The Fjords long silk dress features an intricate topographical map printed in vibrant tones of orange, yellow and bright blue highlights. Collared and cuffed with a buttoned cross-over front, it is perfectly tailored in fluid bi-stretch, double-faced silk that prevents wrinkling, even after hours of wear.
I’m such a huge fan of Teyana Taylor that she can do no wrong in my book. I love it!
What do you think? Are you feelin’ her $4,620 dress by La Perla?
While we’re freezing here in NYC, artists are getting their lives in LA, and kicked off Grammy weekend festivities with the Essence Black Women in Music celebration. The black carpet was fabulous defined! Let’s take a look:
Essence EIC Vanessa de Luca kicked off the festivities in a purple jumpsuit and cape combo.
Remy Ma flaunted a sequined Ott Dubai dress and Gucci platforms.
Beyonce protegés Chloe and Halle are flaw free. I love their Uel Camilo ensembles! I’ll take both!
I’m loving everything about Keirsey Clemons look, especially her voluminous coif. Yes to this Tom Ford Dress!
Letoya Luckett oozed vintage glamour in a pink beaded Sherri Hill dress.
I absolutely love Eva Marcille with long hair! The model looked glamours in a faux fur coat from Mistress Rocks.
Producer Mona Scott Young bet on an all black look, accented by Christian Louboutin peep toes.
Fashion Bomb Favorite Tiwa Savage shined in a sequined look from Yousef Akbar’s Resort 2017 collection.
Yara Shahidi looked pretty and playful in a Greta Constantin dress and Soon Space earrings.
Janelle Monae stuck to her siganture black and white with a harlequin print Off White jumpsuit and an Anya Hindmarch clutch.
Melanie Fiona kept it cool in orange separates and an embellished jacket.
Mario represented for the fellas in an all black ‘fit.
Lil Mama showed some leg in an Antidote LA duster and YSL shoes.
Lastly, Erykah Badu didn’t come to play! She slayed in an Ashi Studio gown. Hot!
See even more looks in the gallery above, and tell us: who do you think had the hottest look of the night?
Images: Getty
Fashion Bombshell of the Day is a feature showcasing the singular style of Fashion Bomb Readers. Send your name, location, a description of your style, and 5-10 clear, unfiltered, head-to-toe pictures of 5-10 different outfits (no collages) to Bombshell@FashionBombDaily.com. Images submitted will be featured on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any of our social media platforms. Comments can be harsh, so bring your A game! Please be advised: once published, pictures will not be removed or taken down.
In today’s edition of our Black History Month series, we’re giving you the scoop on celebrity stylist turned jewelry designer, Crystal Streets.
Crystal became intrigued with fashion as a student at Clark Atlanta University. She says, “I went to school for film & TV production. I knew that I wanted to work in fashion. At the time, there weren’t that many stylists, and there were some costumes designers. It was my professor who introduced me to costume design. I knew that the fashion industry existed; however, styling was a small percentage, there were only a handful of stylists. I knew that I wanted to figure out how to make money doing it.”
She continues , “My professor gave me a book that had the 411 behind the scenes from lighting, to casting, to art directors, set design, camera guys, and costume designers. I literally stalked every costume designer in the book until they called me back [note the persistence]. I got an internship with Derek Khan; he used to style Monica. It was, “The Boy Is Mine” album cover, and that was my first internship. I think it was my junior or senior year in college at the time, and when I walked on set I said, “this is me, this is what I want to do”. It just didn’t feel like work, I loved every bit of it. He slaved me to death and I did all the grunt work, but enjoyed it and loved it.”
She jumpstarted her styling career by acting quickly on her intuitions and fearlessly pursuing her goals. She explains, “I was on a mission; I graduated on a Wednesday and moved to New York on a Friday. I interned at Essence magazine under the fashion director at the time, Darlene Gillard. She’s the one who gave me my first styling gigs. I stayed and interned with them for some time. From Essence, I was able to get my contacts up. I got my showroom list together. I had a bunch of fashion houses, and showroom contacts, and that’s what I benefitted from the most. I started to assist other stylists outside of Essence, Debra Ginyard and Tameka Foster, who was working with a bunch of guys at the time. Then, I assisted Najah McKensie who was doing Will Smith and Gwen Stefani. She took me under her wing. I went to LA for 3 months and assisted her. I assisted for about 2 and a half years before I went out on my own.”
