Most Inspirational Speeches From the CFDA Awards

The CFDA Awards is known for fashion designers celebrating each other. If you are not in the industry, you stalk the red carpet for the best looks. The 2016 CFDA Awards was one of the most quotable. It was a night of accomplished women inspiring other women to reach for the top.

The recipient of the CFDA Fashion Icon Award was Beyonce Knowles. Bey has been on a roll to make herself a force beyond pop princess, starting with "Formation" then "Lemonade". Her acceptance brought tears to many. She started with her family's history. Her grandmother was a seamstress who used those skills to get her mother an education. Her mother Tina Knowles then went on to help craft Destiny's Child's look with her own fashion skills. Beyonce went on to empower fashion designers with this statement, " Y’all are fairy godmothers, magicians, sculptors, and sometimes even therapists. I encourage you to not forget this power you have or take it lightly. We have an opportunity to contribute to a society where any girl can look at a billboard or magazine cover and see her own reflection. Soul has no color. no shape, no form. Just like all your work it goes so far beyond what the eyes can see. You have the power to change perception, to inspire and empower, to show people how to embrace their complications and flaws and see the true beauty that’s inside all of us."

The CFDA Founders Award was presented to Donna Karan by Calvin Klein. They both spoke of how they climbed the ladder of the fashion industry together. Karan spoke of giving birth to her daughter only to have her employer call to ask when she would finish the collection and finding out her mentor Anne Klein had passed away. She acknowledged "Every single one of us is guided, for an internal strength, creativity of vision and what is needed for the future". "That is what fashion is about". Honoring our heroes and those who support us is something we can all do more of.

"“What really matters is talent. Talent is the solution and talent is what we celebrate tonight" -Diane Von Furstenburg. This fashion icon was voted to lead the Council of Fashion Designers of America over and over again. She was at the front of major initiatives for model health and protecting the rights of designers. 

Menswear Designer of the Year went to Thom Browne. His heartfelt speech thanked his team, partner and the CFDA for their incredible work. Marc Jacobs also thanked his team, citing "My greatest reward is working with them day and night. Creating fashion is what I love to do and the only reason I'm here". 

Norma Kamali was the recipient of the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Michael Kors. He honored her for making sweats fashionable long before "athleisure" was a term and sending sleeping bag coats down the runway for decades. She was humble in stating that she understood being "disruptive" in an ever changing fashion industry was difficult. She is constantly asked for tips to succeed in fashion. Ending on a humorous note, her advice was that "Celebrity might help if you can't do it any other way, but maybe you just have to go for the sex tape!". "Fitness and beauty are very important to me, doing it in style". 

Congratulations to all of the winners of the CFDA Awards 2016!

Beyonce photo: Theo Warger/Getty, Designer photos from the CFDA

Check out The Best Fall 2016 Looks by This Year's CFDA Award Nominees
by Jill Manoff at Mode

Read more >>

#Unselfie Style - #GivingTuesday

It’s the morning after  Cyber-Monday.  I thought I would take a break from the holiday shopping and gift guide planning to focus on giving.  The #Unselfie and #GivingTuesday campaign is a social media initiative most active on Instagram to take away from your own narcissism and instead raise awareness of a cause that is important to you.  The point is to post a photo with information on your cause instead while obscuring your own face.

The project was launched with the 92nd Street Y, Mashable, the United Nations Foundation and over 2,000 partners, big and small, across America.  Do you have a charity that you regularly donate to?  What about an organization that you volunteer for?  This is the perfect opportunity to give them a shout-out.

I can’t say I am particularly loyal to one specific cause.  I have volunteered my time over the years for DIFFA, Fashion Fights Cancer and many seasons with the CanadianCancer Society.  I am happy to give blog space to promote pretty much any good cause one of my fashion industry peeps are passionate about.

The general public has an image of the fashion industry as a vain and shallow community, but in my 20 years in it, I have found it to be the exact opposite.  I can’t name any prominent fashion brand or designer who doesn't devote a good percentage of time and resources to a great cause. 

To name a few:

Cynthia Rowley and Lauren Bush have worked together for F.E.E.D.

Betsey Johnson is a huge advocate for Breast Cancer Awarness with programs for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, Iris Cantor Center, Pink Ribbon products, etc.

Donna Karan founded the Urban Zen Organization to provide comfort and wellness where the health care industry fails, but also to preserve and support diverse cultures.

Josie Natori was in her native Philippines right after Typhoon Haiyan hit.  She rallied a large number of fashion brands to donate aid to the country and has channeled visitors to her site to organizations that provide the most help to the victims of the tragedy.

