I watched Ellie Goulding on stage for the first time during Satruday Night Live and fell totally and completely in love. It endlessly enamors me. First round, I thought, ok love this song. Second time around, I read the lyrics, Third time around, I research the effort that wentbehind this band even getting it’s start.…but the big story behind how they got started is not my topic of conversation at this point.…its the simple fact that they were able to produce a song that meant something to me. A few little words, an amazing voice, and all that goes with it.…transported me out of wherever I’ve been and puts me immiediately where I need to be.

Same with small fashion finds that you know are completely unique and yours all your own. What a wonderful feeling to add to the person whos permanantly seeking identity within themselves and yet seems to find those snippets in every day life through random obstables. I just love them all!!

In the midst of his busy schedule, Brandon gave Emerald Chic’s fashion correspondent, Patrick, a few moments of his time for some insight into his career, his expansion, and even a few pointers for you men out there looking for some fashion advice.

PH: What can you say is an “unforgettable modeling moment”?

BT: That’s a hard one for me to answer and narrow it down, I thank God daily for what he’s given to me in this business. Most of my guy friends would say its probably a job I’ve had playing Heidi Klum’s lover for Vogue over a few days work, a sexy rolling around shoot with Alessandra Ambrosio on the beach, sleeping in Elle Macpherson’s house or having Gisele Bundchen topless on me for a shoot for a jeans company campaign but that (as crazy as it sounds) became normal. I would probably say it was staying in a 17 bedroom Igloo in the top of the Alps in Switzerland for work for two weeks and getting paid to be in the most beautiful place I’d ever seen while snowboarding, snowmobiling, and eating fondue daily!

PH: So, what’s new with you? You are quite the DJ-in-Demand. How is the dj career going?

BT: The career is amazing! It’s moving a little faster than I wish but how do you complain about that? The problem with being a jack of all trades is God only made 24 hrs in a day. Recently, I’ve been spinning fun stuff like Sunglass Hut Store Opening with the Strokes, a celebs birthday party with The Fugees, and a one on one gig with R Kelly with me mixing and him performing for the club (he’s still got it).

PH: Like a number of models, you have branched out into another business. For me, it has been journalism and event production. And I hear rumors of you dabbling in interior design. Fill us in on this. What is the name and what are the origins?

BT: Well I grew up with a dad that taught me how to make everything with my own two hands. I watched him single handedly build our house and teach me all of this along the way. I love being a handyman and actually thinking outside the box for different ideas. Such as my old walking stick as my curtain rod and recycling old pieces and turning them into my creation.

PH: What is the focus? Are you like Cindy Crawford Home and Kathy Ireland’s line, focused on developing products for the home, or are you more focused on designing interiors by shopping for items that fit into a client’s particular style philosophy.

BT: I am actually trying to do a triple play. I want to make my own art, sell them their apartments or condos (yes I also do real estate too), and design their apartment with my art inside.

PH: What are your upcoming design projects? Any clients of note that you can mention?

BT: Well I’ve actually now been asked about putting my art in a gallery here now and I’m prepping for a hair salon I’m designing in SoHo, which should be very interesting as I have full leeway to do as I wish.

PH: CONGRATS on both counts. What were the design cues/inspirations for your space?

BT: I have always been in love with designing to look like you stepped foot into another country or time era. My place is now really Moroccan style with colors and furniture that I’ve made.

PH: What else is going on in Brandon Trentham’s life? I hear a charitable organization is on the horizon, fill us in.

BT: My Favorite Subject to talk about!!!!!! I have been working with so many different charities and groups for many years now but never had a sole purpose or project. The “Hope House Honduras” is just that, a Christian run orphanage that gives them hope and light at the end of the tunnel. I am working full time with it now as well and just built the website for it myself. People can find out on the site how to become a part of it and see the blessings that I have gotten to. www.Hopehousehonduras.org

PH: Finally, no one can deny that you are one of the most stylish models around. While the rest of us fall back to the “Reliable Model Uniform” of white v-neck t-shirt, jeans, boots, and a really good watch, you are always turned out in something uber-tasteful and edgy. Be it seeing you on the red carpet, bumping into you at a restaurant, or even training with you at the gym (yes, we are training partners…lifting upper body today), you always get it right. What is your personal style philosophy?

