Interview with Elem Magazine....

I had a really good interview with ELEM Magazine ( short for Eritrean Lifestyle and Entertainment Magazine) today. This is a publication that is based in Europe and aims to relate Eritrea (and Eritrean)'s lifestyle, culture, arts, history, fashion, music, film and literature. I was interviewed by Mahta Tewolde, a lovely and agile young lady who writes for them.

The interview was more personal....in the sense that the questions revolved around my entire life as a whole. Mahta approached me about a month ago asking me if I would be interested in being featured in the magazine as someone who would be a positive role model and an inspiration to their young readers. Of course I jumped up to the opportunity....I mean being Eritrean and seeing what my people are doing out there with ELEM--"To promote a bright future within our communities by highlighting the success of Eritreans in various fields. We believe that by featuring positive Eritrean role models, we can encourage young people to aim high and realize their potential"--Mahta Tewolde, ELEM.

She called me this morning, and we spoke for about an hour, covering everything and anything, from my childhood upbringing to how I got to NYC....it felt like I've known her for a while. Overall, it turned out to be quite a pleasant conversation.

I am looking forward to seeing the outcome in issue 14 ( should be around October/November time)....More to come!

Gabrielle Vallarino-Circa Design

Another Editor Go-See with a visionary jewelry designer-Gabrielle Vallarino's Circa Design. I LOVED it, every single piece had character. She had her event at her husband's art gallery in the Upper Eastside. Vibrant colors with bewitching silvers, golds, and precious stones. Presentation was beyond superb with modern jazz playing in the background and pictureque paintings to accentuate the debut. I told Gabrielle that I would hopefully be using most of her designs for my next big shoot--which will be very soon;)

Editor-Go-Sees: Shanghai Tang & Helen Yarmak....

I looooove attending Editor-Go-Sees!! I went to 2 of them today and got to see lots of beautiful things.

First up was Shanghai Tangs's Fall 2009 collection. Now this line is based out of Hong Kong and their whole concept is about creating luxurious, modern Chinese chic with themes deeply rooted in ancient and authentic culture, from calligraphy to "The Silk Road" to Chinese contemporary art. Yes indeed....it was exactly what I saw in their collection, but with lots of bright colors: Greens and Pinks, from Reds to Purples and Corals, as well as amazingly detailed handbags and accessories. Their little minutiae of calligraphic motifs embossed on their coats and the Bauhaus inspired prints on their dresses gave the line it's own original touch. At the viewing, they had some really tasty french macaroons in the same colors of the collection......YUMMY!


Next up was Helen Yarmak's new collection of jewels and furs. First of all, the showroom is unbelievable.....located at the 23rd floor of the crown building on 5th avenue, with a terrace overlooking the spectacular view of central park. Anyway, I have never seen so many gorgeous jewels at one time.....precious stones of ruby, amber, sapphire, topaz, and not to forget our lovely best friend, diamond, in LARGE settings...OMG...Breathtaking!! Now I am not a big fur person myself, however, I was impressed by the handsome silhouettes that Helen came up with.....Wondrous!

I got to meet Helen Yarmak in person, a pleasant Russian woman that is all about glamour and extravagance.....she was quite delightful and thanks to Julia who accompanied me and translated the Russian jokes that were being shared!

There is a saying in Eritrea (where I am originally from): "It is always good to allow the eyes to see flashy and beauteous things....feeding off their splendor so that they will only desire and bring the best after that." So much for my attempted translation......

Ginger-Jean-Brooks.....

Today I shot an epic beauty story, inspired by the 1930's classic movie starlets: Ginger Rogers, Jean Harlow, and Louise Brooks. It was quite enjoyable and we had a fab team. The story was shot by a skilled photographer friend, Al Thompson. I've shot with him before, and I tell you, I always have a good laugh on set. He's quite the joker yet a mellow type of guy. The hairstylist, Christophe Kontos (one of Jamal's assistants), gave us some great styles, it was my first time working with him and I was happy. Aldys did the make-up, and I was very amused by the whole "erasing the eyebrows" technique.....the makeup was lustrous I say....High Five!!

