intellectual properties

stellar: full of stars

especially now that this thing publishes to facebook i’m finding it extremely difficult to say anything more personal about the SF Fashion Awards.  part of the problem with proliferating your blog is that people read it.

i do not want to detract from the fact that i fully appreciate and respect what Del Geronimo is doing with this now-annual event: giving props and recognition to designers who create amazing things and get little in return in the way of media or coverage.  and let’s face it:  fashion is a business, and getting public recognition is IMPORTANT — if you want to run it as a business. anyway, please consider everything here constructive criticism. i have a whole mind full of other caveats but i’ll just get on with it:

my personal conflicts around the event, and the award i was nominated for (which i somewhat discussed here), were more or less two-fold:  1. the name of the event implies that all of SF fashion is represented, and 2. because it is done by popular vote, it feels like somewhat of a popularity contest amongst those who do end up represented, instead of some sort of independent panel giving awards based on merit.

the first thing:  to call it “THE SAN FRANCISCO FASHION AWARDS” suggests that the event producer has gone to some length to create an inclusive event that pulls from all the fashion scenes in SF.  it is true that during the nomination phase, ANYONE can be nominated (i think). the problem is that the circles in which the nomination forms and such are distributed are overlapping and insular – i don’t think this is by design, just by lack of coordination and effort. for this event to REALLY encompass all of SF fashion, there would need to be a huge push and a team dedicated to reaching out as far as possible, spreading the word, getting people “on board”. i honestly have no idea how hard Del tries to do this – maybe he does as much as he can, but i’m sorry to say that if that’s true it’s not getting very far.

so what emerges is a list of people nominated of which i pretty much personally know almost everyone (except the models, although i’ve been in shows with most of them too).   even if this were called the “The San Francisco INDEPENDENT Fashion Awards”, this wouldn’t be representative. i read SFINDIEFASHION.COM daily (which is awesome and you should too if you love SF indie fashion), and there are tons and tons of independent fashion designers in SF.  most of designers in the events and fashion shows listed on that site i’ve never heard of.  so the question is are people just not interested, or are they not getting reached? i have no idea. (btw, remember last year? i was in the running for things that made no sense, and said pretty much these same things then.)

on a more personal level:  i am deeply honored and humbled by receiving the award for Best Blogger (especially since i STUDIED WRITING in college and have never had a job as a writer so getting an award for writing somehow makes me feel like that degree in English wasn’t a complete waste of 4 years), but honestly: this blog isn’t about fashion. this is a lifestyle blog. this blog is about my life. fashion has, in recent years, played a larger role in my life, MANY THANKS to all of the people who’ve encouraged me to develop my participation and roles in the fashion scene. if it weren’t for the likes of Danielle@Missing Piece and Miranda Caroligne and Scatha@Miss Velvet Cream and Staz@BadUnklSista encouraging me to push my love of dressing up into something more, a huge part of my life would be so much different than it is, and i am extremely and eternally grateful for that. and while i could argue, if i wanted to, that “fashion” IS a lifestyle, and therefore it makes sense for a lifestyle blog to win a fashion award, still: there are bloggers/writers out there who focus all of their content on fashion, and even some who focus specifically on SF fashion, like sfindiefashion.COM or Fashion Smashion, a snarky blog who thinks they should’ve been nominated for best blog.

so while i am totally humbled and fully appreciate the recognition, i find it a little uncomfortable to stand up proud and say “YES! ME! I’M THE BEST FASHION BLOGGER IN SAN FRANCISCO!” because i honestly don’t believe it’s true. (reagan insists that the award i REALLY won was “most fashionable blogger”, and that i would gladly accept an award for. :=)

on the second point, during the voting period, one of the nominees wrote that she wasn’t going to participate because she felt it was all just a popularity contest. she is an ARTIST (in the truest sense i have ever met in human form) and was not into the idea of “winners” and “losers” in art, or having to “promote yourself” in order to win, instead of just winning on merit. still, she was nominated, and so many of us voted for her because if anyone was going to “WIN” she deserved to win.

i empathized with her feeling, but at the same time – it is what it is and so why not run with it? and so i decided to try to shelve these conflicts and just promote and support what the INTENTION of the event is, despite all the caveats and misgivings. but then when we were there, the day of, i did not see her and felt some guilt/shame that she was standing her ground as an artist and not a player in the scene and to be honest i felt a lot of weirdness around her not being there because i agreed with her, but there i was all dressed up in my fancy dress participating like i didn’t have any conflict. (it turns out, she was there too, i just didn’t see her).

