FFFWeek(end) LA - New & Aspiring Plus Model Seminar & Panel Discussion

What's Happening Fam!!!

The countdown to FFFWeek(end) LA has begun!!!!  And that means that once again it's time for me to EDUCATE & ELEVATE!!!

The What:  Full Figured Fashion Week(end)tm Los Angeles/New & Aspiring Plus Model Seminar & Panel Discussion

The When: Friday, October 29, 2010 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm

The Where:  Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Directors I & II Ballroom
                       2025 Avenue of the Stars
                       Los Angeles, CA


Miss Sharon Quinn, The ORIGINAL Runway Diva 
(Plus Model/Singer/Actress/Columnist)

Star of Mo'Nique's FAT Chance, MTV's MADE, Cash Cab, Throwdown With Bobby Flay and most recently seen on The Style Network's "Ruby"; will be on hand to host and moderate the panel discussion.

Cover: $22.00 in advance, $30.00 at the door

The "All-Star" Line-up of Panelists (Subject to change) include:


*Fluvia Lacerda (Plus Model - "The Brazilian Bombshell")

Plus-size Brazilian model Fluvia Lacerda, is the star of "16", a short film that challenges the stereotypes of beauty currently set by the film, fashion and advertising industries. She was discovered by a magazine editor on a Manhattan cross-town bus and has not stopped working since. The only Brazilian working as a plus size model overseas; she has been called the “plus version of Gisele Bundchen”. Fluvia is one of the most known faces within the plus size industry and has been featured in ads for Fashion Bug, Torrid, Igigi & Monif C. and in Latina & Glamour Magazines.



*Madeline Figueroa-Jones (Editor-in-Chief, Plus Model Magazine)

Madeline Figueroa-Jones is a NY native and former plus size model. After appearing in several magazines, working for numerous designers she began reaching out to the plus size community by serving as a moderator for VenusDivas.com and Empowerment Editor for AmazeMag.com. As Editor for PLUS Model Magazine, Madeline has been producing issues which push the envelope with both exclusive interviews with some of today's top models and edgy fashion editorials aimed at featuring today's plus size modeling industry in it's truest light.

*Vernetta Jenkins-Collins (Reality TV Producer, Mo'Nique's FAT Chance)

A prolific reality/talk television producer, Vernetta has added her talents to a steady stream of engaging and provocative content for network shows including 4 seasons of BIG BROTHER for CBS. Vernetta completed her second run as Supervising Show Producer of MO’NIQUE’S F.A.T. CHANCE, the first Plus Sized Beauty Competition/Reality show hosted and executive produced by Academy Award winning actress/comedienne/writer, Mo’Nique for the Oxygen Network.

*Michael Anthony Hermogeno – (Former Head Photographer, Torrid!)

Michael Anthony Hermogeno began working in nightclubs back in 1996 part time. In 2002, he signed on with Shooting Star Agency in Hollywood photographing red carpet events, and in 2004, got picked up by Torrid.com, the plus size retailer owned by Hot Topic Inc as Head Photographer. Michael Anthony is currently the owner operator of his own photography company 8X10 Proofs Inc.

*Alana Chandler – (Plus Model/Actress, The Janice Dickinson
Modeling Agency): 

Alana Chandler, a plus-size fashion model, reality star, and lawyer. Born in Gary, Indiana. Alana got her big break when, in 2008, she appeared on Oxygen’s hit series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. Alana has also appeared on various television broadcasts which include: Tyra Banks Show, MTV’S G’s to Gents, Judge Penny Family Court, BET’S Played By Fame, ABC’S Crash Course, The CW’s Farmer Wants a Wife, and most recently The Dr. Phil Show.


If you are even thinking of starting a career as a plus sized model, THIS is the seminar that you DO NOT want to miss!

Learn from professionals in the plus fashion industry:

How to make it or break it as a plus sized model on ANY level.

Why preparation is KEY!

