First up is a teal green evening gown. It has a subtle mermaid silhouette. The gown has a halter back, a high neck, and a matching necklace of chunky beads. She also fans herself with a woven teal fan. As the next dress, a gold mini, walks by, I can read Nina Garcia’s lips: “I like that.” This dress is one of the new pieces Korto sewed, and it’s beautiful. A pleated skirt, yellow belt, and gracefully puffed three-quarter sleeves. There is a softly scooped neckline adorned with a shell and wooden bead necklace. The back is a deep V shape. After that, a tightly fitted very short mini dress in vivid grass-green. The fit along the top seems a bit off. Korto’s voiceover tells us she wants people to know who she is “as an African woman” and to “appreciate it.”
A unique white pant outfit is out next. It’s shining, blazing white, with a high collar, no sleeves, flared, ‘bell’ leg pants, and a flat ruffle comprising half the bodice. A green and yellow print mini dress follows that. Its skirt moves easily; again there is a halter back, and it has a wide, bright yellow sash. The dress is reminiscent of a summer field dotted with dandelions. Korto’s revisited wedding gown is out next; for a look she sewed in the two days prior to Bryant Park it’s very good. Well, it’s very good regardless; simple and elegant. The skirt is long and full, the bodice diagonal, the fabric gold. Another vivid green mini dress follows it, this one with a thin gold snakeskin belt. Its collar is hard to describe: it stands high on the model’s neck like a coat collar turned up, but where it meets the bodice, it’s loose.
Next, in another dazzling white fabric, is a gown with a large ruffle cascading down the front. It’s yet another halter back, and it has a split skirt. The skirt portion is similar to the jettisoned wedding gown: fitted past the hips, then fuller. But this time the transition is softer. The skirt becomes fuller at the bottom, floating into a sort of train as the model walks away. A yellow full skirted mini is next; this time, there is a diagonal strap breaking up the bare halter back. A vivid green gown gets applause; another diagonal back, but this time it’s got a beaded green necklace comprising half a strap in the V neck bodice. Its long skirt is slit in front, past her thigh. Maybe it was the emotion of the event, but the model looks nearly in tears. Korto tours the runway with her models and reaches for her four-year-old as she walks by. The little girl walks the runway with her mother and the final model to the crowd’s applause.
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