When do we, as an educated society, vocalize that we have reached a tipping point? When is that point crossed? America has been transformed over the last few years; we have seen newscast after newscast, station upon station, pushing a harsh narrative that has become a reality. The question becomes whether these outlets are offering a solution, or if they’re just giving us another reason to avoid watching the news. We live in a highly politicized and volatile era, which seeks to project a bleak future, and reminds us that the next generation will have to clean it up.

Sometimes, however, we are reminded that there is good in this world. A reminder that the youth of today are doing something to change the path of their future. Perhaps they too are tired of watching the news, or maybe they are seeking a greater purpose.  It could be more selfish; simply that they seek to repair the shattered lives of the loved ones around them.

Whatever their driving force, I was heartened to see survivors, celebrities, and families affected by the opioid crisis come together to share their stories in a positive light. In spite of newscasts, and pharmaceutical cautions, these teens used New York Fashion Week to send a message. Supported by Supermodels Unlimited Magazine, these teens honored those in recovery and paid tribute to many lost to the disease of addiction.

These motivated young women proudly stood together during National Recovery Month to say “We are Shatterproof!”. The runway show was billed as the The L.B.D. (Little Blue Dress) Movement; blue is the national color for addiction and opioid support. Joining these busy young women were noted celebrities and established models, looking to lend their help and voices for the cause.

These women are giving back to their communities and inspiring new generations to make healthy choices. Among these teens were industry veterans Isis King, from Netflix’s When They See Us, and Jeana Turner of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). Joining them was reality TV star James Kennedy from Bravo-TV’s Vanderpump Rules. The evening’s host was former male model and ABC-TV’s Bachelor in Paradise star Jordan Kimball. Kimball is also credited with being on The Bachelorette.

“What they’re doing cannot be applauded enough. Addiction affects everyone at some point in their life, whether it be a friend, family, or yourself. Shatterproof is working hard to aid in their recovery, save lives, and rebuild relationships. Shatterproof is a blessing, and we owe it to them to show our support!”

said Kimball during the event.

What most motivated me to write this article, was that these amazing young women do these charitable shows every six months or less. They do so with the help of donors, sponsors, and supporters such as: Supermodels Unlimited Magazine, Coca-Cola, Vita Coco and Jane Cosmetics. With these companies’ financial support and expertise, they are able to raise funds to help those in need.

Last February they raised over $8,000.00 for The Trevor Project, and this month they raised $5,000.00 for Shatterproof, the benefiting charity of The L.B.D. event. The check was presented by non-other than Wesley Stromberg from Emblem3, who is an avid supporter of Shatterproof.

Shatterproof is a national nonprofit organization that focuses on reversing the course of addiction in America by advocating for changes to federal and state policies. Their important work is helping to transform addiction treatment programs nationwide, and ending the stigma associated with it. This is done by providing public education through family and workplace programs, while embracing community initiatives such as this amazing runway show.

“One in three Americans is impacted by addiction, and with stigma as the leading killer in our country, our young people especially need to feel supported in openly discussing this disease and seeking treatment,” said Gary Mendell, Founder and CEO of Shatterproof. “It is imperative that industries do their part to lead the conversation around this public health crisis, and we are grateful to Supermodels Unlimited Magazine and the fashion industry for using their platform to do so.”

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Marija Shatilo previews her new clothing line – Lace & Angels
– at NY Fashion Week

Marija Shatilo debuted her much-anticipated clothing line at the 2018 New York Fashion Week. Titled Lace & Angels, Shatilo showcased her new line of haute couture dresses on Friday, September 7th at the S’zen at the Hotel on Rivington. It was an impressive range of elegant and fashionable dresses for women of all ages suitable for a variety of occasions.

Shatilo has long confirmed that her new fashion line would be inspired by her favorite style icons. These included personalities such as Yves Saint Laurent, Azzedine Alaia, Balmain, Elie Saab, Alberta Ferretti, amongst others. You can also see the 90s Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel influences – another two of her personal style icons – reflected in her designs as well.

She also channeled an exotic fusion of fashion and culture in how she presented her new collection. Her gorgeous dresses were beautifully draped on multicolored mannequins painted by her boyfriend, contemporary artist Domingo Zapata. They were then displayed throughout the S’zen lounge for fashion enthusiasts and industry experts to view at their leisure.

Shatilo’s collection featured a range of styles, fabrics, and colors. These included V-necks and V-back dresses, long gowns and short dresses, long-sleeves and strapless. Fabric choices consisted of high-quality lace, silk, satin, cotton, and chiffon with a few sequins included. For color options, she offered champagne, nudes, navy, ivory, and black.

You could also see hints of gold, silver, and rose peeking through in this exquisite collection. Marija Shatilo clearly wanted to provide a variety of options to suit each of our own unique tastes in clothing. We could see that anyone could find a Lace and Angels dress that perfectly suited their personality.

Shatilo notes that part of the inspiration for her debut collection stems from her desire to satisfy the taste of women of all age groups. They want to dress well for special occasions and feel good about themselves when they do so. And that’s just a few of the goals her designs seemed to have met.

The Lace & Angels pre-collection at the NY Fashion Week featured 15 dresses in total but with six of them previewing at the show. The designs were for high-end special events such as the red-carpet, weddings, cocktails, and black-tie dinners or galas. In keeping with her desire to make dresses suitable for all women, each dress came with a variety of color variations and ranged in size from XS to XL. She indicated that the dresses were also fully customizable.

You’ll soon be able to purchase these dresses online. Shatilo is in the process of launching her website – www.laceandangels.com. Her dresses are also available at select fashion boutiques in Manhattan, Soho, and Miami.

