Holiday Highs and Lows

I must say this past weekend was quite a bust – minus one or two high and equally low points…

First, my weekend got started with an invite from a booker representing the model Agynnes Deyn. I will admit, I have never been a huge fan of Agynnes as a model nor as this fictional new “fashion icon”. I regular spot the undeniably pretty and young Agynnes either riding around on her little bike or holding court in front of random “hipster” watering hole/eateries in the hood. However, I have yet to ever see her truly “serving-up” anything out of the ordinary. She almost looks like a bootleg Samantha Ronson. I guess to people who aren’t truly familiar with the evolving hipster movement she might be a bit cool, but to the average “kid-in-the-know”, I would have to say she’s a bit behind the curve. But this is not meant to be an Agynnes bashing session, for that please visit my friends over at FashionIndie (one of my favorite sites on the planet - they are the truth).

While I think Agyness is a very pretty girl - she only has one look - "Deer in Headlights"

Well anyway I get this invite to see Agynnes trying her hand at deejaying over at Club Plumm and of course I am thinking, “Well I guess I will go to “see” her deejay as there is no way she can do any worse than her recent singing debut in London.” After getting by the blatantly racist door person at Plumm (too long of a story to get into during this post – but trust me I will return to this topic at a later date) my friends and I finally made it inside. I was instantly amazed by the random crowd that had turned out to support Ms. Agynnes Deyn’s deejaying debut. It was also at that moment I realized I was there in the hopes I would magically change my slightly skewed view of the hyped-up Ms. Deyn... Boy was I wrong…

A word of advice to Agynnes Deyn – “Never-ever-never attempt spinning records publicly again – You Suck!!! Stick to modeling – at least you have that one pose and blank stare down pat.” I believe the only people that appreciated her spinning were the string of 21 year old dorky pseudo-hipsters that were salivating to catch even the tiniest glimpse of Agynnes and Richie Rich in the booth (I personally love Richie but for some reason that evening I noticed how much he looked like a caricature of Agynnes). The music was so terrible we couldn’t stand it for more than 10 minutes.

Unfortunately I guess we were there long enough for the good folks over at FashionIndie to snap a shot of the back of my head and post it on their site the following morning. I only wish they could have seen the shocked look on my face.

That brings us to the 4th of July. Well every year stylist and fashion guru Patricia Field holds her big “4th of July BBQ.” For many years this used to take place in a secret location in Central Park but this year she opened her home up for the festivities due to the rain and all. As many of you may recall, I worked for Patricia Field many years ago and recently she hosted the launch of the Mal Sirrah collection in her magnificent downtown home.

Pat has one of those rare homes (not an apartment) in the city that as soon as you make it past the threshold you immediately realize you have just entered someone’s wildest fantasy. Personally whenever Pat holds a soiree behind those beautiful rustic gates leading into Le Maison de Fields it immediately becomes a family / class reunion. Patricia Field will forever be the mother / head mistress of an ever growing group of New York City’s most dysfunctional and creative les enfants terribles. (Just in case you ever receive an invite, a word of advice to the cautious: Steer clear of the baked goods - high point - if you know what I mean...)

Check out Pat’s home in this video from my debut show

I spent the remainder of the wet and soggy holiday weekend curled up on the sofa enjoying my “Instant Queue” of Netflix classics with left over Rice Krispy treats from Pat's wonderful BBQ.

President Bush - "Passport Denied"

After waking up this morning and watching the international news groups poking fun at Bush and his silly comments, I couldn't help but wonder - "Is it possible to revoke or deny Bush’s passport?" If not, how can we collectively find a way to sequester this idiot from spreading his stupidity across the world before we finally get him out of office.

I have never been big on the idea of the United States being the world’s “super-power” but Bush’s complicity with China is starting to smell more and more like Bush’s fear of China every single time he takes the podium. I shudder to think what other disjointed silliness he will allow to slip from his lips before the G-8 Summit in Tokyo ends next week. Judging by his ridiculous opening remarks earlier today (video below), he is off to a pretty good start… “Boycotting the opening ceremony of the Olympics would be an affront to the Chinese people.” What about the affront to the Tibetans and the people of Darfur. By the way, here’s a little known fact that seems to have been overlooked during this debate over attending the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony: Never before in the history of the Olympics has a sitting U.S. President attended an Olympic Opening Ceremony outside of the United States… Therefore, I ask you, “Why should China be any different?” Someone should tell Mr. Bush that his (mis)representation of the American people for the past eight years has been an affront.

