If you missed Erotic Chic with Fashion Indie‘s own Daniel Saynt and Rebecca Alexander, check it here!

SAM LIM- LOOKBOOK.COM FASHION DIRECTOR

FASHIONINDIE- NICOLE VARDO AND MCARTHUR JOSEPH

MANNY SERRANO- LOOKBOOKS CO FOUNDER

Today was definitely a good Friday, my mission is to get Daniel Saynt to strike a pose for my camera! It will be done, expect to see more photos of the office on the daily, perhaps some videos? A lot of our writers and team have yet to be photographed! Check out the rest of the photos on ENVY and share some comments with us!

LINK LOVE:ADDICT: Sisley Fall 2010 by Terry Richardson

So for the past couple of months, y’all have been blessed with the editorial stylings of Rebecca Alexander, Becks as I so passionately call her. She’s been an amazing editor, but has decided that her time would be better spent on other company functions. So, starting next weekish, I will be returning as the full time editor of all the shit you see on FashionIndie.com. Fashion world, you have been warned…

-McArthur Joseph, Part Time Fashion Blogger/Full Time Badass: The Temptation: Shout

Ok so the energy of this song is just so epic and when it played at my senior prom I lost my mind

-Daniel Saynt, Fashion Indie Founder: Vitamin C – Graduation Song (Friends Forever)

This is the biggest cop out I have ever read boss. (I’m so getting fired)

- Jeffrey Costello &Robert Tagliapietra, Designers: Thompson Twins- If You Were Here  &  Killing Joke- Eighties

I would love to go to these guys’ prom

-Geordon, from the Misshapes: Mazzy Star-Fade Into You

It’s so grungy and unconventional, but I would rock out to it at prom.

-Julie Henderson & Julie Ordon, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models: The Righteous Brothers-Unchained Melody& Billy Idol- Dancing With Myself

So retro yet still amazing.

-Paul Johnson Calderon, Star Of CW’s High Society: Alphaville-Forever Young

This is such a classic and a great last song.

-Stefanie Skinner, Publicist/Star of Bravo’s Kell On Earth - Time After Time- Cyndi lauper

I just want to dance around like Romy & Michelle did at their HS reunion when I here this.

-Julie Frakes, Papermag Blogger: Jeremy Jay- Slow Dance

Indie pop at its greatest

-Steven Rojas, Tastemaker: Talking Heads- This Must Be Place

An 80′s love song….You know it’s perfect for any prom then.

-Lindsay Luv, Celebrity DJ: Sisqo- The Thong Song

Obviously every good girl’s prom anthem

So today I’ll be joining the ranks of Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, Terry Richardson and countless other fashion denziens who have made it to the pages of the often hilarious, at times controversial illustrations of aleXsandro Palombo, the genius behind Humor Chic. Check there today to see me sitting front row. If I look fat, I will not be happy. Official announcement after the jump.

Dear Daniel,

Anna Wintour reportedly didn’t want to wait in line for the Diesel Black Gold show on Tue night, she ‘got out of her car and then got right back in when they saw what a mess it was outside.’ Diesel reps deny she was ever confirmed to attend. Front row guest included Carine Roitfeld, Leigh Lezark, Daisy Lowe, and our very own Daniel Saynt (personally invited by Diesel to sit front row).

New York – Daniel Saynt of The Fashionably Independent (FashionIndie.com) is asking New York designers to help in his efforts for Haitian relief.  The Editor of the popular fashion source is asking designers to allow him to donate his invitations to New York Fashion Week to raise funds for HEAL HAITI, a charity that is currently mobilizing efforts to bring food, shelter and support to those in the earthquake ravaged country.

The tickets will be made available for auction beginning February 1^st for one full week on CharityBuzz.com. The proceeds will be given directly to HEAL HAITI, an effort by the US Fund for UNICEF and The American Red Cross.

“This is only a small effort but I’m hoping to bring some help to those in need,” said Daniel Saynt. “I have faith that designers will step up and allow us to provide Haitians with some much needed assistance.”

Daniel Saynt, Editor-In-Chief of FashionIndie.com, will be personally handling the management of all donations. You can reach him directly at (646) 715-4551 or by email at saynt@fashionindie.com.

For Details on Daniel Saynt’s Efforts Visit: FashionIndie.com/haiti

About The Fashionably Independent

A fashion lifestyle network that unites over 350 independent publishers and reaches over 5,000,000 readers per month.  FashionIndie.com is the most read fashion news aggregator on the web. They also manage TheyEnvy.Us, a fashion industry social network which connects to 7000 industry professionals.

About Help Haiti

Organized by CharityBuzz.com, Help Haiti provides relief funds to accredited charity groups US Fund for UNICEF and The American Red Cross.  UNICEF is currently providing assistance to children of Haiti. The American Red Cross is working on bringing health care to those in need.

After the drunken revelries of last night a year long campaign to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention seems daunting. Nevertheless, I am up and about prepping for the first day of a 365 journey that will hopefully accomplish some of the goals I have set before me.

The campaign is simple; One Pair of Jeans, One Year. In my back pocket a condom, in my mind the hope that what I’m doing will encourage some people to use one.

My New Jeans

Today was clean out day, in which I removed all items that were pants related from my closet. Dress slacks, some tuxedo pants, a few linen drawstrings, sweatpants and a whole collection of denim from years of collecting, all being replaced by one pair of simple, true blue 501′s. Hopefully, this won’t be too difficult.

My Donation

Tomorrow, I’ll make my way to Housing Works to drop off my formidable collection. Today, I just want to begin breaking in the jeans which will be on this journey with me.

For those of you unaware, I’ve embarked on a bit of a personal campaign. On January 1st, I put on a pair of Levi 501′s and for one full year I will wear them everday. The reason is simple, to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention.

You can find out more about the campaign or to show your support visit the 501235 fan page on Facebook.

Be sure to follow my daily style posts on The Fashionably Independent.

I noticed the other day that we were set to hit a major milestone in our company this week, our 10,000th post!!!

That’s right indies, everyday for the past two years, we’ve given you our (sometimes disagreed upon) opinions on fashion, breaking news stories and shared with you our favorite editorials, videos, and more. We’ve come a long way from the days when I was the only writer on the site, providing a once daily dose of my own views on fashion, to now where there are nearly a dozen regularly contributing writers and a growing network of Cult members, provide a wide range of ideas and opinions on the industry.

We wanted to thank all our loyal readers for making FashionIndie.com one of the fastest growing fashion destinations on the web. You guys are awesome and we couldn’t have made it this far without you. I’d also like to thank all our writers for making FashionIndie.com the greatest fashion publication on the web. You guys, but mostly girls, rock and I’m so happy that I’ve gotten the chance to be your friends through your work at Fashion Indie.

So without further ado, I’m inviting everyone who reads this site to provide comments below. Share your favorite articles, send us some fan mail (or hate mail, you know we love it either way), and let us know how we can make FashionIndie.com’s next 10,000 posts better than the last.

Hugs and Disses,

Daniel Saynt

P.S. We’re celebrating our 10000th post by giving you the chance to advertise on every page of FashionIndie.com for one month for $5 bucks. Reach nearly 1 million dedicated indies for cheaps. Click Here for details.

Celebrities I Would Love to Be Friends With: Mary-Kate Olsen, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Justin Timberlake. In that Order.

We’ve left behind our Brooklyn Office to transfer everyone to remote status (they all work from home). We’re now renting a mini, meet-up office in the city, which will allow Becks and I to do more work and travel less and everyone else to do the same. We’ll probably move back into an office in June when all our summer interns start, but for now we’re keeping ourselves lean and mean, prepping for the funness that is the recession, potential investors and getting ready for a new launch we’ll announce March 20th in partnership with our homies at [insert awesome magazine here].

Here’s a quick photo essay on what our first day was like working from our new home office.

Becks Really, Really, Really likes her chair.

Foxy Cleopatra likes to bring us toys. We like to ignore the fact that she’s overweight.

The monsters contemplate how best to shit in the new office.

This dude is a total sexual deviant. We caught him face humping Foxy like thirty times in one day.

Becks contemplates her Thakoon for Target purchase. I say she should have held out for McQ.

Daniel Saynt Defends Fashion Bloggers

Hey Indies,

As many of you know we are currently pursuing a class action lawsuit against The New York Observer for printing a false article about me and Fashion Indie. The article has led to the cancellation of Fashion Indie Week and a major financial blow to our company which may lead to reduce our coverage of fashion week and adjust our business model.

We are just a bunch of bloggers looking to change the fashion world one post at a time. It’s sad that a publication as big as The New York Observer could print things that could so badly effect our business.

We hope that we have the support of the blogging community as this case could potentially change the way independent online publishers are viewed forever. We’ll be contacting members of our blogger network Sayntly with details on how they can join “Team Indie” and support us as we try to defend our name and prevent The New York Observer’s libelous claims from destroying our reputation in the industry forever.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN SAYNTLY.

