GREAT GATHERINGS | JUNG LEE

There's nothing that we love more than an event that is truly an experience that ties in the visuals, sounds, smells, and of course phenomenal food! For well over a decade, we have always enjoyed seeing Celebrity Event Planner/Designer Jung Lee's flawless attention to detail when it comes to weddings that have been featured in Vogue and Bride's, the red carpet of the 76th Annual TONY Awards in 2023, State Dinners at the White House, corporate functions and more. With the holiday season upon us, we wanted to find out how she got into this industry as her event planning and design production firm FÊTE and her store of curated items can be found at Jung Lee New York. We also wanted to know about her favorite projects, her creative process, and what she loves about the holiday season. We also got a few of her tricks in how you can execute holiday gatherings even if you don't have access to a celebrity planner.

ATHLEISURE MAG: I have followed you on Instagram for a number of years and have seen your work covered in Vogue. There were a couple of NY Bridal Fashion Week shows where I know we were attending the same events and I’ve seen you there. So, it is such an honor to be able to talk to you about your career in design, event planning, and event production.

When did you decide you wanted to be a designer and an event planner?

JUNG LEE: To be perfectly honest, I never thought in a million years thought that I would be doing what I am doing now!

AM: Interesting!

JL: Yeah! I never considered myself a designer and it was just because I was in it and I was getting frustrated with other things. So I thought I was just going to do it in-house and same for planning. Initially, how I thought about planning, in terms of a business marketplace where it is today, is totally evolved. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I thought that there was a need to sort of add professionalism and a different way to think about events and weddings. When I started a little over 20 years ago, we deconstructed what made up an event or wedding and sort of built it back up with what I consider – soul where there is a purpose, a strong point of view and it’s not just like, “oh, it’s this color scheme and whatever.” I guess I have a fairly strong personality and I like things with a point of view as opposed to, it could just be. I went into it with a business angle and I said, you know what? From what it is now, I can actually do a better job in telling a story. So it started from that and then as I started to get into events, I started learning more about the interiors and the event design piece of it.

I guess I was a little bit frustrated and my clients were a little bit frustrated. So I just started doing it and I’m somebody where I learn by doing. I used to spec build homes so I just sort of started to pick it up. So if I had a home, this is what I would want. I feel like at the end of the day, we all as human beings, we want similar things. Obviously, everyone’s taste levels are a little bit different. Our styles are a little bit different, so you want to be able to sort of be able to make adjustments to that. But fundamentally as human beings, we all want more or less, the same thing. So whether it be a home or an event or things like that. I just feel that I understood that quickly.

AM: I like the position that you take on that.

Where do you feel that you get your inspiration from? The depth of the events that you have done, whether it’s the red carpet for the TONY Awards or event planning for the White House, doing weddings that have been featured in Vogue or Bride’s – how do you decide where you are going to pull the inspiration from and where does it all come from?

JL: I mean, I think that inspiration is everything that we see. We don't even understand it. It’s just like all of the images, the films, stories, and novels – everything that we have sort of seen in our life. So, it’s not like, “oh, I’m going to work on this event, let me start.” It doesn’t work like that. For us, the work that we do it’s such a collaborative process. So for us, I really want to get to understand my couples or whatever I’m doing. So whether it’s Dr. Biden – I’m really trying to get into her head a bit. I want to tell that story and have it sort of manifest and unfold into basically tablescapes and color schemes, the candles, and have it where everything is sort of laid out. I mean, it’s not one place which obviously is not an easy answer. But it’s really a whole host of things and then the way that I think about it, I love sort of putting everything on the table and really editing it down and pairing it down. I love starting with more initially and trimming and trimming and trimming until it feels right. It’s like a constant play and it doesn’t stop until the actual install because we’re still editing, adding, removing, and tweaking. That’s part of the craftsmanship and the artistic side in terms of putting an event to life because it’s how it sort of feels and looks.

AM: I totally agree with everything that you said as I’m also a fashion stylist so that concept of always pulling from everything and in the pull I have more than what I need and as you get closer to the deadline whether it’s a photoshoot or my client is hitting the red carpet, then I’m refining and bringing it down to align with what my client is saying and the vision that I have. The final result is the culmination of the hours and adjustments that finally become the desired look. That’s a really cool way to look at it.

JL: Yes, it’s like that for all of the interiors and fashion and everything! We want a little bit more to play with.

AM: Exactly!

JL: 100%!

AM: When you take on a project. From sketching out the ideas to creating, etc. Where do you like to start?

JL: Again, there’s no one place for it. They come in in different ways. Like right now, we have a corporate holiday party that we’re doing that’s for my daughter and she has always loved making gingerbread houses. I don’t even know why, I don’t even like them – I’m not a gingerbread person really. There was something about this holiday season – so we constructed basically a gingerbread house that is like their office which is on Park Ave South and the whole invitation is printed onto it and it has all the things that make it. So, again, the ideas come from everywhere. So it just came from there, it wasn’t like anyone said, make this.

I love that what we do, we can always think about different ways to sort of create something and to present it to our clients. Fortunately, we have a really wonderful relationship with our clients and it’s like year after year, it feels a little bit different. I love the idea of having something that is edible and it’s great for families so that event was for family as well. There is information and a sense of whimsy and fun and it’s the most delicious gingerbread house. Usually the ones that are store bought aren’t so great! So you take it out of this giant box and it’s such an experience to see the invitation this way. So I take my inspiration from experiences everywhere honestly. It’s just, you see something at a store, a museum, an opening – and it’s not like you take that specifically, but it’s how you make it your own for that particular project and I think that that’s where the magic and all the excitement – at least for me is. I’m sure for you too as a stylist.

