Darlene's Blog

I mean do they not think there is any way to a woman’s heart? Or that women have no stomachs? Or even have no hearts? Now there’s a thought. But I digress.

Whatever his chosen route, top chef Alan Foley has found his way to the heart of top stylist and TV presenter Marietta Doran. They spent their very first night away together at the Powerscourt Hotel in Enniskerry last Tuesday week. It was a wonderful night. How do I know this? Marietta told me.

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There was plenty of consuming passions as she and Al dined in the 5-star hotel’s Sika Restaurant before retiring to their suite to burn off calories.

The night before, the loved-up pair had been at the LIFE magazine Restaurant of the Year Awards (Alan was nominated for Best Chef Award) and decided to “dicky ourselves up again.”

Marietta and Alan, who are both from Carlow, have known each other since they were 15.

“We were never boyfriend/girlfriend we were just pals,” explains the Borris beauty. “After many years, we met up again last September when I produced a fundraiser fashion show in his family’s Step House Hotel in Borris. We slowly started to get to know each other again.”

Make that very slowly.

Alan, who is the Executive Chef at The Cellar Restaurant in the Step House Hotel must be part of the slow-romance movement, whatever about the slow-food movement. He asked Marietta out to dinner in February this year. Granted, they have been inseparable ever since.

“I am so admiring of Alan’s work ethic,” Marietta told me, “and his commitment to excellence.”

I’ve never heard it called that before.

Celebrity angst at Gulfstream gridlock

Hey here’s something Owen Keegan can’t control. The Dublin City Manager and his managers will be reaching for the traffic Xanax. Because this little number is not one an extra bike lane can solve: Gulfstream gridlock is expected next weekend. The seriously wealthy dynasties of the global racing establishment will be private-jetting into Dublin from all over the world on Saturday for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.

And they’re worried about the congestion. It can’t be easy having to deal with perfection anxiety, can it? I mean, what’s it like to have way too much money? Very stressful, apparently.

Made In Chelsea’s stress-free star Millie Mackintosh is flying in on Friday (with her minted parents Nigel and Georgina) and will stay at The Marker Hotel on Grand Canal Dock. Millie, who is one of the judges of the Most Stylish Lady on the day, is heiress to the Quality Street fortune and is going to that other quality street, Grafton Street, on Friday: she has an urgent appointment at Brown Thomas to be fitted for her Derby Day dress. Myself — I’ll be going in whatever’s not in the wash.

Minister Phil Hogan will be attending the lunch at the Dubai Duty Free marquee as their guest. His Excellency Khalid Nasser Rashed Lootah, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Ireland, will be there and Enda Kenny has also been invited. The lunch will be hosted by Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free and his wife Breeda. Invitees include Anne Doyle and partner Dan McGrattan, film director Jim Sheridan and wife Fran, and Gaybo and Kathleen. Your diarist gets celebrity anxiety around such big name hyper-achievers. As long as they don’t frighten the horses. The only mode of transport not controlled by Keegan.

Mr Norris turns a new Chapter

It’s official. After his liver transplant in hospital last week, David Norris has turned a new chapter.

On Wednesday night, he was the life and soul of Chapter One with seven friends (Chantal O’Sullivan and Dale Chihuly among them). When the senator arrived in the restaurant on Parnell Square at 8.30pm, the diners’ reaction was such that they might as well have stood up and applauded. And when the former Presidential election candidate eventually sat down to have his food (he ate from the tasting menu with the accompanying wines), well-wishers were coming up to his table almost as regularly as waiters with gourmet food for Norris and his party.

“He was in absolutely flying form,” co-proprietor and maitre d of the Michelin-starred restaurant, Martin Corbett told me. “By his whole demeanour and form last night, there is no doubt that he is in ship shape.” Indeed. The senator left at 1am, looking fit as a fiddle.

