#SteeleVain – An intimate brunch to celebrate unapologetic trailblazing women
You know when you get something stuck in your head and you can’t get it out until you execute it? Creatives often gets this feeling and it was something I could not shake. I know so many amazing women doing incredible things and I wanted a way to bring them all together. I wanted to find a way to celebrate these women and promote comradely and partnerships between them and also introduce them to some of my favorite brands. Vanessa of Vana Vain and I went back and forth about this event. She is know for putting on Coffee Talk, a meeting of creatives over coffee and conversation. It’s actually how we meet and awe have been thick as thieves ever since. We both wanted to have an event this season during New York Fashion Week and #SteeleVain is what we came up with. I know the hashtag sounds a little risqué, but let me explain. My last name is Steele, and when I looked up the meaning of Steel I saw that it embodied the women who I wanted at the event: a form of iron having the qualities of hardness, elasticity and strength. Vanessa has been going by Vana Vain since high school when a not-so-nice person told her she was vain. She looked up the meaning and decided that wasn’t a bad thing! Vain means having or showing an excessively high opinion of ones appearance, abilities or worth. Let that last word sink in: WORTH. Our names together symbolized everything we feel about these unapologetic trailblazing women whom we invited to this exclusive brunch.
Guest included:
Monroe Steele of Fashion Steele NYC, Vanessa Lundy of Vana Vain, Jennifer Jean-Pierre of Comme Coco, Micaéla Verrellien of Micaéla Verrellien, Rose Lazard of Dadou Studios, Danielle Gray of The Style and Beauty Doctor, Bre Scullark Model, Documentarian and Yoga Instructor at BreScullark.com, Tessa John Conner of Afroista.com, Monica Awe-Etuk of Awed by Monica, Dana Oliver Beauty Director at Yahoo, Al Malonga Stylist at WardrobeBreakdown.com,
Kellie Brown of And I get Dressed, Staci Pearson of Coco and Click and Nailah Ali of The Moda Intersection
On September 10th, 2017 in a secret garden at Maman Soho, 13 women sat at a banquet table decorated with assorted vintage flatware. We dined on french cuisine from delicious pistachio chocolate croissant to roasted zucchini, ricotta and kale quiche while conversing about life, love and of course the business of fashion, beauty, journalism, film and art. Each woman brought something different to the table. We had two amazing sponsors Shea Moisture and HUE that came on board and helped make this whole event possible. These two brands are staples in my life and I’m so thrilled that they believed in the vision as well. We also had some amazing secondary sponsors who donated to the gift bags for attendees. These brands are brands I have personally worked with and brands that I love. They are also brands that I know these incredible women will love as well.
The secondary sponsors included: Janis Embroidery, Andy Jasmin Realty, Essie Nail Polish, OLLY Nutrition, Purlisse Beauty, The Salt Empire Jewelry, Pixi by Petra Beauty, Kadokéle´Jewelry, Dadou Studios and Via. Araki Koman also illustrated the logo photo of Vana and I for this event. I look forward to partnering with amazing brands in the future and keep this event going for many New York Fashion Week seasons to come!
Thank you to all the wonderful women who attended!
xx
Monroe
Such lovely images. Looks like such a great event!