AM: Absolutely!

JL: I’m sure it’s the fabric somewhere, or a little clip, or a piece of jewelry.

AM: Yup!

JL: You start taking that and you start running with it. Same – so we get inspiration from everywhere. It can be something that I saw on the runway or a really beautiful interior. It could be a fashion period piece or an era – it’s everything.

AM: I totally agree.

What have been some of your favorite projects that you have been involved in?

JL: Oh my God, I mean all of our projects, they’re like my children. I love them all for different things. I mean, obviously, working at the White House on the grounds for France or inside the White House for the Republic of Korea which was super special for me as being Korean born. They hold very very special places in my heart. One was just the first time for the Biden Administration for when they did the State Dinner for France and it was a giant tent and it had never been done before. I loved it and again, we were just on the ground and the way that we had constructed it and sort of made the elevation – they really trusted us and they leaned on us in terms of how we saw it. We propped the tent up so that you could see the Washington Monument and the White House which was really special because that had never been done before.

Then, when we were invited back in the Spring and this time, we were able to do the State Dinner inside the White House, that was really special. We just brought in tons of cherry blossoms and all of the florals that made sense for Korea as well as for Dr. Biden for being the Spring time. So that was really special for me of course and they were so gracious and they invited us to it, like me, my mom, and my brother. So, that was phenomenal to be there at the State Dinner.

Obviously, working on the TONY Awards and again, it hadn’t been done the way that we had done it. So it’s not just a red carpet, being in Washington Heights, I didn’t want it to be a typical red carpet. So we chose a hot pink fuchsia which was fiery to me and I wanted it to feel like a little bit of the Dominican Republic in Washington Heights in the summer time. I wanted it to come to life so along with the backdrop that we had created, lots of tropical leaves and florals that were sort of coming out at you. So I love that it was flat, but also coming out.

AM: It looked beautiful!

JL: Thank you! We’re working on one now for the end of the year where we’re going to a small island off of Kenya for an end of year celebration and we’re getting ready to go there shortly. It’ll be 4 days of events, so all of these events and projects are culturally so different. We did a trip to Cuba before it was open prior to the Obama Administration and that was for the same clients. So, I have a tendency to sort of collect clients over the years and we end up doing so many projects with them because we know them, they know us and they know we will be able to take it up one step higher. That sort of connection with our clients is where they give us that trust where they tell us, you know us, what do you think? That’s really so important where they trust us so we can test out these things. That’s a lot of fun of course.

AM: What do you love about the holiday season?

JL: I know! This year just flew! I can’t believe it! I love the holiday season obviously. For me, there’s so many things. We’re insanely busy with holiday sets and installs and things like that. But I really think that it’s important for me to take time for my team who are so incredible. So treating them really well, treating my friends and family because the work that I do, I don’t have a lot of personal time. I love my work and there is definitely a very blurred line and it's just because I am so passionate about it so fortunately, work doesn't always feel like work for me. What that means is that I’m not with my friends and family as much as I want to be. So when the time sort of slows down because everything sort of stops, I love that. So I really like to spoil and treat them. So that’s my pleasure. I get to work hard and then I can treat the people that are so important to me. I really love that.

AM: Because we’re all planning our dinners, seating charts, and more – for those that are about to embark on their own holiday festivities that don’t have a celebrity planner that they can be assisted by, how can people approach creating their events? What are tricks of the trade that you use that they should do so that they can have fun and the experience is seamless and easy in terms of planning?

JL: I feel like for a lot of people, and young people specifically who have apartments, they feel so intimidated, but like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the better you become. You have to have a starting plan and I think that some people are so intimidated because they think that it has to be perfect. They’re exhausted before they even begin and that’s no fun.

I love a beautiful place setting.

AM: Same!

JL: I think that the notion of having as many people as you love at your home that you care about and fostering this community of this wonderful warm energy especially around the holidays is everything! I really believe in the energy of all of that and I love on it. I don’t think that it needs to be so fanciful, but the lighting, the music, you know. Getting some good wine or some champagne, it doesn’t have to be a fancy holiday cocktail. Do it if you want to, but you don’t have to. The most important thing is setting the mood so it doesn’t feel like such a big list. And again, great scented candles – to me smells, sights, and what you hear is the most important thing and that is everything in terms of setting the mood.

Whether they are frozen foods that you got to heat up, like quiche puffs or whatever – that to me is less important honestly. It’s about being together and setting a mood. That to me is far more significant rather than someone slaving over a kitchen and making things for days and days. That to me is silly. Because again, I hate waste and I feel that that’s a waste. Again, if that’s what you do, go for it, do it. But if it’s not, if you have limited time, you can get great food and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune and you can have it at home. To me, doing something at home versus at an event space or a restaurant, there’s nothing like it. Because the more you do it, the easier it will be. I just love the notion of getting your home ready to have people over. We clean our floors, we clean out our fridge and it’s that anticipation when we’re getting ourselves ready for it and I really think that when people do it, they will do it more often. It’s just good for our souls I think!

AM: I totally agree and I love the fact that you’re talking about people should do the things that are comfortable to them. Bringing foods in, frozen food options, spending time with people, and removing that stress.

One of my favorite things is that I love an awesome bar cart or cocktail nook and I also know that you have your store, what are 3 items that we should have or can gift to others that can elevate a cocktail/bar cart experience?

