YSL Masquerade Ball NYC



Last Thursday, Yves Saint Laurent kicked off the Halloween festivities by hosting a masquerade ball to celebrate the launch of its new women’s fragrance, Parisienne. Read more here, and here.

The whole night was just a mingling sort of night, getting to meet people and catch up with others. The event was made so people could enjoy, dance and drink (open bar) the night away. Once again, I didn’t have a camera so I couldn’t picture record my night Thank goodness for the photographer attendees…

It was fun!

Thanks lastnightsparty for these images

Fashion 2.0: The Future of Media + Fashion

Last night I attended the Fashion 2.0 meetup hosted by Yuli (co-founder of MyItThings.com) at the Audrey Café & Lounge at W New York – The Tuscany on 120 E 39th St. Basically, it was a meetup of tech, social media, and fashion enthusiasts coming together to network and learn about upcoming trends. Luckily, I work a couple streets down from the W Hotel and got there a little early and met some interesting people- of course we exchanged contact cards. This is mine It’s smaller, and everyone has their opinion about professionalism, BUT, this is my personal contact card not my company business card – plus, its a touch of my personality.

I was among students, designers, and people in investment banking researching investment opportunities, advertising executives and many more …

I apologize for the ooogly images, dang-it-iphone-that-comes-with-no-flash – it’s probably going to be a new feature in the next generation of iphones, ugh.

The panel started off really good, for a couple reasons the moderator was quirky and added humor which is ALWAYS needed (you don’t want to have a boring panel).

It began with speaker introductions:

1. Ian Schafer, CEO and Founder of Deep Focus, has redefined the way the way brands and entertainment properties are marketed online, and actively promotes the idea that “interactive” is not just a medium, it’s a philosophy that should be used to bring people closer to brands – and each other. Deep Focus, OMMA Magazine’s 2007 Media Planning & Buying Agency of the Year and winner of a Cannes Lion, is an experience driven, thought-leading interactive marketing agency that boasts a client roster that includes some of the most recognizable names in entertainment, lifestyle and CPG brands. Recently tapped as an AdAge Media Maven, Ian is considered by many as one of the foremost experts in interactive and social media marketing solutions, and has been featured in Wired, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, ADweek, New York Magazine, Variety, CNN, Fortune and The Hollywood Reporter. He is also a featured columnist for Advertising Age.

2. Greg Verdino is a futurist, marketer, writer and speaker who works as Chief Strategy Officer at marketing consultancy crayon LLC. His first book, microMARKETING, is due from McGraw-Hill in summer 2010. This blog looks at trends in media and marketing, as these industries grapple with the changes being brought on by disruptive technologies, new business imperatives and the rise of the empowered consumer.

3. Barry Lowenthal, President, The Media Kitchen.

Next:

A question that stuck out in my mind was asked to jump start the panel, “could you pick a brand to describe you” and unanimously everyone began responding with Ralph, Chloe, etc…!!

Summary of my notes:

(it’s just random notes that I took during the event, so bear with me and look to these points as just ideas and things to ponder, OR they could be conversation starters…)

• Does print still have a role? Role of editor is diminishing. We don’t need to go to runways for runway shots anymore – increasingly these exclusive events will begin being for the mass consumer market
• Future of digital channels? Story of Lauren Luke, a single mother who began posting her own makeup tutorials online and now she has her own agency and representation. Pretty awesome, eh?
• Gucci, 1/2 million fans on facebook – Gucci can utilize the FB community and offer them images first before it reaches print publications and it costs $0.00
• Century 21 – invited top style bloggers to their store. And asked them to style their own looks followed by blog posts (of course) – one form of online marketing.
• Armani Exchange paid Kim Kardashian to post an official tweet about her in-store shopping experience, providing her own promo code. Results: the Armani Exchange website blew up. Did you know she has 2.7 million followers on twitter.
• Emerging problem: How do we know what’s authentic?
• Instantaneous Awareness is key – how do we successful provide that?
• It’s not that we don’t have control anymore, we never did. It’s just NOW, people are communicating what we talk to friends over coffee online – it’s more open and accessible.
• Did you guys see the live streaming of the U2 concert?
• Needless to say, we’ve heard this before BUT, it comes down to monetization!
• Videos are the next BIG THING. (With that said, I’m trying to figure out how to get video on my mac without buying the QuickPro program?!?! anyone?)
• Job forecasts in new media: Ad Trader, Relationship Management, Social Media Manager, Community Leader/Curator…

Like always, I encourage you to comment if you have something to say, anything… this is a topic I am passionate about and would love to hear from you!!

Prospects of Social Media and Fashion

We are living in exciting times eh? Yes, we are!

