Yes - TO BLOG!!!

Well, as most of you can tell by now, the decision has been made – TO BLOG!!!

I would like to honestly and humbly thank each of you that commented and/or emailed voicing your opinions and especially requesting me to continue with the blog. I seriously had no idea that “it mattered” to so many people. I will admit there was a bit of me that thought a few of you would say: “Not To Blog” – and quickly followed with a diatribe about how much you detest me… You laugh, but it has happened quite a few times… I am very lucky that I have never really been a people pleaser so I ‘ve always known that I would rub a certain percentage of people the wrong way. Oh well – c’est la vie…

In all seriousness, I am forever humbled by this truly scary exercise.

Therefore stay tuned… Cut, Sew and Blog continues…

Belated Holiday Sneers!!! Ooops, I meant Holiday Cheers!!!

Hey gang,

I've been meaning to share these photos with you guys for a few days now, but somehow they got stuck in that weird space between the digital camera and my computer... Come on you all know that weird space called "procrastination”. Another reason I may have hesitated posting these photos might also stem from the fact that I seriously find the holidays to be a bit cheesy.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend (Tyson) believes in celebrating every holiday under the sun. He is still under the impression that his birthday should be listed as a National Holiday. Anyway, my boyfriend and I actually did the whole tree trimming thing on Christmas Eve. I thought that I would be able to get out of this bit, but Tyson kept giving me those puppy dog looks, coupled with occasional sneers, both of which were pregnant with – “It’s Christmas – We MUST have a tree.” Listen, don’t let his sweet face fool you – “Mr. Tyson P. is a handful.” I will be addressing this handful of mine in another post, but for now let’s stick to the holidays. Anyway, once we got the whole tree trimming thing going, I actually found myself enjoying it… As you can see from the photos below, we dragged that poor tree up so fiercely it looked like a dolled up RuPaul, Andre J and my dear friend, Jay Alexander… Dress included!!!

Shortly after Xmas, Tyson and I took off to spend New Year’s Eve in London. The London trip was actually a surprise Christmas gift I received from my dear Tyson.

We had a blast! We honestly had a blast doing nothing in particular. We were also lucky due to the fact that most of our friends living in London were away traveling for the holidays. Therefore we were not forced to run around town meeting this one and that one - - - we were simply allowed to be carefree… We truly had a blast.

The one friend I did have a chance to catch up with was the amazing artist, musician and performer – JELONE. Jelone is a part of the whole “Amy Winehouse” crew sans the whole drug thing and I have had the fortune of calling him a dear friend for more than 10 years. He is truly an unique artist and an amazing spirit. I will feature Jelone in an upcoming post of his own, but for now I leave you with one of his most recent performances live from Notting Hill’s White Party…

Congratulations to our Chanel Iman

I beg of you all to go out and buy the issue of TeenVogue with our own little Chanel Iman on the cover... It is so good to see her finally presented like a sweet and beautiful young teenager. She truly is just a kid and sometimes I even battle with the use of these young precious girls in the adult world of fashion.

Chanel and Malcolm flashback:

To Blog or Not To Blog?

Judging by some of your comments left on my “gone fishing” posts, I know that many of you had started to wonder if I would ever be returning from my “vacation” and/or writing a new post. If so, I must share with you that recently I have found myself wondering if I had allowed my life to become too much of an open book. So I took the holidays to ponder today’s post – “To blog or not to blog, that is the question.”

I must admit when I first decided to create Cut, Sew and Blog I seriously believed that it would be this great little marketing tool which would allow me to virtually connect to my brand’s growing customer base. I thought I would spend most days waxing about daily fabric choices, sharing continuous inspirations for upcoming collections and/or simply giving you all little sneak peaks into my daily life as a fashion designer. Simple – Right? Of course not, this is fashion.

