MEN ARE FROM MARS: THE RETURN

OCEAN Launch Party @ Splash!!

this TUESDAY at Splash was the very anticipated launch of OCEAN! this party was hands down the best party that i've produced thus far. Nathan Presents, Phoenix Sun & Dejene Productions brought the house down and i mean it. We got there early to set up as Shequida was wrapping up her weekly karaoke night. the crowd was abuzz with anticipation for what all the commotion was about. things started to heat up as the first bottle was popped. i have to say that the who's who of the community came out to represent. i can't name everybody that was there, but hopefully these pictures will show what happened that night... special shout outs to ballroom rockstar magazine, bleu magazine, h/x magazine, the entire staff at SPLASH, the crew that flew in from LA, eva, eric, patrick riley, b. michael, the list goes on and you can expect to see many more celebrities as TUESDAY nights gets hotter this fall!

See you next TUESDAY @ OCEAN!

b. michael Fashion Show After Party @ PM

this past sunday, i had the only adrenaline rush. this sunday was the b. michael Fashion Show that i'd been producing for the past 6 weeks. for those of you who were in the know and in attendance, i'm sure you had a fabulous time. b. michael sent his best spring '07 collection down the runway this year. the show was off the charts filled with gorgeous female models and tasty male models as he introduced his men's collection b. homme. the house was packed with standing room only. celebrities, fashionistas, press, photographers and camera crews.

i'd like to give a special shout out to everyone who worked on the show. there are way too many people to name but i have to thank dr. neil lowe, steve andrieux, ray, myron brooks, donnie, desean, maurice, christi, james, eric, sha, huff entertainment and of course the man himself b. michael! much continued success to you b.

interview with WILLIAM TASWELL III

1. When did you first discover your passion for fashion? Well, I've actually been drawing since I was 7 years old. Even then, my focus was women and architecture. I would draw mermaids and castles. I would draw women and design coordinated outfits, lol. It's so weird because I actually still have many of the drawings. I look at them and think, oh my God, how could I have ever drawn such fashion disasters. Though, I think it was the beginning of my calling, fashion was in my soul. I was born for this journey and I'm now living my dream.

2. What's the most exciting thing about what you do? The most exciting thing about do what I do is waking up everyday and being one of the small group of people in the world that gets to do what I absolutely love and have wanted to do all my life. Oddly, I groomed myself to be a doctor until I was 17. I had an impeccable 4.0 GPA and focused on Math and Science studies in school. I was also passionate about the French language and French culture. I speak French proficiently now, and I think my love of France and its culture definitely influenced my monumental decision to pursue fashion as a career instead of studying pre-med. It's a decision I will never regret, because, as stated earlier, I'm excited every day about design. I get to make women look beautiful in my view of a flawless fashion aesthetic.

3. Tell me a little about your position and the company you work for. Currently, I am the Head Designer of Stelle, www.stelleamerica.com. Stelle is a Luxury Knit Sportswear collection, owned by Creative Director, Barbara Baldieri March, an acclaimed European actress/singer, www.barbarabaldieri.com . I joined Stelle as the Head Designer for the Fall 2006 season and am currently finishing Spring 2007 and preparing to start Fall 2007. For Stelle, I direct all aspects of design from my initial sketch to retail production, with the assistance of my assistant, Ronie, and approval of Barbara. Stelle is a young collection, 2 years old, but with the best Showroom representation and PR Firm. Day-to-day is exciting but stressful coordinating teams a sample house, cutting house, and production house, as well as meeting deadlines, making fabric appointments. Stressful yes, but hey, I have the position a million other designers would kill for, and trust me during my 4 almost 5 years in the industry professionally, I would have killed, backstabbed, and done even more immoral things to get where I am if I had to. Luckily, I didn't have to do many of those things and let my quality of work speak for itself, though I did cut off my locks to advance my career in the high-end sector of my industry. Most people would be shocked that something like that would matter, but in the high-end sector of this industry, you can be eccentric with your style, but your visual grooming aesthetic needs to be conservative. A lesson I learned early and quickly.

4. What inspires you? My design aesthetic is very rich and luxurious. For my personal design aesthetic, I am inspired by women that are "Uptown chic, with downtown style". For Stelle, my inspiration is Barbara and her lifestyle. She's fabulous. I design classic and chic clothes with a little bit of a twist and edge. The idea of Stelle is to have chic clothes that can travel well with just a little bit of maintenance. Stelle looks like there's so much effort but the women that is the Stelle woman is fabulous effortlessly. Trust me, Stelle is beautifully constructed and the fabrics are of the highest quality. Overall, I am inspired by any and everything fabulous and that's just that.

5. Who are your favorite designers? tell me 3 and why you like them? This is such an easy question. My favorite designers are Matthew Williamson, Olivier Theyskens, Nicholas Ghesquiere, Stefano Pilati, Michael Kors, Lawrence Steele, and most importantly my three favorites are Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, and Tom Ford.

