art for progress

Ricardo Ramos, London-based designer and 2008 winner of “Clash of the Artists” international fashion competition, chose NYC as his stage to present his SS09 line. He was among the emerging designers showing with Art for Progress during NYFW.

 

ricardo ramos

The collection, Back to the Roots, was inspired by this dual-national Spanish born Columbian designer’s heritage. The Spanish flavor, ancestral patterns from the Kuna Native Colombian Communinty and African influences are key elements in this collection.

 

ricardo ramos

We can’t praise installation shows enough. The intimate environment encourages touch & feel to its audience and puts the arduous labor of a designer right in your face. This is certainly the case with the Ricardo Ramos line. You see the attention to detail in each garment up close & personal – and the detail in this line is no exception.

ricardo ramos

For an emerging designer, competing for attention during Fashion Week is an art form in itself. We’re certain to find these shows because we make it our mission to scope them out, but how do they get on the radar of the hundreds of buyers making a beeline for the tents? Enter Art for Progress, a non-profit working to swing some of this attention toward the new designer since 2004.

Laurice Marshall

AFP presents various events throughout the year, in addition to the seasonal Fashion Week runway shows. Last night was Fashion Interaction, an all day installation consisting of six designers from NYC to London showing SS09. What better way to fit the crazed schedule of the buyer? The show included film, dance, music and of course the designers’ lines which were displayed throughout the space. It was so refreshing to attend a show AND touch the fabulous pieces while getting the inside scoop directly from the designer.

Allyson Jacobs

Our intention was to cover the show last night, report back today and move on. This can’t be done. The lines are definitely deserving of their own slots, which we’ll cover through next week in more detail when all the shows finish.

The Fashion Interaction designers: Ricardo Ramos, Casa de Rodriguez, BSIXTEE6, Luis Gamble, Prizy Sebastian, Allyson Jacobs and Laurice Marshall.