I pray that we can find a way to revoke Mr. Bush’s (I can’t stand to call him President Bush) passport before he can do any further harm to our country’s reputation prior to Barack Obama taking office.

Afternoon Quickie - Project Runway

This afternoon quickie is exclusivey addressed to o all my aspiring fashion designers:

CS&B have been asked by the producers of Project Runway to inform you all that they are currently taking applications for Project Runway Season Six. Please click the photo below to be redirected to their official application page.

Good luck and maybe next year you will coining a fierce phrase like - "Hot Tranny Mess!"

Pick Your Poison...

Recently here in New York we have all seen the frozen yogurt chain Red Mango popping up on every street corner and maybe you too have wondered to yourself, “What’s the fundamental difference between Red Mango and Pinkberry?” Well let me tell you what I have personally found out the hard way…

Firstly, you must know that I am addicted to Pinkberry – absolutely, shamefully and wontedly addicted. I am convinced the reason Pinkberry keeps us coming back for more of their addictive yogurt is due to the fact that Pinkberry is laced with crack cocaine. I’m serious - they add crack… Come to think of it, this might account for the slightly chemical taste found in every delicious and addictive scoop. The worse part of it all is that I actually hide the fact I am addicted to this swirly white stuff from my entire family and all of my friends (the real sign of a junkie). I routinely make daily runs to Pinkberry locations far away from my own neighborhood for fear that I will be seen making a buy. The shame of it all…

Now this brings me to Red Mango. Yesterday curiosity got the better of this cat after attempting to visit my Pinkberry dealer which unfortunately had a line of gnarly junkies stretching well beyond the front door. Instead of waiting on this long line for fear of being found loitering outside, I decided to dash across the street to a Red Mango pop-up which sits caddy-corner to Pinkberry (for those of you whom have never heard the expression “caddy corner” it is an expression found in the urban lexicon and dictionary – but I digress). I must admit I am now persuaded to believe that Red Mango have strategically positioned themselves so close to Pinkberry for just this one reason – "to appropriate all of Pinkberry’s overflow".

Upon taking my first scoop of Red Mango topped with the exact treats I get from Pinkberry (Mochi and Chocolate Chips) I noticed that the Red Mango texture was slightly a bit creamier than its rival across the way. For a few wonderful drug induced moments I allowed myself to believe that just maybe I had discovered another untapped dealer. But this state of euphoria was to be short lived. After inhaling my freshly acquired fix and beginning the long walk of shame back towards home, I immediately began to feel a weird bubbling sensation in the pit of my stomach… Without going into any great details, all you need know is that shortly thereafter I painfully and regrettably discovered the difference between Pinkberry and Red Mango.

In a nutshell this in the fundamental difference between Pinkberry and Red Mango...

Pinkberry is definitely laced with crack cocaine and Red Mango is definitely laced with chocolate flavored Ex-Lax… Pick your poison.

This crack cocaine looks strangely like my favorite topping – Mochi



ExLax or Hershey's Chocolate

In conclusion, I ask one thing of my fond readers - If anyone knows of a Pinkberry Rehabilitation Center opening soon in the New York City area please sign me up!!! They say that Rehab is chic these days…

The Pinkberry Success Story

Rest in Peace - Ruslana Korshunova

Today the entire fashion industry find ourselves mourning the death of one our brightest stars - Ruslana Korshunova.

I can still remember Ruslana showing up for a casting during her very first season here in New York City - she could truly light up an entire room with her beautiful smile and her haunting eyes. Ruslana was truly one of the few Russian models that I would often see around town always smiling and appearing to be absolutely loving life. While many of the Russian models skulking around the city often appear to be completely serious and career driven, Ruslana always seemed to take her modeling success in stride. But now we all know that outward appearances can truly be deceiving. I can not fathom what darkness could drive a beautiful young creature like Ruslana to such hopelessness, but I pray that there is a sanctuary in Heaven for divine lost souls.

Ruslana Korshunova in a stirring commercial for Nina Ricci Parfum

The following Courtesy of Wikipedia:

EARLY LIFE AND CAREER

Ruslana Korshunova was born in Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, and was of Russian descent. She spoke fluent Russian, English and German. She was discovered in 2003, when All Asia magazine printed a story on Almaty's local German language club, which Korshunova was then attending. Her photograph, which was featured in the article, caught the attention of Debbie Jones of Models 1, who tracked down and signed up the then 15-year-old Korshunova.

