A wife, mother, businesswoman and cancer survivor is how Musu described herself to the audience. She stressed she wants to be seen as a survivor not a victim of the illness that claims a 44 percent higher mortality rate than any other race (See more at:http://www.sistersnetworkinc.org/breastcancerfacts.html)
Musu's words were moving and honest with the key message being how important it is, especially for our community, to listen to their bodies. In it's 3rd year the LTYB (listen to your body) trunk and fashion show is not only a celebration of perseverance and strength against the horrible disease that is cancer but it is also used as a platform to reach out to our community and encourage early detection. LTYB incorporated fashion, music, jewelry and art into the schedule of events which made for a fun and memorable evening Hearing a young mother of two just near the age of 30 reveal that she was recently diagnosed with stage four cancer was extremely heartbreaking and moving. Her determined and fearless spirit really set the crowd's tone for positive vibes. Boston songstress Al Copeland also discussed the impact cancer has made on her life. The recent loss of her mother, Al openly revealed the pain she felt about realizing her mother passed before she could see Al's debut album and that her mom ignored many physical signs her body was giving her until it was too late. These speeches gave way to a decidedly triumphant and celebratory sentiment among the audience. In the face of such emotion recounts I could do nothing but be humble and grateful for my life and the lives around me. I have been to many benefit shows that raise funds for cancer and other illnesses and I have to say this particular show felt the most intimate and close to the cause. LTYB is something I would really like to see gain a larger following and continue for many years to come. The crowd also had a lot of fashionably dressed attendees that you can check out under the "serving face" tab.
VENUE:
I came into the space initially not knowing where to go or who I should interview or speak with. The designated volunteers were mostly young children with one person greeting guests at the door.Taking place at the Paris Street Gallery in Everett the location was slightly removed from the city and the actual event space was somewhat small. There was a check in desk, a narrow hall (housing vendors and a step and repeat) opening up at the end to a wider square room with a small bar, front stage, 4 rows of chairs on each side of the room and a buffet sponsored by Good N Plenty straight raw and eclectic dishes. The space was decorated with pink balloons and pink streamers wrapped around columns.
VENDORS:
There were 4 tables set up in the hallway described above. Table 1 - I purchased a bib necklace from Eden natural collection for $60 only to get home and read the tag which has a California prop 65 disclaimer that warns the necklace contains chemicals that are known to cancer!!!!! Lol - so yeah I might not be wearing that which is sad because it’s a really great necklace - I wish I had read the back or furthermore that the vendor read the back before selling it at a cancer related event. Table 2 - Ty Scott t-shirts, I wanted one, but no one was available to sell me one. Table 3 - DLachae also selling some cute t-shirts with an additional rack of sweatshirts and jackets. I believe the designs I saw on the runway are definitely by custom made only as I did not see any pieces from those collections on sale. The flyer mentioned same day purchase but I never got a chance to see if the designers brought out the clothes - I will try to reach out and order a piece from each designer. Table 4 - Breast Cancer awareness table offering pins, bracelets, buttons and other informative material on breast cancer awareness. There was a 5th table showcasing some African pottery art but I wasn't sure if that was a vendor table or part of the gallery.
THE SHOW:
The crowd was entertained by DJ Apache a.k.a. Stevenboy03, albeit a few issues with the sound and mic the music selection kept the crowds energy up during the wait. I thought the DJ would have done more in the way of shout outs or announcements, similar to and MC, to keep the crowd entertained (some scorpio season shout-outs perhaps?) but he remained silent during the event. The first performer was singer Sydaiya Rehema, she opened with her own rendition of the jazz classic "Fever". DLachae collection came down the runway shortly thereafter, the lighting was a tad bit dark for my recording purposes but I'm confident I snapped some great pics. Speeches by Musu, YB_83 and Al Copeland followed until the second performer arrived. After another brief intermission Yummy Bingham took the stage. The Queens, NY artist became the youngest female CEO of a major-affiliated label and the youngest female record executive. Her song "Circles" was featured in the movie "King of Paper Chasin". Her mixtape "No Artificial Flavorz" was released on January 7, 2014 with Nyce Hitz/The Hitz Team. She was very entertaining and had a beautiful voice. Ty Scott label closed out the runway show in grand fashion, followed by pics in front of the step and repeat and a cake brought in to celebrate the success of the event.
THE DESIGNERS:
Dlachae (pronounced: dee-la-shay) Founder Dennelle describes her company on their Facebook page as a clothing line that makes the ordinary extraordinary with African inspired prints. The line was very colorful primarily using bright reds and yellows. The collection also utilized a mix of standard and plus size models. The makeup (MUA: Denekia Carmel) was beautiful and paired well with the earthy textures in each piece.
Ty Scott Label https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DApSxKojDG8 / https://www.facebook.com/Ty-Scott-Label-124489074232716/?fref=ts founded in 2002 Ty Scott label is run by Native American designer Ty Scott based out of NYC the fashion house designs high-end ready to wear and urban street chic garments. Citing his current muse as Love & Hip Hop's own Amina Buddafly Ty Scott label knows how to dress a women sexy effortlessly. The collection was body conscious and exciting with lots of peek-a-boo cut outs, deep v necklines, fringe and mesh. The menswear line was very tshirt heavy, the piece I liked the most was a floral dress shirt with fitted yellow dress pants. My favorite women's wear piece was a long sheer black maxi dress, with a banded empire waist, embroidered bodice covered in large colorful stones and a bottom hem with a brightly colored feather pattern.
All designs can be seen under the "best in click" tab with video under "walk the plank" or our YouTube channel.
More About:
Production: ListenTo You Body - Musu-Kulla Massaquoi https://www.facebook.com/Musukulla.Massaquoi
Designer: Dlachae - https://www.facebook.com/DLachae-680543771981181/timeline
Designer: Ty Scott Label - https://www.facebook.com/Ty-Scott-Label-124489074232716/?fref=ts / iroctyscott@gmail.com
DJ: DJ Apache - https://www.facebook.com/stevenboy03?fref=ts
Vendor: Jewelry - Eden Natural Collection (Dahaliaj@gmail.com) http://edenatural.com/
Catering: Good N Plenty goodnplenty24@gmail.com (Chef/Owner: Warren)
MUA - Denekia Carmel - makeupbydenekiacarmel@gmail.com
Venue: Paris Street Gallery - https://www.facebook.com/ParisStreetGalleryStudios/