Ocean Style Fashion Showcase Weekend: Stars amongst Stars
Ocean Style Magazine recently held their fashion showcase and celebrity golf tournament in Montego Bay, Jamaica and I made my way down to experience it all. With guests like Vivica A. Fox, MC Lyte and Anthony Anderson promised and locations like the Rose Hall Great House and the fabulous new Montego Bay convention center, I really couldn’t resist the invite. The event has crossed my radar in previous years and I remember fabulous pictures coming out of the invitation-only all white party held at the private and exclusive Sandals cay, so I was looking forward to some fantastic fun. The event spans four days and I missed the Rip The strip event on Thursday night. Ocean Style described the event:
For internationally renowned stylist Phillip Bloch, Thursday night’s Rip the Strip “was a cool, urban street fashion fair by the sea, at the intersection of sexy and stylish for my friends Vivica A. Fox, BJ Coleman, Anthony Anderson and Flex Alexander. We enjoyed gettin’ it turnt up with Montego Bay’s style soldiers.” The Rip the Strip designers included Ameila Morgandy, Koi, Coxygirl, Pablo Palair and GSUS. High style was just one element on show, as Digicel’s brand ambassador, Tifa had the locals and the guests rocking to the beat and surprise artiste Tanya Stephens had the audience begging for more.
Friday night brought the all-white invitational dubbed Eyes Wide Shut and it was a gorgeous event. The greathouse made for a fabulous location and you could actually experience the White Witch of Rose Hall Annie Palmer tour if you wanted to. Spooky! My outfit for the event:
It was a gorgeous mix of people, fun and food and I had a great time schmoozing with the stars and Montego Bay’s finest. On Saturday, it was time for the highlight of my weekend, the fashion showcase. My friend Kerri and I made our way through the rains to the Montego Bay Convention Center for fashion and frolic.
We had a good chunk of time before the event kicked off to mix and mingle while munching on finger food and sipping cocktails as the venue slowly filled up. It was understandable with the downpour and I took the opportunity to snap pics with Anthony Anderson and Flex Alexander and even got in a little girl talk and selfie with Aunt Viv! Who doesn’t love Vivica Fox and we bonded over our similar braids
The festivities kicked off with an auction. Items such as jewelry, handbags, eyewear and dresses were auctioned with the big ticket item being a weekend in Los Angeles with Anthony Anderson and Vivica Fox that went for US$3500. How awesome does that weekend sound? Anthony was hilarious telling us where he would take the winner for dinner (PF Changs? tuh) and who he promised to introduce us to. The runway show kicked off shortly after and was a rather cool concept seeing several models all come out and walk the floor simultaneously. A photographer’s nightmare I can imagine. They showed pieces from Neahlis and Ashley Martin among other designers and boutiques. I truly enjoyed the evening. Here’s a bit of video footage I took during Ashley’s presentation:
The dancefloor opened up right after that and we were treated to a party with the legendary M.C. Lyte at the turntables. How cool?!?! I really wish I was able to stay and capture some pics with her and just tell her how cool I really thought she was but we left while the party was still in high gear. The weekend continued with the celebrity golf tournament at the Tryall Club as I made my way back to the hustle and bustle of Kingston city. It was a fabulous mix of fashion and the best of Montego Bay and I tip my hat to Ocean Style for adding rich cultural events to the Montego Bay lifestyle landscape. Pictures of the event may be viewed on Ocean Style’s Facebook Page.
