(Long Island, N.Y.) Over one hundred enthusiastic supporters gathered at the first annual Wings Over Haiti foundation’s first annual “Hamptons For Haiti” fundraiser in Wainscott, New York at the East Hampton Studios.
The catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti, resulting in an estimated 220,000 casualties and more than a million individuals homeless.
Attendees and supporters enjoyed a performance by Spanish rock group Mr. No Shame as supporters bid on a silent auction. Many of the auction items that were donated by local artists included New York Knicks tickets and an array of other fabulous items. Tagine Restaurant provided the delicious cuisine for the fundraiser while Reve Vodka created tasty cocktails.
Projection screens strategically placed around the Easthampton studio featured photos of the children Wings Over Haiti has aided. Each Haitian youngster displayed a sign on which they had written their name, their age and what they hope and strive to be when they reach adulthood.
The non-profit organization was founded by Sag Harbor based artist and pilot Jonathan Nash Glynn in January 2010. Jonathan flew into Haiti in his single-engine plane in order to provide emergency aid in the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in recent times. After spending nineteen days in Haiti, Jonathan returned home to raise funds and Wings Over Haiti was established.
With the emergency relief efforts over, Jonathan was determined to facilitate lasting, self-sustaining change in the lives of Haiti’s youth through education.
In addition, Jonathan was steadfast in connecting Wings Over Haiti’s efforts with local community needs. The mission of Wings over Haiti is rooted in the success bringing education to all children in Haiti and their natural desire and ability to sustain.
Jonathan continues to work with his new partners in Wings Over Haiti, Shad St. Louis, guidance counselor, and Melissa McMullan, teacher. Their main focus for Wings Over Haiti is bringing necessary education as a means of driving change thus the idea for the Wings Over Haiti school was born and its most critical feature was the mission to reach out to children everywhere, not just in Haiti.
Jack Hunter of Hunter’s Shelters created a prefabricated school and two outbuildings. The structures were shipped in a cargo plane to Haiti. The task was extremely difficult in getting the much needed supplies through customs to the site in Croix-Des-Bouquet. “Trying to get something done in Haiti is absolutely impossible. We’re talking about the one percent of the population controlling everything, and that’s the bureaucracy,” revealed McMullan.
The corrupt government in Haiti has prevented much of the aid that should be given to the ravaged country from reaching its people. “It blew my mind that they would be profiting from the destitute situation of their own people and basically making a living from it,” confessed Glynn. During a relief effort a customs official announced to Glynn, “Jonathan, we know who you are and we know you’re trying to help, but there is a business to poverty – and it’s not going to change.”
I chatted with Founder Jonathan Nash Glynn on the red carpet as he revealed, “I felt such an empathy so I flew down solo after the earthquake to deliver medical supplies. Since then I met some remarkable people including my two partners Melissa McMullan and Shad St. Louis and now we have a school with forty-three children. We are buying land, expanding into a village and we have an incredible support from the community and from the school systems throughout Long Island.”
During the event I also interviewed the event’s host Omarosa of the hit TV show “The Apprentice,” “It’s such a great cause which is why I am here and I think it is important a year after the earthquake for us to raise awareness. The reality is we lost 220,000 people who died and 1.3 million people that are displaced and homeless and so I think we will have to continue to lend our support and raise awareness for what is happening in Haiti. We will be here year after year and we hope your viewers will also support this cause because it is truly a need and wonderful cause.”
All Haitians have a right to nourishment, water and education. Children need love, nurturing and critical attention. Wings Over Haiti’s school will instruct children how to grow their own food and support their community. The curriculum will be in a multi-lingual format with Creole as the anchor language.
For more information please go to www.wingsoverhaiti.org.
Starting on the opening day MRKETrends came to life with a model presentation that immersed its attendees into the most current themes and trends of Fall/Winter 2011. In addition to a live presentation, A Sartorial Snowfall showcased 10 free standing platforms that served as the central focal point is displaying these Fall/Winter 2011 trends. In collaborating the event a video outlining the themes and trends from conception to completion streamed throughout the MRket/Vanguard show floor on strategically placed monitors.
