For a dreary time of the year, NYC knows how to keep you happy indoors.  As a Los Angeleno transplant, its hard for me to love the big apple.  However, every February when its considered the most depressing season for most, NYC lights up with Fashion Week and the Social Media Week #SMW12.  The special days turn quickly into the party central.  Though, I am no longer a party girl, I love that I meet up with editors, designers and now content creatives throughout the city. 

Even when most people want to take a trip to Miami, everybody in fashion comes here to play in the fashion landscape.  I love to find new inspirations in fashion, but what got my goat wasn't found at the New York Fashion Week #NYFW Lincoln Center tents.  The sexy cool industry these days has to be technology. Today I spoke with the likes of Jermain Dupri at the Hearsts' Art and Culture Hub's hosting of Social Media Week.  This business man is both a music and star maker, but now has put his professioal opinions online as well.  He started Global 14 with the intent to speak to his audience directly and with transparency.  Keeping in mind, his audience, which are mostly- the young urbanites in America and Internationally, Mr.Dupri loves to disrupt.  Having created a sound social media platform to continue dialogue between brand and the reader, he is continuing to spawn new and exciting adventures such as topical conversations about sneakers, sex and women's needs.  Because, as he says, "women may want to know what he thinks about fashion".  But he is also super funny, poking fun at his Partner's tie and shoes.  Mr._Dupri has been an innovator since he was a teenager when he created the hit group in the early 90's Criss Cross, and clearly understands the pulse of a community even today.  He doesn't have a facebook page, because he started his own.  We should all take his lead and make our own social media platform using ning.com or something closer to reality like slideshare.com to communicate your ideas and open dialogue in your professional lives.

Meanwhile, the fashion week in NYC is for editors and now the cool kids, or shall we say "hipsters" ?  Ugh.  ya ya ya, right, right, right.  I don't like to say I am a fashionista, but I have made a living at dresssing celebrities and brand affiliations with fashion companies.  Sadly, to the point of my former clients which inspired me as a young up and coming stylist, Whitney Houston passes away on Saturday night. I worked with her briefly on the "Count on Me" music video shot by Wayne Isham / Arista Records for the "Waiting To Exhale" Soundtrack. Whitney was a delightful soulful sister and a giving artist. The first time I had heard a celebrity use the term "Booboo" was to me.  Her and CeCe Winan sang the duet amongst a live crowd, and I was the lucky one to have been a part of it as stylist providing the connection to Donna Karan wardrobe for the ladies.  I also  lent my technical design skills to alter the suits to fit them along with stylist Robin Newland. 

Donna Karan showed today at the same time as Social Media Weeks's event was taking place and I made the choice to go to the latter.  After all, gotta stay on the cutting edge and its all about the ecosystem.