BT: It’s not about being on the brink of the new trend, it’s about being different from everyone else. By the time people start wearing the same thing as me I wanna be over it. I like to buy a nice piece and change it to my liking, whether its patches and new buttons or cutting off a collar or half the sleeves. I once cut a whole in the top back of my jeans to have a place for my bandana to go through and tie. Different is good. Your style should match your personality and never conform. That’s BORING!

PH: What is your present fashion obsession? That one piece you have/want to get? Mine is a Peyman Umay bespoke suit, I wore one on the red carpet and have coveted one ever since?

BT: HHHMMM well in the winter it was my heated underwear (lol), but now my new bowtie obsession for the summer. The website is called www.tiesforcharity.com and just as it sounds when you purchase them money gives back! What better way!

PH: What tips would you give guys out there for “getting it right”?

BT: Well that’s a broad question but if it’s about fashion, only wear what your comfortable in, if your not people can tell. If it’s about women, be yourself and never use a line, a simple hello goes along way. If it’s about life, I’ll have to get back to you I’m still reading the book now.

The four collections of the evening were ECO-SWIM by Aqua Green, Linda Loudermilk, MEADOW, and MAE Couture, all of whom are well known and respected in the sustainable fashion industry. Linda Loudermilk was recently recognized for created the world’s first “green” bikini which is fully combustible and given the opportunity (that is, bury it in the dirt), it would completely decompose within 180 days. That’s nuts!

Three collections later, the show culminated with Caroline Mae Heidenriech’s ultra-fab collection, MAE Couture. Let’s just say MC Hammer joins the military, meets Aladdin and comes back to collaborate with Caroline Mae in designing some of the coolest parachute pants, made from reused, vintage military parachutes. This, along with beautiful, flowing coverup dresses created were the signature highlight of her show. And I want them all!!

Check out the photos from all four lines…

Lila Nikole debuted “Summer Romance”, a combination of The Beauty of Love & Bleeding Heart collections. Both collections expressed the title in which they were given, from fresh pastel laces and sweet ruffles to edgy bright hues such as red, burgundy and black. As a leading swimwear designer, Lila Nikole’s swimwear is well-known among celebrities, socialites and fashionistas looking for romantic, sweet, and sexy all in one.

I assume, there comes a time when there are no words to be said about timing, existence, meaning, and life in general. And sometimes, there are those split seconds when time, existence, and meaning make sense. Aside from the individuality we all seek, there is a constant struggle between how we perceive ourselves to be and how we actually are? Forgive me, but the answer still eludes me. I ponder in mind. these very questions. But what makes life worthwhile is the little, but very subtle indifferences that throw you off beat and make  you realize that obviously life is worth the effort of moving forward. It’s not the sporadic hellos, nor the common cliche’s…sometimes it’s as small as a smile from someone you’ve never met before or the person along side the street that you see, and the look in their eyes says it all. Individuality is achievable on many different levels, but contentment in that individuality consumes a whole other side of me that I don’t understand even to this day.

Constantly clouded and uninhibited at the same time is a distance set so far apart but yet so near that you realize the closeness but you don’t necessarily understand how to bring the two into one. And I don’t believe it takes a person, but your own mind, energy, spirituality, and state of being that creates the path which bridges between the two.

Yet, another open ended question left to linger into the void, with no necessary answer in mind or no necessary answer needed.…merely, a thought which leaves me constantly wondering what is the real meaning behind what we have gone through as individuals…and will there ever be a time when we can completely understand the meaning of true self.

The White-Wilson Center for Women’s Imaging has partnered with local organizations to host the second annual Little Black Dress Party, and to give-away 10 Total Woman’s Health Packages!

Due to the current economic climate, a startling new trend has emerged. Preventive health screenings, such as a mammogram, are down 30 percent nationwide. In order to make preventive health screenings more accessible to the women in our community, the White-Wilson Center for Woman’s Imaging is giving away a screening mammogram and bone density scan to the 10 winners of the Total Woman’s Health Package.

The Total Woman’s Health Package includes the following:

• A screening mammogram
• Bone density scan
• Little black dress from Dillard’s
• Life Balance package from Success with Desley
• Massage from It’s All About You Massage and Day Spa
• $75 Gift Card
• 2 Tickets to the Little Black Dress Party
• Lots of other girly goodies!

