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JA Fashion Week
The FADER has an nice review of Jamaican Fashion Week. Apparently Georgianna Robertson was one of the stars on the runway:
Of course the spectacle just wouldn't as epic if it wasn't for the star cast of models...Most heartwarming was seeing model Georgianna Robertson take to the runway again for British designer Julia Clancey , a sighting that—in light of current Agyness mania slash overkill—gave us more than passing nostalgia for the old guard of supermodels, real supermodels.
I couldn't agree more. I haven't seen Georgianna in years but I can still remember when she was the model of the moment in the 90s. She was also one of the few models to have lines in Robert Altman's "Prêt-à-Porter." I've always envied her ridiculously long torso and admired her for being one of the few models back then who rocked short natural hair. Truth be told, I'm also bit fascinated by the fact that, like Gladys Knight, she is a Mormon. I'm always wondering what would draw a Black person to that particular faith. Thanks to Camille for the link!
BET: Fashion Blackout Encore Tonight and Sunday
BET News examines the issue in a segment called "Fashion Blackout." I missed the first airing but it will air again tonight at 7:30 (Eastern and Pacific times) and again on Sunday at 11 a.m.
From the website:
So is the fashion industry racist? Or are Blacks simply “not in” this season? And why should we care? We will explore the issue and how the exclusion of an entire race has a negative effect on Black women and their sense of self-worth. We go behind the scenes at New York’s Fashion Week to find the answers.
Since this is BET we're talking about, I don't think the segment will be sharing any information we have't already heard but I think it is good that more people are talking about the issue.
French Vogue July 2008
Despite being on one of the two covers for the June/July issue of Paris Vogue, Noémie Lenoir has only one photo on the inside of the magazine. She's featured alongside Laetitia Casta in a spread called "French Touch" which was shot by Mario Testino but Lenoir gets only one photo compared to Casta's five and even that one is just a mirror image of one of Casta's shots. I don't really get it but here it is (thanks to Diorette for the scans.) There's another editorial in the magazine with a photo of Jourdan Dunn but if I were you, I'd save up my pennies for July's Italian Vogue instead.
Gianfranco Ferre Shows Some Skin
Latoya at Racialicious posted today about her admiration for Skin, the lead singer of Skunk Anansie. Since I too, think this woman is some kind of wonderful, I thought I'd post pic from last year's Gianfranco Ferre campaign (shot by Mario Testino) which featured Skin and Patrick Petitjean.
Source: The Fashion Spot
NYT: Tyra Banksable
My personal opinion of Miss Tyra has taken a nosedive in the last several years. To me her self-involved talk show is only watchable via clips on The Soup and the appeal of America's Next Top Model has evaporated. But then, I'm old. These days my tastes run more towards TV Land's "She's Got the Look". I guess I just prefer that my crying model wannabes have stretch marks.
That said, I was surprised to see her name dropped with the likes of Oprah and Martha in The New York Times Magazine. Clearly she's doing something right, even if I don't quite get it.
The article itself is mildly interesting and worth a look if you are at all interested the lace-front mogul.
This bit caught my eye:
From her two shows, Banks makes an estimated $18 million a year, and her net worth is around $75 million. She owns 25 percent of “Top Model” and last fall Bankable Productions signed a deal to develop projects for Warner Brothers television. Their first project is “The Clique,” based on the national best-selling series about a group of preteen girls from the wealthy suburbs of New York. True to Banks’s practical nature, “The Clique” will be produced on a low budget and will be sold only as DVDs, avoiding the costs (and risks) of theatrical distribution.
I remember Tyra saying to Essence Magazine that she was going to use her power in the industry to create rolls for underemployed black actresses. I just wonder if that power will ever create something more exciting than cheaply produced direct-to-video movies and reality shows.
Is there any black actor or celebrity in the industry actually powerful enough to make the kind of film that I want to see? Something that's not Soul Plan or a biopic or something starring a Wayans brother or a black man in a dress?
Hey Look! A Black Girl on TV! - 80s Edition
The 80s were a lot more fun when it came black girl spotting on TV. The fact that I had graduated from cartoons (well, most of them anyway) and was allowed to stay up past 7:30 had a lot to do with that fact. Sitcoms were by an large the staple of my TV diet but a few variety show personalities managed to make an impression on me as well. The longest lasting of these impressions were made by the following ladies.
