Our stories start the same.

Kelly moved to New York at the age of 22 from a small town outside of Syracuse, without a specific purpose, simply because she knew the city was calling her.  She arrived without knowing a soul and with very few possessions, except for the beleaguered blessing from her father (which wasn’t easy to come by).

I moved to New York at the age of 22 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, without a specific purpose and without knowing a soul, because I too believed that this was the city where my dreams would come true. My parents were also very supportive, but with the cautionary “Alyson, New York is a lovely place to visit, but its really not a place to live.”

Soon–from our East Village apartments, we both discovered PR and that much of what we had been doing our whole lives–our skills and our passions–were perfectly suited for the business.

Fortunately, our similarities diverge here, and I was able to skip the decade of drug addiction, failed marriages and homelessness–although it does sound par for the course from what you hear about the East Village in the late 80s /early 90s.

Without judgment though, it was such a vicarious experience to read about Kelly’s trials and tribulations which have clearly led her to become the grounded, extremely successful, loving mother, and villain we absolutely love to hate on shows like MTV’s “The Hills,” “The City,” and Bravo’s “Kell on Earth.”

Her book is a true motivator for any female entrepreneur or business owner, outing that ‘little voice inside your head’ also known as ’self doubt,’ by identifying your ‘true voice,’ and when and where it’s time to listen to it.  She confirms that there are ups and downs in business, constant fear and excitement in career, and that it’s possible to be a woman and truly ‘have it all.’  I love that she admits she had no idea what she was doing at first–practice makes perfect.

Her attitude in business and in life is authentic.  Though our styles are completely different, I strive to follow her lead of authenticity and honesty, and I’m going to keep a “What would Kelly do?” approach in my back pocket the next time ‘times get tough.’

The book, which released in March 2010, is now on The New York Times Bestseller’s list, and with good reason.

Some favorite quotes from the book (via Styleit.com):

An explanation of the book’s purpose:

“…[T]his isn’t a book about how to be a smart businesswoman, because I’m not a smart businesswoman. Frankly, I’m not even that smart. What I am is fearless and intuitive. I’m attuned to the sound of my inner voice, and I’ve been following it blindly for most of my life, without any clear goals.”

On the name of her company:

“I named my company People’s Revolution not because I’m a Communist – a popular misconception – but because I happen to believe the world will change only when we change ourselves. And that starts with finding ourselves. And that starts with listening to ourselves…”

On the importance of hard work:

“It was becoming obvious that I needed more than witty small talk and the right look to survive in this town. [Y]ou can fake your way to the table, but ultimately you have to learn how to eat. Clothes do not make the woman (even if they do make her look good).”

On her work ethic:

“These days, I continue to call members of the media myself rather than outsourcing the work to my staffers, because you can never be too good for the things that first made you successful. I will always remember that at twenty-three years old, as an untrained and unknown publicity newbie from Syracuse, I tried my best to get the whole country talking about my message with no staff, no office, no assistant, no Blackberry, and no know-how, just with conviction, truth, and balls. And it worked.”

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

I’m currently catching up on Season 2 of “The City,” which I admittedly watch for the genius and inspiration that is PR guru, Kelly Cutrone.  What I’m loving this season though, is the added PR insight as Whitney launches her new collection, and Olivia and Erin duke it out over at the PR department of Elle Magazine.

In real life, I have to believe that Olivia would be canned for her behavior and lack of PR sensibility by now.  She never follows direction, has zero attention to detail, sends her clients on national TV segments unprepared, always thinks she is above the tasks at hand, and when confronted about the terrible job she’s doing, consistently uses the defense “I’m not having this conversation with you right now.“  Then, they give her the job of interviewing up & coming fashion designers in the industry, and she consistently starts and stops with one original question, “what was the inspiration behind your collection?” followed-up with an interruption to talk about herself.