How to develop a "signature" runway walk.

How to stack the deck in YOUR favor.

Knowing how much money you’ll need to get started.

Getting In Where You Fit In (Other branches of modeling)

Building your skills and using your personal budget

How to PROPERLY prepare for the open call.

How to avoid being put in a box or typecast

About investing in the business of YOU.

And SO MUCH more!!!

So to my West Coast peeps and aspiring models (new, old, pros & amateurs) come on down and get the knowledge.  Get in the KNOW before you GO (to agencies, castings & auditions)!

SPREAD THE WORD.....YA HEARD!!!

Click Here To Purchase Your Ticket NOW!!

Click Here for the full list of FFFWeek(end) LA Events!

Casting Notice: Plus Sized Models - West Coast Based ONLY!!!

I just got a tip today on a MAJOR fashion event taking place in mid-October.  The producers are seeking Four (4) Plus Sized Models (West Coast Based ONLY) who are both beautiful and strong on the runway in the following sizes ONLY:

Two (2) Size 12 Models 

(at least one of the size 12's should have measurements that are 36-28-38 or very close to it)

Two (2) Size 20 Models

Please be at least 5'8" in height with strong runway skills.

If you are interested please send the following "Stats":

HEIGHT:
BUST:
WAIST (Please measure from where your BELLY BUTTON sits):
HIP:
BRA SIZE:
DRESS SIZE:
SHOE SIZE:
HAIR COLOR:
EYE COLOR:

Send your information Origrunwaydiva@aol.com, along with two (2) current photos (1 head shot & 1 body shot) that are no older than 1 year old please.

Please put "Model Casting" in the Subject area.

The remainder of the details of this casting will ONLY be revealed to the selected models.

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT YOURSELF FOR THIS CASTING IF YOU ARE NOT A SIZE 12 OR SIZE 18.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS

 MIDNIGHT (11:59PM) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010

Lindsay Lohan to portray 70's Porn Star Linda Lovelace?

What the HEEZY??

Word on the street is that trouble actress Lindsay Lohan has just signed on to portray 70's porn actress Linda Lovelace in a biopic about her life.

Folks are saying that Lindsay's daddy, Michael Lohan is none to happy about his daughter's latest move and thinks that it (the film) will be the final nail in the coffin of her career.

Who knows? It MIGHT actually turn out to be the thing that turns her career around....lol...it's not like it hasn't happened before......Ya know?

I'mma keep on praying for Lindsay......

From the Guardian UK:

The LA Times quotes a producer on the independent production, to be titled Inferno, who confirms that Lohan has signed on the dotted line to play the star of infamous 1972 film Deep Throat. The official announcement will most likely be made at next week's Cannes film festival, which the actor is likely to attend.

"We've all thought that Lindsay would be a great choice for a while now, and we're all convinced that she is going to do it," Wali Razaqi said. "For at least a year, the director and I have gone back and forth imagining how awesome of a performance she could give if she was in the movie."

One of the first pornographic films to feature a plot, character development and reasonably high production standards, Deep Throat made a huge impact upon its release, though it was banned in the UK and was the subject of a number of obscenity trials in the US. It has been suggested that the film made more than $600m (£395m) from box office receipts and home video sales, putting it among the highest-grossing films of all time, though such figures are impossible to confirm.

Lovelace, real name Linda Susan Boreman, later denounced the film and its makers, becoming an anti-pornography activist. She said she had been forced into the career – often at gunpoint – by her sadistic first husband, Chuck Traynor.

CLICK HERE to read the full article.

Farewell Lena Horne (1917-2010)

Lena Horne, the singer and actress who died Sunday at 92, cut a singular path through modern culture.

She was the first black actress to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio (MGM in 1942) and the first black actress to be popularly accepted in roles that were as glamorous as any bestowed on the studio's other top singing talent. She was beautiful, to be sure, and was quickly made a pin-up for (black) wartime soldiers.