From the moment CS&B began a strange relationship between me and my readers began to happen. I started to receive emails and comments from people that wanted to know the “real deal” with being a fashion designer living and working in New York City. The comments on the blog itself were usually very generic and somewhat benign. What intrigued me most were the cloaked emails received via our CS&B email link. These emails would organically change the course of CS&B forever. The one thing which really resonated with me was the sense of hurt and rejection that most of these emails contained from aspiring designers, stylists, models, and creatives-at-large. Even when someone would ask a simple question like, “How do I get my foot in the door?” it was usually followed by a heart felt story of rejection and/or despair. These stories were often so detailed and vivid that I could physically feel the emotionally scarred author‘s pain. This pain was beyond anything I believed I could sooth with one of my witty one liners and/or an anecdote passed down from my wise old 94 year old grandma. Therefore most of my posts were actually inspired by comments as well as emails that begged me to share my “actual journey” and not the PC or media driven version. A few times, I was even called out by a few of my readers for not giving the backstory to several posts in particular – but I simply soothed their ruffled feathers by assuring them that all will be revealed in due time.

To be quite honest, there were even those days when I knew for a fact that I was using Cut, Sew and Blog for my own selfish and therapeutic reasons. I knew that at times CS&B felt like a stretching out on a therapist’s cheap leather chaise lounge without ever having to expect a bill at the end of the month. I can still remember initially going to GoogleAnalytics to check out how many people had logged on to CS&B per day. At the onset we had approximately 200 to 250 people stopping by and we actually thought we were doing good – if not great. Then I started to court my fellow bloggers for their assistance in increasing our readership (i.e. Fashionbomb, ShakeYourBeauty, The Business of Fashion Blog, Styleaholics, FashionIndie, etc.) believe it or not, I have actually formed real friendships with most of the editors of each of these blogs. I eventually watched our readership slowly increase by leaps and bounds in a matter of weeks.

Then we started receiving attention from the international press, nothing big, but a mention here and there (The New York Times, or The Herald Tribune or The Washington Post, etc.) would allow CS&B a tremendous spike in readership. Some days I’d have to pinch myself at the increased volume. The pinch was to assure myself that I was still alive and that there hadn’t been an inadvertent obituary released announcing my early departure for the afterlife. (I read somewhere once that most people’s deaths get more press coverage than any single thing they could have ever possibly accomplished in their lifetime – sad but true)...

Oh yes, I would be remised if I didn’t give the lovely folks over at The New York Post’s Page Six their due in increasing our readership dramatically every single time they printed my name associated in some exaggerated scandal and/or made-up rumor. I have recently learned that as long as they get the spelling of my name correct - all of the rest of that crap really doesn’t matter. And in all honesty, I don’t find myself analyzing the stats that often these days. I simply follow my heart and hope that the universe will bring the right set of eyes to a particular post that resonates for the reader. It is as simple as that…

So now I find myself in a new year and faced with the burning question – “To Blog or Not To Blog???” I also now look to all of you to help me decide. Please leave your vote via comment or email...

VOTE:

1) To Blog

2) Not To Blog

Also, if there are things in particular that you would like for me to blog about, please let me know… I am sure this open invitation will be a double-edged sword, especially as it seems I have successfully organized a following of “emerging leaders” that aren’t shy with their comments and/or advice – even when not solicited… I implore you to never stop giving me your feedback. “CS&B belongs to you my liege…”


P.S. As far as the “Gone Fishing” messages are concerned… Now you all should know me well enough to know by now that I wouldn’t be caught dead fishing… Well that is not completely true… If Hermes were to create a fabulous fly-rod, tackle box and fishing vest – I might consider it…

Fishing Some More

Still Fishing

Gone Fishing

When Angels Appear...

Angels truly do surface when you really need them... All day today, I kept receiving these random emails and messages saying, "Congratulatons Malcolm - Keep up the good work"... Or "Great Aricle - I am truly impressed." I started thinking to myself, "Are these people insane??? Is this what they believe I want to hear about being in the middle of a public scandal???" Just when I started to believe that either I or the entire world was absolutely crazy, I logged on to my computer and opened up to the following article that had been sent with a huge "CONGRATULATIONS"... What a day this has been...

