NOLA Fashion Week and Fashion Week NOLA 02/28/2012
 There are many benefits to living in the Crescent City. There is Mardi Gras, live music, great food… just to name a few. But one of the other benefits of this great city is that we get, not just one, but TWO fashion weeks in the month of March! NOLA Fashion Week, which is organized by the New Orleans Fashion Council begins this week with fashion presentations, educational workshops, and a fashion market keeping anyone who is anyone ahead of the fashion curve. NOLA Fashion Week begins on Saturday, March 3rd and hosts events daily through the 10th of March and features designers such as Andrea Loest, Jolie and Elizabeth, and Blackout. For a complete schedule of their events, please visit NOLA Fashion Week’s official website. At the end of March, just when the withdrawals from Crescent City Couture starts kicking in, Fashion Week New Orleans appears to satisfy your fashion craving once more! With 3 runway shows, as well as a special bridal feature, Fashion Week Nola highlights all the richness of NOLA’s wardrobe. The shows begin on March 21st and continue through the 24th. For more on this event, please visit their website. Designers for this event include Michele Marie, Libellule, and Dolce Cabo. Be sure to stay with us here at Southern Celebrity Gossip as we report on the latest fashion news here in NOLA! Add Comment Voodoo Dolls show the Darker Side of PINK 11/14/2011
 When one hears “New Orleans Voodoo”, the first thing to come to mind probably isn’t “high fashion”. But Victoria's Secret argues otherwise! The 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which was filmed on November 9th , featured an all-New Orleans inspired fourth segment. The segment was titled “I Put a Spell on You” and the models hit the runway with looks reminiscent of bourbon, brothels, and burlesque. This darker-side of “PINK” showcased flawless models decked out in black lace corsets, garter-belts, Victorian chokers, and Spanish-inspired rose accents. Not to mention more than one iconic New Orleans parasol! Victoria's Secret’s signature wings during this number were dark and ominous, some entirely covered with hundreds of dollars worth of peacock feathers. These Voodoo Dolls left the audience with immeasurable intrigue, and lingering fantasies of vintage lingerie. The show will be airing on CBS on November 29th, giving our unique history some international attention. While the show itself may not have been in New Orleans, New Orleans was very much in the show. For a sneak preview of this show, visit VS on youtube. Fashion Scene Following Film Industry 10/18/2011
 Willowy models and hand-crafted couture are hitting the runway all this week during New Orleans' Fall Fashion Week! Carrying the momentum from last Spring's huge success, the NOLA Fashion Council is giving locals another opportunity to indulge in the luxuries of Louisiana style. Over the week, fans, followers, and fashionistas are flocking to runway shows and presentations at the Ogden Museum. But this season's events include more than just clothing exhibitions. Experts and professionals are also hosting special workshops specific to the design industry. Some of these include hat-making, editorial photography, and couture techniques- which covers corset development. All of these workshops are reasonable priced and feature skilled professionals in their fields. NOLA Fashion Weeks has received some criticism for paling in comparison with the New York, London and Paris Shows- but this in no way disheartens the presenters! The fact is, with a booming film industry and internationally renowned talent, the local fashion industry is quickly catching up! NOLA Designers reflect the spirit of the city- and create unique lines that are just as distinct as the local culture. So show your pride for New Orleans, and stay ahead of the trends this spring with a visit to NOLA Fashion Week! For a complete list of remaining runway shows, presentations and educational workshops visit NOLAfashionweek.com.  Baton Rouge designer and "Project Runway" contestant, Anthony Ryan Auld was in New Orleans Thursday night. But on TV, he was out. Auld was watching local 13-year-old cancer patient Lamika Downs model the outfit he designed at the "One Haute Night" Fashion Week New Orleans at Canal Place. On the Lifetime network series, filmed over the summer in New York, Auld and his fellow contestants were instructed to create an outfit inspired by the "sophisticated '70s". The designs by AUld and Josh McKinley, from Sunnyside, N.Y. were singled out by the judges as the worst of the bunch. So, in the words of Heidi Klum: "Auf wiedersehen, Anthony Ryan." (That's a classy way of saying goodbye in German.) Continue Reading at: NOLA.com LSU Grad a standout on Project Runway 08/03/2011
