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Kyle Haggerty

The Anatomy of Dayton Fashion Week: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Part 1)

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Lawd a mercy…where do I even start??  When I first heard that someone was trying to bring a Fashion Week to Dayton in September of 2011, I immediately got excited and went to work on trying to find out who this Junda Morris-Kennedy person was, I called, I wrote, I googled, I Facebooked, pretty much I stalked her until she finally responded!!  I offered my assistance thinking that this Dayton Fashion Week thing was just going to be a cute little fashion show—BOY WAS I WRONG because This “Dayton Fashion Week Thing” turned out to be an International Fashion Spectacular that can only be summed up into three categories:  The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly…of course there was more Good than anything else.(que Ennio Morricone please)

The Good

The Friendships: Excuse me while I get a little teary eye’d  and sappy but in the course of the past 10 months I had the opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful people and even better we became more than friends we became a family.

To the models, I want you to know how much I love and respect each and every one of you! As a former model myself, I set out to do for all of you the things that I wish I had accomplished in my career!  Modeling isn’t an easy career to break into and all too often your hard work, passion, and dedication are dismissed and go unappreciated because you are “just a blank slate” and I want you to know that you are more than that. From the very first calls that we made to you after the casting calls and hearing your excitement and even tears of joy made me feel like a Fairy Godmother making a dream come true. And every event thereafter you went out and represented Dayton Fashion Week and let the whole world know that we had officially arrived on the Fashion Scene.

To the designers, WOW is all that I know to say!!  Actually Wow and Thank You!  It wasn’t an easy process finding designers to be a part of the first year of Dayton Fashion Week.  I remember sitting at Junda’s house going over plans for the casting call and being really worried about the lack of commitments that we had from designers and doubting whether or not we could go on as planned with DFW.  But in true DFW style we continued to reach out and slowly but surely you all answered the call, stepping out on Faith and risking your names and reputations to be a part of this Inaugural event.  To say that I was  blown away by your presentations throughout the week would be the understatement of the century!  Your drive and push to make this event the success that it was will never be forgotten.  I’ll be hitting some of you up soon for my custom orders!!

To the Photography team, Lamar Pacely, Robert Coyle, Pete Bradow, Krissy Mills, Cj Kim, and Cliff Fennell, I don’t know very many if any photographers let alone photographers as talented as you all are, who are willing to give up so much of their time voluntarily. You rose to the occasion with each phone call and yes even the last minute cover shoot calls!! If a picture tells a thousand words then your efforts made it a thousand and one!

To the Hair and Makeup Team— Great job Angelica Ross DFW’s Creative Director of Cosmetics, Elite Hair Academy, Stacia McVey, and The Hair Gallery.  McKinnley Pierre of Inside Couture said it best, “Dayton Fashion Week’s Hair and Makeup team was better than any such teams that I’ve seen in Miami Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and L.A. Fashion Week, so my hat’s off to them.”  What more can I say?

To Maha Kashani—thank you so much for welcoming me to your hood!! lol   From the very moment that I contacted you about DFW. You jumped on board and worked your butt off to make sure that this event was a success. You are Dayton, you are the bomb, you are the best, you are amazing, you are fabulous, and all of the positive adjectives that you can name but most importantly you are my friend.  Without you and your work there wouldn’t be a Dayton Fashion Week.

To Junda Morris-Kennedy—We did it!!  This was not an easy journey, we climbed up the rough side of the mountain together and I’m honored to call you more than a friend you are my sister.  We put in countless hours in planning, we worked together, cried together, we even disagreed a couple of times, and when push came to shove…we always had each others back and like real sisters we toughed it out, stepped out on faith, kept God first, and kept on climbing to the top of that mountain.  Thank you so much for taking me under your wing and teaching me another side of the industry, for believing in me, and allowing me to be a part of a positive event for the city I love!  I love you from the bottom of my heart.

The Bad

In the days and weeks leading up to Dayton Fashion Week we were rocked by a series of tragedies that shook us to the core.  Junda suffered the loss of several family members back to back and 6 days before the Kickoff to Dayton Fashion Week on July 18 at the age of 37, Junda suffered a stroke.  I was thrown into the leadership position and was faced with answering a challenging question…Will DFW continue? Not knowing all of the details of the business end of things, I called a last minute emergency meeting that was opened with prayer led by DFW Event Manager Cindy Gaboury and the number of people that showed up and the outpouring of support I received gave me the strength to go on and reaffirmed that cancellation WAS NOT AN OPTION!!

