Nancy Jeffries, Correspondent01.31.11
Fashion and beauty held the spotlight at The Fashion Group International’s 14th Annual Rising Star Award luncheon. Held last month at Cipriani 42nd Street, the award luncheon and presentation has come to represent the best burgeoning talent in the business of beauty and fashion. Margaret Hayes, President, The Fashion Group International, Inc., announced the eight categories, Accessories, Beauty and Fragrance Corporate, Beauty and Fragrance Entrepreneur, Fine Jewelry, Home Interior Design, Men’s Apparel, Retail, and Women’s Apparel, noting that the Rising Star Awards have become an excellent barometer of the success of the nominees for the future. She thanked event sponsors bebe, InStyle, for their support of the event, and Movado, for providing the crystal awards, and introduced Jamie Pallot, editorial director, Conde Nast Digital, who hosted the award luncheon.
Amy Synott presented the Beauty and Fragrance Corporate Award to Siddharth Shah, Givaudan Fragrances Corp., for his contribution to the creation of the Givaudan iPerfumer, a personal fragrance selection tool, which provides fragrance recommendations and suggestions based on a user’s personal profile. The iPerfumer, which is available as a free download from the Apple App store, continues to update its database, is accessed in more than 158 countries, and lists more than 4,000 fragrances.
Newell Turner presented the Award for Home Interior Design to Koray Duman and Laith Sayigh, of Sayigh + Duman.
Tom Julian presented the Award for Men’s Apparel to Loris Diran, of Loris Diran. Diran, who said he had been living the mantra, “Leap and the net will appear,” thanked Norma Kamali who taught him early in his career to, “Trust your instincts. The most important thing in this industry is to be a survivor.” Diran closed his remarks, saying, “Life without a dream to pursue is not living. Well, I’m living my life.”
Additional information on The Fashion Group International, Inc. and its programs and presentations may be found at: www.fgi.org.
Pallot, remarking on the weather that apparently left the crowd undaunted, said, “Snow is the new black, fashion is the new showbiz, and the Rising Star Awards are the new Golden Globes.”
Acknowledging the founders of FGI, who in 1930 included Edith Head, Elizabeth Arden, and Eleanor Roosevelt, Pallot traced the organization’s history of encouraging younger talents, citing some recent Rising Star Award winners, including Tory Birch, Jason Wu and Philip Lim.
Norma Kamali, designer, beauty and fragrance innovator, and keynote speaker, put it all in perspective however, with her unstinting regard for the focus and passion of today’s Rising Stars.
Norma Kamali |
“A rising star is a good thing, and it may even be a bad thing. What happens if you don’t become a star? Is that going to be the end of it for you? I never thought I was a star or would be a star. I’m just my own little constellation up in the sky, and I love it,” she said.
Regarding relevance, Kamali added, “Stardom has its highs and its lows, and it could be a curse to some people. You have to decide what you want and who you are. Longevity is more important than stardom. I’m grateful for all the highs and lows, because it’s meant you have to get up and reinvent yourself. I welcome you to my constellation and hope you each find a place in that wonderful sky.”
Category Winners and Presenters
Lauren Bush presented the Accessories Award to Marc Marmel.
Nominees in the Accessories Category:
Jury Artola and Olga Grib – J. Artola
Adriana Castro – Adriana Castro
Satu and Celeste Greenberg – Tuleste Market
Marc Marmel – Marc Marmel
Towana Phillip – To’sha
Nicole Romano – Nicole Romano
Amy Synott presented the Beauty and Fragrance Corporate Award to Siddharth Shah, Givaudan Fragrances Corp., for his contribution to the creation of the Givaudan iPerfumer, a personal fragrance selection tool, which provides fragrance recommendations and suggestions based on a user’s personal profile. The iPerfumer, which is available as a free download from the Apple App store, continues to update its database, is accessed in more than 158 countries, and lists more than 4,000 fragrances.
Nominees in the Beauty and Fragrance Corporate category:
Margot Humbert – M.A.C. Cosmetics
Jill Nisson – Avon Products, Inc.
Caroline Pieper Vogt – Fusion Brands, Inc.
Siddharth Shah – Givaudan Fragrances Corp.
Lauren Bush |
Maureen Case, president, Bobbi Brown Worldwide, presented the award for Beauty and Fragrance Entrepreneur, to Harold Zimmerman, founder and CEO, Votre Vu, maker of fine skin care and treatment products.
Nominees in the Beauty and Fragrance Entrepreneur Category:
Christopher Chong – Amouage
Francis Kurkdjian – Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Ellen Sirot – Hand Perfection
Harold Zimmerman – Votre Vu
Ippolita presented the Fine Jewelry Award to Betty Lou Moscot, Blu Betty Lou Moscot.
Nominees in the Fine Jewelry Category:
Nina Basharova – Nina Basharova
Wendy Brandes – Wendy Brandes
Visnja Brdar – Visnja Jewels
Moritz Glik – Moritz Glik Studio
Betty Lou Moscot – Blu Betty Lou Moscot
Newell Turner presented the Award for Home Interior Design to Koray Duman and Laith Sayigh, of Sayigh + Duman.
Nominees in the Home/Interior Design Category:
Koray Duman & Laith Sayigh - Sayigh + Duman
Alissia Melka-Teichroew – By AMT Inc.
Karl Zahn – Karl Zahn
Tom Julian presented the Award for Men’s Apparel to Loris Diran, of Loris Diran. Diran, who said he had been living the mantra, “Leap and the net will appear,” thanked Norma Kamali who taught him early in his career to, “Trust your instincts. The most important thing in this industry is to be a survivor.” Diran closed his remarks, saying, “Life without a dream to pursue is not living. Well, I’m living my life.”
Nominees in the Men’s Apparel Category:
Antonio Azzuolo – Antonio Azzuolo
Peder Borresen, Stefan Dahlkvist, and Simen Staalnacke – Moods of Norway
Loris Diran – Loris Diran
Jeff Halmos and Sam Shipley – Shipley & Halmos
Linda Fargo presented the Retail award to Jennifer Fleiss and Jennifer Hyman, for their Rent The Runway concept, which encourages women around the world to experience new brands.
Nominees in the Retail Category:
Alissa Emerson and Valerie Feigen – EDIT
Jennifer Fleiss and Jennifer Hyman – Rent The Runway
Robert James – By Robert James
Lisa Weiss – Debut New York
Catherine Malandrino presented the Women’s Apparel award to both Fabiola Arias and Bradley Scott, who tied for the honors.
Nominees in the Women’s Apparel Category:
Fabiola Arias – Fabiola Arias
Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia – Sachin + Babi for Ankasa
Jedda-Kahn Blue-EL – Jedda-Kahn
Elene Cassis – Elene Cassis
Benjamin Channing Clyburn and Sonia Yoon – Bensoni
Joel Diaz and Christina LaPens – Jolibe
Danny Liu and Brian Wood – Silvio Liu
Bradley Scott – Bradley Scott
Tom Scott – Tom Scott
Jonathan Simkhai – Jonathan Simkhai
Additional information on The Fashion Group International, Inc. and its programs and presentations may be found at: www.fgi.org.