High Risk Launches on Rodeo Drive with Star Studded Fashion Show

This thursday an exciting new brand launched in LA's most high fashion district, Beverly Hills. High Risk, an exciting new fashion brand founded by serial entrepreneur Tommy Duncan and loved by celebrities from music, film, sports, and beyond, showcased their debut collection titled "hunting season" in the heart of Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive across from the famous Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The show premiered during New York Fashion Week, but according to Duncan, holding the show in LA was an intentional decision to highlight the fashion industry and craftsmanship in LA as well as the brand's LA roots. The show drew celebrities and influencers from across industries and had no trouble attracting major fashion players right in the brand's hometown of LA so the statement to keep the show in LA was a major success.The atmosphere at the show included champagne from Armand de Brignac, music, and bites for guests to enjoy before and after the show as well as amazing photo ops on Rodeo Drive. The show brought real energy back to the LA fashion scene reminding of a throwback cross between Beverly Hills Cop and Pretty Woman.  I spoke to founder and designer Tommy Duncan before the show for an exclusive interview about his inspiration for the collection, the brand, and more. For Duncan, the brand is all about details, that are either there for others to notice, or simply there for the wearer to know about as a kind of couture secret. 

Question: All right, so we're here at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for this fashion show, which is kind of an interesting timing because we have New York fashion week is coming up right now, but there's not a lot going on in LA. So I kind of love how you're bringing this very like high fashion energy to LA. Tell me about that. 

Tommy Duncan: It's intentional, and I think L.A. should have it. I think one of the things that's overlooked in L.A. is the... the industry of fashion here, particularly downtown. It's overshadowed by the TV and all that stuff. But when you go downtown, uh, the best craftsmen in fashion are actually downtown L.A. The best. I talk about compared to Milan, and all over the world. The best are actually downtown L.A. And I don't think it gets the credit that it deserves. But the, uh, not only is the talent there, but the fabrics are there, the intention to detail is there. And so, you know, as a LA brand, where everything we're doing is in LA, it made sense to me to do a show here in LA. About fashion, because there is not just an industry, but there's a world of fashion that is here in L.A. Yes. And we need to bring it up to the forefront. I don't understand why it's not there. And so that's what I decided we're gonna do. 

Question: Now, tell me about this collection. Tell me about the inspiration behind this collection.

Tommy Duncan: So, the inspiration of the collection is one of the entrepreneur's journey. And what we create is the entrepreneur's uniform. Entrepreneur or the creator? The person who is going out to achieve whatever they're trying to achieve. Everyone has their own approach, their own talents they put to bear, their own skill sets, their superpowers. Essentially, they all hunt different. And so, this show is about hunting season. All of us hunters, the apexes. Do we hunt? And the collection is of high fashion, high design. intentional. Like the shirts, the shirt I have one now. You'll see it. It's, um, reminiscent of, like, uh, a warrior's armor. So it's cropped right here. It's very aggressive. Yeah. Um, it's, like, aggressive. Everything we have is silently aggressive. You can be wearing black. It's high risk. You will know there's something about it. So, like, we'll have wide sweatpants. We go, like, two inches wider than two wide. It's tension. Okay, okay. But then, we put weight at the bottom with a vintage gold zipper. That weight makes it so that it's, like, ocean rippling when you walk. So it's intentionally behind it. All of our pieces have distressing. Because to achieve, you go through stress. If you go through stress, your clothes are gonna have some distress. It's intentional. We cut the neck line low, so that when you are successful, or whatever case it may be, you're creative, you can show off your jewelry. Yeah. I like red, red for the bread. You see it on me all the time. I love rubies. This is my harbest watch I made. We do that, as a matter of fact, on our, when our hoodies on the sleeve, we actually cut it on purpose, to stress it, so you can see a watch poking through if you want to show it.  Even our locals, like, no logo, low logo. Really wouldn't notice it unless you know it. But when you do it, almost reminiscent of, like, a bullet hole? Like, a gunshot, I should say, like, an artistic version of it. But it's all about, you know, when you take shots, you take shots. And that's our whole message behind high risk is, first of all, have the self respect to go for your dreams. Take the risk. Take it. And then when you take it, you get there, show off your rewards. Don't be afraid to show yourself. High Risk is not for, like, a dopamine of confidence. Like, you come out, you put on some brand, you just feel like, oh, I had this brand on, no, folks are already confident. You already know who you are. We're all part of what I call the one tenth of one%. Not 1%. The one tenth of one percent. Okay. They're super special. Those are better on ourselves. And when we're successful, you don't mind being seen. We're already confident. So what we gonna do, 'cause you're already elevated, it's gonna take you up another notch. So from elevation to levitation. Superhero stuff. Not if anybody see you in it, for you to see yourself in it. 

Question: Now, talk to me about this show. There's some big names gonna be attending here tonight and you talked about kind of that there is a fashion culture here in LA, especially with the Hollywood industry. So, is that, you know, part of your brand or has that inspired you? 

