Well......I've just lived a lifetime in about 4 days with Downtown Julie Brown, where she flew in from LA to attend some events for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! Now you all know that FASHION WEEK in New York is BIG!!!....... and the revenues that this billion dollar industry generates is staggering (about 700 million)
When Julie and I worked together at MTV and collaborated at E! Entertainment, (in the last century, mind you) being with Downtown Julie Brown was like living the life with an MTV cultural-revolution "DIVA", plus with a 5 year stint at E! Entertainment TV as the host of "The Gossip Show" and the vivacious and well received "red carpet" celebrity interviewer..... she was the bomb! (as they used to say) I mean, we were "smokin'" and we whirled and twirled with everybody in the music and entertainment worlds.... but as life goes, times change and we all move on in our lives! Some get married, some get fat, some have babies and some do all. Well Julie just got married, and step-mothered her lovely daughter, Gianna
After my visit with Julie this past summer in Italy, I think my presence" sparked a small fading ember of that past life! So she called me from LA and said that she felt that it was time for her to "go back to work", now that her daughter was pretty much all grown up... she felt a desire to rekindle that flame! "Is Martin (her wonderful German husband) on board and supportive?" I asked. "You bet!" she responded.
Well, you know how everybody in the entertainment and fashion worlds are soooo quick to dismiss "has beens", (some people are just too short-sighted.....enter people like me, "The Image Guru") I thought to myself, could this be done??? And I have to say I was peaked, to say the least, by the prospect of this undertaking. If I personally didn't love this woman (from all that we'd been through in our lives) I probably would have said it can't be done and just be happy (which she is completely) in her current life and just FORGET ABOUT IT!. But I didn't.... I've always known how influential Downtown Julie Brown was, whether you liked her or not, she RULED MTV for a period of time..... just like Madonna did too! I lived it and I saw it!
So, "what to do" I asked myself. FASHION....... Wasn't Downtown Julie Brown always known for her FASHION? (thanks to me).... yes she was! "Ahhhh", I thought, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is coming up and they're presenting at their new venue.... Lincoln Center. "Why not come in for that?" I asked her.... and she agreed and decided to fly in and attend a few selective events and take some meetings with agents and try to get some indicator whether or not people still remembered her, or even cared. Now mind you, Julie does not have any network or PR firm behind her now .... she is a civilian for all intensive purposes, so she simply hasn't needed PR, being the mommy that she has been over the past 14 years. Truth be known, she really doesn't need to work at all at this stage in her life.... but she WANTS to work, which is the big difference!!!
So here's a rundown of the few events and places that we did attend!
Sept 8th: Julie arrives into Manhattan at 7:30PM and is hosted by her friends, Colin Heywood (a devilishly handsome Englishman who owns the chic apothecary and fragrance boutique cleverly named "The Bathroom" in the West Village) and his equally handsome partner Joe... who's last name I shall not mention as he is #7 in line at JP Morgan Bank. Now Colin and Joe own this fabulous historical landmark townhouse in the West Village, but we all met up for dinner on Julie's first night at The Lion, which is owned by an old friend Mark ( who was so lovely that he actually ran to our table when I came in). I was late to meet them all and had never been there before, being a predominently Upper East Sider, but I'd heard that it was one of the "hardest places to get into". So there we all were, "front and center" sitting next to Hollywood movie producer, Brian Grazier, Page Six's Richard Johnson, MTV's mogul and mega-producer Tony DiSanto, and so many others just to name a few, in one of the hottest and hardest restaurants to get into. "Hmmm, this is starting off to a great start" I thought... thanks to Colin's initiative in booking the reservation there. But everybody, who was anybody, seemed to be coming up to our table because of Downtown Julie Brown and our lot! Actually, Tony DiSanto walked up to Julie and said how nice it was to see her looking so good after such a long time (almost 15 years) and that his wife had always loved her on MTV. He subsequently invited her to be his guest at the VMA's (MTV's Video Music Awards) which he was producing that following Sunday in LA. Well that brief encounter ended up as an item in Page Six that Friday!
