Tag: Madeline Grayson

From left, Giovanna Gray Lockhart, Madeline Grayson, Maria Trabocchi, Deb Waterman Johns, Lynda Erkiletian and Carol Joynt at the creative women in business panel on March 5. (Julian Thomas) It is not typical to walk into an event in D.C. and see a woman in a Big Bird-esque, oversize, electric-blue fur coat. D.C. is not exactly considered a hub for entertainment and fashion — “the other f-word,” said Waterman Johns — making fun of how those topics can sometimes be regarded in a town known for its politics. Erkiletian, a former “Real Housewife” cast member from the D.C. branch of the franchise — the first and only one of the U.S. installations to not be renewed for a second season — said people’s perception of Washington’s ability to be a force in the entertainment industry was a barrier in opening her local model and talent agency a few decades ago. She decided to launch the firm on April Fools’ Day, because for “six months leading up to the opening, people would literally laugh in my face.” Arts in the District has grown over the last 30 years she has been in town, Waterman Johns said — and partially because of the efforts of her co-panelists, who saw voids that needed to be filled. “There were women who were creating important change, and they needed to look great doing it,” Waterman Johns said. “Fashion is very misunderstood. In a town where the biggest “It Girls” are first ladies, governmental affairs probably will always play a role in its style scene, for better or for worse. “I was on QVC the night Trump got elected. It was like walking into a morgue,” Waterman Johns joked.