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Valerie Roe was looking similarly fab last week. The beautiful former lady of the nightclub at Lillies Bordello had returned on Tuesday from a holiday in Florida with husband Dennis and their 12-year-old son Josh. They stayed at the swish 5-star Longboat Key Resort in Sarasota, visited Universal Studios in Orlando, before Josh impressed his parents by being awarded Player Of The Week’ at superstar coach Nick Bollettieri’s world-famous tennis academy on 40 acres near Bradento.

Rocha’s Zoe sprouts wings

Just as John Rocha is taking a step back from fashion (retiring from London Fashion Week, dahlings), his daughter Zoe is branching out on her own. Or sprouting out.

She is leaving Sprout, Stephen Fry’s independent film and TV production company in London, to seek world domination.

Spare a thought for Mr Fry. He once told me of his young protégée who has been with Sprout since 2009: “It is absolutely safe to say that we’d be a) bankrupt b) imprisoned c) on the dole or d) the laughing stock of the media world if it were not for the fantastic professionalism, charm, brilliance and flair of Zoe Rocha.”

Be that as it may, Zoe is off to the Glastonbury festival next weekend with her musician husband Matt Tester (they married in London last December — with the beautiful bride in a gown designed by her internationally acclaimed designer dad and the likes of Guggi and Alex Zane in attendance.)

After Glasto, they are heading “straight off to France on hols,” Zoe told your diarist.

“We’ll catch up soon and I’ll fill you in on my world take-over plans!”

Just as John Rocha is taking a step back from fashion (retiring from London Fashion Week, dahlings), his daughter Zoe is branching out on her own. Or sprouting out.

She is leaving Sprout, Stephen Fry’s independent film and TV production company in London, to seek world domination.

Spare a thought for Mr Fry. He once told me of his young protégée who has been with Sprout since 2009: “It is absolutely safe to say that we’d be a) bankrupt b) imprisoned c) on the dole or d) the laughing stock of the media world if it were not for the fantastic professionalism, charm, brilliance and flair of Zoe Rocha.”

Be that as it may, Zoe is off to the Glastonbury festival next weekend with her musician husband Matt Tester (they married in London last December — with the beautiful bride in a gown designed by her internationally acclaimed designer dad and the likes of Guggi and Alex Zane in attendance.)

After Glasto, they are heading “straight off to France on hols,” Zoe told your diarist.

“We’ll catch up soon and I’ll fill you in on my world take-over plans!”

Bookish fun in Bonoland

Talk about making Hay while the sun shines. Ok, if you insist. I ducked out of the blistering rays on Wednesday eve into the hallowed cool of TCD’s Long Room for the Hay Festival launch. Hearing all about Hay were a trinity (sorry) of intellectual heavyweights — Provost Patrick Prendergast, broadcaster Myles Dungan and John Banville — who’ll be joined down in Kells on July 3rd (Trinners, Books of Kells — have you joined the dots yet?) by artistic supernovas Jung Chang, Louis de Bernieres and Liam O’Maonlai for a bout of Hay fever.

As it was Bloomsweek, I continued my bookish rambles yesterday in Bonoland for the Dalkey Books Fest which kicked off on Thursday with the great Robert Fisk talking about the Great War. The brainchild of David McWilliams and his delightful wife Sian Smyth, this is always a fab fest, but the couple surpassed themselves this year luring stunning Salman Rushdie who scintillated the locals before shimmying with the literati at local hostelry Ouzo’s. My dears, Dalkey hasn’t seen such glamour since Mrs O popped in for lunch.

Roberta Rowat to be a model mum

Roberta Rowat, the stunning ex girlfriend of 
Fiachna O’Braonain of Hothouse Flowers, is blooming gorgeous. The South African beauty is pregnant with her first child. She announced the good news to friends last week, adding that her husband Clint, who she married in LA last year, “couldn’t be more supportive and even rubs my swollen feet daily”.

Roberta, once one of Ireland’s top models with Assets, lived in Ireland for over a decade and dated Jackie Lavin’s son Gary for eight years. The pair were a glamorous part of the Dublin social scene.

