Discover the New Face of Africa Clara Lawson Ames Inspired by her grandmother's passion for turning ordinary fabrics into classy elegant creations, Clara Lawson Ames, of BurkIna Faso, West Africa, has built on this legacy of fashion design, and in doing so, has won international acclaim across Africa and abroad. She founded Clara Design in 1989, and is now bringing her haute couture clothing to the United States, through Clara Design, LLC, USA. Ms. Lawson Ames is also the founder and president of the non-profit Association for Supporting the Development of Art Dressing and Textiles, Africa (ASDAVTA). Through this organization, Ms. Lawson Ames is bringing a greater awareness an appreciation for African culture and design to the forefront.. Born in Lome, Togo, Ms. Lawson Ames, studied in France, and received her business management and marketing training in Paris. Her journey to becoming a global businesswoman included working for Air Africa, and Sabena Airlines in international sales before she followed her passion and founded Clara Design. Her success as a renowned fashion designer has earned her the African Diamond Award, "the Oscar of fashion design," in South Africa. Additionally, she was granted the Biz Africa Award,conferred by the World Confederation of Business. This honor recognizes small business owners who have made a significant impact on an international level. Ms. Lawson Ames was recognized for transforming cotton into the beautiful designs that are now part of the Clara Collection. In each of her haute couture creations, Ms. Lawson Ames combines the rich fabrics of Vlisco, which utilizes the Dutch wax technique; the Faso Dan Fani fabric, which is unique to the country of Burkina Faso, and silk to produce what she terms, "the new face of Africa." By transforming the Faso Dan Fani fabric of Burkina Faso into exquisite designs, Ms. Lawson Ames has made a significant impact on the economic development of Burkina Faso.

Designer, Model & Dancer Imane Ayissi was born in Cameroon, the son of a family of artists and sportsmen: his father was a champion boxer, his mother had been elected Miss Cameroun in 1960.He was a member of the Ballet National du Cameroun and subsequently toured with singers and choreographers, such as Patrick Dupont. At the same time, he worked as a model, presenting the men's collections of famous luxury and prêt-a-porter brands such as Cardin, Dior, Lanvin, Givenchy, Yves Saint-Laurent and Valentino. In 1992, he presented his "Couture" collections in Paris which were sold on request and made-to-measure and, in the summer of 2007, in partnership with Jean Marc Chauve, he also presented "Createur", a prêt-a-porter line sold in France, Japan and USA. He created a line of dresses for the presentation of the Swarovski collection of jewellery and accessories at the Carousel de Louvre in Paris in 2004, and also creates with more accessible brand labels such as Multiples (a French prêt-à-porter label that sells at affordable prices) or La Redoute. The garments of Imane Ayissi's Couture and prêt-à-porter lines, meld African traditions and realities with western fashion. His collections, often featuring exotic, evocative names ("Ongwass" o "Badjaga" ) combine craftsmanship, materials and traditional African cuts. Together with his use of innovative fabrics there is also often an infusion of typically African-style bricolage or recycling work, references to Parisian Haute Couture and contemporary creativity to create a fashion targeted at an international public. Imane Ayissi is also involved in fashion training projects and the creation of a textile industry designed to help foster economic growth in Africa and, in particular, in the Cameroon. http://imane.ayissi.free.fr/

Introducing Paris based Fashion Designer Martial Tapolo. Martial Tapolo is a young designer hailing from Cameroun, whose avant garde style mixes feathers, bark and skins with traditional fabrics such as bamiléké woven cloth and batiks to create thoroughly modern garments. His designs are full of life, mystery and movement. www.martialtapolo.com

Wanda Cobar, a Chicago native, began designing in 1998 and has based her life around fashion since that time. Her designs are a variety of funky unique pieces combined with a sexy flair, and she is best known for her thread/yarn weaving technique used on some of her designs. Each piece has a striking personality. Cobar's pieces can be found at Andersonville Galleria, Galleria1712 and by personal appointment. http://www.wandacobar.com/

Amanda Cutting is a professionally- trained visual artist and self- taught designer who has been active in the Chicago artist/fashion community for over ten years. Since launching her independent label of exquisite club couture in 2005, her future-mod threads have been shaking up runways in and around the Chicagoland area. DaLee Cutting's designs inspire the edgy and the flirty, to wear their individuality like a badge of honor and grace. She derives her own inspiration from life's visual and sensory experiences to turn reality into fantasy, that you can put on your body. Some of her newest inventions take the shape and color of the classic "mod" dress to all new levels. http://www.daleecutting.com/

Hair Wars: GlamLive hosted Hair Wars show at RednoFive Chicago. The Supreme Salon Tour is a runway hair and fashion competition, that is judged and awarded. This show consists of top salons all over the country, displaying their creativity and style within their region. The top three salons in each city will move on to a National Finals. See a video of the show at: http://vimeo.com/3973674