Read more >>

Trendspotting: Scuba Evolution

I have spent my first days at the beach. I watched surfers and plan on doing some scuba diving later  this summer. Clearly, the wetsuit inspiration has attracted many fashion designers in recent seasons as I keep seeing the aquatic staple hit the runways.  Here is how scuba chic has evolved...

The first time I saw neoprene interpreted for street fashion was at Parsons. One of my teachers invited a former student to describe her first job out of school, designing for  Donna Karan.  She showed us her sketchbook which included early versions of a 1994 dress which became an iconic look for the label. The scuba dress was immortalized in the book, Fifty Years of Fashion: New Look to Now:

Wetsuit-inspired fashion popped up in the resort collections of many designers in 2012. Herve Leger updated their signature bandage dress look to emulate the seams of a wetsuit. Derek Lam took the color blocking look of wetsuits and designed a graphic collection around it.  Michael Kors took the traditional neoprene and made it a dress.

For 2013, designers have quickly brought this look further into the mainstream by treating the neoprene fabric itself, (see first photo). Cynthia Rowley, a surfer herself, created some terrific dresses and top using digital printing on neoprene.  At her Montauk store, there are lace prints, jewel and botanical prints that I loved. In turn, she brought high fashion into surfing gear. She offered a special collection of functional wetsuits with her trendy clothing prints. Designer Byron Lars created an elegant Fall 2013 collection bonding brocade and glen plaids to neoprene to use the bright color as a pop lining or unexpected texture inside traditional fabric.  He also used laser cutting to create flattering shapes of applique on the dresses.  He also relied on supportive nature of the fabric to create a sexy silhouette.

For the multi-tasking gal, it's great to know you hit the runway or the ocean and never have to change!

Photos from Nick Verreros, Irving Solero, Mariana Leung

Read more >>

BOCA: Shooting Fashion and CFDA in Florida

Boca Raton, Florida may not be the fashion capital you are expecting, but the Boca Museum of Art has three stellar fashion exhibitions running simultaneously.  

The first, is Draw and Shoot: Fashion Illustrations and Photographs which shows a collection of images from artists and photographers like Rudolf Bauer, Carl Erickson, Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, and John Rawlings.  The show examines the evolving aesthetics of style and beauty in how different artists depict fashion through the decades.

Jody Culkin: Refashioned is a show dedicated to the quirky artist and her reinterpretation of iconic fashion items.

The big exhibit however, is IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA.  Surprisingly, this is actually the first museum retrospective of the organization and its members itself.  The Council of Fashion Designers in America, over the past 5 decades, has supported and promoted its roster of over 600 designers of the fashion trade.  In this show, living members of the CFDA like Geoffrey Beene, Diane Von Furstenburg, Donna Karan and Vera Wang have selected one item that best represented their contribution to fashion history.  

I'm ready to get out of the cold and immerse myself in some culture in a sunny location...How about you?

All three shows opened this week and will run until April 21, 2013.

photos from bocamuseum.org,jodyculkin.com,fitnyc.edu

Read more >>

Donna Karan & Urban Zen

Since launching her company in 1985, Donna Karan has become a household name and her collections continue to meet the needs of the modern woman season after season.  Famous for her “Essentials” line that initially consisted of “seven easy pieces” that could be mixed and matched and take a woman from the office to dinner, Donna Karan built her design house on the principle that she would only design clothes that she would wear herself.

 

Donna Karan could easily rest on her hard earned success. But instead, she has chosen to reach out to people across the globe and aid those less fortunate than herself.  In 2007, Karan launched the Urban Zen Foundation, an organization with a mission to preserve world cultures, empower children and reshape healthcare.  Taking that mission to countries around the world, Donna Karan has brought the Urban Zen Foundation to Haiti.  Aiding in the rebuilding of the earthquake ravaged country, the Urban Zen Foundation is employing all of the tenets of the organization to do so.


With stores already in New York and Sag Harbor, Urban Zen has now opened a store on the West Coast!  Originally opened as a temporary “pop-up” store in West Hollywood in March of 2011, the success of Urban Zen on the West Coast has led to its opening as a permanent store there.  The store is a perfect match for the L.A. lifestyle, carrying everything form yoga inspired clothing, jewelry, essential oils, body care products and home furnishing.


We visited the West Hollywood store and spoke with John Omlor, Director of Stores, about the store, the foundation and what Urban Zen is all about.  We also got to speak to Donna Karan about the foundation and what it is currently working on!


