Agenda Magazine’s “Dressing Luxuriously” Features Kevan Hall and New York Designers’ Exclusive First Looks and Backstage Coverage

For Immediate Release: 11-08-09

Kevan Hall’s designs and Arun Nevader’s exclusive Backstage and First Looks coverage of Oscar de la Renta inspire the November 2009 Issue of Agenda Magazine. This issue is a homage to stylish women everywhere.

“Dressing Luxuriously” highlights fashion at its best. It features Kevan Hall and his widely talked about fashion show held October 17, 2009, at Universal Studios Backlot at Sparticus Square. The show previewed Hall’s Spring 2010 Collection and was well attended by celebrities and socialites. It was an evolved collection, filled with iridescent colors and rich fabrics.

“The inspiration was Elizabeth Parke Firestone, who was the Firestone heiress; and I figured since we were doing this in this venue with the beautiful automobiles, to look to this incredible icon that collected couture. So, with couture, thinking about her life, thinking about the 50s all the way to the 70s . . . just beautiful couture-inspired gowns and suits.”—Kevan Hall

The editor spoke about her inspiration for this issue as being based around an intense two months of fashion, both on the East and West Coasts.

“I attended so many fashion events recently, it has been impossible to keep them all straight. But a couple of things really stood out for me this fashion season: 1) Rusnak’s “Night of Luxury” with Kevan Hall’s premier of his Spring 2010 ready-to-wear collection; and 2) Backstage and First Looks from New York Fashion Week, particularly Oscar de la Renta. There were some rare, never-before-seen moments that really deserved attention.” –Kaylene Peoples, Editor in Chief

Photographer Arun Nevader, who has been contributing to Agenda Magazine since 2006, has shot First Looks and Backstage coverage from fashion events around the world. Finding fashion coverage is easy, but rarely will you will find Backstage and First Looks actually highlighting the hard work and preparation that goes into creating one of these big runway shows. Oscar de la Renta recently showed his Spring 2010 collection at 583 Park Avenue, New York; and naturally Arun was backstage to capture it all.

“There’s nothing else quite like it in fashion photography. First Looks happen in a kind of highly orchestrated chaos—they are the stuff of backstage drama unfolding between the few moments before a show begins and the last moments before its finale. I’ve shot many—unforgettable because they are unique unto themselves. Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Matthew Williamson, Chado Ralph Rucci—each has his/her own stamp of perfection in beauty, drama, spontaneity, and up-close spectacle.

Shooting the Oscar de la Renta First Looks for his spring show 2010, though, took all that to the next level. In a space no larger than a sizeable walk-in wardrobe closet, there stood 32 of the world’s top models dressed in one of the world’s leading designers. One photographer is allowed to stand in the path of that action—I’m there to shoot those final gestures of preparation before a model enters the runway. She will offer one or two glances if she can, and then she’s gone. That rare moment is either captured or lost. What follows is what happened during the show—where otherworldly human beauty met for a moment its perfect complement in Oscar de la Renta.”—Arun Nevader

“Thank you, Kevan Hall, Oscar de la Renta, and all the supporting features in this November issue, including the New York and LA designers who are also spotlighted: Vivienne Tam, Arise African Fashion Collective, Erin Wasson, Ventidue, Vilaiwan Fine Jewelry, and Queenie 4 Ever. Finding a theme for an entire issue doesn’t usually come as easily as this one did. As I viewed the breathtaking images and outstanding fashion, it was obvious that it was time to pay homage to stylish women everywhere.”—Kaylene Peoples

First Take PR is a publicity and consulting firm catering to publishers, writers, and entertainment professionals.  The company was founded in 2007 and is a subsidiary of Agenda Magazine, an online Fashion and Lifestyle magazine.

Photos by Arun Nevader

Checkout the November 2009 Issue of Agenda Magazine