Siempre magazine sponsors FIT’s Best Use of Color Award

Siempre Mujer magazine, the largest beauty, fashion, and lifestyle magazine for Latinas, announced that Editor-in-Chief Maria Cristina Marrero will join a prestigious panel of judges to select the winner of the second-annual Siempre Mujer-sponsored Best Use of Color Award for The Future of Fashion, the Fashion Institute of Technology’s (FIT) annual end-of-year runway show.

The Best Use of Color award is given to the student designer whose use of color most enhances the design of his or her garment. The winning look will be selected during Judging Day on April 22, presented at the final The Future of Fashion show on Thursday, May 1, at 7 p.m. at FIT’s John E. Reeves Great Hall. The designer will also be featured in Siempre Mujer in a “Key to Success” feature.

“Siempre Mujer is so excited to return to The Future of Fashion show,” says Marrero. “I’m looking forward to seeing the freshest designs from up-and-coming talent, and judging how they incorporate color to enhance their garments in innovative and expressive ways.”

FIT’s The Future of Fashion is the place for established designers, editors, and other VIPs to preview the fashion industry’s most promising young designers. Approximately 85 designers will be selected from a class of 160 students to present fall 2014 looks in the four women’s wear specializations offered at FIT, including sportswear, special occasion, knitwear and intimate apparel, plus children’s wear. The professionally produced show also showcases a capsule collection by graduating Fashion Design students who spent their final year at the college’s Milan campus at the Politecnico di Milano.

The media and fashion industry professionals selecting the 85 looks for this year’s runway are Bryan Boy (blogger, BryanBoy.com), Kate Betts (author, contributor CNN, NPR’s Marketplace, Travel & Leisure and Elle Decor), Alana Kelen (stylist, MTV Networks), Colleen Sherin (senior fashion director, Saks Fifth Avenue), Lilliana Vasquez (founder, CheapChicas.com; author of The Cheap Chica’s Guide to Style), and Beagy Zielinski (founder, L’Armoire Du Stylist).

The nine major designers and design houses that mentored students as they created their final collections include Kate Williams from Donna Karan (knitwear), Reiko Waisglass from Phillip Lim (knitwear), Rebecca Minkoff (sportswear), Daniel Vosovic (sportswear), Felicia Zivkovic from Lela Rose (sportswear), Brandon Sun (sportswear), Mathieu Mirano (special occasion), Jennifer Zuccarini from Fleur du Mal (intimate apparel), and Lisa di Napoli from Tommy Hilfiger Kids (children’s wear). Each designer will also choose one outstanding garment in his or her category to receive a special Critics Award.

Philadelphia Museum sees Patrick Kelly’s ‘Runway of Love’

Runway of Love is an expansive retrospective showcasing some eighty ensembles that were recently presented to the Museum as a promised gift by Kelly’s business and life partner, Bjorn Guil Amelan, and Bill T. Jones. Kelly’s designs are complemented by selections from the artist’s significant collection of black memorabilia, videos of his exuberant fashion shows, and photographs by renowned artists including Horst P. Horst, Pierre et Gilles, and Oliviero Toscani.

“I want my clothes to make you smile”—that was the goal of late African American designer Patrick Kelly in creating his bold, bright, and joyful creations. Kelly achieved this on the streets, nightclubs, and runways of New York, Paris, and beyond in the heady, inventive, and often-subversive urban milieu of the 1980s.

Kelly’s early signature creations—skinny, body-conscious dresses with colorful buttons—attracted the attention of French Elle, which featured the designer’s first commercial collection in February 1985. His aesthetic developed out of his African American and Southern roots and knowledge of fashion and art history, as well as from the club and gay cultural scenes in New York and Paris.

Kelly’s work pushed racial and cultural boundaries with golliwog logos, Aunt Jemima bandana dresses, and his ubiquitous black baby-doll brooches. His playful looks were inspired by his muse, Josephine Baker, and admiration for couturiers Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Yves Saint Laurent, among others.

Patrick Kelly was born and raised in Mississippi by his mother and his grandmother, who helped foster his love of fashion by bringing him fashion magazines. He moved to Paris in late 1979, and in 1988 became the first American and the first black designer to be voted into the prestigious Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, the French fashion industry association and standards organization. Kelly’s brilliant vision and career were cut short by AIDS, to which he succumbed on January 1, 1990.