Our alluring model was Olga Blik from Major Model Management. She definitely had the look to pull it off.....She was not expecting the works, nevertheless, she gave us her best.

I thoroughly enjoyed styling this story.....I had furs, head pieces, and vintage jewelry to play around with....How much fun could that be?? Check out the on set movie strip!

Livebooks and PixInk....what a combination!!

I finally put myself into gear and decided to get livebooks.....Yes, I needed to so I can keep track with updating my site on a regular without the hassle of getting someone else to do it. It's going to take about 3 weeks before its up and running....I am super excited about this!


On a slightly different note, I wanted to take a little time to talk about a special friend (and one of my closest best friends!), Mrs. Ayesha Mathews-Wadhwa, Chief Pixel Bender and Creator of PixInk. This is a boutique design company that specializes in Branding and Visual Identity, Marketing Communication & Digital Media. Thanks to this amazing establishment and Ayesha's remarkable talent, DMDstyle's branding and identity was born. Pix Ink created my logo, my business card, my website design, my letterheads and so much more. I have received nothing but outstanding compliments in my industry for the electric colors and radical designs that totally portray me.


My dear and beautiful friend Ayesha and I go way back, she has always taken the time to understand what I've tried and continue to put out there. She has pushed and inspired many of us friends out there. She is now leading the San Francisco chapter of Savor the Success for Women Entrepreneurs. I am proud to say that she is doing remarkably well.

So all you people out there who are starting their businesses and looking for an identity, please do contact PixInk and you won't be disappointed....I can guarantee that:)

Imagine what the combination of Livebooks and PixInk will do to DMDstyle (my styling business)?? Let's wait and see....meanwhile, enjoy some previews of my most recent works that will be featured on my new and upcoming site......more to come....soon!


Photography: Julia Pogodina
Styling: Me!
Hair: Sato Taeko
Make-Up: Anetta Klemens
Model: Olga A. (Ford Models/NYC, and Womens/Paris)


Photography: Julia Pogodina
Styling: Me!
Hair: Jamal Hodges
Make-Up: Anetta Klemens
Model: Marija (Major Model Management)


Photography: Al Thompson
Styling: Me!
Hair: Jamal Hodges
Make-Up: Marion Mazo
Model 1: Thomas Gibbons (Fusion Model Management)
Model 2: Adrien Fedida (Red Model Management)

Spy vs. Spy

Shot with two amazing male models today for Fantastics Magazine:

-Dimitri Vankerkoven from New York models; he shot for Dolce and Gabbana and CK campaigns. This Belgian beau has a great structured face and really buff build....A classic! Glad to have had the opportunity to style him.


-Josh Dagnall from DNA; he has also shot for Dolce and Gabbana, the cover for Style Men, and more importantly, he was shot by Mario Testino. This native of Perth, Australia has strong editorial features, especially mysterious eyes, and can pull off so many eccentric looks.......I loved his personality, he was very down to earth. A model to definitely keep an eye out for, he will go very far!

The story was shot by Matthew Lyn, a self-taught photographer from Toronto, Canada with commendable skills and buoyant energy. Hair was done by the outstanding Jamal Hodges and make-up by the adroit Emi Aoki, and of course, my fabulous assistant, Jillian Wu kept it all together. Incredible team and overall, a good shoot, can't wait to see the story and share it with you all!

Concept: Futuristic, industrial, bold, extravagant shapes/poses, Fantastic Magazine. Some of the designers I pulled samples from: John Fluevog, Unconditional, Telfar, MVM, and Robert Geller.