There was no shortage of glam in House on Leeson Street last Saturday, akin I know, to saying the sea is salty or Eamon Dunphy is prone to the odd swear word or two.

Two of Ireland’s top models Hayley Ryan (gorgeous ex of Ireland rugby player Dave Kearney) and Faye Rooney (stunning ex of Ireland soccer player Sean St Ledger) came in after the Respect Ball at the Four Seasons. Hayley ­­looked particularly ab fab and bronzed, after a recent trip to Ibiza. She wore a backless white top and sat at the Buck Whaleys’ table along with fellow Assets models Michele McGrath and Jodie Wood.

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You’ve heard of food trucks – now fashion trucks plan to descend on Carmel this Saturday

Fashion will go mobile June 21 at Carmel’s City Center when five different fashion retailers roll up to sell their products from the interiors of specially modified “fashion trucks.”

Female fashion retailer Boho Pretty will sport a refurbished 1970s camper, complete with a sitting room and displays of clothing. The company, started by a pair of entrepreneurs, visits a variety of events, restaurants and breweries to sell its products.

“We like to provide affordable clothing and a good shopping experience,” said Amber Huber, co-founder of Boho Pretty.

The company also often donates 10 percent of their day’s earnings to a charity of the event organizer’s choice.

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“The whole concept is going mobile, going where people are,” said Heather Pirowski, director of Retro 101, a similar fashion truck business.

Retro 101, the first mobile boutique in Indianapolis, operates out of “Ellie,” a converted 1978 Chevy minibus. The company operates as part of the American Mobile Retail Association. Pirowski provides consultant services through the association, pointing new business owners towards the resources that will help make their own mobile retail stores take off.

“It’s a growing industry,” Pirowski said. “I’m there for people to ask all the time, ‘What kind of life do you lead? Where can I find a bus?’”

Retro 101 also teams up with other organizations for charity, including School on Wheels, an Indianapolis-based group that provides education to over three thousand homeless children.

Pirowski will be debuting a second truck for Retro 101 soon, nicknamed “Stella.”

The free event will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 21 in the interior plaza of City Center. A DJ will play music during the event and it will feature fashions from Boho Pretty, Ellen and Elvin, Genie’s Closet, Retro 101 and Urban Frenzy Boutique.

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Pedro Lourenço: Lauded as a wunderkind (at the tender age of 19) off the back of his debut collection at Paris Fashion Week in 2010, he was instantly on fashion's radar. More recently, Lourenço has embarked on a collaboration with M.A.C cosmetics! Before he delved into bespoke beauty, he collaborated with fellow Brazilian brand Melissa Shoes. The chic shoes from his first capsule collection starred in his Resort 2013 offering.

Havaianas: Thongs, flip-flops, jandals or sandals - whatever you call them, Brazilian brand Havaianas revolutionised them. Since hitting Aussie shores in 2000, they've populated feet in Australia and beyond, no matter what season or occasion.

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Barbara Cassasola: Making her debut in London just last year, Barbara Cassasola is now stocked in more than 20 countries worldwide. Cutting her teeth at the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London, she was hired by Roberto Cavalli as assistant designer, where she remained for three years. Her most recent collection is both contemporary and demure. Familiarise yourself with this designer darling now.

Virzi + De Luca: If it's good enough for internet retail giant net-a-porter.com, then more often than not, it's as good as it gets. Brazilian jewellery duo Virzi and De Luca were recently signed by the shopping site. Sexy, fun and altogether fabulous, these pieces make the perfect addition to your accessory collection.

Melissa Shoes: As much as Havaianas has changed the way we view plastic shoes, so, too, has Brazilian brand Melissa, which invites some of the fashion industry's most intriguing talents to collaborate season to season (including Brazilian counter parts Pedro Lourenco and Alexandre Herchovitch). Most recently it was Karl Lagerfeld, who has collaborated on his second, kooky, creative collection for the brand.