Her tenacity paid off: her first client was a megastar. She says, “My first client was Jay-Z. Crazy story, it was a real learning experience. Sometimes you say you’re ready and you know what you want, but my career happened backwards. Instead of working my way up to a huge client, I got my huge client first. What comes with it, is that I made a lot of mistakes; I don’t even think I knew how to invoice (sound familiar, anyone?) So Jay became this big brother to me, he taught me the business side, he taught me how to invoice, he taught me who I needed on my team. I worked with Jay for over 5 or 6 years. From there, my career took off. I worked with everyone from Usher, to Rihanna, to Ciara, Will Smith, and Jamie Foxx. I did everything; I reached a plateau, and did that for 10 years.”
On what made her transition? She says, “In 2008, I was pregnant with my daughter. At that point, I was on a plane twice a week. Clients were flying me around the world just to be there for a day, and I was kind of burned out, so I had to make a decision. When I went on maternity leave I wanted to do something I always wanted to do, but never had time to. When I started designing jewelry, I was so drawn to accessories, even in styling. Some stylists start a look with shoes; that’s how they’ll build their look, but I sometimes would start with accessories. I love jewelry and diamonds. I said to myself, “I’m going to design a collection while on maternity leave. I’m going to launch it, and if it goes well, I’m gonna go for it, and leave the business. I dove into the industry and launched fashion week 2011, under the tents, and it was amazing. I got so much press and it just took off!
Crystal offers , “There aren’t many black diamond dealers who are women, I feel like I’m .2%. I just want to educate my people. I just feel like for so many years, we’ve been ripped off. We need to be educated about our own natural resources; we don’t even own them. Our diamonds come from Africa, our diamonds specifically, come from South Africa. It’s a shame that those are our own natural resources. It’ like the hair care business where we use 98%, but only own 2% of it. It’s more disturbing in the diamond industry where the percentage is less. I have blonde curly hair and wear red lipstick most of the time; they [the men in diamond district] could not accept that I had my own business. I had to forge relationships to get my foot in the door.”
On her first big break? Streets says, “In jewelry, my biggest break was getting on HSN. That was a surreal moment for me that I manifested; I wrote it down, prayed about it, and worked hard on my goal. [For styling] My first big break was with Jay. I had just started styling him at the time. He was performing at the MTV awards and he wanted to wear this exclusive Michael Jordan jersey that did not exist, and only Michael Jordan had. He said, “I don’t care about anything else, this is all I want to wear.” I’m like, “how am I about the get this jersey?” It’s the MTV awards, I didn’t have a lot of prep time. I feel like I had maybe 4 days to turn it around, maybe less, who knows! That’s one thing about me I am not a quitter. I will go hard in the paint. I will, make a way, find a way, and I got a signed exclusive Michael Jordan jersey for him to wear at the 1999 MTV awards, and that was my big break. “
The most salient lessons she learned came courtesy of Jay Z. She says, “I remember it was a photo shoot. He was the most punctual person I knew. I was punctual, but there were days I wasn’t on my game; juggling so much stuff. There are so many moving parts with styling. I will never forget. My goal was to be there before the client, and be ready for them. I got there after him and he said, “I don’t need you today, you can go home. If you don’t know how to show up on time, I’m not interested in working with you.” That was a lesson! How about I have never ever been late for a job after that!”
Thoughts on this jewelry designer? Any others you’d like to see featured?
NYFW has officially begun! The 19th Annual amfAR New York Gala kicked it off properly.
Let’s get into the night’s stunning looks, shall we?
Iman was the lady in red, slipping on a curve-hugging Zac Posen dress in the fiery hue. Does it get any better than this?
Zoe Kravitz was a vision in a white Atelier Versace gown with a sexy side slit, sheer beaded bust, and a crystal embellished halter neckline. She’s never looked better.
Queen Naomi Campbell followed suit in an orange sequin gown with a thigh-high slit from the iconic Italian fashion house. Perfection personified.
Laura Govan brought the decadence in a strapless embellished Azzi Adosta gown with peplum and tulle accents.
Liya Kebede toughened up her girly Versace LWD with black leather booties. Hot!
Adriana Lima sizzled in a sheer black Zuhair Murad lace gown with a sultry keyhole. This was fab.
Aluna Francis shimmered and sparkled in a silver, off-the-shoulder Vivienne Westwood design.
