Glamazon: Mr. Fabulous

There are few times in a fashionista's life when one truly feels as if she's standing in the presence of style royalty, truly fabulous people who don't give a damn and do things their way no matter how outrageous it may be. I have felt it three times: standing next to Cher at Crobar in 2004, bumping into Michael Kors March 7 at his Bal Harbour fashion show and June 9 at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale's annual student fashion show, Untitled Revolution.

I was distracted by a sea of pointless Twitter posts until a flash of gold reflected a glare off my Blackberry. I looked up and saw a beautiful black man sporting gold-sequined pants with furry cuffs, a matching gold coat, gloves and enough glitter in his hair to choke Tinkerbell.

I ran across the room to find out the identity of this ethereal being. For a moment, I was convinced he was the love child of Eartha Kitt and Prince. "My name is Brandy Le'tron Harris," he said, swatting a Bedazzled fan back and forth across his face. "But I have an alter ego. Tonight, I am Freddie Fabulous."

Harris, who will graduate from the Art Institute in September, was one of the associate designers whose garments were featured in the show. "My focus is stagewear," Harris said of his glittery fishtail evening gowns paired with Christmas-ornament-size earrings.

To accuse the 20-year-old budding designer of being too over-the-top is an understatement. With not enough time to fully interview him at the show, I arranged to meet him June 22 at his dorm pool. Even in the 90-degree heat, Harris was dressed well enough for a Teen Vogue photo shoot, sporting teal crocodile shoes, bootcut jeans, a striped teal T-shirt, a bright blue rosary around his neck and a matching aqua umbrella.

With his gold-glitter-covered hair swooped up in a fauxhawk, I wondered if Harris did his grocery shopping in such an elaborate getup. "I never leave the house without earrings or makeup," Harris said with a smile. "A few weeks ago, I went to Publix with just a hat on and no glitter and I ran into a friend. She said, 'Le'tron, are you feeling OK? Where's the glitter?' People want to see me dressed like that."

Originally from Pompano Beach, Harris has been interested in fashion since he was a 7-year-old boy doing Tina Turner impersonations. "My mom and aunt were always so fashionable. My mother always had these long, red fingernails, and my aunt was a seamstress who never worked with patterns," Harris said. "She made choir robes for our church."

Harris has adopted a similar, freeform approach to his designs. "I go to Wal-Mart and buy a bunch of mirrors. Then, I take them home and smash them up with the heel of my shoe. I glue them in random spots all over my gowns, even under the arms," Harris said.

Metallic fabric, glitter and sequins are the defining elements in all Harris' designs. "Diana Ross and Patti LaBelle are my inspirations," he reported. "I'll even mix fur and sequins. I'm trying to be as different as possible."

Harris then revealed he has a second alter ego — Brandy. "Brandy is a small-town boy from Pompano waiting to be discovered," Harris said with a giggle, clutching the rosary dangling from his neck.

While Harris is hard at work on a gothic-inspired collection, he still finds time to indulge in his favorite activity besides designing and R&B singing — thrift-store shopping. His secret style spot? "Thrift Addiction in Margate," Harris whispered. "I find the greatest belts there."

But perhaps Harris' boldest move yet will be his desire to popularize male cleavage. "Why should it only be for the women?" Harris demanded. "Men look very sexy in deep V-neck shirts. These shirts are hot right now. No more big baggy T-shirts and grandpa jeans on men, please!"

While I know some men who could sport a quasi-decent rack if they shoved their man boobs into a Miracle bra, I'm going to get on my hands and knees and pray we reserve this trend for men with perfect pecs.

TOO COOL FOR THE POOL

If you're a babe with a Klum-like body or a buff dude with deliciously defined deltoids, I suggest sunning your chiseled abs and nonjiggly thighs at Salvation Sundays, a highly stylish pool party at the W Fort Lauderdale Hotel. The place is by Cindy Crawford's husband, Rande Gerber of Gerber Group. It appears Gerber may have invited some of his model friends to hang out there on a weekly basis.

Billed as "Fort Lauderdale's most sinful pool party that will deliver you from heat," this crowd makes the MTV Beach House look like a dog pound. Even in the elevator ride up five floors to the pool bar Wet, I felt as if I had a ticket to the gun show, as I was surrounded by five beefy men with tribal tattoos wrapped around their tight muscles.

Beautiful people were oiling one another up around the pool area with $1,000 Louis Vuitton beach bags and Coach towels thrown on the floor. A DJ spun current summer anthems such as Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" by Pitbull.

With party people wearing the latest Ed Hardy bikinis and other designer swimwear, the scene resembled a beach fashion show. The pool deck is surrounded by VIP cabanas, plush lounge beds and a huge fire pit to keep the hotties heated at night.

The event, which takes place from 12:30 p.m. to sunset, was designed to allow locals and tourists to squeeze a few more drops of fun out of the weekend before returning to work Monday. But I'm not sure any of these people spent much time at jobs outside of the gym. This place motivated me to get my jaw wired shut, consult with a plastic surgeon and reinstate my membership at fat camp. If you're after a 10 at this party but consider yourself a 7, buy your shiny new love interest a few double mojitos and then smudge some suntan lotion on their sunglasses. In a few hours, they won't even notice the tire around your waist.

Glamazon runs every other week. Contact Joanie Cox at jcox@citylinkmagazine.com.