A Diva State of Mind

Last week I attended the Brett Johnson Collection Launch Party held at Café Milano in Georgetown. Guest gathered on the second floor of the restaurant to view the new men’s collection while sipping cocktails, savoring passed hor d’oeuvres and enjoying music by DJ Blaze.

In the center of the room, two male models stood on a platform to display the collection. While the collection includes polos and shoes, the stand out pieces were the cashmere hooded jacket, black vest with leather details, contrast sleeve varsity jacket and quilted leather black hoodie which are all Italian crafted.

The collection is sophisticated and stylish with an element of edge. Prices range from $85 for a polo to over $1,500 for a leather jacket. This collection is for the man who appreciates quality and distinction; the pieces of the collection will last in a man’s wardrobe for years to come.

To learn more about the collection and to shop, visit www.brettjohnson.co 

About Brett Johnson:

Brett has always been passionate about fashion, sports, and entertainment. He has a keen sense of design and performance and credits international travel, music, and architecture as heavy influencers on the unique look and feel within the BRETT JOHNSON COLLECTION. Brett is also an executive producer of  ‘Lee Daniel’s The Butler.’ Previously, Brett worked with the legendary Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari, one of the most iconic brands in the world. As a scion of a successful media and entertainment empire (his parents are BET Founders Bob and Sheila Johnson), Brett hails from a family of innovators and has cultivated many lessons in leadership and brand building.

Earlier this year, Numéro used a white model for a March 2013 editorial titled “African Queen.” Yes, instead of using a black model (there are plenty to choose from), they made a 16-year-old white model from Lumberton, North Carolina brown for the photo shoot.

In April, Vogue Netherlands wanted to illustrate the inspiration beind two Marc Jacobs looks which were inspired by Josephine Baker and Grace Jones. Instead of using gorgeous black models, they painted two white models black. Considering this is the same country that called Rihanna’s fashion choices as the “ultimate niggabitch” I am not sure anyone was surprised by this one. *side eye*

Then comes the season of Halloween! This past weekend, many people decided to dress up and celebrate. Now I know every year, people are going to dress up in offensive costumes, but it just seems like this year is getting out of control. “Dress up as a black person” seems to becoming more and more popular. Sigh…

One guy dressed as Travyon Martin. In this case, it’s not just the blackface that is the problem; he posed next to a guy dressed as George Zimmerman. Really?? Fashion designer Allesandro Dell’Acqua wore blackface for a “Disco Africa” Halloween party. ‘Dancing With The Stars’ dancer Julianne Hough painted her face brown in order to be ‘Crazy Eyes’ from the show ‘Orange is the New Black’ and a woman in Australia hosted an ‘African’ Themed birthday party where guests dressed in blackface.

I think some people purposely dress up in blackface to be offensive because they’ re racist and think its’ funny (see the story about the Trayvon Martin costume here).  I believe other people like Juilanne Hough (see her apology here), don’t mean to be offensive; they are just ignorant to what a white person painting their face brown or black represents. Regardless if one intended to be offensive or not, the history of a white person painting their face black runs deeper than doing so for a Halloween costume.

Blackface was started during a time when Blacks were considered less human (we can keep it real and say there are some in the world that still feel this way). White performers would dress in blackface (and often times exaggerate their lips and wear woolly wigs) to perform minstrel shows, dehumanizing black people.  These minstrel shows were usually performed in front of a white audience, so the show itself served as an opportunity to make fun of a culture and project the worst possible stereotypes (i.e black people are lazy and buffoonish).

So for many black people, when they see a white person with black paint on their face, they see more than just a Halloween costume or someone trying to channel Grace Jones. They see a person making fun of black people; dehumanizing them. Blackface represents a time in history when black people were used as a footstool for comedic relief.

Moral of the story: white people please stop painting your face black! And if you ever have to question whether or not painting your face black will be offensive, you already know the answer.

What are your thoughts about blackface and the situations that have happened this year?

Check out this CNN article about blackface here. You can also view more recent moments of Blackface in fashion at Fashion Bomb Daily.

Photos provided by Fashion Bomb Daily, Huffington Post and US History Scene

This Looks We Love post is a special one. Not only does it feature (fine) Jay Ellis from The Game, but the looks were styled by my mentor and celebrity stylist Apuje Kalu. He has worked with R&B singer Mya and he’s also responsible for this LeToya Luckett look folks were drooling over last week.

Check out the behind the scenes video:

Source: Bleu Magazine

Beyoncé better work in these Herring & Herring photos! She is serving sass, sex appeal and sophistication.

HOT!!!

Source: Herring & Herring

There have been some great African American designers on the Project Runway, but Dom Streater was the first one to win the designer competition.  The 24-year-old from Philadelphia, PA created a vibrant, cohesive 10 piece collection (my favorite out of the four finalist) for the final challenge at Fashion Week that crowned her the new winner!

