NYFW Day 3 / 4

Me with LA bloggers Sydne,Taye, Amelia, and Grasie. Photo by Keith Morrison

What day is it? By the time I made it to the weekend, the days really became a blur. All I can remember is go, go go! Once again, I woke up that morning in a rush. Oh God! What am I wearing? That shirt's too wrinkled! I've just got to throw something on. But it was too late and I'd already missed Lacoste. Who schedules a fashion show at 10 am on a Saturday anyway? Absolutely ridiculous. Besides, considering my luck the previous day, I figured I wouldn't make it in even though I did RSVP.

The ladies and I decided to make our rounds and schmooze while we waited for another show. The fashion paparazzi was out in full force. Taye, Grasie and I couldn't walk a few steps without getting our pictures taken. Photographers all the way from places like Australia, Russia, and Japan were snapping pics left and right. During the frenzy, I had the pleasure of running into beauty maven Ariana Pierce and Atlanta fave Tami Reed of Talking with Tami. I remembered them from the Ebony White presentation a few days early, and they are both sweet as a Georgia peach.

Photo by Taye Hansberry- Full review on Stuff She Likes

Finally, we made it inside Lincoln Center for the Mara Hoffman Spring/ Summer 2014 collection. The show was full of vibrant colors and vivid prints. Gorgeous silhouettes and breathable fabrics. Each model looked as beautiful as the Girl from Ipanema as she walked down the runway "tall, and tan, and young and lovely". Every detail from the styling to the hair to the music was so well planned. The collection made you long for a South American vacation that you'd hope to never return from. To make things even better, the love of my fashion life Marcelo Burlon was sitting in the front row. Swoon. This was exactly what I'd wanted of New York Fashion Week.

That evening, the girls and I stopped by an event for Amika to celebrate the company's new hair products. Then it was on to The Standard for the BCBG party. We drank champagne and shook our moneymakers until we couldn't stand up anymore. I woke up the next morning determined to take it easy. The first stop was the Vogue Runway Retreat where I stuffed my face with snacks and met the talented Priscilla Barroso, designer of Crowned Bird. She and friend Jenny are super awesome chicks with really good style. Over at the tents the girls and I ran into our favorite street style photographer Keith Morrison who happily snapped us for Stylelist.com. He is so great to shoot with. He knows what he wants, and when he's taking a photo it looks like he's in some crazy yoga pose. Oh, I also saw cutie pie Ty of Gorgeous in Grey. Oh oh! And freaking June Ambrose! She's the business.

Even though I tried to chill over the weekend, days three and four were still pretty productive. My final days in NYC are coming next.

xoxo

Show Me The Colour

Photos courtesy of Taye Hansberry

My diversity radar is always on and in full effect, and fashion week was no different. One of the first things I notice on the runway is that little spot of color. You see race when you look at models especially when there's only a couple of brown faces there. This can be incredibly disheartening. As a little girl I loved seeing Naomi, Tyra, Beverly Peele, and Veronica Webb strut the catwalk. They inspired me. For the latest generation of future fashionistas and model lovers, it's slim pickings. It seems like the beautiful caramel, honey, and chocolate amazons that I love to see are so few and far between.

Maybe I'm crazy. I've heard that over the past few seasons, designers are incorporating more black, Asian, and other ethnicities into their shows. Just to see if this is actually true, I took a tally of the minority models during New York Fashion Week. I attempted to count each and every show give or take a couple. It has literally taken me days to go through them. Especially after Thursday's Essence Lunchtime Debates on Twitter, I needed to see an accurate runway race report card.

Out of the 70 something shows or presentations I counted, here's what stood out:

5 had absolutely no black models- this includes Kanye favorite MM6 by Margiela and Vivienne Tam. The latter did have Asian models in 10 of the 39 looks on the runway.

1 black model for Cynthia Rowley, Theyskens' Theory, Sass & Bide, and Marchesa just to name a few.

1 Asian, 1 Black for Jill Stuart, and I actually like her stuff.

The majority of shows had 4 to 6 minority models walking.

Kudos to Jeremy Scott and Mara Hoffman for by far the most diverse shows ever. There were so many colorful models on the runway that I couldn't keep count.

Keep in mind, my stats are based solely on me looking at photos from the shows with the exception of the ones I actually attended. It was extremely difficult to count the models who appeared to be ethnically ambiguous. I took a count of the total number of looks that came down the runway, the number of ethnic models, and the number of looks on hese models. I tried to cross reference and all that other exact scientific research stuff, but I'm not a professional race counter. With all of that said, it's important to notice the designers that stayed true to their consumer demographic and own personal ethnic background. African American designer Tracy Reese represented for the home team with black models wearing 17 of the 43 looks that came down the runway. This is all a step in the right direction, but we still have a ways to go. Do these numbers accurately reflect the population? Is this show of color appropriate for the global audience? Will the stats look drastically different after fashion weeks in London, Paris and Milan? The jury's still out, but we've got to remain optimistic and push for a more colorful fashion future.

NYFW Day One

With Taye and Jae 

Oh hello, New York. I landed a few days ago and I've been running nonstop ever since. This city can be so exhausting, but energizing at the same time. No wonder there are those I heart NY shirts. Sad to say my trip is coming to an end. The good thing is you get to see every moment of it... ok, almost every moment. The first 24 hours were spent with my crew supporting Styled to Rock designer Ebony White at the presentation of her Spring/Summer collection.

