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The lovely Kwana Jackson has featured moi on her blog, KwanaWrites. In the interview I discuss my blog and the event that I am helping to organise, You're Beautiful, Woman. Check out the full interview here.
Check out the latest offerings in the world of style and fashion from the Independent Fashion Bloggers network.
Out of Africa
The 90s was when Naomi Campbell exploded onto the scene, Veronica Webb became the first black supermodel to win an exclusive contract for a major cosmetics company and Ford models signed their first Black model. Tyra Banks was seen on the cover of the coveted swimwear issue of Sport Illustrated. Fast forward to the late 90s with hip hop now in the mainstream it was also leading the way in beauty ideals. Enter Tyson Beckford who was an instant hit after landing a cover with Source magazine. He landed a contract with Ralph Lauren and helped to change the traditional rules of advertising. If Naomi was one of the supermodel of the 80s then Alex Wek represented the breed of the 90s. A lot of fuss was made over her ‘traditional’ African features and she appeared on glossy magazines all around the world. She never made the cover of Brit Vogue though, why? Because according to Alexandra Shulman, Ms Wek was too simply too skinny. O.K.
Since the 50s the paradigm has shifted and editors of magazines like Vogue no longer dictate the ideals of beauty because it is now directed by pop culture. Now we have had an all Black Italian Vogue and the magazine has repeated the all Black theme but this time have used Black Barbie dolls instead of models. I absolutely LOVED When Black Became Beautiful, I missed it when it was aired the first time but I managed to get a copy from my local library. It was so wonderful to see an in depth look at the way Black men and women have been represented in fashion, film, TV, magazines, music and sport. How we have transcended from being one dimensional, broken through the barriers and now we are in a place where all shades all of the spectrum are being represented. Tyra Banks sums it up beautifully.
Cornroes, Afros and Anything Goes
On Monday the lovely Rachel Christie made history by becoming the first Black lady to become Miss England. Although some might state that it is 2009 and too little too late, some would point out how far we have come in this country. The concept of Black Beauty has always been a contentious one, a point comprehensively explored in the documentary, When Black Became Beautiful which was aired on BBC2 in 2004. This three part series looked at the impact African Americans and African Caribbeans have made on fashion and arts and how the world came to accept that beauty is not only skin deep. The series kicked off in 2000 when Iman gathered 15 other Black supermodels to be photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the cover of her book, I Am Iman. The likes of Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Oluchi Onweagba and Noémie Lenoir were all in attendance for the momentous occasion. The rest of the documentary discusses the history of Black beauty from 1940s to the present era.
Blonde Ambition
The Satorialist revealed his much anticipated book on his blog and let me tell you the support he received from fellow bloggers was overwhelming. When the self named book is released in a few weeks I am sure it will gallop into the bestsellers list. The power of the blogger has grown immensely over the last few years with us gaining access to VIP events, being featured in glossy magazines while a few of us have even been taken on as consultants for hip brands. The growth in bloggers has created a community which inspires one another hence the Independent Fashion Bloggers aka IFB which is one of the largest blogger networks in the world. IFB was introduced by Jennine Tamm in 2007 and is a wonderful online forum for fashion bloggers to meet, exchange ideas and offer each other gain support.
The digital format is an exciting one – what made you decide to use it?
Describe a day in the life of Tamia Stinson.
Breaking into magazines is not at all easy and before you can even think about clinching a cushy career as an editor many many hours as an intern must be put in. Ah the intern, a lowly underpaid and over worked wannabe journalist who has recently become the source of fascination for reality shows such as Running in Heels and The Fashionista Diaries. While I was feng shuing my home and organising my film collection a few months back I came across a film that was made back in 2000 that featured the shallow world of glossy magazines. The Intern is the story of Jocelyn Bennett played by Dominique Swain who is fresh out of college and lands a role as an intern at uber cool fashion magazine, Skirt which is based in New York. She finds herself surrounded by the most self centred, crazy and egotist people on earth and performing the most minor of duties. However there is a jewel in the crown in the shape of art director, Paul Rochester played by Ben Pullen. When a spy begins to hand over Skirt's fashion spreads and story ideas to rival Vogue, Jocelyn sets out to nail them. 
She has been described as the most important photographer of our generation; love her or loathe her there is no way you can ignore Corinne Day. She is one of the most successful women photographers in the UK and is probably the closest thing we have to the iconic Annie Leboivitz who I blogged about here. She came to light in 1991 when she took those immortal images of Kate Moss, those pictures not only made the cover i-D magazine and were featured in The Face but they made a star out of Ms Moss. Few would argue that Corinne has changed the perception of fashion photography. Corinne feels that her contribution to fashion photography is changing the picture from being about the photographer to being about the subject. Yesterday I watched a documentary that was aired on BBC 4 in 2004 which took an intimate look into the world of Corinne by following her during a year of her life. At the launch of her Diary Exhibition at the Photographer's Gallery in 2000 Corinne's work is unveiled to a packed house. This exhibition represents 10 years of her life where she kept pivotal images of her friends, family, experiences and places she has been to. The work is striking but creates very strong reactions from the visitors at the launch which range from disgusting, sympathetic, raw and sad.