Project Runway is a fashion designer competition. Week after week, designers are tasked with creating looks for a specific challenge. After each challenge, a designer is eliminated until there are 3-4 designers left. The remaining designers are faced with the ultimate challenge of presenting a 10 piece collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The winner receives:

• $150,000 from GoBank, the award-winning new bank account made to be used on a mobile phone;
• $50,000 of next generation technology from HP and Intel to help enable their creativity and launch their new business;
• a year’s supply of Resource Natural Spring Water and an all-expense paid, luxurious spa retreat for two to the exotic Maldives, courtesy of Resource Water;
• a chance to design and sell an exclusive collection at Belk;
• a complete sewing and crafting studio from Brother Sewing and Embroidery;
• a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine;
• a 2014 Lexus IS 350;
• a $100,000 fabric allowance from Tide Pods to inspire fashions that truly pop
• $50,000 styling contract with L’Oréal Paris.

Talk about a prize package! Not bad for a designer, who before Project Runway, was working as a hostess and animal caretaker.

Dom recently sat down for a Q&A Session with Project Runway following her win. Check out part of her interview:

You have a background in textile design, is that correct?

I went to Moore College, which is a school that was founded on textile design. A lot of the textile courses go hand in hand with the fashion courses there. I took a lot of textile courses when I was in college. I became a very textile-oriented designer because of that.

Is that why you gravitated toward using prints as your main focus in your finale collection?

That’s exactly why. I love prints. It’s incredibly hard to find a good print. There’s print diarrhea in fabric stores. Sometimes I go in fabric stores and I can’t believe some of the prints I see. Like, who designed this? Really? Really? Who’s gonna buy – there’s some insane stuff. I got into fashion when I started making clothes for my Barbies because I didn’t like what they were wearing. I’ve always been like that: If I don’t see something I like, I want to make it. And that’s how I am with textiles, too. If I have a vision for something I want it to be as accurate as possible to what I had in mind.

You’re the first African-American to win “Project Runway.” That’s got to be kind of exciting, right?

Yeah! It was never something that was on my mind initially – I didn’t even realize it until the day after, when someone mentioned it. I am incredibly honored. I’m so happy to be the first to do something and to set that example. I personally never thought that I could never make it, but there might be some young women of color who don’t think they can make it in fashion, so I’m glad to be that example better for them.

What kind of woman will you have in mind when you design your next work?

I’m working on a fall/winter collection for next year, and hopefully I’ll be able to show that in February. I’m deciding to self-title my collection. I’m really excited. It’s very me, but it’s a new direction that I’m excited for. The woman I’m looking to design for? Ideally, I would love for every woman to wear my clothing, to be a Dom girl! But the woman I’m thinking about lives a real life. She works for a living. She lives in the city. She lives a fast-paced, active life, and she wants clothes that can keep up with her, but that are fashion-forward and exuberant. She likes to wear fun clothing. I’m not a wallflower, I’m not boring, and I don’t want my girl to be boring either. That’s the person I think about when I’m designing: Someone who has that confidence, who wants to wear great prints and look amazing in them. That’s what I have in mind when I put my pencil to paper.

Click here to view the entire interview.

Congratulations to Dom!! I look forward to seeing her future collections!!! You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Photos by Oh No They Didn’t

The runway before the show.

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending the Macy’s at Metro Center Five Essentials Fall Fashion Show hosted by media maven and style expert Amy E. Goodman.  The fashion show focused on color blocking, sweaters, military style, embellishment and baroque.  The fashions were modeled by men and women from the DC area who work in fashion and entertainment.

Guests also enjoyed DJ beats, complimentary massages and manicures, drinks and hor d’oeuvres provided by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Check out a few pictures from the event:

Hor d’oeuvres

Free Manicures

Media maven & style expert Amy E. Goodman

One of the color blocking looks

Fall is all about graphic sweaters and layering

Loved this military trend look! Those shoes are HOT!

Embellishment will never go out of style!

It’s hard to see the detail but this fringe dress screamed The Roaring 20s!

The models after the show

Check out your local Macy’s store to find you fall wardrobe essentials! Thanks Whitney Stringer PR for the invite!

My friend Revée Walters and her co-workers are hosting a Suit Drive Networking Event next Thursday, October 24th to benefit Dress for Success, Washington, DC.

Please share this event with others! If you are interested in attending, RSVP to John Brunnett at [email protected]. I hope to see you there!

Have you always wanted to get your hands on a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes?!? Here is your chance! THE OUTNET is having an exclusive Christian Louboutin sale at the end of the month, offering 60% off!

The sale is open to those who register at THEOUTNET.COM today.  Shoppers will be selected at random to take advantage of the sale. If you are selected, you will receive an access code via email. So keep an eye out on your inbox!!

Register here! Good luck

Pics: Fashion Bomb Daily

John Legend released the video for his beautiful song “All of Me” last week. The black and white video features Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen and clips from their wedding.

John Legend wrote the song for Chrissy. So cute!

Janelle Monáe recently released the video for her new single “PrimeTime” featuring Miguel. For this video, she stepped away from her normal suit uniform; she looks just as chic in a black and white striped dress (which I love)!Monáe works as a waitress at a dance club who catches the eye of Miguel. The video isn’t over the top but it’s cute. And I love the song!

Hope you have a great weekend!