PR101 = be a good listener, work hard, pay your dues, do the grunt work, do your homework, validate other peoples thoughts, ideas and opinions, and be respectful.

So the purpose of this post is a giant thumbs up to Miss Erin Kaplan, who remains poised and respectable despite Olivia’s reckless imitation of appropriate workplace behavior.

To learn more about Erin, check out this Q&A interview submitted by an Elle reader (via Elle.com):

On the show, you are always very confident and to-the-point, but has there ever been a time when you were at a loss for words?

That’s so nice to hear, especially since I feel quite the opposite when filming! Hindsight is always 20/20 and the majority of the time I wish I could go back and change what I said or at least phrase it a bit differently. You can never be too sure of what you’re walking into so it’s impossible to prepare. I just try to handle each situation the way I would if the cameras weren’t there.

We’ve seen Whitney’s love life crash and burn multiple times and it seems like Roxy might find a romantic interest this season. Will we see that side of Erin on the show?

Probably not….It seems like such a contradiction because I’m on a reality show, but I really try to keep my private life private. Dating can be awkward in general but it would be that much more awkward to know that my boss, coworkers, work contacts and parents were going to be watching the date!

Are you satisfied with how The City has portrayed you? If not, what would you like people to know that would help them get a more balanced and accurate idea of who Erin Kaplan is?

I’m always so serious (and ridiculously dramatic) on the show! I have an incredible job at ELLE and a great time doing it but you rarely get to see me actually working. I think they’ll show a bit more of what my job entails this season though. My relationship with Joe is also so much less formal off-camera. It’s not so serious and we spend a lot of our time laughing.

Can you elaborate on one of your most memorable moments with ELLE?

I definitely don’t think I can pick just one! I’ve been lucky enough to work on so many incredible projects…Ugly Betty is the first thing that comes to mind though. I was such a huge fan of the show to begin with, so to have the magazine be integrated into a storyline was surreal. I also love working with Robbie and the editors so anything involving them is always pretty memorable.

I read in an article that you are the youngest PR Director in the magazine’s history! Do you feel any added pressures to prove yourself because of your age?

Not so much pressure, more motivation. I think that at the end of the day it’s results, not age, that really matters.

When he is not on TV, Derek is also the founder and creator of DerekLovesShopping.com, a lifestyle destination that acts as a guide to “help, teach, inspire, love and have fun” with fashion and beauty. He also owns an apparel and home design collection and regularly teaches workshops at the Bottomless Closet NYC, an organization that helps women who are going back into the work force.

Taking his style expertise to the next level, Derek is now making himself exclusively available to his fans and followers via Blazetrak.com—a service that allows the general public to get directly in touch with celebrity professionals in exchange for guaranteed video feedback.  On Blazetrak, Derek will be responding to questions on personal style, getting started as a stylist, and dishing up advice on self-promotion and mastering the art of creating a strong personal brand.  The types of talent he is recruiting will grow and change over time, with plans to hire interns, editorial contributors and Fashion Week Correspondents through the platform, among other tangible opportunities within the fashion arena.  To get in touch with Derek via Blazetrak, visit his profile at: www.Blazetrak.com/DerekFabulous.

My J. Mendel coverage is live on JSD  (which you can read complete with full photo spread here or see the basic copy below!)

***

On the final day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, J. Mendel freshened things up by showing a ‘Presentation’ in the Salon Tent, a welcomed alternative to the traditional runway show. Here, we were able to get up close & personal with the clothes, and really see the fine details (of which there were many).

Not only could you take your time to really drink in and explore each piece within the collection, but the presentation-style set up also allowed for some mingling, photo opps, and champagne to be enjoyed–while lacking the stressful seating frenzy.

Because it is also so important to see how the garments move, the models took turns rocking the center runway and posing underneath an arch at the end for the photographers, while the other models stood on elevated light boxes like mannequins, posing for the onlookers.

