New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2014

This past Thursday I had an amazing opportunity to assist backstage for Designer Laurel DeWitt during fashion week. I was introduced to Laurel's brand through 4 Seasons Style Management, 4 Seasons is also where I intern for Lisa and her business partner Cappie. I've been following Lisa and Cappie for sometime now, researching their company, reading over their biographers, and practically analyzing how they built a name for themselves. I contacted Lisa consistently until I finally received a response back. After snagging an interview with Lisa's project manager things finally took off. My first day was a little intimidating, I met with a few other interns and employees for the company. That day we prepped for Laurel Dewitt's fashion show produced by 4 seasons Style Management and styled by Lisa. We organized wardrobe pieces, created photographic word documents, and a PR contact spread sheet. 

They day of the show my entire body was filled with an adrenaline  rush. I was eager and ready to tackle any task that landed my way, I was surprised at the amount of responsibility I was given. I had the privilege of waiting in Lisa's Manhattan chic office for a last minute shoe package all by myself, pretty sweet right. Once the Fedex package arrived I caught a cab and headed over to the venue. 

I arrived at the location just in time, managing to sneak in before Lisa. Inside, I observed as Lisa did her thing. Her stern but captivating personality intrigued me. Lisa and her assistant expected us to have everything organized and under control, and we did. 

Backstage time fly by rapidly, we dressed at least 20 models or more placing them in their designated spots in line. I was amazed at the final product and how everything came together despite all of the chaos prior. I admired everyones effort and dedication for putting on such a magnificent show. 

Check out the behind the scene photos below. 

The Mannequins Around You

Are you a conscience shopper? How often do you walk into your favorite store and buy the exact same outfit as the mannequin? Or are you a picky shopper, you go the store to pick up that one item you've had your eye on all week. 

I'm an extremely picky shopper, I don't think I'm ever persuaded by the mannequins in the store. Honestly I don't think I ever payed much attention to merchandising until I became a merchandiser, now I analyze everything!

After work I decided to kill some time in Times Square and watch the snow fall until, I spotted the H&M sign! I haven't really enjoyed shopping at H&M much since moving to NYC, it's always over crowded with merchandise thrown all around. Just think of your local H&M but 10x worse. The Times Square H&M is a fairly new store and is also New York City's flagship store, so my expectations were pretty high. 

They had to have at least 50 mannequins or more placed throughout the entire store, maybe about 5 or 6 per section. I wasn't concerned about there outfits either. I payed very close attention to their style, as if they were alive and filled with swagg. I observed everything from the Rapunzel  black and white Cruella de Vil wigs to the razor sharp Asian bob mannequins outfitted in business attire. How about those grey and purple wig mannequins draped in soft denim and lavender. I was in total awe and my insides were filled with inspiration. I was inspired by the overall appearance of the store it was very inviting and also very empty. I'm sure this had a lot to do with the snow storm that had been taking place.  

Granting all of this, I work at American Apparel so I have an abnormal eye for creativity, check out this link to see exactly what I mean here.  

Below is a short video clip from my flagship experience.

Okay I know, my videography skills aren't that great, but hey cut me some slack this my first video. I created this video on iMovie. I'm unsure why it's so blurry but it didn't look this way on the program. Do you guys have any suggestions for other video programs? 

Musically Influenced

What does music do to you? Do you listen to a variety of genres? Or are you musically inclined to one specific artist and one specific genre? However you feel, the type of music you listen to has a lot to do with your character. Not to say you can judge a persons entire character by their playlist on their iPod but, I believe it has a lot to do with their current situation in life or mood. 

I always wonder what the person sitting next to me on the train is listening to because music is powerful and it plays a major role in my life. I am open to all genres but lately I've been listening to A LOT of Beyoncé, Beyonce, Beyoncé oh yeah and Beyoncé. I've never been a huge fan of Beyoncé until now and I definitely can respect this women's hustle. She produces amazing work and I was totally inspired by her visual album. 

When I'm not listening to Beyoncé I am playing Justin Bieber's new album "Journals", which is pretty decent. He has a few great artist featured as well such as R. Kelly, Future, and a few others. Bieber's style is a mixture of a throw back Justin Timberlake and teenage Usher. One of my favorite tracks from the album is "Hold Tight", don't judge me. 

I also enjoy listening to artist like Lana Del Rey whose low and raspy voice drills me in with her spicy slick lyrics. Artist like John Legend, Jhene Aiko, Elle Varner, MIA, J. Cole and Drake also help me to maintain my sanity during my over crowed commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan. 

What are some artist that have positive influences over your current moods?

Rap School

It's so crazy how the world works. I'm a firm believer that with trust and faith the universe will always lead us in the right direction….

Last night I got to experience something oh so cool, "Rap School".  From the name of the event you probably could guess it's description. Rap School, consisted of live music, awesome people, and great vibes in a somewhat chill and collective atmosphere. The energy in the room was totally awesome. 

Picture this, loud speakers, original instrumental beats, vocalist, rappers and musicians all in the same room. As the beat would play an artist, any artist would instantly rap their thoughts out loud feeding of one another rhythms. I was astonished by the talent and creativity in the room, I even imagined that I was in some kind of rap hip hop opera! 

I was able to exchange a few words with the owner of the house and the mastermind behind the movement. Sellers aka chief aka he goes by so many other names and a native Washingtonian like myself claims to have been hosting events like this for a very long time. Sellers isn't your traditional NYC musician, he's creative, innovative and the complete "jack of all trades". His creative thinking is what interests fashionistas like myself. 

He decided to give me a quick tour of his place while I bombarded him with questions. I'll try to be as descriptive as possible because I hardly took any photos. Inside the air was fabricated with herbal fragrances and vodka. The rooms were filled with characters holding plastic cups and spitting dope ryhmes. There was a pool table in the middle of the living room where most of the crowed hovered around. Planted on the walls were Sellers paintings. I remember his bedroom door vividly, he seemed really enthused about it. It was a collage of nick nacks, stickers and words screaming "Free Crack". I also got to scrimmage through a collection of his cassate tapes. 

Rap School was a complete success and I'm really looking forward to attending it again next Sunday!

Isabel Marant for H&M?

I havent been this excited for an H&M collaboration since Lanvin's collection in 2010, (check out that blog post here). The exquisite french designer, Isabel Marant has decided to bring her brand to H&M for an unforgettable collection dropping this winter, November 14th to be exact. Her collection brings the trendiest of trends such as her oversized box coats, menswear inspired blazers, tapered sweat pants, bulky bohemian sweaters, disco party dresses, and elegant accessory pieces. Lucky for you, I was able to snag a few exclusive pictures of this admirable collaboration, check it out.