Before I go discuss further some of you may still not fully understand ‘social media‘. I like to think it as media that is socially disseminated online. The web and Internet supports and continues to accelerate this type of communication and human interaction. It allows individuals to form communities. Again, due to the web there are no clear definitions for community.  You might be wondering – I know I have –  what constitutes a community. Schools? Towns? Companies? Forums? MySpace groups? Facebook fan pages? Tech sites? Fashion sites? Do they need to be off-line or on-line? I would say that all that I’ve listed rightfully can be deemed a community. More and more things are becoming if it already hasn’t, a blur. I tell you, technology. Crazy.

At the same time it’s wonderful. It’s paved the way and brought us 2009 Fashion Week shows right into our own homes.

Alexander McQueen did it

Vivienne Tam did it

Burberry Prorsum did it too!

At this point, fashion bloggers and enthusiasts around the world can all become fashion market editors. Next season, we can watch shows during dinner right in the comfort of our own home with friends! Don’t get me wrong, I would still attend shows over watching them with friends It used to be SO exclusive and you would starve to attend the shows, NOW, times are changing and things are definitely becoming more open. All industries are clearly modifying their business models and PR/marketing strategies. For the fashion industry, however, I’m excited to see how we will embrace these changing times.

Any thoughts?

New York Fashion Week Closes

Although New York Fashion Week has come to an end, I’m excited for the shows in London, Milan and Paris. Like I said, September is THE most exciting time of the year in fashion.

Monday night was the IFB: Independent Fashion Blogger Soirée, and the turnout was GREAT. There was a panel discussion discussing the democratization of fashion by bloggers, followed by a discussion on social media. Times are changing people! It was truly inspiring to be surrounded by like-minded fashionable people, bloggers and fashion enthusiasts..!

Thanks Nubia

While we wait for more shows from London, Paris, and Milan… Some favorites of mine from New York:

Doo.ri never fails me

Phi had a great color story, with powerful pieces

Milly had adorable headpieces and jewelry to compliment the collection

StyleCaster: the future of fashion

Remember when I introduced StyleCaster early last week!

Here’s my VIP invite for Stylecaster.com.

Just think facebook + style.com + shopbop!!

Let me know what you think of the site…

Create Your Own Content With StyleCaster

Currently, more and more people, individuals are taking control of what they read and how information is portrayed to others. In that, individuals collaboratively produce content that goes online … companies who recognize the importance of two-way communication; jointly producing information with their customers are more likely to grow in our coming times … one example: Stylecaster

Any thoughts? What do you think?

Fashion’s Night Out: JOO’s Picks

Finally have somewhat of a finished itinerary for Fashion’s Night Out! My top picks! It’s cr-A-zy, there are so many events going on! There’s even a block party hosted by TEEN VOGUE in Downtown NYC around the Bleecker Street area, starting at 7 PM.

Even though I work this day, and probably get off at 7 or 7:30 … I’mma suck it up because this is the FIRST Fashion’s Night Out, duh!

Follow my tweets for updates, here …

FYI: If you didn’t get to watch the Anna Wintour appearance on David Letterman, she’ll be starting her FNO in Queens …

BERGDORF GOODMAN
754 Fifth Avenue (at Fifty-eighth Street)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 753-7300
www.bergdorfgoodman.com

ZAC POSEN PAINTS ONE-OF-A-KIND CREATIONS IN THE FIFTH AVENUE WINDOWS. AVAILABLE FOR SALE. 5:30–6:30 P.M. PADMA LAKSHMI, BRAVO’S TOP CHEF, JUDGES A DESIGNER COOK-OFF WITH PETER SOM, CYNTHIA ROWLEY, AND OTHERS. 6:00–7:00 P.M. DESIGNERS ASHLEY OLSEN AND MARY-KATE OLSEN GUEST BARTEND AT 7:00PM. FIFTH AVENUE WINDOWS SHOWCASE AN EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHS FROM EXTREME BEAUTY IN VOGUE, A COLLECTION OF VOGUE’S MOST PROVOCATIVE BEAUTY IMAGES CURATED BY PHYLLIS POSNICK WITH AN APPEARANCE BY DR. PAT WEXLER. ANDRÉ LEON TALLEY HOSTS THE NEW GAME FASHION RULES, WITH TEAMS LED BY DONNA KARAN, LINDA FARGO, AND ROBERT VERDI. 8:00–9:00 P.M. ALEXANDER WANG PRESENTS HIS T-SHIRTS BENEFITING THE SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL. ROOPAL PATEL AND TROY SURRATT PRESENT THE ROOPAL PATEL PALETTE FROM LE MÉTIER DE BEAUTÉ. A CONVERSATION WITH ISAAC MIZRAHI AND TUNES BY THE BEN WALTZER TRIO. 9:00 P.M. DESIGNERS WILL SIGN FASHION’S NIGHT OUT T-SHIRTS BENEFITING THE SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL. MUSIC BY D.J.S ANDREW ANDREW, JOHNNY DYNELL, AND JON JON BATTLE. There are many more designers making appearances at Bergdorf, such as YEOHLEE that are not listed on the site.