On Friday July 20, DFW’s Executive Producer and MTV’s Made Coach Kyle Haggerty, called his best friend to pick him up to take him to the airport to fly into Dayton and help with Dayton Fashion Week’s preparations. The weather was bad that day and his friend never arrived because he had been killed in a car accident on his way to pick up Kyle leaving him completely devastated and cancelling his trip to be a aprt of DFW.

On Sunday July 22, our Director of Public Relations Tamieka Kent had to step down from her DFW duties when she received a phone call requiring her to leave town to be at her mother’s side who had emergency open heart surgery.

The Ugly

I’ll keep this short,in the days leading up to DFW and when Dayton Fashion Week was struggling to survive after being rocked by back to back to back tragedies there were attempts made to kick us when we were down by those who we bent over backwards for the most to help and accommodate.  Did I mention those were FAILED ATTEMPTS??

Back To The Good

Surely you didn’t think that I was going to let the ugly outshine the good right?  As McKinnely Pierre the Executive Producer of Inside Couture told me when he called to check on me the other day.  “Don’t let a couple of barking dogs steal your joy, especially when you have hundreds of silent ones standing behind you who have your back”. This is only the beginning  and you know my motto Dayton Fashion Week #ItJustKeepsGettinBetter 2013 here we come!!  News Flash WE ALREADY HAVE DESIGNERS FROM BRAZIL, LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA, JAMAICA, AND YES DAYTON GETTING READY FOR 2013

Stay tuned for Part 2 and be sure to check out our Facebook Page to see all of the wonderful images captured by Dayton Fashion Weeks Photographers at Facebook.com/daytonfashion.

Win a Chance to Walk in Dayton Fashion Week at the Dayton Dutch Lions Game July 18

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Models lined up outside in the cold and rain for Dayton Fashion Weeks Casting Call

Did you miss out on your opportunity to be seen during one of Dayton Fashion Weeks casting calls?  Were you not lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to be scouted while grocery shopping like DFW models Jaylin Snider and Maoly Ricardo?  Well, Dayton Fashion Week and the Dayton Dutch Lions F.C. Soccer team are giving you one more opportunity to strut your stuff before a panel of DFW Scouts, Leo The Lion, and oh yeah hundreds of fans in attendance cheering on the Dutch Lions Men’s Soccer team during half-time on Wednesday July 18, 2012.  The game starts at 7:30pm at Miami Valley South Stadium located at 3737 Upper Bellbrook Rd., Bellbrook, OH, 45305.

The Inaugural Dayton Fashion Week  has taken the Fashion World by storm, named a “Must See” Fashion event of the year by London Based fashion magazine F-Politique, and will feature international, national, and local designers, models, and media.  Dayton Fashion Week kicks off on Tuesday July 24 and runs thru Saturday July 28. DFW models are receiving once in a lifetime opportunities including taking part in seminars conducted by Executive Producer McKinley Pierre of Miami based television show Inside Couture and Celebrity photographer Rich Jackson who discovered Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls, they are receiving Runway lessons by MTV’s Made Coach Kyle Haggerty who is also the Executive Producer of Dayton Fashion Week.  Dayton Fashion Week models have been featured in Fashion-Faces Magazine out of Phoenix, AZ, and this just in DFW models will be featured in Europe’s Fashion & Styles Magazine just to name a few.

The Dayton Dutch Lions and their Orange Legion have been taking the USL by storm and on July 20-21, former Dutch National Player Bryan Roy will be in town conducting a Skills Clinic for kids.  The Dutch Lions will be raffling off tickets to each of Dayton Fashion Weeks events during the game on July 18, including the Fashion For A Cause Local Celebrity Fashion Show featuring both the Dutch Lions Men’s and Women’s Teams and Nixon Dias #4 Defender and one of the top DJ’s in the Netherlands will be mixing it up on the 1’s and 2’s for the event as well; proceeds from the raffle will be given to a charity of the Dayton Dutch Lions choice!!   For ticket information for Wednesday’s game please visit the Dayton Dutch Lions website at http://www.daytondutchlionsfc.com and  “Like” them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DaytonDutchLionsFC .  For more information on Dayton Fashion Week please visit http://www.daytonfashionweek.com and “Like” their page at http://www.facebook.com/daytonfashion.