i am not a huge fan of competition myself – it brings out the worst, not the best in me – and i can totally see how as an artist to get into the realm of “winning” – who can “win” art? – feels like a violation of principles. but fine line here was at what point are you being too much of an art snob to accept an award from people who love you as an artist? at what point are you “too cool” to promote yourself, say thank you, open up and accept appreciation, and instead snub those trying to lift you up? i felt like it would be totally and utterly disrespectful to not show up to receive an award given to you out of love, no matter how many issues the implementation might have had.  the intention is about RESPECT, and getting the nominations and votes of your peers is a sign of respect, a sign of love, a sign of recognition, and i think respect is deserved going both directions.

hopefully, as the SF Fashion Awards evolves, the net will be wider cast, the participants will be representative, and maybe the voting system won’t be as janky (or non-existent) and people will respect it more and more cred will be given to the event and the scene and the artists, which is the whole point to begin with. SF fashion gets put down a lot and there’s not a lot of attention for designers who are brilliant and hard working in this city, so i think the event should continue because i think it’s important. it just needs to grow, and there needs to be a diligent effort on the part of the producers and organizers to make it grow in a direction that reaches further than it currently does.

as for the actual fashion SHOW at the fashion awards, the only thing i have to say is: KITTINHAWK: i want you in my closet.

2009 SF Fashion Awards: the winners are:

BEST FASHION DESIGNER: Alexandria Von Bromssen – maker of things sexy and chic

BEST COSTUME DESIGNER: Bad Unkl Sista – you cannot get better costumes than this, and she will also push your buttons and make you laugh.

BEST ACCESSORY / JEWELRY DESIGNER: Jasmin Zorlu Millinery. if you need a fantastic hat (wedding-church-fashion show-stage-costume), contact this woman.

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Kyle Hailey – has taken more amazing photos of us and them and he deserves a million awards for all the capturing of beauty he has done. everything and everyone in the world looks so wonderful through his lens.

.::.SEE HIS FASHION AWARDS flickr photos HERE.::.

VISIONARY AWARD: FASHION DESIGNER: Miss Velvet Cream, who dresses you up in her love

HONORARY AWARD: Bad Unkl Sista. honorary for what? everything.

BEST HAIR OR MAKEUP ARTIST: San Francisco Institute Of Esthetics And Cosmotology

Best RUNWAY MALE MODEL: Tyler Wood Birestrand

BEST RUNWAY FEMALE MODEL: Lauren Fletcher

BEST MODEL: Kara Krauss

BEST FASHION SHOW EVENT: Lovesick 2

BEST SYLIST: Owen Buenaventura

BEST EVENT PRODUCER: Irene Hernandez Feiks @ Chillin’ Productions – supporting and promoting Bay Area fashion for the last 7 years

BEST STORE FRONT: Upper Playground

BEST FASHIONABLE DJ: Commodore 69

and yes: BEST BLOGGER / AUTHOR: Amy Leblanc / Intellectual Properties

photo by Kyle H Hailey

SEE ALSO: excellent “photobooth” photos of winners and models and guests by Moja Ma’at HERE!

i don’t think i need to repeat that i love the SF fashion scene, and am constantly inspired by all of these people, but i will. repeat.

fashion is expression, of us and our world.

fashion art, and should be treated as such.

models are performers and artists.  if you think it doesn’t take work and talent, you’re wrong.

designers are artists who create and fulfill and reflect and inspire.

san francisco has mad talent, expressed in a san francisco way.  it is not new york or milan.  it is independent, it is san francisco, and deserves this recognition that Del Geronimo has poured his heart into creating for us.  if you know a talented SF fashion designer/model/MUA/producer and wonder why they weren’t represented here, next year: NOMINATE. support. show us what you got.

more personal thoughts/words sold separately in the future.

unique but thematic

me & mz tamara ja in miss velvet cream (from our own collections) @ the SF Fashion Awards 7.26.09

photos by Moja Ma’at

one more of me below: Continue reading »

stellar

a full and proper thank you and other extended thoughts coming, but for now…..

