Anavaa Kisasa goes beyond affordable fashion fare. In addition to owner Zulema George’s own line of smart, high quality, leather handbags, she helps promote young up-and-coming designers, locally- and internationally-based, including many emerging Caribbean designers, by introducing their work in her boutique on Metropolitan Ave, (just off of the Lorimer stop on the L train). A handful of those burgeoning designers’ works were recently profiled during fashion week held last month by independent label support organization Nolcha.
In fact, Nolcha tapped Anavaa Kisasa to be a “retail incubator” to help young designers gain footing in the fashion market, a cornerstone of George’s philosophy behind Anavaa Kisasa.
Among the better-selling labels at the store include UNDFND, Ally Marie Couture Jewelry and leather-goods line Jypsea, alongside George’s own handbag line. George’s 2010 collection got some good exposure Oct. 7 at the Bagtrends Arm Candy party, which served double-duty as a US launch party for her season of bags which were first unveiled in Toronto, a week earlier.
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Photo: 
A weathered loft building planted in the middle of an industrial zone in Bushwick, just off the Morgan stop on the L train, leaves little clue of the punky kaleidoscope on its fourth floor—the work space of JoAnn Berman, couturier for pop stars, the Metropolitan Opera, and under Britain’s Zandra Rhodes.