Below is our press release, please add it to your site immediately.

For Immediate Release

February 18th, 2009

Blogger Versus Goliath; FashionIndie.com Prepares Class-Action Lawsuit Against The New York Observer Over Christian Siriano Claim

New York – Daniel Saynt (25), President and Blogger-In-Chief of FashionIndie.com, is pursuing a class-action lawsuit against The New York Observer for a recent article that described the new media mogul and his employed writers as “a crew of crony bloggers” looking to destroy the relationship between the fashion industry and online publishers by barreling their way into the Bryant Tents uninvited and with complete disregard to designers and fashion week organizer IMG.

The New York Observer caught wind of a scheduled editorial piece listed on Fashion Indie’s events page titled Fashion Indie Crashes. The piece was to be a written expose on the not-so-secret “art of crashing” and would offer readers insider information on the best ways to approach fashion week events and gain access. “The Observer took this editorial piece and made it seem as if it was going to be a crazed media stunt to garner “cheap traffic” for our website by crashing Christian Siriano‘s show,” states Saynt. “Without any confirmation or outreach to myself or my organization, they printed a libelous story that makes our company seem juvenile and unprofessional.”

“We are registered members of the press and have every credential necessary for entrance into Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. We also have established relationships with the public relations firms of hundreds of designers and have never had to “barrel” our way into any fashion event.  Their representation of FashionIndie.com, our writers, and myself as anarchists set to unhinge the fashion world with our careless behavior was completely irresponsible and this type of defamation of character has already begun to affect our relationship with an industry we love and respect.”

The story has led to the cancellation of Fashion Indie Week (a seasonal series of events and editorial coverage focused around emerging designers during New York Fashion Week), editors of the site being denied entrance to fashion week shows they had been confirmed to attend, Saynt’s mailbox being bombarded with emails from members questioning the media groups behavior, and the potential loss of a major client which accounts for 65% of Fashion Indie Media’s yearly revenue.

Further proof of the articles affect on Daniel Saynt’s reputation can ironically be viewed on the Observer’s blog posting of the article in which Lauren Dimet Waters of SecondCityStyle.com deems Saynt “sophomoric” and a “rotten apple“, blaming him for setting “online media back 50 paces” and stating that other bloggers should “distance themselves from [Saynt] and others who display bad behavior.“

Saynt continues, “I have always been a vocal advocate for blogger rights and have worked tirelessly to gain us the notoriety and respect we deserve. My views on fashion have always been sharp-tongued and I have never been afraid to thoroughly enforce my right to an opinion.  If we as bloggers allow publishers like The New York Observer step on us and push us around, making such broad, false accusations about our practices, then we are all threatened to be censored and lose our freedom of expression. This lawsuit is meant to set precedence and truly encourage positive changes in the way this traditional media and the fashion industry views independent publishers.”

For more information about this story, please feel free to contact Daniel Saynt directly at 917-450-5238 or through email at saynt@fashionindie.com

About Fashion Indie Media (FashionIndie.com)

More than a fashion blog, Fashion Indie Media provides services to fashion brands looking to understand the new media landscape.

They are currently working with a national high-fashion magazine to create a performance-based advertising structure for fashion brands looking to influence bloggers. The group has produced fashion events associated with companies such as H&M, The Body Shop, and Smart Car.

In addition to FashionIndie.com, the media group owns and operates 7 online publications and social networks which reach out to a global audience of nearly 1.3 million readers per month. One of the fastest growing digital properties on the web the company has attracted the attention of nearly every major fashion label and publication. Their events and websites have been covered by nearly 500 online blogs and have been featured by the BBC, The New York Post, The Daily News, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, New York 360, Numero, Elle Magazine, MTV True Life and The Tyra Banks Show.

Fashion Indie Media has produced events for Project Runway designers including Malan Breton, Diana Eng, Zulema Griffin, and recent winner Leanne Marshall. In addition, they grant access to producers and casting directors to engage with their database of over 500 emerging designers. The results have been collaborations with Maurices (owned by Dress Barn), Polartec Fabrics, The CW, The Travel Channel, Project Runway and MTV.

Their event development work with charitable groups including All for Africa, Action Against Hunger, and Fashion Delivers has helped raised over $10,000,000 for those in need throughout the world.

About Daniel Saynt

For nearly three years, Saynt has been a vocal advocate for blogger rights and their desire to be recognized in the fashion world, a landscape dominated by traditional media publishers.

In February of 2008, Saynt critiqued Gucci‘s “Gucci Hearts New York” blogger campaign and was the only New York-based blogger who was invited to their Madonna hosted charity event at the UN. The story was featured in WWD and set a standard in the industry in regards to how large labels should work with bloggers.

He’s established a network of over 50 select independent publishers called Sayntly, a group of partners supporting each other through content sharing and opt-in advertisement opportunities provided by Fashion Indie Media. Saynt’s views on the need to enforce freedom of expression across the blogosphere led to the establishment of the TRIP (The Rights of Independent Publishers) Initiative which acts as a suggested code of conduct to bloggers and details the editorial responsibilities of online publishers and the rights they are entitled to in regards to blogger networks.

Saynt is a firm believer that bloggers should have the freedom to express themselves and not feel threatened by fashion labels or industry leaders.

“I believe that bloggers can unite to support each other without the rules established by faulty, ready to censor networks. Through the actions of independent publishers like myself, fashion is truly becoming a democracy that will one day encompass the views and ideals of the greater number rather than the chosen few.”

Figured I’d give you an update on what’s going on behind the scenes at our little budding fashion empire.

So we’ve obviously been busy preparing a huge little fashion week (with few sponsors, yay recession), changing things up on FashionIndie.com and getting ready for what has already been the busy year for us, ever.

I spent the last few weeks at meetings with prospective partners for the new year and lately I’ve been all about synergy, that fun little word that’s the business equivalent of you scratch my back, I’ll suck you balls.

Rock PR Media was one of our first meetings. They contacted us cause they heard about Fashion Indie Week and wanted to figure out a way to collaborate on our opening event. The group is massively awesome, they host Style 360 and Funkshion in Miami and are looking to focus more on big name designers like Russell Simmons and Richie Rich. We love the smaller designers, so if all goes amazingly well, they will be there for all future Fashion Indie Weeks.  Also, they work on events for big players like Vogue, and as it stands as of right this second, we will be hosting a show with the mega fashion mag on February 13th and feature some handpicked young designers from our roster of talents.

Unfortunately, it seems like our big opening event will not be taking place at Gotham Hall. We tried repeatedly to save the space but when production costs crept into the $31,000 level we had to pull the plug and move to another destination. We’re hoping to work something out with the quite lovely folks at the W Hotels and possibly create a partnership which leads to “W Hotels Fashion Indie Week” or something equally awesome but we will see.

We also stopped by the offices of Zink magazine to speak with their new business developer, Billy Dertilis. The offices were awesome and when we walked in we spotted one of the staffers catching up on her daily fashion news from, wait for it… FASHIONINDIE.COM!!! We’re working on bringing our businesses together, them on the print side, us focussed on the dotcom, but regardless of what the relationship becomes, I think we were able to find a new Board member in Billy. He’s pretty flipping cool, has a great knowledge of the publishing world, and speaks French, which pretty much is the only prerequisit for me to instantly like someone (Becks and I got engaged on the eifel tower. Totally cliche until you realize that she proposed to me).

Last Friday we got a call from one of the producers at Gossip Girls. They are working on some mini episodes and were interested in some of the designers we worked with. We sent over profiles for Alyssa Key of Love Brigade, Rachel Antonoff and snuck in one for Becks. The mini episodes will follow someone around to get a picture at their oww so wonderful life. Expect them to air in April when the girls return.

Last week I also sat down with one of my favorite PR moguls, Claudine Gumbel of Think PR. I’ve known her for sometime (back when Caravan was just rolling around) and she’s always been especially special to the folks at Fashion Indie.  I’ve had her in consideration for a board seat for sometime and offered. Luckily she accepted and we’re now trying to finalize details for when she returns from Sundance and gets past all the Fashion Week fun.

Also, we’re doing True Life, again. Last time we had them following around Cassie from New York Couture as she prepped for her fashion week show. I made a two milisecond cameo in which I managed to exude equal amounts of sweat and greasyness. This time around the camera’s will be following Becks as she preps for a life altering decision. Expect Calvin Klein Goldenburg Saynt and Michael J. Foxy to make an appearance (they’re our dogs for clarity).

The shoots with photographer Richard Corman are nearly complete. He’s been stagging amazing photos with some of the designers we’ve be friended over the years as a kind of tribute to fashion indie in New York. It should be some amazing stuff as Jerry Tam of Form stated he thouroughly loved his experience.

On Wednesday, I’m off to Vice Land. The hipster lifeguide is gonna sit with us to discuss future projects. Hopefully, they’re down for our upcoming block party in Williamsburg (was supposed to happen during New Years, but then it just kind of didn’t) or introducing us to some of their favorite DONTs.

