Bergdorf Goodman Fashion Spring Preview

I recently attended an amazing event at Bergdorf Goodman for Dragon Week with Linda Fargo, Bergdorf's senior vice president and their principal tastemaker, introducing some fun spring looks!  I know we're in the middle of mild winter, but the looks certainly made me look forward to warmer weather with lots of bright pops of colors, which created a joyful mood.  It also looks like prints will still be popular, whether they're animal print or floral.  My favorites were a sparkling yellow flapper dress by Naeem Khan and a slinky mermaid gown with burnt pailettes by CD Greene.

Coat by Burberry

Dress by Fendi

Dress by Dolce and Gabanna

Dress by Naem Khan

Lovely Miss China in CD Greene Mermaid Gown with Burnt Pailettes

Black Diamond Earrings by G International

Judith Leiber Clutch

Afterwards I attended a cocktail hour, where I got to mingle with some fashion royalty! You could feel the excitement of the crowd when famed designer Diane Von Furstenberg and the legendary Oscar de la Renta walked in!

Legendary!

With Linda Fargo and Designer Zac Posen

An inspiring person -Yue Sai Kan,  the most famous woman in China!

With Designer CD Greene

Me with Diane Von Furstenberg

With Designer Naem Khan

With Miss China, Luo Zilin or Roseline Luo

With Yue Sai Kan and Miss Univers, Leila Lopes

With Deisgner Bruce Hoeksema of VBH (Described by Linda Fargo as the "New Hermes")

With Designer Peter Som

American Couture Fashion Superstar Rodarte

Originally published on NewYorkGirlStyle.com

This February 2012 Vogue shows the tall and lithe country singer Taylor Swift lounging on a sofa dressed in a flowing Rodarte floral print dress. When you flip through the rest of the pictures of Swift by Mario Testino, you realize that all the outfits she’s wearing is by Rodarte. Even if you haven’t heard of Rodarte, you’ve probably seen their designs. Their fantastic creations have become popular on the red carpet; and they have many fans among beautiful celebrities, including Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst, and Dakota Fanning. It’s fascinating to realize that only 7 years ago, sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who have no formal fashion training, had just launched their line, which was named after their mother’s maiden name.
Since 2005, Rodarte has won awards for their unique designs and known for their innovative fabrics. In 2008, they became the first women and first Americans to win the Swiss Textiles Award, one of fashion’s biggest monetary awards, worth 100,000 euros. In 2010, we saw Rodarte’s collaboration with the giant retailer, Target, sell out within days. Last year, Rodarte ventured into cinema, designing the costumes for the Oscar award winning movie starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, “Black Swan”. The sisters get their influences from different subjects in the arts. One season their inspiration was Japanese horror films and their latest collection was inspired by Van Gogh. The Mulleavys have changed the face of American couture fashion. They’ve been able to do what few have been able to do in a fickle industry. Rodarte designs have managed to reach a broad audience and remain the darling of fashion editors.

Yunnan Photo Diary - Dali

China's most popular tourist destinations include Beijing, Shanghai, XiAn, which I've already visited.  So last winter, I explored the province of Yunnan in Southwest China with my mom and brother. Yunnan is a province with many ethnic minorities of China.  Although westerners think of China as one homogenous people, the population is actually made up of many different peoples.  I've always thought of myself as Chinese American, but when I visited Yunnan, I realized I'm considered part of the "Han" majority.  In the different cities we visited, we were met with tour guides from different ethnic groups.  Our first guide in the city of Dali, was from the Bai minority (or white, because of their fondness of the color white) , the city of Li Jiang was the NaXi (which means black in the Naxi language) minority, and in Shangra-La, our guide was Tibetan. Each of the minorities have their own language and traditional dress.  There was even a tourist attraction called "minority village" in the province of Kunming introducing all the minorities.

Butterfly Springs in Dali

I found Yunnan to be clean compared to the more urban Shanghai and Beijing. The Butterfly Springs in Dali, had such clear water, I could see the bottom of the springs. Of course, like the rest of the world, they are feeling the effects of pollution. The Jade Dragon Mountains in LiJiang, which are the southernmost glaciers in the northern hemisphere used to have snowy peaks all year round, but now it's only during the winter season.

