MY LIFE | NYC Week 5

Via Tumblr

Five weeks in. I definitely have those moments of Is this real life?!

Here's what I got up to September 22-28:

 Press at the First Ladies Luncheon

 The highly anticipated Alexandre Plokohov (Helmut Lang) x UNIQLO collab dropped this week. I went to check it out for a friend and ended up buying the most comfortable sweatpants ever. Buy them >HERE<

EVENT | First Ladies Luncheon

Last week, I was surrounded by a group of the classiest women from around the globe. A group of First Ladies to be exact. Fashion 4 Development held their 4th Annual First Ladies Luncheon, which is an event that unites diplomacy and fashion for the greater good of women and children worldwide. Coinciding with the UN General Assembly, F4D brought together the support of First Ladies and fashion influencers to raise awareness of creating positive social change globally. The event took place at The Pierre Hotel.

This year, the special honorees were: Donna Karan (fashion designer), Sir Fazle Hasan Abed (Founder and Chairperson of BRAC), Gery Keszler (CEO of Life Ball/AIDS LIFE), Debbie Levin (President of the Environmental Media Association) and Caroline Scheufele (Creative Director and Co-President of Chopard)

Donna Karan

NYU | Pavement Pieces: Photoville

Lined up along the Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront more than 60 storage containers were scattered like giant Lego pieces begging to be stacked. From the outside, they looked like your typical large-scale metal shipping boxes, but they were far from hollow. Inside of them was a photo festival called Photoville, a one-of-a-kind photography festival that uses repurposed transport containers to house installations, exhibits and seminars, showcasing a wide range of artists.

It opened up to the public September 18th and will run for 11 days. Inside—and surrounding— the 60-plus containers are works by more than 400 photographers.

“Weirdly enough, shipping containers make for a really good and concise photo venue," said Daniel Ehrenworth, 36, who was in town from Toronto and stopped by to check it out.

Photoville is the brainchild of United Photo Industries, which was founded in 2011 by Sam Barzilay, Dave Shelley and Laura Roumanos. This year, they partnered with Smorgasburg and Brooklyn Brewery for a village Beer Garden, along with Narratively for a packed itinerary of visual storytelling events, truly hosting a creative-people’s paradise.

Read the full article >>HERE<<

Photo by: Christina Dun

FASHION | Emma Roberts x BaubleBar

A little WCW for y'all. I'm seriously in love with BaubleBar's most recent guest bartender Emma Roberts - just thought I'd share. Such a cute campaign full of accessories that I need to have ASAP.

Take a look for yourself:

MY LIFE | NYC Week 4

I've officially been living here for one month! It's been quite lovely so far. I've been working on balancing schoolwork with time to explore the beautiful neighborhoods of New York.

Here's what I got up to during the week of September 15-21:

 I met the stylish and talented Whitney Port, full post HERE.

FASHION | Launched: Clocks and Colours

I met Toronto-based jewelry designer Shane Vitaly Foran about two years ago at the launch of Vitaly Design and it's been great to follow along with what he's been up to. Most recently, he launched Clocks and Colours, a high-end men's jewelry line that is handcrafted by Balinese master silversmiths. Inspired by motorcycle, barbershop and tattoo culture, the unique assortment of accessories are a great addition to any cutting-edge outfit.

Take a look at this kick-ass lookbook, a collaboration with Toronto photographer Matt Barnes:

EVENT | Building Your Professional Brand with LinkedIn & Whitney Port

Photo via Facebook

As a student, I'm constantly exposed to the terms "networking" and "building your brand," and yes, it can get tiresome. However, I've also learned that it's so incredibly necessary and helpful, which is why everyone keeps pounding it into us—in any industry. Since everything is online these days, it's safe to say that you better have a kick-ass resume that potential bosses can easily gain access to (you know they're going to Google you anyway). LinkedIn makes that extremely simple and offers the tools to make you look as employable as possible. I attended an event this week, as part of The LinkedIn Discussion Series, hosted by LinkedIn and special guest speaker Whitney Port on how to build your professional brand.

Photo by Christina Dun

FASHION | Muttonhead SS15

Photo via Facebook

A lot of great fashion comes from Canada. There's something about tons of Canadian brands that just exude that subtle cool factor. wings + horns, Raised By Wolves and Mackage all come to mind. One of my favourite unisex clothing brands is Muttonhead. They recently released their Spring/Summer 2015 lookbook, called "Dog Days of Summer."

Take a peek:

GIVEAWAY | September Swag [CLOSED]

Here's what's up for grabs this week :)

Prize includes:
- 1 Vera Wang 'Lovestruck Floral Rush' Perfume
- 2 Floral Notebooks from Chapters Indigo
- 1 mark. 'Wonder Glow' Blush & Glow
- 1 Covergirl 'Flamed Out' Mascara
- 2 imPRESS Press-On Manicures

MY LIFE | NYC Week 3

So I've been here for a full three weeks and it's been a dream. Seriously, someone pinch me.

Take a look at what I got up to from September 8-14:

 Free pizza, 'nuff said.