Smithsonian exhibits Michelle Obama’s 2nd inaugural gown

The First Lady of the US, Michelle Obama, is back in news again as her Jason Wu designed ruby red gown, which she wore during her second inaugural ball, has made it to the Smithsonian Institution’s ongoing First Ladies exhibit.

Displayed at the Washington D.C.-based institution’s National Museum of American History, the floor-sweeping, glittery, slim-cut chiffon dress features a cross-halter strap neckline, decorated with tiny diamonds.

Other than the cut velvet embellished outfit, the exhibit, which documents the social and political contributions as well as the lives of America’s first ladies, also showcases dresses worn by the former US first ladies to several high-profile occasions, such as inaugural balls, state dinners and public appearances.

Among the most remarkable outfits that are on display at the museum is a 1780’s silk taffeta gown, painted with flowers, butterflies and motifs of other insects, that belonged to Martha Washington, wife of the first president of the United States, George Washington.

The exhibits also include a black striped and purple flower printed two-piece dress, worn by the wife of the 16th President Abraham Lincoln, Mary Lincoln, and a yellow silk evening gown, accented with a crepe chiffon overlay, donned by the fashion savvy spouse of President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, to the Kennedy administration’s first state dinner in honour of Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba in 1961.

Curated by the Smithsonian Curator, Lisa Kathleen Graddy, the exhibit, which is going to celebrate its 100th anniversary in the coming months, illustrates not only the personal styles of a first lady but also the official style of a presidential administration through its exclusive showcase of over 1,000 objects.

THE FACE OF AFRICA FASHION WEEK LONDON 2014

Africa Fashion week London is once again offering a vista of opportunities to models who will be privileged and lucky to win its flagship competition, “The Face of AFWL” for the 4th Edition. AFWL  2014. The winner of Face of AFWL is usually the model who represents AFWL event on all promotional platforms and also gets the opportunity to represent the event at major African Fashion and entertainment events in the UK, and of course, model on the runway for the event as well.

AFWL 2014 will be taking place from 7^th to 9^th August 2014 in an event that is programmed to take the fantastic concept further on its ever upward journey towards maintaining its position as the biggest and most beloved  African Inspired fashion event in the UK.

The face of AFWL 2012, Edith UBA, took part in the promotional shoot at the venue of the event and following the event, she was signed up to top UK modeling Agency, Strike Models.

Face of AFWL 2013, Regina Manneh had fantastic showings at the pre-event promotional shoots as well on the event runway.

Interested models are to apply by uploading a collage of one full length and one portrait image and include their name, age and stats (hair and eye colour, height, dress/suit size, measurements) to http://www.facebook.com/Africafwl/app_451684954848385 and spread the word to ensure they get the most number of votes. The competition is open to all young men and women between the ages 18-24. Women must be at least 5.7” and Men 6.1”.

Prior modeling experience is ideal but not essential; public voting Starts 13 March 2014, Male, Female, all races are welcome.

AFWL 2014 will be taking place on the 7^th-9^th  August 2014 at the Olympia Earls Court.

Africa Fashion Week London 2014 is also accepting applications from designers who wish to showcase on the runway and/or exhibit their merchandise at the exhibition. To participate in AFWL 2014 as a designer or support the event as a sponsor, please email info@africafashionweeklondonuk.com.

New Jersey designer debuts at New York Fashion Week

On Saturday, September 7, 2013 designer Haneefah M. will debut her Spring/Summer 2014 Women’s Wear Collection at the Hotel Pennsylvania (NY) at 1 p.m.

The feminine, fun and flirty women’s brand brings clean lines of flowing textures to the stage. Reflective of the poised yet playful designer, Haneefah M. debuts a line that could be found hanging in a boutique in the Beverly Hills or on a summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard.

“NYFW has been a childhood dream that has now become a reality. From reading fashion magazines in grade school to sketching dresses in high school, dressing models in college then designing full time. Everything has come full circle and I’m enjoying the ride,” says Haneefah M.

With decades of designing, in 2011 Haneefah began focusing on production. For seasons, Haneefah has worked many positions in production including with the Emerge! Runway Showcase, B. Michael, Nicole Miller, DKNY, and the Isabel Toledo Retrospective Collection.