The Three pagodas of Dali

Performance by minority people

The sign says Yunnan's 18 strange/unique items - Yunnan is known for 18 interesting foods including fried cheese (below the sign and bottom right)

I decided to visit a Walmart in Yunnan - they had a whole section devoted to chilli peppers!

A savory "cake" made from beans which was spiced with chilli, garlic, soy sauce.  I didn't try it, but it looked good!

A Tibetan Prayer wheel

Beautiful minority traditional dress, with silver headdress

Artistry Beauty Event

Artistry Beauty held a party at Bar Basque at the Eventi Hotel in Manhattan to introduce their latest products. It was a relaxing event with moisturizing paraffin hand treatments and makeup applications of their spring color line.  I tried their new intensive skincare anti-wrinkle firming serum, which is made with retinol and vitamin C, and made my skin feel quenched and smooth, but did not feel heavy and was easily absorbed into my skin.  Artistry was kind enough to provide guest with samples of their new line along with a gorgeous Michael Kors handbag.  I'm looking forward to trying their products!  I also got to meet and take a photo with the face of Artistry, the newly crowned, Miss America!  You can check out the video to learn more about Artistry's innovative products.

Taft Foodmasters Seitan Vegetarian Gyro Tasting Launch

I went to the Taft Foodmasters Gyro Launch and Vegetarian Seitan tasting recently at the Sub-Zero and Wolf Manhattan Showroom.  I try to eat healthy and have been trying to cut down on meat, so I was curious to try their selection of seitan products.  For those of you who don't know what seitan is - it's a food made from wheat gluten and is a good source of protein and very tasty.  I actually grew up eating Seitan, because it's traditionally used in many vegetarian Chinese dishes. However, I had not really had it incorporated into  western dishes and was instantly hooked.

Founder of Taft Foodmasters, Jessica Taft (center)

I tried a few creative dishes using seitan, including stir-fried seitan with vegetables in a sweet and sour sauce. The Grandmama Seitan slice of pizza topped with Seitan sausage from Krunch Pizza Bar was a tasty treat.  I was also a big fan of the gyro from the Long Island City Gyro Company, which was absolutely delicious.  The texture was very similar to a meat gyro and was well spiced.  But it was less greasy and much lighter than the meat version.   Taft Foodmasters also provided samples other healthy vegetarian options including a White Bean Salad, Quinoa Herb Salad, and a simple Green Salad.  Taft Foodmasters sells their products wholesale, so if you want to try their seitan, head to one the restaurants I mentioned to try it, and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

 

Rabia Z. Mukhawara Collection Spring/Summer 2012

Designer Rabia Z.

Designer Rabia Z from Dubai showed her stunning Mukhawara Collection at Casa La Femme, a romantic and richly decorated Egyptian restaurant in the West Village, New York City. Guests were seated at carved dark wooden tables gently lit with candles and booths draped in colorful organza.   Rabia Z's collection is inspired by her vision of "an American stylista, who travels from West to East, charming the world with her poise and panache".  Titled "Traditions. Today. Tomorrow.", the collection is influenced by the designer's traditional Afghani Arab background and has innovative, modern touches.  

The mukhawara is a "long traditional dress worn by the Emirati and GCC women", according to the show notes.  The beautifully draped pieces were in rich jewel tones of purple, turquoise, and electric blue and embellished with screen-printings of age-old Mukhawara embroidery in contrasting colors along the collar, sleeves, or waist. The looks were modest yet alluring, traditional yet modern.  Without displaying any skin besides the face and hands, the Mukhawaras still managed to highlight the beauty and grace of the female form.  Having never worn a Mukhawara before, I was curious to try it on.

The show closed with comments from famed celebrity stylist Kithe Brewster, who produced and provided styling direction for the show.  He had discovered Rabia Z. over four years ago in Dubai when he judged an emerging designer contest that Rabia Z. had won, and was wowed by her work.  Mr. Brewster described the collection as being very worldly and felt it would provide an excellent option for the Islamic community.  For more information about Rabia Z.'s collection, please visit RabiaZ.com.

Dr. Robert G. Brewster, Kithe Brewster

Stylist Kithe Brewster, Her Highness Sheikha Alia Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Princess of Dubai, Wife of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bih Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Makfoum Crown Prince Dubai, Designer Victor de Souza