‘Black Girls Rock’ Awards on BET
Nov 5th
- On Saturday, October 16, 2010, BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ celebrated the brilliance, beauty, grace and influence of black women.
Hosted by Nia Long, BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ honored the most exceptional women of color in the country from Missy Elliot to Raven Symone and featured performances and appearances by Malinda Williams, Shontelle, Lynn Whitfield, Keri Hilson, Ciara, VV Brown, Monica, Keyshia Cole, Estelle, Kym Whitley, and more.
The network premiere will be televised exclusively on BET, Sunday, November 7th at 8 – 10 p.m.*
Founder, CEO and Executive Producer of BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ Beverly Bond stated, “This historic partnership with BET marks the beginning of an empowerment movement for women of color across the globe because Black Girls Rock all over the world.” Bond continued, “Our girls are not being told how amazing they really are or how amazing they really can be. It is time that we start telling them. It is time that we start shouting out to the entire world that ‘We’ Black Girls Rock!”
Introduced by the beautiful Malinda Williams, the first award of the night was presented to the precocious Raven-Symoné, now the brains behind her own empire. When accepting her Young, Black & Gifted Award, Symone said, “It’s up More >
New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys to Perform Together at the 38th Annual ‘American Music Awards®’ November 21 on ABC
Oct 22nd
dick clark productions (dcp) president, Orly Adelson, announced that the New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys will perform together at the 2010 “American Music Awards®.” The performance marks the first time both groups will perform on the same stage together for a national televised audience prior to their summer 2011 tour announced this week. They join previously announced acts including Rihanna, Diddy-Dirty Money, Ne-Yo, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi, P!nk and Usher.
Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. The show will broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21st (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on ABC. Tickets are now on sale (please visit www.razorgator.com/ama or call 1-800-542-4466).
“New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys on one stage is something special. Moments like these are what the AMAs are all about,” stated AMA producer, Larry Klein.
dick clark productions will also air a live red carpet digital pre-show, “Coca-Cola Red Carpet Live! @ the 2010 AMAs,” on November 21st at 2:00 PM (PT) / 5:00 PM (ET). The pre-show, featuring hosts Danny Gokey, Jennette McCurdy, Lance Bass, Whitney Port and the returning Coca-Cola Correspondent David Lehre, will be available on ABC.com, More >
The Rodarte Designers Discuss Learning the Couture Art of Tutu-Making to Create Black Swan’s Ballet Costumes
Oct 18th
New York Magazine’s Jada Yuan reports: Last night, amid congratulations from Alec Baldwin and Angela Lansbury at Cipriani 42nd Street, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte became the first fashion designers to be honored with a National Art Award from Americans for the Arts. Kate, who always gives their speeches, said she was reeling, given they only started making clothes after having graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in art history and English, respectively, and moving home to live with their parents. “Laura and I moved, didn’t work, and watched horror films for a year and our parents didn’t say anything to us. I wonder if they had any thoughts of, ‘God, the kids I have are just going nowhere,’” said Kate. Now they’re not only winning awards and putting on some of the most highly anticipated shows at New York Fashion Week, but they also just designed costumes for loyal Rodarte customer Natalie Portman’s new ballet movie, Black Swan.
Portman had introduced the Rodarte sisters to Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky, and from there, Laura said, it was “a meeting of the minds.” Rodarte did all of the costumes for the performance of Swan Lake in the movie, as well as “different things throughout,” More >
Bruno Frisoni Is Done With Couture, But Not With Expensive Shoes With Wooden Flowers on Them
Oct 14th
New York Magazine’s Charlotte Cowles reports : Roger Vivier artistic director Bruno Frisoni has decided to nix the label’s couture collection. “When I showed couture in January, I was thinking it was something that wasn’t me anymore,” he said at an event at the Roger Vivier boutique last night, looking a bit sad. “I thought the time had passed.” Because who wears couture these days, anyway? A couturier for 30 years, the French designer could think of only “one or two” women who might wear the label’s couture designs. “But in what occasion, really? For the big couture houses, the purpose isn’t really about dressing people anymore.”
But there’s no need to mourn the death of another couture label: Instead, Frisoni has decided to launch a less expensive limited edition line, titled Rendez-Vous, which features sixteen handmade bags and shoes that will tour his boutiques nationwide (it’s currently on view at Saks). By “limited,” we’re talking batches of ten copies for each piece, including all the different shoe sizes (which has been very complicated, one of the label’s employees told us in a hushed tone). The designs include a shoe embroidered with wood flowers, a wooden clutch with a jeweled ladybug clasp, and More >
Christine Ettelson’s Knit Jewelry Gives Traditional Weaving Methods a Modern Update
Oct 12th
New York Magazine’s Lauren Murrow reports on Christene Eddleson’s Knit Jewelry : Though she designed and sold her own jewelry to a few boutiques in her native Chicago during high school, Christine Ettelson thought she had ended her short-lived fashion stint when she left to study comparative literature at Brown. After graduating and moving to New York in 2008, she happened to work in the same building as designer Julie Haus, who noticed her striking, handmade accessories. Haus asked her to collaborate on her resort 2010 collection, which Ettelson styled with her knit wool and leather jewelry and belts. Her eponymous new line is now stocked at Julie Haus’s Soho store, and she’s planning a pop-up shop at Inven.tory early next month.
