On November 11, East Rock Institute held the 2011 Fashion Diaspora: Wearing

On November 11, East Rock Institute held the 2011 Fashion Diaspora: Wearing Your Culture on Your Sleeve charity gala at the Yale Club of NYC, 50 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY. It was an International Fashion Gala Celebrating “Unity in Diversity” and New York’s Diverse Cultures through Fashion. Award winning Chinese American TV host/producer Li Jing (www.CultureLi.com) and American TV/radio host Michaela Davies hosted the party. Jing said, “Fashion is about expressing yourself. There are so many rich cultures in New York. As a native Chinese and growing up in a modest family in China, fashion used to be a dream but now it has come true. It encouraged you to be confident and creative. It has opened my eyes about embrasing differences and yourself. So I am hoored to host Fashion Diaspora and encourage people to wear their culture on their sleeves!”

Fashion Diaspora features both traditional style such as Sungshin Women’s University’s extraordinary collection of Korean garments spanning many centuries and dynasties, as well as some of today’s most exciting and creative fashions by designers of various ethnicities including top Chinese American designer Vivienne Tam, Stephen Burrows, Loris Diran, Michael Houghton, Cody Sai, Jorge Afanador, Blackbird Jeans, and Rolando Santana. The Ambassor of the Republic of Korea spoke at the event. Author, entreprenurer and reality TV “The Bachelor” star Prince Lorenzo Borghese, fashion blogger Tia Walker, Nole Marin from America’s Next Top Model, Doggie Mom star Karen Biehl and designer model Jason Christopher Peters attended the party. Jeanine Jeo-Hi Kim was one of the main organizers.

photos courtesy Maple Fengyu Gu and Li Jing