Harlem Fashion Week 2012

For a place that seems like its own world amongst the metropolis that is NYC, Harlem consistently draws folks in to the many wonders that it possesses. One thing I’d like to share about this wonderland with you all is Harlem Fashion Week 2012’s “A Great Day in Harlem”. Now I’m usually one to relax on my Sundays but when I heard that this event was going down, I decided to do something I don’t normally do. I would try to stimulate all of my artistic pleasure centers at once by attending and boy was it worth it.
To start things off with the International Cultural Showcase made my heart skip a beat because I LOVE dance. The companies that performed were Company and Uptown Dance Academy, The Dance Theater of Harlem, and Millennium Dance.

Uptown Dance Academy

Things were then topped off with a performance by the Harlem Arts Organization Impact Repertory Theatre which was too beautiful. The next part of the day involved a medley or gospel tunes belted out by the New York Gospel Caravan complete with the likes of Melody Daniels to the South African Harlem Voices.

South African Harlem Voices

The many voices resounded in tribute to the late Sylvia Woods, the Queen of Soul Food.

Hezekiah Walker

Freddie Jackson

Cuba Gooding Senior

Alicia Meyers

Next up was the Fashion Fusion Showcase and boy was it a show indeed. Everybody was out to strut their stuff due to the latest and the greatest that New York has to offer in head to toe fashion. The many names to headline the segment included Deborah Williams; Fabric Twins; Yvetta Petty; Duane Fish; Sofistafunk; Roger Gary; and Roger Rodney, Edwina Greg, Clarence Black, Gadol Wilson, and Douglas Says.

Designer Douglass Say

The audience was then wowed afterwords with a guest preview of the new uniforms for the National Park Service Forest Rangers.

National Park Services

I was excited for more to say the least seeing as by now I’d been on a euphoric high from all the art and culture that surrounded me.
The day started to wind down and came to a close with a salute to Hal Jackson that really lifted my spirits because I grew up listening to him with my parents on weekend hauls to run household errands. Being stuck in the car and not being a child of today’s technology era, music was my only escape and Hal Jackson took was always there to take me to my happy place. The Daily News and Harlem Week paying him tribute was a great way to end a fantastic day in an even more fantastic way.

Hal Jackson Honors
To see what Harlem truly had to offer that day only reaffirmed that no matter how gritty the streets of 125th St. are, or how posh certain parts of Harlem seem to be, it all doesn’t matter. The collective group of people that come together to join forces and share new experiences with one another is what matters most as well as the most satisfying and rewarding feeling that you could ever walk away with after a visit to Harlem. The best part about that day was that it doesn’t stop there. You, yes YOU, still have a chance to join in on the festivities throughout the rest of August. Visit http://www.Harlemweek.com or call (212) 862-8477 for all the details and I promise that you won’t regret it!

Fashion 101: Class is in Session

Welcome to Fashion Academy. Today, you enter as fledgling artists ready to officially retire your swag license. However by the end you will leave a fully matured master of painting your body with the physical embodiment of your soul. First stop, Fashion Vocabulary.

The first step of handing in your swag license is necessary because anything can be called swag. You don’t want to be the person or the people that walk around hastily attaching the word swag to the end of every sentence describing your attire. So yes, that does mean that your hand-knitted cat sweater from grandma is definitely not “swagged out.” Oh, and the same applies for being a fashionista. It’s 2012. Anybody with access to YouTube and a computer or cell phone is a fashionista. Unless you want yourself and grandma to be rocking the same latest trends, it’s time to switch it up.

You want achieve a higher form of fashion intellect that distinguishes you from your primary days and elevates you to a much more sophisticated platform. So let’s get to step two. This separates the men from the boys, and the women from the girls. We’re going to extend our vocabulary to include a word that displays your newfound taste: recherché (pronounced re-share-shay). No, I’m not talking about the delicious chocolate candy, but it is a French word meaning exotic and rare. It should be used sparingly so that the meaning remains regal each time it is used. So for example, if someone is walking down the street wearing their best business attire, it’s at best professional etiquette. But if someone steps out of their house looking like Kelly Rowland at the 2012 Grammys, then you would say, “that’s recherché” or “she’s so recherché.” Beware not to make this the new swag, let’s remember that you want to be the one to teach grandma about the latest fashion trends, not the other way around. Kind of treat it like a fashionable spice; a little goes a long way.

Next up, comes the new stance that you need to go with your innovative mindset. Please note that there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness.  Cockiness gets you looking like Kanye west in the middle of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech, confidence gets you working the crowd like Sasha Fierce but people please, NO alter egos need apply. That’s because it should all lie within you and who you are as a person, not who you invent yourself to be at any given moment. (Warning the Nicki Minaj effect is NOT… I repeat NOT desirable!) You want people to hear and see that you of yourself need no cosigner and that you have your fashion game on lock both inside and out. The right attitude gives you presence over those who confuse labels with being superior in the fashion game instead of acknowledging these cardinal rules that I lay before you.

Finally, you want to never stop learning. That fashion game never stops evolving. The lingo is ever-changing. The clothing and accessories are constantly crossing lines. What should never change is what you represent and that should be authenticity. It’s that realness that people appreciate and keep with them. So doorknockers went out of style. They also came back out with a vengeance, so don’t be a bandwagon buddy. It is your responsibility to take a stand but also educate and encourage your fashion peers to be individuals and not just like or dislike something as if it’s a trending topic on Twitter.

So now it’s time to collect your cap and gown. Your only senior dues are to take your pristine knowledge and pass it on. It’s time to walk down the aisle and it should be your proudest moment because you have truly earned it. You have been armed with the best information needed to take your fashion game to the most premier echelon once and for all. Now is your time to own it. Congratulations class, you have made it.