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I love the summer time. Wearing casual, loose cotton T-shirts and shorts are staples of mine.

As my fashion sense continues to evolve, summer should be included as part of my journey to becoming a fashionista. Well, OK, not quite a fashionista. I would be happy to be dressing a little on trend and feeling comfortable.

To guide me on my way to becoming a snazzier dresser is Terry Rosen, Sales Director for Sandstyle Canada Group of sandwich_ clothing, from Holland.

Terry shared with me the top trends for summer and how to put together an attractive, comfortable summer outfit. She said it is quite simple to be on trend this season with a few essential pieces, which will make the world of difference to any summer wardrobe.

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Top Trends For Summer

Colours - On trend for summer, brighter bloom tones like fuchsias, oranges and sea bright aqua... (love this!).

Fabrics - Natural fibres like cotton and linen blends are strong. Adding a fluid fabric like tencel provides many options for updating any wardrobe. The big trend are knits mixed with woven fabrics in the same garment.

Blazers and Cardigans - The essential piece this season is a versatile blazer in any style. Best investment is a solid colour, this can be worn with many different looks. Heavy jersey knit blazers or woven jackets with knit inserts, are easy to wear.

Accessories - Very big this season is adding a piece of jewelry or bling to your summer outfit. Great scarves, colourful necklaces, multicolour bracelets and fanciful printed shoes are great ways to spice up your wardrobe this summer.

We are all lucky to have different body types. How boring the world would be if we were all the same shape. Terry shared with me her top tips on how to dress for your shape, to feel the most beautiful you can be.

Different Body Shapes

Curvier On Top (that's me!) - Monochrome dressing will flatter the upper part of the body. Dark tops, open necklines and fitted waists will flatter. Wrap tops or dresses will look fabulous with a fitted jacket (not boxy).

Curvier On Bottom - Monochrome or dark coloured pants or skirts, with light colours on the top work best. Wide leg trousers and a-line shaped skirts or dresses will look lovely on you. Small, discreet shoulder pads in the top or blazer, can provide a nice silhouette.

Few Curves - You will look beautiful in low rise flared or boot leg pants with big back pockets, pleated trousers and coloured skinny jeans that are still hot this season. Shapely tops with draping or waist detail and a fitted jacket, with gathering around the waist will suit your frame best. A wide belt over a simple dress, flowy tops, full skirts with a wide waistband and horizontal striped tops will look fabulous on you!

I will be stepping outside of my comfort zone of T-shirts and shorts this summer and trying some of these tips so I can feel comfortable and beautiful.

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These Are The Fashion Designers Of The Future: Meet The Rising Stars of SCAD's 2014 Graduating Class

As a fashion school alum myself, one of my favorite parts of the job at Glamour is meeting fashion students. There's something about their excitement, taste for experimentation, that twinkle in their eyes with the conviction to someday be a household name— it moves me. Recently, I visited The Savannah College of Art and Design's Atlanta campus, which held an event displaying the graduate collections of their most prolific students. I had a chance to speak with them, hear about their dreams and take in their edgy, stunning, bold and sometimes wild collections. These, ladies and gentlemen are the fashion designers of the future. Let's meet some of the rising stars, shall we?

Tingting Feng

Born in Hangzhou, China, Tingting sought inspiration from the ballet. "I really liked the look of a garment during a pirouette in particular," she says, citing John Galliano as an inspiration. "The pleating within my collection represents the spinning of a ballerina and how the garment would move." Her longterm goal is to design Haute Couture.

Tracy Ann Wallace

With outstanding use of color, mixing of sporty textiles like neoprene and athletic mesh, Tracy created clothes that are nothing short of bold.

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Lin Han

Lin displayed her love of femininity and tailoring in her sophisticated collection that combines hard and soft. Here, she utilizes sheer illusion, weighty wools and fur.