“The quality of MRket/Vanguard’s exhibitors and the superb content of the show floor speak for itself, but the show is also devoted to enhancing the experiences for the retailers and press, season after season,” revealed Britton Jones, President and CEO of Business Journals. “In addition to constantly mixing up the design and event aesthetics of the show, we are thrilled to add the informative, yet fun and entertaining element to the show and thereby further enhancing MRket’s position in the industry as the ‘most important’ menswear show to attend. We invite you to experience this upcoming January 17th-19th edition of MRket/Vanguard by seeing the best menswear designers in the industry while witnessing a trend presentation breakthrough in a dynamic tradeshow setting.”
During my experience at MRket/Vanguard New York Menswear Trade Show I had a chance to chat with three marvelous exhibitors, Dolcepunta (made in Italy), Jhane Barnes Collections and RNG Clothing.
At the Dolcepunta exhibit I had the pleasure of interviewing General Director Rolando Scapellato and Luciano Moresco who informed me of the exceptional workmanship that goes into designing their silk scarves and beautiful ties. Their ties are created from entirely hand rolled edges and then sewn together by hand establishing a beautiful, decorative effect.
Dolcepunta ties are undoubtedly the best and finest men’s tie known around the world. Designed and created in Italy, this brand is well known for its exceptional neckwear. The specialty of this brand is that it has 11 fold ties exclusively designed by Rolando Scapellato.
Mr. Scapellato reveals “We are a small company that constantly tries to make a great product. Very fortunate for us and conscious to be in an area of Italy where great artisanship is at home.”
For more info please visit www.dolcepunta.com.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Director of Marketing Alberto Morello at the Jhane Barnes Exhibit which featured beautifully detailed Mens’s shirts.
Jhane Barnes, a men’s fashion icon, is also recognized for her innovation in contract and interior textiles, carpeting, eyewear, and office furniture. Jhane’s carpets, upholstery, and furniture appear in the offices of such high-profile companies as Google, Delta Air Lines, and SONY. Known for her inventiveness, Jhane has become one of the most sought-after designers for almost any industry seeking intelligent, environmentally sensitive, and aesthetically groundbreaking design.
Jhane’s career began serendipitously in high school in Maryland. Impressed by clothing she had made for herself and friends, her high school principal inquired if Jhane could create uniforms for the school’s dance band. This experience, coupled with a trip to Europe, reinforced Jhane’s interest in fashion. She cast aside plans to study astrophysics at Cal Tech, and enrolled at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).
While Jhane initially studied womenswear (menswear was not offered as a major), her senior show at FIT featured menswear. Her line earned rave reviews from DNR, the leading men’s fashion trade publication and she was besieged with offers for her clothing. With a $5,000 loan from her biology professor, Jhane went into production transforming her apartment into a studio. This was the inception of Jhane’s much praised fashion business.
From the very beginning, Jhane sought a hands-on approach to fashion. In 1978 she purchased a loom and began developing the rich fabrics that led to her 1980 COTY award at the age of twenty-five. Jhane was the youngest designer ever to receive this award, which she won a second time in 1981. This same year, Jhane won the inaugural CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Menswear Design Award. In 1981 and 1982 Jhane was named Outstanding Designer of the Year by Cutty Sark. In 1991 Jhane received the Woolmark Award for “Continuing Integrity and Design Leadership” through her use of unique colors and textures. These are just some of Jhane’s many accolades.
Her prestigious brand can be purchased at Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom’s throughout the United States.
For more information on this please visit www.jhanebarnes.com.
At RNG Clothing I had a chance to talk with Menswear Expert Richard Grieco who dressed Clark Gable, Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra.
“I use to have friends of mine in the banking business who would buy all kinds of great looking ski clothing but were really oblivious to dressing a certain way and I use to educate some of them that wanted to be educated. It’s interesting men not like women are just looking for body covering not really caring about fashion,” revealed Mr. Grieco.
RNG Clothing is all about old world elegance with a young attitude.
RNG is a new and fresh line of men’s and ladies’ suits, sport coats and trousers fashioned from the most luxurious fabrics from around the world.
Affordable, comfortable, and high in quality, RNG is clothing designed to fit every part of your lifestyle. RNG Clothing is making a statement about the way clothing should be represented in today’s fashion.
For more information please visit www.rngclothing.com.
