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Fashion Show in Jaltemba Bay is a ‘Win-Win’ for Everyone

Originally the brain child of a group of women golfers, the Mujeres a Mujeres Fashion Show (also known as the Jaltemba Bay Fashion Show) has grown into a major charity fundraiser in the Riviera Nayarit area.

The 9^th Annual Mujeres a Mujeres Fashion Show takes place on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 in an extraordinary new location — Hacienda La Peñita, home of American designer Thomas Bartlett. The beautiful garden setting alone makes it worth the $300 pesos price, which also includes a luncheon and the viewing of fashions created by a select group of Jaltemba Bay designers.

Bob and Linda Gibbs share the emcee position for the event. Owners of Casita de la Peñita, they’ve been part of the organizing committee for years. “I appreciate the chance to give back to the community,” says Linda. “The Fashion Show supports wonderful causes and is also a truly local event.”

This season, for the first time, the Fashion Show is offering local businesses and individuals the opportunity for sponsorship. It’s a wonderful way to support an organization that funds many highly worthwhile projects.

The mission of the Fashion Show is to help the women and children of the Jaltemba Bay area.  One of the causes supported over the years is the Cancer de Mama Clinic for breast cancer survivors. Every February women come from all over the state of Nayarit, some traveling by bus for hours, to receive the prostheses, wigs, and head scarves offered by the entirely volunteer three-day clinic. Everything is free, including transportation, a complementary meal and shopping at the free clothing store. Last year’s clinic served over 350 women.

Other projects have included scholarships for students to attend university, and the building of a local kindergarten. But it was the local Senior Center that drew in committee member Mona Cavalli, who organizes the Fashion Show’s designers.

Cavalli looks like the artist that she is, elegantly dressed with beautiful silver hair framing her face. “In the early years of the Fashion Show, we learned that the local Senior Center needed a kitchen. That got me involved raising the funds through the Fashion Show, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m a ham, I love to have fun, and I love the fact that older women are modeling for a clientele that is also older.” Mona pauses and continues in a conspiratorial tone, “The designers can do things for us, you know.”

Lucy Moreno is one of those designers who can “do things.” She studied fashion design in Tepic with master designer Sergio Miramontes, but her design business grew out of personal frustration. “I couldn’t find beautiful clothes that worked for larger sizes,” she says, “and then I started thinking that other women must be frustrated as well. So I began designing clothes that would look good for larger sizes as well as smaller sizes.”

Moreno’s style is casual and works well for the Mexican climate where people want comfortable, cool clothes that look stylish and can be easily dressed up. “I like to work in bright, happy colors,” Moreno says. “I find that customers come back again and again because my 100% cotton clothes are very comfortable and easy care. I also like to think that the women who wear my clothes feel happy. When a woman feels good in a dress, she looks beautiful because she is projecting that feeling.”

For Nancy Smith from Kenora, Ontario, Lucy’s clothes are perfect for her winters in Guayabitos. “I love the fit of Lucy’s designs, and her beautiful cottons wash and wear, stand up well, and last forever.” Smith and her friends also attend the Fashion Show every year. “It’s a wonderful afternoon out with the gals, with beautiful clothes to watch, good food, and the drinks are cold. We always have a great time watching the fashions and deciding what we want to buy!”

Designer Gella Navarro’s enthusiasm is contagious. Well known in the States, where she has exhibited in Dallas showrooms and exported work to Santa Fe and New York, her designs are still uniquely Mexican. “I like to use traditional Mexican fabrics,” she says, “mixing design elements from the different states in Mexico together so they are transformed into something completely new, like a collage. When I design I feel like an artist in conversation with my pieces. Each project is like a baby. It’s a very emotional process that produces what I feel are atypical, unusual pieces—but also clothing that you can wear anytime, any place.”

Navarro has been involved with the Fashion Show since it started. “I appreciate the ambience of the Fashion Show, and the interaction with the other designers,” she says, smiling. “I also enjoy sharing my designs and having my friends wear my creations--and doing something for my community makes me feel alive, happy, ‘viva’.”

Mona Cavalli sums it all up. “I love any situation that feels like a win-win. Our guests have a delightful afternoon in Mexico supporting a great cause, the women who volunteer and model have an opportunity to socialize while giving back to the community, and we all get to feel good about ourselves. Of course it’s a win-win for the designers as well.”

The 2012 Mujeres a Mujeres (Women to Women) Fashion Show takes place on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 by the fountain and palm trees of Hacienda La Peñita, at 65 Cirquito Libertad, La Peñita de Jaltemba, Nayarit.  Doors open at 11 AM, luncheon will be served at 12 noon, and the fashion show starts at 1 PM. Tickets are $300.00 pesos per person. Tickets may be purchased at the Thursday Market (Tianguis) in La Peñita, 9:30 am to 12 noon, in front of the Cathedral.

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