Leah Michelle Smith

"Energetic." That's how this Livonia, Michigan native describes her collection of graffiti-printed sweaters, jackets and midi skirts. "My inspiration was the city of Detroit, a place near and dear to my heart," she says. "I was touched by the way the youth of Detroit find their voice through vandalism...graffiti is their way of getting their point across. I wanted to pay homage to my hometown."

Before starting her own line, she would love to work with designers such as Alexander Wang and Jeremy Scott. I could see myself working with people like Jeremy Scott or Alexander Wang.

Kelsey Greifield

Kelsey's first-ever fashion designs were actually Halloween costumes she made as a kid. "I want her to be fun, happy and excited about life," says Kelsey of the woman that she designs for. Kelsey developed her own print for this collection based on a drawing in her notebook and embellished her quirky pieces with goggly eyes from an art supply store.

Elaine Lui

Elaine's collection is actually designed for men, but I think it's just perfect for a downtown woman. She based the above print on the pattern found on the inside of LED strips. Fascinated with technology and the future, many of her pieces have working LED lights within, such as on this jacket's sleeve.

Angela Sandoval

Angela Sandoval wants to reinvent the wedding dress. As a former architecture student, Angela brought her passion for clean lines, geometry and texture into her dresses, which incorporate elegant, rough hewn silk and hand-knotted rope macrame.

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It is 2 o'clock in the afternoon and I am sitting in my flat with all the lights on. Two of my coats are hung on a door drip-drying. My cat is looking solemnly through her flap and thinking better of venturing outside. It is, to be perfectly honest, bloody horrible. A platter of grey with a side of spitting rain. Nevertheless, we are entering summer. I know this because I double-checked my calendar. So it must be time to start thinking about T-shirts.

My favourite is the plain white tee. While wearing one I fancy myself to have a hint of the brooding Marlon Brando about me (I obviously don't, but indulge my pathetic fantasy, please). Unfortunately there is an ethical conundrum with this wardrobe staple. As soon as I pull a white tee on, something happens to my co-ordination. If I'm wearing a dark top, I never spill food. Or dribble orange juice down my front. Put me in a white tee, though, and I develop the food and drink-wrangling skills of a newborn. It's embarrassing. And no matter what these washing-powder makers say, it is never easy to get stains out of white clothes. There will always remain, in my experience, a faint ghost of where I dropped a bit of chilli con carne or pea soup or whatever on to my chest. And that won't do.

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Consequently I tend to buy cheap white T-shirts – I favour Uniqlo crewnecks – and then get new ones every time I ruin them. And that's the ethical worry. Of course I'd much rather buy one or two lovely high-quality tees which would last for ages. APC and Alexander Wang do some beautifully soft, well-fitting ones. But I don't trust myself. Perhaps the thing to do is invest in a bib. Does anyone make adult bibs? And if not, why not? There's a clear gap in the market. Note to self: start business producing Trendy Adult Bibs. TABs. Potential angel investors feel free to get in touch.

Beyond the pale, there is a multitude of options. Stripes seem to be "in", although to be fair, stripes have been in for, and this is not an exaggeration, all of living memory. I wouldn't be surprised if Neolithic cave-dwellers went nutty for a bit of furry Breton. Floral patterns are also blooming (thank you) everywhere. If you must wear a floral-print tee, at least have the decency to team it with plain everything else. Clashing prints give me a headache.

A quick word on fit and style: never wear tight T-shirts. Never wear plunging V-neck T-shirts. If you obey those two simple rules, you will look fine. If you do not, you will look like a berk. A berk from Towie.

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Erdem Moralioglu has made the leap into the world of direct retailing.

On Thursday, the London-based designer launched his brand's new website and global e-tail platform, Erdem.com.

"It's a really interesting language that was initially really foreign to me. I wanted it to feel legible, like something that you could understand and navigate easily, but I also wanted it to feel personal, like there was content there that was interesting," Moralioglu told Style.com.

