Fine Art + FASHION

On Thursday, February 25, 2010, Saks 5th Avenue and ING are sponsoring a fundraiser for the National Black Arts Festival with an evening of Fine Art + FASHION.  This annual benefit raises monies for year round NBAF educational and humanities programming. More than 500 lovers of fashion,  fashion industry professionals, and other Atlanta notables will be in attendance at this gala affair. Certainly, one of the highlights will be the honoring and recognition of local fashion artists Claire Buyens, Jhari Ponder and Marie Bastien.  Both Buyens and Ponder are seniors in the UrbanCouture program at Grady High School.  Buyens draws inspiration from designers like Jason Wu and Lanvin, but also says that experiences she has had while traveling that influence her style.  Ponder says he sees fashion as any other medium of art and embraces that when learning, admiring and designing. Bastien is enrolled at Clark Atlanta University as a Fashion Design/Merchandising major with a concentration in both design and merchandising.   Marie’s “After Six” collection will be featured in CAU’s annual Spring Fashion Show.   These young fashion artists are already forging the way toward their dreams with vision and hard work.  The celebrity host for this auspicious occasion is talented actress and successful author, Victoria Rowell. The venue is the West Wing of AmericasMart.  Tickets are available for purchase at www.nbaf.org.