Tommy Duncan: People have flown into town for walking in this show. And this is during NBA All Star, basketball. When people come into our show, making it about fashion. I think it speaks to the brand itself, because, you know, like anything, when you're an artist, you're creative. You put some out there, and the people have to respond. If they don't respond, then you gotta keep working on your craft. For some reason, people have responded until we put out there. And the word just gets out. And so we've been kind of like the, you know, brand in LA, and we're starting to get out. organically. And so the show is gonna be chalk full of, uh, successful people. Like, folks that are super successful. have taken risks. Like, you can't imagine. They going through the hell to get to wherever they got, and you don't see the scars, but they are there. You don't see the chip that drives them every day, but it's there. The influencers. You know how many times they do videos, get one video, right? People think it's easy to do a video. I tried it. It's hard. It's a grind to get a good video out. Mm hmm. To try to create virality. Try to create people to pay attention. It's hard. do a 1000 videos a day. The gamers. You think it's easy to beat everybody in the game? It's hard. It's hard playing basketball. Video, video game, basketball, the hardest playing? Real basketball. the highest of high level. So we have, just, I would say, a cadre, but just a plethora, of people, from different industries. But all higher risk takers and high achievements because of it. And they've been drawn to the brand. And what we provide. Hunting season. That's what we're doing. Okay. And so our pieces, runway pieces are gonna be, uh, you're gonna love the pieces. And you're gonna love this show even more. The story we're telling is gonna jump off the catwalk and off the screen.

The show drew celebrities including Raven Symone, Kyle Massey and his wife, Chanel West Coast, Hazel-E, Jessie & D'Lila Combs, Hitboy, G Herbo, Blxst, P Prime, InasX, Chloe Gibert, Coi LeRay, and more. Check out my red carpet coverage and runway coverage of the show to see celebrity interviews, exclusive behind the scenes coverage from the show, and highlights from the collection! 

Day One of LAFW Featuring Red Carpet Designers

"Fashion is back" -Designer Oliver Tolentino

LAFW kicked off this year with an exclusive opening gala on Thursday night. Friday night was the first official day of shows featuring red carpet designers including: Ronaldo Arnaldo, Frisk Me Good, Ria Victoria, and Oliver Tolentino. 

The evening began with celebrity arrivals on the yellow carpet including stars such as model Christie Valdiserri who walked in the opening night shows. 

Apl de Ap of the Black Eyed Peas, as well as some real life frontline healthcare workers who were honored for their life-saving work during the pandemic. Guests returned the the Petersen Automotive museum and enjoyed the reception before the shows held in the "Cars and Fashion" exhibit. There was a tasting booth by Stella Artois featuring a custom engraving station where guests could engrave a personalized Stella Artois beer glass. 

As the sun began to set everyone headed out to the terrace to get ready for the first runway show of the night. Before heading to the catwalk guests could also grab a Seltzer tasting by Fruit Smash. The all natural fruit flavored hard seltzers were the perfect refresher to enjoy before the shows. And their playful "#SorryforSeltzering" photo station was the perfect photo op! 

The show opened with a colorful collection by designer Ronaldo Arnaldo with MC2 productions. The collection featured a salute to frontline workers and addressed the last year of pandemic challenges with a line of loose fitting matching sets designed for healthcare workers. The designer even brought a few real life healthcare workers out onto the runway to close the show! It was a great way to honor their work as well as bring hope for the future. 

Next up was Frisk Me Good by designer Cierra Robinson. This inspiring show featured models of all shapes and sizes wearing the stand out designs in bright colors and unique cutout silhouettes. This collection was also all about sustainability and was designed using repurposed material for the ultimate sustainable fashion statement. 

Following Frisk Me Good was Ria Victoria. This collection featured a grunge beauty look and moody deconstructed designs in a dark color palette with pops of red and lavender. The draped dresses and printed suiting set the tone for the effortlessly cool style of this collection. 

Finally he night closed with red carpet designer Oliver Tolentino who showcased an amazing collection of fun and elegant dresses fit for the red carpet. The gowns were made of voluminous material in classic colors like red, black, white and royal blue. Many of the designs featured ruffles, bows, and distinctly feminine details that added to the fun and flirty designs. I spoke with designer Oliver Tolentino after the show who told me about the inspiration for his collection saying, "Hollywood Glamour. Clothes that you can relate to that when you see the clothes, I can ear that. It's very sophisticated and when you see the details in the clothes you will feel that there's a lot of love in making the clothes." 

The designer was so excited to present at a live show. He told me, "I've been waiting here for a long time. Its so nice to see a lot of people. Fashion is back. I'm so happy its been a long time that designers are not doing fashion shows. And this is the better way, LA fashion week."

After the final show the night wrapped on another evening of talented designs and trend setting moments. 

Getting Glam for the first time in a year! My Exclusive Interview with Gretchen Rossi

 She shares her take on fashion, updates on family and more! Watch the full interview in the video below. You can read more about this exclusive fashion event here

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." 

BTS With Ellen Mirojnick Costume Designer Behind the Elegant Bridgerton Series

 

This Tuesday I got to attend the virtual panel presented by FIDM with Bridgerton costume designer Ellen Mirojnick. I got to hear all about the styles that inspired her the most while creating the costumes for the standout first season and now I am sharing them with you along with some juicy tidbits about the making of the show! I was so excited to attend this event because I absolutely loved this series and of course the costumes were one of my favorite parts. I actually read all of the original books and was so excited to see the television version. While the TV show is definitely different than the books there were so many elements from the original stories that I recognized in the costumes and it was so fun to see them come to life! 

