Keepin’ It Real with Kelly Cutrone!!

Kelly Cutrone, wife of Andy Warhol’s protege Ronnie Cutrone is our favorite sharp tonged boss from The Hills and The City on MTV is the CEO of People’s Revolution. People’s Revolution is a public relations, branding and marketing firm which she founded as a fashion entrepreneur. In her line of work, she has had the opportunity to work with clients such as Vivienne Westwood ( think Sex and the City Movie, Carrie’s wedding dress designer) to Sass & Bride. She works with a lot of unknown, non-mainstream clients because she appreciated their work and can see their visions through their art of making clothing.

Kelly is most well known for her stints on MTV, however she doesn’t seem to stay too far away from the news headlines either. In September of 2002 her agency successfully broke the record for the amount of fashions shows (5) in one day, because she was the only one willing to do shows on the anniversary of September 11th. Her reasoning ? “We’re the People’s Revolution, and we refuse to grieve on a day like [September 11th]. We’re gonna celebrate life and beauty.At the end of the day, PR is really a service business, so you really have to want to serve!” I’m not sure if that is a good response, but hey someone has to be controversial, why not her ?

She also made headlines when she decided that she would bring Ashely Dupree ( you know, Elliot Splitzer’s call girl ) to one of her client’s ( Yigal Azriel) shows. He fired her saying he’s “not going to work with [Cutrone] anymore” because of this incident. Kelly’s rationale was the Ashley wasn’t wearing his clothes nor have Yigal and her met, so why can’t they be friends and hang out? But, Azriel was not buying it. Was that a publicity thing or what? Cutrone denies it, but it sure did get her in the papers and on the web.

Kelly has had her share of drama, but really all she wants to do is her job. And that she does. She works really hard to keep People’s Revolution rolling. People’s Rev. started off as Cutrone & Weinberg, turned into Untitled, which is now probably the largest management company in the country. She once believed that Fashion was the new Rock and Roll, so she dove right into the industry and prospered from there. She is idealist, the name of the company is living proof of such.

She calls herself the Mother Theresa of avante-guard because she is a representative of the under dog designer. She is a visionary that capitalizes on pop culture, I guess she gets that from the Warhol’s.

However Cutrone will never loose her edge of being the HBIC ( head b*tch in charge) at People’s Rev. that we all see on television. She wears all black, her hair is jet black and rarely combed, and she religiously wears no make up and yet she is a powerful influence in the fashion industry. She is the complete opposite of her work, but opposites attract, right ?

Contrary to popular beliefs, Kelly doesn’t see herself as a b*tch. She just sees herself as being honest, which is important in this industry. She likes and respects when women speak the truth, ask questions, and stand for what they believe in. And Kelly does just that. She is straight forward and possesses an iron fist. She once claimed that she can say “That is not your seat, please get up,” in 13 languages, which seems useful for the high profile fashion shows she produces. She has even gone as far as to hire people to sit in front row seats and not to move until told to do so by a Staff member. Intense right ? Nope , just doing her job and taking it seriously.

Despite the speculation around Cutrones “scary” attitude, she does seem to have a soft spot in her heart for her daughter. She was quoted in an interview as saying that one of the things she was looking forward to in fashion week was to see her child go to kindergarten, which is intensely sweet. Her daughter Ava, born in 2002, seems to be the most important to her. She takes her job as a mother seriously, eating breakfast with Ava, taking her to school every morning before work and making sure that Ava remembers that she is loved no matter what. Cutrone is really hands on with her daughter, opting out of the live-in nanny trend that has swept the homes of the elite from coast to coast.

At the end of the day, whether we love or hate Cutrone, she is dedicated to her craft and to her family life, and there is nothing bad about that. Yes, she makes mistakes, but she is moving forward and trying to make the best out of her company and herself. In fact, she has a few upcoming projects. She is making a new television series on Bravo called Kell On Earth from the producers of Project Runway and Top Chef to be aired in the fall of 2009. She is also writing a book called Girls’ Guide to Life and Power to be released January 2010 by HarperCollins publishing company.

