My Exclusive Backstage Interview with Miss Dubai 2019 Megan Pormer

This Thursday at the exclusive Jonathan Marc Stein fashion show I got backstage access to the glamorous event where I spoke with several of the celebrity guests and models. Megan Pormer arrived to model the bold and beautiful designs from Stein's Autumn/Winter 21 collection. We spoke about her thoughts on the collection, what she learned from the pandemic and more. 

Megan arrived to the event and went straight to hair and makeup. The model, influencer, and comedian took to the routine like she had never left and jumped right into to prepping for the runway while doing interviews. She told me, "In order for me to feel motivated about anything materialistic I have to feel that there is a purpose of me putting my energy into it and when I think about the fact that I am wearing a dress to communicate the importance of mental health to the world. Because it makes me feel like I am not just a mannequin. This is the first runway show that I'm doing since the pandemic and I needed that meaning. I feel like the pandemic made us all realize that we need more we need something deeper and we need to be of service to other people." She continued saying, "We show our emotions through art...and art comes in different forms painting fashion etc. and I feel like portraying an issue like demonstrating a mental health issue through fashion is a very nice way of communicating with the world and making them understand the importance of mental health." 

As she got ready to hit the runway I asked her what she was looking forward to most about the event. She said, "The most exciting thing for me about this show is not only the fact that Jonathan's designs are fabulous and portrays the real women and embodies femininity and power but, its also the fact that its for mental health to raise awareness about mental health issues through the organization of NAMI. I think that one thing we learned going through the pandemic was the fact that mental health is the most important thing because we all need our mind healthy before we can focus on anything else." 

I asked Megan what she loved about this collection and she told me, "What I have always loved about Jonathan's collections is the fact that his designs can be worn for different occasions it can go from a classy lady at a cocktail event to a wedding gown to a very chic boss girl. He designed this black piece that is short in the front and long in the back and I love how it incorporates how a woman can wear so many hats." 

Finally we talked about what was ahead and what new trends we might see in the fashion world after the pandemic. Megan told me,"I think that art and mental health are going to intertwine in such a beautiful way that not only we no longer need to be ashamed of declaring if we have mental health issues we are going to talk about it openly and be almost proud of the fact that we are all willing to acknowledge it and work on it. What better way than to demonstrate it and communicate than through art and fashion." 

Check out my interview with Lindsay Ell on Hercampus.com!

Image credit: John Shearer

I interviewed the country music star about her career, latest music, styles, and female empowerment. Follow my blog for more updates because I'll be interviewing her backstage at Stagecoach next weekend! 

https://www.hercampus.com/entertainment/whats-new-stagecoach-year-everything-you-need-know-if-youre-country-music-fan

ESPYS Celebrity Sports Style in Hollywood

The ESPY awards at the Microsoft theater in Hollywood on July 13, 2016 are perfect for trend spotting with amazing athletes, teams, and celebrities. And what better place to get up close and personal than the pre-ESPYs celebrity gifting suite produced by GBK.  I attended the GBK event sponsored by Coopers Tires at the LINE hotel in Hollywood on June 12, 2016 to honor ESPY nominees, athletes and celebrities.  It was fun to talk with all the celebrities and athletes about style and trends.

Several Denver Broncos players attended including Darrion Weems, #77 tackle.   

Brandon McManus, #8 Kicker, was wearing his superbowl ring and gained lots of attention.  When asked about the bling, and he said, "It's kind of blinding. But we worked hard and put in a lot of hours so I'm proud of it." About the event, he said, "The event was unique and I saw lots of cool stuff."

I agree, there were several interesting products.  The Segway miniPro, a personal transportation device, was the crowd favorite.  Almost every celebrity gave it try and no one fell on their face, although there were few close calls. Jonathan Capppetta, media rep, said, "You just have to trust it. If you don't than you tend to overcorrect."  The reps also said, "It took me about twenty minutes to feel awesome on it."  They described that this device could be used anywhere, from running to the grocery store to going to the beach. One of the best places to try it out is cruising on the sand. Cappetta said, "You don't hover, but you feel like you float."  They emphasized that this was not a hoverboard and it did not have the same tendency to explode as the infamous products from last year. Everyone, from Ed Hudson of Ghostbusters to Eve Torres-Gracie (in her heels), gave it a whirl. 

I also met, Jamie Lewis, the founder of JLEW bags, a high end sports back pack line based in NYC.  She founded the company when she realized there was a need for luxury sports bags in the market. Her favorite sport is boxing and she showed me her boxing tote complete with pockets for your gloves.  The brand ambassador, Mckaela Mayer is a female boxer from Team USA. This designer is passionate about providing high quality products to athletes of all levels so I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her in the future.

A post shared by SierraClair (@cerisesdumatin) on Jul 12, 2016 at 4:37pm PDT

Speaking of fashionable women athletes, Eve Torres-Gracie, WWE pro-wrestler, made an appearance at the event.  I got an exclusive interview with the WWE Diva champion about her style. It is great to see a female athlete representing strength and beauty showing off her style. She was wearing a white crochet wrap romper which she found while in Japan and a pop of color with her bright pumps.  For Gracie one of her favorite parts about her career is that she gets to see the world. She said, "I love that my career allows me to travel and see new styles all around the world."

Next I interviewed the co-founder of Dumbo lounges,John, about his innovative product.  The young business owner created a product that is great for the young athletes who all had fun trying it out; this product is perfect for millennials because it can be easily packed and used anywhere from music festivals to dorm rooms. Even the tallest athletes such as Weems the Broncos player fit on the lounger and enjoyed trying it out. 

Courtney Conlogue the pro-surfer who attended the event tried out the loungers which are perfect for relaxing on the beach. I interviewed Conlogue as well who said she enjoyed the event and was looking forward to the ESPY awards. She was wearing a stylish Billabong dress and Jack Purcell sneakers perfect for the sunny Los Angeles day. 

Other interesting vendors included BestofLegacy a company that creates professional scrapabooks for athletes and celebrities so they can save their press coverage and give them to family and friends. Many of the football players and other athletes stopped by this interesting booth. 
All in all it was a great event with many new and exciting products. I enjoyed the chance to interview celebrities and athletes about their style while checking out these interesting companies and getting excited for the ESPY awards!