JL: I mean, I think that great little bowls and I love warm nuts because it’s the easiest things to do. It’s so luxurious when you’re having a nice warm nut. I think that a nice thoughtful gift like a great scented candle. We just got a new one in that I was in Paris and I smelled it and I thought, we have to bring this in and I do think that the French do make the best candle and scents because that’s where it all originated. It’s called D’ORSAY. We just got them in and I love them all! I think that going to someone’s home, a pet peeve of mine is that you bring them a bouquet of flowers, it’s hard for the host because now they have to take it and make it an arrangement unless it’s all sort of done and they can put it out. I love serving cake plates and domes and bringing sweets, but bringing it in a really beautiful cake stand. I like taking some store bought things and putting it on a nice plate and that afterwards, they have a nice gift to remember. I’m a big fan of that and I guess it sort of depends on people’s price points. As a hostess gift, you don’t have to break the bank, but I think that nice subtleties that feel a bit neutral that they can appreciate. I’m not a fan of gifting things that are too seasonal necessarily. I’m not into something that has a turkey or a Santa on it! I think color is more interesting if you are trying to do things that are for the holidays.

AM: Those are great tips as I always believe in bringing gifts and these are also great ideas to enjoy for yourself as well.

When did you get he idea to launch your own store, Jung Lee New York? I love the curation and it’s as tasteful as the events that you plan.

JL: You know, back to what I was saying earlier, people are all the same. Part of what I do in looking for things and constantly shopping for my clients and events that we’re going to do, and I shop everywhere. I think at the end of the day, everyone that I know, I don’t care between the billionaires to someone who is working in a finance job or someone who works in fashion, we all shop high-low. We go to Zara and we pair it with our Chanel bag. Everyone does that and I found that a lot of the home stores, it was either luxe or Big Box and I didn’t like that and I wanted to create a store that I would want to shop in for me and my clients!

That’s what I felt and to me I felt that we really represent the best $10 glasses to all of the Christofle and the Baccarat and everything in between. Because that’s how I feel that I live and how I feel that most people live and I like that. Everything feels luxurious and the cost may be whatever it is. So to me, everything in the store is a great piece. Obviously there are great investment pieces and certain things are just really nice. But I don’t think that a price necessarily dictates whether something is great or not. To me, I value – value. I handpick 90% of the items that are in the store and there are glasses that are $400 and I will pay for those as I think that they are so beautiful. There is a Saint-Louis glass that’s called the Les Endiables and it’s one of my favorite things and it has been around for awhile and you can use it upside down because there are 2 cups to it and I love the playfulness of it. Nobody does it like that and it’s not inexpensive, but whatever it costs, it’s worth every single penny in my opinion. Then there are glasses where I’m like, those are great and I love them and they are a $10 glass. Or I love an acrylic! The things that people bring home, I don’t necessarily think that it needs to be so precious because I think that people spend way too much time thinking about that. If you like it, bring it in! People are like, "oh my God, what if it breaks?” People buy a $2,000 pair of boots and you scuff them up and you have to get them repaired. It’s ok!

AM: It’s so true!

JL: You have to live and that’s the thing that I want people to realize. Enjoy life and live! It’s ok. You have a gorgeous ring, of course you’re going to wear it. You’re not going to leave it in the safe deposit box! I’m such a big proponent that you have to live life! Enjoy, get the best things possible. Don’t break the bank, be smart about it. People think months about whether they should get this or that. I love collections and I love knick knacks. There are certain glasses that I have that can all live harmoniously together on my Thanksgiving table. To me, it’s like a great denim, you pair it with your favorite designer silk top or whatever. You can go all denim and a white T-shirt or you can go a little fancy or you can mix and match. That’s what I think that tabletops should be. If you curate it properly, your fancy stuff should be able to work with your everyday stuff!

AM: Many years ago, I was a Home Manager at Anthropologie and that’s when I started really loving décor with all of the different plates, silverware, mugs, candles, packaged soaps, etc. So to have a Baccarat glass that is mixed with an Anthropologie Latte Bowl – it looks so good on the table together and it’s like a moment.

JL: Yes! I think the thing about it is that I think that between fashion and accessories, I think that people have a sense because they have been working on it and I think that with homes, they find it so intimidating. I think that’s why people go all white basic. People are so afraid that they just want to be all so safe. If color makes you happy, have some color. If you’re more neutral, that’s ok but you don’t have to have it all white. It’s like wearing white, all day long, that feels boring. I just think that your home should be like the best restaurant that you have ever gone to. All of the things that you use whether it’s glasses or small plates, it should be like, “I love it!” Silverware, I feel like people don’t think about it. I think it’s one of the most sensual things that you should have.

AM: 100%.

JL: You should love your fork, you should love the spoon that you use. You should love it and if you don’t love it, you should think about it and start acquiring the things that you really want.

AM: Could not agree more! There is nothing better than having your Sweetgreen salad and having a lightweight hammered copper fork to eat it with a stunning wine glass while you watch The Golden Bachelor solo or with friends! There’s something about that high-low that you can enjoy it while doing something casual that isn't tethered to a holiday season or special event. It’s just appreciating that moment and I don’t think that you should relegate those items to big/signature events only.

JL: Without a doubt, if you love it, you should do it!

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PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 48 Shawn Connell | PG 51 Dimirtrios Kambouris/Getty Images | PG 52-59 Erin Scott/White House Photo Office |

Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag and see GREAT GATHERINGS | Jung Lee in mag.

MANIFESTING THIS LIFE | CANDIACE DILLARD-BASSETT

One of our favorite reality franchises is BRAVO's The Real Housewives. It gives you a glimpse of a city with a group of women that are friends who open up their lives. You find that they are ambitious driven women who navigate their communities. The Real Housewives of Potomac is one of our favorites in this city specific series and when Candiace Dillard-Bassett arrived starting in the 3rd season, we met a woman on a mission who had an array of accolades under her belt while being focused on building her legacy. We talk with her about pageantry, her career prior to being on RHOP, the show, what the platform has provided, her music career and how she continues to give back to others!

