A LUST FOR FASHION
Fashionistas converge at Caicos boutique opening
by LYZ BLY
Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Until recently high fashion in Cleveland was a bit of an anomaly; it was something that, to paraphrase a line from David Bowie's 1980 hit “Fashion,” they do over there — in New York, Los Angeles, even Chicago — but we don't do it here.

But during the last ten years, avant-garde fashion has been emerging out of the art and music community, in the costumes of SAFMOD dancers, in the recycled-material wearable artworks of Angela White and Xan Underhill, and in Lakewood's goth scene, which is centered around the Chamber nightclub on Detroit Avenue and the leather-and-lace boutiques on Madison Avenue. And over the past several months, fashion events have been springing up all over town — from the ARTcade's Unclothed mixed-media fashion show, to Mosaic the Gallery's Fashion Victims art exhibition, to last Friday's opening of Caicos Boutique in the Warehouse District.

Caicos features the bohemian chic creations of MoMo FaLana designers, native Clevelander Maureen Roberts and her business and life partner, Michael Lublin. Cleveland is just one of five cities, along with New York, Tokyo, London, and Hong Kong, where the MoMo FaLana line will be available. Roberts and Lublin's pieces, which are hand-dyed silk evening gowns, separates and blue jeans, have been coveted and donned by fashionistas like Naomi Campbell, Uma Thurman and Paris Hilton.

Given the price range ($150 to $550) of the pieces available at Caicos, the boutique may very well thrive in its new trendy downtown location. There was clearly a high degree of energy and excitement at the day-after-Thanksgiving grand opening, as more than 150 fashion hounds crammed into the cozy shop. Scores of cameras flashed as models sauntered down a runway, which was virtually carved out of the crowd. DJ Chris Pulse set the tone, and the willowy models struck poses, kissed boyfriends, danced and flirted with the rapt, standing-room-only audience. The best MoMo FaLana designs were those that involved asymmetrical cuts, refined details and ingenious fabric wrapping. The inventive employment of these body-conscious elements, coupled with the designers' signature, highly refined tie-dye techniques made for several stunning pieces. However, several simple, long evening gowns with V-neck fronts and plunging backs seemed ill-fitting, and even the colorful dyed accents — at the buttocks or the waist, for instance — could not make up for the overall shape of the gowns, which in several cases hung like flour sacks on the models' bodies.

Nevertheless, when Roberts and Lublin appeared at the show's finale, they received a warm response from their guests. Roberts' brother, Caicos owner Kevin Roberts, was clearly pleased with the crowd's enthusiasm as he smiled and waved sheepishly from the sidelines. Given this city's current lust for fashion, Lublin and the Roberts siblings may remain satisfied with their decision to open a boutique here. It is now up to Clevelanders to actually shop at Caicos. Next time you think about heading east to Legacy Village or west to Crocker Park, turn your car around and head downtown to the Warehouse District and shop in an urban, rather than suburban, environment.

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