But almost as rapidly as she rose to international fame, she quickly became disillusioned with her groundbreaking career. Her appearances in movie musicals were often scissored from the final cut when the films ran at theaters in the segregated South. She said she experienced jealousy from unexpected quarters -- black performers in Hollywood who depended on servant and jungle native parts for their livelihood. And most of all Ms. Horne grew to resent playing the role of a "good little symbol." .....(CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article)

From Wikipedia:

Horne was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.^[1] Reported to be

descended from the John C. Calhoun family, both sides of her family were a mixture of African, European, and Native American descent. Each side belonged to what W. E. B. Du Bois called "The Talented Tenth," the upper stratum of middle-class, well-educated blacks.^[2] She grew up in an upper-middle-class black community in the Hill District community of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[3] Her father, Edwin "Teddy" Horne (died 1970),^[4] a numbers kingpin in the gambling trade, left the family when she was three. Her mother, Edna Scottron, daughter of inventor Samuel R. Scottron, was an actress with a black theater troupe and traveled extensively.

In the fall of 1933, Horne joined the chorus line of the Cotton Club in New York City. In the spring of 1934, she had a featured role in the Cotton Club Parade. A few years later she joined Noble Sissle's Orchestra, with which she toured. After she separated from her first husband, Horne toured with bandleader Charlie Barnet in 1940–41, but disliked the travel and left the band to work at the Café Society in New York. She replaced Dinah Shore as the featured vocalist on NBC's popular jazz series The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street. The show's resident maestros, Henry Levine and Paul Laval, recorded with Horne in June 1941 for RCA Victor. Horne left the show after only six months to headline a nightclub revue on the west coast; she was replaced by Linda Keene.

Horne already had two low-budget movies to her credit: a 1938 musical feature called The Duke is Tops (later reissued with Horne's name above the title as The Bronze Venus); and a 1941 two-reel short subject, Boogie Woogie Dream, featuring pianists Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons. Horne's songs from Boogie Woogie Dream were later released individually as soundies. Horne was primarily a nightclub performer during this period, and it was during a 1943 club engagement in Hollywood that talent scouts approached Horne to work in pictures. She chose Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the most prestigious studio in the world, and became the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio.

She made her debut with MGM in 1942's Panama Hattie, and performed the title song of Stormy Weather (1943), which she made at 20th Century Fox, on loan from MGM. She appeared in a number of MGM musicals, most notably Cabin in the Sky (also 1943), but was never featured in a leading role because of her ethnicity and the fact that films featuring her had to be re-edited for showing in states where theaters could not show films with black performers. As a result, most of Horne's film appearances were stand-alone sequences that had no bearing on the rest of the film, so editing caused no disruption to the storyline; a notable exception was the all-black musical Cabin in the Sky, though even then one of her numbers had to be cut because it was considered too suggestive by the censors. "Ain't it the Truth" was the song (and scene) cut before the release of the film Cabin in the Sky. It featured Horne singing "Ain't it the Truth," while taking a bubble bath (considered too "risqué" by the film's executives).

By the mid-1950s, Horne was disenchanted with Hollywood and increasingly focused on her

nightclub career. She only made two major appearances in MGM films during the decade, 1950's Duchess of Idaho (which was also Eleanor Powell's film swan song), and the 1956 musical Meet Me in Las Vegas. She was blacklistedduring the 1950s for her political views.^[6] She returned to the screen three more times, playing chanteuse Claire Quintana in the 1969 film Death of a Gunfighter,Glinda in The Wiz (1978), and co-hosting the 1994 MGM retrospective That's Entertainment! III, in which she was candid about her treatment by the studio during the filming of Cabin in the Sky.