ATHLEISURE MAG: In prep for this inter-view, I really liked learning about your background. You grew up with parents who both worked in the Air Force as physicians, graduated from Howard University and you worked in public service at the White House Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for President Barack Obama as well as serving as a staffer during his 2012 reelection campaign. Why was it important for you to begin your career in this way in public service?

CANDIACE DILLARD-BASSETT: I know that I grew up in a household that de- manded excellence. I grew up in a household where everyone was a professional. My parents were physicans, they have a military background and they raised me as well as my siblings to model that. They taught us the truth of being people of color in this country, how the world might not always see us in the way that we see ourselves when we’re surrounded by like-minded people who look like us and think like us.

I always tell this story, it’s funny. I wanted to be a doctor, I wanted to be a physician, I started out wanting to be a dermatologist, and I wanted to be an OBGYN. I think I must have gotten to the 9th grade and chemistry, algebra and calculus were kind of kicking my butt and I discovered that these were not my friends, so it let me pivot to something else that I am really good at which is communications. I love publc speaking – I love writing and I love aspects of journalism. I ended up being co-editor of my yearbook and co-editor of my newspaper in high school. I love to read. So, thank God, that I found something else because that math got me!

I want to encourage women who are going out in those fields for STEM because it’s so important and it’s something that we need to have more faces there that look like us there and showcase that representation. I’m a cheerleader and I’m in the back in the hallways saying, “go my STEM sisters!” But it’s just not my ministry. You have to know your strengths.

AM: That’s totally true. I thought about med school and then law school, but then you think about those years and the kinds of studies involved and I just kept continuing to code and work in fashion. But I love seeing those who are deeply involved in STEM and STEAM – all of that! So, you were Miss United States 2013. I never did pageants personally, but I have styled projects with Virginia Limongi Miss Ecuador 2018 ahead of her competing for Miss Universe as well as Nia Franklin Miss America 2019. I love this element of the pageant world as it’s more than looking beautiful as there are these other facets to it. Why was it so important to you that you wanted to do that and how important is that for character building?

CDB: I’m a pageant girl for life. I started competing since I was 5 years old and it was just ingrained in me. I will always speak up and speak about that part of my life because I always want to serve as an example of what it truly looks like to be a product of the pageant industry and of the pageant world as a whole, because there is this stigma – this neg- ative idea attached to women who compete in pageants that we’re dumb, we’re self-absorbed that we are mean – cutting each other’s dresses backstage, cutting lipsticks -

AM: Breaking zippers!

CDB: Yeah all of that stuff!

AM: I was a cheerleader – so yup!

CDB: Same! So you understand! So there’s that Toddlers and Tiaras sort of trope that people always ask me when I say that I have competed in pageants, “oh is it like Toddlers and Tiaras?” I mean, yes there are some aspects of the pageant world that can be superficial and that can be seen in a negative light, but my experience in all my years competing and I have competed a lot, I have always felt uplifted and empowered, seen and heard and loved. It’s where I learned to identify who I was. Where I learned how to brand myself, where I learned how to speak up for my- self and be an advocate – not just for me, but for causes that I believe in. I learned how to communicate those things in a way that was palatable and respectful and made sense to different audiences. I credit my mom and pageantry for all of those things. Some of the most brilliant women that I know – doctors, lawyers, scientists, inventors, dancers – you could not imagine the pedigree that you find in pageantry, and it goes far beyond just smiling, waving and being a robot. That’s only one aspect of the game of the sport because I do feel that it is one. I’m so proud to be part of it!

AM: You also have an agency where you help other people in the pageant system. Can you talk more about that?

CDB: I founded my consulting firm Candiace Dillard Pageant Consulting for the very reasons that I explained. After I won Miss United States, I found myself being a coach on accident – being someone that is empowering women around their pageant journey. It was my director at the time, Laura Clark who is now the director of The Miss Earth United States Organization – she’s a bad B! She’s a bad woman, I love her! My makeup artist at the time, Melissa, we were sitting in the hotel room and I was helping to co-produce a pageant for them one weekend. We were talking about me helping the girls and we were talking and they said, “this is a business – why don’t you start a business?” I was like, “no, why would I do that? I could just help them.” They explained that I could do it for free but when it could be framed as a structured enterprise that has tiers and everything that these women need to truly get the most of this experience by someone that has been through it.

I was like, ok and it was born! I have coached over 500 women to different titles and different places. Obviously have not been as active lately because I can barely keep an eyebrow on!

AM: You’re just a bit busy!

CDB: It’s always something that I go back to. My girls – they’re my friends, my sisters – I call them my pageant sisters. They’ll call me and let me know what’s happening. Even the little girls that I have coached, I have watched them grow up and compete as junior teens and now they’re in the Miss category. They’re like my little babies and they have just flourished. It’s rewarding to see and it’s work that I would do for free.

AM: I think that that’s amazing when you’re able to give back and infuse peo- ple in that way. You’re always going to remember who shined a light on you and to do that across all the people that you have mentored – it’s phenomenal.

CDB: Of yeah, it’s so rewarding and I would do it for nothing – just for fun. You get to play dress up, help women decide who they want to be and you’re doing it with them! It’s like having your own children helping them out and I love opening doors or women who are al- ready so special, intelligent and wise. It’s just giving them that polish and tweak that they need to accomplish their goals in the same way that I was fable to use pageantry to accomplish mine.

