Yesterday my baby sis and I attended the 51st annual Ebony Fashion Fair Showcase at The Apollo Theater. This year's show was called "The Runway Report: What's Hip. What's Hot. What's Now!" and I can say honestly that we both enjoyed this year's show a lot more than we did last year.
The show was scheduled to begin at 3pm and my sister was running a few minutes late, so I decided to await her arrival outside of the Apollo theater. She got to me at about 3:15pm and we hurriedly went inside to check out the show, which was already in progress.
We wound up getting great seats down front, the ushers gave us 2 copies of the Ebony Fashion Fair Magazine and we quickly got comfortable.
The show was a dazzling mix of vibrant hues, ornate fabrics and fabulous furs. I always get excited at the prospect of seeing a plus sized model in ANY show, so I was amped up everytime plus sized model Phonicial Washington took the stage. I always enjoy seeing her but I still have problems with most of the clothing they decide to put her in. It's usually black, grey or plum with no style, no fierceness...no nothing. It was a little better this year though, they gave her a little more color AND a bathing suit to boot! They also sent out a brother in a jacket with multi colored tights and SHOES...What the hell??? You could hear the titters of laughter in the audience as I whispered to my sister "Who in the hell is wearing THAT???"
I KNOW it's supposed to be about high fashion people but I swear I don't know ANY men who would be wearing THAT anywhere and not asking for a righteous beat down...No disrespect to the designer but I swear he looked like a court jester to me in that outfit. I did however enjoy the collections of Marc Bouwer, Laura Biagiotti & Christian LaCroix. Commentator Jada Collins 
kept the show flow moving nicely. Before the show went into intermission they had a raffle for a trip to anywhere in the domestic US that sponsor American Airlines donated and to my (and hers..lol) surprise - the winner was none other than Audrey Smaltz, former commentator of EFF. Lol...I thought it was a joke and so did she...congrats Audrey! Then they raffled off a goody basket of Luster hair care products. I cringed inwardly and whispered to my sister - "If my name is called for that damn basket...I WILL SCREAM!!!!" (lol...Er...what am I supposed to do with THAT????), fortunately for me - somebody else won.
kept the show flow moving nicely. Before the show went into intermission they had a raffle for a trip to anywhere in the domestic US that sponsor American Airlines donated and to my (and hers..lol) surprise - the winner was none other than Audrey Smaltz, former commentator of EFF. Lol...I thought it was a joke and so did she...congrats Audrey! Then they raffled off a goody basket of Luster hair care products. I cringed inwardly and whispered to my sister - "If my name is called for that damn basket...I WILL SCREAM!!!!" (lol...Er...what am I supposed to do with THAT????), fortunately for me - somebody else won. During the intermission, my sister decided to opt out on the bar and said she wanted a cup of coffee, so we went outside for the break. As I was waiting for her to return, I stood outside chatting with some folks who had come outside for a smoke during the intermission. I decided to ask how they were enjoying the show and the subject of the plus sized model came up.....
The general consensus with this group was that "She wasn't plus sized, she's no bigger than I am". They pegged her at about a size 12-14 and in their minds that ain't plus sized. While I had less of a problem with her size...I did have a problem with that Ebony Fashion Fair Magazine - Plus sized model 
Phonicial Washington was not in it - not even on the "Meet The Models" page! What's up with that?? I also read the story called "Fade to Black" about the disappearance of the black model and the plus sized models were not mentioned in that story either (lol...no surprise there at all). Actually there was NO mention of plus sizes anywhere in that magazine - yet over 50% of that audience was a size 14 and up!
Phonicial Washington was not in it - not even on the "Meet The Models" page! What's up with that?? I also read the story called "Fade to Black" about the disappearance of the black model and the plus sized models were not mentioned in that story either (lol...no surprise there at all). Actually there was NO mention of plus sizes anywhere in that magazine - yet over 50% of that audience was a size 14 and up!Newsflash ya'll:
What's Hip. What's Hot. & What's NOW is most definitely the plus sized woman in America...Recognize!
Anyway, my sister came back from Blimpie's with what had to be the best cup of coffee I have had in a very long time...lol...for real! I ran in to some fans who recognized The Runway Diva
and
and I happily posed for pictures and chatted with 
Miss Jada & Miss Marceles for a few moments before we made our way back inside to our seats and the show resumed.
Miss Jada & Miss Marceles for a few moments before we made our way back inside to our seats and the show resumed.The show wrapped with a luxurious display of furs, evening dresses and of course the classic wedding gown....(would have LOVED to see the bride as a plus sized woman....just a thought!) and we began to make our way to the exits. On the way out I greeted my friend and superior makeup artist, B'Nard Giles and the ever fabulous Audrey Smaltz! And I ran into an old friend from my BB King's days named Clarissa, she's always been a supporter of my career and it was a pleasure seeing her again.
As we headed up 125th street for the short walk back to my apartment, we reminisced about last year's gala at the Alhambra and how much fun we had.
Thanks EFF and thanks Mary for always looking out!
Interested in becoming a model with Ebony Fashion Fair? To apply online and to check out the requirements and casting information at: www.ebonyfashionfair.com
Good Luck!
"Style is knowing who you are, what to say, and not giving a
damn."
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