Cosmopolitan Brings Its Inaugural Fun Fearless Life Conference To Lincoln Center

This weekend, Joanna Coles and her crew of Cosmopolitan eds (plus a diverse array of guest speakers and celeb cameos) hit Lincoln Center’s David Koch theater for Cosmo‘s Fun Fearless Life Conference, comprised of two panel-packed days of inspirational bon mots, hilarious moments, and no-B.S. life advice. A nice mix, non? The event, produced by William Morris Endeavor’s live events division, WME Live, opened up with Spanx’s Sara Blakely schooling the sold-out theater on “Putting Your Ass on the Line,” while Twitter CEO Dick Costolo shared some image-shaping intel in the afternoon on the “Building Your Brand” panel, while Chrissy Teigen decoded the hommes in a “Manthropology” session later that afternoon. On Sunday, the morning was all about fitness prowess, with the likes of Jillian Michaels, CosmoBody’s Adam Rosante and Tara Stiles, and Kelly Osbourne getting candid about all things body-centric, followed by some fiscal finesse from LeanVest’s Alexa von Tobel. Your Daily popped by the final sesh of the conference on Sunday afternoon, and clearly, Coles & co. made sure the first-ever Conference went out with a bang. “Express Yourself,” a panel from one of the conference’s sponsors, Express, involved Refinery29’s Christene Barberich, Express’ CMO, Liz Crystal, and Katherine Vargas, director of Hispanic Media at The White House, weighing in on how one’s sartorial choices make a difference. “It’s a lifelong journey for most women to know what their look is!” Barberich explained. As for favorite perennially best-dressed types, “DvF never looks like she’s going to falter…in any situation she looks fabulous,” said Crystal. Vargas offered up a revelation about the style quotient down in D.C.: “People are often surprised to hear that most women in the White House don’t wear suits!” Gabrielle Union then sat down for (a very eloquent) one-on-one with Coles about her experiences with nude photos being hacked and leaked. “What you do with your own body is your choice. Period,” Union said emphatically. To round out the weekend, beloved self-help writer and speaker Gabrielle Bernstein captivated the crowd with her personal tale of being a now-sober, reformed hard-partying PR gal, plus her signature heady dose of take-charge-of-your-life advice. (A sample: “Be the nonjudgmental witness to your fears! Forgive yourself for what you’ve done.” Also worth cribbing? “Measure success based on how much fun you’re having.”) To close, Elle King took to the stage to sing her infectious first single, “Ex’s And Oh’s”, followed by a very apropos cover of “Respect”. Chicsters left with bags of Maybelline goodies and, presumably, a lot of motivation…