NYFW Ones to Watch: Bronx and Banco AW22 Show

Australian designer Natalie Banco brought her signature bejeweled designs to NYFW in her breakout show this season. The glamorous event was held at an iconic NYC location at the Bowery Hotel. The star-studded event attracted NYFW's most stylish crowd including fashion TikTok star Caroline Vazzanna, as well as celebs like Taylen Biggs, Patrick Starr, and more. 

The front row was filled with sparkling and colorful outfits that fit the theme of the show "One night in Paris". It was definitely a great place for spotting NYFW statement looks and several guests even wore pieces from the Bronx and Banco line. The event began with cocktails and guests enjoyed sipping on sparkling champagne and mingling before heading into the show. 

The show opened with bright and glittering statement looks that were made for a night out in Paris. 

The collection like many others at NYFW this season showed bright neon shades for winter. My favorite thing about this collection were the accessories by Marzook. The oversized bedazzled purses shaped like lipsticks and hearts as well as other fun shapes echoed the collection's playful and girly vibe. The dress One of my favorite looks was this brightly colored outfit with the oversized bow a daring twist on a  classic Parisian detail. This collection had something for everyone and showcased looks for those who wanted to make a bold statement with the season's trendy cutout style as well as looks for fun loving fashionistas. Some of the pieces definitely reminded me of the Emily in Paris style with a blend of French fashion mixed with street style trends. This refreshing collection dispensed with any attempts to put on false airs of sophistication and embraced the fun and youthful side of fashion. It was a welcome presentation from the seriousness of the past many have felt during the past several years of the pandemic. This collection is made for the girl who wants to embrace spontaneity and maybe even end up spending one night in Paris while still being taken just as seriously all while wearing a bit of sparkle. The upbeat show was a great way to kick off NYFW and I can't wait to see what fun and flirty designs this designer will come up with next. 

Greg Lauren Headlines LAFW Day Three with a Star Studded Runway Show

"I think it was really exciting to do something here on the rooftop of an amazing museum in the middle of LA with this incredible skyline... In the heart of where I live and where my studio is and everything about what we've done is made in LA." - Greg Lauren

Day three of LAFW at the Petersen Automotive museum served up several more amazing fashion designers and closed out with the LA based headliner Greg Lauren. The industry veteran who grew up learning about fashion from his famous uncle Ralph Lauren celebrated his 10 year anniversary at LAFW this year with a special collection titled, "Ten". 

Day three was all about contemporary styles and featured collections from: Bishme Cromartie, Naids, and Laura Theiss leading up to the finale. The evening kicked off with a colorful collection by Bishme Cromartie couture featuring one of this season's hottest trending colors: lime green. The designs were full of fit to perfection creations with statement ruffles on the sleeves and hips. 

The show was followed by hand crafted NAIDS collection featuring beautiful prints and matching men's and women's suiting.  

Laura Theiss presented a collection featuring another of Spring 22s trending colors: bright pink. The collection featured flouncy dresses and intricate cutout styles in beautiful crocheted materials. 

Finally, the show everyone was waiting for, Greg Lauren opened with a star studded front row including celebs Usher, Chance the Rapper, Hannah Brown, Adam Weiss, and more! 

This unique show took the audience through the artist's evolution as a designer showing looks from various collections Greg Lauren has created over the years starting with 2008 and going all the way through to 2021. The show started off with looks 1-4 from the 2008 collection titled "The Artist" and were presented during an amazing dance performance titled "Scraps" choreographed by Jacob Jonas The Company. 

The show used dance, music, and fashion to make a statement about social justice with a focus on the social revolution that has taken place over the past decade. Many of the clothes were reminiscent of the 60's and 70's as a nod to the social justice movements happening today and how they are a continuation of events from years past according to the designer. 

Looks 5-6 were from 2011-2014 and pulled from the archive from the collection titled "Deconstruction". Greg Lauren explained that these looks were created from repurposed military duffle bags and other recycled items. The designer spoke about the importance of sustainability in fashion and stated that while he did not set out to be a "sustainable designer" when creating those pieces it was something that just naturally happened as the focus on reuse and the environment became more important. Lauren explained that he believes sustainability should be an important focus for all creators going forward and not just relegated as a special category. 

Looks 9-16 were from the collection titled "50/50" from 2014-2018. Looks 17-20 were from the 2019 and 2020 collections titled "Scrapwork and Stitchwork" and featured long trench coats and knitwear accessories. Looks 21-30 from the 2021 collection Dress Codes featured relaxed suiting and denim. 

