TICKET TO THE TENTS: Day 1 NYFW Spring 2015 Trend Report

(Featuring Nicholas K, Richard Chai, BCBGMaxAzria, Tadashi Shoji, Marissa Webb,CuteCircuit, & Desigual)

It’s September! Which means it's another New York Fashion Week. New York Fashion Week officially kicked off yesterday with designers presenting their Spring 2015 Collections. 

                                 NICHOLAS K Spring 2015 Collection. Photo by Jane Kratochvil

COLOR
Nicholas K kicked off Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in their usual 9am spot on day one inside the tents. While the draping, layers and loose silhouettes are not new to Nicholas K, their introduction of a pretty, pastel teal green was a change from the browns, tans and whites. We’re hoping this color is a fixture in all the runways for Spring.

 And continuing with pastels, it appears that pastels will continue to dominate next Spring as they did this year. Lubov and Max presented a collection for BCBGMaxAzria that included pastel pinks & blue along with a ton of white and off-white garments. However, some designers opted to include pops of bright colors in their collections. Richard Chai featured a bold lime-yellow color for spring, and Desigual, known for bold and colorful prints did not disappoint.

                                               BCBBMAXAZRIA SPRING 2015 COLLECTION

  DESIGUAL SPRING 2015 COLLECTION. Photo by Jane Kratochvil

In contrast to Desigual’s bold use of prints in every garment, most of the runways were absent of significant amounts of prints. The designers opted for solid colors to convey their visions. If there were prints, they were mosaic and abstract in nature, stripes (Marissa Webb & Richard Chai) or muted floral patterns.

 TADASHI SHOJI SPRING 2015 COLLECTION. Photo by Jane Kratochvil |

 SILHOUETTES

Long is the new black! Tadashi Shoji favored knee-length dresses and full-length gowns. BCBGMaxAzria also went long for spring with wide-leg trousers and ankle-length skirts. Marissa Webb featured super-chic outerwear pieces for spring from ankle-length trench coats, to peplum wind-breakers. There’s a lot of material on the runways for Spring. Long and free flowing fabrics that offer tons of movement for the wearer.

 TADASHI SHOJI SPRING 2015 COLLECTION. Photo by Jane Kratochvil

 UNIQUE TREND

Wearable Technology is all the rage right now and CuteCircuit has taken the world by storm with their technological clothing innovations. Their collection for Spring, featured cool, digital enhancements that were incorporated into the clothes, shiny and glittery fabrics, and even digitally enhanced bathing suits! Forget wearable tech bracelets, I want the clothes!

Posted by tammyduffy at 10:39 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 5 September 2014 10:45 PM EDT

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First African American police officers promoted to Sergeant in Hamilton

by 

Tammy Duffy 

 Click on this link below to see photos from the event

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.892632617431146.1073741964.218736114820803&type=1 

Today marked a historical day in the Township of Hamilton’s Police Department.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Eight Hamilton Township police officers received promotions from Police Chief James Collins and Mayor Kelly Yaede, at an event held at the Nottingham Firehouse. . This day is historical because it is the first time in the history of the township that an African American officer has been promoted to the level of Sergeant. Sergeants James Walters and Sergeants Quincy Hendryx along with six of their fellow officers, Keith E. Layton, Ralph A. Fiasco, Jr, Stephen W. Ligato, , Kyle T. Thornton, Shannon A. Hoffman and  Foster H. VanNess were all promoted to sergeant  in today’s ceremony.

All of these new sergeants have been serving the township community for many years and received a well deserved promotion.  This day was even more special for Sergeant James Walter’s, because it is his birthday today.

Sergeant James Walters’s brother, Colonel Walters from the US Army, could not have been prouder of his brother. He said, “Sergeant Walter’s has been on the force since 1993. He has fought adversity his entire life. He was raised by a single parent. In his youth he got a job at Six Flags in their security department.  He was told that he needed to go to college to excel in his career of choice, law enforcement. He took this direction very seriously and has obtained a Bachelors Degree from Glassboro State and Masters Degree from Seton Hall. He is currently pursuing his PhD according to his brother, Colonel Walter’s. Community involvement is a first priority for this new sergeant.  He does not consider it just a part of his job, but something he does outside of work as well.”

The Honorable John K. Rafferty shared a wonderful story with me about Sergeant Quincy Hendryx.  He said,” I got a phone message one day from a man named Quincy  Hendryx who said to me,” You promised me that one day I could be a Hamilton Police officer.”  Mayor Rafferty could not recall this conversation. Upon returning Quincy’s phone call, Jack asked Quincy when had he made such a promise?” Quincy replied, “When you came to visit our school when I was in the fourth grade. Can you please tell me what I need to do to become a cop?”