Finally, Kelly is expanding her company which means she is hiring. Shoot her an email with your resume at kc.assist@peoplesrevolution.com to see if you can have a chance to be in her upcoming show. I’m not sure if the pool is closed, but hey it’s worth a shot.

LOOK OUT! It’s Stylist Eric Daman’s Time to Shine!!!

Eric Daman is a stylist that is not new to the scene, but his presence is now being felt. He is the star stylist of the hit show Gossip Girls. He has also collaborated with Patricia Fields in styling for Sex and the City series. Eric has styled for other movies such as 40 shades of Blue, The Door in the Floor, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Quip Pro Quo, and others.

Eric’s career began when he was studying in Paris at Sorbonne and working as a buyer at Magic Circle. He was spotted by Steven Meisel in 1993 who was a model scout. Steven saw Daman in a store and next thing you know, he was casted with Kate Moss.

After moving to New York as a full time model he was able to secure the editorial shoots for Rolling Stone, Spin, The Face, and Visionnaire Magazines. While he was in New York living the fab life of a model, he ran into an acquaintance, Patricia Fields. She immediately hired him as her assistant in styling for SATC. It’s no doubt he took a few pointers from our favorite, Ms. Fields, and used them when concocting styles for the Gossip Girls crew.

Eric has proven to be a very interesting stylist because that he likes to mix the expensive fashion with the thrifty. He believes ( like we all do in times of economic turmoil) that it’s the way of all stylish women and men to mix YSL tops with H&M bottoms. Those outfits not only look great but allow those of us with a limited budget to get a cute look for less.

Something else I absolutely love is that he aspires to have a mass line that will go in Kohl’s or Target. He has shown his commitment to affordable fashion which is admirable. Now a days, this is the route a lot of designers , such as Vera Wang and Isaac Mizrahiare, are taking. He has recently landed a deal with Charlotte Russe to make some fashion forward/affordable designs. (Thank God, they need some help!) His contract will last through December 2010, we should all be looking out for some changes in their clothing lines.

Regardless of where Eric ends up, he will always be known for his A class work with Gossip Girls cast. He was even given the opportunity to designe a window at Henri Bendel (and afterward he was giving a huge bash).
He had fun, huh? Anyways the window was fabu.
He played up to the teeny-boppers with his use of text phrases. I must be old because I have no idea what these letters mean! Moving on :-)….

His styling on Gossip Girl has landed him a lot of press, which is well deserved. He does such a great job capturing the characters and making statements through their wardrobes that the scripts don’t include. His favorite character to dress is the nonchalant, yet sweetheart in his own mean way, Chuck Bass. He shows that a straight guy can and should use color to his advantage. Chuck’s character never strays from color and outstanding outfit choices. They suit him well… get it “suit.” ehh I tried.
Doesn’t he just look like a modern day Fonzi ? Ugh, you have GOT to love him. Additionally, He believes that Serena is hardest to dress, but he does such an amazing job with her too.( I have been sinspired by some of her outfits.) He says that the cast gives their opinion about what they want to wear, but ultimately they trust him, as they should–I mean he has only been doing this FOREVER.

My blog is focused on the people behind the fashion, and that is Eric Daman, however he does have a team of 25 helping him along the way. Let’s not forget the effort they put in to make this show the most talked about fashion television series since Sex and the City.

Who would have ever believed that a rural Michigan native like Eric would be so influential in the fashion world today? That just proves that anyone can make it. In his case connections and being in the right place, at the right time in addition to true talent has made him into the renowned stylist and costume designer he is today.

It is important that we don’t forget his face or his name because I guarantee he will become even more successful than he is today.

Eric, here is to you! Your quirky, individual style and outgoing personality will keep you in the spotlight and we like having you there. Please keep styling our favorite prep school kiddies ( now going to college) the way we love it!

Work the pants, doll!