And finally "Mosaic" closed out the show with looks 31-37 from the 2021-2022 collection Greg Lauren created with Gee's Bend. Throughout the show there were several nods to the designer's home base of LA including a Malibu sunset backdrop as well as the LA based dance company and relaxed California lifestyle looks. Lauren gave insight into the beauty looks used for the show saying that he wanted each model's unique beauty to be highlighted so there were no two beauty looks the same in this show. Some models wore no makeup at all. The designs were also all androgynous creations which Lauren explained was another important statement he wanted to make with this collection. He explained that he planned for each look in this collection to be able to be worn by any gender. 

I spoke to Greg Lauren about the story he wanted to tell with "Ten" as well as his favorite things about designing in LA in an exclusive behind the scenes interview after the show. When asked about the color evolution of this show the designer told me, "The story in this collection was it was really in honor of ten years and so it started with the idea of the artist and moved through our stuff that we did with the deconstructed army materials. Then it moves through 50/50 which combines multiple elements and then what I was most excited about were the last two storylines. All of these groups that were about a new elegance and the sun rising pinks and browns and beautiful colors. Then those vivid colors that were all part of this final group. So there was an evolution from those kind of muted tones to like bursts of color."

We also talked about his decision to present at LA fashion week and he said, "You know LAFW is interesting because it doesn't necessarily get he same type of attention that New York or Paris does but I built my company in LA and everything is made in LA and that's something that's really important to me that I wanted to say thank you for and almost rewrite the narrative of LA fashion week because there is an unbelievable group of talent here that LA fashion week is putting out there and it all comes from LA. So I think it was really exciting to do something here on the rooftop of an amazing museum in the middle of LA with this incredible skyline. And again in the heart of where I live and where my studio is and everything about what we've done is made in LA." 

LAFW Returns to Petersen Automotive Museum in Style: The Cars and Fashion Opening Night Gala

This year LAFW returned to the Petersen Automotive Museum to hold a weekend of shows, live entertainment, and celebrate the return of live fashion shows. The opening night gala was all about cars and fashion this year and guests got to enjoy the museum's exhibit on cars and style through the ages while attending the gala. The gala was a quintessential LA experience from the star studded yellow carpet to the street tacos and Ceviche served to guests among the vintage Hollywood cars and music and DJ. To top it off designer to celebrities For the Stars Fashion House opened the runway show on the terrace and guests took their seats just as the sun set on the Los Angeles skyline. The designer, who has created pieces for stars such as Lady Gaga, and more showed a dazzling collection of their latest avant garde pieces. 

For refreshments guests enjoyed the Topo Chico mineral water booth where they were able to experience the relaxing LA lifestyle and sip on lime flavored mineral water in the sitting area complete with mini Palm trees and beach chairs. It also made for a great photo op! 

NEFT Vodka sponsored the bar and also offered a tasting of their premium Austrian sipping vodka. The brand relaunched during the pandemic and the US HQ are located locally in LA. During the tasting guests experienced the "sipping" taste that makes NEFT unique. While the vodka can be mixed into cocktails it is made to be sipped and enjoyed on its own. This fresh taste evolves over time while sipping the drink revealing layers of flavor. 

The museum exhibit featured several iconic cars used in Hollywood movies throughout the years as well as a historical background on the role style has played in the automotive evolution. 

The show opened with remarks by hosts actress Kym Whitley and Tiktoker Joe Flow who warmed up the crowd with some comedy and a high energy introduction of LAFW. 

Before the runway show, guests got treated to a live performance by Palaye Royale. The rock band gave an energetic show that blended into the first runway presentation by designer Jacob Meir of For the Stars. Everyone came out dressed for the occasion and I saw some seriously fashion forward looks at this event. 

One of the highlights of The For the Stars show was the featured runway appearance by Sports Illustrated model Christie Valdiserri who is the first bald Sports Illustrated model. She rocked a dazzling silver dress garnering cheers from the crowd. 

Keeping with the theme of the LA red carpet celebration the final designer was Elie Madi whose work has also been worn by several celebrities including Demi Lovato, Paris Hilton, Katy Perry and more! This was my personal favorite collection of the night featuring glittering gowns and light and airy designs. This collection did not disappoint and I saw several sparkling looks fit for the red carpet. 

The night closed out with a resounding applause from the audience and a VIP afterparty on the museum's private rooftop. It was a great way to kick off the season and celebrate LA's creativity once again. Everyone was looking forward to the amazing lineup of designers scheduled throughout the weekend. 