Also, Corey is back in town from Boston. We partied through some of the coolest spots last night (aka got rejected from R Bar and Lit and then ended up at some West Village dive. I know, who the fuck gets rejected from LIT!!! That place fucking smells like sweaty mangina and daddy issues. I’m blaming my friend Jamal who decided to hit the night in a North Face jacket and California faded Diesel jeans). I drank a series of beers with cats on them (Tiger, Red Lion, and Pussy, at least that’s what everyone calls a Blue Moon these days) and made it home last night at 5AM. Woke up at 10AM and I’m now cooking a Turkey for an impromtu family reunion my mom decided to host. Yay, family.

Wondering if I’m missing anything. Oh yeah!!! On of our Next members, Romey, works with some wicked jewelry lines and decided to invite Becks and I to some private event with Wolverine (aka Hugh Jackman) and that dude who isn’t Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am. Corey dared me to say “Nice to meet you Wyclef. When are the Fuggees dropping another album?” when I’m introduced to him, but I’m thinking I’m gonna stick with “Women you can’t live with them, you can’t invite them to join your band cause they’re venoumous leaches who destroy your credibility, make you seem like a sell out, and then ditch your ass for a solo career.”

Also, LXTV and Elle just displayed interest in Fashion Indie Week. They will be covering the show and Elle is listing us as one of their favorite blogs. Holla!!!

I think that’s about all that’s happening in our crazed little lives so I’m off.

Oh wait, one more thing. WE’RE HIRING!!!

We need a couple of the following things…

Photographers for Fashion Week

Videographer to shoot a new Fashion Indie web show

Screenprinter who can make t-shirts for cheapies

Public Relations Intern who will eventually become a full time PR person for a few of our brands

Marketing Intern who loves being on Facebook and Next

Web Designer who is familiar with photoshop, wordpress, java, and css

Graphic Designer who is familiar with reversing the effects of photoshop

And two comedic writers who are good at being assholes

Okay, I think that’s about it.

]]> http://fashionindie.com/sinners-saynt-chairman-of-the-board-fashion-indie-week-and-wolverine/feed/ 5 http://fashionindie.com/sinners-saynt-the-road-ahead-looks-middle-american/ http://fashionindie.com/sinners-saynt-the-road-ahead-looks-middle-american/#comments Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:13:14 +0000 Saynt http://fashionindie.com/sinners-saynt-the-road-ahead-looks-middle-american/ With the wifey in Cleveland for Thanksgiving. Thought I’d share of the satorial quonundrums I spotted along the way. Here are a few from a rest stop in Penn. Yes, those are Jesus Starbuck tees and there’s nothing you can do about it.

This is what I was considering doing to Daniel today!

Well Fashion Indie are big supporters of Funday Friday, and that is exactly what I had today (despite the numerous efforts by Daniel Saynt to rain on my parade). Now normally I wouldn’t talk about my daily happenings (mostly because you would realize the awesome life I pretend to live and be jealous), but when I found this picture I knew it was an omen from a higher power to tell the tale of my day’s voyage.

The day started as any normally does, dragging my exhausted carcass out of my bed and into a piping hot shower. Breakfast was standard (oatmeal and a glass of water gross!), and the trip to work was boring and cold. A quick wake up was in order before Daniel and Becks got to the office, so grabbed a Guru and poured it all over my face in the same manor a college football team would do if they won some form of championship.

All fueled and ready to go I got to blogging as fast as possible throwing up stories left and right, and working on February’s Fashion Indie Week (it’s going to be AMAZING!). I had fun re-reading the interview I did with Chris from I Heard They Eat Cigarettes (I love working with new designers, they are always so nice!).

Then the most exciting part of my day came! Our new Fashion Indie mascot dropped by for a visit. Her name is Kimmy Nibbler, she is the squirrel who lives on our balcony. She was hanging out on our screen (more pictures when we get them uploaded), so I decided to make friends and offer her some pistachios…She ran in terror and Daniel laughed at me (strike #1).

Back to work, lots of stories in such little time. As the rest of the ultra supportive Fashion Indie crew took Daniel’s side in laughing at my attempt to make a friend (strike #2), I came across this cool little DIY laptop stand made of cardboard.

In an attempt to regain my superiority in the office I grabbed some left over cardboard and got to work on my new toy. Apparently, all the logical utensils for proper office tasks don’t apply here at Fashion Indie, including scissors. I found myself risking my blogging (and thumb war) career by hacking away at the cardboard with Daniel’s switchblade…FAIL!

Finally my new toy was complete, and as I hoisted my Mac up onto the stand, it crumbled into shambles. Daniel laughed, and I considered quitting Fashion Indie and trying my luck at the failing Conde Nast.

Which brings me to now. Daniel has since given me a near brain aneurysm due to my anger and frustration (and so called “dumb” ideas), and the thought of round housing him Chuck Norris style seems quite refreshing. 

So as I sit alone under my archway of year-round Christmas lights, I leave you with this epic tale of an average Friday in the life of Corey Moran. Enjoy your weekend, and for all of you traveling home for the holidays this weekend, have a safe trip.

Thanks Flickr for the kick ass (get it!) image.

Lovie Dubie

As Fashion Indie Week comes to a close, I look to next season and the rest of my life.

Some of you may not be aware but there’s an interoffice romance afoot at Fashion Indie Media. See, Rebecca Alexander and I have been bumping uglies for some time and to make a long story short, we’re getting married on Saturday. I know some of you are like, “OMG, You’re crazy for getting married the day after fashion week.” And I’d have to seriously agree with you, but it’s kind of an important day for us, as it’s our one year anniversary. Yeah, we’ve only been dating a year, but it feels like we’re some sort of old married couple already.  It honestly feels like we’ve known each other for years, as if we’re some sort of “meant to be”, fated couple who are just soulmates. Oh god, that’s the gayest thing I ever said. 

We met last year during fashion week. Fashion Indie was hosting a show for Love Brigade and I was running around like a madman trying to make sure everything was set. She was interning for the Brigaders at the time. She noticed me first and hunted me down like Sarah Jessica Parker for a bottle of Covet (I had to have it).  She claims she didn’t steal my bag, but in the course of the night it went missing only to turn up at Love Brigade’s Williamsburg showroom, very convenient.  We met again at some smaller event we held for Love Brigade at Barna.  It was Rosh Hashanah and she was dolled up like a classic pin-up, full chested, round rumped, and with huge curls in her golden hair. She had me vexed.

She told me she had my bag and wanted to make plans to meet me in the city to drop it off. I offered to buy her lunch for doing me the favor. Lunch never happened, but we made plans to meet at the Planetarium for some concert to be held there. We spent the night taking shit about poorly dressed douchers on the dancefloor. It was love. 

On our six month anniversary we flew out to Paris and she proposed on the top of the Eiffel Tower. I said yes. On our seven and a half month anniversary I proposed under a flowering tree in Central Park. She said yes. And on our one year anniversary we will be married in the Park and will enjoy a reception of French Creole at Lola’s in Soho. 

It’s been one of the greatest years in my life and at 25 I’m happy to say that I have found the woman I want to spend the rest of my days with. She is the most engaging person I’ve ever met. She makes me happier than any man should be. She challenges me and makes me a better person. She makes every morning bright and is the warmth that brings to home every night. I wish all of my friends could experience this type of love at some point in their lives.

Well indies, that’s enough of the mushy stuff. Now back to your regularly scheduled bashings.

Is it lonely on the runway>

If it wasn’t for the fact that I live and work with my future wife, I’m not sure if I would see much of her with the schedule I’ve been strapping on lately.

Tomorrow, I’m giving a speech on the future of fashion to a bunch of Berkeley students, Gossip Girl Nights, our series of screenings for the highly anticipated show starts on Monday which also marks the start of a major contract with a major, hush-hush client, on Tuesday we’re hosting the first ever fashion show to take place on the Brooklyn Bridge (models still needed), Wednesday starts Fashion Indie Week Brooklyn, our fashion week featuring 15 of our favorite designers, on Thursday New York Fashion Week starts and we’ll be giving you coverage of every show that really matters, the rest of the week is a daily stream of fashion shows, on September 10th Fashion Indie Week Brooklyn closes with the biggest fashion event of the season, the New York Couture Fashion Show at Mansion (you’re all invited), on September 11th I have my bachelors party, and on September 13th I watch as the love of my life walks down the aisle and finally says I do to a lifetime as Mrs. Saynt (you all know her as editor-in-chief, Rebecca Alexander).

Not to mention the four new interns which have walked into our offices this week and the countless interviews and on camera bits I have to do for Fashion Week and you’re looking at a schedule that could make a normal man run for the hills. Of course I’m no normal man. I’m Daniel Saynt.