Horne was long involved with the Civil Rights movement. In 1941, she sang at Cafe Society and worked with Paul Robeson, a singer who also combated American racial

discrimination. During World War II, when entertaining the troops for the USO, she refused to perform "for segregated audiences or for groups in which GermanPOWs were seated in front of African American servicemen",^[7] according to her Kennedy Center biography. Since the US Army refused to allow integrated audiences, she wound up putting on a show for a mixed audience of black US soldiers and white German POWs. She was at an NAACP rally with Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, the weekend before Evers was assassinated. She also met President John F. Kennedy at the White House two days before he was assassinated. She was at the March on Washington and spoke and performed on behalf of the NAACP, SNCC and the National Council of Negro Women. She also worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching laws.^[8] She was a member of the prominent organization Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

(Full Wikipedia page here)

Lena Horne died Sunday night in a New York hospital. She was 92. She is survived by her daughter Gail Buckley. While she broke racial barriers and saw huge success in her professional life, Horne had a stormy personal life. At age 19 in 1937, she married Louis J. Jones, a preacher's son and friend of her father's. They had two children, Gail and Edwin before the marriage ended in 1944.

In 1947, she married white conductor and bandleader Lennie Hayton, to advance her career because "he could get me into places no black manager could," she once said. (CLICK HERE to read the rest of THIS article)

Her son died in 1970, at 29, from a kidney ailment. Hayton, from whom she had long been separated, died in 1971. Other men in her life included prize fighter Joe Louis, bandleader Artie Shaw and filmmaker Orson Welles. But her one true, true, lasting, relationship was with openly gay Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington's arranger and pianist.

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"I no longer have to be a "credit", I don't have to be a "symbol" to anybody. I don't have to be a "first" to anybody. I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become. I'm me, and I'm like nobody else." - Lena Horne

Happy Birthday James Brown!!!

Happy Birthday to The Godfather of Soul who would have turned 77 years old today!!

Rest in Peace Soul Brother #1 - There will NEVER be another like you!

You were TRULY

"The Hardest Working Man in Show Business"

Jordan Tesfay Rocks the May 2010 Cover of Plus Model Magazine!!!

The May 2010 issue of Plus Model Magazine is LIVE and available for your review!

This month's cover features the beautiful Jordan Tesfay!!

My column in this month's issue covers some of the secrets behind getting cast in FFFWeek(tm) 2010!!

CLICK HERE to go directly to my article and start reading!!!

FFFWeek(tm) 2010 Industry Awards Winners

Congratulations are in order for all of the winners of the first Full Figured Fashion Week(tm) Industry Awards!

Plus Designer of the Year
Qristyl Frazier

Plus Runway Model of the Year
Whitney Thompson

Plus Print Model of the Year
Elizabeth Seifu

Plus Fashion Stylist of the Year
Reah Norman

Plus Fit Model of the Year
Kalyea Moss

Plus Blog of the Year
Judgment of Paris

Plus E-zine of the Year
Skorch Magazine

Plus Fashion Retailer of the Year
IGIGI

Plus Fashion Photographer of the Year
Michael Anthony Hermogeno

Plus Industry Icon(s) of the Year
Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant

-and-

AND SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BEAUTIFUL ROSIE MERCADO

FOR HER WIN AS THE OFFICIAL "FACE" OF FFFWEEK(TM) 2010!!

YOU GO GIRL!!!

FULL FIGURED FASHION WEEK IS JUNE 16-19, 2010 IN NEW YORK CITY!

Do YOU have YOUR tickets yet?

Beth Ditto to do a second collection for Evans in the Fall!!!

Looks like UK Rocker Beth Ditto is not only changing the landscape of the music game....she has her sights set clearly on the fashion industry as well.

Word on the street is that her newly launched fashion line for Evans is doing so well that they've given her the go-ahead for a second collection.....which is set to debut for Autumn/Winter 2010-11 in September.

Still in the process of being designed, the line is set to feature an eclectic mix of 1908's punk, vintage styles from the 1940's with current trends.

Kewl.

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FFFWeek(tm) 2010 Aspiring Models Seminar - MORE CURVY CELEBRITY PANELISTS ADDED!!!

