newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ALLISON RUPPINO

New Jersey's Celebrity Magnet Tom Murro got a "Jerseylicious" scoop from entrepreneurial fashionista, Donnella Tilery, who is the producer and founder of New Jersey Fashion Week. Tilery, Murro's friend and one of the biggest names in New Jersey fashion because of her recent exposure on the Style Network's "Jerseylicious", let stylists from that show work with her designers for the production of Fashion Week.

As a frequent attendee at New York Fashion Week, Tilery felt strongly that New Jersey deserved its own show. The only challenge was making a believer out of the people who doubted the sophistication of Garden State fashion. "First of all, everyone rolls their eyes when you say, New Jersey Fashion Week," said Tilery. "Everybody thinks it is this weird country with big hair, blue eye shadow; and it's not. There are a lot of people with money here."

The event, which brought in 600 guests a day, took place in October at the 19th century-style Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, N.J., and featured fashion and accessories from Italy, New Jersey, and New York. Tilery partnered with New Jersey Life Health & Beauty Magazine and raised thousands in ticket sales for the breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen For The Cure North Jersey Affiliate. Tilery has established Susan G. Komen as the charity she will continue to donate to in future shows, and next year plans to have celebrities walk down the aisle wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Speaking of celebrities, several showed up for the first ever New Jersey Fashion Week this past October. Tom Murro, Mrs. N.J. Claire Pavlinec, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey's" Kim Granatell, Caroline Manzo and Dina Manzo, along with "The Spin Crowd's" Jonathan Cheban and comedian/actor Joe Piscopo, were in attendance for the big night, as well as the entire cast and crew from "Jerseylicious." Nice to see Caroline and Kim together again.

The Gatsby Salon, Anthony Robert Salon, and The Glam Fairy each wanted a chance to work with a designer from Tilery's production. As seen on a previous episode of "Jerseylicious", Tilery interviewed all three of the salons featured in this reality show to make sure they were right for the job. "To be honest, I said listen, I'd like this opportunity, but I have to make sure they are really hair dressers and that this is not just a joke," she said. "So those interviews were actually real." As much as the salons would help out with fashion week, fashion week ended up helping out "Jerseylicious". The show received the highest ratings featuring Tilery and New Jersey Fashion Week.

Fans of reality TV programs might be getting confused as to what is appropriately called reality as there has been a lot of speculation regarding the validity of what people see, especially with a show like "Jerseylicious" that goes above and beyond with leopard prints, smokey eyes, and outrageous cat fights. As far as how real the show is, Tilery can confirm that sometimes raw emotions need to be re-enacted in order to capture the moment. One time she got angry with the cast for disruptive behavior. During this time, the crew found something she said to them funny, and asked her to repeat it. "And, I told them I was in the moment and really pissed off. I don't remember what I just said, and it's hard to be in that same frame of mind when you say it again," Tilery said.

Tilery can verify an ongoing feud seen on the Style Network show and debunk the negative perception viewers might have about a makeup artist who was recently introduced on "Jerseylicious". "The Olivia and Tracy feud is definitely real. They don't like each other for sure," said Tilery. "I was looking at the Facebook page, and I think Doria gets a bad rep. They say mean things about her on there, and she's definitely smarter than they portray her." Tilery was also surprised to learn that the clothes worn by the cast on the show are not provided to the crew by a stylist, but each person actually does purchase the clothing he or she wears. So in terms of their fashion sense, they each can take full responsibility. Tilery was also impressed by Tracy's talent and future potential, and would enjoy working with the Anthony Robert Salon again.

One group of artists she might not want to work with any time soon comes from a certain factory, The Glam Factory that is. Even though The Glam Fairy salon did a great job in the makeup department that night, they proved to be the most difficult to work with. The frustrating event involving Alexa occurred one of the nights of the Fashion Week. Tilery was getting her hair done when she received messages from the producers telling her there was controversy occurring on the other side of the Chateau. Although it was a previously known fact that each designer was expected to share all the models, Alexa and her designer were accusing another male designer of stealing their models. "So they were even instigating a fight between the designers and the models. I was like give me a break," explained Tillery. "I don't care about the drama as long as my runway comes out right."

Although the "Jerseylicious" crew could not put their drama on hold for one evening, the first New Jersey Fashion Week was still a success. Even the designer Elene Cassis, who showcased her talent in Tilery's show, has now been asked to be in New York Fashion Week. "It is kind of exciting to know that I had a designer of that caliber accepted to New York Fashion Week," said Tilery. "And that's what I want, I want to help designers build their portfolio with an opportunity whether it's on "Jerseylicious" or not."

Now that she worked on the first New Jersey Fashion week, she can start working on the second one. The official dates for the 2011 New Jersey Fashion Week will be October 9th-13th with pre-show events around New Jersey over the next several months hosted by Tilery, including some with Murro, to promote fashion and style in New Jersey. CelebrityMagnet.com will be providing the official 2011 New Jersey Fashion Week red carpet coverage. Hair salons, designers, and models are encouraged to come to these events leading up to the October show to mingle with celebs, fashion designers, and the press. Many groups eager to participate in the upcoming show e-mailed Tilery immediately after the airing of "Jerseylicious". Oxygen's "Jersey Couture" expressed interest in working with her as well. It must be a Jersey thing!

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