NYC CASTING THIS WEEKEND for ESSENCE & ELITE

Do you have what it takes to be the ESSENCE "IT" GIRL?

In an effort to address the lack of diversity on the runways, ESSENCE and Elite will conduct a nationwide search for the new African-American “It” model. The winner --to be announced in May --will be featured in the September 2010 Fall Fashion issue of ESSENCE magazine and receive a one-year contract with Elite Model Management.

Live castings will be conducted on:

Atlanta, March 21

Los Angeles, March 27

New York City, April 10

Be sure to stay tuned for exact location.

*Dates are subject to change.

Photos are accepted online at www.essence.com/itgirl. ENTER NOW!!!!

Erykah Badu in concert at Hudson Hotel's Good Units space March 27, 2010

Erykah Badu packed the Hudson Hotel's new basement music venue Good Units with her "secret" show last night in support of her upcoming album the New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the ANKH. The line up was odd and if it hadn't been for the New Amerykah poster at the coatcheck, I would have thought I was in the wrong place to see this major performer. The first act MNDR, guessing its short for Amanda, came out of nowhere and gave us some really good new music. She held her own on the stage. Next, came a young alt rock band who at points sounded a bit like Rush, they seemed so out of place. Spank Rock also preformed looking dapper in a slim black suit and hair slicked back. He tried to get people dancing but you know how New York is. And his raunchy borderline misogynistic lyrics got boos in a house packed for Lady Badu.

After painful, painful wait (show started at 9am, Badu didn't come on until close to 2am), Badu finally graced the stage. She came out singing 20 feet tall. She did about 10 songs ending with the new track Window Seat. None of the show-womanship of her bigger shows but she sang her hits but with live beats and lots of vocal variations. Her talent is such that you can't be mad for the exhausting wait or a show without all the theatrics. Catch a clip below.

Giant Step is giving away tickets to concert in Miami on April 8th, enter here.

I LOVE FRENCH DRUG STORES

Paris is a great place to visit anytime of year and fashion week is exciting enough but I get especially delighted when March comes and shows begin because it means I can hit up the drugstores in Paris. I don't know why but the products in France always appear more effective. Maybe its the packaging which looks clinical yet feminine. Maybe it is the way the pharmacies stock their shelves by brand so everything is organized and easy on the eye. Maybe its because anytime I have ever been sick in Paris I have gone to the pharmicist, described my ailment and been given a very reasonably priced product that cleared up my illness in record time without making me comatose.

Be it from the Pharmacy, Parapharmacy or Monoprix, here are some of the things I stock up on when in Paris.

Vitamin C tabs and other fizzy vitamens - For ultimate energy during the shows, I plop a Vitamin C tab in a bottle of water on the go.

Amilab Lip Balm - I had never used a lip balm to finish until I tried Amilab. They were impulse buys that I would use until I lost them or was on to the next. This however, I have carried with me daily since I bought it in October. I am now gouging out the last remaining balm form the tube with a finger. It is not to greasy or too waxy. The orange blossom fragrance is not too strong or cloying.

Rose and Jasmine soaps - Everyone knows French soaps are the best, these scents make me feel like a lady. I like the brand they sell in the Bon Marche food shop.

Cold Medicine - There are some great cold products you can buy in Europe but not in the US. Why? Not sure, maybe its a protective measure because our youth attempts to get a buzz off the stuff.

FYI....

If you are ever in Paris and in need of a doctor call SOS Medicines +33 0147077777. A doctor will be sent to your hotel room in approximately 2 hours. The charge is around 100 Euros and prescriptions in France are a tenth of the cost in the US. The doctors are very good I have used them on more than one occasion. SOS also has a dental office +33 0143375100 if you have serious tooth trouble.

And the Pharmacie Anglaise at 62 Avenue Champs Elysees is open 24/7.

BACKSTAGE VERSACE

1 model, 5 makeup and hair artists

COLLIE BUDDZ IN NYC TONIGHT

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Link to Facebook invite page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=296930720635&ref=ts

Link to FREE TICKET contest giveaways on Largeup.com: http://largeup.okayplayer.com/2010/02/17/collie-buddz-live-free-tickets/

JOANN BERMAN FALL 2010

NYC FASHION WEEK: BACKSTAGE @ Y-3

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

When traveling to Kingston, I often take a couple days to go to Ochi for a little sunshine. I have found 2 hotels that offer postcard views on a budget....