Fairwell Ms. Hearst

I am going to make this post very brief as regards the exaggerated “Malcolm Harris / Lydia Hearst" feud as it all seems too ridiculous for words…

Personally, no matter what you may hear or read in the press, I still believe Lydia to be a very sweet and charming young woman. In both of our defense, I honestly don’t believe Lydia nor I had any idea how much work and time it would eventually take in forming and maintaining an organization such as Designers For Darfur. I will also say this - - - we were very fortunate to have Lydia Hearst on board at the onset of Designers For Darfur and also in allowing us the use of her family’s great name, as it most certainly did open many doors. But in the end, it has always been up to DFD to perform once those doors had been opened.

It is absolutely amazing to watch how the media and bloggers love to create a fuss and/or feud out of real people’s lives. I am not a celebrity nor do I ever want to be, I am simply a person that is extremely passionate about both my chosen profession as well as the world in which we all live. No matter what people choose to write and/or say about me, nothing can ever stop me from doing either.

I truly do wish Lydia Hearst the best in her journey and thank her for the time that she has so willingly assisted Designers For Darfur.


YOU Can Help End the Genocide in DARFUR:

1. Attend meetings and events.

Join our email list for updated information.
For notices about upcoming events and ongoing campaigns in the NYC area sign up for our email updates by going to http://www.savedarfur.org/ and search by Zip Code or name to sign on to NYC Coalition for Darfur.

NYC COALITION meetings are the first Wednesday of every month
7:30pm Intro, 8:00pm General Meeting All are welcome.
Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 263 W.86 St.btwn.Bwy.&West End Ave.
For info: 212-714-4535 email: interfaitharts@gmail.com
(For Brooklyn meetings email Darfur Crisis Committee-Brooklyn For Peace at: TakingAStand7@gmail.com)


2. Every week, make a FIVE-MINUTE phone call for DARFUR
call 1-800-GENOCIDE (436-6243)

a) to receive “talking points” you can use in your conversations with public officials and

b) for direct connection to relevant officials involved in current legislative campaigns - http://www.1800genocide.com/

3. Contribute to Relief Organizations that provide food, water, shelter, medicine & health services to Darfuris
Doctors Without Borders USA http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

American Jewish World Service http://www.ajws.org/ 212-792-2900 and 800-889-7146

United Methodist Committee on Relief http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/ 1-800-554-8583

Save the Children, West Darfur program http://www.savethechildren.org/ 1-800-

SAVETHECHILDREN
(IRC)Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children http://www.womenscommission.org/ 212-551-3111

World Food Programme website: http://www.wfp.org/ email: wfpinfo@wfp.org 212-963-8364


4. DIVEST investments in companies fueling the genocide in Darfur. http://www.sudandivestment.org/

Lobby your NY City Council Member to pass Resolution 0695-2007, demanding NYC officials to divest NYC govt. pension funds from investment in Sudan. Also, directly pressure NYC Comptroller William Thompson to divest NYC govt. pension funds now invested in Sudan. Call 212-669-3500 or 1-800-Genocide.

Investigate investments made by your own private pension funds; sell-off any of your own funds that now have investments in Sudan (investments that may be paying for the government-funded genocide).

5. Promote the CHINA CAMPAIGN (China is Sudan’s largest foreign investor and trade partner, largest provider of weapons, and chief diplomatic sponsor preventing UN deployment of protective forces.)

Write: Ambassador Wang Guangya, Permanent Mission to the UN of the People’s Republic of China,
350 East 35th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Tell China’s govt. to coerce Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to end the genocide in Darfur long before the Olympics begin in China on August 8, 2008.
Help implement the China Olympics’ campaign. http://www.dreamfordarfur.org/
Lobby your NY City Council Member to pass Resolution 0954-2007, which would pressure American sponsors of the Olympics to press China to coerce Sudan into ending genocide by 12/31/07.

6. Attend Monthly Vigils: first Tuesday of each month, Noon-2:00pm, to maintain pressure on the U.S. government by standing vigil to press for immediate UN troop deployment.
U.S. Mission to the United Nations 140 East 45th St. (between Lexington Ave.& 3rd Ave.)