So after that most enthusiastic experience at The Lion, we went to Le Bain ( or The Black Room) at the Standard Hotel, where Emma Snowdon Jones, one of New York's young-ish, fashionable social bees was so excited to meet MTV's iconic Downtown Julie Brown. Emma, you were so sweet and Julie so enjoyed your enegy and meeting you!
Sept 9th: Julie asked me to meet her at William Morris W2 that afternoon, where she had a meeting with a potential agent. But I had other things to do, as I had to pick out her clothes from the PORTS 1961 showroom to wear in the front row of their show the following day. I chose something very, very different for her to wear, as I personally do not want her to be perceived as a "has been" celebrity who just "doesn't get it" and hasn't moved on or evolved from her former MTV glory days. She was so receptive and opted for exactly what I wanted her to wear, which was a beautiful PORTS 1961 salmon/champagne silk shantung strapless dress with a stunning obi sash around her breasts ( no not around her waist but around her still beautiful breasts... but that was her spin on the chicness of this gorgeous dress) and we discussed how she would wear her hair and do her makeup and what shoes to wear..... and it only took us 2 hours to decide all, not the arduous circus that Rachel Zoe goes through when she dresses a celebrity! (calm down tiger) Anyway, we ended up having dinner that night at Julie's dear friend, Rocco Ancarola's new charming restaurant, The Rabbit In The Moon, on 8th St..... yes 8th St. We were joined by Colin, (Julie's host) and his handsome Brit friends, (Andrew an Art Director and Patrick Mackie a fashion stylist) Dinner was delightful and full of fun (thanks Julie and Rocco).... but off we had to go to the "reopening" of Andre Balazs', Boom Boom Room, or as it is now referred to as The Spot. It's ridiculously hard to get into for mere mortals and if you aren't a friend of Andre's or somebody fabulously celebrated, then you should just forget about trying! There were literally throngs of people vying to get into both sides (Le Bain being another club, within The Standard Hotel, where Naomi Campbell was hosting her own party) and many people unfortunately didn't make the select lists. But we were literally ushered in for the main reopening party! YAAH!
Highlights of that evening were endless champagne, open bar, great friends, glamour, socialites, fab and danceable music, Courtney Love, Liv Tyler, Lance Bass, Naomi Campbell, Shalom Harlowe, Russell Simmons, Elijah Woods. May I say that I was pleasantly surprised and shocked when Downtown Julie Brown, somehow hopped onto the bar when Kanye West was performing towards the end of the evening. She said as he was performing, "Hello, I'm Downtown Julie Brown" and he said "Yes, I know who you are" and then he hugged her up on the bar. WOW, how the heck did she manage to even get up on the bar in her chic PORTS 1961 silver dress and 6 inch PORTS 1961 heels??? FABULOUS< FABULOUS< FABULOUS! Julie ended up on The Huffington Post.com website pictured with Russell Simmons and several photos of her appeared on PMC (Patrick McMullan's wesbite). I of course, was elegantly appointed as well and was featured too! (thanks Patrick)
Too, too, too much FUN! Gotta get some sleep... the next day we have to "Sparkle Nealy, sparkle!" ( Patty Duke in a line from Valley of the Dolls)
Sept 10th: I woke up early and ventured down to the West Village to style Julie for the PORTS 1961 show at Lincoln Center..... tons of photographs were taken from a multitude of photographers on the long walk from our cab into the venue. Now whenever a celebrity gets a "front row seat" at any fashion show, it is almost standard protocol to have that celebrity wear the designers creations , for the purpose of having their photos in the designers clothing... and if the PR person who handles the designer and the PR person (although Julie doesn't have one at this time and I am acting as PR person and stylist too) who handles the celebrity does a good job, then there should be tons of photos with that celebrity wearing the designers clothes.. Done deal.... I'm happy with how Julie looks.... chic Pop-Diva-Geisha, fresh and new.... not anything like people remember her from her "rock & roll" days at MTV. Evolution is a key word in my book!!!! But where are the "front row" photographers at the show??? Well I figured out that they couldn't find her because her front row seat was soooo close to the second model exit that they simply couldn't see her. "Bad move" I thought! DOWNTOWN JULIE BROWN is and will always be an MTV CULTURAL ICON! But you can't have everything in life and I am really just relaunching her, but I thought it was a very poor "front row seat" decision, for them to put her in! Every aspect of this process in crucial "puppies" and if you don't have the support of the powers that be, it's even harder. But this industry is also a double-edged sword and if you don't get the support from those people, then you don't give it back too when the shoe is on the other foot. It's that simple... but I am also soo gracious and appreciative to the people that do make MY job easier and they in turn will see my appreciation in the future!