Korshunova was represented by IMG (New York, Paris, London and Milan), Beatrice (Milan), Traffic Models (Barcelona), Marilyn Models and iCasting Moscow, which was her mother agency. Korshunova modeled for the covers of Elle (France), Vogue (Poland) and Vogue (Russia). She also modeled in print-ads for Blugirl by Blumarine, Clarins, Ghost, Girbaud, Kenzo Accessories, Marithé & François, Max Studio, Moschino, Old England, Pantene Always Smooth, Paul Smith and Vera Wang lingerie.

DEATH

On June 28, 2008 at around 2:30 p.m., Korshunova died after falling from the ninth-floor balcony of her Water Street apartment in Manhattan's Financial District. Police stated there were no signs of a struggle in her apartment and concluded that Korshunova's death is an apparent suicide.

One of her friends stated that Korshunova had just returned from a modeling gig in Paris, noting that she seemed to be "on top of the world" with no apparent reason why she would commit suicide. Korshunova's former boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, said he dropped Korshunova off at her apartment several hours before her death after they watched the Demi Moore film Ghost together. "She was a good person," he told The New York Post. However, she appeared brokenhearted and angry in some of her postings on a social networking site. Korshunova's most telling message came three months ago: "I'm so lost. Will I ever find myself?”

My heart goes out to her family and friends. Rest in Peace Ruslana - Your beauty will shine forever. (Enjoy this beatiful photo tribute to Ruslana Korshunova)

Mal Sirrah Bitch Slap Anyone???

After yesterday’s post, I received a slightly frantic email from one of our readers in Germany. This young German advised me, with great enthusiasm, he recently had the pleasure of meeting Jay Alexander in Europe and needed me to know Miss Jay was also his favorite “gay”. I thought to myself, “Well, okay – thanks for sharing…” However, in the back of my slightly shady mind I also thought, "Is he a regular CS&B reader or did he google - my favorite gay?"

But here is where it really gets good… He also attached the above photos he had apparently been saving of Miss Jay and wanted to know if I had any idea where he got the amazing t-shirt he was wearing. I simply smiled to myself and responded to the young German gay-in-training, “I don't recall where he got the t-shirt (LOL), but I am sure if you check the internet you might still be able to find one or two. Happy hunting…”

After this entire exchange I couldn't help but reflect on how much I have grown since the infamous Naomi T-Shirt… I will admit there are still times when I see certain out of control celebrities and think to myself he or she could benefit greatly from a "Mal Sirrah Bitch Slap”.

The Naomi T-Shirt Backstory - courtesy of TMZ

Happy "Faggoting" Weekend !!!

In honor of gay pride week, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite sewing technique in the world – "FAGGOTING".

Faggoting technique as used in a garment's trim

If you are laughing at the name, don’t feel bad. During my days at F.I.T. whenever our professor mentioned the technique “faggoting” every single person in the class - straight, gay or bi - would each put their head down and silently crackup. Unfortunately, I had the great fortune of sitting next to one of the biggest flames on campus and whenever he heard someone use the term “faggoting” he would always yell out in his queenliest voice “Okkaayy!” (feel free to put the voice of your favorite gay in this spot – Okkaayy!!!)

My Favorite Gay - Ms. Jay Alexander

Well faggoting for those of you who are not familiar with the term is a very old technique used to hold two pieces of a garment together revealing a decorative stitch/space between the seams of a blouse, skirt, dress, etc.

However, a great number of you may have become accustomed to seeing it within the seams of collections belonging to fashion craftsman such as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and one of my all-time favorites Antonio Berardi. I often experiment with this technique myself unfortunately I have yet to find a way to make this extremely delicate technique truly hold-up under the stress of a modern woman’s everyday lifestyle.

Note the beautiful “faggoting” technique Antonio used at the waist of this amazing dress

I will admit that Antonio has perhaps come the closest of modern designers to perfecting this decorative technique with his use of elastic at the seams however most of these pieces still haven’t been able to withstand the true test of time. Unfortunately, I have witnessed some of these faggoting techniques from several designers becoming undone before they ever leave the selling floor at Barneys… And imagine this is just from the basic wear and tear of trying them on. I am continuously attempting to find ways to perfect a great number of charming and delightful old-school techniques to suit the needs of my modern and active clients as well as creating new techniques to move not only fashion but practical design forward. I truly believe that it is my job and responsibility not only to provide my customer base with beautiful clothes but most importantly to provide them with timeless and quality clothes that will last for generations.