ADDITIONAL ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP STOP THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR:

Our officials need to take action – pressure them by personally typing or hand-writing letters – these letters have greater impact than faxes or e-mails. Write a letter to express your support for:

Immediate UN and NATO deployment of an international military force, United Nations peacekeepers, or combined African Union/UN peacekeepers, with a strong mandate to neutralize Janjaweed Arab militias now committing genocide in Darfur and implementation of all UN resolutions regarding Darfur; Continued funding of current African Union troops; Enforcement of the arms embargo against the Sudan govt. and/or imposition of pressure or sanctions on governments and corporations that provide or sell arms to Sudan; Encouraging Arab countries and China (Sudan’s largest financial backer) to exert pressure on the Sudan government to end the genocide against Darfuris; Implementation of provisions of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, including denial of port entry to ships that have carried Sudanese oil; Asking the United Nations to restore the level of food provision to Darfuri refugee camps in Chad;Implementation/enforcement of stronger multilateral sanctions; Implementation of targeted sanctions against officials in the Sudanese government responsible for the ethnic cleansing campaign against Darfuri tribes, including freezing their financial assets; Passage by Congress, and signing by President Bush, of H.R.180 which supports each State’s right to divest pension funds from Sudan and denies US contracts to companies that do business with Sudan and provide little or no benefit to the people of Sudan; Investigation & prosecution of war crimes in Darfur, other regions of Sudan, and around Chad refugee camps.

Send Your Personal Letters about the issues above to:
President George W. Bush, The White House, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20500.
Phone the White House: 202-456-1111 Fax: 202-456-2461 Email: comments@whitehouse.gov

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Main State Building, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520 Phone U.S. State Department: 202-647-4000 Direct dial: 202-647-6575.

Your U.S. Senators (202-224-3121) and Representatives ( 202-225-3121)
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515

The United Nations Center for Human Rights and, separately,
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

Secretary-General: 212-963-5012, Fax: 212-963-4879
United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY 10017

main UN phone: 212-963-1234
Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador & Permanent Representative to the UN, & the U.S. Delegation to UN U.S. Mission to the UN, 140 E. 45 Street, NY, NY 10017 usunpublicaffairs@state.gov

Contact local Darfur advocacy organizations:

Help Darfur People’s Association of NY collect clothing & school supplies for 2 ½ million refugees in the Darfur region. Collect Funds to store/ship/deliver supplies. Obtain Speakers for your events.

2211 Church Avenue - Rm. 301, Brooklyn, NY 11226, Phone: 718-282-0108 ext.282 or call Motasim Adam: 347-683-8017

Help research & prepare Darfuri victims for International Criminal Court;
Pursue water-resource projects in Darfur; Obtain speakers for your events.
Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Inc. http://www.darfurrehab.org/ 973-274-9424 Yahya Osman: yahyadrp@yahoo.com

For current in-depth Information and Advocacy Materials:
1) Genocide Intervention Network, http://www.genocideintervention.net/

2) Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/
3) http://www.sudanreeves.org/

4) STAND (student anti-genocide coalition) http://www.standnow.org/

5) http://www.enoughproject.org/

"The Old Razzle Dazzle"

A few weeks ago, I featured one of my young fashion friends and colleagues Esteban Cortizar here on Cut, Sew and Blog (Colleagues not Competitors). I have known Esteban since he was 14 years old and he has always been pure talent and sunshine. So to see his name splattered across the pages of various blogs for the past week in such a hardcore way, I was forced to write today’s post.

Recently, as many of you fashionistas may know, Esteban was appointed as the head designer of the legendary house of Emanuel Ungaro. Good news right… Well not according to most… Never before have I seen an appointment of a designer make such a stir. The barrage of negativity coming towards this young 23 year old “creative” seems to be almost unbearable. With all the recent appointments that seem to make less sense than this one, I don’t know why this young kid has to bear the lion’s share of the industry’s frustration.

I will admit when I first heard of Esteban’s appointment, I too slightly scratch my head. wasn’t shocked by his tender age, nor if this was a perfect fit - - - my shock came from the fact that I knew first hand how many other designers had been approached regarding this position and they had all undoubtedly turned it down. But in no way did I believe Esteban’s appointment to be a negative thing. What did they want him to do? Turn it down… He’s 23 for crying out loud… This is the time he should feel invincible and not defeated because the industry is simply frustrated.

