Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week - Day 1

Day 1 of New York Fashion week actually started in Boston with Ophelia and me driving to the city via the Mass Turnpike. The drive down was uneventful until we reached the New York State border and proceeded to get lost 3 times while following Mapquest directions. Anyway, we finally make it to our hotel (The Empire Hotel) directly across from the Lincoln Center, location of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week tents. The venue is a beautiful location.

Next we headed over to the tents to check out the surroundings and the extraordinary fashions that everyone is wearing. There is a parade of fashionistas (male and female) gathered in all their sartorial splendor. Everyone is dressed in the most daring and stylish outfits they can find.

Blogger extraordinaire "Because I Am Fabulous" was one of the first people we spotted outside the tents. Check out those Louboutin boots. Wow Chicka!!

Upcoming Red Carpet Events

It's Super Bowl XLVI week in Indianapolis!  The red carpet has been rolled out for my hometown team The Patriots who are in the house along with thousands of football fans from all over the country. The big game is Sunday, February 5, 2012. Bring the "Lombardi" home team.

New York Fashion Week, February 9-16, 2012. I will be attending shows and blogging from there. Last year I didn't blog after the shows but this year it's on.

Coming up next is the biggest red carpet night of the year "the Academy Awards" February 25, 2012. Frankly, Hollywood has so many award shows now that it is starting to get boring seeing the same people walking the Red Carpet and the same people getting the award for the same category over and over. It used to be the Oscars was the only game in town. Not that there is anything wrong with having different awards, just that audiences tend to get bored when there is too much of the same. Of course fashionistas like myself never tire of seeing beautiful fashions on parade.

2012 Tribeca Film Festival, April 18 - 29.

Cannes Film Festival, May 16-27, 2012. This is the red carpet event that I travel to every year for the past 12 years. Still loving it. It was the inspiration for both my business, Red Carpet Productions and this blog. Le Croisette here I come.

Summer 2012. From the excitement and awe of the Opening Ceremony to the thrill of all the sporting action, London Summer Olympic Games during July 27th - August 12th, 2012 will be the most anticipated sporting event in 2012!

 

Happy Birthday Mary J.

The Academy Awards

Yesterday, director Brett Ratner resigned from his position as producer of the Oscars after he made an offensive homophobic remark. Ratner was signed on by the Academy to save the Oscar awards from poor ratings and hired Eddie Murphy as the host. Now it seems Eddie will have to walk away as well.

It seems that Ratner at a screening of “Tower Heist”, made a statement while talking about rehearsals. “Rehearsal is for f*gs,” he supposedly said. A soon to be regretable statement. Ratner later apologised saying it was a ‘dumb way’ of expressing himself.

So, as excited as I was about Eddie Murphy hosting the Oscars I now have to rethink watching the show since for the past few years I have not been overly enthusiastic about the hosts or the nominees.

On the Carpet - Summer 2011

The 12th annual Art for Life red carpet gala entitled "The Zen for Giving" was held at Russell Simmons' East Hampton Estate July 30, 2011. Honorees were Mary J. Blige, actor Edward Norton, Tamara Mellon (CEO of Jimmy Choo (yummy shoes)), among others. The benefit reportedly raised $1.7 million and counting. Art for Life is the fundraising benefit of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation founded by Russell, Danny and Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, to benefit arts education and programs serving 2,300 New York students each year.

Next up is Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week September 8-15, 2011. The red carpet will roll out at the Lincoln Center Damrosch Park for all the stars and starlets looking for the perfect drop-dead outfit for the upcoming movie and music awards red carpet season. Featured designers this season are Diane Von Furstenberg, DKNY, Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Monique Lhuillier (saw her fall 2011 show in February, WOW), Tommy Hilfiger, Carolina Herrera, Derek Lam, just to name a few. Mercedes Benz Fashion Week shows are open by invitation only to industry people and the press. A-list celebrities are invited to sit down front at the shows to attract the press.

The week opens with Fashion Night Out NYC September 8. This is the third Fashion Night Out collaboration between New York City, Vogue and the CFDA. The popularity of Fashion Night Out is now national and held in some major American cities as well as globally in European cities including Rome and Milan, Italy.

