One of the highlights of this past fall was the Coterie, the EmpowHERment Project’s first ever events, gathering key members of the beauty world with the common goal to equalize the playing field for women in the industry. 250 industry professionals, both male and female, came to celebrate and support each other in the emotional and inspiring day-long event held at Metropolitan West in NYC.

Founded by Luxury Brand Partners (LBP) Lyndsey Bardnell, 3 groups of women were honored in three categories:

FRONTLINERS:

Kris Sorbie,  Barb Garcia-Grove, Macia Cole, Lisa Botts, Liz Diaz and Julz Coda - with a special award going to  Tanisha Akinloye.

CELING CRASHERS:

Vivienne Mackinder, Giovanni Gallo and Iris Kuo - with a special award going to Beth Minardi. 

RADGALS:

Alexis Thurston and Lena Piccininni and Coral Pleas, with a special award going to the Nine Zero One founders: Riawna Capri and Nikki Lee. 

Topics included “The Price For Success”, “Breaking Down The Barriers”, ”Life Crafting”, “Beauty Beyond Beauty School” and “The Heart of Hair.” 

Some heavy hitter presenters included Diane Fittipaldi who spoke about “The Unwritten Rules: The Role Gender Plays In Who Makes It To The Top” and LBP founder Tev Finger who admitted that all brands need to do a better job at promoting women.

This program was easily one of the most inspiring and moving events for our industry. Says Bardnell, "We were overwhelmed by the success of the Coterie.  Not only by the almost unanimous response, 'how can I get involved?  How do we do more?, but the quality of the experience itself. The women who shared their stories on
stage showed up in a way that was both fierce and vulnerable, and the level of connectedness and purpose that those of us who had the privilege of witnessing it in person shared, was unlike anything this industry has
experienced before." About future projects, including the Coterie and the EmpowHERment Project, Bardnell adds, "There is a lot of work to be done and there is an incredible desire and willingness from our community of amazing humans to do it.  We will be expanding our Council, our Ambassadors and holding another Coterie in 2018, hopefully with the sponsorship and support of even more of the industry."

MODERN will be there.