AM: I don’t know how you sleep because you also have a successful hairline, Prima Hair Collection by Candiace Dillard. Why did you want to be involved in the hair industry and why are you so passionate about it?

CDB: Prima Hair Collection was really a spin-off of pageantry so I love that you put those questions together. When I was competing coming up in the 90s, it was hard to find hair extensions that worked, were human hair, that came in different lengths, different textures and different colors that worked for me and worked with women that looked like me. We were stuck with synthetic hair or bad weaves or very expensive extensions because there was a monopoly on the market. There are a lot of different hair extension companies that you can choose from now, but I still had a passion for sector of the beauty history. It was my mom who said, “this should be a business.” There’s that theme where it’s always a woman empowering me to see something great for myself. It was my mom this time and she said that we were going to do it. I was like, “really we are, yay!” She helped me do the re-search and she gave me the investment. She purchased my first large order of hair. My sister got involved and 7+ years later, we are a full-service company that does business across the world. We have international clients that will clamor to get Prima hair. We are looking to move into other products soon. I have always seen myself move into other hair care products. I see myself at some point moving into skincare – I love it so much!

AM: I could see that!

CDB: Yes, but that’s really something that I would want to take my time with and find the right people, the right chemist that will ensure I’m putting out the products that I would use myself. But that’s down the road. Right now, Prima Hair is still kicking and we’re moving into other hair products.

AM: I think it’s amazing to hear this. I graduated from college in 2001 and the first 6 to 7 years, I was modeling and what it was like then to model as a Black woman – some people didn’t know how to do my makeup, you brought your own items! When we launched this magazine, 6 years ago I said that it was unacceptable for a hair or makeup person to come to set saying that they couldn’t work with various skin tones and poking around.

CDB: Yeah! We have had to learn to bring our own makeup for ourselves and to do our own hair. Right now, if it’s not one of my own makeup artists, I’m like, “I’m ok, I can do it myself.” You just come conditioned not to feel seen and not to be represented in those spaces.

AM: It’s so sad. We had someone come to set, is super accomplished and she brought 3 bags of her own makeup and it broke my heart. To know that she was known and she still felt the need to do that, I told her that she didn’t have to do that and we had great talent on set. Of course, our MUA killed it but seeing that the feeling still exists even after all of this time – it broke my heart. I always enjoy hearing that people like you and others are doing the good work!

You joined the cast of RHOP in the 3rd season. I already loved it when it first came out and then you stepped on the stage and I was excited as your personality is like my own. What made you see this and want to be part of it?

CDB: So, I can remember – I’m originally from Georgia – when The Real Housewives of Atlanta started, I thought, “oh my God, a show about Atlanta.” I watched with my mom and we were all engrossed in the show and then of course, I went off to college in Howard and then I was living in the DMV which we call the DC, Maryland, Virginia area and my best friend called me and asked I had heard about this new Black Housewives show. I hadn’t, but then I started watching. It was exciting that on a network like BRAVO that is very popular and well known and very much engrossed in pop culture – Atlanta was the premier show for women of color and here we are now with the second iteration of women of color in this franchise. This was exciting. I wanted to know who the girls were and at that time, I had been here for 14 years – a long time. I came to Howard in 2005 and I never left. I wanted to know who was on the show, what they were wearing and where they were going. I was interested and I was watching it with my boyfriend at the time, Chris and I thought, why am I not on the show? I knew I should be on this show and I remember praying about an opportunity to be on the show. I said, “listen God, if You give me the opportunity to be on this show, I promise that I will glorify You and I will use it as a vehicle to be a catalyst to accomplish all the things that You said that I would have.” Literally, the next year I was getting a call from the casting director – the Power of the Tongue. I live by it – I manifest with the Power of the Tongue. Speak what you want – that’s the message of today.

AM: Are there things that you had to consider when you knew that you would be putting your life out there and did you think about aspects involving bringing friends, family and your relationship on there?

CDB: Yes, so obviously, I had to talk to Chris. At the time, we were not engaged. We had talked about it and he had explicit instructions on what that ring would be.

AM: Check!

CDB: My mom – I didn’t worry about her because if you watch the show, you know that that woman was made for TV! She created me – my mom named me after Candice Bergen from Murphy Brown and Dominique Deveraux played by Diahann Carroll from Dynasty. So she knew what she was doing. So that lady knew what she was doing. That lady was ready! I didn't have to tell her anything except what time and where she had to be!

AM: She might have outrun you to get there!

CDB: EXACTLY! She was getting in there. Chris and I sat down and we said that we wanted to do it and we wanted to use the show, like I said, as a catalyst and a vehicle to accomplish our goals. We agreed upfront that it would be us against everybody and that we would never allow anything to infiltrate our relationship and that we would do it until it wasn’t fun anymore. Those were solid conversations that we had. So far, we have stuck to that and we have been able to use the platform in a way that has been beneficial in our careers. I’m so grateful to BRAVO and to our production company because they have allowed me to get married on the show, truly start my music journey on the show, my acting on the show and my hair business on the show. You should come in and want to use this platform to advance yourself. Being a career housewife is wonderful, but I know that there is more to do beyond the platform and so I’m here as long as it serves me and then it’s on to the next.

AM: So, how long do you guys film for?

CDB: We shoot for about 4 months.

AM: That’s a chunk of time.