Darcel Wynne - Lead Solid Gold dancer
Darcel was the principal dancer on Solid Gold which just happened to be the best show in the world. She effectively replaced Cheryl Song in my heart as long haired dancing machine #1. Sometimes she danced with the group, other times she danced alone but no matter where she appeared in the musical numbers I was right there with her, imitating her steps in my mother's heels while trying not to break my ass or accidentally fall into our plastic covered couch. Darcel was the original Fly Girl.
Kim Fields - Tootie from "The Facts of Life"
Tootie got to live away from her parents AND wear roller skates all the time. If she wasn't living the dream I don't know who was. Also, if the roller set afro was the hair to have of the 70's then surely Tootie's meticulously balanced mushroom took its place in the 80's. The often imitated look was perfected on Kim Fields who displayed just the right length of bumped under bangs to frame her face. In the 90s Brandy would try to revive the look in her short lived sitcome "Thea" but her mushroom was just plain tore up.
Janet Jackson - Charlene DuPrey on "Diff'rent Strokes"/ Cleo Hewitt on "Fame"
Janet always seemed to play the shy but sweet girl on television. She also got credit for adding a bit of flair to the standard mushroom cut by feathering her bangs away from her face on Diff’rent Strokes. I'm starting to realize that Janet Jackson for a time was the black female Ted McGinley, brought in after a show has already debuted in order to breathe new life into the storyline. First "The Jacksons" variety show, then "Good Times" followed by "Diff'rent Strokes" and a stint on "Fame." She was the hardest working teenage in show business but why? My theory is that the first morning Janet woke up, went down to the kitchen and saw big brother Michael having breakfast with Emmanuel Lewis and Bubble the Chimp, she realized that she was going to have to have a nest egg of her own.
Lisa Bonet - Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show
Remember when Denise told Theo she could make a shirt for him just like the one he saw at the store? White folks have the “pirate shirt” episode but I have that one. I love Lisa Bonet for being an unapologetic oddball. She was the role model for every left of center black girl I knew growing up, myself included. Like the rest of the country, I had to get my Cosby Show fix every week so I was surprised when I tried to watch old episodes on cable awhile back and just couldn’t get into it. If I could be a fly on the wall I would have loved to see the look on Bill Cosby’s face when he watched that bloody chicken dance scene in Angel Hart. The Coca-Cola and Jello Pudding pops must have shot right through his nose and onto his expensive African American art.
Diahann Carroll - Dominique Deveraux from “Dynasty”
I remember watching Diahann Caroll on Entertainment Tonight talking about her role on Dynasty. She said then that she wanted to be the first black bitch on TV. At the time, I was surprised they let her say the word “bitch” on TV which kinda made me scared of her. While her character was indeed a piece of work Dynasty never gave Blake’s black half-sister enough to do. You know that if she got into a fight with Joan Collins one of them would have wound up dead at the bottom of the pool. I thought for sure that she would end up dead at the end of that Moldavian terrorist wedding cliffhanger but she survived to star in a few more seasons.
Regina King – Brenda from “227”
Jackee got the lionshare of attention on 227 but for me Brenda, the sulking teenage daughter of Marla Gibbs on 227, was my television doppelganger. Her expertly delivered “Dang!” along with an eye-roll pretty much sums up how I felt from ages 11 to 17. She also rocked a mean mushroom on occasion though she preferred to wear the sides pulled back.
Cast of A Different World
I had a hard time deciding which character was my favorite on this show. Was it the straight talking Jalesa or the free spirit Freddie? Hell, even irritating Whitley had ber moments. In the end it all came down to who had the most memorable scene. Once I figured that out, the choice was clear. Pre-med student Kim (Charnele Brown) definitely had the best scene out of all the women on the show when she pwned green eyed brother Shazza Zulu (Gary Dourdan) for snidely using her has an example in during one of his soap box moments. I didn’t see that brother again until the 90s when he was crying in a Janet Jackson video. Punk.
Honorable Mention
Robin Givens
I watched Robin Givens on “Head of the Class” all the time but back then I didn’t think much of her. She just kind of scared me. Her icy demeanor, crazy sharp cheekbones and bad reputation, made me support Team Kimberly Russell. Looking back I think Robin probably got a bad wrap, after all Mike Tyson is batshit crazy, and for that I’m giving her an honorable mention here.