Designer, Gilles Mendel, described the Fall 2010 look as “elements of nature brought to a downtown scene.” As seen throughout the week, layering and an unexpected blend of fabrics were also big here, as well as fur accents, which were a collaboration with Kopenhagen Fur.

Tweeds and furs were blended with crystallized landscapes, metallic embellishments, and gold thread linings. The looks were accessorized by louche hand-knitted mink skull caps, hoods and mittens, with jewelry by Christine McPartland.

The collection included wool and cashmere coats, cocktail dresses, skirts, and full length gowns which came in deep reds, Prussian blues and volcanic greens.

A stand out look that seemed to personify the overall collection was a dyed silver fox vest with a sequined panel along the back side of the vest, seen worn over top of a molten red satin face silk mousseline cocktail dress.

During the show, I had a chance to catch up with Ted Gibson of Ted Gibson Salon, who handled the hair for the show. It was definitely more of a slick look, as opposed to anything too feminine or soft. “I used L’Oreal Professional ‘Freezing Mist’ to create the sleek and sexy look,” Ted told me as he looked on at the presentation, “It’s all straight and down, but what you might not see is that there is a section of hair on each side, pinned back, with sleek hair flowing over top.”

This was Ted’s fourth and final show of this week, using 12 of his team members per show from both his New York and D.C. salons.

Makeup was handled by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.  “The J. Mendel woman for Fall is strong and chic, and has an effortless and modern sex appeal,” said Wendy Rowe on behalf of Bobbi Brown Co. The  makeup, like the hair, was very polished and structured.

Shoes were all by Christian Louboutin, with the signature red soles accenting the looks. They were mostly all in the same ankle-boot cut except for a few slouched booties, that better complimented the short dresses with which they were paired.

My Christian Siriano coverage is live on JSD  (which you can read complete with full photo spread here or see the basic copy below!)

***

The Season 4 winner of Project Runway , Christian Siriano, has quickly become a staple in the fashion community, causing more of a scene in the line-up at the tents than any of the other shows thus far, some with more veteran names than his. Fans (ranging from celebrities to industry,  and from press to local tastemakers) flocked into the show, anxious to see what Christian would be introducing for Fall 2010.

Christian, who once interned for Alexander McQueen while studying in London, had claimed McQueen to be one of his favorite designers, who undoubtedly has had an influence on his style. He creates wearable women’s wear, sophisticated lines, that have previously been picked up to retail at Saks Fifth Avenue in season’s passed.

Front row celebrities at the show included CariDee English (Top Model), Kristen Johnston (actress), Amber Rose (model), and Siriano’s boyfriend Brad Walsh, who was sandwiched by Mena Suvari (actress) and Kat DeLuna (pop star). Walsh, as always, produced the music that was used to highlight the runway show.

This season, Christian’s line was said to represent 1960s Euro women—particularly Parisian women—who got dressed (to the nines) every day.  The looks were accessorized by Christian’s new outrageous shoe collection for Payless, and blinged-out eye wear, designed by Kerin Rose.

Stong zip-front coats and trenches with feminine waistline detailing were the first looks out the gate, accented by wool and cashmere pieces. Pencil skirts and dresses (that were very wearable from 9-to-5 into night) came next, lots of black and grey with sparkle and hints of flare.

Christian is no stranger to formal wear either, revealing satin and silk dresses with ruffles running diagonally from shoulder to hip, in black, fuchsia and a rich royal blue, which was seen throughout the show and often paired with black.

My favorite look of the evening was a free-flowing fuchsia dress, belted in black, and over laying a silk pencil skirt in royal blue. The finale dress, though, garnered a reaction of shrieks and whistles from the crowd before the show officially concluded. It was a gorgeous fuchsia gown with an organza draped bodice and a scalloped tulle gown with a full train.

