On Saturday July 15th, we celebrated summer with an afternoon hosted by Lacoste at the new Soho Pool House. Temperatures were high but the french inspired wine & spritzes kept us cool and provided us with the perfect afternoon by the pool.
AERIE x KELSEA BALLERINI
I kicked off the launch of Spring with Aerie at the Goodtime Hotel and it was exactly that. Aerie created “The Happy Spot” as the brand’s mission of sharing positive messages across social media to help create a safe and happy place for content consumption.
On the hotel’s popular pool deck, the brand designed a full playground of instagrammable activations, including mini golf, swings & nail art stations. I provided the feel-good vibes before Kelsea Ballerini took to the stage to perform, Keepin’ It Real, a song she wrote exclusively for Aerie to inspire the Aerie community to love and let their REAL selves shine.
Aerie also kicked off its PSAs (Positive Scrolling Always) with its partners and its community sharing authentic, positive, unfiltered advice on how to control your time on social media, the importance of paying it forward and focusing on one’s own mental health.
Nothing but positive vibes all around… thank you for having me & keeping me smiling all throughout the day.
– Photos courtesy World Red Eye –
MARIA TASH STORE OPENING
Last week, designer Maria Tash hosted an intimate cocktail event to celebrate the luxury piercing brand’s new location in Bal Harbour Shops. The brand is popular for luxury piercing featuring fine jewels to curate any ear. I actually revived an old piercing from the early 2000’s that was sure had closed with the help of their professional piercing team set up in the back of the store. (And no, it didn’t it hurt one bit!)
Maria’s collection is refined, elegant and equally edgy and innovative. To translate that to music, on the playlist… Depeche Mode, MGMT, The Black Keys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and some other industrial rock favorites.
It was great to reunite with some of my favorite friends who came out to support the launch and a few that worked behind the scenes to make the event flawless.
Be sure to stop in & shop the new collection, I know I’ll be back for a new piercing or two!
– Pictures: World Red Eye –
BOOHOO SWIM SHOW MIAMI SWIM WEEK
I couldn’t think of anything more Miami than a swim show at the iconic Versace Mansion during Miami Swim Week. So when Boohoo reached out to have me soundtrack their first ever runway swim show I was excited, flattered (and yea, maybe felt a little bit of pressure) but I quickly rearranged my schedule to make myself available to them. I understood the brand’s vision and turned around a playlist within a few hours (read that right… hours, not days) that was youthful, fun and fit the image.
The show was full surprises including a diverse group of models, including Tik Tok stars and social media influencers including Nikita Dragun. In the front row, Saweetie, Lele Pons and Austin Mahone to seat… and mid runway show – a live performance by Ty Dolla $ign. In true Miami fashion, the show followed with an afterparty & I shut the mansion down with a live DJ set featuring all the trendy bangers.
RALPH LAUREN ROMANCE FRAGRANCE TOUR
I love collaborating with a timeless brand such as Ralph Lauren. The fashion brand’s newest campaign for one of their longtime fragrances, Romance, follows a classic New York love story.
While Romance has been part of Ralph Lauren’s fragrance collection for two decades, the campaign is an effort to re-introduce the scent to a new audience, and features model Taylor Hill and her longtime boyfriend Michael Stephen Shank in a short film and still campaign with Clean Bandit & Jess Glyne’s “Real Love” as the soundtrack.
With events scheduled in several different cities, including New York, Dallas and Chicago, the Miami event took place at Amara overlooking Biscayne Bay. Media & influencers were invited to an intimate soiree including specialty themed cocktails, fragrance samples and music by yours truly. Love was definitely in the air, thanks to This Is Lester for the gorgeous production and Ralph Lauren for providing my wardrobe.
MIAMI SWIM WEEK x SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
It was such a dream to be asked to not only DJ the Sports Illustrated swim show but to put together the perfect mix for the runway show. In a first for Sports Illustrated, the magazine’s swimsuit runway show held during Miami Swim Week opened with a model in a hijab.
Halima Aden’s Cynthia Rowley burkini, printed with “Don’t change yourself, change the game,” was the first look of the show, kicking off a presentation that featured diverse looks showcasing models of different shapes, sizes and backgrounds.
Along with Aden’s look, the show featured several plus-size models and included one woman in a wheelchair — Djaniel Carter, accompanied by MJ Day, the editor of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.