Darcel Wynne - Lead Solid Gold dancer
Darcel was the principal dancer on Solid Gold which just happened to be the best show in the world. She effectively replaced Cheryl Song in my heart as long haired dancing machine #1. Sometimes she danced with the group, other times she danced alone but no matter where she appeared in the musical numbers I was right there with her, imitating her steps in my mother's heels while trying not to break my ass or accidentally fall into our plastic covered couch. Darcel was the original Fly Girl.
Kim Fields - Tootie from "The Facts of Life"
Tootie got to live away from her parents AND wear roller skates all the time. If she wasn't living the dream I don't know who was. Also, if the roller set afro was the hair to have of the 70's then surely Tootie's meticulously balanced mushroom took its place in the 80's. The often imitated look was perfected on Kim Fields who displayed just the right length of bumped under bangs to frame her face. In the 90s Brandy would try to revive the look in her short lived sitcome "Thea" but her mushroom was just plain tore up.
Janet Jackson - Charlene DuPrey on "Diff'rent Strokes"/ Cleo Hewitt on "Fame"
Janet always seemed to play the shy but sweet girl on television. She also got credit for adding a bit of flair to the standard mushroom cut by feathering her bangs away from her face on Diff’rent Strokes. I'm starting to realize that Janet Jackson for a time was the black female Ted McGinley, brought in after a show has already debuted in order to breathe new life into the storyline. First "The Jacksons" variety show, then "Good Times" followed by "Diff'rent Strokes" and a stint on "Fame." She was the hardest working teenage in show business but why? My theory is that the first morning Janet woke up, went down to the kitchen and saw big brother Michael having breakfast with Emmanuel Lewis and Bubble the Chimp, she realized that she was going to have to have a nest egg of her own.
Lisa Bonet - Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show
Remember when Denise told Theo she could make a shirt for him just like the one he saw at the store? White folks have the “pirate shirt” episode but I have that one. I love Lisa Bonet for being an unapologetic oddball. She was the role model for every left of center black girl I knew growing up, myself included. Like the rest of the country, I had to get my Cosby Show fix every week so I was surprised when I tried to watch old episodes on cable awhile back and just couldn’t get into it. If I could be a fly on the wall I would have loved to see the look on Bill Cosby’s face when he watched that bloody chicken dance scene in Angel Hart. The Coca-Cola and Jello Pudding pops must have shot right through his nose and onto his expensive African American art.
Diahann Carroll - Dominique Deveraux from “Dynasty”
I remember watching Diahann Caroll on Entertainment Tonight talking about her role on Dynasty. She said then that she wanted to be the first black bitch on TV. At the time, I was surprised they let her say the word “bitch” on TV which kinda made me scared of her. While her character was indeed a piece of work Dynasty never gave Blake’s black half-sister enough to do. You know that if she got into a fight with Joan Collins one of them would have wound up dead at the bottom of the pool. I thought for sure that she would end up dead at the end of that Moldavian terrorist wedding cliffhanger but she survived to star in a few more seasons.
Regina King – Brenda from “227”
Jackee got the lionshare of attention on 227 but for me Brenda, the sulking teenage daughter of Marla Gibbs on 227, was my television doppelganger. Her expertly delivered “Dang!” along with an eye-roll pretty much sums up how I felt from ages 11 to 17. She also rocked a mean mushroom on occasion though she preferred to wear the sides pulled back.
Cast of A Different World
I had a hard time deciding which character was my favorite on this show. Was it the straight talking Jalesa or the free spirit Freddie? Hell, even irritating Whitley had ber moments. In the end it all came down to who had the most memorable scene. Once I figured that out, the choice was clear. Pre-med student Kim (Charnele Brown) definitely had the best scene out of all the women on the show when she pwned green eyed brother Shazza Zulu (Gary Dourdan) for snidely using her has an example in during one of his soap box moments. I didn’t see that brother again until the 90s when he was crying in a Janet Jackson video. Punk.