*Finale Dress

*Finale Walk

*Christian doing backstage interviews

*Mena Suvari (photo by John Simon)

*Christian Siriano’s boyfriend, Brad Walsh (photo by me)

*Christian Siriano doing backstage interviews post-show (photo by me)

My Backstage Interview @ the Christian Siriano show is live on JSD  (which you can read complete with full photo spread here or see the basic copy below!)

***

Makeup for Christian Sirano’s Fall 2010 runway collection was conceptualized and designed by Polly Osmond, who worked with Siriano last season as well.

Backstage, we had a chance to catch up with Darcie Louise, who was spearheading the looks for the day. Using Christian Siriano’s makeup line for Victoria’s Secret, the look was characterized as “Modern Retro” with a major emphasis on the brows. Not strong, solid, abrupt brows though, cautioned Darcie. Instead, they were bold brows with a certain wispyness – using pencils and brushes to highlight the natural look.

On Siriano, Darcie says “He’s amazing, a great designer. I think he’s one of the up & coming designers to watch in New York, he’s definitely A-list right now.”

How to get the look?  Darcie walks us through the process:

• First, you need to begin with beautiful cleansed skin, that has been moisturized.
• Because it’s such a strong brow, for this look you begin with foundation first, followed by concealer and then power. The powder is used ONLY in the T-Zone area, because it is a medium matte finish, and you don’t want to do powder all over.
• Next is the brow, the defining piece.  To create this kind of brow, start by defining the brow and creating the brow. Then, use small strokes with either a pencil or brush to emphasize the small hairs.  It’s not about big chunks, but rather wispy individual hairs. Darcie recommends using the brow gel by Victoria Secret as needed as well.
• Next up is the lash: curl the lashes, and apply 3-4 coats of mascara, and apply mascara only lightly to the bottom lash.
• As for the cheeks, she encourages subtle blush contrast, nothing too abrupt.
• Finally, the lip is very strong as well.  It’s a creamy matte lipstick in fuchsia called “Lavish” by Victoria Secret.

Darcie walks us through the ‘look boards’ that Polly & Christian created together:

Hair for the Fall 2010 show was handled by Aveda and we also had a chance to speak to Antoinette Beenders, the Global Director of Aveda, on the vision. “The look is Parisian-inspired,” says Antoinette, “very classic with a wave to it.” Most of the looks would be up do’s, based around the wave, and there would be one look that was down, with the hair curled in waves and over to one shoulder.

They used Aveda’s “Air Control” and were also debuting another line called “Control Force” during fashion week, which is a 24-hour resistant spray, that will be available for the public on June 20^th, 2010.

(Video footage by yours truly, photo by John Simon).

Sponsored by BBM Group, Midi Mafia will be conducting their Blazetrak reviews live on their new weekly web series, entitled “Casa Mafia,” which will be streamed on both Ustream (www.Ustream.tv/midimafia) and their official website: themidimafia.com.

Over the course of 3 webisodes, 15 aspiring artists will be given the amazing opportunity to be reviewed and showcased on the most active live-streaming website on the internet.  Submissions will be accepted via Blazetrak.com all month long (deadline: February 28^th), and 15 of these submissions will be chosen for the live events, with five artists being reviewed per webisode.

The webisodes will air every Tuesday in March starting on March 2^nd [4pm - 6pm PST / 7pm – 9pm EST].  Throughout the month of March, fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites via polling on themidimafia.com.  During the fourth episode of the month, airing Tuesday, March 23^rd, Midi Mafia will be interacting with fans and reviewing the poll results in order to choose a winner from the 15 Blazetrak reviews.

Ultimately, Midi Mafia will select who they deem the most talented as the official winner of the series.  The winner will receive the experience of a lifetime, including a first class flight to LA to spend the weekend with Midi Mafia working together in their studio to record and polish one track that will later be showcased on both Blazetrak.com and themidimafia.com.

