Who Needs Paris or Milan? Lil Kim Hits Up Charlotte, NC Fashion Week

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While the big-time buyers and editors are jetting between London, Milan, and Paris checking out the spring 2011 collections by the likes of Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, and John Galliano, Charlotte, North Carolina, is fostering its own homegrown talent at Charlotte NC Fashion Week (CNCFW). The local fashion week culminated in a finale event starring designers including Foxx Skynz by Design, Jen Jessica S. Designs, Green Label Designs, Huckle and Gatsby, MEI Designs, Gini by Elizabeth, Bill Evans, and Alana B. Couture—but a celebrity appearance by Lil Kim was the talk of the evening. Lil Kim showed 10 looks from her clothing line, 24/7 Star. Creative Loafing reports:

About 15 minutes later, Lil Kim quietly arrived through a side entrance with entourage in tow. Much to the eyes delight, included in that entourage was actress Meagan Good. Also in the large group were Katrise [sic] Jones, Kim’s cousin and partner in their new Charlotte hair salon, Salon Se Swa; Meagan’s sister and fellow actress La’Myia Good; teenage R&B/pop group Lil Ms; a few of Kim’s family members and friends; and security guards.

Lil Kim and company were escorted to the back, where all the models, stylists, and designers were moving at the frantic pace that’s needed so that a fashion show goes off smoothly on stage. But that didn’t stop several of the participants from whipping out there camera phones. Lil Kim was ushered over to a corner to meet with her team and discuss last-minute details of the presentation of her clothing line, 24/7 Star: Goddess Collection, onto the runway.

While the fashion show went on, Lil Kim never made it to her reserved, front-row seat. After a brief intermission, the show resumed with two more designers presenting their lines, and then 24/7 Star: Goddess Collection went up. Event host Erica Bryant (of WSOC) introduced the line as being Lil Kim’s and you could see the audience perk up and become more attentive. Such the way it is, a celebrity-backed clothing line garners more attention than one created by more-established but lesser-known designers.