Hey Family!

I have updated and added some new guest panelists for my Aspiring Model Seminar for FFFWeek(tm) 2010!!!

This is DEFINITELY the seminar that YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!

Please check out the breakdown below, then tell your friends, post on your sites and spread the word!!!

PLUS KNOWLEDGE = PLUS POWER!!!

FULL FIGURED FASHION WEEK IS JUNE 16-19, 2010

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!

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Have you ever seen a live fashion show, watched a fashion on TV or flipped through a magazine and said to yourself: "I wish I could do that?" Well the good news is chances are you CAN do it! Whether you are a new model just starting out or you are a few years into your career, you will benefit from our "Aspiring Model Seminar & Panel Discussion". Learn the secrets to starting a career as a plus sized model from the ground floor up and/or how to take your career to the "next level"....from the people who are making it happen as we speak!

The fashion industry has in general frowned upon the idea of the “plus sized” model, preferring to holding steadfastly to the antiquated belief that fashion begins at a size Zero and ends at a size 6. These days with a shaky economy, 2/3’s of the world’s population wearing a size 14 or larger and growing rapidly by the minute and with February 2010 marking the official end of NY’s Fashion Week at Bryant Park; Seventh Avenue has begun to rethink the notion of the Plus Sized Model in print and on the runway.

Designers are beginning to realize that designing clothing for a small minority of folks is no longer cost effective and therefore a whole lot of them are quietly branching out to other

markets (i.e. plus) to keep their businesses afloat. The issue of size acceptance has been a hot topic over the last few years and is getting hotter by the minute….

So what does this mean for YOU the aspiring plus sized model you ask? It means that a whole new WEALTH of possibilities can open up for you to take advantage of if you are willing to learn how to “play the game” called Plus Sized Fashion!

Sharon Quinn, "The ORIGINAL Runway Diva “ - Actress/Veteran Plus Model/Writer/Singer/Casting Producer

Her recent appearances include The Style Network's Ruby, Oxygen's groundbreaking Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance, MTV’s MADE, Cash Cab & The Food Network's Throwdown With Bobby Flay.

Statuesque, poised, graceful and striking are all adjectives used to aptly describe the attributes belonging to Miss Sharon Quinn, affectionately known as "The Original Runway Diva", due to her presence, style and unbelievable confidence on the catwalk. She has handled the casting for Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance has well as The Bachelor and will be on hand to host and moderate the panel discussion.

Find out from The Runway Diva:

• The 7 Deadly sins for a plus model!
• What the basic qualifications are to become a plus model.
• How to develop your signature runway "Strut".
• How to have maximum success on a local level (the "Underground").
• How to adapt and overcome obstacles without sacrificing who you are.

The All-Star Lineup of Panelists (subject to change) includes:

Anthony Higgins - Director - Goddess/Model Service Agency

Anthony Higgins is a Buffalo native, who became a "New Yorker" in 1995. He started his career in the fashion world working at Karin Models - a French owned agency, as a model booker and assistant to the director.

Anthony has enjoyed being the director of MSA for the past 11 years. He has developed new divisions for this agency and quadrupled their business in the process.

He established Goddess in 1998; a division dedicated to plus size women's fashion. The models he has worked with have graced the pages and covers of many national publications including Glamour, Marie Claire, Essence, Figure, and O Magazine.

In 2001, he helped develop Direct Reps and established the commercial print division at MSA, booking models with Proctor & Gamble, Clairol and hundreds of other products.

Last year, Anthony launched ADAM, a new high fashion men's boutique agency, that develops young talent and services prestigious clients such as Armani and Diesel.

Register NOW and hear from Anthony as he explains:

• What agents and bookers are REALLY looking for at the open call.
• What's happening NOW in the plus size fashion market from an insider.
• The biggest mistakes that aspiring models make at the open call.
• How to avoid being typecast.

