March 17, 2017: Fashion Week Shows Were More Diverse This Season, Twitter to Replace Yahoo at Digital NewFronts, Why More Celebrity Couples Are Opting for Secret Weddings

1. FASHION WEEK SHOWS WERE MORE DIVERSE THIS SEASON: There was more diversity on the runways at the most recent New York, London, Milan, and Paris fashion weeks than in years' past. The New York Times: "A new report compiled by The Fashion Spot, which assessed 241 shows, found that 27.9 percent of the models who walked the fall 2017 runways were minorities, the highest proportion recorded since The Fashion Spot began tracking the data two and a half years ago. New York, where 31.5 percent of the models were nonwhite, led the charge, and Milan came in last. All of the shows that the report looked at in New York included at least one model of color, and all five of the shows that ranked highest for racial diversity across the four cities were held in New York (Gypsy Sport, Chromat, Kimora Lee Simmons, Yeezy and Marc Jacobs). 'I personally don’t think 31.5 percent is enough, but it’s definitely an improvement,' said Jennifer Davidson, the editor in chief of The Fashion Spot, a web publication and forum for fashion insiders. In its first reports, The Fashion Spot looked only at racial diversity, but it later began assessing size, age and transgender identity as well. This season, there were 12 transgender models, and 21 women aged 50 or older. Thirty plus-size models walked the runways, up from 16 last season and six the season before that, though most of the appearances were in New York. Ashley Graham—who is becoming something of a supermodel, with history-making appearances on the covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and of British and American Vogue—became the first plus-size model to walk in a Michael Kors show (she was also the only plus-size model in the show). Nonetheless, Sara Ziff, the founder of the Model Alliance, a labor advocacy organization that recently published a study on 'extreme thinness standards in the fashion industry,' believes there is plenty of room for improvement across all of the categories." http://nyti.ms/2ndKggF

2. TWITTER TO REPLACE YAHOO AT DIGITAL NEWFRONTS: Twitter has announced it will showcase its original content and live programming at the NewFronts in May, while Yahoo has dropped out as the company is in the process of being sold to Verizon. Billboard: "Under CEO Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's NewFront event was a star-studded affair meant to woo advertisers still coming to terms with the value of large media buys around digital short-form video. In 2014, the company unveiled its plan to take on television by picking up the sixth season of Community and ordering a comedy from Paul Feig. In 2015, Naomi Campbell and Michelle Rodriguez touted new digital series. But in the years since, Yahoo pulled back on some of its video efforts, shutting down video player Yahoo Screen, taking a write-down on its long-form programming and consolidating its digital magazine business, where many of its short-form videos are distributed. Replacing Yahoo on the NewFronts schedule is Twitter, which will host its first presentation for ad buyers on May 1. The social network has placed an emphasis on live streaming video deals over the last year, and it plans to showcase those efforts, as well as some original content offerings, during the presentation. 'We have made major investments in video over the past few years, and being able to present the breadth, depth and quality of that content at the NewFronts is the ultimate culmination of those efforts,' said Twitter's vp global revenue and operations, Matthew Derella. 'In 2017 and beyond, we are investing further in the video viewing experience, content development and collaborations, and video solutions for advertisers. And we are excited to tell that story to the industry.'

3. WHY MORE CELEBRITY COUPLES ARE OPTING FOR SECRET WEDDINGS: While lavish celebrity weddings like that of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West used to be the Hollywood norm, a number of celebrity couples have recently been getting married secretly. The Daily Beast: "Ever since Kim and Kanye rented out Versailles for their rehearsal dinner, other celebrity couples have been at a loss. After all, nothing says incomparable opulence quite like Marie Antoinette’s pre-revolution home base. Instead of trying to one-up the Wests, celebrities have gone in the opposite direction: weddings so low-key that the public doesn’t even know about them until weeks, even months after the event. The most recent example of a hush-hush ceremony comes courtesy of Dave Franco and Alison Brie, two famous people who probably didn’t even bother to invite Julianne Hough. As the brother of an A-lister, Franco’s wedding probably boasted all sorts of celebs… but we’ll never know who attended, because neither of the actors’ publicists had the decency to slip photo booth pictures to Page Six. Instead, we got a dismal post-facto report, confirming that Brie and Franco were indeed married, 'though it’s unclear when they officially wed.' This 'news' came just a day after it leaked that Broad City’s Ilana Glazer was also a married woman, having tied the knot at some point in February. To be fair, Glazer’s newly minted husband is a scientist, not a celebrity, which grants her a certain amount of leeway. The same cannot be said for Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke’s under-the-radar wedding. In the past, the union of two peripheral celebs—a Gossip Girl alum and a practicing singer/doula—would be a field day for the B+/A- list celebrities’ representatives. Between all the 'Lonely Boy no more' jokes and the phrase 'practicing doula,' some well-placed pics and a timely wedding announcement could have ruled the soft news cycle. Instead, Badgley and Kirke got married at a courthouse, dined at a small Brooklyn restaurant, and lightly publicized the whole thing on Instagram." http://thebea.st/2nczBTt


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

Condé Nast has acquired experiential marketing agency Pop2Life and its event hospitality and ticketing platform Ribyt. Pop2Life will work with the brand on its events including the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, The New Yorker Festival, Glamour's Women of the Year, and GQ's Men of the Year.

GES, a global full-service partner for live events, has purchased Poken, a cloud-based event management platform.

* LOCAL NEWS *

ATLANTA:  The Georgia World Congress Center Authority has appointed Damon Bell senior director of convention sales.

CHICAGO:  The fourth annual Spin to Break the Cycle will take place April 8 at the House of Blues. Hosted by World Sport Chicago, the event will fill the concert hall with 100 spin bikes to raise funds for the nonprofit's initiatives.

LOS ANGELES:  Union restaurant will host its "Tasty Tunes" dining experience on March 27. The event will involve a three-course prix fixe dinner paired with music from wireless headphones, in partnership with silent disco production company HushConcerts. Union chef and owner Bruce Kalman will curate the playlist.

BET Networks and AEG have announced the first set of performers for the fifth annual BET Experience at L.A. Live, June 22-25. This year's lineup includes Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi, Gucci Mane, Keyshia Cole, and more.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  In celebration of National Women's Month, Turnberry Isle Miami will host Swing For the Ladies, a golf and brunch event on March 25. The event, which benefits Dress for Success, will offer complimentary swings at the driving range with the purchase of a brunch ticket for The 52 by Corsair.

NEW YORK:  The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center will honor Judith Light with the 17th Monte Cristo Award at a gala on May 21 at 583 Park Avenue.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  The I-Drive Nascar go-kart attraction is planning to double the size of its meeting space. Orlando Business Journal: http://bit.ly/2nvje1B

SAN FRANCISCO:  The 29th annual MarinScapes Fine Art Exhibit & Benefit will take place June 23-25 at Escalle Winery in Larkspur, with an opening gala June 22. The fund-raising event, which benefits the Buckelew Programs for recovery in Marin, Napa, and Sonoma, will showcase work depicting Marin County from more than 30 artists and photographers.

TORONTO:  Camp Summerdaze, an inaugural overnight music, art, and food festival, will take place July 28-30 at Gibraltar Point. BlogTO: http://bit.ly/2nbBBep

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

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With contributions from Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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