MOXON's :

About 25 mins east of Ocho Rios town center an old restaurant and guesthouse has been lovely turned into a comfy, well-conceived boutique hotel. The rooms are no-frills and lack hot water but they are large, clean and nicely decorated. The spaces in the hotel are situated to take in wide blue views of the Caribbean Sea. In fact, most rooms open to private patios with lounge chairs in the sun overlooking the water. The hotelier, a Canadian and former model who restored hotels in South beach before buying moving to Jamaica and buying Moxon's, has just added a well-equipped and air conditioned fitness studio to property. Rates go from $100 - $300 USD a night. It is a great destination for a young couple wanting to get away.

SILVER SEAS:

For those on a tighter budget or looking for a more centrally located hotel, Silver Seas is a great option. Rooms are barren and one who expects fluffy duvets and crisp linens should look elsewhere!!! However, this place has cable, a nice restaurant, a clean pool, its own beach, cable, A/C and the most important feature, private balconies over looking the Caribbean Sea. Rates are around $50 USD.

UN - SPENT

Its a new year, everyone was happy to see 2009 go. Last year I worked my butt off and thought that being tired all the time was just something I had to suffer because of the schedule I kept. Until I came across an interview in the The Telegraph called the Knowledge featuring a doctor from New York called Frank Lipman. He founded the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in Manhattan and authored a book called Spent! which helps busy adults feel good through diet and lifestyle. Evaluations with Dr. Lipman are a little out of my budget, so I decided to implement some of his free advice online.

First suggestion...

Drinking a smoothie each morning for breakfast. He has many recipe suggestions here.

My old routine...

Hit snooze 5 times, quick shower, throw on clothes, dab of makeup, run out door and grabcoffee and pastry on way to work. Eat at desk while doing emails.

My new routine...

Still hitting the snooze but before leaving the house I blend 1 cup frozen blueberries, greens powder, coconut water and protein powder together and drink it down. Takes about the same amount of time that stopping at the coffee shop would.

Review...

The initial cost of all the smoothie ingredients was about $90 at Whole Foods in Union Square but I know I am saving money by giving up the $5 - $7 quick fix breakfast I was having at local coffee shops.

I find myself getting hungrier earlier in the day but I am drinking less coffee than before and am I not craving sweets at all. The best part is I have a huge amount of energy and my mood has improved. And the better energy and mood begins from first thing in the morning and lasts until after I get home from work. It is really quite remarkable how this one change has impacted the way I feel each day. I have had no trouble keeping up this suggestion.

Second Suggestion...

The SpentMD website recommends 2 types of exercise: Restorative exercises and Core Exercises. The restorative exercises emphasise exertion and rest, helping us to de-stress and build and heal tissues. The core exercises keep the body in alignment.

My old routine....

Fit in some sort of exercise once a week usually in the form of gym or dance class.

My new routine....

Bikram yoga every other day. I don't have a lot of time so I chose an activity that I thought fulfilled both ends, Bikram Yoga. Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures that pair Asansas the energetic poses with Savasana, the rest posture. Many of the Asanas focus on bending and strengthing each part of the spine so it could be considered a core exercise as well.

Review....

Many of the teachers have said that the real benefit of the work we are doing in the class is experienced when we lie in Savasana. All I know is that the rest periods make it so I can do a 1.5 hour extreme yoga class in 105 F temperatures. I wouldn't be able to exert myself in that way if it weren't for the rest! So I am getting a lot more exercise out of my body thanks to the integrated rests. Also I never have to pump myself up to go into Bikram, the fact that I do spend have the class lying on my back in rest means that I look forward to going to Bikram each night. Danielle at Bikram Yoga Union Square is a fantastic teacher by the way.

I am feeling good so far for 2009 will try to add a few more of Dr. Lipman's suggestions! The listening to reggae part, not a problem.

EYE CANDY

Galliano Menswear Fall 2010

Alexis Mabille Haute Couture Spring 2010

Art from the No Longer Empty Never Can Say Goodbye pop up show at the former Tower Records NYC.