Learning key aspects to runway show production coupled with attending some of the best runway shows New York Fashion Week has to offer, Haneefah M. has been able to develop her line and present a runway show to the standard and expectations of New York Fashion Week.

The Haneefah M. Spring/Summer 2014 Collection Runway Show will be held at The Hotel Pennsylvania, Penn-Top Ballroom 18th Floor 401 7th Avenue NY, NY 10001 at 1 p.m.

About Haneefah M.

New Jersey native, Haneefah M. received her Bachelors of Fashion Design from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, Pa. While attending college Haneefah M. began working with some of New York’s top brands including walking in legendary urban designer Karl Kani runway show and interning at Tommy Hilfiger and Nappy Sportswear.

Directly after graduating, Haneefah M. became an associate designer at a children’s dress manufacturing company where her designs have been featured on ABC’s Modern Family and Jimmy Kimmel. In 2008 Haneefah M. was an assistant to Brenda Edwards- designer of Sasha Obama’s Election Night 2008 dress. Haneefah also participated in Glamour Magazine’s Reader’s Night 2012. She is currently working with comedian ‘GL’ Douglas from VH1.

Haneefah M

Spirit Yacht Cruise with the Xtatic Collection

         

A soft summer afternoon, a large Yacht and a stunning collection, Xtatic; this set the scene for a beautiful fashion event on board the Spirit Cruise Yacht.  Fashion Avenue News was invited by Dee Riviera of Dee & Co Group producer of Latinista Fashion Week. 

The beauty of the evening, outside of the fabulous views of New York, were the designs which ranged from sizes 0-26.  The audience really appreciated being able to see themselves on the runway with a variety of size models.  Xtatic really knows how to put on a show, from ready to wear, cocktail dresses to long flowing red carpet gowns.  You could get your entire wardrobe from this one collection.  Each garment, one after another, STUNNING.

Numerous celebrities attend the event.  After the show, the Xtatic Collection team were available to take photos and chat with their many supporters and sponsors.

What an exciting evening, great views of New York/New Jersey sky line and beautiful clothes from Xtatic Collection.  Take a look.

Fashion Avenue News Magazine Features Plus Size Beauty on Cover

Fashion Avenue News Magazine features Plus Size Model “MOCHA” on the cover of the August issue.

Fashion Avenue News magazine is a Luxury Magazine that features emerging and established talent on the same pages.  Fashion Designers that do not have boutiques can be features as well as unsigned, non agency models, this is what makes the magazine UNIQUE.

As per Diana Regal “You should support Fashion Avenue News magazine because it has its finger on the pulse of the REAL COMMUNITY, the REAL PEOPLE THAT BUY and they are all sizes, heights and weights.  This is the only hi end, luxury magazine that features straight sizes right next to plus size, emerging designers next to established, famous designers.  It is the only magazine that I know where you can speak with someone without jumping through hoops, you can be featured without a lot of red tape.  This is the NEW FRONT ROW, Fashion Avenue News Magazine”.

We hope you will support Fashion Avenue News magazine by purchasing an issues (www.FashionAvenueNews.com) or placing an “affordable” advertisement.  You can also submit your photo to be featured in an upcoming issue.

BEYONCE ROCKS – Punk Fashion Will be Focus of Spring 2013 Costume Institute Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum

Gala Benefit, with Co-Chairs Rooney Mara, Lauren Santo Domingo, Riccardo Tisci, and Anna Wintour

Beyonce is to show off her fashion knowledge by helping to organize this year’s glitzy Costume Institute Gala in New York City.

The superstar singer has been named an honorary chairperson of the high-profile fashion event, also known as the Met Ball, which will take place at the Big Apple’s famous Metropolitan Museum of Art next month.

Beyonce joins famed Vogue editor Anna Wintour on the panel of co-chairs, along with designer Riccardo Tisci and actress Rooney Mara, who will act as hosts.

The spring 2013 exhibition organized by The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be PUNK: Chaos to Couture. The exhibition, on view from May 9 through August 14, 2013 (preceded on May 6 by The Costume Institute Benefit), will examine punk’s impact on high fashion from the movement’s birth in the 1970s through its continuing influence today.

The exhibition is made possible by Moda Operandi.

Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.

