america van java

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Catwalk Girls Work It

SAN FRANCISCO — As the lights dimmed and the bass from the speakers filled the SomArts Gallery, the sold-out crowd rose to their feet in applause as Tita Aida, the self-proclaimed transgender “hostess with the moistest,” made her way down the 60-foot-long runway to kick off the first annual “Catwalk,” a male-to-female transgender beauty pageant, on March 22.

The event showcased 16 beautiful and classy transgender models, each representing different parts of the world.

Lally Lacy, a transgender program specialist at the API Wellness Center and a transgender woman herself, said Tita Aida (known as Nicky Calma during her day job as an API Wellness Center program supervisor) formed the idea for the event a year ago as a means to empower the transgender community, because there were not enough venues for transgender people to meet. “We just wanted to make a positive influence on the transgender community, especially for Asian Pacific Americans, and showcase the transgender community’s love for beauty, fashion and self,” Lacy said. “We want to show what we have and what we can do.”

The pageant consisted of four rounds: cocktail dresses, swimwear and eveningwear, followed by a Q&A segment for the five finalists. The sold-out crowd was wowed at every twist, turn and pose struck by the glamorous models, the majority of whom could claim Asian descent.

The winner was fan-favorite Miss Malaysia, Asia Vitale, who dazzled the crowd first with her biker-themed swimsuit attire — complete with helmet and jacket — and then with two red and black evening gowns.

The event’s primary beneficiary was the API Wellness Center, which is celebrating its 20th year. The proceeds will directly fund the organization’s two transgender programs: The Asian & Pacific Islander Transgender Empowerment program, or A.T.E., and TRANS: THRIVE. The A.T.E. program provides individual risk counseling, HIV prevention and education, and peer leader programs. TRANS: THRIVE is a new drop-in program by and for the transgender community, and its mission is to foster the transgender community with the empowerment and leadership of its peers.

For Franklin Limliao, a supporter of the event’s co-sponsor, the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, the pageant represented a coming-out for both the transgender and Asian American communities. According to both Limliao and Lacy, the official number of transgender Asian Americans with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco is understated.

Dressed as an effervescent Easter Bunny, Limliao said, “Through ‘Catwalk,’ we can show Asian Americans that there are others in the same struggle. We want others, especially those with HIV/AIDS, to come out because there are others like me. We’re doing our best to help.”

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Anna Sinkovska


Anna Sinkovska is a beautiful young fashion model from the Czech Republic, now living and working in Paris. Originally from Ukraine, her family emigrated to the Czech Republic during Anna's early teenage years. It was there, in Prague, that she signed her first contract with a modeling agency at the age of nineteen. Shortly after that, she was sent to Paris to begin her career.

This site will serve as Anna's link to the world -- a source of information about her, and a way for her to reach out to her audience. We intend, with Anna's help, to document the development of the career of a wonderful, beautiful young woman whom we all believe is destined to be a great star and one of the most successful young models in the fashion world.

Helena Christensen gets her mitts on Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick in a shoot for Harper's Bazaar


Those Gossip Girl kids definitely gets around, don't they? It seems like not a glossy goes to print without some mention of the cast of fashion's favourite show.

In the March edition of Harper's Bazaar (yep, them again) Ed 'Chuck Bass' Westwick gets seduced by supermodel / photographer / all-round fashionista Helena Christensen in a shoot by snapper Terry Richardson.

The shoot features the couple looking very lustful in clothes by the likes of Max Mara, Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry. Keep reading for more snaps.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Hot Fashion Model




Catwalk catfight over 'everyday' models

An Australian designer's search for models that look like "everyday Australians" has reportedly created controversy at a Melbourne fashion week. Against the advice of the event's organisers, MaraJoara designer Leesa Fogarty put out a call for ordinary Aussie women to model her swimwear. But it seems the women she chose were too real for organisers of the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. "We wanted to cast everyday Australians because they're the ones that are going to buy our swimwear," Fogarty was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun. The organisers allegedly told Fogarty her everyday models — who were set to appear in the event's closing show — were putting the parade in jeopardy. "They had [other] models on standby," Fogarty said. "They said our models weren't the quality that Australian Fashion Week would want behind it." Fashion week organisers denied suggesting Fogarty's models were too fat. Simon Lock, managing director of IMG Fashion Asia Pacific which operates the week, told National Nine News his company would never interfere with what a designer wanted to do. "The were unprofessional models and we were a little bit concerned about the way they were walking, the way they were posing and some of their antics." "We are not here to criticise, or comment on the collections." Despite the controversy, the show did go on and the smiling everyday models triumphed. "Someone said this week is anorexia week on the runway," Fogarty said.