This should be a breeze in the park, but believe me if it’s not, you’ll be hearing my wrath on FashionIndie.com. Which, we can all admit has gotten a lot nicer lately, no?  I’ve been working extra hard to make this Indie Empire into something amazing. And everyone at Fashion Indie has been pretty amazing, hustling their asses off to create a company that knows how to have a good time. Basically, all is nifty in the world of Daniel Saynt, I just needed to get it off my chest.

Thanks for sharing this moment for me to just vent. I’m quickly realizing the extents of my greatness and sometimes I just need a second to take a piss.

1. Because 8 > 2.
2. Because Fashion Indie rocks out harder than Amy Winehouse. We realize that might not be a good thing considering the emphysema thing but oxygen tanks are totally the next TrendSpark.
3. Because our celebrity appearances will be better than Paulie Shore and the “Oh Face Guy” from Office Space.
4. Because our models like to party. Like “Kate Moss” party, not “lame-ass second cousin who you never talk to who insists on inviting you to his graduation party” party.
5. Because Fashion Indie encourages scenarios in which you wake up belligerent after a night of sake bombs with a used Durex in your hand laying next to that random chick you were eyeing on the runway the night before.

14. Because Fashion Indie Weekend will get you laid. Corey promises…

 Abs may appear more hardcore in person.

Let me be the first to admit it, yeah I’m an asshole. I’ve never claimed to be the nicest person in fashion and I’ve never made it seem like I’d ever sugar coat my thoughts or views. I just want to be as honest as possible and give an opinion which is well within my freedom of speech and expression.

So I said some mean things. So I posted unflattering pictures of a rival. Sue me. It isn’t like I said shit that hasn’t been said before, behind peoples backs, without them knowing, said in jest so it’s “okay”. I’m saying the stuff some folks in fashion are afraid to say and now I’m getting flacked for it. Well, fine. I’m okay with being the media’s whipping boy for a few cracks, as long as I get my point across it’s all good.

Now onto part deux of Torture Coutorture in which Julie responds to her company’s idiotic practices, I try to make good with one of the few nice people in fashion, and I apologize (kind-of) for being a royal doucher

The email from Julie came in on Friday, soon after the Coutorture crew realized that the story had gone viral and was on sites like Gawker and Refinery29 (great Civil War pict, seriously).  The email had all the details we were initially looking for as to why we were kicked off their pubescent network.  Basically, Meghan and Sarah had been reading through Fashion Indie, red-flagged a post as offensive (just one?) and made efforts with Julie to kick us off.  When the issue was properly explained, kicking us off the network made perfect sense since they are try to foster a sedated message across their publisher sites. So, playing nice for advertisers (wait, they don’t have any) trumped freedom of speech and we were kicked off. Understandable. We never stated we we’re a PC site. We’ve been pushing envelopes since day one and we get it if certain folks don’t want to associate themselves with us. That’s okay. What’s is not okay is how the issue was originally handled with anonymous comments and criptic emails from the Coutorture crew.

Next Julie explained why they didn’t do the right thing from the beginning…

We are concerned with the culture of fear in blogging and indeed we had been concerned to address these issues with you and the Fashion Indie team for sometime precisely because we were afraid of your reaction given your preferred methods of engagement. Sadly we let that fear color our short email towards you ending our relationship because we did not wish to go into detail lest it be used against us. For this we apologize sincerely.

Hold up. Numero uno, I’m not a scary dude. Ask anyone who knows me or has met me in person and they’ll tell you that I’m a pretty easy going, rational individual.  I’ve never engaged in such “methods of engagement” before so it made no sense for Coutorture to assume (make an ass out of you and me) that this is they way we would respond if they had initially treated us with some respect and explained themselves properly.

Two, Julie, Sarah and Meghan all know me personally. I’ve known Julie for nearly three years and while she has remained the same cold fish she’s always been, I’ve been nothing but personable and friendly with the girl.  Personally, I think she’s suffering from an Anna Wintour complex, but that’s just from observing her sitting at runway shows, with her sunglasses on, not speaking to anyone, not even me when I go up to her and say hello.  Sorry, I just believe that people like that don’t belong in fashion.  Sarah is also another Coutorture chick I’ve known for sometime. Our editor IM’s her on the daily and we’ve maintained a friendly relationship. We’re always ready to blast anything she requested out to our email list and we’ve been more than kind to her. So her responding this way was also idiotic and childish.

And three, GROW SOME FUCKING COJONES. YOU’RE IN BUSINESS JULIE AND YOUR NETWORK MAKES MAJOR CLAIMS. YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN CONFLICT RESOLUTION AT SOME POINT OR AT LEAST LEARN TO CRAFT A PROPER EMAIL.

So basically, Julie admitted to not handling the situation well, apologized and all is once again good in the world of online fashion blogging. Congrats on being the bigger person, it’s not always the easy thing to do.

Next Up, I apolize to Fat Folks.

I know it’s not easy being fat. I tipped the scale at 270 when I was 17 and that was the worst time in my life. I’m still not the thinnest dude on the block (there hasnt been a pair of skinny jeans that have met the crease of my crack) but honestly folks, is it so wrong to call someone fat? They make it seem like I’m a monster for stating something that everyone else is aware of. You’re fat, it’s okay, it’s not the best thing in the world to be, and you’ll probably die earlier than those of a moderate weight, but it’s okay cause that extra slice of cheesecake is so worth it, right?!?  No one is forcing you to be overweight. No one is telling you to overeat. And in a society of liposuction, gastric bypass, and Alli, there is no reason why you can’t drop a few pounds, unless of course you like being fat, in which you shouldn’t be offended if I say you are.  Yeah, I would love it if this wasn’t the case, if we could all sing around the campfire and gouge our eyes out so we can’t see each others imperfections, but that’s not the way life works and if you’re are in an industry that stresses the need for lack of flaws, it’s a little difficult to get by with such a big one.

I’m all for big is beautiful and I’ve had my share of thick loves in my life, but enough is enough.  It’s okay if you want to be fat, just be ready for the occasional stare, chuckle or thoughtless comment.

I’m sorry for offending anyone with my fat jokes or commentary.  Just don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s not easy being a big girl in a size zero world.

Sarah, I am honestly sorry if any of my comments hurt your feelings. That was never my intent.

Now on to Terrorist.

Terrorists,

I’m sorry for associating Turbans to your practices of mass terror and destruction. You see, over here in America we have magazines like The New Yorker and a station called Fox News which is run by super racist-bigot billionaire Rupert Murdock.  On it, all the men who attack and attempt to destroy our country wear turbans, have beards, and weird names I don’t understand like Akemed Ikahina bin Laden.

Really? Who decided this was a good idea?

These images of turban wearing terrorist fester in my weak mind and I begin to associate all terrorist as turban wearing middle easterners.  I realize that not all terrorist wear turbans, so it was wrong to associate all of you together and adhere to such a stereotype. I now understand that some of you may enjoy wearing fitted New Era caps or knit hats, some of you out there may wear Sunday Derby sunhats or may choose to rock a nice suede kippot when you’re feeling fiesty.  It was wrong to think all of you wear turbans and I’m sorry if I offended you with my comments.

Hugs and Disses,

Daniel Saynt

To other Turban wearers.

I’m not an idiot. I know you’re not all terrorists. Homeland Security doesn’t, but I do.  It was a joke. Hell, you can’t really consider it a religion if you don’t suffer a little persecution, right?

So that’s about it indies. I know it’s been a harrowing ordeal for some of you, but the whole thing was pretty easy for us. This week we plan to launch an initiative to prevent such things from happening to bloggers in networks and to provide a means to identify sites that aren’t censored by their networks. We’ll be wearing our badge proud and will continue to give you the type of stories and posts you’ve come to expect from the sons of bitches at FashionIndie.com.

P.S. In one day Fashion Indie was compared to Fox News and the Bush Administration for stating the facts and reporting on our experience.  Damn, there must be something really wrong in the world when battling a larger power, defending your freedom of speech, and speaking up against censorship is considered Republican.

We’ve been revving up, prepping for our biggest project yet, Fashion Indie Week Brooklyn. It will be a massive undertaking featuring over a dozen designers, boutiques throughout New York, and two major parties that are being created by us. We’ve already begun securing designers and it seems like we may have already found two major presenting sponsors to help us make this event a huge success.

The new offices kick major ass and are right between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridge in Dumbo. There’s this awesome park right outside our doors which provides ample breathing room when the office gets too cramped. Bruce Wrobel (serial social entrepreneur and founder of All for Africa) stopped by on Friday to discuss some goodness about our work with his charity. We’re incharge of piecing together some major online auction packages for the cause that will hopefully fetch upwards of $400,000 (if only we had that kind of capital backing for FashionIndie . We’re setting up some pretty killer packages, including a James Bond Experience (with the help of Jeffery Wright) which includes tickets to the premiere, a Tom Ford suit, killer gadgets, and an exotic car rental. There’s a New York Fashion Package being put together as well and we’re reaching out to host committee member Russell Simmons to help us piece some things together. See that indies, that’s called name dropping. Learn it, live it, love it.

