As you may know, when I am not writing about fashion and interviewing designers, I also have a little gig on the side ( and on the side I mean it is my first born) called Kick Public Relations. At Kick PR we work with rising designers in accessories and apparel, and we leave the door open anything else that seems new and fresh.
Fashion and trends are constantly changing ( see JC Report post for more on trends) and everyday a designer is born with new ideas and a fresh outlook. They are born at FIT, they are born at the High School Theater Dept, and they are even born in their basements with moms old sewing machine. When it comes to fashion, anyone can give it a shot.
At Kick PR, the clients we represent are new, excited about what they do, and of course talented. We also will only work with them if we would buy it , wear it, gift it to our best friend, or just have it hang so perfectly in our closet to make all of the other garments jealous. How can we be expected to be excited about something when we just aren’t? We are PR professionals, not actors.
So, it’s June and our client roster is just SO fun that I had to write about it in Kickn’it. First up are some fabulous and funky belts by designer Ann Lansing. 
Before I met with Annie, I owned three belts; one was holding up my closet rack and the other two made an appearance only in the house, I never felt comfortable enough to wear it actually out in public. Annie’s belts changed my life, and my pants couldn’t be happier. The straps are all made with Italian leather and are reversible. Having a reversible belt isn’t something I ever thought of and once I had the option of red or black, my wardrobe was pleasantly surprised. All of her buckles are interchangeable and hand crafted. There are six buckle collections with classic styles like Zen, Gate, Snowflake, Bird, and Wave. The true test was the first time I wore one was out with my boyfriend, who mind you wouldn’t notice if my dad and I changed heads. He actually commented “Hey, nice belt, where is that from?” I called Annie right away with the news; for any woman, this is a success! To view the entire collection, log onto www.annlansing.com or check out Bendels Trunk Show calendar for her appearances! And as I mentioned before, if we wont wear it or gift it, its not for us and giving three belts to my sister for her birthday states my case.
Next up is Tashka by Beatrice. When I saw this jewelry I knew I needed to somehow be part of it. Beatrice Matiash, the designer, is a gemstone genius. Her necklaces come in a variety of lengths and styles such as the very popular lariats, single long chain and cluster drops.
Everything is delicate but makes such a statement with clusters of pearls, turquoise, quartz, onyx and so many other stones I didn’t even know existed! When I wear the single strands, people literally come up to me and touch it and pull. They LOVE it! I imagine that’s what it’s like when you are pregnant, people just want to touch. Recently she launched the Lucky Penny necklace which was a huge hit with Us Weekly and Lucky. It’s a simple statement piece that works well with so many different style preferences.
Inderjeet and Sonali Singh contacted me a few months ago in regards to PR for their new collection, San & Soni. You have to understand, I meet with a lot of designers and while some are generally nice and well done, most are just not that exciting. When I saw this collection, I decided that I would do whatever it takes to work with with them ( except sell my dog Elton- never!). 
What we have here is gorgeous design, immaculate detail like delicate pleats and unique detailed trims. Everything in this collection has a space in my closet ( and if I had the budget for it, I would have bought everything up at first site. ) Some pieces I like to highlight are the paper bag waist bubble shorts. These shorts need nothing but a simple tank and heels; leave the rest to the shorts. I wore these last week and was literally stopped on the street a few times and asked where they were from. For Fall 08, styles include bell jar shape dresses, pleated flowing blouses, slim pants with slouchy waists ( this is a great look, check out how they look in the image), and oversized triangle design knit blouses. Some fabrics incorporated into the collection are wool jersey, metallic foil printed jersey, double georgette and silk habotai. It’s all just so exciting for us to work with such talented designers.
JoomiNYC is just so fun and comes just in time for the Gossip Girl trend of headbands and hairpieces. I used to cringe at headbands, because all through my high school years and my twenties, the styles were ugly and always, ALWAYS gave me headaches. I don’t know if its just that I have a weird shaped head and where the headband hits sends signals to my brain that says “OOOUCH TAKE IT OFF!” So, I have been hesitant to wear one to say the least. Joomi’s headbands work for me and I really really love them.
We actually just met with the editor of People and OK! magazine who swooned over her designs. The way I see it, it’s a simple accessory done right. Lightweight fabric but lined with light boning so it stays in place and fits right on your head.
So, that’s enough from me. I am always searching for new designers and it’s exciting to come across talent, like Julianna Bass in my last interview. Tips are always welcome, I’m at kate@Kickpr.com
Happy Fashion!
Posted: June 6th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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