The Fashion Association of Boston proclaimed the week of October 11th the fourth annual Boston Fashion Week. With an opening party at The Roxy, shows at the Massachusetts College of Art and the Boston Public Library and a closing V.I.P. bash at Aria, Boston Fashion Week tried its best to resemble the style extravaganza of New York's fashion weeks. Guess what? Boston didn't quite pull it off.

The week's festivities smacked of a public relations endeavor having very little to do with style or fashion. The clothes appeared to be a hodge-podge of no-name designers from a variety of seasons. The Fashion Association of Boston had to rely on alternate events such as a body image discussion panel and art and photography exhibits to stretch out the week's meager fashion offerings. Essentially, the intentions of the Fashion Association were "to establish a relationship with the public and the media."

Friday night's show, entitled "Fashion Absolutely Boston," featured saggy models clothed in retro 80s suits, berets, taffeta boxers and slashed dresses. While many local art and design school students got an opportunity to demonstrate their imaginative designs at the show, their clothes were overwhelmed by Jamin 94.5's boisterous deejay and the atrocious decor of Avalon. The bright sequined dresses, disco-ball suit jackets and the polyester oriental carpet capes of "Fashion Absolutely Boston" were more reminiscent of Fabio and Bobby Brown than the latest from Versace and Marc Jocobs.

Of course Boston Fashion Week is still in its infancy but for now, let it be said that a small closet of clothing and large mailbox of PR hype do not a fashion week make.