Interview Pt.1

I spent most part of the evening yesterday preparing answers for my interview with ROUGE Magazine-Bulgaria. I was interviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, Natalia Georgieva. She was great and had definitely asked questions that not only covered my work as a Stylist, but the depth of my intellect. I stayed up all night trying to perfect them. My friend and current roommate, Allia, got to hear some of them and had given me some constructive criticisms on my answers.....Lessons I had learned from the night were to give good responses without offending anyone, carefully stating my likes and dislikes, and not to disparage anyone's hard work. Thank you Allia for making me see the inevitable....and thanks to all my friends who have helped me with their feedback (Rabah, Ayesha, Hannah, Mum, Dad (may he rest in peace) and my sister Dalal). Did the interview go well? Why don't we wait and find out once it's published....

Beauty in jewels

I shot a beauty story with Olga A. from Ford Models/Women's Paris today. Ultimate beauty, grace and extreme allure: She brought out her inner delicacy as she modeled away with the jewelry pieces from Magasin Totale, Dinosaur Designs, Metalnat, and Gabrielle Vallarino's Circa Designs. Concept: dreamy, pure, soft and elegant......and she just continued on while being shot away.....

Shigoto Fashion Shoot....Backstage

Turned out to be quite fun and with a cool and laid back group....Got to meet the owner/entrepreneurial bricklayer of Shigoto Fashion Ltd......Jasper Momma, really cool guy. The shoot was produced by Polina Raygorodskaya, founder of Polina Fashion, an ex-model and a highly driven PR rep....... Totally loved the pants ( great quality and could be worn in several different ways), especially the "Tabi" boots; OMG.....I need to get a hold of a pair ( thinking of rocking them with a pair of leggings or skinny jeans!!!!) Shigoto Fashion is definitely an underground trend that's going to be hitting the streets very soon. Enjoy the backstage snaps:)

Shigoto Fashion Ltd.....

Shooting a look book tomorrow for Shigoto Fashion Ltd. This is a Japanese clothing line inspired by the true samurai and ninja dress codes worn by the Japanese construction workers (Tobi). This is made up of baggy pants, split toe boots (check out SJP rockin' the Martin Margiela version which were definitely inspired by the original Tabi boots!) and tight shirts. Concept: to make this is street wear/ hipster like as can be. Two male models and 2 female models.....Should be very interesting.....

Good Morning.....A wonderful surprise: A COVER and an interview to follow!!!

I woke up this morning @ 8am....quite late for my usual time (which is usually around 6:30am.....bizarre??I know!!) Anyway, I had a nice email from Julia with the layout and the cover of "Rouge" Magazine's April issue......The COVER STORY that we shot in L.A. with Kelly Carlson....This is my third one with this awesome magazine and it looks fabulous......And Kelly looks friggin' dazzling.....what can I say....sigh! The life of a stylist and the reaction once we get our covers.....PRICELESS!!! Thanks Julia, you made my morning:)
In case I haven't told you about "Rouge" Magazine: It is a Bulgarian based fashion publication that is very reputable and is pretty much equivalent to "Vogue" out here....yes, you read right....VOGUE.....it is just beyond incredible and the quality of tear sheets are phenomenal! I am so proud of this accomplishment and hope to get more:)
On another good note, I got contacted by "Rouge" Magazine and they're looking to do an interview with me for a possible article in an upcoming issue.....more to come on that news! Carpe Diem is where I'll leave it at.....

A Summer Story...with lots and lots of vibrant colors...

On Tuesday, I styled a shoot for a summer story. We shot Marija from Major. She was amazing and had great energy......She knew what she doing and just asked for music to keep her going. I'm super excited about the pictures:))
It was all about summer and the vibrant colors. Designer's samples that I used were from Manish Arora, Helen Yarmak, Douglas Reker, Haleh Nematzadeh, Serpico, Irregular Choice, Dinosaur Designs, and many more. We had a great team with the amazing hair guru and good friend Jamal Hodges, make-up was the fun and creative Anetta Klemens. Once again shot by Julia Pogodina and styled by yours truly. I can't wait to show you this editorial story.....but in the meantime you can enjoy some backstage shots;)