Okay, that’s enough of me for today… Let’s all promise to meet up here tomorrow at the same time, same place…

Happy Gay Pride Weekend!!! For those of you who don’t know “we gays” get the weekend started from Thursday. If you don’t’ believe me simply note all the red-eyed / hung-over gays in the office tomorrow…

Must see video - the gayest music video ever made!!!

Original it ain't (revised)

I have tried my best to bite my tongue on this one, but after reading all over the internet what "geniuses" Marc Jacobs and Juergen Tueller are for coming up with their new spring advertising concept - I just had to take exception... I usually find their ad campaigns extremely provocative and original but this one, "original it ain't"... I won't spend too much time on this - but I will simply give you a dated breakdown of events:

Mal Sirrah Spring/Summer Show - August 2007

French Vogue Cover - November 2007

Marc Jacobs declares his love for the purse toting blogger BryanBoy (even BryanBoy counts Andre J as one his inspirations)

February 2008

(newsflash: every young gay boy worth his salt on the Lower East Side has been carrying a woman's handbags for the past two years now)

Marc Jacobs Ad Campaign photographed by Jeurgen Teller- June 2008

Genius??? Huhhhh??? At least have the courage to give the proper credit where it is due or to at least book the original model for the gig... Not to mention, now that you have named a bag after BryanBoy can we expect to see the "Andre J Clutch" next season???

In the absence of Passion, Purpose and Ambition - Savage Grace

As a fashion designer that specializes in made-to-order clothing I am always on the look out for the next “important” client, muse or patron. More often than not these patrons come in the form of everyday working women with fairly large disposable incomes. But then there are those times when these special clients come in the form of a 0 to 4 dress size (too thin in my opinion) with a huge family name and/or trust attached. Clearly from just a quick perusal of my client list to date (Ivanka Trump, Lydia Hearst, Tinsley Mortimer, etc.), I have always been oddly fascinated by some of the young women who have inherited these huge names along with the title “socialite”. That being said, I will also admit I have never for one second envied any of these young women given this title as I was very fortunate to have many years ago read about the decadent life and tragic death of socialite Barbara Daly BaekEland.

Former Mal Sirrah muse - Socialite/Model Lydia Hearst

I can still remember being very young and stumbling across one of those old LIFE Magazines my parents used to store in our attic. What I loved the most about those vintage magazines were the sheer size of the publications as well as the life-like cover photos. From a kid’s perspective you knew there must have been something very important and interesting held within the pages of that massive magazine simply entitled “LIFE”. As vividly as I remember that bright red and white logo is as vividly as I can also remember peeling one of these magazines open to read the dark story of the murder of former model and would-be starlet, Barbara Daly Baekeland. I can still recall running to grab a dictionary in order to get a better grasp of several words, particularly “schizophrenia”. I was well aware that I was headed into unchartered territory for a young boy of my age and this made me thoroughly excited. It was at this point I also knew I had grown past the stage of scouring magazines or tabloids searching for the combination of letters that spelled S-E-X.

As I type this post today what stands out the most for me were the beautiful black and white and sometimes color photos of the people belonging to this ultra-rich and elite class. I never noticed there weren't any people of color in these photos as I was too young to care about these matters. I still remember rolling around on the floor with laughter believing these people were all too perfectly dressed, coiffed and posed to be real - I actually found this glamorous life stuff to be a bit silly. Here I was this kid growing up in a firmly middle-class household and attempting to compare these rich folks in LIFE to my mother with flour on her forehead and my father sitting in his favorite recliner reading the paper every evening after work – the comparison was downright laughable. But these people in the pages of this oversized magazine leading their supersized charmed lives simply intrigued me in such a magical and entertaining way.

I couldn’t find a single photo of Barbara Daly Baekeland on the internet (she has been erased by time and photos of Julianne Moore) but simply think of the timeless chic and beauty of C.Z. Guest


Looking back, the actual story of the murder and all of the other jazz in the article escaped me for many years. It wasn’t until I began working as a designer and meeting women from these super wealthy families that I often found myself recalling bits and pieces of the scandalous life and death of Mrs. Baekeland. So imagine my surprise and sadistic delight when the rumors started a few years ago that Julianne Moore might be playing Barabara Daly.

