Philly designer to send crimson dress down Go Red Runway
The American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection will feature a couture, crimson creation courtesy of Philadelphia Fashion Incubator designer-in-residence Conrad Booker.
The American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection will feature a couture, crimson creation courtesy of Philadelphia Fashion Incubator designer-in-residence Conrad Booker.
Three cheers for Booker!
Actress Ta'Rhonda Jones - she plays Cookie's assistant Porsha Taylor on "Empire" - will model the dress on a star-studded runway at New York Fashion Week Thursday.
The annual fashion show promotes awareness for heart disease and stroke in women. Other celebrities scheduled to walk the Go Red runway this year include actresses Candace Cameron Bure, Fran Drescher, Florence Henderson, and Today show anchor Tamron Hall.
Booker, of South Philly, fashioned the floor-length gown from supplies you would find at an art store or Lowe's. The bodice is constructed from paper cording - used to trim pillows - that he spray painted red. The skirt is forged from one of Booker's favorite materials: drinking straws. And he was inspired by the human circulatory system, particularly how the blood vessels branch out and connect.
"Hopefully [Jones] will also wear the red suede opera-length fingerless gloves I included and my signature clutch," says the 55-year-old architect-turned-designer. "I'm so excited."
ewellington@phillynews.com
215-854-2704
@ewellingtonphl