Ellen revealed during the panel that she was the first hire made by the show which shows just how important the costumes are to creating the Bridgerton world. I loved that this show and Ellen put so much importance on the costumes and really made them a featured part of the story. Ellen told us that she and her team created custom looks for every single actor on the show including the background actors! So now if you'll excuse me I am going to sign up to be a Bridgerton extra for next season lol! Just kidding but apparently they even got custom jewelry too! Ellen started by showing us her mood boards which she created to inspire her throughout the season. She and her team used the same mood boards to work off of so that everything had the same feeling according to Ellen which I think she definitely accomplished! I loved how she described her ideas for each family in the series. She told us that the Duke was all about jewel tones, while the Bridgerton family pallete was inspired by French macaron boxes! I can definitely see those colors reflected in the series after re-watching some of the episodes it is honestly the perfect description! She described the Featheringtons colors as a fruit basket and said that she had the most fun designing their over the top costumes. She told us that it was an experiment for her and her team to see how much they could add into the costumes and that even when they thought it was too much it ended up working. They layered jewelry and accessories as well. Butterflies are the mark of the Featherington house according to Ellen and they hid butterflies in the costumes "almost everywhere you could think of" she said to us. One of the examples of this I noticed was Penelope's dresses and accessories where she wears butterflies in her hair, on her wait, and even embellished on her dress. Ellen also talked about the fabric they used to create the exquisite designs. They combined different patterns and fabrics to create the myriad of styles and designs in each scene and had a team to hand embellish every costume! One thing I found really interesting is that Ellen said that the break between the historical styles and the styles in the show was the weight of the fabric. Since the characters in the show have a lot of movement Ellen and her team made sure to use lightweight fabrics that would flow elegantly and be easy to move in. Apparently regency fabrics were much heavier so thank goodness we have modern fabrics now! She did mention that of all the characters Queen Charlotte's costumes probably ended up being the heaviest because her outfits and hair had to be the most over the top. She said the piece the actors found most annoying about their costumes were the corsets which every woman in the show wore. I can definitely imagine how wearing an authentic corset would get old but wow what an experience! 

Ellen also talked about the making of the show. As the first hire she was able to integrate her vision for the costumes and the inspiration she used into other aspects of the show. She talked about the great teamwork on the production team and how everyone worked together to create a cohesive vision. The costume team was able to work together with the production design staff to match the colors for each scene and  even make sure that the characters homes reflected their personalities as much as their wardrobe. I noticed that right away about the show and I honestly love this idea it really makes you feel like you are in a whole other world while watching the show. She also revealed that the show was actually shot in many of the most famous historic homes and palaces in England. She said that the sets they created in the studio were mostly the family homes and most other scenes were actually shot on location! She described it as the show that traveled across England and I am over here getting more and more jealous of the Bridgerton cast!

Ellen talked about the research she did before starting her design process and she pointed out that her objective was to create a whole fantasy world for the Bridgetons rather than to be confined to being historically accurate all the time. She said she was actually inspired by multiple decades including the 60s and even used the Chanel Spring Summer 2019 collection for fabric inspiration. She said that the royal and decadent feel of the Chanel collection was great for what she was going for in the Bridgerton series. I am definitely going to be taking another look at that collection now because who doesn't want to feel like a member of the "ton" even in the modern day!

Ellen also talked about how she communicated each character's unique personality and eccentricities using accessories and jewelry. All the jewelry was custom designed and filled with sparkly jewels. She described it as the "exclamation point at the end of the sentence" on her characters. She talked about how Daphne's character was inspired by Audrey Hepburn's style so her accessories were very understated and delicate while the featheringtons were more baroque. And of course the queen had the most of everything. Another thing that Ellen explained was why the Queen's style and waistlines were so different from the other characters in the show. This was another really interesting point to me because I noticed it right away while watching and was wondering why the Queen was not "in style" like the rest of the ton. However Ellen explained that this was actually a historically accurate depiction since the Queen during the Regency era never changed her waistline after getting married and becoming queen so when the waistlines rose she kept her dresses the same. I honestly love this and find it so inspiring that even back then this Queen was all about waring what she looked best in and embracing personal style so I love that they kept it in the show as well! 

All in all this panel was super fun and informative. I loved getting to see behind the scenes of one of my favorite shows and I came away with some style inspo of my own for recreating some Bridgerton style. 

Check Out My Article on Wiz Khalifa's New Clothing Line for Hollywood Glam Magazine

Check out my article at the link below!

So #cool seeing @wizkhalifa #debut his #new #clothing line @jfclothingco in #venicebeach #today #fashion #wizkhalifa #bashbyjunkfood #fashionblogger #fblogger #losangeles #abbotkinney #blackandyellow #rapper #music #california #cerisesdumatin #fashiondesign

A post shared by SierraClair (@cerisesdumatin) on Oct 15, 2016 at 5:46pm PDT

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