WASHINGTON—A prominent fashion designer, founder, and CEO of his own company, Mr. Black, came to the opening night of the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour at the Kennedy Center Opera House on Feb. 10, a private, invite-only show, given in honor and appreciation to U.S. veterans to thank them for their service and sacrifice. “The costumes were wonderful. I would love to contribute to them next time!” said Mr. Black.
Mr. Black was introduced to the world of fashion at an early age by his mother, who started him as a child model. Today his company is involved in all aspects of the fashion industry—couture fashion, evening wear, casual wear, and lingerie. “I do it all,” said Mr. Black. In addition, his company is vertically integrated to include its own modeling agency and fashion show production company.
When told that the costumes were all original and handmade, Mr. Black explained how much labor must have been involved.
“Each garment has to be designed, and it probably takes between five and 10 hours for each piece. So, it really takes a lot to go into each design … It was nice, it was very nice,” he said.
Upon being asked about how to explain to someone who hadn’t seen the performance what the costumes were like, Mr. Black said: “… it’s so vivid, the way that they’ve designed the garments for tonight, they definitely left an impression where you just have to see it in person. There’s no way to describe it without actually seeing it.”
As a fashion designer, Mr. Black was taken with the vivid colors that he described as “loud and sparkling.” “I would definitely come and see something like this again,” he said.
Fashion wasn’t the only aspect of the performance that Mr. Black liked. “I believe what sticks out the most is the Monkey King’s performance, I really enjoyed that the most.”
He was referring to an adaptation of a scene from the 16th century novel Journey to the West. The story is about a devout Buddhist monk, who travels to India to bring the holy scriptures back to China and he is beset with numerous obstacles in his path. In the show, a demon transformed into a temptress brings on much havoc and threatens the completion of the journey. Protecting the monk are an ogre, a pig, and especially the Monkey King who possesses magical abilities and supreme martial arts skills.
“The fact that I knew the background, and I also have a martial arts background, so I’m familiar with the kung fu side of the Monkey King and that really touched me,” said Mr. Black.
For more information, please see divineperformingarts.org