Each hand-knit piece takes up to five hours to complete, incorporating far-flung methods like Kumihimo, a Japanese braiding technique; Lucet braiding, a form of Renaissance cording; and locker hooking, a type of weaving. After originally learning to knit as a child, Ettelson is intent on pushing the form, experimenting with materials like leather cord, thick threads, felt, and metallic trim. She mixes various yarns and threads to create swirled, customized hues — the fall collection’s reds and whites were inspired More >
Improve Your Acting – 10 Reasonably Good Tips!
Oct 7th
Expert author William G. Craig’s gives his tips on how to improve your acting skills: You could probably fill a library with all the books on how to improve your acting! So to save you a little time I have put together a list of 10 tips, that I hope, will help you the most.
- Know your script. Read, re-read and then read again, and not just your own lines. From this foundation you can go on to identify the reason for your lines, this will help you react with the right lines and make remembering easier.
- Listen actively, you should give the impression that what your character is hearing is purely of that moment. Resist the temptation to be quick with your lines, just to prove you know them, it is a conversation after all.
- Be brave, the quickest way to improve your acting is to realize that your first choice will usually be the easiest for you to do – not the best one for the part. Look beyond your initial choice.
- Learn to breath, practice 20 minutes a day. Inhale as deeply as possible and exhale for twice the amount of time you spent inhaling (i.e. inhale 15 seconds exhale 30 More >
BET Hip-Hop Awards 2010: Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z win big
Oct 4th
According to MTV News & Music Mix, Nicki Minaj doesn’t even have an album out yet, but she was one of the biggest winners at the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards, which were taped on Saturday for an upcoming broadcast. The Young Money rapper took home Rookie of the Year, People’s Champ, and Made You Look (style) awards, MTV News reports.
Jay-Z tied Minaj’s award total, taking home trophies in the categories of Perfect Combo (Alicia Keys duet “Empire State of Mind”), CD of the Year, and Best Live Performer. Other awards went to Rick Ross (Club Banger of the Year and Track of the Year, both for “B.M.F.”), Salt-N-Pepa (I Am Hip-Hop), Diddy (Hustler), Swizz Beatz (Producer of the Year), and DJ Khaled (Best DJ).
This year’s Hip-Hop Awards will air Oct. 12 at 8 P.M. on BET. Will you be tuning in? Which award categories are you most looking forward to seeing televised?
Willow Smith Snatched Up by Roc Nation
Oct 1st
According to Jennifer Hong of Newsoxy: Willow Smith Snatched Up by Roc Nation. Smith, the daughter of Will Smith, has been signed by Jay-Z under his Roc Nation label. Roc Nation is owned by rapper Jay-Z.
“We at Roc Nation are excited to work with Willow,” Jay-Z stated. “She has an energy and enthusiasm about her music that is truly infectious. It’s rare to find an artist with such innate talent and creativity at such a young age. Willow is about to embark on an incredible journey and we look forward to joining her as she grows in all aspects of her career.”
The 9-year-old has already created a buzz after “Whip My Hair” was leaked on Sept. 7th. Willow has already begun her career in acting. She has had roles in “I Am Legend” and “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl”. In addition, she did voice-over work for “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”.
“After meeting with several record companies, it was clear that Jay-Z, Ty Ty, Jay Brown and the Roc Nation staff was the unquestionable choice,” Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith stated. “Their passion for Willow combined with their boundless vision and artistic integrity made Roc Nation the perfect home for our little More >
Victoria’s Secret says Goodbye to an Angel
Sep 29th
CBS’s Joyce Lee reports, “After posing as an angel for the past 13 years, supermodel Heidi Klum is leaving her post as Victoria’s Secret.spokesperson.
“All good things have to come to an end. I will always love VictoriaWorld’s Top-Paid Models and never tell her secret,” the German-born mother-of-four said in a statement, obtained by the Associated Press, Friday.
Klum, 37, is among the most famous supermodels in the world, strutting her stuff in international catwalks and appearing in print and TV ads for fashion labels and brands like McDonalds and Volkswagen.
She landed in the number 2 spot of Forbes’ list of the world’s top-paid models, reportedly earning $6 million last year.
Although no specific reason was given for her departure, Klum said she will focus on her other ventures, including her hosting gig on “Project Runway,” which is in its 8th season, and her new clothing line with New Balance, to be sold exclusively on Amazon.”
PICTURES: 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show PICTURES: World’s Top-Paid Models
Katie Holmes discusses her upcoming fashion line
Sep 28th
The New Yorker’s Amy Larocca sits and talks to super actress and super mom Katie Holmes about her upcoming fashion line: Check it out!
You put your collection together with your stylist, Jeanne Yang. How did you get into designing? I started making clothes for Suri when she was born, designing dresses, and then having seamstresses sew them, because I don’t sew very well. As a child, I was always drawing clothes, and I’ve always loved fabrics, and when Suri was born, I wanted to have certain things be from me and created just by me for her. And so that kind of got me into it, and then one day, Jeanne and I were getting ready for something and we thought, men have such beautiful tailored shirts, they have such a uniform, and we thought it would be nice to make things that are simple that you can have forever.
Were you always into fashion? I always loved clothes growing up. My mother had a drapery business. And now, part of being in this business is that you’re around really nice clothes. You do these photo shoots, you get exposed to Hermès and Chloé and Armani, and you start to feel the More >
