In the Mirror: Camo Confessions

Dermablend Professional cosmetics have launched a powerful and touching Camo Confessions campaign. While most makeup ads are focused on veiling our unique imperfections, this campaign has the makings of becoming a movement. The brand’s corrective cosmetics are used for people with mild to severe skin conditions, or even to cover excessive tattoos. "Blending in to stand out," helps to shift the emphasis from the outward appearance to focusing on inward beauty. 

Click here to watch Cheri's Camo Confession

Click here to watch Rico's Camo Confession

This empowering series of YouTube videos encourages people to post videos of themselves revealing their flaws behind the makeup. Models, coaches, DJs and everyday people have posted videos exposing their imperfections to the world. The authenticity of this series is riveting as each person sits in front of a camera and bares what once was a source of shame and embarrassment by completely removing the Dermablend Professional makeup.

Click here to watch Cassandra's Camo Confession

We should all be so brazen, learning to accept the things we cannot change; courage to change the things we can; and wisdom to know the difference.

For every confession submitted, Dermablend Professional will donate $1.00 to Look Good Feel Better, an organization dedicated to improving the self-esteem and quality of life of women suffering appearance-related side effects of cancer treatments through beauty sessions.

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What’s in a Name

The term fashion icon is used so loosely nowadays, specifically with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West tainting the cover of Vogue Magazine. Vogue’s reputation of status, class, elitism, and exclusivity doesn’t couple well with the branding of reality T.V. and off-the-rack buys from Sears. No disrespect to Sears. Yes I know Rihanna has a reality show too, but hers is about fashion, not exploiting her personal life for financial gain. One journalist compared Kim and Kanye on the cover of Vogue to Meryl Streep being on reality T.V. The two simply just don't belong together. 

The 26-year-old, Barbadian born beauty Robyn Rihanna Fenty is an entirely different story. She has made such an impression on the world of fashion, on and off the stage that the Council of Fashion Designers of America is honoring her with the Fashion Icon Award at the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards on June 2. 

Rihanna has officially reached fashion icon status. If pictures are worth a thousand words, these are screaming with base! Take a look for yourself.

I'm a fan and could go on for days! Can you tell? 

Ad Campaigns

 

 

Gucci campaign to benefit UNICEF

Perfume

Perfume collection Rogue by Rihanna is projected on London's Marble Arch.

Magazine Covers

Paris Fashion Week

So yes, Rihanna is worthy of the coveted and sometimes misused title of fashion icon. Let me reiterate, she's only 26-years-old and has fashion houses begging her to lend them her face and brand. She has international appeal and ad campaigns. She's graced the cover of dozens of magazines. She even walks the streets red carpet ready. To be perfectly fair, she has had a few minor misses, but haven't we all? At this stage in her career she has so much more to show us. I can't wait to see what's next!

Congratulations Rihanna! 

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Aja Brown and the Resurgence of Compton, California

Recently, Google’s Doodle celebrated Women’s and Civil Rights Activist Dorothy Height. A remarkable woman from Richmond, Virginia who spent her life in public service, serving more than 40-years as the president of the National Council of Negro Women. American leaders regularly took her counsel, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Height encouraged President Dwight Eisenhower to desegregate schools and President Lyndon B. Johnson to appoint African-American women to positions in government. These are just a few of her accomplishments. A true servant of the people, which leads us to a young lady cut from the same cloth-Mayor Aja Brown. 

On June 4, 2013, Aja Brown made history as Compton's youngest mayor ever to be elected. The desolate, violent realities of life in Compton, California were immortalized in rap anthems during the 1980s and 1990s and has heavy ties to celebrity. Some who have trudged through the infamously violent streets include Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Serena and Venus Williams. Brown however, has a deeper more painful connection to the city. Her maternal grandmother, Lena Young was the victim of a violent home invasion. Young was raped and brutally murdered in Compton in the 1970s. The case is still unsolved.

Despite the grim outlook many people would expect Brown to have toward the city of Compton, she claims that her city is "on the cusp of revitalization," and compared its forthcoming revival to the transformation of Brooklyn, NY.

 

Aja Brown alongside husband, Van Brown, a Petrochemical Safety Manager

We are so proud of you Mayor Brown! Thank you for being such an extraordinary representation of how far an education, hard work and dedication can take you. 

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The Resistance to Diversify

Bethann Hardison's long legacy of supporting diversity within the fashion industry, and her ongoing campaign to end racism on the runway has earned her the Council of Fashion Designers of America 2014 Founders Award. The former model turned fashion activist will be presented with the CFDA’s highest honor on Monday, June 2, at the Lincoln Center. She and the Diversity Coalition continue to fight the longtime battle against the lack of diversity on fashion’s runways, its magazine pages and its ad campaigns.

Bethann Hardison and Iman-longtime friend and Diversity Coalition member

In a means of holding the governing bodies of fashion accountable, Hardison on behalf of the Diversity Coalition wrote an open letter. It reads: “Eyes are on an industry that season after season watches design houses consistently use one or no models of color. No matter the intention, the result is racism. Not accepting another based on the color of their skin is clearly beyond ‘aesthetic’ when it is consistent with the designer’s brand. Whether it’s the decision of the designer, stylist or casting director, that decision to use basically all white models, reveals a trait that is unbecoming to modern society. It can no longer be accepted, nor confused by the use of the Asian model.”

Most recently, notable change has taken place in ad campaigns and on the runways. Hardison addressed the governing bodies once more in another email.“Last season we addressed the international fashion industry for their lack of conduct in being racially diverse. There was a marked improvement on the runways and a positive response to the letters received by the major fashion councils and the designer brands they count as members. First we will share the results. It is important to say that there are design houses serviced by casting directors and stylists who are latent, as they seem comfortable with stereotypical images. Although progress was made last season within certain houses, the objective is to continue this improvement across the entire industry. We look for consistency and not because of advocacy or a season lending to darker skin. So we will continue to watch and reveal season to season. Diversifying is not difficult. The resistance to do so is intriguing.”

Click here to view the Guidelines on Racial Diversity and best practices submitted to Diane von Furstenberg, President and Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

President of CFDA Diane von Ferstenberg, Diversity Activist Bethann Hardison, CFDA CEO Steven Kolb

Thank you Ms. Hardison for your continued activism to diversify the runway as a means to have it more accurately mirror the world. Diversity is a beautiful thing and makes economical sense. Blacks have an incredible amount of buying power and are projected to spend more than $1.1 trillion by 2015. Don't believe me? Read here.

Congratulations Ms Hardison and the Diversity Coalition! For your continued efforts against, and at times with the fashion powers that be, you are appreciated.  

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