 

Casting Call for Dayton Fashion Week to be held at De’Lish Cafe

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Kyle Haggerty

“I know talent when I see it. You either have it or you don’t. It’s that simple.” Those are the words of MTV’s Made coach, runway coach extraordinaire and Executive Producer of Dayton Fashion Week Kyle Haggerty—and on February 25, 2012 you will get your chance to prove if you have what it takes to rip the runway at the official Casting Call for DFW! It will take place at De’Lish Cafe –located at 139 N. Main Street in Downtown Dayton from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Models must arrive by 10:00 a.m. and have two recent photos; one full body shot and one head shot with your measurements and contact information on the back of each. Models with previous experience should bring your current portfolio.

Female models must be at least 5’8 without heels and wear a women’s size 0-4. Male models must be at least 5’10 and wear a suite size 40-44. Few exceptions will be made. Models must be at least 15 years of age–participants under the age of 18 must have a parent or legal guardian present–Mature models are welcomed. If you don’t fit into the height and size restrictions fret not because you still have two other opportunities to participate in DFW via the Dayton Fashion Week Magazine Cover Model Search and you can audition to be one of the local hosts to cover DFW for Inside Couture Television which airs in Miami Florida for NBC affiliate Channel 6. Information regarding these two casting calls will be announced at a later date.

If you’re wondering what to expect during this casting call, it’s simple–for starters, you will be auditioning in front of me, along with the CEO and Founder of Dayton Fashion Week Junda Morris-Kennedy, the Director of Makeup Angelica Ross, and there may be a surprise judge in the building (but you didn’t hear that from me). Be prepared to walk the runway and answer a few questions about yourself. Our job is to pick the best models and send their information to the designers who will make the final decision on who gets to walk for them.

As far as preparation for casting calls is concerned, I can honestly say that in my 20 years in the industry I’ve seen it all and I’ve made a lot of mistakes in preparing for them. However, I’ve learned from my mistakes and I’m going to share a few pointers with you so that you will arrive ready to shine!

(photo by Blush Boudoir)

Tip #1 Your Pictures

I CAN NOT EMPHASIS THIS ENOUGH–PROFESSIONAL PICTURES ARE NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS CASTING CALL–or any casting calls for that matter! Your pictures should be simple–ladies you should be wearing little to no makeup, your hair should be pulled back. Men you should be clean shaven.

Your head shot should be a close up photo of your face. Smiling is optional but if you choose not to smile in your photo please take the advice of Tyra and smile with your eyes–we don’t want to see any mug shots! This pic should also be taken with you looking straight into the camera.

The full body shot should include a head to toe view of you. Do not go out and buy a new outfit–your clothing should be simple no logos, bright colors, or wild and crazy prints; this applies to both male and female models. Your outfit should be fitted but flattering to your body type. Shoes are optional. You should be standing. Its ok to be a little creative for this shot; by this I mean you can have your hands to your side, one or both hands on your hips, you can tilt your head for a profile shot of your face, and etc…but no over the top posing. The same rules for your appearance in your photos should be applied during the casting call as well.

Tip #2 Be Prepared To Stand

Ladies please BRING a pair of 3” heels to walk in—emphasis on BRING! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shown up to casting calls or Go-See’s wearing heels and ended up having to stand for hours. By the time it was my turn to be seen by the casting agent—I could barely walk and let me tell you– hobbling down the runway with a grimaced look on your face is not a good look on anyone and it’s not going to land you any jobs! So it’s ok to arrive in some flat comfortable shoes. If you’ve never worn heels before practice makes perfect–start practicing your catwalk in the shoes that you plan on wearing for the casting call now. Guys, you have no clue just how good you have it; the only thing that we ask of you is to not wear gym shoes when it’s your turn to walk!

Tip #3 Diva’s and Divo’s Need Not Apply

Attractive and talented models get turned down for jobs every day because they have poor attitudes or they’re not coachable. I’ve attended casting calls where the client or casting agent was right in the waiting room with the other models and never said a word to anyone about whom they were; they mingled, sat back and observed. Sadly, I’ve seen some models be really rude and unaware of whom they were speaking too–needless to say they weren’t cast. Please don’t be this person!

Tip #4 Be Yourself

We can tell the real from the fake–and we want to see your real personality. You might not be right for the runway but you never know what opportunities may come your way as a result of this casting call. Finally, don’t worry about the next person, February 25, 2012 is all about you and we can’t wait to meet you! If you have any questions, please email me at caressab@daytonfashionweek.com.