44 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2018
FASHION
LI FASHION EXPO:
FALL FASHION FRENZY
By RUTH BASHINSKY
Now that summer has come to a
screeching halt, New York City is
buzzing again preparing for New
York Fashion Week.
Here on Long Island, the fashion
buzz has caught on about the
September 15 Long Island Fashion
Expo, curated by Fashion 4 Purpose,
with a guest appearance by
Jonathan Fernandez from the VH1
reality series Love & Hip Hop NY.
Carmen Colon, the organization’s
founder, started Fashion 4 Purpose
as a platform for aspiring designers,
models, makeup artists, hair
stylists and boutique owners to
showcase their talent.
“Our Fashion Expo is where
designers and business owners
meet,” says Colon, who started her
organization in 2011. “Each year we
are growing, and Long Island has
been very supportive. We have an
audience of more than 200 and it’s
all by word of mouth, social media
and our supporters.”
Going into its fifth year, the
event will take place at Simplay
in Hauppauge featuring designers
CJackson Long Island (formal
wear); Kro Sha (crocheted designs);
Tameless Moons (organic clothing);
Reel2Reel Kustoms (custom apparel);
Xclusive (boutique) and Mishu
Designs NY (wearable couture).
Cofounder Rashad Lawson of
Reel2Reel Kustoms, who hand-designs
fashion-forward clothing
and accessories that he sells at his
Riverhead store, will be showcasing
his new luggage and backpack collection
for Fall 2018.
“These bags are military grade
and made of high-grade special canvas
material. They are decorative
and multipurpose,” says Lawson,
who aspires to be the next J. Crew.
“We have something for everyone.
It doesn’t matter race, color, creed.”
Cynthia Jackson, the woman
behind C. Jackson Long Island, will
also be making her debut. Jackson,
who has worked as a med tech for
nearly 20 years, wanted to carry
on her mother’s legacy after her
passing.
“My mother was a seamstress,”
she says. “I took what she taught
me and tried to see if I could start
my own business.”
It worked.
Jackson will be showing her designs
at Long Island Fashion Expo
and will also be a featured designer
at New York Fashion Week.
“Carmen and Fashion 4 Purpose
have paved the way for me so
people can see what I do. I never
believed something like this could
happen to me. I am nervous but
excited.”
Aside from all the glamour and
glitz, the show will have a second
purpose: raising awareness of mental
illness at a critical time, when
suicide rates are skyrocketing, as
with the recent deaths of fashion
icon Kate Spade and celebrity chef/
television personality Anthony
Bourdain. A portion of the proceeds
will go towards The Association for
Mental Health and Wellness.
Tickets start at $30. To purchase
visit LIFashionExpo.eventbrite.com.
A model at the Long Island
Fashion Expo poses in one of
the hottest looks for the season.
(Photo by Smiley Guirand Photography)
Models strut down the runway at the Long Island Fashion Expo 2017. (Photo by Smiley Guirand Photography)