For decades now Jack Rafferty has mentored Sergeant Quincy and keeping him motivated. Helping him get through the grueling process of getting on the force and today becoming a sergeant.  Sergeant Quincy is someone who is also actively involved in the community.  He believes in giving back and knowing his community in which he serves. In his off hours he can be found mentoring children, teaching them how to read, keep his martial arts maneuvers fine tuned and loving his beautiful family. Jack Rafferty was on the stage with Sergeant Hendryx’s family when he got sworn in today.

Hamilton Township is a township according to the USA Census that has a racial makeup  of  78.38% (69,340) White, 11.78% (10,419)Black or African American, 0.17% (149)Native American, 3.29% (2,914) Asian, 0.09% (79) Pacific Islander, 4.27% (3,775).  

It’s wonderful to see the police force becoming more diverse with the swearing in of the first two African American sergeants. Today was a pivotal day for the township of Hamilton and these fine men and women will work extremely hard to continue to keep us all safe. 

Posted by tammyduffy at 8:37 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 5 September 2014 8:45 PM EDT

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Diversity on the Runway

Now that New York Fashion Week has begun, the diversity on the runways will be something to watch. This season, you will find that the number of Asian models hasn’t gone up dramatically, causing it to note the continued “white-washed” feel of many fashion shows. However, brands with a stronger interest in reaching the China market tended to feature more Chinese models than their peers, along with other efforts that will likely help them stand out to Chinese fashionistas.

 The chart below shows how white models once again comprised close to 80 percent of the total for the week, with Asian models around 10 percent (two different charts on the post actually say 9.75 percent and 7.67 percent for Asian models right now). Since 2008, the number of Asian models has risen significantly on average, thanks in no small part to the growing presence of Chinese models that emerged as China’s luxury market took off.

 The standout Chinese models last season were Tian Yi with 16 shows, Xiao Wen Ju with 15, and Chen Lin with 14.  Notably, the brands working to gain Chinese publicity for their shows through  featuring Chinese celebrities in the front rows also had multiple top Chinese models walking the runway, including Tory Burch (Xiao Wen Ju, Fei Fei Sun, and Tong Zhang), Tommy Hilfiger (Xiao Wen Ju and Fei Fei Sun), Marc by Marc Jacobs (Xiao Wen Ju and Fei Fei Sun), and Diane von Furstenberg (Xiao Wen Ju, Fei Fei Sun, and Ming Xi). Some brands featuring multiple Chinese models also touted the fact on Chinese social media—Diane von Furstenberg posted a photo of its three Chinese models, saying that they represented “the unique beauty of East and West!”

 Also featuring more than one Chinese model in their shows were 3.1 Phillip Lim (Xiao Wen Ju and Shu Pei), Anna Sui (Xiao Wen Ju, Fei Fei Sun, and Sui He), Monique Lhuillier (Tian Yi and Ming Xi), Vera Wang (Shu Pei and Fei Fei Sun), and Opening Ceremony (Xiao Wen Ju and Ming Xi).

Absent from New York Fashion Week last season was Lui Wen, the first Chinese model to ever make it onto Forbes’ list of the world’s top highest-paid models. Watch the runways and note how diverse they are or are not.

Posted by tammyduffy at 6:45 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 4 September 2014 9:11 PM EDT

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Labor Day Revival in the Park

By Tammy Duffy

Click below to see a photomontage of today's event  

http://youtu.be/R6omqLd5StE

  photo by T. Duffy of Dr Philip Bonaparte

The  first annual Revival In The Park event took place today at Columbus Park in Trenton, NJ. There was free admission, free food, gospel concerts, free health and cancer screenings, prayer stations, free book bags and school supplies  and much  more. 

When people entered the park today they signed in at the admission desk and were given a yellow arm band. This armband gave them a free lunch, free health screening, free cancer screening, free health education, games for the children, free bibles, free clothing, free books, free school supplies, gospel music, and free haircuts for back to school.  The event was sponsored by The New Hope Church of God based in Hamilton Ave in Trenton, NJ.  Bishop Philip M. Bonaparte, M.D. orchestrated this event and was on hand to share the vision of the event and his philanthropic efforts.  

When most people plan time away from work, they think of warm, sunny and relaxing places with family and friends.   Bishop. Philip Bonaparte, MD, (who just retired from being the Vice President Clinical Affairs of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Chief Medical Officer of Horizon NJ Health for the past 11 years) , has traveled on  medical mission trips to remote, rural communities in Trinidad, Haiti India and Jamaica. During these trips he extends medical care and food to the needy in those communities.
 