CDB: Yes and it’s a stressful chunk of time because it’s a job. You are with the pro- duction company for that entire period of time and you have to tailor your life to that time. Luckily, the show is a docuseries so they’re following our lives. Most of what we’re doing, they’re following. The more you have going on the better and I have too much going on this year! It’s making my edges fall out! The plus and the minus is that having a lot going on is great, but it is an ensemble cast, so a lot of things that are happening in your life, may not make it and may stay on the cutting room floor. They have to get equal amounts of everyone's story. So they pick and choose what makes it and we have no control over what makes it. So that’s always an interesting journey to go on to find out that right before it airs, they cut that whole story out and it’s like they shot 5 scenes for that and it won’t air.

AM: My favorite scenes are the confessionals because you’re glammed up and you’re talking about what you thought about something that is taking place on the episode. How do you come up with the outfits that you’re going to wear?

CDB: That’s always really fun! Shout out to my style team - my hair and my make-up glam team and my stylist. We come together and we decide together what we are going to do. So, one of them – sometimes it won’t be my hairstylist, my wardrobe stylist will send a hair look that she thinks would be amazing. My hairstylist, Stephanie will say that she loves it and my makeup artist Kendell will say that this is a great look to go with it. We then piece it together. One thing that people may not know is that we shoot the same look, multiple times. It’s always a challenge to find a look that is intricate and unique, but can be recreated. I’ve had braids twice now and braids are tricky because you shoot with them when they’re new and then you come back and shoot with you again in the same look in a month or month and a half and you’ve been running around in the world living with those braids and you need a touchup. But what I do, is that I have a headwrap when I have braids and you can’t tell when my roots start to show. I love confessionals, it’s like playing dress-up and you’re talking and chatting with your producer, saying what’s happening, being funny and being shady while having some champagne.

AM: It’s safe to assume that you will be back for the 7th season?

CDB: Well I think I saw somewhere that someone at BRAVO had to make an announcement that everyone was asked back because I made a little bit of a cryptic tweet and it had the Internet in an uproar.

There are just days where trolling is my ministry!

AM: It is what it is!

CDB: So yes, that was a funny day because my publicist told me that everyone was calling and E! wanted a statement and I said that they would be fine! So, I think that everybody is coming back.

AM: Like you said, you’re always using the platform to share your body of work and interests. We have seen your music career on the show and now DEEP SPACE, your debut album is out! How was that, you released it fall of last year – you’ve had over 2M streams – it’s amazing!

CDB: It’s crazy! It’s surreal because I had always seen something with music happening in my head and it really started when Chris and I got married and I knew I wanted to perform a song for him at our wedding.

AM: It was a beautiful song.

CDB: Thank you. I See You was my first recorded song. Originally I wasn’t going to do an original piece. I wanted to do a Toni Braxton song – she’s perfect at love songs. My wedding was being filmed for the show and my producer said, if you want us to capture you singing, you can’t do someone else’s song. For those that may not know about television is that there are so many rules and one of them is that you have to keep in mind the licensing. Toni Braxton is gong to demand the fees of herself, the producers, the writers and her label. That could be $40K or $100K for the show to play her song on the show and they said they weren’t going to pay that.

So I thought I would write the song and I worked with Veda Whisnant and my good friend Cliff as well as the gentleman who is now my music director, Aaron Hardin. They created I See You and that was the snowball effect and people were looking to work with me including Chucky Thompson, may he rest in peace. He did a disgustingly amazing job on the I See You the Go-go Remix – Go-go music has been a huge part of my life since I have lived in DC. It kind of snowballed from there and got bigger than what I thought it would. I knew I would put out a few songs, but then as I continued to move through the music industry, it went to doing an EP, to doing an album to performing live – it just materialized before my eyes. It’s still going!

AM: What’s it like to have Anita Baker, Nicki Minaj and Toni Braxton to bless your work? I’ve been a huge fan of Anita Baker’s work and have such a respect for her and obviously, Toni Braxton and Nicki Minaj are amazing as well. What has that been like?

CDB: I don’t even know! I have no words. When you grow up listening to these voices. For me who has a lower register, I never felt confident about my voice. Every- one celebrates Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston that has these soaring Soprano voices and I never felt like I heard anything like my voice until I heard Anita Baker, Toni Braxton and Brandy who I love. They liberated me and helped me to be proud of my voice and showed me what I could do with my voice and I studied their voices to really feel like I could sing and that I could use my voice to emote and be an artist. I owe them everything. What do you mean that Anita Baker knows who I am?

AM: I read that twice and was like, oh – Anita.

CDB: It’s still crazy to me. It’s like shut up, I can’t believe that.

AM: And yet, it happened!

You came off the Femme it Forward Tour – how was that? SWV, Faith Evans and Mya? That’s some legit superstar magic right there!

CDB: Not me – them! I’m still processing.

It's just unbelievable because again, these are Black women in R&B that wrote the soundtrack to so much of my life in the 90s and on. They wanted me to be with them on their stages, on their platforms and they respect me and they see me. That is heavy, but it’s also light in a way because I’m doing all day – that’s where I am with it. I wouldn’t be there if I wasn’t worthy and I’m just trying to live in the worthiness of it if that makes sense.

AM: It totally does! Once again, you’re manifesting up a storm. You’ve been on Netflix’s Family Reunion and being on BET’s The Christmas Lottery. The level of creativity that you have embraced and do, what does it feel like to know that it’s ok to embrace on all of these activities and to nibble on them, try them and to make it their own way. There are so many people that shy away from taking on so many things especially when they are not in the same area and I always encourage people to lean into it.

CDB: I feel like if I didn’t do all of the things that are inside of me, I would explode. It just has to come out. Some- times it doesn’t make sense and some- times I’m exhausted and sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing and I feel that sometimes.

AM: And that’s ok.

