BlackStyleFile

BSF Update: I'm On a Mission!

 The Bell at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany

Hey BSF family!

You may or may not know, but I am currently in school completing my MBA in Media Management from Metropolitan College of New York. Where you ask? MCNY is the only school in the country that offers an MBA for people in the entertainment/media/arts industries. I originally went the traditional route for my MBA, applied and was accepted to Fordham and Pace, which are also in NY - but  ultimately I went with my passion and chose MCNY instead. I'm glad I did.

Over the past year of my accelerated course program I have taken 7 classes at a time, while working as a fashion designer, model, blogger while being a stay at home mom to my 17 month old son Caleb. Over the summer my classmates and I went to Europe for two weeks to work as business consultants and social media experts for an international company. We visited Frankfurt, Germany and London, England and learned a lot along the way about international business and the state of the global economy. It was an amazing trip!

I have also had a lot of success with my side hustles. A few of my recent gigs include landing modeling jobs with TV One & Graco, shooting a PSA on the Oil Spill, shooting infomercials for The Ab Roller, Kiyoseki flat irons, working with Joan Rivers Beauty and covering numerous events for theYBF.com as the NY correspondant. It's been quite a year! For more on what I've been up to, check out Tichanda.com.

Now that I am in the middle of midterms and in my third and final semester, I am starting to think about what I want to be when I grow up! I don't have all the answers, but I am excited to take my experience in fashion, sales, marketing, design, technology, and media and parlay my strengths, ambition, and entrepreneurial spirit into something fabulous. I have learned so much about myself over this past year. I am stronger than I thought I was, and I can get by on very little sleep. Oh - and there is nothing I can't do when I put my mind to it!

Thanks for supporting me and BSF. There is much more in store!

<3 Tichanda

PS: Keep in touch! Please visit my websites:

Tichanda.com, TichandaThompson.com, MochaBabyModels.com and the Examiner.com

You can also follow me on Twitter: @tichanda, @blackstylefile, @mochababymodels

and on Facebook at:  /tichanda, /mochababymodels

 

 

 

Nordstrom Buyer's Pick Cj by Cookie

As previously reported by BSF, Cookie Johnson has launched her own brand of premium denim. Today Nordstrom put the curvy girl line on blast when it featured it's Love Boyfriend Jean as one of it's buyers picks on it s blog The Thread today. See what the fuss is all about here.

Eric the Emperor Reigns On the Net

Veteran designer Eric Gaskins is closing the doors of his design studio and opening up about being the man behind the scathing industry blog The Emperors Old Clothes. The New York Times reports that the designer, who has hung out with Christian Lacroix, apprenticed with Givenchy in Paris and whose clothes have graced the covers of Cosmopolitan, is the latest victim of the recession that has been plaguing the apparel industry and the overall economy.

Gaskins is just one example of the talent that the industry seems so willing to overlook. As a black man trying to get noticed and make his mark on the fashion world - it would seem that 22 years would be more than enough time to pay ones dues, however the 51 year old who gave his last interview in his showroom in the garment district, is far from being a household name.

“I didn’t realize then how important it was to relentlessly put my name and face out there,” he said. “I came from a place where your work was supposed to speak for itself.”

Although Gaskin sold his designs in upscale stores such as Bergdorfs and Barneys, and at times his orders totaled over a million in sales - fame and fortune were fleeting. He filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy this past March.

His blog however, will continue to give him a voice and us a peek into the dark underbelly of the fashion industry. His sometimes biting remarks and commentary about his peers allow fashion wanabees to be a fly on the proverbial wall or runways of the world.

“There are so many designers out there who are great designers who don’t get any recognition,” he said. “They are creative and selling and growing and contributing, and they are not even mentioned.”

Don't we know it. For the full article visit the NYTimes.com