Corinne had a very happy and idyllic childhood growing up with her grandparents and brother. Her parents had spilt up when she was very young and her mother had taken her and her brother to live with her grandparents knowing that they would be cared for. Unfortunately school was not such a breeze due to her learning difficulties and she left at the soonest opportunity. She fell into modelling for catalogues and beauty shoots, travelled and lived in California for two years. The turning point of her life was meeting Mark Szaszy, an up and coming director in Tokyo, they quickly became a couple. Mark taught her how to use a camera and that was that; pretty soon she had found two great loves - Mark and photography. The couple moved to Italy where they were surrounded by starter models so she began taking images of them in their flats, surrounded by copies of Vogue magazines, smoking a spiff and swapping stories about their latest job. In 1992 back in London she found her next subject in the shape of an androgynous looking Rosemary Ferguson. She played up Rose's boyish features by putting her in masculine clothes like suits and tomboy tshirts. These pictures were featured in American Vogue in article which talked about how fashionable it looked to be on drugs. This was when the term 'heroin chic' came to the forefront and in an unlikely from of Bill Clinton. British Vogue editor, Alexandra Shulman define the term heroin chic below.
Check out the latest offerings in the world of style and fashion from the Independent Fashion Bloggers network. 
So the MediaGuardian 100 power list was published this Monday and featured the movers and shakers in broadcasting, newspapers and magazines, digital media, advertising, marketing and pr and the media business. Jane Bruton, editor-in-chief of Grazia magazine, the country's top weekly glossy made the list for the third year running. Life has been a roller coaster for Bruton since the launch of Grazia in 2005 which has included winning award after award, being named 'media icon of our times' by the PPA. The nation's favourite weekly also went one step further by publishing the magazine live in a perspex pod at Westfield shopping centre last November.
Last week I was raving about Sophie Kinsella’s fantastic book trailer for her new title, Twenties Girl which I thought was an innovative way to market books. However yesterday I was sent to the chick lit heaven when I came across I Heart New York in a supermarket. Yes the book is set in my favourite city of all time and it is about a sassy chick lit about a thoroughly modern Millie who shuts up shop and moves to a new city. Angela Clark takes off to New York for fun and adventure after discovering that her boyfriend is cheating on her. She checks into a hotel, quickly makes friends with Jenny who gives her a makeover, starts dating two cute guys and lands a job on a fashion magazine writing a blog about her life. Very Carrie Bradshaw me thinks. What blew me away was the concept of I Heart New York; it is a chick lit come travel guide all in one that sells an aspirational lifestyle in a chic city. You only need to have a look at the website to see this, for instance there is a blog that keeps you up to date with the protagonist, a link to LoveFilms and Angela’s top ten movies set in NYC and a guide to the hip places in the Big Apple.
Back in March I did a retro review of 10 Things I Hate About You and I mentioned that there would be a TV version on its way. Well last Tuesday the small screen version made its debut on ABC Family. The premises is still the same with two contrasting Stratford sisters who represent extreme sides of society at school. Kat played by Lindsey Shaw is a feisty feminist who takes no prisoners and Bianca played by Meaghan Jette Martin is a social butterfly who yearns to get in with the hip crowd. However, the storyline differ slightly from the film; here Kat and Bianca are newcomers at the school while in the film they had been there for years with Bianca being the creme a la creme. Also Bianca has a much sweeter disposition than the character in the film.
Now no school drama would be complete without a baddy so enter Chasity Church played by Dana Davis, the most popular girl in the school who has all the students and teachers eating out of the palm of her hand. She automatically locks heads with Kat over a parking space which is bad news for Bianca who has been scouting Chasity on Facebook in her attempt to bowl her over. Meanwhile Kat finds herself the object of attention by social outsider, Patrick Verona played by Ethan Peck (Gregory Peck's grandson) and makes friends with a graffiti artist called Mandella. The comedy value is provided by ultra geeks, Cameron and Michael who devise a strategy to get Cameron hooked up with Bianca. Their dad, Walter Stratford is played again by Larry Miller who is the only actor from the film.
Mention the word Biba and you can bet that any decent fashionista will go all starry eyed. This is because along with Mary Quant, Diane von Furstenberg and Twiggy, Biba is right up there as one of the iconic fashion brands of the 60s and 70s. Biba is a store which was created by Barbara Hulanicki, a glamorous Pole who ran the famous outlet with her husband. To be frank, Biba changed the face of UK fashion by making clothes that were seen on catwalks around the world accessible to young women. According to Barbara, typical Biba customers were ‘postwar babies who had been deprived of nourishing protein in childhood and grew up into beautiful skinny people: a designer's dream.'