“I don’t feel like I am giving, I am receiving,” said Dr. Bonaparte, when asked why he goes on medical mission trips.  “Providing medical help is something that I can do and should do. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to help, and it is rewarding to see the gratitude and kindness in the faces of those who are receiving care.  It is the spiritual that connects us.” 

Dr. Bonaparte noted that the need for medical treatment and disease prevention is what drove him to come to Trenton, NJ. There are many people in the city of Trenton without insurance and do not qualify for insurance. These are the exact people who will die from cancer , diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases.

The commitment to community does not end there for Bishop Bonaparte, MD. He also is the Senior Pastor  of the, New Hope Church of God which is a multi-cultural church, serving the greater Trenton, East Windsor/Hightstown and Long Branch, NJ areas, as well as communities in need worldwide. 

During an interview with Avril Noyan, Nurse Practitioner she shared information on the up and coming Health Screening that will take place in what used to be Mercer Medical Center in Trenton,NJ,  at 416 Bellevue Ave. “We will offer free cancer screenings on Sept 18 and 25th from 9:00AM to 3:00PM.  The free screenings will focus on clinical breast exams, pap smears, glucose screening, blood pressure, and screening mammograms.  A mobile mammography van will be provided by Lackawanna Imaging for the events. Patients must call 609-989-0236 for an appointment to the screening. The New Hope Church of God has partnered with Planned Parenthood and NJCEED to make this Cancer screening possible.

Posted by tammyduffy at 3:50 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 4 September 2014 9:16 PM EDT

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 Killer Heels at the Brooklyn Museum of Art

By Tammy Duffy

Vertiginous shoes are nothing new. Stilettos and platforms originated from the Italian Renaissance.  On Wednesday, September 10,  Killer Heels opens to the public at 2 p.m at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in NYC. .This survey of shoes will bring you to an altitude that is mind boggling.  You will get to see these elevated fashion statements from the 16th century to the deadly weapons that rip up the red carpets of today. There will be 160 shoes on display that will fall into six categories; Glamour and Fetish, Revival and Reinterpretations and Architecture.

Deadly sharp stilettos, architecturally inspired wedges and platforms, and a number of artfully crafted shoes that defy categorization are featured among the more than 160 historical and contemporary heels on loan from designers, from the renowned Brooklyn Museum costume collection housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and from the Bata Shoe Museum. Designers and design houses represented in Killer Heels include Manolo Blahnik, Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Zaha Hadid X United Nude, Iris van Herpen X United Nude, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, André Perugia, Prada, Elsa Schiaparelli, Noritaka Tatehana, Vivienne Westwood, and Pietro Yantorny.

The curator of this exhibition, Lisa Small says,” All of these shoes could be considered architectural in the broadest sense. When it comes to architectural concerns; like support and load bearing, those kinds of structural issues are also particular in high heels.”  The extreme heights reached on very thin heels only became possible through extruded steel technology, the same materials that keep skyscrapers in our skies.

Killer Heels explores fashion’s most provocative accessory. From the high platform chopines of sixteenth-century Italy to the glamorous stilettos on today’s runways and red carpets, the exhibition looks at the high-heeled shoe’s rich and varied history and its enduring place in our popular imagination.

As fashion statement, fetish object, instrument of power, and outlet of artistic expression for both the designer and the wearer, throughout the ages the high-heeled shoe has gone through many shifts in style and symbolism.

Presented alongside the objects in the exhibition are six specially commissioned short films inspired by high heels. The filmmakers are Ghada Amer and Reza Farkhondeh, Zach Gold, Steven Klein, Nick Knight, Marilyn Minter, and Rashaad Newsome.

The exhibition runs from September 10, 2014–February 15, 2015 at the Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor,

Brooklyn Museum

200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
 

Hours

Wednesday: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Thursday: 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
Friday–Sunday: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

General Admission

Posted by tammyduffy at 4:33 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 31 August 2014 4:36 PM EDT

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 MBFW Starts Sept 4 and ends on Sept 11 in NYC

Duffy's Cultural Couture will bring you amazing covering this season from New York Fashion Week. We have a team of photographers that will be covering the shows and reporting on the runway shows. Look for our daily coverage from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, street style fashion, off-site fashion shows, fashion designer presentations, press events and more.

Posted by tammyduffy at 7:17 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 29 August 2014 7:43 PM EDT

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Ready or  Not: An Exhibition at the Newark Museum

By Tammy Duffy

Ready or Not, is an exhibition featuring works by 40 New Jersey-based artists, at different points of their careers. The 2014 edition of the New Jersey Arts Annual in Fine Art  varies in practice and style. By using a wide range of artistic processes and approaches in color, form, material and content. This exhibition raises questions about place and experience, expanding the conversation on the region’s identity, its narrative and context in relation to art.