SF Fashion Awards this Sunday 7/26

the San Francisco Fashion Awards are this Sunday, and we’ll find out if i won “best fashion blogger”. the awards ceremony is at 3:00pm! if you’re in SF and want to come see the spectacle/fashion show and hang out at the very cool Bambuddha Lounge and enjoy a fun fashionable afternoon, you can buy a ticket for just $10!  for the cost of one fruity drink, you can hang out poolside with the likes of me on a sunday afternoon, meet a bunch of local fashionmakers, and see a fashion show. many of the wonderful designers who make my fabulous clothes will be there.  if you’re looking for fabulous clothes made in SF, i can HOOK YOU UP. designers will also be there selling clothes and accessories, so, you know, bring your checkbook and support the local economy.

thx again to everyone who voted for me; if i win i will probably blush really hard and stumble over my dress and not be able to properly express myself. if i don’t win, i will be just as happy to cheer for whoever does.

ppssst.

only two days left to vote.

http://www.sanfranciscofashionawards.com/index.php?/online-voting/vote-here/

somebody asked why i should win this particular award. well, compared to the current frontrunner, i almost exclusively blog about san francisco fashion designers and SF events and almost never post anything about corporate labels, because i support independent fashion. i think that makes me a better candidate to represent the SF Fashion Awards than someone who blogs about everything from Gucci to Nike but just happens to live in San Francisco.

on fashion and style

since i got nominated for best fashion blogger but am now LOSING IN THE POLL (please vote if you have not yet!), i figure i should write something current on the subject before i take off for the holiday weekend, and i do have a lot of things to say on this. oh yes, i do. for those of you who care not about such topics, maybe skip this post. you are allowed to not care about fashion, about having a personal style, or maybe you like to unabashedly follow trends (in fact, this seems to be a distinct choice on the part of some people) and/or wear the exact same hoodie and jeans for 5 years. i don’t actually care what other people wear. i really only care what i’m wearing. so please don’t take my own fashion values as judgmental. it’s really not.

i also acknowledge that i am only a fashion WEARER, not a fashion professional, i never went to fashion school, and perhaps people who are in the ‘industry’ might disagree with some of the things i say here. this is all my personal POV as a fashion consumer, so take it from that perspective.

a couple of days ago m/o and i were discussing the details and motivations in developing, maintaining and then changing a “personal style”, and the philosophies and difficulties of doing so. these are some items related to that topic, some specific, some not.

Continue reading »

shameless plug: vote for me : SF fashion awards

i know i’ve been slacking on the blog posts lately, but please forgive me long enough to VOTE FOR ME in the SF Fashion Awards for Best Blogger. note that when you fill out the poll, you have to hit EACH ORANGE BUTTON. then it shows you the current results!

i also want to plug my dear friends Miranda Caroligne (fashion), Miss Velvet Cream (fashion), Bad Unkl Sista (costumes), Kyle Hailey (photog), Sequoia&Gita (fashion/photog), Missing Piece (fashion show/event producer), Jodie Adele (jewelry), K.Holden (blogger@sflovestory) and most especially, DEL GERONIMO (event producer/photog), who produces this event and i can only assume added my name to the list.

SF Fashion Awards, originally uploaded by wetribe.

sf fashion awards

so my photog / fashion replant founder / all-around-SF-fashion-media-obsessed friend del geronimo is spearheading the “first annual san francisco fashion awards“. he passed out ballots at a few events earlier this year, and the voting is now live. i swear to god i only filled out one ballot, but somehow my name appears in 3 categories, which is sort of embarrassing and makes it seem like i either voted for myself 100 times or told everyone to write me in, when the only person i remember even being there was brett. jay/aka obi-j is also on for “most fashionable dj”. i’m not going to tell you to vote for me, but there’s the link.

it’s completely incestuous, and honestly not even remotely representative of the SF fashion industry as a whole. i’m sure there are many fashion-sceney people out there in SF reading this ballot going “who???” and then wondering why some short 31-year-old who shops at goodwill is on the ballot for best runway/model/fashionista. yes, i do a lot of things that involve fashion ….or more like costuming….but i do it for fun; i am not even remotely serious about fashion as an industry, nor do i consider myself a “model” or anything other than someone whose only creative outlet is dressing herself in odd ways and likes being friends with the people who make her clothes and is often willing to get on stage/be photographed, so i’m terribly nonrepresentative of the types of people who are normally nominated for things like “fashion awards” in other cities, or who generally consider themselves part of the fashion industry. more than anything, i just wonder what it means if i win….? or if anyone outside of those who have been nominated (by their friends) will even care or take notice? i think it just means i have a hyperactive friend named del, but it also doesn’t mean i won’t accept any awards i might garner with snarky grace and just a little bit of irony.