 Designers Anthony Ryan Auld and Anya Ayoung-Chee on season 9 of 'Project Runway.' “Project Runway” season 9 designer Anthony Ryan Auld had a goal for the first episode: He wanted to “come out running.” Instead, he broke into a full-blown sprint, landing in the top three finishers with his lace-embellished T-shirt and mini-skirt combo made from pajamas and a bed sheet. Raves came from the judges. Says Nina Garcia: “That T-shirt was adorable.” Says Heidi Klum: “It’s something we all would want to have.” Auld, 28, is a Texas native but hails nowadays from Baton Rouge. He graduated last year with a bachelor’s in fashion design from Louisiana State University and took part in the Fashion Week New Orleans competition last March. Continue reading on NOLA.com  Baton Rouge native, Anthony Ryan Auld If you attended or were a part of Fashion Week New Orleans 2011 then you should remember designer Anthony Ryan Auld, a 28 year old native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Anthony has been casted to Lifetime's Season 9 of Project Runway! His collection features pieces that consist of fabrics that are breathable and cool for those hot and humid Louisiana summer days. His collection is also very fashionably casual and wearable. We wish Anthony the best of luck on Project Runway! To see a portfolio of his past work, as well as videos, photos, and more continue to myLifetime.com New Orleans Summer Fashion Soiree 07/06/2011
 Summer Fashion Soiree' Get into the Summer Fashion Groove with Designer ALICIA ZENOBIA & Glam Squad Team from ARISTOCAT SALON July 6, 6PM-8PM TWIST COCKTAIL 628 St. Charles Ave. COCKTAIL SPECIALS compliments of ~CIROC VODKA~ Fashion. Connect. Impress. Anna Mixon exemplifies the modern woman. Her constantly changing daily roles and individual experience lead her to innovative design. In fashion, surrounded by beauty she seeks a means to accentuate that beauty. A background in engineering provides a mathematical and spatial approach to compose pieces that move with the female form. How was Fashion Week in New Orleans? What was the theme or main focus on the collection you presented? Fashion week New Orleans was great. My show went better than I could have ever imagined and I got to meet so many incredible people. The main theme of the show was empowering woman everywhere. I am working on a project in Haiti to give single mothers jobs making my jewelry. I want to make the women who make my jewelry and also who wear it to feel confident. What made you get involved with jewelry? I began modeling in Miami when I was 18. After a few years of modeling I wanted to do something more and realized my hobby of making jewelry could be that something more. Shortly after I started my line, Mixon by Anna Mixon. How would you describe...or how have other people described your style? I would describe my style as out of the box. I wear what I feel confident in and comfortable at the same time. I have never been to try and "keep up with the trends". If I see something I like, I wear it. Continue reading here Magazine Street Shop Fest 05/03/2011
 A look from the fall 2011 collection by Bill Blass. This year, there’s hardly any lull between the two New Orleans Jazz Fest weekends. Events around town keep the calendar chock full. Check ’em out. If you haven’t blown your budget in the Contemporary Crafts yet, then Magazine Street has a few ways to loosen you from your wallet. The merchants of Magazine Street will hold their second Shop Fest on Cinco de Mayo (Thursday), to encourage folks in town for all the festivities to hit the city's boutique strip. Shops will be open late, until 9 p.m. (long after the Fair Grounds close), and many merchants are promising music, free drinks and snacks as well as promos and trunk shows. Here's a list, provided by the Magazine Street Merchants Association, of some of the activities planned. Branch Out Vintage + Sustainable Goods, 2022 Magazine St., will have a DJ, sales and complimentary cocktails Storyville, 3029 Magazine St., serving wine, beer and hors d’ oeuvres Storyville Kids, 3118 Magazine St., serving wine, beer and hors d’ oeuvres Nacho Mama’s Mexican Grill, 3242 Magazine St., will have a block party on Pleasant Street with Los Po-Boy-Citos playing from 7-10 p.m. To read a full list click here  Vanna White wears a dress by New Orleans designer Harold Clarke For 28 years, Vanna White has brought more than letter-lighting skills to “Wheel of Fortune.” The game show mistress brings a touch of classic TV glam to her hosting duties: big smile, coiffed hair, evening dress. Her style, swishing around the puzzle board in floor-length silk, is in no small part a factor of the show’s long-running appeal. White calls it the “bow on the package.” “They don’t need me to turn letters. A computer can turn letters,” she said last weekend, dressed casually in a fitted