Yvette Ray Pinfield - Plus Model/Author (Your Guide to Plus Sized Modeling)

Yvette Ray Pinfield is a working mom and a plus size

model with agencies in both New York and Miami.

Her portfolio of work spans over 7 years and includes theToday Show, Good Morning America, Good Housekeeping Magazine, Motherhood Maternity and many more.

Yvette holds the title of Mrs. Manhattan 2008 and is also an active member of a number of professional organizations including the International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA).

Learn What Works in Plus Size Fashion and Modeling from an Industry Expert....

Your Guide to Plus Size Modeling is a great read for those who want to get into the field of modeling and it also teaches women to believe in themselves through reinforcing their self-esteem and positivity.

Find out from Yvette:

• How much money you'll need to get started.
• Getting in where you fit in (other branches of modeling).
• How to properly prepare for the open call.
• How to invest in the business of YOU.

Aminah Benjamin - Casting Director/Producer (BET's Rip The Runway)

Aminah will be on hand to answers the questions that EVERYBODY wants to know.

Find out from Aminah.....

Everything you wanted to know about Rip The Runway!

Learn he secrets behind the casting process for Rip The Runway!

• How to avoid the mistakes that most models make in their auditions.
• What the producers are looking for when they cast the show!
• Why preparation is KEY in getting selected for RTR.
• What direction the show is going in for 2011!

Larissa Laurel - Actress/Singer/Plus Sized Model &

Industry Editor for Plus Model Magazine

Larissa Laurel is originally from Corpus Christi, Texas. She is an actress, singer, and plus-size model. Her modeling career includes fit, print, fashion and showroom work.

Larissa began her modeling career in 1998 after the urging of her friends and family and by becoming an agent's assistant for a top-notch plus-size modeling agency in NYC. She has worked as a model with several NYC agencies and continues to work with most of her focus on print & fit modeling and acting.

Larissa's acting and singing career is truly a passion of the heart and she promotes and embraces non-traditional casting. She has appeared in several off-off Broadway productions and national tours. Larissa was also a founding member of the The Original "Glamazons", a 5 member plus size dance troupe.

Her face & curves have been featured in Latina, Oprah, Bust, Paper, BBW and Mode Magazines and her television appearances include The View, The Restaurant and commercial work for The Lifetime Channel. She is also a contributing editor for Plus Model Magazine and she writes a monthly column entitled "Q&A with Larissa", which helps aspiring models with the business of fashion.

Find out from Larissa:

• What it takes to make a successful career as a fit model.
• How to make the transition from fit to print model.
• The differences between fit and print modeling.
• How to juggle careers in multiple genres.

**Randi Graves - Plus Model/Aspiring Author

(Alternate Panelist)

Randi Graves was born and raised in Northern New Jersey. She attended Hampton University for one and a half years before starting her 12 year modeling career.

She has graced the pages of Ebony, Essence, Mode and Vogue magazines and she appeared on the cover of Plus Model Magazine's May 2009 issue.

She has two commercials under her belt and her beautiful face has graced the advertisements of Lane Bryant and Catherine's to name a few.

Randi Graves has the awesome distinction of being the first plus sized African-American model to have a billboard in NYC's Times Square (for Ashley Stewart Stores)!

And SO much more!

This is definitely a seminar and panel discussion that you DON'T WANT TO MISS if you are serious about a career as a plus sized model.

So sharpen those pencils, pack those pens and notebooks and come on down and get the necessary knowledge you need to succeed in your career!!

CLICK HERE to register NOW for FFFWeek(tm) 2010's Aspiring Model Seminar & Panel Discussion!

FFFWeek(tm) 2010's Aspiring Models Seminar & Panel Discussion

Friday, June 18, 2009

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

The Hotel Pennsylvania

401 Seventh Avenue @ 33rd Street

The Madison Room / 18th Floor

New York, NY 10001

Tix $22.00 in advance / $30.00 at the door

Seats are limited!!! Get yours now!!