Oscar de la Renta- He is absolutely one of the masters of fashion. His ability to consistently, season after season, re-create the Oscar aesthetic without compromising the integrity of the collection but making women seamlessly beautiful is unparalleled by any other designer in my opinion. Not to mention he's known as the consummate gentleman of the fashion industry, a title I would someday like to behold.

Carolina Herrera- She epitomizes the image of her collection. She is chic, elegant, and fabulous. I love everything about her as a designer and person. Her silhouette is absolutely adorable. Known for putting pockets in evening gowns and ball skirts, a design detail that I love to utilize in many of my personal designs.

Tom Ford- Tom Ford showcases that you can be an effective and creative designer but still make financially successful collections. I am also a designer that thinks about the bottom line while designing. If realistically, a garment isn't going to sell, then I'm not designing it. He is a pioneer of this type of designer and I appreciate the years we were fortunate enough to have him at Gucci and YSL. He's one of the greatest designers of our time.

6. How would you describe your own sense of fashion? who are you wearing right now? My personal sense of fashion is the same as my design aesthetic. I'm "uptown chic with downtown style". I only wear bootleg to flare leg pants, my favorites are J. Lindeberg slacks and True Religion Joey jeans. I'm rather conservative with pant styles. I prefer clean lines, but periodically I'll purchase a pant that has some design details going on. I'm more adventurous with my shirts though. I love a shirt with beautiful design details, such as embellishments, beadings, prints, etc.. For tops, I wear a lot of D&G, Andrew Buckler, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and J. Lindeberg. Also, I love jackets and coats for spring and fall. Most of my coats are J. Lindeberg, but I bought, this past spring, this amazing light blue Victor & Rolf aviator jacket that I adore. Also, one of my favorite jackets is this green iridescent taffeta jacket from Calvin Klein Collection by Francisco Costa. People always compliment the fabrication and I love, love, love it. I don't really care for accessories much, I normally buy one brown shoe, one black shoe, and one neutral colored boot each season, usually from Hugo Boss, and Kenneth Cole Collection, but this past spring it was all about Dsquared for shoes and boots for me. Same goes for belts, but that's like once a year, normally Gucci and D&G. My jewelry is very muted, just my watch on my left wrist, spiritual bracelet on my right, and a Swarovski crystal necklace.

Today, I'm wearing a green/white tie-dyed D&G crew neck sweater that I also have in orange/white. You know I love something if I buy more than one color, which isn't often. Also, again, another pair of True Religion Joey jeans and my Dsquared boots. These boots have been like my everyday shoe and my other shoes I wear seldom. I prefer to save my shoes for fashion functions or other events.

7. Do you have any tips for someone trying to break into the fashion industry? The most important tip for someone trying to break in to the fashion industry, is to attend a fashion school and get a formal education. Unless you can benefit from some sort of preferential treatment or nepotism, classical training is a must. There is so much more to design than just sketching a pretty illustration. You must know how to make that garment. A keen knowledge of sewing, draping, and patternmaking is something we are trained to know. Most of us don't do any of these things outside of school because we are trained to dictate to the appropriate teams of the garments construction and pattern, after all, even in entry-level the job of fashion designer is an executive position. Not to mention, you have to learn and perfect Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, among various other computer programs that are essential to the life of a designer. The job of the fashion designer is 24-7 and should not be taken lightly, after all fashion design ranks within the top 10 of most strenuous and time-consuming majors among colleges alongside medicine and law. It's not a 40 billion dollar industry for nothing, actually it's the industry we absolutely can't live without. Our industry is seen as pretentious and trivial but we work really hard and our days are never-ending, so to become a designer should be a very well-thought out decision and not taken lightly.

FLAWLESS - SEPTEMBER 2006 - JERMAINE

1. What do you do for a living? I work for the Government, can't really say what branch of the gov't based on the great "Federal Government Policy" LOL. I also have my own personal training business. Also, a fitness model. U could say I do a lot for a living!!

2. How important is it for a person to be physically fit? It's important for a person to be in shape to the level where they have energy throughout the day and it also limits possible health problems. In general life is better when you're physically fit. You can handle life's daily issues and actitvities easier. We pretty much all have busy lives and u can physically break down if you're not in shape. Being in shape doesn't mean having a six pack per se but being able to climb up stairs and walk a mile and not have a heart attack. My motto is live a "healthy livestyle". We all should have an idea of what that is.

3. What is your favorite season and why? The Summer you kiddin me? I get to show off my body!! LOL. I'm into seeing less clothes and that's what the summer is about. Walk around NY in the summer and you'll see why I like the summer. You see skirts, hot pants, tube tops, a lot of skin. Plus the beach u have the bikini's, breasts popping out and asses movin it's a beautiful thing for some. Damn man I'm getting warm I better chill!! Next Question.