The presentation took place near Bryant Park, the old home of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. The models, glam squad, and the designer's crew arrived early to get everything prepped. The pieces were all great. A mix of ruffled sleeves, flowing fabrics, and a few edgy elements. Backstage before and after the show, we took silly pictures to document the affair.

That's me and Jae being a little more serious once the presentation was done. In fact, I'm still wearing one of Ebony's pieces. Isn't it cute? A simple black romper with splits on the side and a soft flirty belt. And doesn't Jae look dapper? He's been working so hard doing the PR for Ebony and for Rihanna's upcoming fashion-reality show Styled to Rock.

Speaking of the show, later that night we hit the town for the Vevo + Styled to Rock party. I ran into guest judge Erin Wasson as soon as we arrived. Gracious, she's stunning. Of course, the first stop after the bar was the photo booth. That's me and Ebony. She's a petite little thing and so cute.

The party was great. I spent most of the time sitting and chair dancing because my feet were killing me. This was just the first of many long days and nights. But every day was spent with members of the best crew possible. Man, we look tough. Day two coming tomorrow.

When In New York - Part II

Fantastic. Awesome. Exhausting. Those are the words I've been using to describe my adventures in the city that never sleeps. Like seriously, this was the one time that I really needed to clone myself in order to make it to all the fashion shows, presentations, and festivities. Somehow, even without a doppelganger, I was able to do it. Without further adieu...let's get this party started, right?!

The first chapter of this story begins on Monday. My crew and I had a challenge before us: one show and two presentations in just a matter of hours. And none of them were anywhere near each other. I put on a simple tank and blazer, Future Heretics snake-print skinnies, Shoe Dazzle heels, bright orange lips, and I hit the pavement running. At the Lincoln Center, I met up with my partner in crime Taye to catch the Farah Angsana show. The energy at the tents was oddly quiet and a little tense, but all that died down when the first model hit the runway. Farah Angsana's collection featured jeweled collars, sequins, lace, and paisley in a vibrant take on evening wear. The finale dress with its jewels and brightly-colored feathers looked like something you'd wear at Carnival, but it worked.

Next up was the Lublu Spring/Summer '13 collection by Kira Plastinina. We walked into this posh suite at the Four Seasons full of champagne, great music, beautiful people and gorgeous clothes. The room was buzzing as we all gushed over Kira's new stuff. There were lots of geometric-almost-tribal prints, flirty silhouettes, and fun accessories. She's continued her use of blues and orange in the Fall/Winter '12 collection into Spring as well. The party reunited me with my favorite Russian Vogue social butterfly Laura Djaga. So many adorable ladies and gents and such a wonderful atmosphere... loved it!

Without a moment to spare, Taye and I high-tailed it over to the Alice + Olivia presentation. With gift bags in hand and our foreheads glistening with perspiration, I'm sure we looked a little crazy amongst the crowd of fashionables. This didn't seem to matter to us as we consumed cocktails and over-indulged in cake pops and the Alice + Olivia Magnum Ice Cream Bars. I ate like two of them. Such a glutton. Oh, I can't forget the clothes! The collection was like a retro ball of sunshine with clouds and disco balls. Groovy!

After that one day, everything else was a blur. We ate like kings, and partied like queens at super trendy spots like Beauty & Essex, Ward III, and a cute bar named Isola with an even cuter bartender named Bobby. We also had the priviledge of popping bottles with Claire of The Fashion Bomb. On a non-fashion related note, we went to a taping of Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and Issa Rae of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl as the special guest.

Whew. Can't believe I packed all that cool stuff into a week. Even though you sucked every drop of energy out of me, you were well worth it New York. Until next time.

xoxo

Goodies Galore

Besides the runway shows and the people watching, there are tons of perks at fashion week. Free stuff! Think about it, after a long day of looking fabulous and networking you need a little pampering. This season, the Empire Hotel was the prime destination for gifting suites and beauty lounges. You know I indulged.

My very stop on my lounge tour was the BWR PR "Kick Off Your Heels and Get Glam" suite. As soon as Taye and I walked in the room the atmosphere was warm and inviting. Since we had literally just been fighting the humidity outside, we made a beeline straight over to the Bare Minerals makeup chairs to get touched up. The very sweet makeup artist used the new Bare Minerals READY SPF 20 foundation to refresh my face and the Well-Rested brightness to wake up my eyes. A little mascara, blush, and lip gloss and I was right as rain.

Now that I was feeling pretty again, I headed to Stella & Dot for cute bags, journals, and jewelry. The wonderful ladies there let me make my own charm necklace. It turned out super simple and super cute. Next we snagged some comfy flats from Footwear and a few must-haves from Foot Petals. That's just what I needed to save my footsies from the pain of heels. I also scored a a quick manicure that I desperately wanted. That suite was just what I needed to recharge and prepare again for the tents.

For the next few days, Taye and I hopped from suite to suite. We went to the Clarins lounge to check out the new Beauty Flash Blog where we scored a sample of the Beauty Flash Balm. Can't wait to try it. We were also able to sneak in a quick massage too. Then there was the Spanx suite where we got to preview the spring collection. The lovely ladies of Spanx were nice enough to give us a couple of intimates. The older I get, the more I feel like I need Spanx to lift up what gravity is trying to bring down.

So many lounges and suites that I'm probably leaving out, but they were all wonderful. Don't be surprised if you see me sporting my complimentary swag in the near future. It's all sooo cute. Thanks to all the above for your hospitality. Sharing is caring!