Catt Sadler Launches Her New Podcast "Naked" in Style

On Sunday I headed out to the Shiseido Malibu Beach house for the ultimate blogger brunch hosted by the amazing Catt Sadler.

She welcomed me and a select group of other bloggers to the intimate brunch celebrating the launch of what she calls her "next chapter". Watch my interview with Catt below to hear her describe Naked in her own words! She also told me about her sparkly look for the event and we had the same thoughts on wearing a jacket for the event since it seemed like kind of a grey day in Malibu. The sun did come out for us in the afternoon though and I got some great pictures of the amazing views for you guys!


The podcast has a unique twist to it and at the brunch Catt explained to us where the name "Naked" came from. Her idea is to have each of her guests take off a piece of what she calls "armor". Armor can be anything from red lipstick to a bra and according to Catt one of her guests decided to take the opportunity to go braless!
She said she wants to have her guests be, "raw and revealing and exposing their truths and sharing their struggles and triumphs.
She hopes the audience, "can feel a little less alone in a world in which we all walk around with this armor all the time. I think it’s important to continue having conversations where people feel empowered or have a take away or where you feel inspired to be your best self.”
Her idea really stands out in the world of lifestyle media and episode 0 went live as we all toasted to the occasion.
I got to sit down with Catt and asked her more about her idea for Naked and how she feels about the current media landscape.
 She told me that she was inspired to create Naked hoping to offer something different to her listeners and be more authentic.
Catt said, "It's really tricky because all the platforms kind of have a different tone or a different realm in which they operate. I feel like we're moving towards a shift right now where people look at Instagram and they know ok, this is polished or this is photo shopped or this is your highlight reel and I think everyone is privy to it at this point and I think it's gonna swing the other way where people just want more organic realness. You know, that is real life. There is a place for everything obviously, it's beautiful so many beautiful images on Instagram so much art so much inspiration I love it. But, it's doing a disservice to people, especially young girls who look at it and think that their mentors or icons, the people they look up to look a certain way because that's just not reality."
The former E! News anchor who now has her own brand complete with a site called the Cattwalk.com and her new podcast shared so many inspiring quotes throughout the day. She was truly excited for her next big adventure and was full of energy all afternoon.
She teased episode one of the podcast which is coming out this week, and talked about what it was like interviewing her first guest Olivia Munn. I don't know about you guys but I can't wait to listen in to episode 1 and hear what it's like to get "naked" with Catt Sadler and Olivia Munn! The brunch was amazing and the views from the patio were even better! Plus meeting this super inspiring entrepreneur and seeing her in action was definitely a highlight of my weekend! Check out more pictures from the event below!

Crazy Rich Asians Star Fiona Xie is Bringing the Power Suit Back!

 Hollywood is going all out for Awards Season as usual and this year I got to cover the official Golden Globes Pre-Party on Sunset Blvd where I interviewed Crazy Rich Asians star Fiona Xie about her style and her favorite part about this year's awards! Xie plays Kitty Pong, fashionable girlfriend to Jimmy Yang in the movie which was nominated for two Golden Globes this year! Watch my video to see the full interview and hear what she has to say about working on the movie and creating an empowering female character! She told me in our interview that she opted for a suit on the red carpet this year instead of a gown because she thinks women look amazing in tailored suits! Her style and positive energy are so inspiring and she definitely represents that girlboss style well! In previous interviews she has also said that she thinks it's important to use the platform she was given for change and even turned down the Kitty Pong role at first because she thought it would be too limiting. After talking with the director she was able to compromise and give the character more depth and "make her vulnerable". What an inspiring figure! I can't wait to see more of this fashionable female powerhouse!

Check Out my Article on Kat Graham's Favorite Style Icons and More at Simply LA for Hollywood Glam Magazine

I interviewed the former Vampire Diaries star at the Simply LA fashion and beauty conference on Saturday August 11. She shared her favorite style inspirations as well as talked about her latest collection of Foster Grant sunglasses. Read the full article here http://www.hollywoodglammagazine.com/2018/08/13/kat-graham-talks-style-and-fame-at-simply-la/

CdM Exclusive: Lauren Bushnell Talks About Her New Fashion Line at Simply LA

Photo Credit: Innovative PR

Lauren Bushnell, season 20 bachelor contestant turned social media star came out to the Simply LA event where she spoke on a panel about launching a product as an influencer and growing a business. If you haven't heard of Simply LA go check out my article in Hollywood glam magazine o get the full story on the star studded event here and don't forget to read my coverage from last year on the blog here! 
This year was another great lineup of brands and speakers and I got an exclusive interview with Lauren about both her latest life updates and her newest business venture Bellevue the label. Her clothing brand also had a popup shop at the Simply event where she showcased her cute designs! It was a real crowd pleaser and many guests stopped by to look at the fresh summer styles.  Lauren was even wearing a cute two piece set from her line at the event. I asked her about her look and that's when she excitedly shared with me her new clothing label. 
She said, "I'm wearing Bellevue the label so this is my clothing line we did like a little capsule collection if you will. Testing the waters seeing if it works."