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Through the new website, which launched to coincide with the release of Erdem's pre-fall 2014 collection, fans of the brand can browse its collections, shop their favorite pieces or explore Moralioglu's world of eye-catching prints and experimental fabrics.

The site also features a number of exclusive styles for purchase, as well as some of the brand's collaborative products, such as the must-have lizard-embossed pumps made by Nicholas Kirkwood.

When deciding whether to open a brick-and-mortar store or focus on a digital space first, Moralioglu said that ultimately, e-commerce made more sense.

"When it came down to whether we should open up a store or launch e-commerce, and what order to do it in, e-commerce felt like the most natural thing to do first," the designer told Style.com.

"It would provide a platform where we could offer something to my woman on a global level."

But those Erdem fans located in London, won't have to choose between online or offline shopping for much longer because a physical Erdem store is in the works, although the brand has yet to reveal when it will open.

"It's something that we're working on, and we're excited about it," Moralioglu said.

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At Monday’s CFDA Fashion Awards, pop star Rihanna took the stage to accept the Fashion Icon Award from the grande dame of fashion — Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Never one to dress demurely, the Barbadian beauty wore a sheer gown designed by Adam Selman that exposed everything except her Social Security number — most notably, her pert nipples.

But the all-powerful editrix was all smiles, lending gravitas to Rihanna’s risqué fashion choice.

“This wasn’t a wardrobe malfunction,” says celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch. “It was intentional. You could not have done that on a red carpet years ago. A stylist would lose their job if there was a nipple showing.”

But while Rihanna’s bare skin was deemed appropriate for an awards ceremony, that hasn’t been the case on social media.

In April, photo-sharing app Instagram suspended the 26-year-old singer’s account after a topless picture shot for French fashion magazine Lui appeared in her feed. Rihanna responded by posting a covered-up photo of herself with a caption that read, “Rih’s next magazine cover if it was up to Instagram.” While Instagram insisted that the dust-up was a mistake, Rihanna ultimately deleted her account, which had more than 35 million followers.

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Which raises the possibility that the CFDA dress choice was more of a protest than a fashion moment.

She’s just the latest celebrity fighting Instagram for its habit of removing images of bare breasts as part of its controversial anti-nudity rule.

Last week, Hollywood progeny Scout Willis took a topless stroll in the East Village to protest Instagram, which had kicked her off its site for posting a snap of a jacket emblazoned with a photo of two topless women.

“What @instagram won’t let you see #FreeTheNipple,” she tweeted.

After her breast-baring stunt, Willis penned an essay for XoJane defending herself and bashing Instagram’s sexist policy.

“There are also some people who would criticize my choice to relate nipples with equality at all,” she wrote. “To me, nipples seem to be at the very heart of the issue. In the 1930s, men’s nipples were just as provocative, shameful, and taboo as women’s are now, and men were protesting in much the same way. In 1930, four men went topless to Coney Island and were arrested. In 1935, a flash mob of topless men descended upon Atlantic City, 42 of whom were arrested. Men fought and they were heard, changing not only laws but social consciousness. And by 1936, men’s bare chests were accepted as the norm.

“So why is it that 80 years later women can’t seem to achieve the same for their chests?”

While her actions have drawn a steady stream of criticism, others applaud Willis’ bold move.

“I think it’s commendable,” says Danny Agnew, the New York editor of men’s lifestyle Web site InsideHook, of Willis’ topless protest. “I think you have to do something a little extreme to get someone to notice. Plus I don’t think most people knew that it’s perfectly legal to be topless in the state of New York. I think it only becomes a big deal when people make a big deal out of it.”

Flash back 10 years ago to the polarizing moment when Janet Jackson’s nipple was revealed during her infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl.

Jackson was pilloried for her indecent exposure, which, according to the FCC, drew 540,000 complaints. The event became known as “nipplegate.”

It’s an issue that is getting increasing, ahem, exposure as the nipple continues to seep into the consciousness of the fashion world.