For this talent search specifically, Midi Mafia will be looking for artists (all ages) that can sing and/or play instruments.  They will be seeking out a fresh sound that will be highly marketable for radio and live performances.  Users are invited to submit one original audio track that best represents his or her talent via Blazetrak, for a fee of $100 per submission.  All submissions will be graded on a scale of 1 – 5 based on the following criteria: marketability, voice/instrumental quality, and originality.

Throughout the web series, users can expect unpredictable visitors to be popping in and out of the Midi Mafia house, including some of the top names in entertainment.

All submissions will receive a guaranteed video response directly from Midi Mafia, even if not chosen for the live event.

Midi Mafia, consists of co-producers Dirty Swift and Bruce Waynne, who are known for creating some of the biggest hits on the charts today.  Their clients include: 50 Cent, Jennifer Lopez,  John Legend, Brandy, David Archuleta, Justin Beiber and Nelly, just to name a few.

For more information on Blazetrak and this special Casa Mafia talent search, please visit: www.Blazetrak.com/midimafia.

*The Midi Mafia

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

My Ports 1961 coverage is live on JSD  (which you can read complete with full photo spread here or see the basic copy below!)

***

Ports 1961, a label that debuted in 2006, as a spin-off of Canadian sportswear label “Ports International,” is led by Vancouver-native, Tia Cibani. Her designs beautifully illustrate women’s Ready To Wear, with romantic silhouettes and often, an ethnic twist. Last year, her Fall 2009, took on a very timely theme, with Indian inspired music and dress. This season, Tia channeled what seemed to be an Asian-inspiration, indicated in both the choice of music and the sushi platters included in the gift bags.

On our way in, we found MTV’s “The City” filming for the show with Elle’s Creative Director, Joe Zee, sitting front row with fellow Elle staffer, Olivia Palermo; and best buds Whitney Port and Roxy Olin seated one row back.

The Thursday afternoon show began with a much deserved “moment of silence” for Alexander McQueen who had just passed that morning, and for that moment, the tent fell completely silent while the lights were still up.

After some smoke and a gong-like sound, the show was off to an interesting start.  First out were a lot of neutrals, with helmet-style hats, and layered architectural trenches with bold dresses. Grey, beige, camel and cognac dominated with unexpected leather and wool accents throughout. Shoulder pads and asymmetrical patterns were shown and most looks were decorated by a unique metallic detailing or off-kilter neck piece.

The evening wear came in gold, copper, dark browns and deep purples, showings more chunky knits, layers and soft separates. Although I loved everything about the line, the looks, and the colors du jour, I was most obsessed with the big free-flowing curly teased hair, which billowed out on the models with volume, body and little structure.

Cibani characterized the line as “inspired by the relationship between discovery and invention.”

*Finale Walk footage by me!

*Roxy Olin & Whitney Port filming a scene for MTV’s The City…you may also recognize Roxy from this season of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters (she plays the surrogate)

The morning of Day 1 was quickly overshadowed by news that famed British designer Alexander McQueen had committed suicide.  In this day in age, word spreads quickly–I first heard the moment I pulled up Twitter that morning.  Apparently, news broke during the BCBG show, wherein long-standing Vogue Editrix, Anna Wintour, first heard the news and went running out mid-show.  Other friends and colleagues were also horrified by the news, including Naomi Campbell who was seen soon after and described as “visibly distraught.”

As with the bad news, any news during Fashion Week is able to be funneled and shared quickly, thanks to the evolution of the fashion bloggerati.  No longer do we have to wait to read about it in the pages of WWD or The New York Times, instead, fashion followers are blogging the news, Facebooking the pictures, and Twittering the trends in bite-sized pieces.

Publishing the story first has become increasingly important.  It lends itself to getting referenced and quoted in other media outlets and it helps your blog or publication in getting ranked higher on Google.   It is even more important though, to the subjects of the matter.   One blogger’s opinion has the power to impact how the show will be received overall and dangerously lends itself to other bloggers and traditional reporters following suit.  I guess it’s a media phenomenon which some might refer to as lazy journalism.