Another big red carpet moment will be held September 26th in New York. "An Evening of Many Cultures Gala" will take place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, honoring Samuel L. and LaTanya Jackson, Robert and Grace Hightower DeNiro. Other honorees are forthcoming.

As the red carpet season progresses, I will keep you abreast of all the happenings and any red carpet events that I am lucky enough to attend.

Blog you soon,

June Bug

Day 12 - Dismantling the Red Carpet 2011

The Red Carpet Cannes

Today is my last day in Cannes and I took a walk down the Croisette this morning to the Palais and watched as they began dismantling the red carpet on the stairs.  Funny what a difference a day makes.  All the excitement of the past eleven days reconciled to a crew of men ripping up red carpet from the stairway that so many spent countless hours marching with unabated excitement.

I walked back to the Carleton for breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.  No longer is the bay filled with yachts of unknown millionaires and billionaires, just beautful blue water and cloudless blue skies.  My friends Fileena and Joanne joined me on the terrace and we reminenced about our time in Cannes and all the screenings we attended and the excitement of walking on the red carpet.  We finished breakfast and spent the rest of the afternoon at our favorite spot in the Carleton Lounge until it was time for me to head back to Nice.  I was in the Ladies Lounge when a French woman asked me if I was "Madame DeNiro."  Being surprised by the question I hesitated because I wasn't sure if I heard her correctly and then told her no.  How interesting is it that my first day in Cannes began with me actually running into DeNiro in the Majestic Barrierre Hotel Lobby and ended with someone asking if I was his wife in the Carleton Hotel Lobby Lounge.   Cest la vie.

Day 11 - Festival de Cannes - Closing Ceremony

Office Poster

Today was the final day of the Festival de Cannes. The closing ceremony was held at the Palais de Festival and the winners were announced.

The jury prize went to the film Polisse directed my Mahwenn who was in tears during her entire acceptance speech. Best actress went to Kirsten Dunst for her role in Melancholya, Best Director Nicholas Winding Refn for the film Drive starring Ryan Gosling (my favorite), Best Picture and the Palme D'Or went to The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt.

Presenters included Jane Fonda, Rosario Dawson and Faye Dunaway.

The beach clubs and all the festival venues are already being dismantled and Cannes will return to a normal French Riviera town (I am sure the residents will be happy). To witness how this small place handles the enormity of the film festival is amazing. The sheer number of people who inhabit Cannes during this 10 day period must be a daunting task. Yet everyone remains polite and charming.

This years festival was one of the best experiences I have had in Cannes and I am glad I got the chance to share it with my blog On the Carpet. I don't know if anyone other than my sisters Fannie and Rashida followed it but they were enthusiastic and made it a lot of fun.

So until next year when I return to Cannes, hopefully fully accredited and with less sore feet

Signing off from my bed

June Bug

Day 10 - Cannes Film Festival 2011

Things are winding down in Cannes in some respects. A lot of people have left and others are getting ready to leave. My feet left me days ago because they could not take it anymore. I feel like I am walking on stumps (ouch). The lifts on my heels are stubs and are making that clacking noise (you know that click clack sound). Anyway, enough about my feet.

I skipped the screenings today because I needed some time just to chill and contemplate all that has happened these past 10 days. I stopped by the Carleton lounge to surf the Internet, sat next to Ivana while she was being interviewed and met a nice person from Chicago who stumbled upon the festival. She just arrived last night and had no idea what the festival is like and said it was her first time In southern France even though she travels to Paris a couple times a year. The other most amazing thing is that she is staying at the Carleton and I am at the Croisette Beach next door and our balconies are right across from each other. We figured that out from the view that we each have from our balcony. We also talked about how much we love France and our perspective is exactly the same. What a small world we live in.

Tomorrow the festival winners will be announced and the closing ceremony will take place. Last year I met the winner of the Camera D'Or, Michael Rowe from Mexico. I wonder what this one will bring.

Signing off from off the carpet

June Bug