The one thing we all know is the fashion industry is screaming for change… The industry is simply screaming for newness - - - and not the run of the mill newness that comes from yet another wunderkind or a new “shocking” appointment to a major fashion house… The industry is screaming for a new plan, a new future, a new way of making this tired old wheel spin… But once again instead of picking up the gauntlet and challenging the industry to really step up to the plate by coming up with something original - - - what do we do??? We once again give the world the same old Razzle Dazzle…

Fortunately, Cathy Horyn of The New York Times, was spot-on in her recent blog post. She too agrees that if the industry wants to do something bold, it needs to develop a new strategy – a forward way of looking at the globalization of fashion… This is why I believe we are all so fortunate to be in the fashion industry at this present moment – globalization.

I can’t wait for the world to see Harris Group International as we begin to truly roll out our plan… I can promise you all this – The HGI / Mal Sirrah, Inc. plan is bold, courageous, forward and ambitious… I can also assure you that it will put the industry’s old “Razzle Dazzle” to “Fizzle Dizzle" - for sho my "Nizzle" (sorry, I just couldn't resist the Snoopism)…

“You’ll never work in this town again!”

If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard the words “You’ll never work in this town again!” – I would have exactly 10 cents, as I’ve only heard it once in my life… Therefore, I had to share this story with all of you. So "buckle up - it's going to be a bumpy ride..."

Recently, I had one of the hugest publicists in the business call my office screaming like a lunatic at one of my sweet and hardworking interns as she read her the riot act as to why she despises me. Everyone in the biz whispers about how mean and nasty this woman is but no one dares to say anything to her about her behavior. They just chalk it up to "fashion". Now I know for a fact that I am a tough pill to swallow, but I didn’t know I evoked such hatred from certain people within this lovely industry. I know some of you are under the impression that I am the sweetest things since sliced bread, but this is not always true. What I “attempt” to be in my journey is fare, understanding and compassionate. So when people take to bullying people I care about and/or people that can’t defend themselves, I use my voice and my well worked out muscles to protect them. I am neither saint nor brute – just Malcolm.

Well it turns out this publicist whom shall remain nameless for now, also has a reputation for being one of the industry’s biggest bullies. She has made many an intern and/or fledgling fashionista actually weep from her verbal attacks and tirades. She is legendary for using the “f-word” the way most of use the words "this, that and those". Is it just me or is the f-word a bit more juvenile than it is vulgar? It always seems to reek of a lack of vocabulary and/or education. Anyway this irate publicist accused me of badmouthing her “all over the industry” after hearing that I said “verbatim” – “I don’t work with her anymore because our spirits didn’t mix.” I don’t know if this qualifies as “badmouthing” as when I said it to her “best friend” I was under the impression I was being quite diplomatic…

This publicist has now declared “Malcolm is through in fashion! He will never work in this town again!!!” I swear when I heard this I thought to myself “Do people still make these ridiculous threats.” It’s like something she must have heard in one of those old Hollywood movies starring Joan Crawford or Bette Davis. I also wondered if industry darlings like Phillip Lim and/or Peter Som are ever told things like this - or is it just me. I could actually imagine her putting out a cigarette in one of those stand-up ashtrays after she declared me finished... I am sure she said it loud enough for all of her poor interns and underlings to hear. Then it finally hit me… That’s it… Most of the people in this business are simply playing some role... All reliving some ficticious scene from an old Hollywood movie watched in the wee hours of an insomniac’s playtime. Unfortunately most of these roles aren’t even worthy of being called classics – they are simply tired, over rehearsed and just plain old “bad”. I think I would respect some of the “crazies” in the business a bit more if they were a bit more original in their craziness. Imagine if the role of publicist had been originally been played by Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi.

