Jamaica: Queens Emerging Fashion District

Jamaica Collection Showcases Fashion & Culture in Queens

June 1, 2013 / Jamaica NY Neighborhood / Fashion in Queens / Queens Buzz. I attended the Jamaica Collection Fashion Show Saturday evening at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens. It was a beautiful summer evening as I approached the center, and people were standing outside, enjoying the calm cooling end of daylight.

This is the second year that the Jamaica Center BID organized this event - designed to highlight the bustling business district of downtown Jamaica - the backbone of which runs from east to west along Jamaica Avenue.

Jamaica is one of the more fascinating neighborhoods of Queens, rich in history as an agricultural and trading center dating back to colonial times; and rich in the modern multi-culturalism of 21st century Queens as well as being a significant metropolitan transportation hub. The Jamaica Center BID seems intent on nurturing the embedded community assets by showcasing them; and while they did a very nice job of it last year, this year they kicked things up another notch.

Click here to read the rest of our report on the Jamaica Collection Fashion Show in Queens.

Jamaica: Queens Emerging Fashion District

Jamaica Collection Showcases Fashion & Culture in Queens

June 1, 2013 / Jamaica NY Neighborhood / Fashion in Queens / Queens Buzz. Continued. I was greeted at the door by volunteers from a LaGuardia Community College Meeting and Events Planning course. The Jamaica Collection Fashion Show provided about twenty local college students with an opportunity to do some field work and get a closer look at event planning related to their majors in Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Management or Food Services.

These student volunteers also provided the Jamaica Center BID with some much needed assistance, given that well over 600 people had rsvp'ed for the event.

Jamaica Collection Fashion Show Was Oversubscribed

Laurel Brown, Executive Director of the Jamaica Center BID, had told me that they had oversold the event in anticipation that not everyone would show, given it was free to rsvp. She explained that it was a bit like overselling airline seats and told me that this was a nerve racking exercise. She explained that she took the risk because she wanted the Jamaica Collection Fashion Show to be well attended, but also hoped that it would not be over-attended.

Based on what I saw, her calculated risk seemed to have paid off, as the Jamaica Performing Arts Center was filled, but you could still comfortably move around and mingle.

Multi-Dimensional Fashion Show In Queens

Inside the main theater area there were about a half dozen food tables, spread around the perimeter of the main floor. Throughout the main floor there were a number of noshing tables where visitors could sit, eat and watch the show. There was an artist up on the main stage, painting something modern, inspired [I assume] by the people, music and motion inherent in this event.

I had arrived just in time as Laurel Brown and Courtney Ffrench, General Manager of JPAC [the Jamaica Center for the Performing Arts], and also the emcee for the evening, took the stage.

Candidates & Culture In Jamaica Queens

There were a couple of Queens candidates who attended the event to say hello. It's worth mentioning that this is a municipal election year, and petitioning to get on the ballot was to begin on June 4th. John Lui, NYC Comptroller, is running for NYC Mayor, and City Councilmember Leroy Comrie is running for Queens Borough President - and both of these candidates made a few remarks. NYC Commissioner of Small Business Services, Robert Walsh, was also in attendance and spoke briefly.

And then the fashion show began. See photo slide show below.

The Jamaica Collection Participants & Sponsors

The following are the names of some of the people who participated in the event who are shown in the photo slide show below.

The Jamaica Collection is the second fashion show organized by the Jamaica Center BID [Business Improvement District]. The first fashion show was entitled Come To Jamaica which was held in April of 2012 and both events were held at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in the Jamaica section Queens.

Photos of the Jamaica Collection at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center

Click here to view photos of the Jamaica Collection Fashion Show in Queens held at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Jamaica Queens NY, or you can view the photos below at your own pace by clicking on the arrows.

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Jamaica NY Related Info

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