Reported by Mdivani Monroe of Ladies Who Lunch Travel, Photography by Omri Escalante

Read more >>

Marisa Berenson, Fashion Muse

In my teens, a friend insisted that I had to see the movie Cabaret.  As we were both dancers, she believed the Bob Fosse choreography was crucial to our dance education.  I was already a film buff, so it was kind of a no brainer.  I also was a big Judy Garland fan and was curious to see her daughter perform.  We rented the video and I watched Cabaret for the first time, transforming me into a fan of the film, Liza Minelli, Michael York and of course Bob Fosse.

But the biggest revelation for me in the film was Marisa Berenson.  I was quite taken with her beauty and her acting, thus sparking in me an interest to find out more about her.  I did my research, discovered her fascinating career as a model and became a life long fan.  Not only was I captivated by her beauty, but a radiance that came across in her photos and films, leaving me wanting more.

Years later as I was at Parsons studying Fashion Design, I finally made the connection that Marisa Berenson was the granddaughter of famed Couturière Elsa Schiaparelli.  I had been in awe of Schiaparelli for years, but somehow I had never made the connection between the two of them.  This of course added another dimension to Marisa Berenson that would keep me enthralled.

When Fashion’s Night Out came upon us this last September and I was flipping through numerous invites, trying to decide where to go, I received an email that set my course.  A PR person I highly respect, Deborah Hughes, invited me to Donna Karan’s Boutique for the launch of Marisa Berenson’s new book,  Needless to say I was ecstatic!  The chance to meet someone I had been so long a fan of was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

I am happy to report that Ms. Berenson is as beautiful, radiant and charming in person as one might imagine that she would be.  Meeting her was the high point of Fashion Week for me and getting a signed copy of her book was a thrill.  The book, Marisa Berenson: A Life in Pictures , sits on the side table next to the big comfy chair in my CA bedroom and I have spent many an evening perusing the gorgeous photos within.

As for Donna Karan, the hostess of the event, she was vibrant full of energy and engaging as always.  I did manage to get a few moments of her precious time, but I am saving it for a video I am working on about her Los Angeles Urban Zen Foundation store.  Stay tuned for when that video will air shortly.

-By Mdivani Monroe, Ladies Who Lunch Travel, Video Photography by Nicholas Waickman

Read more >>

Strut the Sidewalk Catwalk on Broadway

A lot of attention has been paid by the media in saving New York's Garment Center. Local Organizations like Save the Garment Center, the CFDA and Made In Midtown have been fighting to keep New York’s fashion industry intact with local manufacturers.

This week through the September 3rd, New York designers are taking this fight to the streets. The pedestrian-friendly parts of Broadway between 35th street and 42nd street will be home to the Sidewalk Catwalk.

Thirty top American designers and student teams have created original mannequins attired in a signature look. The lineup includes icons like Diane Von Furstenburg, Isaac Mizrahi and Donna Karan. New guard designers, Prabal Garung and Jason Wu are represented as well. Many of these designers, like Nanette Lepore manufacture their clothing in New York as a vital part of their business.

In addition to the exhibit, the original artwork for the mannequins is being auctioned to benefit Materials For the Arts. The organization donates supplies and support for arts programs in schools.

Care to take home a piece of garment center history? Bid here.

Sidewalk Catwalk

Click for Full Slideshow Photos by Adam Weinstein

Read more >>

Mother & Daughter Fashion Teams

Happy Mother's Day beautiful people. I hope you treated the woman who gave you life with love and luxury today. In honor of these amazing women, I wanted to spotlight my favorite Mother and daughter teams of fashion:

Mother Betsey Johnson was a key style-maker in the 1980's and pop icon today. Her daughter cut her teeth early working as the liaison between designer and public relations in her early 20's and now has been promoted to creative director.

Designer Abbe Held describes Mom Bonnie Held as her "best friend". Together, the mother and daughter duo founded Kooba handbags together after being frustrated that they couldn't find the purses they liked in the market. There may be pros and cons in working so closely with your mother, but there is a certain efficiency to partners that can finish each sentence.

Mom Donna Karan defined how the modern career woman dresses in today's world. Daughter Gabby Karan De Felice was once an intern at Anne Klein, now in business with Mom on the Urban Zen boutique.

Karan, like all mothers who are incredibly successful, worried that she was not a good enough parent because of how much she worked. However, Gabby expressed that she felt that was what did make her a better mother. A person who worked at what she loved.

Most of us see our mothers as our very first style icon. Whether or not millions of other people in the world agree or she's the star of just one family, she deserves our appreciation NOW. Happy Mother's Day!

Read more >>