Wikipedia describes the phenomenon of Biba below:
As for Barbara well she continued to work in the fashion business and went on to design a line for children that was very successful. She also moved into the interior business working on projects for a variety of famous people such as Ronnie Wood and musich honcho, Chris Blackwell. Barbara has added another string to her bow by designing a wallpaper range for Habitat and Graham and Brown. She is now collaborating with Topshop on a Biba (esq) creation which are doing very well thank you very much. She lives in Miami where she has made a significant contribution to aesthetics by playing a huge part in the regeneration of Miami Beach. With an amazing career like that behind her it is no surprise that a film has been made about Barbara Hulanicki. Beyond Biba is a documentary gives us a rare insight into Barbara the woman; looking at her tragic childhood in Poland, the powerful impact of Biba, the impact her husband had on the brand and her thoughts on modern America.
Have you ever wondered what Kate Moss was really like underneath all that glitz and fame? Well you will get a chance to find out in a riveting documentary that shows the chaotic build up to the opening of Topshop store in New York. Moss opened the New York branch of the hipper than hip shop in April to much fanfare and media hype. The programme also features Topshop boss, Phillip Green and it shows the manic preparations that took place in order to get the huge US flagship store ready to open on time. You get to see a la Moss in her real form, laughing, joking and taking the piss out of herself. I know we have reality shows coming out of our ears but you have to admit that this one looks a bit special.
I am still reeling over the demise of Vibe magazine. Although we are in the midst of a recession and magazine galores have been falling to the wayside, I just assumed that Vibe's corporate investment would ride them through. Obviously not, as news broke last week that the publication would be folding due to lack of revenue. I used to buy Vibe between 1995 and 1999 because to me it was a magazine that simply celebrated and embraced Black urban culture. Yes we had magazines like Echoes, Blues and Soul and Essence but no one did it like Vibe. The format of it alone stood out; it was bigger, bolder and simply better than the rest with it's sexy covers, catchy headlines and well written features. I stopped buying the magazine because I felt that it had lost its way and was not delivering what it started out to. Vibe became a saturated pop magazine with very badly thought out features and scandalous covers. For all that, one thing that you cannot take away from the publication is the passion of the editorial staff and the hours they put in to get the magazine out each month.
Passion is a vital ingredient that is needed in the magazine land. It is what gets you though those early mornings when you need to go across town to do an interview and those late evenings when you need to proof read layouts. We Love Magazines is Colophon2007's love letter to all the magazines they love in the form of a book. It takes a good look at the magazine industry by profiling some of the best magazines in the world. Whether they are mainstreams produced by massive publishing houses or tiny niche titles made by small indies, they are all here. Topics that are covered are the changes in design, advertising, distribution models and creating a great editorial concept.
With his love of art, a part time job in a gas station and a tomgirl for a best friend, Keith Nelson played by Eric Stoltz is the school social outcast. In a teen culture where looks and money are considered high importance, Keith's working class roots do not cut it at his clique high school. So he spends his time with his best mate Watts played by Mary Stuart Masterson, a sassy lass whose activities include playing drums and spouting feminist rhetoric. However, Keith and Watts are broken out of their solitary existence when he falls for Amanda Jones played by Lea Thompson. Amanda is a gorgeous IT girl who rolls with the popular crowd and is also dating one of the richest guys at school. When Amanda breaks up with her boyfriend Keith takes this chance to ask her out on a date. Unknown to Keith, Watts is secretly in love with him but nevertheless helps him with his plan to woo Amanda.
Some Kind of Wonderful is produced by the legendary John Hughes who brought us The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink and Sixteen Candles so I had very high expectations before watching it. I can safely say I was not disappointed and Some Kind of Wonderful was a great film to watch. The storyline is not the most original but the script and dialogue makes up for it. Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson and Lea Thompson put in fantastic performances and really gel in this movie. I admit that Mary Stuart Masterson's character, Watts does steal the limelight with all her wise cracks and sarcastic comments but Lea Thompson brings a lot of warmth to a character that you are just yearning to hate. Amanda may be popular and beautiful but her embarrassment of her working class roots demonstrates that things that look perfect on the outside are not always so. Eric Stoltz is great as the guy who does not fit in, this is a little unconvincing in the looks department but he plays the part very well.
This film is a gender revised version of Pretty in Pink which was made a year earlier but with the ending that John Hughes - along with many others - wanted. You see the suits at the films studio pressurised John Hughes into changing the ending of Pretty in Pink so Molly Ringwald's character would end up with McCarthy when he really wanted Ringwald to end up with Cryer's character. So apparently John Hughes wrote this film in response with the ending he really wanted. He did a really good job as I much prefer this version which is uplifting and really celebrates teenage years while Pretty in Pink was somewhat depressing. This film was well received by the critics but did not do that great at the box offices.
