3 weeks in NYC has been just what the Dr. ordered. The fact that I can still love a city when it’s 30 degrees outside speaks volumes, seeing as how I loaaaathe the cold. I took a bunch of pics that have nothing to do with fashion week, and since have no Instagram (team Android ftw!) or Tumblr, I figured I’d just share them here.

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Brandon Sun is a designer with a luxury fur accessories label. He is most recently know for breathing new life into the Blackglama campaign featuring Janet Jackson. From the look of it some of the furs were real and some were faux, but I love the shapes that he is able to create with his designs. If any of you have ever been in the market for a fur, then you know how hard it is to find one that doesn’t make you look like a box. I also like the inclusion of scarves, vests, shrugs, and even sweaters with fur-capped sleeves.

 Also, take a look at who I met on my way out of the presentation. Zombie Boy (aka Rick Genest)! haha. He’s the guy from Gaga’s video. He was hella cool and down to take a pic with me. I got to him before anyone really noticed him… which, how is that even possible? lol.

All photos taken by me.

brandonsuncollection.com

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All week I’ve been waiting to attend a show with an aesthetic that was in line with my own, and after previously attending the Katie Gallagher Spring/Summer 2011 presentation, I knew that her show this season would give me everything that I wanted. For those of you who’ve been following my blog for a while, you may remember that the last time I attended Katie’s presentation, I met one of my fashion icon’s, Kate Lanphear. Well as I made my way to The Standard Hotel for the show, who do I see standing outside having a cigarette… The only and only Kate… again! 

I asked her if she was styling the show like she did last time, and she said no, she’s just here to support this time. We made our way up the elevator to location and I literally felt like I was in a crossover episode of Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty. Surreal and so real.

The presentation was amazing as expected. The program described the show “Silent Soil” as such:

 The forest is a space that a city can not posses. Katie Gallagher’s Fall/Winter 2012 collection, “Silent Soil” is about bringing the atmosphere of the places that the spirit knows to the places that the body lives.

The colors were very military inspired, which so far I’ve seen a lot of this season. To me, if this collection was about where the spirit lives, my first thought was that the spirit lived underwater. There were fishtails and tiered silhouettes that sat nicely, but flowed down the runway. It was a show for the fashion girl who is in charge.

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The 1st show that I was scheduled to attend for Fashion Week occurred of course on the coldest day since I’ve been here. I bundled up and headed over to the Meatpacking District for what turned out to be a nice presentation from the line Lila Horn. The designers, Lillian Barry and Helen Millson were inspired by the textiles they found during a trip that they took to India. “The shapes and patterns that contour Indian temples as well as the hues of orchid purple, raspberry, and neon blue that many of the women adorn while worshipping” were directly translated into the ladies Fall 2012 collection.

This line isn’t something that I would really consider VC-DD, but when I post collections like this a lot of my readers really seem to connect to it. My personal aesthetic can be much further to the left at times, and therefore the presentations that give me heart palpitations are usually the one’s of the more avante-garde designers. But I’ve made it a point to attend presentations that aren’t as weird as the one’s that I usually like. As Jeffrey said in the first episode of The Fashion Fund, sometimes you have to appreciate the things that ring in the register. And Lila Horn is one of those lines.

Check out some of the garments closer up below.

All photos taken by myself.

Visit www.lilahorn.com

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I’ve been counting down to it for weeks and it’s’ finally that time of the year again! NY Fashion Week has arrived and I’m so happy that I get to see the Fall/Winter presentations this season. The last time I was here it was to see the Spring/Summer shows, which in my opinion are never as fun. Give me layers, give me draping, give me dreckitude any day! Today was the first day that I went to a presentation and of course it’s cold and snowing. So worth it though.

My outfit for the day is nothing to crazy. I only had one show to go to today, so I figured I’d save my showstoppers for the days when my schedule is packed. So far I’ve been invited to 18 shows for the week… and counting. Some very exciting one’s that you’ll see in the days to come!

Fashion Week always sounds like tons of fun, which it is, but it’s also work. On the days when you have a bunch of shows to attend they start as early as 8am and end as late as 10pm. Everything is open bar, wine/champagne is literally shoved in your face every second, so you have to remember what you’re there to do. Squeezing in a bite to eat, and trying to find a charger to make sure your cell doesn’t die are constantly headaches. Then don’t forget the after parties and having to be up early the next morning. Under-eye cream and moisturizer are literally my best friends this week.

But the production of it all, the networking, and exposure that you get for whatever you are doing is priceless. I’m literally typing this blog in some random coffee shop in Chelsea right now because it’s the only time I have between seeing the presentation I just saw and meeting with a few friends. See what I mean? Productivity is key!

