Tag Archives: Tadias.com

Preview: Tadias Interview With Amsale Aberra

June 29, 2011 Tadias Magazine 23 Comments

Update:
Click here: Full version of the interview With Amsale

Tadias Magazine
Interview by Tsedey Aragie

Updated: Monday, July 4, 2011

New York (Tadias) – In a recent interview with Tadias, Ethiopian American couture bridal-gown designer and entrepreneur Amsale Aberra discussed her new reality TV show Amsale Girls, her success in the fashion industry, her memories of Ethiopia, her musican daughter Rachel Brown and more.

Amsale, 58, who came to the United States from Ethiopia in 1973, is one of the most sought after bridal and evening-wear designers in the United States. Her sophisticated and elegant dresses are favorites among celebrities and she has dressed Hollywood’s A-list, including Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Kim Bassinger, Uma Thurman, Anna Paquin, Heidi Klum, Selma Blair, Lucy Liu and Katherine Heigl, among others. Kate Hudson filmed the big screen adaptation of Something Borrowed at Amsale’s Madison Avenue boutique.

Model Maya Haile wore an Amsale gown during her wedding to renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson at their reception in Addis Ababa.

Amsale Aberra’s new reality show, Amsale Girls, is currently airing on the women’s network WE TV. The six-hour episode series goes behind-the-scenes of this luxury bridal salon that caters to high-maintenance clientele, with gowns donning price tags of $4,000 to $75,000, revealing Amsale’s sales consultants as the best in the business.

Below is the preview of our interview with Amsale. It was taped in her office in New York City on Tuesday, June 28, 2011. The full video will be posted next week.

Watch:

Featured, Interviews, Podcast, Reviews

Sean John on Spur Tree And His Affinity for Ethiopia

April 2, 2011 Tadias Magazine 5 Comments

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Saturday, April 2, 2011

New York (Tadias) – Jamaican-born entrepreneur Sean John is the owner of Spur Tree Lounge, located in Lower East Side Manhattan. The hip and popular eatery, which was recently selected by MACY’s Culinary Council as one of NYC’s hottest restaurants, is frequented by tourists and New Yorkers alike, including Ethiopians whose country inspired the establishment’s logo. The menu combines Jamaican and Asian cuisine. But, the moment you walk into the restaurant, there is no mistaking Spur Tree’s subtle connection to Ethiopia.

In the following video Sean John discusses the success of his business, the story behind his logo, his affinity for Ethiopia and his extensive travels throughout the African nation.

WATCH:

Featured, Profiles

Spotlight On Fashion Designer Amsale Aberra

January 5, 2011 Tadias Magazine 5 Comments

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: Friday, Januray 7, 2011

New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian American fashion designer and entrepreneur Amsale Aberra is the subject of this week’s African Voices on CNN International. The program “highlights Africa’s most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera.”

Amsale, 57, who came to the United States from Ethiopia in 1973, is a New York-based bridal and evening-wear designer whose sophisticated and elegant dresses are favorites among celebrities. Academy Award Winner Julia Roberts wore an Amsale gown in the movie Runaway Bride. Aberra’s most talked about sale came in 2007 when ABC purchased an Amsale wedding dress for use in the season final episode of Grey’s Anatomy. As Time magazine noted: “When the producers of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy were looking for a wedding dress for Sandra Oh’s no-nonsense character, Cristina, to wear on the season finale of the hit medical show, they chose a $6,600 strapless mermaid style by Aberra.”

According to CNN: “Aberra is now gearing up for a new chapter in her career — her bridal boutique on New York’s Madison Avenue is going to be the subject of a new reality TV show, scheduled to air in the United States in April. She says she was initially anxious about the idea. “Many reality shows are about drama, about conflicts, and I wasn’t interested in that. But the concept is a pursuit of perfection. And it fits my principle, it fits the philosophy,” she said.

“When I design Amsale, I have to keep that bride in mind. She is simple, she is clean and sophisticated.”

Watch:

Cover photo via Saharan Vibe.

Art, Featured, Interviews, Reviews

Spotlight on Photographer Aida Muluneh – Video

July 25, 2010 Tadias Magazine 9 Comments

Tadias Magazine
Tadias Staff

Published: Sunday, July 25, 2010

New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh has been named the recipient of the 2010 CRAF’s International Award of Photography at a ceremony in Italy.

The 2010 prize, which was given to Aida by the scientific commission of CRAF, has previously been awarded to notable figures of the international photographic scene, including Charles Henri Favrod, Erich Hartmann, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Peter Galassi, Paolo Gasparini, Josef Koudelka, Joan Fontcuberta, Anne Cartier-Bresson, Naomie Walter Rosenblum, Alain Sayag, Margit Zuckriegl, Erich Lessing and Bernard Plossu.

“Aida Muluneh directs her attention as a photographer in particular towards the women of the African diaspora, concentrating on the bonds and the disagreements between the generations, the joys and the pains of life,” the organization said in explaining its reasons why it chose to honor the Ethiopian photographer. “Her subjects transmit, with a mixture of grace and power, the vicissitudes related to the phenomenon of the dispersion of the African people.”

The prize committee said the accolade is also a recognition of Aida’s continued efforts to establish a photography educational-institution in her native country. “In the year that CRAF has dedicated to Africa with the exhibit ‘Glimpses of Africa’, the International Award of Photography awarded to this young and very accomplished photographer – who is what’s more socially committed to the creation of a school of photography dedicated to young people, in Addis Abeba – is also intended to be in recognition of all of the young and emerging African photographers,” the group said.

In the following interview with Tadias.com, Aida talks about photography, working in Ethiopia, and her new book entitled Ethiopia: Past/Forward.

We note that photos displayed during her discussion of the book are not necessarily included in the book. The film clips and music, which accompany her interview, are part of the artist’s recent documentary movie also entitled Ethiopia: Past/Forward.

WATCH

The interview with Aida Muluneh was taped in New York prior to her most recent award. ( Kidane Films)

Events, Family, Featured

Ethiopian Soccer Tournament 2010: Spotlight on New York Team Abay

June 27, 2010 Tadias Magazine 8 Comments

Above: Team Abay has been described “Built New York Tough”
The group is one of 27 teams taking part at 27th annual Ethio
Soccer Tournament in San Jose, California. (Photo: TsehaiNY)

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Updated: Monday, June 28, 2010

New York (Tadias) – Ethiopians from across the U.S. are gathering in the Bay Area this week for the 2010 Soccer tournament – an event which also doubles as an annual cultural festival for the community.

The California festivities, which opened at San Jose State University’s Spartan Stadium on Sunday, features over 27 teams from various cities in the U.S. and Canada.

The annual gathering – which this year celebrates its 27th anniversary – goes far beyond sports entertainment, allowing families and friends in North America’s Ethiopian immigrant community to come together in celebration of both sports and their cultural heritage. The tournament week is a popular time for networking, alumni gatherings, small business catering, music performances, and reunion parties.

Stay tuned for our usual “Hot Shots” and other events coverage from San Jose.
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Ethiopian Business and Lifestyle