Fashion and art will come together for three nights at the 5th Annual Art Walks the Runway in downtown Fort Myers Feb 25 through 27.
Five artists and designers will be displaying their work on the runway over the course of the three-day show. There will also be cocktails and a silent auction.
Aside from the expected clothing designers, there will be a body artist, Adriana Gomez, who will be displaying her works of people “dressed” in outfits that are actually body paint.
Among the clothing designers is Mariapia Malerba, an Italian artist who was recently featured in a five-page spread in “Gulfshore Life” magazine and has been featured at Art Walks the Runway before. She will be showcased on the opening night of the event.
Besides creating beautiful clothing, Malerba has accomplished much more. She was commissioned to paint a Madonna as a gift for Pope John Paul II, which is currently on display at the Vatican in Rome.
Sha Ali Ahmad was “a runway favorite last year,” according to the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center website. He has designed the gowns for many gown competitions, such as Miss Teen USA and Miss Brazil.His designs can be found in stores such as Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus.
Artist and designer Helen Gerro is another returning artist, whose clothing has been shown in several fashion shows and museums.
Russian-born designer Evgenia Luzhina-Salazar has won several awards for her high fashion designs and has been a costume designer for thirty years.
The show will be at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. Tickets range from $20 to $125 depending on how many nights one attends. All proceeds go toward the SBDAC to continue upgrading classrooms and bettering the center’s Eclectic Education Program.
The event organizer and Development Director of the SBDAC, Melissa DeHaven, said the event has been a success in the past, usually selling out the available 175 to 200 seats.
“We would love for more college students to get involved with the SBDAC,” DeHaven said. “We always go to FGCU to recruit. It’s helpful to us and brings awareness to others about what the arts center does for the community.”
More information about this event can be found at www.sbdac.com. For volunteer opportunities, the volunteer coordinator, Destiny, can be reached at [email protected].