DIOR COUTURE SPRING 2010

I am gagging over Dior's dressage dames. Porcelain faced ladies walked the runway in riding jackets, long skirts, leather gloves and crops. We saw much more fabric, more muted colors and a more buttoned up look than last season. Charles James, America's first couturier, inspired the ball gowns with skirts in voluminous layer of satin. I cannot wait to visit the upcoming American Woman show at the Met to take a look at the Charles James originals, especially the dresses he designed for Millicent Rogers which were last shown in 1948 at the Brooklyn Museum. The Brooklyn Museum transferred its costume collection to the Met in January 2009.

Ps. How gorgeous does Frida look above? Love the makeup, love the jewelry, love the hair, wow!

BIKINIS ON THE BRAIN

Found a couple of new swimwear brands today that I love. A Colombian brand called Caffe with this sexy python and gold boy short.

And Chio which is made in Italy, so I wouldn't have a problem buying it off the web because you know it is going to be well made.

NORMA KAMALI ROCKS MY WORLD

There are many reasons why I love Norma Kamali. Everything she makes is very timeless. Its fashionable yet not trend crazy. The pieces though elegantly made in simple fabrics and colors have a slightly eccentric construction. It takes a confident in her dressing to buy her pieces.

It also takes a woman with a bit of liquidity. This beautiful coat retails for over a grand. Guess I will have to admire from afar. Will add this to my dream closet with all the Alaia dresses and Galliano shoes.

HOW TO PUT ON A FASHION SHOW

It is almost that time again. Menswear shows have begun Milan, Haute Couture follows and before we know it RTW in NYC begins.

I have helped produce over 20 fashion shows a season for the past 8 seasons including Haute Couture in Paris and Ready to Wear in New York, Milan and Paris for the world's top designers (not gonna name drop :-p).

This season, I am helping an up and coming designer with her very first show as part of New York Fashion Week. I put together a list of things for her consider in her planning process, a sort of checklist to consult in the weeks before showtime. I thought it might be helpful to share with others. I posted a bit of the checklist below. If you have questions or want even more detail.... Email me at : voluplife@gmail.com and Good luck!

EARLY PRE-SHOW (1.5 months before):

1. Decide the goal of the show: i.e. coverage by xyz magazine

2. Brainstorm what are your key messages and inspirations.

3. Choose the look for models in the show, i.e. sporty, diverse or glamazon. How many women will you cast? How many men?

4. Decide how much staff you need for day of the show and enlist help now.

Staff suggestions….

BACK OF HOUSE:

CASTING DIRECTOR

SHOW PRODUCER/ BACKSTAGE MANAGER

STYLIST/ WARDROBE MANAGER AND DRESSERS

KEY MAKEUP ARTIST AND HAIR STYLIST

FRONT OF HOUSE:

PR

5. Create an operating budget

6. Create an invite list. Get together all your contacts and look over them to figure out whom you want to invite. Decide who else you would like to invite and begin work to get their contact info. Also contact friends in the industry to see if they have any big supporters that they think should attend your show.

7. Create the dream celeb invite list and think how you would dress them.

8. Brainstorm set and lighting and music.

9. Brainstorm publicity i.e. creative save the dates and invites.

10. Think about if you want an after party and if so reach out to venues and liquor marketers.

PRE-SHOW (1 month before):

1. Begin casting process: contact agencies, see models, choose your best and try to get a 1^st on them.

2. Set up meeting with show music designer to decide music.

3. Set up meeting with set builder to decide light and set look.

4. Execute first phase of publicity. Send out save the dates or official press kits with invites.

5. Start reaching out to possible celeb guests and their publicists.

5. Schedule model fittings for the week before show.

6. Begin deciding your looks with your stylist.

7. Schedule your hair and makeup test. Be sure to ask: How long will take to execute look? And how long it will take them to train their teams on the look? Keep this in mind when creating your call time later; you don’t want to choose an elaborate 4-hour makeup when your call time is 1 hour before the show.

8. If part of a larger series of shows, talk with show management so you understand the flow of the day, any additional opportunities for publicity or merchandising, and schedule a walk through of the venue.

9. Confirm after party arrangements if any

10. Begin writing your talking points for backstage interviews. You want to be ready to answer questions because chances are you will be exhausted day of and your brain wont be working very well!! It happens to the best. Note cards are a big help.