On another note, our new interns are flipping awesome. Corey is hilarious and his articles are pure snarky joy. He hails from Buffalo, NY and is exactly the type of person we love at Fashion Indie.  Our other intern newbie, Hilary comes to us from upper crust Westchester. She’s the epitome of polished grooming and has impecable manners, which totally throws me off.  I mean honestly, how many 15 year olds do you know who want to one day be the Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair?!?  Scratch that, how many 15 year olds do you know, know what Vanity Fair is?!?  We have been seriously blessed with two of the best interns ever.

In other news we’re on the verge of securing a major partner, a major client, and a major round of funding. We’ve been growing quickly and our dedicated readers have been returning on the daily.  By the end of July we’re expecting to hit the eyes of over 500,000 readers, a number comparable to any international issue of Vogue. In addition, we’re launching an offline marketing campaign to raise awareness of FashionIndie.com to the general public. Our organic growth has been substantial, but now it’s time to spark a fuse.

If you have read these before you know that I’m hearts about Steve Aoki.  Well on Monday at 3PM I will be speaking to the legendary DJ’s manager about partnering with Fashion Indie Media.  Partner in crime Busie Matsiko secured the call. Expect a slightly crushed Daniel Saynt on Tuesday if things go badly.

Well I think that’s about it indies. I know I haven’t been on the site as much as before, but I hope Rebecca’s editing and our new slew of writers are keeping you entertained. I’ll be periodically writing so watch for the goodness.

Oh god, please no suits.

So in the past Sinners & Saynt has been a great means for me to just vent out about the behind the scenes of Fashion Indie Media, as we grew from a small event development site to a full fledged media company with deadlines, responsibilities and investors.  Strangely, through this whole process I guess it was not as apparent as it should be that Fashion Indie Media is a real company. Obviously I realized we made money and were noticed by other companies but recent development of a investor board and editorial standards are starting to make me get the corporate itch. 

Now, we’re moving into bigger offices to handle all the new hires, writers and interns who will be starting in June.  That’s right folks. We are getting official.

There’s a lot you can expect, but the most important thing to watch for is less of me, Daniel Saynt. I will still write daily, but as we move towards increasing our daily posting to 40 – 60 stories a day, my presence will be less apparent. But don’t worry indies, I still love you. Realize I’m just working more in the background to get Fashion Indie Media to hit the milestones we’ve set in our plan. It’s all very scary to me, as if I’m losing a part of myself by not being the full time voice on the site, but alas with growth we change.

I guess it’s all a part of being a real company.  Promise we won’t go too corporate, too fast.

In order to prevent the corporate strain here are some rules we are setting for Fashion Indie Media staff.  It’s all part of our “corporate” culture.

• Pets are so allowed, just as long as they get along with Calvin and Foxy, a pomeranian and shiba inu which are the official office mascots.
• At any time during the work day you are allowed a 30 minute siesta on the Fashion Indie day bed.
• The fridge will be regularly stocked with anything you want. Seriously, just let us know and we’ll be sure to pick it up.
• Dancing is encouraged.
• You will be filmed so dress like you’ve got some sense.
• There’s a company shared idea board. If you don’t contribute we will think you’re dumb.
• Everyday is show and tell. Be sure to have something new and fresh to tell us about. It can be a new band, scene or fashion label. Whatever it is just make sure it’s new.
• There will be a goodie bag and freebies closet. Take what you want, contribute when you can.
• Cursing and talking shit about people not in the office is perfectly allowed. Be sure to add it to the site when appropriate.

Peace in the Lower East,

Daniel Saynt

The Vogue name has endured it’s fair share of scrutiny for recent exploitations, most recently Lebron James/King Kong cover, and I’m guessing this is some way to make good to the black community.  Of course, there are some questions I must ask about the intentions of this issue and whether or not an all black issue of Vogue is not just another way to sell more magazines by taking advantage of an entire color of people.

Is an all black Vogue really necessary?

While African American’s, Africans and just about every other race of person who isn’t “fair” skinned have not enjoyed much attention in the pages of high fashion glossies, it seems that a black issue of Italian Vogue is just a bandaid over the  blood wrenching decapitation that are the countless years of segregation, racism and the overall lack of diversity that has permeated the fashion world.  While changes need to be made to incorporate race into fashion, I feel that a Black Vogue will only be a minor fix, as if some high level executive decided to throw tan folk a bone by giving them the chance to be on every page of the famously pale tome.

While it is appreciated, in the long spectrum of what will bring on positive change, this will only be a baby step on securing more spots for blacks in fashion magazines like Vogue.

Why not American Vogue?

Anna Wintour is quick to play superhero at the MET, but when it comes to being a champion for all people it seems like her super vision is set to white.  Anna’s main fault as an editor has been her inability to diversify. The cover of Vogue, which once was graced with models, is now filled with the images of top light skinned celebrities (though rare talents like Jennifer Hudson have once graced the cover).  The pages are filled with top models who vary from shades of eggshell to tan eggshell, but rarely do we see spreads devoted solely to black talent.

So why didn’t Anna take this opportunity to showcase black models in a special edition of American Vogue?  The reason is really unknown, but I’m sure the idea didn’t sit well with Wintour or controlling company Conde Nast.  I feel in a magazine marketplace like America, where African Americans have formed their own niche with magazines like Essence, Jet, and Vibe it has become increasingly difficult for companies like Conde Nast to infiltrate and attract an audience of African American readers.  No increase in readership, no desire to diversify.  In business terms it makes sense, but is it good enough reason to ignore an entire race, especially when considering the power magazines like Vogue have in the fashion world?

Do we need to instill Affirmative Action Initiatives in fashion? 

Answer after the jump…

Yes.  Like industries before it, fashion has been plagued by a sense of elitism amongst those of a fairer complexion. Since designers, stylist, photographers, and most importantly magazines like Vogue haven’t taken action to make change, I feel that it is the right of the government to enforce change and bring about positive change on the image of beauty in America.  Black is beautiful. African is beautiful. Spanish is beautiful. Asian is beautiful. But until it’s on the cover of Vogue, few will ever appreciate it in advertising, marketing, and commerce.  If the editors can’t make this happen I’m all for enforcing change.

How can we change things?

My suggestion is for everyone who cares about diversity in fashion to do one thing when the all black issue of Italian Vogue comes out, BUY IT!!! But, don’t buy any other issue of Vogue.  Put down the American, French, Chinese, and any other edition of the magazine. Don’t put a dime in Wintour’s bonus check and just purchase Italian Vogue for one month. Put a message out to the publishers who own these magazines that you do approve of more blacks appearing in fashion magazines. Demand change with your pocketbooks and after every single issue is sold, STOP BUYING VOGUE!!!  You can’t affect change unless you are willing to stick to your guns. The continued downturn in sales will force the magazines to recognize your desire for more diversity and will bring about change to fashion that will result in more love for those who weren’t born with pearly white skin.

The MET Costume bash is tonight. And I could give a flying rats ass.

Yes, I’m bitter cause I’m feeling like a total Zoe (spread it like wildfire indies: Zoe – to be excluded as in Rachel Zoe’s dis-invite to the MET ball by matron Anna Wintour).  Like a true fashion lover, I am excited by the lure of events that are only for the fashion elite and if my invite had showed up weeks ago (or through some magical courier service tonight from the desk of Anna Wintour with a personal note saying “Can’t Wait to See You Tonight, Saynt. P.S. Here’s a thousand bucks to make yourself pretty”) then without a doubt, the tone of this Sinners & Saynt tonight would be very different (I’m thinking it would be a more “Haha, bitches guess who’s going without you losers”-ish, but I’m only guessing). But alas, no invite came and I’m stuck watching the festivities from the sidelines, which got me thinking. Why in the fuck should any self respecting individual care about a party they aren’t invited to?

Suddenly, I had a bunch of flashbacks from my days in elementary school. I remembered Rooney Dutchman, the middle school cool kid who through some miracle of modern hormonal imbalancing had a six pack in fifth grade. Rooney used to throw the coolest parties and I was never invited. For three years Rooney was the man. He’d throw big huge bashes at the end of the school year and it seemed everyone was there, except me. Year after year, I was excluded until one year when Rooney was throwing his biggest bash yet, an end of middle school party, I got invited. We were headed for High School and Rooney wanted to end the time in Monroe-Woodbury Junior High right.

I  was more excited than I had ever been. I forced my parents to drive me to Abercrombie & Fitch to pick up a new outfit (hell, it was Upstate NY cut me a break). I got a haircut, picked up new shoes, and got to the party right on time. Hour One. About 20 people arrived and began drinking from pitchers of Koolaid and checking out Rooney’s Star Wars collection. Hour Two. Rooney finally decides to put on music but has no good CDs. Times were dark before the iPod. Hour Three. MTV goes on.  A Real World Marathon. For the first time I contemplate suicide. Hour Four. Some chick high on Grape Ice Pops decides that we should all play Truth or Dare. Finally the festivities begin. Hour Five. Realizing we are surrounded by the biggest group of prudes in the world, we end our game of Truth or Dare. It is revealed that no one has a crush on me and that “give me a BJ” is not an appropriate dare request. Hour Six. Parents arrive to pick me up, but not before hearing a mouthful from Rooney’s mom about my “daring” request.