Sponsors are catching on to new media as well.  The main area of the tents now boasts a giant leader board, sponsored by American Express.  It posts a Twitter feed in real time, by the minute, featuring Fashion related tweets from anyone that uses the #FW hashtag.  People insides the shows are twittering the stand out trends as on lookers watch from outside.

The tents are also now fully equipped for the blogger lifestyle, with a media lounge that promotes wireless internet and battery-charging outlets.

Finally, this season’s New York Fashion Week is also memorable, because it is going to be the very last season in the Bryant Park Tents.  In September, the semi-annual show moves itself to Lincoln Center.

[IMAGES: Fashion Designer and Washington Style Reporter, Ms. Bob Bland of Brooklyn Royalty, sports an outfit tailored to the morning's heartbreaking McQueen news]

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

The event was fittingly held in the old Tower Records space on 4th & Bway, which felt so desolate and sad, after being stripped of its musical inventory.  Brightening things up though, was a non-profit organization entitled “No Longer Empty” which brings temporary cultural exhibits to unused real estate throughout the city.  As such, the walls displayed a slew of musical tributes, ranging from a flock of birds made out of old vinyl records to a wall plastered with all of the magazine covers that famed wanna-be rapper, Vanilla Ice, graced back in the early 90s.

Before the panel got started, SoundCTRL announced a new contest called FlashFWD.  Here, they are looking for the top music startups that are reshaping the current music biz model as we know it.  (Be a doll, and nominate my client BLAZETRAK for this honor here).  Winner gets to attend the infamous SXSW conference, the largest music & tech conference of the year.

The panel incuded:
James Andrews – Moderator (@keyinfluencer)
Marisa Bangash – Uncensored Interview (@mbangash)
Andrew Katz – Pepsi – Music Marketing Division (@phillykatz)
?uestLove – Drummer for The Roots / current drummer on The Jimmy Fallon Show (@QuestLove)

The debate explored the not-necessarily-foreseeable new model that the music industry is going to need to adopt, as music sales continue to decline, and the consumer continues to have innovative ways to access music online for free.  For the most part, the panel agreed that the question comes down to the financier.  Who is going to finance the artist development, the studio time, the production, and ultimately, the publicity of the musical acts?  How are we going to have superstars like Michael Jackson and Beyonce without sales and thus funding?

This lead into a discussion over the notion of partnering Brands with Bands, and if the advertising companies, or the huge corporate sponsors (Hi there, Pepsi!), would be the new creatives in the business.  Brands as curators?  And whether or not marketing will impede upon the musical integrity of an act.   Andrew Katz, representative of Pepsi, quickly chimed in that this is something that Brands will have to earn.  It’s a process of building up that kind of credibility and respect, something he says Pepsi is already in the process of doing.

Other suggestions for new revenue models ranged from music superstars being paid to tweet, having digital music listening charge like a utility bill would, and even one mention that Blazetrak is solving the problem!

My favorite moment of the night was when Questlove was talking about hip-hop not having any credible acts with major $$$ budgets backing them before 1992.  At which point his eye conveniently caught the Vanilla Ice exhibit, and he cracked up, thinking about how it was manufactured rap acts just like this, who helped to bring hip-hop into the mainstream.   Questlove’s insight, passion, and humor added a thoroughly enjoyable touch to the evening’s discussion (read: huge crush).

What do you think is the next sustainable model for the music business?

**All photos courtesy of Random Night Out’s Nick McGlynn

*The Panel (from left to right): James Andrews, Marisa, Andrew Katz, Questlove

*The audience, during Q&A (I was sitting directly in front of the guy asking the question, how am I not visible?)

*Nate Casey, co-founder of Blazetrak.com, chatting with Questlove

*The lovely Emily Gannett with Social Diva, Peg Samuel.

*The SoundCTRL board members w/ the Panelists

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]