Kanye West finally debuted his 35-minute film, "Runaway" on television today simultaneously on MTV, MTV2 and BET.



In my opinion, the film, directed by Kanye and written by Hype Williams, is completely brilliant! It's a dark, poignant, otherworldly, passionate love story between Kanye (Griffon) and Selita Ebanks (The Phoenix).



It's pleasing both sonically and visually. Artistically, it pushes the envelope. Kanye fuses different types of music and art, including my favorite scene which incorporates classic ballet and modern African dance. And the music featured is primarily from Kanye's upcoming album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" which I'm so excited about!



It's wrought with symbolism from the Michael Jackson tribute scene (which Kanye says represents our "cult"-like obsession with pop culture) to the "Last Supper" scene where black guests are catered to by white servants and Selita is attacked for being "different" (a guest asks "Do you know your girlfriend's a bird?).



Kanye interpreted the love story between him and Selita for New York Magazine: "It's the story of a phoenix fallen to Earth and I make her my girlfriend, and people discriminate against her and eventually she has to burn herself alive and go back to her world."



Some speculate that the love story between Selita and Kanye is a reference to his relationship with Amber Rose, who as a former stripper was certainly considered different within the Hollywood crowd Kanye operates in. Despite my (and everyone else's) Amber Rose comparisons, Kanye says every woman in his life is represented in the film, including his late mother, Donda West.



His relationship with Amber is an interesting parallel since after Kanye brings Selita into his world (the dinner scene) and she doesn't conform to fit in, she abandons him in a fiery blaze to go back to where she feels comfortable and free.



The scene in the beginning and near the end of the film is him desperately running after her. Pretty haunting and sad if you think of the Phoenix as his Mom, who died trying to conform. In his XXL cover story, Kanye hints at that by associating Los Angeles (and the Hollywood lifestyle) with his Mom's death maintaining that she wouldn't have died anywhere else. And Los Angeles is the world he brought her to, like how he brought the Phoenix to the dinner party...but I digress...

Kanye revealed that the phoenix represents him as well, particularly when he retreated from the public eye after famously embarrassing Taylor Swift at the VMA's and re-emerged a wiser, more tactful Kanye. In that way, if the Phoenix is indeed Amber Rose, it's less about Kanye bringing Amber Rose into his world but more about them existing in a parallel universe where they can both be free and different. That's fascinating to me because it means that Kanye doesn't "fit in" to his world either. He hinted at this on MTV.com yesterday saying he is "an artist that was made a celebrity." Hmm...



Anyway, I could go all day trying to read Kanye's mind! If you missed it, take a moment to watch it, admire the visuals and fashions (by Phillip Lim) and delve into the meaning behind Kanye's symbolism. Tell me what you think about the film.











Kisses,



Coutura



Photo Source

Hey Glamazons! I know that I start off all event posts saying how tired I am, but it's the truth: I'm exhausted. Pretty much every single day of my life, if that's possible hahaha.

But, I felt like I had a little bit more energy than usual after attending the Daisy Fuentes fragrance launch event Tuesday night (more on that in a bit!) so I hit up my friend Elaine to find out if anything was hopping in the city.

Lo and behold, there was the premiere party for Russell Simmons' new TV show on Oxygen, 'Running Russell Simmons' going down at Lavo. I quickly called my other friend Adair (that's him in the pic above wearing the green sweater...he works very closely with Russell so you'll probably see lots more of him on the show!) to let him know I was coming over and jumped on the train.

Side note: I'm pretty sure that about 99.9% of New York nights begin in this manner: one event leads to one phone call that leads to a string of texts and before you know it you've nailed down a location. SCORE!

After arriving at Lavo (which just so happens to be one of the newest and hottest joints in the city) it was only a matter of seconds before I'd talked the list girls into letting me inside the party. The first folks I noticed were those two publicists from the show 'The Spin Crowd' (which to me is a serious fail! Have any of you watched it? It's so boring..yawn...)

Here's Russell along with Jonathan Cheban (on the right) and Simon Huck (on the left) from 'The Spin Crowd.' At least they left their annoying co-stars at home...

I then noticed my good friend Carlos from PEOPLE magazine and miserably failed in trying to greet him because the music was sooooo loud! (Shout outs to DJ Cassidy for spinning some great music! I was dancing up a storm by the end of the event hahaha).

After greeting some more familiar faces, I was finally given about 2.5 seconds to chat it up with Mr. Russell Simmons himself. Now, before I began please note that I think he's an awesome man and a lot of our discussion centered around yoga so I won't bore you with any of that stuff.

But, I did ask him the million dollar question of "Why should we be excited about your show?" and he responded by saying that he "hopes that it's different" from what's already out there. How so? Well, according to Russell, he didn't really script his show too much and tried to bring big issues to the screen such as gay rights, animal rights and tons of social political activities.

