Harlem's Fashion Row Makes A Big Impression In LA

Harlem's Fashion Row (HFR) presented Style Beat, its first-ever West Coast event during Grammy Awards weekend in Los Angeles. The glamorous daytime affair took place on Friday, February 6th at a luxurious Beverly Hills estate. HFR is a unique movement founded to increase diversity in fashion by producing events to educate, stimulate, and advance opportunities for emerging designers of color. Collections by four talented and diverse fashion designers were showcased to a select group of 250 tastemakers. The featured designers were the legendary L.A.-based designer Kevan Hall, custom menswear designerWaraire Boswell, and emerging designers, Joseph Bethune and "Project Runway" finalist Kimberly Goldson.

Style Beat was co-hosted by actress/entrepreneur/model/TV personality Vanessa Simmons (styled by Shop Le Look) and recording artist/actor Quincy. There was a special one-on-one conversation with Kevan Hall discussing his career and influences. The event culminated with the poolside runway fashion show featuring designs by Hall, Boswell, Bethune and Goldson. Celebrity and influencer guests included Vanessa Williams, Tamala Jones, Melissa De Sousa, Michael Jai White, Gillian Waters, Cedric Sanders, Gloria Govan, Laura Govan, AJ Johnson, VaShawn Mitchell, Malina Moye, Kwame Boateng, Kofi Siriboe, Davidson Frere, V Bozeman, Kay Cola, Ugo Mozie, Daver Campbell and Harriette Cole, among others. Guests were treated to a complimentary beauty bar, gifting, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and much more.

"Style Beat could not have happened without the generous support from Prudential and Verizon Wireless. Because of them, we were able to show four incredible designers, all of whom I'm thankful for their participation. I am still blown away by the amazing welcome we received in Los Angeles and we look forward to presenting more events here in the near future," said Brandice Henderson-Daniel, Founder/CEO of Harlem's Fashion Row.

HFR's Style Beat event partners included Prudential Financial, Inc., Verizon Wireless, and Essence Magazine.

About Harlem's Fashion Row

Harlem's Fashion Row (HFR) is an influential arts and entertainment organization that engages audiences and aligns brand partners with emerging multicultural designers. HFR's mission is to discover and showcase rising talent of color through a platform of national events and customized multi-platform programs. HFR has gained corporate support from companies such as AOL, Target Stores, Iman Cosmetics, Smartwater, Dark & Lovely, and BET. Harlem's Fashion Row has also been covered by Women's Wear Daily, NY Daily News, Fashionista, New York Time Out, and Jones Magazine, as well as, "That's So New York", The Cut, NY Racked, Black Enterprise, and Centric.

About Prudential Financial, Inc.

PrudentialFinancial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S.,Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visithttp://www.news.prudential.com/

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest and most reliable 4G LTE network. As the largest wireless company in the U.S., Verizon Wireless serves 108.2 million retail customers, including 102.1 million retail postpaid customers. Verizon Wireless is wholly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, VZ). For more information, visitwww.verizonwireless.com. For the latest news and updates about Verizon Wireless, visit our News Center athttp://www.verizonwireless.com/newsor follow us on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/VZWNews

About Essence Communications Inc.

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online. The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the ESSENCE Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series, the ESSENCE Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 45 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of 13.4 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information and specific solutions relating to every area of African-American women's lives. Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available atwww.essence.com

Photo credit: Michael Bezijian

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