CDB: Yes, it’s ok to not know what you’re doing. If you’re following your heart, you’re following your dream, just follow it. You don’t have to ask questions – you just need to follow it and be led by it. That’s what’s calling you and you have to trust that if you’re spiritual or not but that which is leading you is coming from a higher place. That’s literally it. Some- times I’m like, “girl what are you doing and I’m like I don’t know.” But I trust and I continue and then I see the fruits and then I know why it makes sense. That’s why there is a DEEP SPACE, that’s why there is a Family Reunion, that’s why there is a Water in a Broken Glass – whatever projects I’ve worked on and there's more - so much more that I want to do in the acting realm episodically and on the big screen. I want to continue to tour and collaborate musically with new people.

AM: You’re just flowing. I always say that – I say it, I pray it, I step out on it and I just pray that God catches me.

CDB: Yasss! That’s all you can do.

AM: The rest will be figured out and if it gets messy, we’ll figure it out and make it to something else.

CDB: Exactly.

AM: Tell me about My Sister’s Keeper and why you wanted to create this organization?

CDB: So this goes back to pageantry. It was competing in pageants that led me to feel like I could create an organization that truly empowered women that were not in a position to receive resources in the same way that I was. I was a student at Howard University and it’s located in NW Washington DC. There are no gates, you are in the city. You are a part of the fabric in DC and that’s not always attractive. There’s homelessness, there’s crime – it’s a lot of pieces to that puzzle. The school directly across the street from Howard was Banneker Senior High School. I used to tudor there and I noticed that there was a lack of guidance for a lot of the young women who attended school there and just in general as I maneuvered through DC, I experienced the youth in the area – particularly in lower income areas in SE DC. I felt like I could help and part of it was ignorance. I grew up in a way that I hadn’t seen that with my own two eyes. So when I’m out in the world and I’m now doing my own thing, I realized that I had all these resources and I had someone who reared me, taught me and showed me – I said I could do that and help with that. That’s how we started. We go into schools that are mostly in the DC area and just have conversations with these young women.

We do these things called a Girl Talk Circle where we sit in a circle and put questions and thoughts into a bowl and pull them out and talk about what they’re feeling or thinking. Sometimes a girl will own it and sometimes she won’t but that’s the point. You can have an issue and not be judged. I have integrated My Sister’s Keeper into Candiace Pageant Consulting because everyone is not cut out for pageants, but you can tell when a young woman has that spark or that je ne sai quoi piece that she could rock a stage or that she could be good in this space. It’s a great way again to iron you out and give a woman poise and purpose. You have to know who you are in order to compete and it forces you to figure out who you are and I want it for all women but especially Black women because we’re not first. No one is giving us the right – it’s not a privilege – the right to feel empowered and to feel that we can have whatever we what.

AM: And to understand what the game- board is and to navigate that! And to do it one way versus the other way. Although, you might have to dig in that bag every now and then again too.

CDB: That’s part of it too. It’s knowing how and when to code switch and when to use what resources where and how – yeah!

AM: Are there any other up and coming projects that we should keep an eye out for because I feel like you’re this till that keeps on springing forth.

CDB: YES! Part of the reason why I am so tired is because I was finishing up one of my final classes for my MBA program at Howard. You’ll be seeing graduation very soon and at the same time, I made this 14 slide pitch deck that I had to do for this class, I was in the studio recording new music. I am really excited because we are going to be doing a deluxe version of the DEEP SPACE album and that will be set to come out some- time this summer! I haven’t talked about that, that’s an exclusive to you guys!

AM: I mean, you just dropped your album - last fall!

CDB: It hasn’t even been a year – I know we dropped it in Sept. But you know, I didn’t want to get stale and there’s so much left to sing about and there are so many good tracks, such good music and so much to write and I have such a cool writing team. I’m newer to writing music. My team is really patient with me and lets me make changes whether I don’t like something or I want it to feel more like this or that. We make it work. So I have been in the studio for the last 3 days so I’m finishing that. That’s done and I’ll be listening to the songs ad nauseum so I’ll be sick of that ha! But we’ll be piecing them together. It’s in the works – but a TV series that I can’t say a lot about but it’s in the works. I would be playing someone that is not a whole lot like me which is exciting and it will be shooting right here, so I wouldn’t have to leave the area which I’m excited about that! So look out for that coming out soon! I think that’s it – music, TV, the show – you’ll get all the entertainment from RHOP.

AM: Every time you hit the screen on RHOP, I’m like ok, what’s happening now ha!

CDB: It’s a mess, my God. Me enjoying life, married life and I’m still decorating my house – just living!

IG @candeegal09

PHOTOS COURTESY | PG 34 - 38 Paul Morigi | PG 41 -49 +9LIST STORI3S PG 154 Candiace Dillard-Bassett |

Read the MAR ISSUE #75 of Athleisure Mag and see MANIFESTING THIS LIFE | Candiace Dillard-Bassett in mag.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS WITH KAL PENN

As we get closer to the election (national, state and local), we've all been thinking about the issues, what we want our next 4 years to be and who will get us to where we want to go. This month's cover is Kal Penn who we have enjoyed in House MD, Designated Survivor and of course the Harold and Kumar movies. Kal has always had an interest in civics and even took time from acting to serve during the Obama Administration as the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.

We were excited to hear about Kal Penn's new show that launches on Sept 22nd, National Voter Registration Day on one of our favorite networks - FreeForm. In Kal Penn Approves This Message, he talks about the issues in this non partisan show to get voters prepared and empowered to vote. We find out more about this show that he hosts and executive produces, how it ties into FreeForm's larger PSA focus and what he was surprised to learn.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We know that you’re the Co-Executive Producer and the host of Kal Penn Approves This Message. Before getting into the show itself, why did you want to create this 6 episode series?