All in all, the party I was so excited to attend sucked.  So basically, everyone and their still in the closet brother are all excited about the Costume Ball, which is probably just a modern day version of a Rooney Dutchman party. A whole bunch of hype, but a total bore to all in attendance.

These are the most popular posts of the past month. According to this list you like it when we talk shit about “Middle America”, hate advertising, and really can’t wait for the Commes Des Garcons H&M collection.  Nice job indies, I think we can be friends.

It’s been an amazing adventure so far since one of my favorite actors, Jeffery Wright is on board for the event. Aside from his recent performance in The Invasion and Casino Royale, Jeffy boy was in Basquait, one of my all time favorite films!!!  It’s weird being around him on such a one-on-one level, cause all I want to talk about is the films he’s been in and the folks he’s worked with. I mean in Basquait alone he worked with David Bowie, Gary Oldman, Parker Posey and indie goddess Courtney Love!!! (okay goddess might be a stretch, but I love her).   So yeah, I’m a bit of a fan.

Which brings me to the point I’m trying to make.  Jeffery Wright will be General Colin Powell in the new Oliver Stone movie based on George W. Bush!!!  I can’t even deal with the cool in that, since Colin Powell is the shit for quitting on Dubya and this movie will become an instant classic of our generation!!!

Congrats mucho Jeffery. Someone give this man a fucking Oscar already!!!

Alright enough for the non-fashion talk, back to work.

You see we know what we have here.  Our events have brought in thousands, our network of designers is larger than Gen Arts, and we have been increasing in site traffic by 25% EVERY MONTH SINCE JANUARY 2007!!!  We have become a voice for independent fashion and our talents have been noticed by companies like H&M, maurices, Pervonia, Gucci, and American Express.  Time Out New York just listed us as one of the Top Five blogs in New York City and we our last fashion week event was chronicled by MTV True Life.  Plus, next month I make my person debut on Lawrence of America, a show on The Travel Chanel.  Basically, Fashion Indie Media has hit the tipping point and now it’s time to find someone to put a little bit of money in, so that we can take this homegrown company on the road.  But the question is, who?

That’s where Steve Aoki comes in.  Ya see, Steve is kind-of my hero.  He’s uberly cool, he’s a self made “Kid Millionaire”, and he’s known in the indie field as a king of sorts.  Steve would not only bring the finance we would need to grow, but working with him would help FashionIndie.com and our 20 other partner sites reach out to a dedicated audience.  So I’ve spent the past two weeks trying to get in with Steve Aoki. The Cobra Snake has become our new favorite source for photos, Aoki events are getting pushed out to our network, and I just got accepted into the Dim Mak Facebook family.  All and all, it’s been getting me a few steps closer to the Mak daddy himself, Steve Aoki.

So indies, here’s where you can help.  If you or anyone you know, is friends, acquaintances, and/or are Steve Aoki, contact me at saynt@fashionindie.com.  Yes, I plan to ask Steve for money, but it’s for a really good reason and we’re looking to unload some stock in his hands.  Shouldn’t be that hard to get him in, once he sees that most of our readers have bought his last CD, attend his concerts, and wear Dim Mak on the daily, right.

PS. If any of you out there are looking to invest in a company that speaks to a young, hip urban market let us know. We can take your money as well.

3. STEVE AOKI/COBRASNAKE, STOP PHOTOSHOPPING YOUR HEADS ONTO SHIT, YOU’RE FUCKIN WAK. ASO FUCK ANYONE IN BED WITH THOSE HOMOS
5. “STREETWEAR”

10. PEOPLE WHO ASK ME WHY I HATE STEVE AOKI/ COBRASNAKE

14.PEOPLE WHO ” HAVE A LINE”, LIKE HAVING A CLOTHING LINE IS SOME ORIGINAL SHIT

19. AMERICAN CRAPPARAREL

20. ED HARDY

21. PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY ARE MOVING TO NY AS IF THEY WILL BE COOL THERE?

23. GAY ASS CLUB KIDS WITH STRING BANDANAS IN NEON

24. PEOPLE WEARING SUNGLASSES AT NITE

25. GUPPY KIDS WHO WAIT IN LINE FOR SHIT EVEN THO THE STORE THEY ARE WAITING OUTSIDE OF THINK THAT THEY’RE WAK
28.PEOPLE WHO BUY & RESELL KERMIT THE FROG TEE’S ON EBAY

29. ANY OTHER MUPPETS OR FRAGGLES OR SESAME STREET CHARACTERS ON A T SHIRT

31.STORES SELLING VINTAGE GEAR FOR MAD LOOT WHO WEREN’T EVEN BORN WHEN THAT SHIT WAS COOL IN THE FIRST PLACE

32. PEOPLE WEARING ROPE CHAINS

33. LIL GUPPY RICH BITCHES WHO AREN’T EVEN HOT BUT HAVE MAD EXPENSIVE GEAR ON THAT DADDY BOUGHT THEM

38. PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY’RE COOL BECAUSE OF THE STORE THEY WORK AT. YOU’RE A FUCKIN CLERK, GET ME A SIZE 10 & SHUT THE FUCK UP.

43. PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY ARE COOL CUZ THEY LIVED IN NEW YORK FOR A FEW YEARS, YOU AIN’T SHIT

47. PEREZ HILTON

68.MARY KATE & ASHLEY

71.ANYONE IN FEDORAS, VANS, RAYBANS, & A FLANNEL, EXCEPT CHRIS GARCIA

It’s been a while since a Sinners & Saynt, mainly cause I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing Stuff Fashion People Like and the direct letters on my life as Fashion Indie president have seen less interesting.  That’s not to say a lot hasn’t been happening, though.  Numero uno, I’m in Paris!!!  This city is absolutely amazing and stunningly beautiful.  Everything about it screams romance and luxury.  The Parisians are extremely friendly, are wonderfully dressed, and spend about 90% of their days lounging around and smoking cigarettes. I’m in love.

The city is massive but in two days I’ve seen the Louvre, been to the top of the eifel tower and got ENGAGED!!!

I know, big shock there!!! (Mom, if you’re reading this I figured this would probably be the best way for you to find out.)

Okay, for all you old schoolers who feel the man is supposed to pop the question, let me assure you that I was once one of you, believing that it should be me who asks the big question.  That was until I saw the ring. Rebecca popped the question.  She got me to the top of the tower at night, the city of lights  below us and just popped out a box with the most spectacular brushed platinum ring with a massive rock in the middle (diamonds are a boys best friend, too).

So, now I’m addicted to staring at the ring (It’s so shiny) and I’m looking forward to the life ahead with the woman I love.

In indie news, we’ve been hitting some major milestones. This month our traffic looks like it will be well above 200,000 visitors.  We’re are getting ready to head into retail this Spring. (still looking for designers to work with). And next week is our first Secret Runway show.  The designer is burlesque/swimwear designer Sheila Frank.  If you’re on our mailing list, be ready to receive an email soon with details.

In addition, the investment road is looking good. We make pretty good cake here at Fashion Indie, but we know we can do a lot more if we have the financial backing to take us to the next level. Most companies don’t talk about the finance stuff, I know, but when we’re profiled in Entrepreneur or Fortune, it would be nice to have some text to look back on for reference to what it was all like in the beginning.

That’s all for now. Looking forward to seeing some of you next week at Secret Runway.

Thanks for all your love indies,

Daniel Saynt
President

Fashion Indie Media

I was trying to be funny on this, but the fact of the matter is I’m a hater who will now proceed to bitch and hate.

WHAT THE FUCK!!!  Who the fuck decided to give this little turd a fashion line!!!  It’s disturbing that every rapper with a hit song feels they can launch a fashion label.  If I shopped urban wear, which I don’t because of shit like this, I would be absolutely pissed the fuck out if a company tried to market this over-branded, mass produced garbage to me. What has street wear come too where your only options in the hip-hop community is to look like an over-saturated Saturday morning cartoon character, wearing BAPES and Kid Robot, or a label whore gansta representing G-Unit or worse, Souja Boy.

I get that the kid can come up with a catchy ring tone song and yes, I can’t help but jump a little to the left and right when it comes on, but there is no way in Vogue that this should be allowed. STOP BUYING THIS SHIT AND MAYBE THEY WILL STOP MAKING IT!!! SUPPORT REAL DESIGNERS PEOPLE, NOT OVERPAID CELEBRITIES WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO!!!

Also, here’s a recent comment from a reader who felt we we’re “racist” for our recent post on “ghetto fabulous dont’s“.