“Punk’s signature mixing of references was fueled by artistic developments such as Dada and postmodernism,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “so it makes sense to present this exhibition in a museum that also shows the broader output of those movements. Indeed, that dialogue between art and fashion is what makes The Costume Institute so singular. Projects like this don’t happen without sponsorship, and we greatly appreciate the generosity of Moda Operandi, and its co-founders Aslaug Magnusdottir and Lauren Santo Domingo.”

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the Museum’s Costume Institute Benefit will take place on Monday, May 6, 2013. Beyoncé will serve as Honorary Chair. Co-Chairs will be Academy Award© nominated actress Rooney Mara; Lauren Santo Domingo, Co-Founder of Moda Operandi; Riccardo Tisci, Creative Director of Givenchy; and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue. This fundraising event is The Costume Institute’s main source of annual funding for exhibitions, acquisitions, and capital improvements.

“Since its origins, punk has had an incendiary influence on fashion,” said Andrew Bolton, Curator in The Costume Institute. “Although punk’s democracy stands in opposition to fashion’s autocracy, designers continue to appropriate punk’s aesthetic vocabulary to capture its youthful rebelliousness and aggressive forcefulness.”

Exhibition Overview
The exhibition, in the Museum’s second-floor Cantor galleries, will feature approximately 100 designs for men and women. Original punk garments from the mid-1970s will be juxtaposed with recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear have borrowed punk’s visual symbols, with paillettes being replaced with safety pins, feathers with razor blades, and bugle beads with studs. Focusing on the relationship between the punk concept of ‘do-it-yourself’ and the couture concept of ‘made-to-measure,’ the exhibition will be organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style. Presented as an immersive multimedia, multisensory experience, the clothes will be animated with period music videos and soundscaping audio techniques.

Organized thematically, each of the seven galleries will have designated punk ‘heroes’ who embody the broader concepts behind the fashions on view. The first gallery will be devoted to CBGB in New York City, represented by Blondie, Richard Hell, The Ramones, and Patti Smith. Next will be a gallery inspired by Malcolm McClaren and Vivienne Westwood and theirSeditionaries boutique at 430 King’s Road in London. The Clothes for Heroes gallery, embodied by Jordan, will examine designers who extend the visual language of punk, as it was originally articulated by McLaren and Westwood, by merging social realism with artistic expression.

Do-it-yourself, punk’s enduring contribution to high fashion, will be explored in the four final galleries: D.I.Y. Hardware, focusing on couture’s use of studs, spikes, chains, zippers, padlocks, safety pins, and razor blades, with Sid Vicious as its icon; D.I.Y. Bricolage, highlighting the impact of punk’s ethos of customization on high fashion, including the use of recycled materials from trash and consumer culture, as epitomized by Wayne County; D.I.Y. Graffiti and Agitprop, exploring punk’s tradition of provocation and confrontation through images and text exemplified by The Clash; andD.I.Y. Destroy, examining the effect of punk’s rip-it-to-shreds spirit, typified by Johnny Rotten, via torn and shredded garments associated with deconstructionism.

Designers in the exhibition will include Miguel Adrover, Thom Browne, Christopher Bailey (Burberry), Hussein Chalayan, Francisco Costa (Calvin Klein), Christophe Decarnin (Balmain), Ann Demeulemeester, Dior, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (Dolce and Gabbana), John Galliano, Nicolas Ghesquière (Balenciaga), Katharine Hamnett, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren (Viktor & Rolf), Christopher Kane, Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons), Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel), Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela, Malcolm McLaren, Alexander McQueen, Franco Moschino and Rossella Jardini (Moschino), Kate and Laura Mulleavy (Rodarte), Miuccia Prada, Gareth Pugh, Zandra Rhodes, Hedi Slimane (Saint Laurent), Stephen Sprouse, Jun Takahashi (Undercover), Joseph Thimister, Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), Gianni Versace, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, and Vivienne Westwood.

The exhibition is organized by Andrew Bolton, Curator, in the Met’s Costume Institute. Photographer Nick Knight is the exhibition’s creative consultant working with exhibition design consultant Sam Gainsbury (who was creative director for the Met’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition in 2011) and production designer Gideon Ponte (a set and production designer for photo shoots and feature films including Buffalo 66 and American Psycho). All mannequin head treatments and masks will be designed by Guido Palau, who also created treatments for Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty and last year’s Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

The design for the 2013 Costume Institute gala benefit will be created by Nick Knight, Sam Gainsbury, and Gideon Ponte with Raul Avila, who has produced the benefit décor since 2007. Additional funding for the gala benefit will be provided by Givenchy.

