A Work In Progress

Most of you who have vicariously accompanied me on my fashion odyssey already know that I've been feverishly writing my memoir.  Although I am only one quarter through it, I am really trying to complete it by summer's end.  I've got plenty more writing to do.  But I thought I'd share an excerpt with you as a sort of a sneak peek.  Please post a comment and let me know what you think.  Remember, this is my life and it reads a lot different than the blog.

Peace & Fashion!
 



Aunt Patty & Me celebrating our birthdays
 with my Grandma



A few days before I attended my senior prom, I lost my grandmother to cancer.  My senior prom and my grandmother’s passing are two milestones blended together in some kind of fuzzy mix of ebullient joy and profound sadness.  I came to know death intimately, its embrace impossible to escape.  And its thoughtlessness left me adrift searching for anything that might steady me.  The smother of cancer is inescapable and all-consuming.  Sorrow metastasized like the disease.  I watched powerless day after day as my grandmother’s condition worsened.  The ugly and bleak memory of her suffering has lingered over the rest of my days.  Grandma had always been one of my staunchest supporters indulging me the way a grandparent does.  Ours was a special bond and she would take me out to fancy dinners and Broadway shows.  Her zeal for life was legendary as she was the epicenter of every party and at each birthday celebration, including hers, she would loudly declare, “Happy Birthday To Me!”  Elegant yet pragmatic, I adored and worshipped her fortitude and glamour.  Grandma was beyond reproach earning her the moniker Right Rolene.  She was an avid and worldly traveler who would send me postcards from each of her destinations.  Now so many years later, I look over the yellowing cards inspecting her familiar handwriting and I am transported back in time.  I couldn’t wait for her return from vacation when my mother would pack us into the beige Nova for the ten minute ride to her house where we greeted her enthusiastically and listened intently as she regaled us with stories of African camel rides and Spanish bullfights and Mexican pyramids.  Maybe two weeks after her funeral, on a sunny afternoon, immediately following the pomp and circumstance of my high school graduation ceremony, I was presented with an envelope inscribed “Love, Grandma” filled with several one hundred dollar bills.  I bawled and shook and sobbed loudly as the procession of tears streamed down my face. Unstoppable and unrelenting, I cried for all the things about her that I would miss and I cried for our future that was cut too short.  Now without Grandma’s strong physical presence, I contemplated how my life would turn out.

AdDRESSing Fashion



Spring 2012 Preview



I am doing what I do, as my 5-year old nephew says, by diligently working on the sketches of the collection for Spring 2012.  I know it seems really far away, but time is swiftly moving.  And this coming season I need to be ready.



My nephew NILE



I've named this collection Out Of The Dark because it reflects triumph over disappointment.  It's about my emergence from my blue period and how I am beginning to see the light of promise.  The silhouettes are crisp, yet easy and the colors (onyx, cocoa, dove grey, cream, and tomato) are fairly subdued.  There's not a whole lot of embellishment, but an interesting mix of textures and fabrics.

I am standing on the universe's promises that I will obtain all that I need to translate this collection from paper to reality and that the stores will finally be ready to embrace my aesthetic.  That is my prayer and that is what gives me the vitality and the spirit to press on.  So stay tuned. . .

Peace & Fashion!

Work It!

This past Saturday, yours truly was front and center as the inaugural Queens Fashion Week came to an end. It was a long day as Ashanti and I had to select & fit additional models to wear our pieces. Luckily, all the ladies were quite lovely which made for a very pleasant day. And there really was a sense of community backstage from the hair stylists to the make up artists to the dressers, volunteers, and other designers who were showing. No need for behind the scenes drama - it was all about love and purpose. When my hat man, OH, arrived with the last chapeau it was almost time for the show to begin. And his hats really were like the cherry on top of a delicious ice cream sundae. I cannot express how pleased I was to be a part of the event. It had been more than 5 years since I had shown a collection on the runway. And I say, "It's about time!" We were even able to make a few business connections which could potentially add up to more for the company's future. So you know it's all good. But there is no rest for the weary as I continue to plan the shoot for March 6 and make sure that the dresses are completed in time. After all, it all happens in less than two weeks. So excuse me while I work it!

Peace & Fashion!