashion trend that seems to have long legs - pun definitely intended. The only question is, how low can they go? Sanna's Brazil Fashion seems to have given us the answer with their new line of bikini pants that combine ultra low-cut blue jeans with an integrated string bikini bottom. The effect is stunning... super sexy yet extremely flattering, and without showing more skin than a normal bikini displays.

The eyebrow-raising, super sexy design is practical as well as provocative, as the bikini portion helps keep the pants securely hitched to the hips. From the rear, the bikini portion can also serve to mask another fashion trend whose 15 minutes expired some time ago: the trashy "tramp stamp" tattoo.

If you'd like to set a new model bikini fashion trend in your neighborhood - or get expelled/fired/ogled as the case may be, you can order the "bijini", to coin a phrase, at the Sanna's Brazil Fashion website. They're surprisingly inexpensive at just $88 plus shipping and are made in Brazil... to whom those who appreciate the female form now owe mucho gratitude! Many thanks also to Neil Duckett for the TV show images.