1 week before the show you should have the following completed:

The majority of your collection

Your team for day of show

Invites

Your music and set decided

Your promotions in place

An after party arranged if you want one

Set your model call time

Approximate time for first looks (i.e. How long it is going to take your models to dress in your looks? Add 20 mins. extra to be safe.)

DAY OF SHOW:

At Model Call time: You need the casting director to make sure models are on time. Before models go into hair and makeup to give them initial walk through on the runway so they know how they are to walk the runway and make sure they walk it in the shoes of show, to avoid spills!

After models have been shown the runway the Backstage manager gets them into hair and makeup and sees that they are completed in a timely manner. They are then taken to get dressed!

If you have time, the Casting director can execute 1 full rehearsal 40 mins. before showtime in order to check hair and makeup in the runway lighting. Occasionally when clothing is very tricky, designers might dress the models for the rehearsal to avoid disaster.

At the call of first looks the Casting director gets models to dressing area to begin dressing

5 Mins. to showtime, Casting director lines up models in the correct order. Makeup and hair give final touch ups to dressed models. Just before models go on, the Casting director tells the girls how they should walk and pumps them up before they go on stage. Casting director to manage the flow of models onto runway.

POST SHOW:

Do lots of interviews, congratulate your team on a job well done and celebrate your success because it wasn't easy!!!!

HAITI ON EVERYONES MIND

Finally Haiti has the world's attention. We will all wait to see if our texts and other donations can help organizations deliver immediate aid and begin the process of rebuilding the country's infrastructure and homes. We have all heard about Yele.org Wyclef's organization but there is another organization that could be instrumental in Haiti's recovery: Funkoze.org.

They are a microcredit institution with branches all over Haiti providing a necessary banking service to those considered unbankable, the rural poor. Not only do they offer the loans, they provide assistance and monitoring to help clients build and grow their businesses. Surely they will be extremely involved in the reconstruction efforts as they have been so diligent in improving Haitian livelihoods before this disaster. When the economy soured things had gotten especially tight for Funkoze and they were have trouble maintaining very successful new programs. Donate now to keep them going www.Funkoze.org.

Also to learn more about Haiti's political past and their struggle for true democracy watch The Agronomist, a great documentary about Jean Dominique founder of Radio Haiti. Review here.

SHAGGY & FRIENDS!!!!

Returned from Jamaica early this week. Am back to cold New York and back to work :-(

Had the opportunity to go to the Shaggy & Friends show on Jan. 2, 2010 and saw many, many performances. Highlights included:

- Shaggy and Tessanne Chin singing their new single "Never Let Me Go"

- Joe sounding every bit as good in person as on his albums

- A Boys II Men reunion

- Innnnncredible energy from Machel Montano

- Classics from Toots and Mykel Rose

- Ding Dong with heaps of style as usual

The concert might not have ended as planned but it was really enjoyable. It was a benefit show for the Bustamente Hospital and the goal was to earn $500K US. I am sure they had no problem, the place was packed.

Cecile

Cham

Alaine

Ding Dong

Busy Signal

Tessanne Chin

Mario Winans

MY FIRST LOVE... BIKINIS

I am a bikini addict. I am seriously considering relocating in order to increase the preportion of my life that will be spent in swimwear. At Fashion Night Out 2009 my first stop was Norma Kamali were I purchased 3 bikinis. One in particular was a skimpy black and white striped number with neon green piping. I gave it to a friend and just today saw a picture of Rhianna wearing the damn thing, looks good one should have kept it grrr!

I get great pleasure out of discovering foreign bikini brands especially those from Latin America. While in Brazil in 2005, I was introduced to Cia Martima and have been a fan ever since. These days you can find Cia Martima at most high end bikini shops, such as www.mollybrownswimwear.com. Cia Martima is even sold by Victoria's Secret but I am convinced that its simply a licensing deal because the fabrics and cuts are not up to par when purchased from VS. A couple of years ago, I had a spandex jean bikini with heart print inserts shipped to me from Pinel in Columbia, that one always gets noticed.

Today, I came across a newish brand called Verao Agora from Brazil. I am loving their cuts like the shirred top below.

You can find Verao Agora on www.allwetbeachwear.com. Right now its summer somewhere!