After the movie was finally made and began doing the “circuit” (Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca etc.) the reviews were coming back extremely mixed. Now for some people this might sound like a warning bell that the movie might not be so great, but for me this was like music to my ears… If everyone had loved this strange tale of money, incest, fashion (think Balenciaga and Christian Dior circa 1950-60) and debauchery than clearly it would have signified to me they went way too commercial on the project and glazed over the deep rooted sickness of this privileged family. And if everyone simply hated “Savage Grace” then I would have my work cut out for me in trying to decipher what they all hated so much. Either way I knew I could not miss Julianne Moore’s haunting portrayal of this glittering and troubled socialite.

I actually made several failed attempts to see Savage Grace during the Tribeca Film Festival but my schedule was a bit crazy during this period. Not to mention, I also knew the movie would be hitting selected theaters shortly after the festival and was therefore more than willing to wait a few more weeks… Hell I had waited almost 20 odd years – a few more weeks certainly wouldn’t kill me…

This past weekend after crawling to the theater with a dear friend currently writing a book on the super wealthy, including several chapters on socialites, I knew the moment had finally arrived for my face-to-face (courtesy of Julianne Moore) with Babs Baekeland (I don’t know if super wealthy WASP types like to be called Babs – but I’ll do my homework and let you know soon or vice-versa)…

To say that Julianne Moore nor director Tom Kalin (Swoon) "did not disappoint" would be an understatement. This movie isn’t one you should casually walk or wait to see – this is one that every fashionista or creative should run to see… Run as fast as your little Manolos can carry you. I can promise you this movie delivers in a way that will leave you absolutely speechless and void of any inkling of jealousy you may harbor for the rich and famous. For me this movie only strengthened my belief that the road to happiness isn’t through the spoils of wealth but through the dedication and hard work of a life filled purpose, passion and ambition. In the absence of these key elements one is simply left with a life of Savage Grace.

Pray for the women and children of Darfur

I beg of each of you to take a few moments out of your busy day to send out a prayer to keep the women and children of Darfur safe.

Today CNN put out a Darfur update with the caption reading: "Rape is a way of life for Darfur's Women"

ZAM ZAM DISPLACEMENT CAMP, Sudan (CNN) -- Sudan's Darfur crisis has exploded on many fronts -- violence, hunger, displacement and looting -- but United Nations peacekeepers say the biggest issue now affecting the region is the systematic rape of women and children.

CNN's Video Report

The return of Top Model - Sessilee Lopez

Very rarely have we witnessed a young black model make such a huge and prominent debut into the fashion industry and then disappear even quicker than did Ms. Sessilee Lopez.

I can still remember almost three and a half years ago when I received a telephone call from Ms. Jay Alexander asking me, “Have you seen this little black girl named Sessilee? Honey, she is fierce - FIIIEEERRRCCCE!” I could vividly picture Jay on the other end of the telephone wagging his index finger, pursed lips and doing the “stink face” as he went on to describe the fierceness of Ms. Sessilee Lopez. Jay had first come to know of Sessilee during a casting he was conducting on behalf of Kimora Lee Simmons for her Baby Phat show, but fortunately I had already been well aware of “La Lopez” from a few seasons before as I witnessed her strut her young stuff at the fashion show of an old friend and fellow designer, Zaldy. Sessilee’s face and performance stood out amongst all the rest for me during her first season at New York Fashion Week as she seemed to bring something new and interesting to the table. She was very different from the typical Russian or Brazilian models tromping their way to a new life here in the United States – Sessilee seemed a bit more regal and self-assured than even some of the other black models that had been introduced this same season. So when I popped in to pick Jay up from one of the legendary late night fittings for Baby Phat, I was pleased to finally meet the lovely Sessilee Lopez in person.

Sessilee sat patiently in a small holding room chomping on pizza and listening to her Ipod as she was being stared down and sized up by some of the biggest names in the modeling game as they all waited to try on their looks for the catwalk. I could feel the tension in the room as this young newcomer sat eating away on a slice during a time when most of the other girls were starving themselves into a state of delirium. And here sat the new, hot and carefree 16 year old paying it all no mind.