The PORTS 1961 show was FABULOUS and I thought it was a bit of an inspired tribute to a great American designer, Halston! Great job Fiona Chibani (who now designs the collection after her sister, Tia Chibani's, departure). Julie gagged for the presentation and thought the clothes were exquisite! We also got to see a dear friend of ours, High Voltage, who's a Lifestyle Guru and the originator of The Energy Up! health and wellness program. But I would like to send a personal thanks to Jacqui Wenzel and Lou Iacovelli for allowing me to bring Julie.
Now on to New York's own FASHION'S NIGHT OUT... where over 100 fashion designers open their boutiques to the public (replete with their own marquee celebrities) for this romp into the exclusive world of glamour and fashion! How festive does this sound! Julie changes into a very YSL inspired (although I was inspired by YSL) confection of Gucci and Prada and Cavalli en tres YSL colours. I coordinated her in a Roberto Cavalli red silk charmeuse halter top with a low plungey back (uberly sexy) , low-waisted indigo blue Prada silk charmeuse hip slacks that she bought in Italy (extremely hip) and a showstopping canary yellow meribou Gucci coat. WOW! We couldn't walk down Madison Avenue without some photographer somewhere asking us all to be photographed, especially Downtown Julie Brown..... Yes....we made a definite fashion statement... but then that's one of the things I do as "The Image Guru"... I help people make statements for that "WOW" factor, even divas.
So where should Julie, Colin and I go???? Hmmm, let me see and try to remember. Not too many places..... but not too few! We started off at Roberto Cavalli, where they thanked Julie profusely for coming...click, click, photo, photo, glass of champagne and then up Madison to J. Mendel, whom I personally think is so chic..click, click, photo, photo. I introduced Julie to J. Mendel's PR Director Jessica Nagel (Gilles Mendel hadn't arrived yet) and said that we have to dress Julie for some events in the near future in J. Mendel (whose clothes I deem as exquisite) and she seemed very excited about that. Then up a few more blocks on Madison Avenue, ( at that point Julie's 6 inch heels were starting to ache) where we were again asked to be photographed in front of the Judith Ripka Boutique and we got some kick-ass cutie pictures from those photo booths that they had set up in front of their boutique. "Let's go to the Donna Karan Boutique and drink some Veuve Clicquot and see my friend Randle Doss" who's the Sales mManager there, "we'll hang out for awhile while Julie's feet stop aching" I shouted, "woo-hoo, wubba, wubba, wubba!, mutha-fucka's" I shamefully screamed on posh Madison Ave.
Donna Karan's Boutique event was sophisticated, if not culturally uplifting and they all ( I think I know everybody there) were soooo pleased that I brought Julie and Colin, who always adds life and color wherever they go! We were the "colorful" people there I was told by Randle! Yah, I wanted to "represent" well....click, click, photo, photo. Julie introduced herself to Donna Karan and I introduced Julie and Colin to everybody else that mattered. The entertainment was actually soo fabulous.... a pianist who was more like a modern, cool vibed Mozart. Yes honey-dews, I drank a few glasses of Veuve, which is one of my weaknesses!