Photo Credit: @Bellevuethelabel

She talked about her inspiration for the designs saying, "I honestly needed cute clothes for summer and I was like wait why don't we just design a few pieces. why not. I already know what I like and what I don't like. So we just put together a little capsule collection and its really comfy I'm glad that I wore it because it's like 105 degrees here." 
She also shared how her style has evolved since being on the bachelor saying, "I just with experience learned what I like what I don’t like and just also like growing up too. I gained my platform from going on the bachelor the TV show and I was 25 years old and now I’m 28 so I think that naturally with time too I’ve matured and grown I’ve been through situations and I’ve learned and I’ve lived…Now I’m a little bit more sure of who I am and a little bit more sure of what I like what I don’t like and that goes for all things. Whether its work business personal life clothing fashion all those things I think it just kind of evolved with me.” 
She was obviously passionate about the idea and talked about the difference between working as an influencer and having her own label saying, "Being an influencer but then launching a product and not just putting your name behind it but actually like launching it. you have to be passionate about it because you’re going to be working on this every day into late hours and on the weekend so you have to be passionate about what you’re doing and that will translate. So for me using my social media platform I think there’s a difference between promoting a product that you love or a sponsorship that you love versus something that you have ownership over. I think people can tell the difference so if you can share that passion about your brand your product I think it will translate." 
After hearing her speak on her panel about her other label Dear Rose wines sounding like a knowledgeable businesswoman I have no doubt we'll be seeing more from her latest venture in the fashion world! 

Check Out my article for HerCampus on Stagecoach Fashion Trends from the Hottest Country Music Stars

Check out the stars who attended Stagecoach 2018 and how they got into the spirit of country music! Trendsetters like Audrina Patridge, Lindsay Ell, Kelsea Ballerini and more were all showing off their country style at the Festival in Palm Springs! Check out the link below to see their looks!
https://www.hercampus.com/style/best-looks-stagecoach-country-music-festival-2018 

H2O Beauty Stagecoach Pre-Party at Zenyara

This morning I kicked off the first day of Stagecoach at the awesome H2O Beauty pre-party where tons of performers gave intimate shows and a sneak peak of what was to come later on during the festival. Several amazing brands also took part in the pre-festival celebration including...Fab Fit Fun, H2O Beauty, and more! It all took place at the stunning Zenyara resort where Gigi Hadid stayed for Coachella and where several other celebs have vacationed!

This place was absolutely gorgeous you guys! This little oasis in the desert is perfect for parties and even has a giant pool and private beach area! It was definitely hot but luckily H2O had us covered with their signature hydrating mist.

Staff came around spraying guests with the cooling mist all morning so we stayed photo ready for the entire party! It definitely made you feel like a star. They also had some amazing food for us to try including fresh fruit and avocado toast. I had a great time experiencing all the brands they had at the event and got my nails done for the festival later on! I also got my hair done at their braid bar which came out looking amazing.

I grabbed some sweet treats at the Chua Chocolate booth where they were giving out delicious chocolate candy. My favorite flavor was definitely the rasberry filling covered in sprinkles!


I loved my Survival Kit from FabFitFun also at the party! Go check out my video to see all the goodies included inside the kit here!

 After enjoying all the fun stops at the party I headed over to the stage for an up close look at the performances they had lined up. It was so cool to experience performances from bands like Temecula Road, Walker Hayes, Carley Pearce, Seth Ennis, Delta Rae, CB30, Ashley Campbell and Kelsea Ballerini up close hanging out on the beach! Check out my interview with Temecula Road in their trailor following their performance at this party here! 

I got to hear some great new music and loved all the fashion and beauty themed activities at this party plus I am loving my H2O Beauty giftbag! Their products are perfect for the desert because they are all about hydration. I can also see myself using a ton of this stuff anywhere though like their face cleanser and exfoliant. I tried it out and I love how refreshed it makes my face feel! You can definitely tell it is cleansing for sure. 
Check out the rest of my Stagecoach coverage for more on the bands, celebs, and styles coming soon in Hercampus!