When I introduced myself to Sessilee I was completely prepared for the most exotic of voices to appear, but to my shock, surprise and secret joy – out slipped the most amazing All-American accent I had heard from a model of color in quite some time. I wanted to break into one of those patriotic songs that ended with “The Old Red, White and Blue”, but I didn’t want to seem like an unsophisticated xenophobe. Instead, I went into my good old southern boy / ebonicly correct dialect and asked, “Where you from?”

It turns out that Sessilee was born in Philadelphia and raised partly in Port St. Lucie, Florida. By the time I met Sessilee she had already been photographed by Sorrenti, Lagerfeld and Demarchellier as well as signed to the number one modeling agency - IMG. Clearly, I wasn’t about to impart any words of wisdom on this burgeoning supermodel as I was for sure she was well on her way to super stardom… But less I forget – this is the fashion industry.

A few months went by and I noticed that we had started to see less and less of the young Ms. Lopez – no editorials, no catwalks, no NOTHING… It was as if she had dropped off the face of the fashion earth. Then one night, perhaps a year and a half ago, at a random party being held at Trump Tower for Donald Trump’s new vodka named, what else, TRUMP – I caught a glimpse of Ms. Sessilee Lopez. I was in shock – absolute shock. In walks Ms. Lopez known for her chicly cropped a la Grace Jones hair style with a long wavy weave almost to the top of her ass crack. Seriously, I was in shock – shock. I almost ran over and grabbed her by the arm in order to give her a tongue lashing about what this industry does to beautiful young black women that come in to this game self-assured, perfectly packaged and ready to take on the world. Now before all my free-to-weave girls start screaming and sending me nasty emails, let me be the first to say that I have absolutely nothing against weaves. Hell, sometimes I take girls I know to have them sewn in and even volunteer to buy them the hair from Adorable’s Hair Supply. But Sessilee Lopez I think was never a candidate for this particular hair make-over unless for an editorial or campaign (like the Macy’s commercial below). It was in that moment as I watch Sessilee elegantly glide through the Trump party, I knew that the business was trying to find a nice way of telling this beautiful young woman, “Change who you are before we move on to the next black girl and as you know, there can only be one.”

Sessilee with “long hair” in a Macy’s Commercial

Perhaps I should break it down for those of you who are not fully in the know how the modeling industry works when they are “making room for new models”… There are several key signs which are the “kiss of death” for a young model that has not hit “star” or “top” model status and insist on staying in the game. The signs or slight nudges are as follows:

1) Drastic and Continual Hair Makeovers (Exception to the rule – Linda Evangelista – and as we know, La Linda is a once in a lifetime phenomenon.)

2) Unhealthy Weight Loss suggested and demanded by the agency (We are talking beyond the normal – “You should loose a few pounds…”)

3) An extended trip to visit the Asian Market (These models come back with books filled with unusable tear sheets.)

The fourth and final sign translates into the equivalent of Modeling Hara-Kiri

4) The Alcoholic Beverage or Cigarette Campaign (There is no return from this deadly sin – none whatsoever.)

Luckily Sessilee had only been committed one cardinal sin from above and also somehow remained on IMG’s board and website. That is she remained until the end of last year when I noticed Sessilee Lopez was no longer being represented by IMG Model Management.

Sessilee is now represented by Major Models

Then one day a few months ago during a trip to a website that had done a sweet little story on the Mal Sirrah brand, I noticed a small thumbnail of a beautiful black girl wearing an amazing gold dress. And there she was – in all her short cropped hair and golden brown glory – La Lopez. In Sessilee’s newer photos her eyes appear a bit more squinted and suspicious – which adds to her fierceness; her hair is no longer pixy and cute but more shaved and severe; and her energy is no longer childlike or coquettish – she is now serving up major attitude and confidence. Sessilee Lopez is back and ready to win.

So this morning when I opened the New York Times “Fashion and Styles” section and read Sessilee had been chosen to appear on the Italian Vogue fold-out cover, I was warmed by a feeling that all might finally be going right in the universe. I knew that this was not only a story about black models taking their rightful place in the fashion world but this was also a story of a young woman’s perseverance, struggle and self-realization being told within those folds. For Sessilee Lopez this was the story of a queen reclaiming her throne. Welcome back La Lopez – welcome back!

p.s. Sessilee also has a blog ( http://sessileelopez.blogspot.com/ ) check it out - you will also notice that I swiped (I meant borrowed) most of these brilliant photos from her blog...

