Fashion Week begins on Thursday and a local fashion designer is using a Brazilian martial art that combines acrobatics and dance to spice up his first collection. NY1's Cheryl Wills filed the following report.

Carlton Jones is surrounded by athletic men who practice a centuries old Brazilian martial art called Capoeira. He's so good at it, that he recently made it to a qualifying match in Manhattan where he has to combine speed with flexibility and power to out maneuver his opponent.  

"Capoeira uses about every muscle in the body and muscles you didn't even know you had and one thing I realy appreciate about it is it really exercises my mind as well," Jones said.

And while that looks exciting, for Carlton Jones, his other passion is fashion. All of that hand-eye coordination helps the Carlton Jones fashion label really shine.

"This piece is one of the first patterns I ever made so I'm really proud of it, it's inspired by the poncho," Jones explained.

Capoeira influences are evident through his flowing collection.

"I'm a newbie at this. Two years is a very short time with this collection behind me I have to find a fresh approach to creating what I want to do and I think Capoeira has helped me with that," Jones said.

Carlton Jones hopes to turn his fashion label into an international expression of style and grace based on a martial art that's loaded with positive energy and creativity.

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