NY Fashion Week 2018 was just a start for the former international top model now turned designer. Shatilo expects to continue expanding her clientele and offer custom design services for special occasions. She plans to make her dresses more accessible through pop-up shops, and open additional stores in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.

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Messenger Bags are still with us, the fabulous squared shape is proving an ongoing winner with designers and models alike. What has changed is the size; they have shrunk to tiny bags, conveniently slung over a shoulder or across the body, compact, but big enough for the necessities; perfect for a busy, active lady who doesn’t to carry much. They are generally made from leather or faux-leather and appear in a variety of bold shades. The style to team a micro-messenger bag with is casually elegant, for example a pair of soft but beautifully fitting jeans and a comfortable chunky cable-textured jumper.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/geishabot/4746671019/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Clutch purses are regaining strength, and diverging slightly. Evening clutches remain small, but are highly decorated. Flower clutches are popular; the detail so very frilled and detailed that it will appear that the holder is clutching a bouquet, rather than a purse! Available in a huge range of satin, silky shades it’s simple to match the clutch purse to a glamorous outfit for perfect elegance on an important night out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/texantiff23/2507024265/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Daytime clutches are appearing, larger than ever – big enough for the necessities of a modern woman’s life; diary, smart phone, keys, wallet etc. They have a name to distinguish them from evening clutches, namely, document clutches. Made from leather, faux leather or suede they are smart and practical, a perfect complement to office wear.

Also making their debut are business-like heavy leather bags, suitable to carry everything needed for a long busy day, whether at the office, taxi-ing the children from school to activity to social event or away from home for the day, visiting or sightseeing. The somewhat dark, practical appearance is enlivened by rhinestones, one single large stone on the flap or a neat row of small gems tracking the seam edgings. Perfect with almost every daytime outfit, from formal office wear to comfortable casual clothing the rhinestones add a much-needed touch of femininity to these sturdy bags.

Other new features that have started to appear on the catwalks include unusually shaped bags; such as cylinders both large and small, and extra-long faux fur in both natural and lurid shades. Animal prints, always popular, continue to be a favourite, allowing women to hint at their wild-side while remaining firmly fashionable, while patchwork is bold; featuring contrasting colours that display a strong sense of individuality.

One final fresh feature are tiny ‘wristlet’ bags; apparently frivolous twists of fabric in pretty and textured materials, featuring distinctive handles, more bracelet than handbag, but concealing sufficient space to tuck away those small items without which you cannot leave home.

It is easy for everyone to find a fashionable handbag this season given the gorgeous variety of models and shapes available and the wide range of materials that they are made from. Get shopping and make sure you have a selection to suit all occasions and outfits!

Sources: handbagfashion.com, squidoo.com, wikipedia.com, stylishcube.com

This article was created by the team at Pick Me Up Bingo, who have a passion for fashion!

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Paris

Paris is synonymous with elegance and style, Paris is what London tried to be all throughout the Victorian era. These days Paris is still a recognised fashion capital. Many excellent fashion houses are French, like Louis Vuitton or Catimini clothing, which specialises in children’s wear. Fashion week in Paris takes place twice a year catering for the Autumn/Winter lines and Spring/Summer lines. These events revolve around a main catwalk where the most high profile design houses exhibit. During the weeks though there are other official unveilings and satellite events where designs like the less high profile Catimini clothing can take stage.

London

London is currently ranked the no.1 fashion capital in the world, a title it gained in 2011. It is unusual for a city to remain at the no.1 spot for more than one year, however prior to 2011 New York had held the title for 5 years. The rankings are calculated by the Global Language Monitor and sometimes the big 4 fashion capitals may not feature in the official top 4 fashion cities for that year at all. The Global Language Monitor works out the rankings by tracking what people are searching for in terms of fashion on the internet, and in up to 75,000 other media sources including those in print. As a result of the research London came out on top, jumping from its 2010 position of 3rd. It is likely that the reason for the top-spot-takeover was the Royal wedding, during which Kate Middleton received significant exposure, especially in regards to her image and fashion.

New York

As previously mentioned, New York had held the top spot as the no.1 fashion capital of the world for 5 years until 2011. New York plays host to a fashion week in February and September every year which features designers from around the world. It was in New York that the first ever fashion week occurred in 1943, at the time it was known as Press Week. It was in fact a French fashion week, but due to the occupation of France by Nazi forces the Americans offered to host the event. When the show finally made it home to France, and as the other major fashion capitals began to run their own competitive but complementary shows, the name ‘Press Week’ had to be altered to define the event.

2009 was a big year for New York fashion week. The global financial crisis had struck just a year earlier and much of the world was gripped by recession. The fashion industry was not immune from the effects and as a result New York fashion week saw many of the host of designers creating recession friendly pieces. The pieces that were being designed were created with the purpose in mind that they could be used for more than one season, so the versatile designs could be utilised by the consumer all year round, helping to make the pennies go that little bit further.

Milan

Fashion weeks allow the industry to pick up on the overall trends for the coming season. Classy Italian fashion houses will often display at the Milan Fashion Week which again is held twice a year, in February/March and September/October. 2011 saw the inclusion in the top 4 official fashion cities for that year of the actual big 4 fashion capitals, with Milan reaching a position of 4th, behind London, New York, and Paris. Over the years though Milan has often worn the crown as the top fashion capital and it is certain to regain the title at some point again in the future, perhaps when the hype of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the London Summer Olympics dies down.

Citations:

• Photograph by Simon Ackerman

For full access to wonderful children’s Catimini clothing head over to Scarlet Sky’s fabulous online store.

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