button-down and slim-cut pants. She was backstage at the Morial Convention Center, where “America’s Game Show,” which averages 26 million viewers each week, was taping 15 New Orleans episodes in three jam-packed, vowel-buying days. “Wheel’s” set and White’s wardrobe both got a New Orleans makeover for the local episodes, which will begin airing May 2 at 6:30 p.m. on WVUE-TV. Fashion designer Harold Clarke, known for his Carnival gowns and bridal couture, dressed the size-4 hostess for two week’s worth of appearances. She’ll don dresses from Pearl’s Place, a Metairie boutique, for the final week. Clarke’s designs for the show have his signature verve — bold colors (electric blue, Mardi Gras purple, sunny yellow), classic silhouettes (mermaid and full skirts, fitted waists) and a smattering of deft fabric manipulation (pleating, pin-tucking and ruffling) for figure-flattery and visual interest. In all, they should pop off the small screen. “For New Orleans, we wanted to do something a little splashier, and we all agreed that Harold Clarke is one of the most impressive designers working here,” said show stylist Roberta Ann Wagner. A native of Jamaica who moved to New Orleans in 1994, Clarke gets quite a bit of work these days from the Louisiana movie industry. His designs were used for scenes in “I Love You Phillip Morris,” and the Lifetime Network’s made-for-TV “Tribute,” based on the Nora Roberts book. In designing for White, Clarke had artistic license. The only caveats: The host can’t wear off-the-shoulder because she has to lift her arms, and she has to be able to walk freely. Since “Wheel of Fortune” tapes 295 episodes a year, White clocks a fair amount of time in evening gowns and cocktail frocks. The rolling rack in her dressing room goes through a variety of mid-range labels, from Donna Ricco to Sherri Hill to Sue Wong. How does Clarke’s work compare? “His dresses fit like a glove,” she said. “His designs are distinctive, and they make a woman feel good in them. They make me feel good in them.” So good that this is the second time Clarke has gotten the nod to dress White for a “Wheel” spin around the Crescent City. The first time came in 2005, when the game rolled its “Wheelmobile” Winnebago into town. Wagner had called around to fashion magazine editors, asking for recommendations on local designers. Clarke’s name kept coming up, she said. Kathi Nishimoto, the show’s costume designer, also had spotted the silk- and satin-clad mannequins in Clarke’s studio while walking in the French Quarter. (Pre-Katrina, his atelier was behind the Ritz-Carlton.) “When we do a remote (taping) we try to find a local designer or boutique in that city to get the dresses,” Nishimoto said. “It adds a lot of excitement to the shows.” Co-host Pat Sajak, White and their Los Angeles crew arrived at the Morial Convention Center in late August 2005, as Hurricane Katrina swirled in the Gulf of Mexico. When the storm drew a bead on the city, the crew rushed to evacuate, and Wagner whisked Clarke’s gowns into the Ritz Carlton, where they were locked in a vault. In the aftermath of the hurricane, Clarke’s shop was looted and everything inside — sketches, fabrics, dresses — was destroyed. “We evacuated to Atlanta, and I was watching TV and saw a guy running down Canal Street carrying a white bag with my name on it. I thought, ‘No, that can’t be my bag,’” Clarke said. “What would they be doing with my bag?” The rest is a familiar tale. “I had this big insurance policy, and they didn’t want to give us any money,” Clarke said. “And no one needed dresses after the hurricane. I had no business and nothing to work with.” Then he remembered the dresses in the Ritz Carlton vault. “It was like God calling me, when I heard they had those dresses,” he said. Setting up business again, he bought new mannequins and shimmied them into White's wardrobe. "Wheel of Fortune” borrows gowns in exchange for a mention of the designer's name in the popular show’s closing credits, a nod that can be more valuable than payment. For the week of March 28-April 1, “Wheel” averaged nearly 60,000 local viewers per episode. It’s the most-watched show on WVUE’s lineup save for episodes of “American Idol.” “It’s everything in this business,” Clarke said of the publicity. “It’s all about getting the recognition, getting your name out there.” Designers also get recognition on VannaStyle.com, a page that chronicles each week’s getups and allows fans to vote on their favorites. “I get letters from people all the time about my dresses,” White said. “People absolutely tune in just to see what I wear.” | AuthorJohn Robert Powers - New Orleans' premier Performing Arts Academy ~ Acting. Modeling. Singing. Dancing...Life!  ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll 
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