KAL PENN: That’s a great question. Over the last few years, I’ve had different producers and folks reach out and say that they had this political show and they were looking for a host and what I thought of it. Those shows were fine, but they were a little more vitriolic and polarizing than I would have liked. It’s not really my thing and so when we had this window of time during this pandemic, my writing partner Robin and I were brainstorming and we thought about shows that we liked. I liked the Daily Show and I love CBS Sunday Morning – so what if we combine the two and had a show that was funny first and comedy morning. The monologue instead of talking about the 24 hour news cycle, what if we made the monologue about a particular issue? It’s funny, but it’s nonpartisan and it’s issue based. That way your field piece which is very funny, would be an extension of that which is around the issue and then your guest instead of someone who comes on to sell a book - and there is nothing wrong with that as I hope to be able to do that one day soon BUT for now, what if your guest was someone who was an expert in their field as opposed to someone who needed to sell the book or the movie which is the traditional guest bookings. In that case, your interview should end with some sort of call to action that people could take regardless of their political views if they care about a particular issue. Leading up to the election, it seemed like the best way to couch that for the miniseries leading up to the Nov election. If we’re lucky enough to get extended beyond that, then it would be on civics things broadly. So that’s kind of how it all came together.

AM: That’s very cool!

KP: Yeah, thank you.

AM: How important is it to tackle the issues of the day to empower Millennials and Gen-Z voters when they’re hitting the polls?

KP: Very important! I think that you look at of course the Presidential Election takes up a lot of the airwave space. There are so many local and state elections like school boards that people are voting on and a lot of those things have an impact on our communities much more than who sits in the White House on a day to day basis. They all go hand in hand though.

Some of these elections are being decided on by just a handful of votes. That’s the difference between whether you and your 8 friends showed up to vote or not. It can be pretty critical. Even in terms of the Presidential Election, of course if you live in a battleground state, your vote is weighted so much more than if you're a NYer or in Oklahoma. But even in NY or in Oklahoma, we get this question a lot – “I’m a Conservative in NY or I’m a Progressive and live in Oklahoma, my vote doesn’t really matter right?” It’s like, no it does because if enough people with your point of view even move the needle to where you see, "wow we have a 2 or 3% uptick of Progressive voters in this district in Oklahoma or vice versa with Conservative voters in NY”, the people in positions of power have to take that into account. They have to decide, “am I going to represent these people or will they get replaced one day because I’m not,” with this district moving into a particular direction. It’s all those reasons. So man, it’s so important for those couple of reasons that make a difference.

AM: Was there a specific issue that you guys will focus on in these 6 episodes where you learned something surprising in that episode or something that you hadn’t thought about previously?

KP: There’s a lot yeah! Even in our first episode, it’s about the youth vote in general and how the voting age got to be 18. So we were like, “ok how did the voting age get to be 18?” I remember it’s the 26th Amendment and it was passed in the 70s right?

AM: Right!

KP: Ok, there was that, but then it’s like, how did that happen? And the point of origin for that is after WWII all of these service members were coming home and they were 18/19/20 years old and they had just fought the Nazis and they come home and they’re not allowed to vote because they’re not 21. So they start this movement to get the right to vote at 18 – the age that you could go off to war to die for your country. It took decade just for that to become the 26th Amendment and that’s insane that it took that long. The reason why we talk about it is that it is an opportunity to recognize why we all have the right to vote at 18 to begin with. Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or a Third Party person - it's all still relevant. The point is, you should vote when you turn 18 because you have that right and a lot of people worked very hard for a very long period of time to get us that right to vote.

AM: How excited are you as we know this show launches on National Voter Registration Day to be apart of this movement and this ongoing campaign that FreeForm as a network is doing in terms of PSAs to get this awareness out there?

KP: I love it because the FreeForm PSAs and stuff have been very uplifting, jokey and it’s not taking things too seriously, but it also is underscoring the real opportunity here for young people to participate. And that’s what I like about our show here too. Our set is essentially a celebration and we have a pinball machine and some fun jokey stuff, but there’s also a lot of books on the shelf from icons of American History. Everyone from Angela Davis to Ronald Reagan. Now you don’t think of Angela Davis and Ronald Reagan in the same sentence often, but the point of both of them is that these are people in American History who as things get more and more polarizing, one person may be more familiar with one of those humans than the other and they both played such a pivotal role in who we are today and why. The other pieces of the set are things that we celebrate. There is a whole bunch of imagery around women and science, astronomy and all of those things are because people decided to vote for candidates who used our tax dollars to fund these things. So those things belong to us. We should celebrate them. That space station is ours! I mean we share it with other countries so maybe that’s a bad example, but you know that stuff is stuff that we created together as Americans and we should be celebrating. To me, I think that that tone works really well with the tone with FreeForm and obviously Hulu which we air on the following day. It’s celebratory and that’s what we want. We want to be able to make people laugh, come together and to understand the issues a little bit better.

IG @KalPenn

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | FRONT + BACK COVER, PG 16-25 Freeform/Robbie Fimmano | FRONT + BACK COVER, PG 16-19 + 25 Editorial Design by Athleisure Mag |

Hear Kal Penn Approves This Message Executive Producer and host, Kal Penn on our show, #TRIBEGOALS - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multi-media podcast network! Make sure to subscribe to find out when the episode drops. You can hear it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and wherever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcast.

Read the Sep Issue #57 of Athleisure Mag and see Your Vote Counts with Kal Penn in mag.