marxist models of modeling

I’m going to forgive New York magazine’s lazy title tag (The Unbearable Thinness of Being a Model) because the story is a compelling read.

Writer Emily Nussbaum jumps into the skinny-model debate, and for much of the story, it’s more of the same (Natalia Vodianova’s panel speech, models dying, etc.). Her approach gets more compelling, though, when she touches on the class issues involved for many of the Eastern European models:

“And [the pressure to be thin] goes double for the new breed of models, many of whom come, like Vodianova, from the poorest regions of Eastern Europe. For these girls, pressures to stay thin may be a small price to pay for escaping the small towns they came from.”

The teenage girls who come from these poor areas have very few prospects back home. Without adequate education or job opportunities, let’s face it, modeling is their only potential way out of poverty.

Put yourself in the place of one of these girls. You are 15 years old and you have the opportunity to get yourself out of a sorry situation, travel the world and maybe send some money to help your family back home. So if losing ten pounds is the difference between you being booked or not getting a dime, what are you going to do? You’re probably going to do whatever it takes to stay employed.

Outside of the fashion business, people look at these emaciated girls and condemn them for encouraging eating disorders. And yes, there are many women and girls who look at Iekeliene Stange and think, “I need to look like her.” But what they don’t see is that within the industry, these girls aren’t trying to be thin so they can turn some Iowan farmgirl into an anorexic; they’re trying to be thin to keep getting work.

My debut with award-winning actress Michelle Williams

THE SETTING
Immediately after the 3.1 Phillip Lim show ends

THE PLAYERS
The Fashionist
The Fashionist’s photographer
Michelle Williams, pretty actress

—-
THE FASHIONIST: Hi, Michelle.
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: Oh, hi.
THE FASHIONIST: What did you think of the show?
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: I loved it. It was just so pretty.
THE FASHIONIST: I know. I want everything. I also wanted to say thanks for making Brokeback Mountain, because it really did a lot to help gay and straight people alike.
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: Oh, thank you!

(THE FASHIONIST’S PHOTOGRAPHER approaches)

THE FASHIONIST: Michelle, this is [T.F.P.]. [T.F.P.], this is Michelle.
THE FASHIONIST’S PHOTOGRAPHER: Hi, Michelle.
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: Hi.
THE FASHIONIST: We were just talking about Brokeback Mountain.
THE FASHIONIST’S PHOTOGRAPHER: Oh. (clearly not recognizing MW). That was a good movie.
MICHELLE WILLIAMS: (looks bummed that her role in this film is not recognized)

FIN!

Sienna Miller does not wear pants

…and yet, she was the toast of last night’s Rag and Bone show. Some celebrities will sneak in at the last minute, presumably because they:

A) do not care about punctuality
B) do not want to deal with dozens of people accosting them

Sienna, however, was in her front-row seat at least 20 minutes before the 6pm showtime, and as we all know, shows don’t start on time; so really, she was about 45 minutes early. So my guess is that homegirl either had major time to kill, or she wanted the attention of photographers. She got it, of course, but seeing it in action made me feel embarrassed for her.

The show? So-so. It had this newsboy-meets-Gangs of New York thing going on, which looked good but wasn’t terribly original. Whereas some other shows that day had wowed me with clever cuts and novel reference points, this one made me think, “Ah! Okay, they’re doing the masculine-tailoring thing.” Which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s also not the most exciting. For men, it didn’t come off as well. Leather jackets, wallet chains and tweed are not necessarily the best combination. “This looks like Eurotrash meets Oliver Twist,” my partner dryly commented. Touche!

Fashion Week: Day pre-one

Fashion Week doesn’t start until tomorrow (officially) but I got a head start on the festivities today. First up: the Proenza Schouler press/VIP/whatevah sale event at the Opening Ceremony pop-up store. It was as though Conde Nast opened up and dumped its most fabulous into one tiny shop. Fashionista’s ed was there as well, chatting up the Conde Nasties. Inside: two floors of cheap-chic madness. Opening Ceremony is long and narrow, which meant that everyone had to elbow her way through narrow aisles to grab the goods. Not fun. The most amusing part was that the clothing had a wide range of sizes, but, you know, fashion editors are generally pretty tiny. So if you didn’t grab the S or XS right away, you were in trouble. I left without buying anything, because after waiting 20 minutes to try things on, I didn’t feel like waiting 20 more to buy what I could buy online. Finally, Jack and Lazaro’s skin? Glows like a baby’s.