“Yall stupid, i mean do you think thouse people who wears thouse clothing talks about you style of wearing for the entire world to read? NO. people respect. yes we think you people who wears tite pants look stuped ass hell. I reather have my bf wear ghetto style then wear normal clothing. + I dont think you would like if we open an web site to talk about people style of clothing. is not even worth because the world is NOT going to change because of your racism”

Okay sweetie, before you leave a comment on our site can you spell check or something.  This paragraph hurts my head. + I don’t wear “tite pants”, but I do feel it looks better when your clothes fit than when it looks like you shopped at the Big & Tall.  It’s not racist to have a good sense of style hun.

We’ve been quickly realizing the influence that fashion indie has on the fashion world. Designers come here for advice, buyers come here to find great new designers, and shoppers come here so that they don’t get stuck shopping at the Gap. Overall our reach is being felt and dully noted, which is amazing, but at times a bit scary.

I remember a year ago when no one was reading. It was so free to just jot down a few of my favorite designers and talk about our adventures in fashion show development. Now we have nearly 200,000 impressions per month from people all over the world, but mostly from New York. We’re being invited to the hottest parties and massive companies like maurices, H&M , and Australian Wool want to talk work with us to help them reach our young audience of influencers (that would be you loyal fashion indie reader). We couldn’t be happier, but man how time has changed things.

We’ll Indies, we’ve decided that the only way can continue to grow is to head out there and seek investment. We’re looking for an undisclosed amount, but believe me it’s very reasonable. The money will be used to build our site, adding more content and features and further build our Indie empire. We are pushing this out to our community cause, well, you never know what you might find out there. Our business plan is ready and this week we’ll be meeting with investors who’ve been interested in us since fashion indie was merely an idea jotted down on the back of a Think Coffee napkin (greatest coffee in the world and all free-trade). Guess it’s just a matter of time before we find the perfect partner.

Till then, thanks so much for making fashion indie as awesome as it is. If it wasn’t for you calling us sell outs (when we were) and assholes (when we are) then fashion indie wouldn’t have become as popular as it is.

It’s a long road ahead indies and we’re glad your in the backseat.

Big things have been happening for Fashion Indie lately. FLAUNT atlanta, a group dedicated to fashion in America’s second best city (sorry NYC comes first) has decided to honor Fashion Indie for our work in eco-friendly fashion. We’ll be flying out to Atlanta in April to check out their fashion shows, plant some trees for AIDS research, and live blog and vlog the whole time. I think we might be getting a plaque or something for all our indie goodness. Yes, indies, we know we deserve it and no, I won’t forget about you when I’m rich and famous (though I might step on some of your faces on the way up).

In other life changing news, WE’RE HEADING TO PARIS!!! Not to live or anything, just a short little holiday to get our juices of creativity flowing. Expect some coverage of the trip as we visit our designer friends in the city of lovers. It’s all very final episodes of Sex and the City-esque, I know, but it should prove to be an amazing experience. For those of you who don’t know me personally I am not an old dude (I sometimes feel the need to state that since a good amount of fashion bloggers are women with families and husbands and mortgages). I’m 24 right now and have been enjoying an insane amount of accomplishment in my short 288 or so months on this planet. We’ll it’s all down hill from now, in four short weeks I hit the be 25!!! That’s right, it’s the beginning of the end for your favorite indie fashion blogger. I’m hitting a quarter century and I may be heading to a quarterlife crisis!!! I’m watching for the signs (disillusioned dreams, lack of energy to play one more round of Guitar Hero, desires to skip the gym and head home to watch Fresh Prince reruns), but I’m not sure if the crisis is going to jump up and grab me right in the arse. I’ll keep you informed, but till then be sure to watch Fashion Indie for info on my big birthday bash. Expect fashion shows, performances, and DJ’s, plus me and the rest of our indielicious team. That’s all for now indies.Seacrest Out.

1. You could be dating one of the scary @ss male models that hit the runway this season. Manorexia is so not hot and who wants a boyfriend who will steal your jeans. Does anyone date these boyish beings? And why is that dude biting his cheeks so hard?

2. You could be this couple. Has no one dropped him a hint that she might be packing a little something extra under her Baby Phat?

3. You could be either of these two on Valentines day. It’s bad enough that you’re, how do I put this softly, oh yeah, a complete trainwreck in the face, body and personality department, but do you really need to dress badly as well. Mr. Mickey (Paper Magazine) obviously made this sweater himself, possibly the result of the past ten years he’s spent alone at home, and Lauren Ezersky most likely killed a Pomeranian to make that hat. For shame fashion “icons”, for shame.

4. You could be a 25 year old nobody who’s only claim to fame is the fact that you date a 40+ year old world famous designer. (Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad. Kimora I’m ready and willing if you are)

We are heading to the home stretch with three more days of fashion and a trunk load of goodies from brands like KY, Bali Bras, Boots Cosmetics, and MAC (will we ever use all of this?). Yesterday, I hit The Daily Suite for a massage from the Oasis Day Spa girls. The KY jelly girl seemed to blush a bit when she was mentioning the “benefits” of the lube. It’s okay lovely, I know what KY does, no need to go into details and tell me about it’s use as a lubricant.

The Two Nicks : Rockstar Intern Nichole with Nicky Taylor

Later it was off to the tents for Diesel. The show was spectacular (expect a full review soon). Our rockstar intern Nichole Werhner sat in front of the man “who is IMG” and discussed the lack of color on the runways. Nichole will have to share all her juicy bits including her chat with Miss Wintour, hanging with Agnes Deyn and her hustle to get into every show and every party (she’s my hero right now).

After Diesel I met with Tito from Portland Fashion Week about the prospect of creating a New York preview show to fall inline with Fashion Indie Week: Brooklyn. The deal seems like ago, so now we will be able to present more sustainable fashions this year from a bevy of designers from across the nation. Expect Fashion Indie Week : Brooklyn and Portland Fashion Week to be our big pushes over the next few months.

Later, we walked through the runway show for New York Couture. MTV was there, following our every step as we prepped for this massive event. I finally got to meet Audrey Kitching (total sweetheart), taught the models a walk or two, and then put out fires left and right. The event will be “bananas” as Cassie K would say. And to be honest she’s right!!! Rye Rye (the Shake Your Body to the Ground” girl) will perform as well as a who’s who of indie music. These are the bands you need to discover!!! Hell, we’re no GEN ART, but we know how to throw a f*ckin party.

Today, I was off to the tents. Hit Malan Breton in the morning with Diana Eng. Met with Cassie and MTV at 10 for Nanette Lepore. Chloe (our favorite little writer) stopped by and hit Milly. Nichole hit Carlos Miele. I discovered how amazingly easy it is to get into things when a camera crew is following you around.

If only she’d look at me with those longing eyes. – sigh –

Introduced Cassie to Fern Mallis, who made it very clear that she was not interested in attending Cassie’s event cause Zac Posen was “better”. Good job routing for the home team Ferny. Guess that’s fair. P.S. I might secretly be in love with Fern, I can’t help staring at her as she sits front row of every show. She’s this fashionable power trip who reminds me of the sorority party girl who used to do beer bongs in my dorms. I can’t help it, I easily fall for beer drinkers and women in power.

Met some dudes from Bravo, who were finishing up the filming of Malan’s web show (Great stuff, if you haven’t seen it do). Will be pitching to them a Fashion Indie show this week (seriously Watch What Happens when Daniel Saynt doesn’t get his way). After a while was tired of it all so I headed out and started writing you.

See ya Som, we hardly knew ye.

Oh, yeah – Peter Som‘s PR person invited us to his show last night, we RSVP’d and just got a call that we are uninvited. WE WILL NEVER WRITE ABOUT PETER SOM AGAIN!!! Don’t invite us and then un-invite us crazy PR girl for American Express, that is so not cool. For once we we’re actually excited about Peter Som, a designer that hasn’t impressed us in some time. Guess Peter’s out.

Tonight I’m off to GUCCI and the uberly fun celebrity filled gala event at the UN. I don’t own a black suit for this black tie event and I’m hoping I can find one in the next two hours. If not I’m rocking sneakers, jeans and an “Ask Me About Fashion Indie” t-shirt. Looking forward to Madonna, but I’m more impressed that FASHION INDIE IS THE ONLY NEW YORK BLOG INVITED!!! Love you, love you, love you GUCCI!!!

That’s all for now, gotta meet Rebecca Alexander at Maria Cornejo.

The band. Mostly spoken word and lipsyncing plus some fun dance routine featuring “Russian.Fire.Bird” which was a little like the YMCA.

I’ll never get modern British music.

Totally in hearts with Cory Kennedy. Something about chicks with income that always gets me going.  She’s a real sweetheart, but you can tell that she’s on the cusp of real celebrity status away from her indie following. Give it a year and a show on MTV and she’ll be more followed than Paris Hilton. Hope your up for the challenge, Cory.  Oh yeah, and your officially off my BASH list. (yes, I know I’m a wimp.)

Cory Solo.

