NASSAU, Bahamas: It was an evening of girl power Sunday as dozens flocked to the British Colonial Hilton for the Minka Swimwear 2011 debut. The line, Minka by Maven, produced 18 distinct styles that exuded a chic-elegance and preppy persona.
“For my first-ever trunk show, i feel like it was incredible,” said Latoya Hanna-Moxey, designer of Minka Swimwear. “I was pleased and overwhelmed with great compliments, feedback and support in the last 48 hours, which is fantastic.”
Click here to see all the photos from the show.
Hanna-Moxey’s designs were shown in bold hues of gold, pink, plum and traditional black, white and silver, her inspiration for the line coming from a fusion of her personal style mixed in with view of styles of every woman – classic, elegant, sexy, sophisticated, fun, and beautiful.
“I wanted to create swimsuits that I liked, that would cover my flaws personally. Ideas of fashion have been floating in my head since I was a little girl and I've always wanted to design something for people to wear.
“Minka means strength and it stands for everything I hold onto. I feel like women are strong naturally, fierce and beautiful in their own skin, Minka to me is like a second layer of strength and beauty on a woman who is already confident and a comfort to women who need to feel sexy in their own skin.”
Hanna-Moxey remains humble while basking her success crediting it to a loving and supporting family and a stellar creative team. “Though the ideas, styles and designs were mine, they were perfected by a local superstar, clothing designer and Illustrator, Indira Moss, of ILashan Apparel & Handmade Jewelry,” she said.
“Our show would have not been possible without the support of our sponsors, Galleria Cinemas, the British Colonial Hilton, Zamar Group of Companies, AV Rollins and Associates, Scharad L Photography and F.dot Photography, my family, who has been behind my 100%, my killer style team, all the volunteers, my Creative and wardrobe team, the wonderful models who were amazing and everyone that was in attendance to help made the show what it was.”
Hanna-Moxey said she has great expectation for the line and hopes to launch internationally by the end of the year as a way to gain more exposure into the fashion world.
“We invited buyers to our show and hopefully they will be in store by the end of June,” she said. “We will also have our website completed where you will be able to find our swimsuit locations.”
While the show’s main purpose was to generate business for the Minka label, giving back to others was also a big part of the evening.
“We had the pleasure of having Ravyn Deveaux and her family attend the show and we were absolutely in awe of her,” said Hanna-Moxey. “She has the most beautiful spirit. It meant so much to us to share with the Deveaux family, since my younger brother had Stevens Johnson syndrome as well when he was younger. We understood how hard it must be for them to go through the journey they are going through.
"We want people to know that this syndrome, though rear, is one that needs attention, that you can prevent it if you become educated on its symptoms, that it's curable if caught early and treated early, and that there is hope for healing with prayers, support and awareness. We want to encourage people to continue to give and support, even when you are not directly affected by something, because you never know when you can be directly affected. It's the right thing and in my eyes, the ONLY thing to do for others.”
And now it’s back to the drawing board while thrusting the current line forward.
“After the show I started thinking about ways to top this line,” she said. “I'm heading back to the drawing board soon with my ideas to produce my 2012 line, I’m very excited. Hopefully, I can get accepted into Islands of the world fashion week as a swim and resort wear designer and I’ll have new pieces for fall.”
For more information about Minka Swimwear, contact minkaswimwear@live.com.
Photos and video by Stop Motion Productions.