Rihanna wore a mesh top without a bra to the Balmain show in February, Miley Cyrus posed topless for W magazine that same month and, Sunday, Nicki Minaj sported a mesh shirt over star pasties that just barely obscured her areolas.

“I think people like Rihanna are trying to break down those boundaries, and some people will like it and some people will call her a sinner. But [Rihanna] is gorgeous. She’s in her prime and not doing anything that Madonna wouldn’t have done 20 years ago, if she could have gotten away with it,” says Bloch, adding that as risqué as her Madgesty was, she never flashed her nips on the red carpet.

While Instagram has publicly defended its policy, debate continues to swirl — especially considering that it’s not just photos the site is censoring, but other art, too.

Last month, Grace Coddington, the flame-haired creative director of Vogue, was slapped with a suspension after posting a topless cartoon she drew of herself. She responded by posting a drawing of her cats — one with a black bar obscuring its crotch area.

Agnew says some of his fashion photographer friends who post artful nude shots have also had their accounts scrubbed.

“[Instagram doesn’t] take into account the overall purpose of the photograph. It’s just, is there a nipple showing or is there not? Context doesn’t matter to them.”

Some argue that the new vogue for sheer fashions is just another form of such artful expression.

New York-based designer Ann Yee applauds boob-baring threads with a high-fashion bent.

“I think nip fashion is fine if done in an effortless and tasteful way. It’s been apparent in fashion for years; Rudi Gernreich’s signature black suit comes to mind. American culture has always been a bit hesitant to embrace provocative dressing, so kudos to Rihanna for being able to rock that dress.”

Bloch echoes the sentiment that the singer’s style has implications beyond the fashion world.

“I think we all know Rihanna doesn’t play by the rules,” he says. “She is a modern feminist.”

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Not many 7-year-olds get to strut down a runway with supermodels and actors, but Marlborough’s Samantha Marcia Stevens will do just that on Saturday in front of hundreds of people in Denver, Colo.

With a little help from her father, Brian Stevens, Samantha will for the second time in two years appear in the Global Down Syndrome Foundation's Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show.

Samantha was an ambassador at the foundation's fourth annual gala in 2012 and returns for this year’s event honoring all past ambassadors.

The Stevens family said the Global Down Syndrome Foundation connected them with medical professionals in the Denver area who have helped Samantha make significant progress and given the family hope that she will one day be able to walk and talk.

"Our goal is to make her life as happy as possible," Brian Stevens said. "I really believe in my heart and in my head that she will walk."

Stevens said last year he became the first parent of an ambassador to walk with his child down the runway.

Celebrities like jazz musician Quincy Jones, supermodel Beverly Johnson and "Scrubs" actor John C. McGinley are scheduled to appear at the fashion show, which aims to spread the word about the need for greater awareness and support to help those living with Down syndrome.

Samantha's mother Kathy said doctors told the family after a prenatal ultrasound that Samantha would be born with Down syndrome.

"We just take it one day at a time," she said.

The Stevens family has been dedicated to raising awareness for Down syndrome and giving to the cause.

In 2011, they donated $2.5 million to the Special Olympics headquarters in Marlborough and are currently completing projects at their home that will allow Samantha and other children with handicaps related to Down syndrome to work on their physical therapy and give them a functional environment in which they can learn and play.

Some of the projects include a harness system throughout the house, an outdoor playground for 60 children and an indoor pool.

"We're trying to be progressive with the families, too," said Brian Stevens, who refers to his daughter and other children with Down syndrome his "heroes."

Stevens said he has invited other parents and children with Down syndrome into his Marlborough home so that they can be close to local specialists and avoid hotel costs.

On an average day, Samantha attends school in Marlborough where she works with physical and occupational therapists, as well as a speech pathologist, Kathy said.

But on Saturday, the 7-year old will show off her individuality during the not-so-average evening of glitz and glam.

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