I dropped by a couple of other events which were, sadly, a collective snorefest. I’m convinced that such events are “see and be seen” things that ultimately make me feel poor because I’m not wearing Balenciaga boots. Instead, I am wearing Marc by Marc Jacobs boots, and somehow I think the other fashion editors know that not only are they last season’s style, they were bought on eBay.

More tomorrow.

paule marrot + hayden-harnett

YUM YUM, I love the Hayden-Harnett Paule Marrot editions. This bag, the Beatrice, works because it’s structured but playful. I like how it has a French feel to it; it makes me think of tiny little south-of-France towns where all the women have enviably glowy skin and look foxy even though they’re wearing boring flats. Coming from less aristocratic Euro-stock, I may not be able to pull off those gifts, but I could pull off this bag. I just need to unearth more than half my rent money first. >> Hayden-Harnett

collection of style: h&m’s new brand

The other day I was in H&M wondering when their prices became comparable to what boutique prices were just a few years ago. I mean, really, $59.90 for a polyester dress? From H&M?

The prices are going up even more at Collection of Style, H&M’s new store concept. The first store opens this spring in London, and 10 stores will follow in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere in the UK. I’m imagining COS will be similar to Zara in price and quality; much higher than that and you’ll send shoppers to boutiques (because, really, if you’re going to spend $125 on a shirt, why not spend $150 for one that’s made better?). I’m looking forward to seeing its first line, and though I thought I’d sworn off London town for at least five years, I now have a flimsy excuse to hop into Heathrow… let us hope that COS is no POS.

In other H&M news, they’re launching a home collection and shoes for spring. Home will be online-only for a while, and shoes will be in 200 stores.

blind item

WHICH women’s fashion e-commerce site is rumored to be purchasing a rival site, also from the Midwest? The buyer has a veritable river of financial backing, so the end result could become a behemoth in the world of online boutiquing.

(I feel so Liz Smith!)

attention label whores: the prada mobile phone has landed!

This, my friends, is the Prada mobile phone. Like Apple’s iPhone, it has a touch screen. Unlike the iPhone, though, it will make you look like an a-hole of the highest degree. Can you imagine seeing someone whip this thing out? I would wonder whether this person had been adequately nurtured as a child. What else would compel you to buy a phone with a brand name emblazoned on its front?

built by wendy’s troll shoes

So you know Chloe, the most annoying character in 24? My partner and I are horrible, shallow people who can’t see her without thinking of a troll (or, if we’re feeling more generous, a Keebler elf). We have this whole going in which we crouch down, curl our index and middle fingers, and scrunch up our face, and gurgle, “Troll! Troll! TROLL!” Yes, we are both mature and romantic.
Anyway, we’ve been thinking of taking our trolling to the next level. And that requires outfits. Luckily for us, Built By Wendy has a new shoe line for spring:

Which is good, because I have been hoping for a Smeagol-esque footwear choice that also makes me look like a Joanna Newsom backup dancer.

eskell: a treat from chicago

When it comes to American style, most people look to New York, then Los Angeles (pronounced Frank Black style, natch) and then… well, nowhere. But every now and then, you find a small designer whose work is so good, you think, “Man, if this were in New York, it would be hot-shit stuff written up in Nylon.”

Such is the case with Eskell, a Chicago-based duo that creates some charmingly girly, vintage-inspired clothing. And I don’t mean that in a weirdly juvenile Mooka Kinney way—Eskell’s stuff isn’t going to look ridiculous on someone who’s older than 24. The designers have worked at Mayle and Miguelina, and so they’ve got that whole cool-girl-who’s-still-a-lady thing going on. Plus, they’ve had fashion shows in a bowling alley—how can you not dig that? Have a look at Eskell.com.