Can someone say "Dream Team"

What are we waiting for to make this happen???

A "Dream Team" we can all be proud of...

It Matters... It All Matters...

Occasionally I have the great fortune of running into one of my supporters or well-wishers on the streets of New York City, but very rarely am I as surprised as I was the other day when I heard someone scream “Malcolm – Malcolm Harris”. At first I thought it was an old schoolmate, as no one actually calls me by my first and last name these days unless it is a telemarketer or bill collector. Therefore, when I turned to see who this could be, I noticed this frantic young woman who had begun making a beeline towards me. She begged that I wait a minute while she got herself together so I immediately grabbed her and gave her a big bear hug, if not a tether, for fear that this young woman would float into the stratosphere.

Now I will admit that I have been “hood-famous” for quite some time now (that’s not bragging – it just is what it is), but this young woman with her British accent left me scratching my head and wondering, “What the fuck have I done?” There was also a bit of fear during this initial exchange and therefore my bear hug was also an attempt at restraining my new friend from reaching for a deadly weapon (just in case she was truly a psycho – of course I’m kidding – just a bit…) But it turned out that this young woman was not a psycho at all. This young woman, like many others, has now become an intregal part of my inner voice that whispers to me, “Keep on pushing forward Malcolm - the work that you are doing really matters… It all matters…”

One of the loudest voices in my psyche comes from my spiritual advisor Deepak Chopra

It turns out this young woman by the name of Courtney had actually used yours truly as a case study for her entrance application in order to attend Parsons School of Design. With Courtney’s permission, I have attached a copy of her subsequent email addressed to me along with her Parson’s essay and photo. The subject line in her email reads (in her own words not mine): CRAZY GIRL ON THE STREET YESTERDAY:

Hey Malcolm,

It was amazing meeting you yesterday. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. I'm sure I seemed quite manic at first so I appreciate you just waiting a moment for me to calm down. I've attached a copy of my essay for you to read if you have a moment to spare. I just wanted to thank you again for doing all that you do. You're truly inspirational and I would love to work with you some day. Do you offer internships? I understand that you're a small company but thought I'd give it a try any way.

That Crazy Parsons Girl - - Courtney

Below is Courtney’s Essay:

To Blog or Not to Blog? There is no question.

In the wake of the Web 2.0 innovation, the design world must take into consideration the benefits of the internet. Not only does it make design more readily available, it is also a crucial business tool. Tim O’Reilly describes, “Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.” Last year the design world took note of the “business revolution” of Web 2.0. The Tech Luxe: Web 2.0 & Beyond held by Walpole Group and the World Luxury Congress were two conferences that thoroughly discussed utilizing the many possibilities of cyberspace with in the design community. Malcolm Harris is one that has fully employed the phenomenon of Web 2.0, although done so in a more socially adept way than someone like Natalie Massenet.

Malcolm Harris, a dress designer based in New York City, has fully taken into consideration the phrase “Don’t fight the internet”. As soon as one clicks onto his website http://www.malsirrah.com/ ,one is displayed a plethora of avenues to discover the universe that is Mal Sirrah. There are the links to his Cut, Sew & Blog, his Myspace page and his own YouTube broadcast channel, which culminate to give an in depth look into his life of fashion. By doing so, Harris gains world wide exposure and customer based feedback on the designs he creates in the most cost effective manner, for free.

Cut, Sew & Blog is by far the best example of this. Through daily blogs that are both personal and fascinating, Harris engages the fashion world and a global community. One blogger commented, “Hey I don't believe you have any idea how famous Cut, Sew and Blog has made you, especially here in the U.K.” Harris reflects this by saying “we started receiving attention from the international press… The New York Times, or The Herald Tribune or The Washington Post…”. Without spending a cent, Harris gained exposure and notoriety globally on a personal level.

Through the customization of his blog Harris has been able to receive immediate reactions from his collections. Harris explains, “if I am toying with a silhouette I do a focus group online … and I ask them, “Is this something that you as a woman would wear?” By doing so Harris is able to almost tailor his designs to his target market, thus maximizing profitability with low opportunity cost.

This is the brilliant element of Harris’ embracing of the improved form of the World Wide Web. Through the use of “social software” Harris has been able to market his designs competitively to larger companies, who spend millions to advertise in official publications. Harris explained, rather endearingly, in his blog to “be this great little marketing tool which would allow me to virtually connect to my brand’s growing customer base.”