Honorable Mention
Robin Givens
I watched Robin Givens on “Head of the Class” all the time but back then I didn’t think much of her. She just kind of scared me. Her icy demeanor, crazy sharp cheekbones and bad reputation, made me support Team Kimberly Russell. Looking back I think Robin probably got a bad wrap, after all Mike Tyson is batshit crazy, and for that I’m giving her an honorable mention here.
Dana Plato from Diff’rent Strokes
Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t remember that episode where Kimberly dressed up in blackface for the prom to out her date Roger as a racist.
Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t remember that episode where Kimberly dressed up in blackface for the prom to out her date Roger as a racist.
Noemie Lenoir - French Vogue July 2008
Beautiful French model Noémie Lenoir graces the cover of the July issue of French Vogue. Are they trying to one up Vogue Italia?
ETA: I guess the answer to that question is not completely since white French model Leticia Casta shares the cover, wearing the same outfit on the flip side of the magazine.
Style Star: Zoe Kravitz
Photo Source: The Fashion Spot
Iman Doesn't Want Black Models to be Caricatures
Saying publicly to New York Magazine what many of us are thinking, Iman recently expressed concern that the highly anticipated "all-black" July issue of Italian Vogue will just be a gimmick and may not change anything about the lack of models of color in fashion magazines. "I still don't like us to be a caricature...They'll think, 'Okay, we did it.' And then they're done with it, and we'll have to wait till next year." The iconic model also shared her belief that the fashion industry is out of touch and that in 2007 black models in particular were "nonexsistant" and that the industry was "outdated" when compared to other media. The answer, according to the legendary beauty, is to go all Norma Rae on their asses and form a union. "I can only say that one of the reasons is that models have never had unions, so there is no one to say, 'This isn't right.'" Iman, along with Jourdan Dunn, Veronica Webb, and newcomer Arlenis among others, will appear in Vogue Italia in July. Still no official word on which model or models will appear on the cover.
"From Here to Timbuktu"
I think I've touched on why fashion shoots in "exotic" (read non-Western) locals tend to get under my skin. The main issue for me is the tendency for the photographer to use whatever local is handy as a prop and/or or exploit the model's own ethnicity if she happens to be non-White. I've lost count of how many times I've seen British/Jamaican Naomi Campbell dressed as an African villager on the pages of Elle and Vogue.
This kind of shoot is always lazy and sometimes just plain offensive to me but it is a fashion industry staple, just like pictures of models jumping in expensive clothes in American Vogue.
But would the images be as potentially offensive if instead of a white model, a black one was used? Turns out the answer is "sorta" thanks to Vogue's "From Here to Timbuktu" shoot photographed by Mikael Jansson for their June 2008 issue.
Here are the good things. The photographs are beautiful as is the African* model, Liya Kebede. Okay so she's not from Mali but they get points for not trying to dress her in traditional garments right? Unlike many of the models usually used in these themed spreads, Kebede looks genuinely happy to be in Timbuktu in these vibrant photographs that could conceivable come from someone's own scrapbook if the person in question was extremely fabulous. There is only one photo of the model in a actual safari jacket (this one priced at $385 by DVF if you are interested.) No spread like this is complete without a safari jacket, is it?
What really got my attention with this pictorial was the travel diary, written by Sally Singer, which accompanied it. Singer, who describes Timbuktu as a "sandbox at the end of the Earth" that feels to her like the "most priviledged of all playgrounds." Her tone does in words what wasn't quite captured in the photographs, that this country exists solely for the amusement of Westerners that can afford to travel there, it is a playground full of interesting children who are just dying to take one's perfectly manicured hand and show you around the place. One major difference is that thanks to designers like Oscar de la Renta who has "expertly crafted" mudcloth into his Spring '08 collection, everyone wearing the traditional textile in Mali looks like they've "stepped off the Dries Van Noten catwalk." She even takes calling her local guide Oscar as an homage to the designerr because of the tabard mudcloth garment he is wearing. There's no mention of what his real name is.
I must say that I agree with her , it is a relief to take pictures of locals and not have their outfits clash with yours. For example, my husband and I were in Paris last month and I had to spend countless hours on Photoshop editing out all those unsightly natives wearing last season's Agnes B. Quel horreur!
photo source: Faith Akiyama/TFS
*I say African here rather than Ethiopian here intentionally. Even though Liya's East African features stand out in the crowds of Malians surrounding her, in Vogue's view one black person (or African person) is just the same as another.
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