Another good friend of mine Dennis Diaz, who's the Men's Boutique Manager of Dolce Gabbana invited me a few days prior and I told him I would bring Julie (also another prerequisite for being an Image Guru... connections who respect you) So we were on our way to Dolce & Gabbana where Naomi Campbell was dancing, signing cool t-shirts of her iconic images, looking flawless as usual and basically holding court! Fortunately, we were all whisked inside past immediately, past the velvet ropes without having to wait in the massive line outside. Soo many people to contend with inside too, click, click, photo, photo....but yours truly got us up into the VIP top floor ( that's where the likes of Naomi Campbell, Chris Brown, Daphne Guiness etc were all) which Bravo's Andy Cohen, serupticiously had closed off for a Bravo film crew ( I personally think that Andy Cohen is a tad bit "full of himself now") I mean really... everybody who couldn't get upstairs was pissed off! Tell it to Andy Cohen guys, who in my book is certainly no Anderson Cooper!
Naomi sees Julie and actually stands up from her seat to give Julie a big smile, hug and kiss. Great! Julie did look exceptional that night, but nonetheless, it was great to see Naomi acknowledge Julie in such a friendly and genuine manner! "MY BLOODY SHOES ARE KILLING ME MONTY!" exclaimed Julie, "and I need to eat". "OK, let's go to my favorite little eatery a few blocks down on 66 & Madison, Bistro Chat Noir" I suggested. Great.... we were gonna be outta there, but not before I had a met and briefly chatted with Daphne Guinness. Julie on the other hand, was hugged by Chris Brown on his way out. Mission accomplished... just enough and not too much.... in and out!
Now another friend ( believe it or not, I have alot of supportive friends), Suzanne Latapie, the proprietress of Bistro Chat Noir, had invited me to bring Julie that night and we all had a delicious dinner and a blast there! The restaurant was so jam packed that people were waitng in line just to get a table. Yay for Suzanne, who reserved for us her best table! As I said, I like to support when I can and I appreciate when it is reciprocated. Key words in my book are support, friendship and loyalty. Remember that... all you Phillistinal PR idiots who are soo fickle and fair weather that your best friends change according to what Page Six and Vogue writes. Trust me, morons, I know how to play the game too.... and I play with legends, moguls and icons, not new-bee fools who might not be around next year!
Sept 11th: Last day of Julie's visit. Have to secure ab-fab, kick-ass wardrobe for Julie's VMA debut. Although she will not be presenting, she will be in attendance and the personal guest of the ceremonies' producer, Tony DiSanto! Not bad for being a bloody housewife and mommy for 14 years! Who did I choose to dress her?.......I chose PORTS 1961. Why? Because it made sense and there were two exquisite dresses which fit her like they were made for her. Both black, one a chic and sophisticated shantung silk dress that had a "cocktail couture" fit... a tad bit Lanvin, but worthy enough that even Jennifer Lopez was sent a champagne version for her London premiere. Julie looked like a million bucks in it! Damn girl....you still got it and after all these years. The other dress was a confection of black paillettes and ostrich feather in a strapless above the knee length dress which was petaled and gathered on the bottom. Sounds hideous doesn't it? Well it wasn't, it was just what this Image Guru ordered! TO DIE FOR! Yes and then we coordinated the rest of the "look", which all has to be PERFECT, especially since Julie hasn't really been in the spotlight in over a decade! But now that we have new show ideas for her, she has to be "new and improved".
An early dinner at The Waverly Inn, seated in a booth next to Keifer Sutherland and then off to another private club named Norwood! Now can it get any better!
So now Julie is traveling back to LA and had to cut her NY trip short to attend the MTV Video Awards, which incidentally aires live tonight. We'll see if anybody notices her! I always say, everything "old" is "new" again and there is no such thing as a "has been", because that just means they once WERE! But this lady still has it, as I noticed first hand on the aforementioned occasions!
Keep your eyes open for more of Downtown Julie Brown!
Montgomery Frazier "The Image Guru"
MONTGOMERY FRAZIER "The Image Guru" SCRIBES!....... Read What's On The Mind And In The Heart Of New York's Preeminent Image Guru
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