He also emphasized that we'd see him engaging in a lot of prayer and yoga as well as take a glimpse into his dating life.

Of course, you know I had to ask if he only dated models. (Because that's all he's ever around you know...models) and he said "Well, I can only date one person at a time. I meet models a lot since I live and work in the Fashion District."

Russell with his honey of the moment, model Heidy Allende. They even gave a smooch on the 'green' carpet. Besides being gorge, Heidy is actually a really nice woman and gave me hugs and not those fake air kisses like most models do which is a plus in my book!

Hmmm...doesn't sound like too good of an excuse to me, Russell, but I'll let it slide. Check out some highlights from the event below:

Gayle King was there! She didn't stay very long so I wasn't able to get close enough to declare my undying love for her or beg for a job at O Magazine...sigh...

Pepa showed up and actually partied! The highlight of the evening came when DJ Cassidy played 'Shoop' and Pepa hopped on stage to rap her lyrics! Made my LIFE to see her perform. I've been in love with her since sixth grade and always wanted to see a Salt-n-Pepa concert. Alas, they broke up before I was old enough so seeing Pepa do this is probably the closest I'll ever get. I would have taken pictures but my phone and camera were already dead. I know, a serious blogger fail...ugh....

Selita Ebanks was looking her usual pretty self. Nick Cannon was also there, but neither of the two seemed to notice each other. (Or if they did they did a good job of pretending hahaha). It was kind of weird to see Selita not all glammed up in a tight fitting dress and uber high heels, but either way she's still beautiful so whatever.

Oh and I think every female at the party (except me) took a picture with Tyson Beckford...because he's just that pretty.

Russell's brother Rev. Run and his fam also showed up to give love (don't you miss their television show!? I do!) and I even got in a five second chat with funny man Tracy Morgan. Ashley Dupre was there (wearing a lot of clothes) and Rev. Al Sharpton made sure to greet everyone there at the party. So, as you can tell Glamazons, good times were had by all. I mean, any man that can bring a crowd like that out on a Tuesday night is just destined to have a fab television show!

Be sure to check out 'Running Russell Simmons' when it premieres November 2 at 10/9c on Oxygen and let me know what you think about it.

xo

Ferocia

Of all the myriad events that took place at Fashion's Night Out, Dolce&Gabbana and Naomi Campbell's was one of the best. Why? Well, you gotta love a party with celebrity sightings (Naomi Campbell, Chris Brown, Fabolous) AND a dance routine to "Run This Town" performed by models in fishnets and leather hot pants. (Do you see Naomi working it below? Yes, girl, get it!)

Leave it to Naomi to throw one of FNO's most amazing soirees! Celebrating 25 years of excellence in modeling over her legendary career, Naomi and Dolce&Gabbana joined forces for a fab t-shirt line and an even more amazing event.



Naomi, who storms the catwalk like no other in the business, performed a dance sequence choreographed by the one-and-only Laurieann Gibson (you definitely know her from Making the Band, BoomKatPow! ring a bell?). Here she is pictured with the dancing models.

The models each represented a different look from Naomi's career and rocked one of the uberfab t-shirts, which boast iconic images of Naomi shot by world-renowned photographers from Steven Miesel to Patrick Demarchelier. The t-shirts support Naomi's amazing charity, Fashion for Relief. 





After her fun dance routine, how could you not want to support? Check out pictures of the amazingness below. I'm sorry, no matter what anyone says about Ms. Campbell, that girl rocks!

Naomi and the amazing Anna Wintour who was literally everywhere last night!

Yum, Chace Crawford was there!

 

Naomi brings out all the boys: Chris Brown and Fabolous came by.

The gorgeous Selita Ebanks stopped by the event, in Dolce&Gabbana of course.

Denise Richards came to show her support.

Nicky Hilton also made an appearance in a cute LBD.

How cute are Naomi and Tyson Beckford? 

Kisses,





Coutura

Hey Glamazons! This one is for my hard-core beauty gals (and guys!) out there that want to see all of the winners from this year's CEW Beauty Awards that were announced Friday afternoon. And, just in case you're reading this and consider yourself to be a hard-core beauty gal or guy and have no clue as to what the heck the CEW Beauty Awards are, let me tell you:

CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) is like the Grammy's for beauty products. People enter their products and the finalists are determined by the CEW members. A select group of the CEW Board of Governors vote for the winners, which are announced at a yearly luncheon in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. (Said lunch usually consists of chicken (which is usually on the dry side), salad and a delectable dessert.)

Huge beauty brands and their public relations offices all purchase tables and invite beauty editors, directors and bloggers to come and sit at their table. This year, I sat at the VEET table (which was manned by the lovely ladies at Lippe Taylor. I think Kate Sklar is definitely the loveliest of them all! hahaha). The lovely Linda Wells (EIC of Allure magazine) is always present (btw I'm KIND of obsessed with her) and actor Mario Cantone is the host. (He's the cute, loud gay bestie of Charlotte York from Sex In The City.)