To be eligible to win the Total Woman’s Health Package, you must be a woman, a resident of Okaloosa, Walton or Santa Rosa Counties and 18 years of age by March 31, 2011. To register for the Total Woman’s Health Package visit www.fwblittleblackdressparty.com.

Early detection is the most effective way to fight back against debilitating diseases like breast cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease. The White-Wilson Center for Women’s Imaging and Emerald Ladies Journal have partnered with Dillard’s, Qantum Communications, Cox Communications, The Promotions Chick, Emerald Chic and other local organizations to raise awareness regarding the importance of preventative healthcare amongst women and to host the second annual Little Black Dress Party.

The Little Black Dress Party is May 21 at the Emerald Coast Convention Center, and will feature a fashion show by Dillard’s, an auction, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $60 and 100% of event proceeds will benefit The Shelter House, Opportunity Inc., and the local chapters of The American Cancer Society and The American Heart Association. Call 863‑8204 for tickets, or visit www.fwblittleblackdressparty.com.

Interview courtesy of Patrick Hazelwood:

Richard Gerst is an up-and-comer that is making SERIOUS waves both in the States as well as in Europe. He seamlessly moves from high-fashion to commercial work and is getting covers left and right now. He is the darling of the model agencies being begged to shoot all their “new” and “big” faces alike. For a relative newbie, he is already encroaching on the territory of such names as Bruce Weber, Hudson Wright, Rick Day, Stephen Klein, and some such. EC had the opportunity to talk with the ever so busy Mr. Gerst and get a little insight into his world of fashion photography.

Q: When and where did you get your start in photography? Give us a peek into the background of Mr. Gerst.

A: When I was in my 20’s I remixed and composed dance music. After moving to NYC in 1995 I did some independent label remixes that were pressed to vinyl, but I realized immediately that I really couldn’t enjoy other people listening, because even though I love to go out, I tend to be asleep by 10 pm.

So in 2005 I began thinking more visually…

I bought my first digital Canon in ’05 and shot maybe 10 test shoots from some agency guys from 2006–2009 just for fun.

They were all pretty average except ONE. The difference being — the model and I .The agency was like “Wow! VERY nice images!”

Around Feb of 2008 I saw an editorial spread in Pref magazine out of Paris with images by Rick Day, and it was like being struck by lightning.

I contacted Steve Benisty, Rick’s rep, and insisted on meeting Mr. Day,

One of the most important things Rick told me, and I will never forget it:

“Richard: Stop shooting what you think others want. Shoot what Richard wants. It will come through in the images.”

Q: No matter what the industry, there is always that inspiration or role model. For me, it was a combination of Marcus Schenkenberg (who has since become a friend) and Tyson Beckford. Markus, because he was the 1st male model I knew by name and to earn over 1 million dollars as a model when I was FIRST getting approached to be in this business which I knew nothing about, and Tyson because he weakened the color barrier and paved the way for black guys like me to go to places like Italy, Australia, Paris, etc and be taken seriously as a model. Who was you’re the first photographer whose work really “spoke” to you?  What was the first photo that captured your attention? In modeling for me, there was the iconic shot of Tyson and Naomi Campbell for Polo Ralph Lauren.

A: This is a tough question.

Obviously Day– and I specifically emulated him in this first year of shooting editorial work.

Weber, Testino, and Ritts as well.

Q: Your pictures are always so beautifully executed and you are so easy to work with. These photos taken for this EMERALD CHIC feature, are some of my favorite shots and you seemed to have a clear idea of how you wanted to present me.  When I arrived at your studio, you had already prepped sets, had props, and were ready to shoot the 1st look within minutes of my arrival without  having met me.  The experience was great

A: The set up for a shoot completely depends on the lead-in. If an agency calls and needs a nice headshot plus a little of my magic then I have an expectation of starting with strobes and a specific setting and look.  Then I discuss other options with the talent often based  on previous work and the person I think I see through their images or book. Sometimes I ask about their hobbies or goals or work or charities. I like confident masculinity and sexual energy, so to send me a guy and not expect that I will try to obtain a  shot that is visually exciting on a sensual level is quite frankly … stupid.

And I don’t really care how they have been previously portrayed.

Q: What “story” did you have in mind for the beautiful shots that accompany this article?

A: Having known about you, your work and your fashion connections, shooting you was interesting.