UPCOMING | Meet Nicky Hilton in Toronto

FYI Toronto!

NYU | First Assignment, 9/11 Anniversary

For my first assignment as a grad student at NYU, we were sent out in New York City to find a story—any story, any angle, any characters.

I found myself walking into the Trinity Boxing Club NYC and by a stroke of luck and curiosity, I found a gem of a story. It was published on Pavement Pieces—Check it out:

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Martin Snow, 54, owner of the Trinity Boxing Club NYC on September 11, 2014. Photo credit: Christina Dun

The building started to shake, the sky turned black and smoke began piling in. Martin Snow and a dozen others found themselves in a gym locker room with wet towels under the door, awaiting their fate.

“I thought we were going to die that day,” said Snow, as he recalled the morning of September 11, 2011 on the 13th anniversary yesterday. “I really thought we were going to die.”

FASHION | Betsey Johnson @ NYFW SS15

Image via Facebook

"Attend a Betsey Johnson fashion show at New York Fashion Week."

That happened. The feeling of getting to cross that off my life dream to-do list was one of the coolest feelings. I have always been a huge fan of Betsey Johnson. As a designer, as a style icon, and as an all-around human being. She stays true to herself and has done so for her entire career, which I admire so much. She loves to have fun and live life to the fullest. I still can't get over the fact that I got to witness her signature runway cartwheel IRL. She's 72 years old and still going strong.

Here are some of my runway faves (photos by Dan Lecca):

EVENTS | FASHION ROCKS

Image via Facebook

September 9th was a great day. From nearly getting kicked in the face by one of Nicki Minaj's dancers to rocking out with KISS to getting a high five from Luke Bryan to making eye contact with J. Lo, this was not a typical Tuesday. I had gotten a ticket to participate in the rehearsal for Fashion Rocks, a huge event that celebrates the relationship between music and fashion. I didn't really know what to expect, but it turned out to be an amazing insider's look into the production of the show. I took part in the full dress rehearsal as an audience member standing in the pits side stage—aka I was SO close to some of my favourite performers. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take any photos/videos while inside the rehearsal...

It was seriously amazing though. Highlight: watching Nicki Minaj rehearse Anaconda like four times in a row and being an arms reach away from Usher. And after the rehearsal, we were all given tickets to the actual show later that night!

The event took place at Barclays Center:

FASHION | Concept Korea @ NYFW SS15

Photo via conceptkorea.org

My first New York Fashion Week show was on Tuesday, September 9th. I've always wanted to see what the atmosphere is like and it was pretty cool. I attended the Concept Korea show, which showcases various up-and-coming Korean designers. I saw LEYII by Seunghee Lee, Resurrection by Juyoung Lee and Beyond Closet by Taeyong Ko.

STORY | Style.tech

I have always loved the concept of NYC's STORY, located at 144 West 10th Ave. STORY is "a retail space that has the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery and sells things like a store."

Whenever I'm in the city, I always stop by for a visit. Previous stories:
A Love Story
Made In America
Making Things

The newest story is: style.tech — which I LOVE.

Take a look around:

MY LIFE | NYC Weeks 1 & 2

Originally, I wanted to do a weekly video giving you guys updates on my NYC life, but honestly there's just not enough time in this world for that......SO I'll be posting every couple weeks on my blog with photos from what I've been getting up to (fair warning, it will probably always involve food). I love exploring the city, so I'll definitely share some of the stellar spots that I stumble upon.

Weeks 1 & 2: August 24 - September 7

Left: Heck yes 

Right: Reunited with my pals from last summer

FASHION | adidas NEO x Selena Gomez #NEOrunway

Image via Facebook

New York Fashion Week is well underway and the excitement kicked off early with a fashion industry first. adidas NEO Label collaborated with triple threat Selena Gomez to create the first-ever tweet-powered runway in New York City on September 3rd. The entire production of the #NEOrunway was determined by audience participation online, from the outfits chosen to walk the runway to the set design and music.

New Photography Site!

Hey guys, I just wanted to share a link to a new photography portfolio site that I just launched - I'll be posting some of my favourite photos from my adventures in fashion and music.

>>CHECK IT OUT HERE<<

EVENT | DuJour Celebrates With Kendall & Kylie Jenner

I never thought I'd be able to cross "party with Kendall and Kylie Jenner" off my bucket list, but it happened. During my first week in NYC, I found myself at LAVO for DuJour Magazine's celebration of its fall It-Girls and they sure know how to throw a party.

MY LIFE | HELLO NYU

Photo via Facebook

The day I got my acceptance letter, I cried. I cried a lot. New York University has always been my dream school, and when I fully realized that I'd be moving to NYC this fall as an official NYU grad student, I had to pinch myself.

The summer flew by, but I was counting down the days until the big move.

On August 24th, my friends and I embarked on a road trip to transport my entire life across the American border. This process made me realize truly the amount of unnecessary tangible objects I have in my life. Note to self: GET RID OF IT ALL.

Toronto --> New York