Our favorite UK blogger Susie Bubble from Style Bubble makes her New York Debut. The girl will be rocking with Madonna at the upcoming Gucci party in Central Park. Two thoughts that I was wrong about – 1. She is so not short. 2. She has a British accent. Super cute, uber stylish.

Me with Ms.Bubble

JoMarie, our stylish fashion week friendly, got up close and personal with Kyle XY (Matt Dallas).  This dude is so not gay. He hit on anything and everything with boobs. After asking him to show us his belly button, we discussed whether pretty boys are considered cute or hot.  Conversation ended when Beckham trumped all.

After all the excitement of meeting a real “celebrity” I headed to VIP to party with Iqons magazines and Shaded View of Fashion star, Diane Pernet.  Through her raspy voice she gave me some insight on making a blog spectacular. She smelled like the incents from a Catholic church. It was Commes de Garcons perfume, of course.

After THE BOX and the Iqons Magazine party we headed to Terexov after party. Vodka and Caviar and models, oh my.

Later is was over to La Esquina (yes, Serge Becker owns my ass).  Mexican luchadores and more models abounded.  Checked the watch, 3AM. Better head home and get some sleep, day four is tomorrow and it’s the busiest yet.  See ya tomorrow indies.

Day one came and I slept in. I missed opening ceremony with the Lipstick Jungle girls and ran to the tents just in time to grab my pass before Duckie Brown. That collection disappointed (sorry boys, I know I suck) and the next thing to look forward to was a meeting with my lawyers (we’ve been discussing the legal blah blah of a merger with Trendible.com. Go there, join and tell your friends). Heading back to the office in the pouring rain, I thought it was only right to curse the heavens as a speediant cab drove me past the tents at just the right time to see a bevy of paparazzis snapping at somenobody from One Tree Hill or America’s Next Top Porn Star.

At the office we quickly regrouped. Busie to Yeolee at the New Museum and the rest of us to meet with Cassie of New York Couture and the MTV True Life crew (yeah Indies we are being filmed by True Life!!!). If you don’t know New York Couture, get to know it. This girl is the next Heatherette and her show next week will feature the very best in new artists, drag queens and live performances. We walked through sound and lighting for the show and made sure that timing was okay. Jessica interviewed Cassie (seriously this girl can be an anchor, someone hire her) and we made our way out of Rebel to head to Edwing D’Anglo’s “Awakening” show.

Amanda and the late designer

After about an hour and a half, Amanda Lepore randomly strolled in. We stopped caring and headed out early since the place was packed with non-industry types and we completely couldn’t miss our “Project Runway” secret show. Bumped into Christian (the kid), Jack (the Flashdancer), and Jay (season one). Fell in love with Elisa (she is too cute).

Victorya Hong showed a collection which was even “too safe” for Banana Republic. After, we ran to the tents to see Venexiana. Rebecca’s addiction to fur was in high force as the collection played through. Early on we saw some strong pieces but later on the beauty queen/My Super Sweet 16 dresses failed to impress. After we congratulated Kati Stern, said hi to Malan Breton (our Project Runway favorite who’s showing at the tents this year) and Nole (Top Model Dude) and chilled with our favorite photographer Rick Louis.

Chick at Seven Party

Later we headed to Tenjune for the Duckie Brown party and then skipped it to head to Arena for Seven New York‘s party. Insane till I got a bit tipsy and headed home which I regretted since B.F.F’s stayed and chilled with designer Bernard Willhelm.

Day Two.

Headed out to Academy of Arts. Loved Juhee Chung for women and Shady N. R. Elias for men (change your name to Shady Elias and you’ll be fine). Eel skin might be my knew favorite skin thanks to Elias. Brunch at Penelope’s and then back to the tents for Anorexic Herchcovich. Every other model looked like they had cancer and we’re on life support. For some reason I was expecting more from this Brazilian designer, especially since most Brazilian girls are a bit more sumptuously hot (i.e. Gisele). Feed your models dude, cause the girls bulging veins really distracted me from your halfway decent collection.

Fashion Indie supports anti-life support models. This dude doesn’t.

Backstage I congratulated Cobra Snake on his Paper Magazine Nightlife Award win (I’m guessing that’s like the Oscar’s of his field) and was quickly entranced by Cory Kennedy, who seems so much more down to earth in person (I officially retract about half the things I may have said or thought about her). Rebecca thought she looked a bit “nappy” and I was a bit in shock that I was the only one in my crew of four that knew who she really was (I really need to stop reading Nylon).

Two of the Misshapes showed up. Leigh needs to eat something, pronto. The girl used to be hot, but now she’s just scary looking (also see black is out, wear some color).

Was tired after the show so headed home. Skipped Ruffian, Sass & Bide, Rock & Republic, Alexander Wang and all the afterparties. Guess I’m getting too old for this sh*t.

Final Thoughts.

- Thanks to Bob Bland of Brooklyn Royalty (amazing dull name for a pretty cool girl) for pointing out Anorexic Herchcovich’s view on eating disorders. You we’re right, we can’t support this.

- Cory Kennedy is still cool. I can’t really hate on anyone successful who is younger than me.

- Cobra Snake, also cool but he really should dress better and get a hair cut. (if you need a stylist please feel free to contact us.)

- Cassie K. of NY Couture is the next Heatherette. Spread it like hotcakes.

- Edwing D’angelo is no Marc Jacobs. Start your show on time next season, buddy.

Tomorrow morning starts the hubbub of the greatest holiday of the year for any lucky blogger with enough page views to get a coveted invite (or the occasional seat assignment). Call me jaded or a little seasoned, but after two years of hitting the shows of Bryant Park and the dozens of shows out side the tents, I’m feeling a bit, well, overloaded. Lately, me and New York Fashion Week have been having a little tiff, a love – hate relationship in which one second I’m overjoyed and the next, well let’s just say sleeping in sounds like a better idea. I’m suddenly feeling like Marc Jacobs circa September 07, wondering is this bullsh*t really worth it?

First, of all there’s the anticipation of waiting for the invites. We at Fashion Indie haven’t gotten to the point where we are smart enough to make better relationships with PR firms, plus a bunch of them seem to not get how special we are a.k.a. they don’t know what we do, how we do it, or how big we actually are (we’re in shock sometimes when we start to think about it). So we sometimes spend way too long waiting for invites and being slightly surprised when they come flooding in which causes scheduling conflicts up the wazoo! (thank god this year we have an editor in charge of this.

Second, it’s all the RSVP’s and rechecks, the door people, the lines. It’s all kind of annoying after your first time. Yes, you feel fabulous, but at what price?  A price you don’t want to pay after a year or two.

Thirdly, the people. No offense to those who are really genuine and not total jerks, but a crap load of so called fashionistas think they are Gods gift to couture, when in truth they’re only lame television hosts on channels that no one really watches or cares for.  And believe me their attitudes register a quick 180 when they find out you’re “important” (also see, capable of hiring them).  The ridiculous thing is that most of these elitist think this is the way to act, as if behaving like a mannerless fool is some sort of unspoken code for “yeah, we’re one of the cool kids now”.

In the end, while fashion week has become more of a job than a joy for me, I can’t knock the fun I get out of sharing it with others. It’s Rebecca, our new editors first official fashion week and all our new writers are chock-full of excitement for the idea that they’ll be stepping into the tents in a few short hours. So maybe I’m a cynic, or have been given the chance of a life-time and haven’t seen the silver lining yet, but I think this year, fashion week is over before it’s begun.

Of course, don’t expect me to through my hat in just yet, the after-parties are to die for!!!

Well indies, we won’t put the new and improved label on Fashion Indie just yet, but we’ve made a few changes in this past month with are definitely notable. We’ve ditched the slow servers at Yahoo, which means we’ll be able to upload faster and on the go. We’ve added a fresh slew of writers and interns which are gonna cover the bejebus out of New York Fashion Week. We’ve brought on a new full time Editor, who has whipped are little office into shape and has already started on a major fashion whirlwind tour to all the showrooms, boutiques and designer shops that cater to indie.  Plus we’re getting all ready for our store opening so expect a buckload of how to’s on opening a boutique as we learn how to open a boutique.

In addition, we’ve added some new columns which will surely get you high off our own supply. The Bashed is a listing of all those, how do you put this nicely, oh yeah, douches and overrated nothings we’ve met in fashion. Yeah, this list might get pretty long, but after two years of writing about the very best in indie, we think it’s safe to point some fingers and name some names. Expect full on BASHINGS of Mr. Mikey, Bory Kennedy, and many, many more (it’s fashion week, we might be in overload).

Cory & Mickey: Love at First Pouty Disinterested Site

On the other end of the spectrum, we’d like to invite the 100,000 strong of you who log on each month to praise The Blessed, our list of amazing fashion sweethearts who make us so glad there are other normal, down to earth people in fashion. We’re still looking for who will make the cut expect to get the skinny on Andre J, Malcolm Harris, and Nylon’s Faran Krentcil. We very mucho love you all and we’re not afraid to say it.

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