ADAM LIPPES
678 Hudson Street (at Thirteenth Street)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 229-2838
www.shopadam.com

ADAM WILL BE OPENING THEIR DOORS FOR FASHION’S NIGHT OUT AND STAYING OPEN UNTIL 1:00 AM. MUSIC PROVIDED BY RENOWNED DJ, DJ PHRESH. ADAM HAS PARTNERED WITH HAVAIANAS AND WILL BE OFFERING GUESTS AND SHOPPERS PERSONALIZED AND CUSTOM MADE ADAM T SHIRTS AND FLIP FLOPS. SHOPPERS CAN STAMP THEIR NAME OR ANY OTHER DESIGNED ART AVAILABLE AT THE STORE ON ANY PURCHASED T-SHIRT.  FLIP FLOPS WILL BE CUSTOMIZED BY SPECIALISTS AT THE ADAM STORE AND SHOPPERS CAN CHOOSE STRAPS, COLOR COMBINATIONS AND ANY OTHER DETAILS ON THE SPOT. COCKTAILS WILL BE SERVED.ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALES OF THE HAVAIANAS WILL BE DONATED TO THE 9/11 CHARITY FUND.

CHANEL
15 East Fifty-seventh Street (between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue)
New York, NY 10022
(212) 355-5050
www.chanel.com

CUSTOM-CREATE YOUR VERY OWN CHANEL CLASSIC BAG. SEASON AFTER SEASON, KARL LAGERFELD REINTERPRETS COCO CHANEL’S ICONIC “2.55” HANDBAG. . . AND NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO CREATE A MODERN CLASSIC! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, CHANEL IS PLEASED TO PRESENT A CUSTOMIZED HANDBAG STUDIO, IN CELEBRATION OF FASHION’S NIGHT OUT. ENJOY SIPPING ON CHAMPAGNE WHILE COLLABORATING WITH OUR SPECIALISTS TO DESIGN YOUR PERSONALIZED BAG. CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE LAMBSKIN COLOR, LINING, HARDWARE, AND CHAIN—AND BE AMONG THE FIRST IN THE UNITED STATES TO OWN A CUSTOMIZED, MONOGRAMMED CHANEL CLASSIC BAG. MEET CHANEL CELEBRITY MAKEUP ARTIST ANGELA LEVIN. JENNIFER ANISTON, NICOLE KIDMAN, AND BLAKE LIVELY RELY ON CHANEL CELEBRITY MAKEUP ARTIST ANGELA LEVIN TO MAKE THEM FEEL RED-CARPET READY. GET YOUR OWN A-LIST MAKEUP LOOK FROM ANGELA AND DISCOVER THE LUSH SHADES OF THE CHANEL FALL 2009 MAKEUP COLLECTION, INSPIRED BY COCO CHANEL’S FASCINATION WITH THE ROMANCE AND DRAMA OF VENICE. Just in case you missed it “CUSTOM-CREATE YOUR OWN CHANEL BAG”

BARNEYS NEW YORK
660 Madison Avenue (between Sixtieth Street and Sixty-first Street)
New York, NY 10065
(212) 826-8900
www.barneys.com

BARNEYS NEW YORK AT MADISON AND SIXTY-FIRST WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO A STREET FAIR OF DESIGNER PERSONAL APPEARANCES AND CREATIVE EVENTS. CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOP AND MINGLE WITH ISABEL TOLEDO, MARCUS AND DAVID FROM RAG & BONE, NARCISO RODRIGUEZ, AMANDA BROOKS, WARIS, THOM BROWNE, JONATHAN ADLER, LISA PERRY, ALEXANDER WANG, THE ROW’S MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY OLSEN, AND MANY MORE. IN ADDITION TO THE PERSONAL APPEARANCES, BARNEYS WILL STAGE A ROSTER OF HAPPENINGS. WOOL AND THE GANG WILL TEACH KNITTING; LIPSTICK QUEEN POPPY KING WILL OFFER “LIP READINGS”; VOGUE EDITOR TONNE GOODMAN WILL CURATE A FASHION GREEN MARKET; GIANLUCA ISAIA WILL OFFER NEAPOLITAN DELICACIES; ADAM KIMMEL WILL SHOW A GERARD MALANGA VIDEO INSTALLATION; LOOMSTATE WILL CUSTOMIZE T-SHIRTS; LEONID KHANKIN WILL HOST AN ERNST BENZ WATCH TRUNK SHOW; ALABAMA CHANIN WILL HOST A SEWING CIRCLE; JUAN CARLOS OBANDO WILL GIVE SALSA LESSONS. AND THERE’S MORE. . . . COMPLETE SCHEDULE AT BARNEYS.COM. TASTE LUXURY HUMOR