Liu Wen looked every bit the supermodel in a timeless black and white Rita Vinieri gown with a cutout accent. Pretty, no?
Alessandra Ambrosio was white hot in Versace.
Ellie Goulding was radiant in a Jenny Packham piece.
Madison Beer served up princess chic in an Ashi Studio confection.
Scarlett Johansson was suited up in a black and white Atelier Versace duo.
Diane Kruger channeled Kristen Stewart for the night, in a long-sleeve colorful Versace gown with allover beading and sheer panels. I live for her style!
Victoria Justice called forth spring in a floral-embroidered Marchesa gown. Stunning look.
Heidi Klum’s embroidered dress from the brand’s Pre-Fall 2017 collection was as chic as it gets.
Amber Valletta flaunted her mile-long stems in an asymmetric Atelier Versace mini dress with a dramatic train and artfully pleated bodice. An amazing dress!
Victoria Beckham stepped out in New York City clad in a mustard colored dress from her Pre Fall 2017 collection. Selena Gomez was also spotted in New York City in the same ensemble:
Victoria styled her dress with a pair of white pumps, also by her, and dark sunglasses.
Selena opted for animal print sandals.
I prefer Victoria’s fit of the dress and Selena’s shoes.
What do you think? Who wore this Victoria Beckham Pre Fall 2017 dress best?
The wool cardigan is richly embellished with 19 different appliqués, all representing one of the collection’s recurring motifs: birds, fish, flowers, hearts, butterflies. The phrase “Space Boy” is applied across the back.
Dope cardigan! A bit on the pricey side but probably worth the splurge for some.
So I try out a lot of beauty products (and promise I’m going to start posting more reviews soon!).
Last night, I tried out Duo Body Cleansers, a brand new product from Olay, Old Spice, and Ivory!
The revolutionary product is basically a dual sided shower poof: one side is smooth and the other side has a rough texture, perfect for exfoliation! It has a flexible cleaner and product inside, so you just add water and lather up! The patented multi-cleansing technology delivers a 2x better clean vs. your basic body wash + a puff.
It smelled wonderful (it has 3-4x more fragrance than its competitors) and was easy to use (apparently you can use it up to 30 times!). This is a great product to bring with you when you’re traveling. Just pop it in your bag and go!
See more here:
***This Post was Originally published on February 25th, 2007
No Black History Month Tribute would be complete without including designer Patrick Kelly.
Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Kelly studied art and black history at Jackson State University before attending Parsons School of Design. He designed for a Rive Gauche boutique and Benetton before becoming one of the most well-known designers in Paris, showing his collections alongside Sonia Rykiel and Yves Saint Laurent.
Kelly made history by becoming the first American designer ever to be elected to the Chambre Syndicale, France’s prestigious organization of designers. His celebrity clients included Grace Jones, Bette Davis, and Isabella Rossellini.
Kelly was a bit of a controversial figure, as he used slave imagery on his bags (as shown above), and ended his shows by giving out actual ‘pickaninny’ dolls.
Questioned about this practice, Kelly allegedly said, ‘My grandmother was a maid, honey.’ My memorabilia means a lot to me.”
Kelly died of Aids on January 1, 1990. His work was put on display, as shown above, in Brooklyn’s Museum of Art in September 2004. His clothes were funky, heavily ornamented, and bright.
A flute of champagne to the memory of Patrick Kelly.
She writes, “This new year I expect to bring its own share of changes that will showcase itself in my style.”
“Already I’ve been blessed to allow those new developments to move and shape my fashion sensibility in lieu of weather changes, the economy & the transition of beautiful people close to me.”
“I represent a mix of culture, high end to moderately priced pieces and of course my favorite vintage elements!”
“My hope, if nothing else, is to feel and look my best and to inspire everyone to do the same.”
“The goal is simply to embrace whatever life tosses ones way in their best style possible!”
More here:
Zoe your style is eccentric and unique, it perfectly describes who you are as person.
Fashion Bombshell of the Day is a feature showcasing the singular style of Fashion Bomb Readers. Send your name, location, a description of your style, and 5-10 clear, unfiltered, head-to-toe pictures of 5-10 different outfits (no collages) to Bombshell@FashionBombDaily.com. Images submitted will be featured on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any of our social media platforms. Comments can be harsh, so bring your A game! Please be advised: once published, pictures will not be removed or taken down.