“After several years as a professional dancer, @djaniiel sustained traumatic injuries to both of her legs and has been battling an underlying medical condition that has yet to be diagnosed,” the SI Swimsuit Instagram posted. And Kathy Jacobs, the oldest model to walk the runway at 55 years old, stunned on the runway, while Christie Valdiserri, who lives with alopecia, was featured walking in a blonde wig before taking it off to reveal her shaved head.
It was the most inspiring and empowering runway show I have ever witnessed and I wanted to provide a soundtrack that embodied all those feelings. Blending both new tracks with girl-gang classics, the mix included music by Destiny’s Child, AluanaGeorge, and Lizzo.
Stream the soundtrack here: https://soundcloud.com/soundsbyyissel/sports-illustrated
MIAMI SWIM WEEK x 9th ANNUAL STYLE SAVES
Everyone’s favorite swim show returned for it’s 9th installment. Style Saves, the non-profit origination supplies underprivileged kids with school uniforms & supplies for the back-to-school season. Ticket sales from this show goes towards making sure thousands of kids have access to these necessities in an event later produced by Style Saves in August.
The fashion fundraiser returned to The Setai in Miami Beach with new designers and one veteran host, model & social influencer, Rocky Barnes. Guest were treated to a runway show with looks from lifestyle swimwear brands Kai Lani, Maheli Heli, Macaed and Abruzzo Swim, as well as shoes and accessories by Flora Bella and Mystique Sandals. In addition to fashion, this year The Setai provided some of their own live entertainment acts to collaborate with the show, bringing aerial acts & fire dancers to the runway.
A special thanks the designers who I collaborated with just days prior to the show, to provide runway music fit for each unique collection. Shoutout to a big list of sponsors including Tito’s Vodka, Miami Cocktail Company and Domaines Ott rosé; as well asHealth-Ade organic Kombucha, who all contributed to keeping us hydrated on such hot summer night. And of course thanks to friend & founder Rachael Russell Saiger who reminds us that philanthropy never goes out of style!
VICTORIAS SECRET INCREDIBLE BRA LAUNCH
DE BEERS BAL HARBOUR OPENING
De Beers celebrated its new home in Bal Harbour Shops with an exclusive, art-inspired event at Le Sirenuse inside The Four Seasons Surfside. The new store represents the third U.S. location for the legendary Home of Diamonds. The guest list included company VIPs, Miami socialites and influencers.
Aside from experiencing one-of-a-kind High Jewellery pieces, guests also indulged in cocktails while I soundtracked a Miami-eque lounge set accompanied by violinist Siobhan Cronin. The most fascinating piece on display that night was the De Beers Talisman Wonder, featuring a combination of 110 rough and 580 polished diamonds, with a total carat weight of 271. (which took over 2,000 hours to create, pays homage to ancient traditions while infusing it with a contemporary edge.) Also to celebrate the Bal Harbour opening, a limited edition cover inspired by nature was created for the De Beers Assouline book. The cover was designed in collaboration with Argentine-American artist Deon Rubi, a fixture in Miami’s art scene and whose work has been featured at PAMM and the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami.
Thank you to De Beers for lending me some of their beautiful jewels to compliment my look. (I admit, I rarely wear earrings because they caught in my headphones, but these were to die for!) And thank you to Kreps DeMaria PR for an elegantly executed production.
– Photos courtesy World Red Eye –
LVMH HOLIDAY PARTY
What’s a holiday without bubbly? And there was plenty of it last week! It was an honor to DJ one of the world’s most coveted brands, LVMH’s holiday party. In true glitz & glamour fashion, the event was held at the infamous Versace mansion with a Moet-infused welcome reception in the courtyard with the most gorgeous christmas tree perched behind Versace’s fountain. A Belvedere lounge was also created in one of the villa’s grandoise rooms while the main event took place out by the pool where clear glass was laid over to give the illusion of dancing on water.
On the playlist: classic Chaka Khan, George Michael & Prince jams and later for post-dinner dancing, everything from golden-era hiphop to modern reggaeton. Words can’t describe the beauty or energy of the night. Special thanks to ManMar productions & the Louis Vuitton Moet-Hennessy Travel & Retail division for including me in their holiday festivities!
– Photos courtesy of World Red Eye –