 Six teenage girls walk into a party, get glamorous, learn how to strut from a professional model, and start the giggle-filled fun of a photo shoot, complete with bright lights and a fan in their faces. It sounds like a scene out of MTV’s My Super Sweet 16, which features over-the-top birthday parties for insanely bratty teenagers. But New Jersey’s newest party trend is all the rage without being garish. And teens are learning that it can be a lot of fun even without any MTV-style temper tantrums.
When Samantha celebrated the big one-four earlier this year, she grabbed four friends and her little sister and made it into a day to be divas. They arrived at The Loft in Montclair in flip-flops, T-shirts, and messy ponytails. Next door at Bobbi Brown: The Studio, manager Liz Keiser and her fellow makeup artists got to work, giving the girls glowing faces with a touch of pink blush, some mascara, and lip gloss. “Those are the key items at this age,” Keiser says as she dusts powder on a grinning freckled face. Next stop: hair, with a stylist on site to curl and crimp. Then the girls get dressed up in the hottest clothes and accessories.
Now they’re ready for their runway lesson from Birgitta Karlén, a professional model with Axis Models and Talent Inc. With twelve eyes fixed on each twist of her hip, Karlén explains the importance of keeping the chin up, the shoulders back, and stopping on the camera mark. “The biggest thing for them is learning how to slow down,” says Karlén, a tall, perfectly coiffed mother of three who can regularly be seen on runways at top-end stores around northern New Jersey.
Karlén’s lessons are bolstered by Dwight Brown, co-owner of Axis, who recently launched Diva Professional Runway Model Parties with his business partner, Sharon Norrell. “You become what you’re wearing,” Brown tells the girls as they prepare for their big photo shoot. “It’s all about confidence.”
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PICTURE PERFECT:
Samantha and her girlfriends (Sandy, Angela, Danielle, Kerry, and little sister Rebecca) are ready for their close-up |
The tutorials pay off. Samantha and friends pose and laugh their way through a photo shoot alongside Karlén, walking with poise to their positions and exuding self-assurance as Justin Timberlake tunes blare from the stereo.
“Sometimes girls are striving to be models, and sometimes they just want to live that fantasy for a day,” says Brown.
“This gives girls and young women a chance to come out of their shell and really make a memory,” Norrell says. “It’s a lot of fun.”
In light of all of the pressure to find a hip party theme, "it's getting to feel like a princess that makes this so exciting and brand new," says Karlén.
For Samantha, it’s a day she won’t forget. “I really, really loved it,” she says as she and her friends munch on snacks and cranberry juice “mocktails,” the song “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical playing in the background.
With party packages starting at about $650 for a basic professional modeling lesson, Brown says Diva can set up the whole works, from invitations to catering to a session in a photography studio, depending on what the client wants. He’s confident that this new endeavor will take off. “It will never get boring,” he says. “Just the creativity and the fantasy of it all, it’s amazing.”
Sharon Norrell gives a breakdown of what a basic two-hour diva party can include:
2 PM: Guests arrive decked out in their favorite ensembles, and each diva-in-training gets made up by a professional stylist.
2:30 PM: The group gathers around while a professional runway model—chosen weeks before from a book of photos and credential listings—shares the tricks of the trade.
3:30PM: The guests make sure they’ve completed their looks with accessories, and get out on the runway
to show off their new modeling skills to their families and friends—or just each other.
4 PM and beyond: Guests can go out on the town with their new looks and new confidence, planners can arrange a professional photo shoot, or the runway show can just be the precursor to a full-fledged cocktail or dinner party, birthday, bat mitzvah, charity event, or otherwise.
 Chilled
Strawberry-Cranberry Mocktini
Ingredients:
64-ounce bottle of cranberry juice
46-ounce can of pineapple juice
1 can of concentrated lemonade, thawed
2 quarts of ginger ale
20-ounce package of frozen strawberries
Blend all of the ingredients together for a cool non-alcoholic treat.
Serve in martini glasses.
Diva Professional Model Runway Parties (www.divaparties.com) brings a hatbox filled with feathery cocktail hats and fun accessories. What else do you need to make it a "diva-licious" day?
 Tell guests to wear their favorite outfit, or have everyone bring something from their wardrobe so there are plenty of combinations to choose from.
Raid your friends’ closets to find the craziest hats, scarves, and other accessories to model for the day.
Get a framed magazine cover with your guest of honor pictured at www.yourcover.com.
Carrie and Company (www.carrieandco.com) makes cute coasters for the post-runway mocktail party.
Order fantastic finger-food (not too messy!) from a local caterer. Make old favorites look more sophisticated by cutting sandwiches into diamond or heart shapes. Make munchies glamorous with gem party picks from Talisman Designs (www.talismandesigns.com).
Order an over-the-top Diva Cake to celebrate the day at www.divacakes.com.
Put together fun goody bags with age-appropriate makeup and bling for each guest.
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