I hope you all stay tuned to what I’m doing all week. It will surely be entertaining. I’m also tweeting from my personal twitter, @Tomik_Dash. Follow me there for up-top-the-minute updates.

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This morning I woke up with the intention to watch this British show that is horrible and amazing at the same time called The Misfits. It’s kind of a mix betweeen The Breakfast Club and X-Men with some bad acting, but an awesome story line. I started watching the series 2 days ago and have been HOOKED. But something else caught my on good ol’ Hulu this morning and it’s a show called the The Fashion Fund.

The Fashion Fund is a reality show that follows the journey of designers who are competing for the Vogue CFDA Award. The award goes to not-so-new (but not veteran) designers in different categories (menswear, womenswear, accessories, jewelry, etc) and the winner gets $300,000 toward their line and a mentorship with Diane von Furstenberg. It’s headed by Anna Wintour and it is MAJOR! Seeing as how I’ll be in NYC tomorrow gearing up to see the shows at Fashion Week, this video couldn’t have popped up at a better time. The show is exclusive to Hulu and 2 episodes have aired already. 

I’ve followed the CFDA nominees each year, but actually seeing the story behind the designers, the work they put into making their submission, and their nerve-wrecking presentation before some of fashion most elite names, brings a whole new dimension to the way you view their collections.

A few of the CFDA judges. No big deal right?

I must say that I am IN LOVE with Antonio Azzuolo. Something about him reminds me of Ryan Gosling. And oh ya, his collection is killer. lol. Fenton/Fallon’s jewelry is TO DIE FOR. When I lived in NYC my ex used to work for Suno, and I literally used to sit with him in their studio and help him bag up samples to be sent out to press. It’s great to see how far they’ve come. But I’ll let you get a look at each of them yourself. This show is so much better than all of the fashion stuff on tv right now. Enjoy.

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It’s not very often that a party comes along during the winter months that is worth getting excited over. Michael Habachy, an acclaimed interior and furniture designer in Atlanta, celebrated his 40th bday at Aurum Lounge on Thursday night. Me and one of my best friends from high school, Dominique, got dressed up and decided to go and let our hair down for the night.

The theme of the party was 1940′s. I googled what guys dressed like in the 40′s and was like, ewwww, i can’t do that. Then I tried searching for “1940′s counter-culture” hoping something cool would pop up, and still… nothing. So I just said fuck it and went as myself. I donned a vintage red blazer with a shiny black shirt underneath, and my Andrew Buckler drop-crotch jeans to set the look off.

Me & Dominique

A lot of people dressed to the theme which was awesome. The dj was really good, but for some reason people don’t like to dance at Aurum unless the lights are all the way off and it’s about to be time to go. <shrug> Dominique and I didn’t really care. All it took was a Pitbull song to these engines started.

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Background painting by Victoria Moore sold at My! My! My!

The bracelet I’m wearing is an original creation by local jewelry designer Princess Brandy. Her work has been featured by Anthony Williams on Project Runway, as well as in several episodes of “Single Ladies” on VH1. This piece I’m wearing is minuscule compared to the luxurious crystal accessories that Brandy also creates. You’ll see more about her on VC-DD in the future. All of her designs can also be found exclusively at My! My! My!

 I normally don’t do outfit posts, but this is kind of fun. Let me know if it’s something that you’d like to see more of.

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This picture was made possible by Dr. Martin Luther King. Watch the throne.

lol. In all seriousness though, the education I’ve received, the accomplishments I’ve made, the accomplishments that I have yet to achieve, and even our president are all a direct reflection of one man’s commitment to change and unity. His stance on each individual’s work ethic is something I struggle to live up to each time I start a new project.

“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”

Working to full potential is something that comes in waves for me, and when that wave is at it’s crest, I ride it hard. But when it comes crashing down, there are times when I feel like I just want to swim to shore and sink into the sand like a beached whale. It’s so hard to find the motivation to catch the next wave. But thus is life right? These are the things that I’m learning everyday as I try to become more of a man.

It was fun while it lasted, and starting off the new year with a clean slate was exactly what I wanted to do. But why lie? My hair was EXTRA-regular. I woke up every morning, looked into the mirror, and felt like the reflection staring back at me was a STRANGER. So 2 nights ago, I got the sudden urge to do something about it. And that’s exactly what I did. I jumped off the couch, ravaged my hair color stash, and ran to the mirror to give “my look” a little extra uuumph.

Of course the blonde wasn’t enough. So I went to the barbershop the next morning and treated myself to a Givenchy Fall/Winter 2009 inspired haircut, which Ricardo Tisci, head designer at Givenchy credited to the legendary pornstar François Sagat.

Now, as Oprah would probably say, I feel like I am living my authentic self. And it feels SO much better! Also, the best thing about having this buzzed hair is that I can change it every 2 weeks or so. We’ll see what’s next.

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