4. Where do you go to relax? I have a huge deck where I live. So, I just take my beach chair, read a magazine, lay down and get some sun. It relaxes me. From time to time I'll sit out there naked!! Haven't been caught yet or should I say no one has said anything yet. Can't really relax during the winter because winter sucks to me. Trapped inside because it's cold. Thank God for football. For the record I'm a Miami Dolphins Fan!!!

5. Who are your favorite recording artists? I love music and talking about hip-hop. I like the DIPLOMATS. Cameron/Julez Santana/Jim Jones/JR Ryder. I enjoy their gutter grimy type beats. I love to workout to them because it gives me energy. 50 CENT I like because he feels he's the best and isn't scared to say it in his ryhmes. Plus he can make a commercial party hit and keep it gangsta as well. I'm not gangsta but I like his versatility. Lyrically I like EMENIM. He speaks his mind and can tell a great story lyrically. Can't talk about music without naming the NEPTUNES, TIMBERLAND and Dr. DRE. They are top producers in the game in my mind. If they produced it, it's a hit!!!

6. Tell me 2 women who you'd have a menage et trois with? Hmm, I was expecting a question on the sexual side. LOL! Can't call the girls names out because they'll be reading this and they don't want their business out there like that. I'll say it lasted 2 days. We need to do it again girls but this time let's use some whip cream and fruit. "keep your wife beaters clean" They know what I mean.

7. Do you prefer ice cream or sherbet to cool off and why? I prefer soft Ice Cream because it melts in your mouth and it's very creamy and the choclate & vanilla mix is like heaven. Not to change topics but maybe I can add the ice cream with the whip cream & fruit for the meneage et trois. Thanks for the idea Nathan. U ask great questions. LOL. Sherbet is like eating soft Ice with flavor. I haven't had Ice Cream in a while. Think I'm going to grab some right now.

interview with DANIEL BEATY

1. Tell me a little about EMERGENCE-SEE. Emergence-See! is the story of a Harlem family--a schizophrenic father and his two sons, one of whom is gay. As the play opens, the sons discover that a slave ship has risen out of the Hudson River in front of the Statue of Liberty and their father has climbed on top of it. The play is the sons journey to get their father off the ship and the wacky NY personalities they encounter along the journey. I use a lot of humor to discuss complex ideas -- the audience is laughing 60% of the time. The play is a fusion of song, spoken word, and character transformations--I play forty characters in the play, young and old, male and female.

2. What inspired you to write this one man show? My own journey to break free from aspects of my life that were causing me to feel bound was my initial impulse for Emegence-See! I also felt this desire to be "more free" all around me--free to love, free to follow your dreams, free to be fully expressed. A slave ship in front of the Statue of Liberty poses the question, "What stands in front of your freedom?"

3. I've seen you workshop the show and you really embody each character. How challenging was it for you to cram all of those characters into one body? Truly embodying characters is an incredibly joyous process for me. I identify a body, voice, emotional life, and social/political perspective for each character that allows it to pop. I have an internal truth meter that insists I am honest with the character that wants to be birthed through me.

4. Who are 3 of your favorite actors? I really enjoy Morgan Freeman, Alfre Woodard, and Denzel Washington. I also like Sean Penn.

5. If you could choose another profession other than acting, what would you choose and why? I find it difficult to imagine a profession other than the arts. I presently act, sing, direct, write, compose, produce, and teach in the arts. If I couldn't do any of these things, I would probably be in some type of healing profession like a minister or teacher.

6. I hear that you have a pretty good relationship with Ruby Dee, tell me about that. How did you meet? Ruby Dee attended a performance of Emergence-See! at a festival in Times Square. At the end of the performance, she came up to me with tears in her eyes. Since that time she, and Ossie before he passed, have been my number one advocates. Miss Dee is my angel.

7. Are you ready for the next level of success? I am in a place of tremendous gratitude in my life. God and the ancestors have given me a story to tell. I am thrilled that audiences are receiving it in such a tremendous way. I am working hard and staying focused. Am I ready for the next level of success? I say, "Bring it on!"

Emergence-See! begins a five week limited engagement at The Public Theater www.publictheater.org on October 10. Tickets go on sale September 10. You can learn more about Daniel and see excepts of his work at www.danielbeaty.com.

PAGE 7 - Ra-fael Blanco's 30th Birthday Party

it's always a blessing to live another year. it's even more of a blessing when you have friends to share special moments with you. this year, one of New York's finest publicist, celebrated his 30th birthday. the fabulous party was held at COLORS down on lafayette. it was sponsored by Bombay sapphire, giant magazine and a host of others. it was definitely an event to remember. check out these photos from the party. congratulations Ra-fael and may you have many more!!