San Francisco is not necessarily what would be considered a world-renowned fashion city. Nonetheless, the fashion culture here thrives. Walk through Hayes Valley, down Haight Street, or even through parts of the Mission and you’ll find a plethora of boutiques, fashion co-ops, and independent design workshops. Right within the city limits are several schools with programs in fashion design, including a top fashion school, the Academy of Art, which has the most famous student fashion shows in the industry. Let’s not forget that both Gap, Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co. are headquartered here in San Francisco.
Zivity is all about fashion. 
Nearly every photo shoot done for Zivity involves the work of stylists, make-up artists, and of course the models and photographers. Heck, some of our top models and photographers earn a good part of their living in the fashion world: Pearl (fashion designer, stylist, model), Damanda (make-up artist, model), and Sequoia Emmanuelle (fashion designer, photographer) to name just a few. Not only that, but Danielle Cohen (known up and down the West Coast for her work with Missing Piece) is part of the Zivity staff! You can imagine our excitement in being nominated for an award in the “Best Blog / Social Network” category of the first annual San Francisco Fashion Awards, aptly named “Stellar”.
July 13, 2008. It’s a beautifully warm and sunny day. As a nominee, we were invited to the awards ceremony at the Bambuddha Lounge in the Phoenix Hotel in San Francisco. I arrive just before 3PM to find a short line of folks waiting to get in. As this is the first ever event of its kind, I have no idea what to expect. At the front of the line, I’m asked to show ID (in exchange for a bracelet proving my status as a legal drinker) and told that “there are no ins and outs”. I nod and walk in. The man in charge of the guest list can’t find “Zivity” on the guest list. I point out to him that he’s only looking at the first page of the guest list that ends at the letter ‘J’. He scowls at me and ensures me that it’s the whole list. I reach down and turn to the last page and point to where it says “Zivity” on the final line of the list. He begrudgingly stamps my hand. Note to Del Geronimo: get a better door guy for the next event.
Once I’m inside, things are much better — Bambuddha is buzzing. People are excited to hear about the awards and to watch the fashion show. Some folks are lounging by the pool while others are sitting on the lawn. I see several familiar faces from the San Francisco fashion scene: Miranda Caroligne (nominated both for best designer and for best collective, Pandora’s Trunk), Amy LeBlanc (nominated for best female runway model), Jay Oberhelman (aka Obi-J, nominated for most fashionable DJ), Sid Gabriel (nominated for best male runway model), and others. I grab a drink and mingle for a while, anxiously awaiting the awards ceremony. It begins with a boom as Charleston Pierce (whom you may know from his work with the Macy’s Passport Shows) takes the mic. He starts by sharing his dream of San Francisco becoming a world-renowned fashion city. I take a seat poolside and smile, watching with excitement as my friends and colleagues walk up and claim their well-deserved awards. Even more exciting was the honor of accepting on Zivity’s behalf the award for “Best Blog / Social Network”. Our trophy is prominently placed right at our reception desk in our office.
You can find more photos related to the event here and here.
As Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” The first annual San Francisco Fashion Awards was an experience that underscored that idea in my mind. Congratulations to Del Geronimo and crew for making it happen, and we look forward to next year!