A book, Punk: Chaos to Couture, by Andrew Bolton, with an introduction by Jon Savage, and prefaces by Richard Hell and John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols), will accompany the exhibition. This publication will be illustrated with photographs of vintage punks and high fashion. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the $45 catalogue (hard cover only) will be distributed worldwide by Yale University Press.

The Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org/punk will feature the exhibition. Follow us on Facebook.com/MetMuseum and Twitter.com/MetMuseum to join the conversation about the gala benefit. Use #PunkFashion and #Met Gala on Twitter.

Beauty With Benefits: Charity by Dawn Lilly Cosmetics – Fabulous

Charity by Dawn Lilly, LLC is not your everyday cosmetics company. More than an exclusive cosmetics and skin care company; it is a company that was created with a devotion and great passion to helping the world around us. $1 from every product sold is donated to a different charity each month, selected based on consumer feedback. With so many important and wonderful causes and organizations, Dawn Lilly, Founder and President/CEO, said she did not want to pick just one charity and wanted as many as possible to benefit, she thought it would be great if customers could have a voice. “They are part of this! We are a team, in this together! We want to hear and listen to our customers and representatives and make them an integral part of our mission.”

Charity by Dawn Lilly is a direct consumer cosmetics and skin care company, similar to that of Avon and Mary Kay, with an expansive line offering nearly 80 different products and over several hundred colors and tones. They are giving customers plenty more options than most companies and catering to every type of consumer! The line also includes healthy mineral make ups as well as the latest consumer sought skin care and anti-aging products. Products are paraben free, allergy tested, and animal friendly; only using manufacturers who do not test on any animals.

Dawn Lilly explains “We are different from other cosmetic and skin care companies — we created a brand that’s priced lower yet stands head to head with quality and consumer appeal against the top brand name competitors, we are creating jobs in a tough economy, we are creating unique ways for everyone to give back. Any way you look at it, it’s nothing but beneficial to everyone, it’s positive, it’s win/win. Women buy make up and customers are able to give back and donate simply by purchasing products they would purchase anyway with no additional cost. We make it easy for all of us to contribute to the world around us by being a company that gives back from every single product sold! For our cosmetic company, that is what’s beautiful.”

Charity Contributions: Since the official launch in late summer 2012 the company has donated to Breast Cancer Awareness, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), Gwen’s Girls, FAIR Girls, and the Autism Center of Pittsburgh. Charity even takes suggestions from customers for which charities to donate to in the upcoming seasons!

Summer is quickly approaching, and we are ringing in new beauty trends and makeup colors to-die-for! Charity by Dawn Lilly is now showcasing bright summer colors, beauty picks through their new partnership with Makeup Match Me, and skin care product must-haves! (Did we mention they have a new BB Cream!?) The best part of it all, is that they are giving back to a different charity every month while supplying women with all of their quality beauty needs.

WHAT’S HOT: Leaving behind the nudes and grays, we’re embracing the sunshine with fun and flirty BRIGHTS! This season, we’re crushing on coral colors, POPS of orange, and peach! Charity by Dawn Lilly has a selection of colors to choose from, even neon’s! MUST HAVE: Lipstick 544 ‘Just Peachy’!

The Beauty Brand that GIVES BACK! “Look Good, Feel Good-Doing Good!” $1 from every product sold donated to a different charity! Donated To: Since the official launch in late summer 2012 the company has donated to Breast Cancer Awareness, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), Gwen’s Girls, FAIR Girls, and the Autism Center of Pittsburgh. Charity even takes suggestions from customers for which charities to donate to in the upcoming seasons!

www.charitybydawnlilly.com and www.charitymakeup.com

Why you should read Fashion Avenue News – The Fashion Magazine For You

Fashion Avenue News Magazine April issues has hit the stores.  One of the most important reasons to purchase Fashion Avenue News Magazine is we feature emerging fashion talent on our pages.  We are bringing the “unknown” talent to the mainstream.  Send us your photos of your creative designs and get placed on our pages. Pick up a copy of Fashion Avenue News Magazine today.  We can be found at UpScale, Luxury International Magazine Boutiques in two locations:

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