There are usually some celebrities present as well. This year, I noticed singer Estelle, model Selita Ebanks (could she possibly be any more gorge?!) and Kim Kardashian (who looked so pretty in a coral, one-shouldered dress and beige pumps. That's her and Mario pictured above).

The City's Whitney Port was also there looking oh so summer-chic in a flirty dress and cream colored jacket. Plus, I loved that hair!

Ok, so enough of that! On to the winners:

BATH AND BODY

-Body Treatment/Mass

Vaseline Sheer Infusion with Stratys-3

-Body Treatment/Prestige

Origins Dr. Weil for Origins Night Health Bedtime Spray

-Bath/Shower Product/Mass

Olay Body Wash Plus Tone Enriching Ribbons

-Bath/Shower Product/Prestige

Fresh Sugar Acai Body Scrub

FACIAL SKINCARE

-Acne Treatment

La Roche Posay Effaclar Al Intensive Acne Spot Treatment

-Anti-Aging/Mass

Olay Professional Pro-X Deep Wrinkle Treatment

-Anti-Aging/Prestige

Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate

-Cleanser & Scrub/Mass

Visine Total Eye Soothing Wipes

-Cleanser & Scrub/Prestige

Shiseido Future Solutions LX Extra Rich Cleansing Foam

-Eye Treatment/Mass

Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging Eye Roller

-Eye Treatment/Prestige

Shiseido Benefiance NutriPerfect Eye Serum

-Moisturizer/Mass

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Awakening Face Massager

-Moisturizer/Prestige

Shiseido Future Solution Total Regenerating Cream

HAIR

-Hair Care Product/Mass

L'Oreal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care Moisture Shampoo

-Hair Care Product/Prestige

Living Proof No Frizz Shampoo

-Hair Coloring Product/Prestige

ColorMetrics TouchBack by ColorMark

-Hair Styling Product/Mass

Klorane No Rinse Care With Papyrus Milk

-Hair Styling Product/Prestige

Living Proof Full Thickening Cream

MAKEUP

-Eye Product/Mass

CoverGirl Smoky ShadowBlast

-Eye Product/Prestige

Lancome Oscillation Powerbooster Vibrating Amplifying Primer

-Face Product/Mass

CoverGirl Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush

-Face Product/Prestige

Clinique Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder

-Lip Product/Mass

Maybelline New York Color Sensational Lipcolor

-Lip Product/Prestige

Guerlain Rouge G de Guerlain

MEN'S GROOMING

-Men's Grooming

American Crew Trichology Hair Recovery Patch

SCENT

-Men's Scent

John Varvatos Artisan

-Women's Scent

(P&G Prestige) Avril Lavigne Black Star

SUN

-Sun Product/Mass

Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock Lotion SPF 60+ With PureScreen

-Sun Product/Prestige

Bare Escentuals BareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen

INDIE BEAUTY AWARD

-Living Proof

xo

Ferocia

*images from Getty

Hey Glamazons! As you know by now, I've been spreading all of my talents around this season covering Fashion Week. It's loads of fun to have the freedom of writing not only for yourself (ie this amazing blog!), but also for other publications (ie check out a couple of my backstage beauty reports on honeymag.com here). However, the best experience so far has got to be interviewing supermodel Naomi Campbell. Yes, I, (ME!) talking with Naomi Campbell! If you'd told me 10 years ago while I lived in Texas that I'd one day interview her, I'd have laughed.

You'd never know it, but this lady is definitely all about giving back. (That doesn't mean that she isn't still crazy; but it seems like she has a little bit of heart somewhere in that sleek body of hers.) She's a global ambassador for the White Ribbon Alliance, a global coalition for safe motherhood. In this role, she helps expectant mothers in various countries get the care needed to not only stay healthy but to also deliver a healthy baby. Naomi teamed up with several top designers to launch Fashion for Relief charity shows in New York and London to help the women of Haiti. And here I was, asked to interview her about all of this business. I literally had 3 minutes to do so, but I think I got some good stuff out of her! Check out the video on essence.com and let me know what you think! Also, check out some of my fave looks (and moments) from the show (because you know I was sitting second row..what, what?!). A model even fell while walking down the runway (check out the last pic). Clearly she needs to take some walking lessons from Naomi.

xo

Ferocia

*images courtesy of Getty

I know he's made some seriously foolish mistakes in the past, but come on! Look how cute Chris Brown looks here! I met him backstage at the show and he was nice...not exactly the brightest crayon in the box, but a nice guy.

Selita Ebanks. 'Nuff said.

Who knew that Kelly Osbourne could look so sweet and svelte?! Loved her look in the show!

Estelle rockin' it on the runway!

Pat Cleveland rocked my world dancing on the runway. So much fun!

Tribute to the late Alexander McQueen.