OPENING CEREMONY
35 Howard Street (at Crosby Street)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-2688
www.openingceremony.us

FOR FASHION’S NIGHT OUT 2009, OPENING CEREMONY WILL HOST A FESTIVE BLOCK PARTY FEATURING FOOD, MUSIC, AND SPECIAL EDITION MERCHANDISE. GATHERING INSPIRATION FROM NEARBY OPEN AIR VENDORS ON CANAL STREET, OPENING CEREMONY WILL TRANSFORM ITS HOWARD ST. STORE FRONT INTO A FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SIDEWALK SHOP. DESIGNERS AND FRIENDS OF THE STORE WILL PARTICIPATE, INCLUDING JACK MCCOLLOUGH AND LAZARO HERNANDEZ OF PROENZA SCHOULER, KATE AND LAURA MULLEAVY OF RODARTE, DELFINA DELETTREZ FENDI, ALEXANDER WANG AND SCOTT STERNBERG OF BOY/BAND OF OUTSIDERS. EACH DESIGNER WILL OFFER GOODS MADE EXCLUSIVELY FOR FASHION’S NIGHT OUT, SOLD OUT OF THE BACK OF CUSTOM CARS TAILORED TO EACH DESIGNER’S AESTHETIC. A CLASSIC CONVERTIBLE LOW-RIDER (RODARTE), A BLACK VAN (ALEXANDER WANG), AND AN ICONIC VW MINIBUS (PROENZA SCHOULER) WILL BE AMONG THE VEHICLES FEATURED. IN ADDITION, SHOPPERS WILL ENJOY DJ SETS BY O.C. FRIENDS AS WELL AS FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS FROM NEIGHBORHOOD VENDORS

MIU MIU
11 East Fifty-seventh Street (between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue)
New York, NY 10022
(212) 249-9701
www.miumiu.com

ALEXA CHUNG WILL DJ THE EVENING. Enough said!

Recap: Fashion’s Night Out

Oooh, I can’t WAIT!

This is going to be A-mazing, and CROWDED for sure!

New York Fashion Week: Czech Benefashion Show

Fashion Week is mere days away and I’ll be covering some shows! One of the shows will a NEW COLLECTIONS PRESENTED AT THE BENEFASHION SHOW 09. I’ve decided to attend their event because this event supports disadvantaged young adults. Although fashion week has its glitz, glamour, parties, fabulous people, let’s be real here … at the end of the day it’s important to encourage helping others in the process right? Right!

A fashion show will be held that will do more than showcase the latest trends and newest fashions. The Czech Center New York in cooperation with Beauty of Help – Tatana Kucharova Foundation is presenting the second Czech Benefashion show in NYC on Saturday, September 12 at the Czech Center New York starting at 8:00 pm.Interested?? Tickets for the evening range from $75 – $300. For more information or to register contact the Czech Center New York at 1-646-422-3399 or info@czechcenter.com.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Beauty of Help – Tatana Kucharova Foundation. The foundation, whose patroness is Tatana Kucharova who was crowned the title of Miss World 2006, supports projects which effectively help and solve the specific problems of disadvantaged individuals or groups. Benefashion 09 will support their Halfway Houses fund, which supports young people who are living in shelter houses because they were forced to leave children’s homes or foster care after reaching adulthood.

• The show will present a unique collection by world-renowned Czech designer Libena Rochova. The collection “HOMAGE TO GLASS” is a blending of clothes and glass jewelry.

“To create glass jewellery was another challenge for me and also a dream come true. I already have experience with glass costume jewellery, but I was attracted by something different, by the creation of larger jewellery objects. It’s so exciting to see my visions are becoming a reality. The collection will be an interlink of clothes and jewellery,” says Libena Rochova.

• Students of the Fashion and Footwear Design Studio of the Academy of Arts Architecture and Design Prague will present “THE REFLECTION OF TRADITION/FUSION OF PAST AND FUTURE.” Both of these collections were created especially for the New York City showcase.

I’ll have my full report after the event, and don’t be surprised to find an interview with Libena Rochova or Tatana Kucharova from the foundation! If you have any questions for them lemme know?! here or here …

Anna Wintour Appearance On David Letterman

We just can’t get enough of Anna …

“I read in the NYT this week I’m an ice queen, sun king, an alien fleeing from district 9, and a dominatrix …”

“I’m not always warm and cuddly…”

What did you think?