I wish I could say at this point that after my intern informed me of this obnoxious telephone call I decided to take the “high road”. But the high road sometimes is best left for those aforementioned... For me, I don't really mind getting right down in the trenches and duking it out with the best of them… No, the high road isn’t always for me. Surprisingly, what I did do after receiving this telephone call message on this late Friday afternoon was to give myself a solid three day cool-off period. I would use these three days to see if I would still be filled with the same anger and sense of outrage I had felt as my intern relayed this vile message. The vile message that she was forced to write down word for word just in case she had gone home for the weekend before I returned to the office from my outside meetings.

Do you know what upset me the most? It was the fact that this poor girl had to receive such venom directly into her gentle spirit. To pour salt into her wound, she now had to repeat these words to her boss whom had arrived earlier than expected and whom she also knew would be a bit wounded by this woman’s poison. Meanwhile, I was not wounded in the least... I simply imagined myself as a cowboy in one of those old Westerns wherein the tough guy would take out his pocket knife, cut into the victim's wound and suck out all the venom before spitting it onto the ground. You see – I too know how to play a role… But I digress…

So I waited the entire weekend to see if on Monday morning that nagging “pang” left from Friday’s unfortunate incident would still be there… And on Monday morning, as I rubbed my stomach and chatted with my inner voice I could still feel the “pang” as if it were a pregnancy that had been carried to term. It was less than 30 minutes before I made the call...

I will not go into the gruesome and gory details of this call void of vengeance and motivated by purpose. My purpose was to finally say – “Enough is Enough!!!" All you need to know is that I haven’t heard a word from this self-acclaimed bad-ass/nail spitting publicist since this phone call... I guess she is out and about ruining my career. But what I will share with you is this, “The f-word sometimes serves it purposes.”- - - no matter how juvenile I still find it.

To be quite honest, I even waited a complete week before I shared this story with all of you… Mostly because I really had important work to do last week with the launch of the DFD T-shirt collection and simply did not want any of the negative energy associated with this encounter to commingle with our positive efforts... But for some reason, I knew that I had to share this bit of my journey as well…

What I can say about this entire episode is that I have learned a very important lesson about myself… I truly do love everything that makes me - M... I love the part of me which is so sensitive that the gentle words of a poem or a well delivered line in a favorite movie can move me to tears. I love my innate sense of elegance and poise that has been instilled in me by my mother and her AKA sorority sisters as well as my sense of power, strength and fairness inherited from my father and the venerable gentleman of his Omega Psi Phi fraternity. But what I also inherited from my father is my red hot Jamaican blood that flows through my every vein that says to all those that dare mistake me for some mere “fashion batty boi” - “If you ever use that language and/or attitude towards me or anyone I know or care about – I will FUCK YOU UP... Yes, I will fuck you up and still be the head of my own luxury brand.”

To all of you that believe that I may have finally gone over the deep edge, I respect you all but what I am saying is simply this…. The days of these fashion bullies are truly over... Never let anyone tell you that they can make you or break you as this is not true… They can of course attempt to throw roadblocks in your path, roadblocks that can easily be maneuvered by hardwork and perseverance. But no one – I tell you “No One” - can make or break you… I beg of you all to never give anyone this sort of insane power over your future... Your future is your own... Ask Marc!!!

Do you all think that it is by any coincidence that fashion’s Golden Boy, Marc Jacobs has finally said, “Enough Is Enough”… But everyone wants to call him crazy... This is no coincidence at all… People, individuals just like me, you and everyone else, are finally saying – “Enough is Enough!” “I will work in this town again… But I will do it my way… And you know what else - Fuck You!!!”

Sorry I couldn’t resist the f-word just one more time… That one felt really good and grown up…

p.s. Mark your calendars – I promise you all – I won’t be going anywhere… I will work everyday in this tow to make sure that I am still here…

Thank you... Designers For Darfur

I would like to personally thank all of you that came out last night to support the launch of Designers For Darfur Limited Edition T-shirt... As most of you can imagine, this work is not easy... However, with every opportunity to enlist a new voice or to strengthen an existing one in this fight, is well worth it all.

We really do thank you all for your continued support.

p.s. If you have any ideas as to how you believe we can move these t-shirts into circulation, please do not hesitate to share your brilliant idea with us... In the meantime, click on any of photos below to be redirected to our online store.