The descriptive title of the show allows for the possibilities for engagement, learning and individual insight.. As one walks through the exhibition, you will experience moments of unexpectedness that only increases your curiosity of the pieces. Take you time walking through the exhibition.  Go to every piece and interact with it. 

 Photo by DUFFY

Ginger Andro and Chuck Glicksman memorize you with their piece entitled, Rear Window, circa 2013.  This 14 minute video was shot through a window overlooking a marsh at Barnegat Bay, New Jersey during a rain shower. Many of your senses are tickled with this piece, sight, sound and smell.

The romantic movement of the raindrops hitting the window allows for a distortion and reflection onto the back wall.  The sound reminds me of the grandmother clock in my parents home growing up. As you watch this video you can smell the rain, you feel its presence.

The doorway you see in this photograph  above, on the right is yet another amazing installation that is quite worth gong through the revolving door, don’t miss it.

These amazing photographs by Lym  play an important  role in the depiction of American diversity and the effects it has on culture and tradition.  The braid patterns seen in these photographs can be viewed as a type of hidden language.

Toai has created a collaborative installation called “The Petri Island Project: He is tapping into the cultural and individual perspective of citizens who visit the Newark museum. The project asks the simple question: “what does an island mean to you?” 

The artist asks for as many children and adults in Newark to be a part of this project by inviting each person to contribute to his project and the final installation.

It is a fairly simple process. Every participant is provided with an empty plastic petri dish and asked to “fill” the dish by painting, sculpting, or whatever process of treatment that suits you, to create “what an island means to you.” It can be anything from a collection of items, to a picture or a finger painting, to an elaborate work of art. The result can be metaphoric, literal, simple or complex. The goal is to include every school child, and any citizen who is interested in contributing.

I loved the exhibition and its interactive quality. The security  employees at the museum know a lot about the art, they guide you to places where you may not have gone. They make sure your visit is wonderful.  There are other exhibitions in the museum that are equally as engaging and intellectually stimulating. Take time to go through the entire museum, its well worth your time.

Newark Museum
49 Washington Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102 
Newark's Downtown/Arts District
3 blocks from NJPAC

General Information: (973) 596-6550

Suggested Museum Admission

Adults: $12

Veterans & their families with valid I.D.: $7

Children, Seniors & Students with valid I.D.: $7

(2 years and younger: FREE)

Members & Newark Residents: FREE

Posted by tammyduffy at 8:20 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 24 August 2014 8:23 PM EDT

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MCCC Gallery to Host “Pannaroma” Photography Exhibit

Sept. 2-25

 By Tammy Duffy

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College  will open its new season on Sept 2, 2014.  The exhibition will feature panoramic photographs by 18 photographers who used a specially designed 1x3 panoramic camera built by Thomas Roma, the Director of Photography at Columbia University.  The show has been previously exhibited in New York City, Miami and New Orleans in the past.

“Pannaroma,” named for Roma’s wife, Anna, opens Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 and runs through Thursday, Sept. 25.   The public is invited to an opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 4, 6 to 8 p.m., that will feature statements by some of the photographers. 

 The photos in this exhibit were made possible by Thomas Roma, a Columbia University professor who built his own panoramic cameras in the 1980s to mid-1990s to allow for more versatility in this format.

According to MCCC Photography Professor Michael Dalton, co-curator of the exhibit with Gallery Director, Dylan Wolfe, Professor Roma created 31 cameras from the mid-1980s through the 1990s built on a handheld 35mm Nikon F.  Dalton notes that panoramic cameras at that time were significantly heavier and used larger film, requiring the use of a tripod.  “Professor Roma’s goal was to make the taking of panoramic photos easier and allow for more versatile subject matter,” Dalton said.

Many of the photos in the exhibit capture interaction between people and their environment, a departure from the sprawling natural scenery typically depicted with panoramic cameras.  “The Roma camera allows for more,” Dalton says.  “The result is a wide-ranging group of photographs that draws the viewer into the content of the photo.”

“Pannaroma” features work from professional photographers, including a number of Roma’s former students. In addition to Roma himself and MCCC’s Dalton, the exhibit includes photos by Inbal Abergil, Tony Chirinos, Sasha Waters Freyer, Lee Friedlander, Stephen Hilger, Yoav Horesh, Zsolt Kadar, Richard LaBarbera, Jeff Ladd, Kai McBride, Laura Mircik-Sellers, Claudio Nolasco, Anibal Pella-Woo, Dennis Santella, Raghubir Singh and Daniel Willner. 

The MCCC Galley is located on the second floor of the Communications Building on the college’s West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

Hours for this show are Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Posted by tammyduffy at 6:11 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 22 August 2014 6:17 PM EDT

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