You were only the 4th black model I have ever shot, one of the others being Nazri Segaro of Project Runway (who’s portrait hangs in my private collection, with the other print in a famous actress’ apt in Manhattan …).

… I want the viewer to feel like they see a glimpse of that person’s soul.

When I met you I got a sense of your enthusiasm, your willingness to work hard, a certain sexiness …I sensed a slight anticipation… that you really wanted a successful shoot.

Therefore, I wanted to show a couple of shots that might suggest something softer about you, something a bit more vulnerable and approachable, something real, and a glimpse of an intimate moment that only your closest friends might experience…the simple basis for your story.

Q: I was honored to have been added to your roster of models. Please tell our EMERALD CHIC audience how you go about selecting subjects?

A: The internet and digital publishing have completely rewritten the book on how emerging photographers find talent.  The truth is, I simply cannot accommodate all of the requests I receive.  As I move into more celebrities and PR firms, via LA and NYC, I contact anyone I am interested in.  I think what I am most interested in is not only a strong physical presence and good face, but something playful.  I am drawn to light … both the physical medium and from within.

Q: Along the same line, I have been modeling for years and have noted that, much like our female counterparts, male models too have been shrinking in size. One need just look at the current Prada and Burberry campaigns to see this. There were times in Paris, where I was “too big”. The designers were speaking in French, and had no idea I was fluent in it. It is refreshing to see a photographer that shoots fit men with a fashionable edge. What is your take on this? Do you get a lot of pressure to select skinnier models?

No. For campaigns, I don’t choose.  For editorial work, it depends on the book and I target accordingly. I am also a naturalist, and I appreciate lean and not overly muscular.

Q: EMERALD CHIC readers saw your recent cover for DNA magazine…spectacular! What is on the horizon for Mr. Gerst? What upcoming projects can we look forward to? There are rumors of several editorials and a book??? Do tell.

A: Thanks for that!

My first book “Defensio” being published by Outnext Media for the iPad is awaiting approval from Apple, Inc. as we speak. Probably by the holidays it will be out. A very limited edition hardbound version, signed and numbered, will ship about  mid Jan 2011. Probably only 20–30 copies for at about $300 apiece (more than half already spoken for). I

” I am always working on new editorial work, including shooting for 2 print European magazines, a USA magazine, and a possible story in an International Fashion magazine with a female actress that I am very excited about.

Q: As EMERALD CHIC is a fashion spot, what trends do you see in the forefront when it comes to fashion photography (and fashion in general)?

A: For men, I see a move back to more sensuality and body work with lean, natural muscularity. I think straight American men are finally getting comfortable seeing a guy that is in awesome shape without much clothing on.… While gay men or women may find the image sensual, straight men are more on the level of “Wow, that guy works hard.” I have also noticed that younger men have stopped defining themselves by their sexuality and I find that interesting, and a statement about differences in generations (mine vs. theirs).

www.richardgerst.com

(+1) 561.NYC.FOTO

Photography & coverage courtesy of Emerald Chic’s West Coast Team: Christian Lewis, Codee Maves, & Sean Peterson.

The suits at this particular show included favorites such as Ashley Paige, Charlie by Matthew Zink, Iemanjá Swimwear and Sergio Rossi. Hot bodies on and off the runway – guests included – wore luxury timepieces by sponsor Hublot Watches and essence of Eva by Eva Longoria perfume.

I particularly loved all the fun accessories paired with the suits: colorful headbands, fun & flowy cover-ups, and of course lots of heels!

Take a look at some of the footage, hot off the runway!

The venue alone is enough to transport you from here to another exotic location as it always does with me. Artists from across the world showcased their masterpieces of digital art projected on the stark white walls of Alys Beach’s community of homes. Caliza Pool, a part of Alys Beach, which in itself is a masterpiece, was adorned with colorful images and beautiful people dancing to music, played by a DJ was who elevated on a platform over the pool.

All in all, I am, and have always been, a walking billboard for this event. It is indeed the party of the year and quite frankly, kicked off my summer in the best way possible. If you missed it this year, check out some photos and a few videos of the winning artists. Truly amazing.…

Digital Graffit 2010 Entry Bala Boyd–Void? from Bala Boyd on Vimeo.

Bombshell from Don Relyea on Vimeo.