new york fashion week

Actress and activist Jamie Brewer makes history as the first model with Down syndrome to walk during NYFW

chathamcommunique

As many of you may have noticed from previous columns, I am a huge fan of “American Horror Story.” Without a doubt, one of my absolute favorite returning actresses is Jamie Brewer. She knocks it out of the park every season. Although she’s been given (and nailed) many different characters, she always gets some of the wittiest, punchiest lines of the season. She is the queen of sass and sarcasm, but her characters almost always have a heart of gold.

“American Horror Story” gave her a breakthrough role as Adelaide ‘Addie’ Langdon in season one. In season three, she returned as Nan the witch. Most recently, in season four, she plays Marjorie, the spirit of a ventriloquist dummy.

However, on Thursday, February 12, Brewer took a step away from acting to pursue another fantastic goal: modeling. Brewer made New York Fashion Week history by being the first model with Down Syndrome to walk the runway.

She tweeted two photos that morning, showing her palpable excitement as she got her hair and makeup done for the catwalk.

Brewer walked at Lightbox (a digital arts and events space in New York City) for designer Carrie Hammer’s “Role Models Not Runway Models” show which was meant to change model stereotypes. Hammer started “Role Models Not Runway Models” at last year’s Fashion Week and has been acclaimed for it.

With Brewer were other incredible women such as computer coders, bankers, CEOs, marketing executives, philanthropists, and more.

Besides being an actress, Brewer is also an activist, artist, and writer. When she was 19, Brewer was elected to the State of Texas ARC Board (an organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities). She also served on the ARC Governmental Affairs Committee for Texas.

Brewer was the last to walk in the show, wearing an original design–a black dress with a belt-cinched waist. Hammer was quoted as saying the look was inspired by the darkness of “American Horror Story.” The cinched waist was added to the design specifically to show off Brewer’s incredible, curvy figure.

As expected, she brought her familiar confidence and power from “American Horror Story” to the runway. Her red lips showed off her memorable smirk and her walk was as flawless as a more seasoned model.

Overall, I couldn’t be happier for Brewer. I’ve always been a fan of her acting, and now she’s tackled modeling. Beyond that, I also admire all the work she’s done as an activist, and I hope we see more of her on the runway.

Little Red Riding Vogue: Review of New York Fashion Week

chathamcommunique

Now that things from 2014’s New York Fashion Week have settled down a bit, it’s time to analyze and review! Although I love the classics like Chanel and Dior, I have to say, I always get especially excited to see shows from more alternative fashion houses.

One of my favorites will always be Kate Spade. Part of that may stem from the fact that her pieces are often somewhat affordable—especially if you hit up an outlet. This year she continued with her usual style of color blocking, stripes, and florals. In my opinion, she nailed it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! She showed off some great dresses and bags that I can’t wait to see in the stores.

Another fantastic collection came from Zimmermann who charmed with ruffled gowns and gleaming blouses. Zimmermann chose to play with many textures and colors, and it definitely gets your attention. With dreamy periwinkle and creamsicle tones, this collection has me absolutely swooning. Any one of their pieces could make me feel like a princess in a Disney movie.

Now if you’re looking to be a specific princess—namely Jasmine—you should check out the collection from The Blonds. As usual, The Blonds dominated with a specific theme in mind. This time, they showed off gorgeous sequined and beaded outfits, often with beautiful billowy bottoms that couldn’t help but remind me of Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin. All told, it was iconic as always.

Anna Sui, a regular at this point, knew what she was doing and rocked fashion week with a collection boasting dozens of unique patterns and cuts. Each outfit was uniquely edgy and charming with tones ranging from scarlet to indigo. She even threw in a few metallics to rival Zimmermann.

One thing I always love to see at fashion week is collaboration. In Jeremy Scott’s case, it was none other than Miley Cyrus. To be specific, Cyrus created a series of collaged sculptures to exhibit at Scott’s show. And she couldn’t have picked a better partner. Scott is well-known for his colorful, “out-there” style which he reiterated this year.

One of the best shows this year had to be Betsey Johnson who went above and beyond as usual. This time, her show’s theme was marriage equality. The show’s openers were models styled as same-sex couples. Many of the models throughout the show were also drag-queens—each one sashaying down the runway in one of Johnson’s crush-worthy, over-the-top ball gowns. She relied, as always, on girly tones and cuts, rocking the femininity of each queen.

If you missed my piece on the new designers at Marc by Marc Jacobs, check it out because that’s all I have to say about the new MBMJ previewed at fashion week. It’s flawless, shocking, and so Luella. With bright colors, color blocking, polka-dots, and bold text, Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley have stolen my heart once again.

Finally, there’s Altuzarra who is now featuring pieces at Target. Who doesn’t love high fashion at affordable prices? None of what was shown at fashion week is on the racks at Target (simply because this is their 2015 Ready to Wear, and also because these are not pieces they designed for Target), but nonetheless, it was darling and daring, shifting from baby pinks and blues to black and gold.

Overall it was a fantastic fashion week that has me drooling and dreaming about all the amazing pieces the designers of the world are creating.