Fashioning February: Kell on Earth - Review

Watching The Hills and The City over those years gave me an insight into what PR maverick, Kelly Cutrone did for a living but it never really showed how she did it and why. Ms Cutrone reps for 46 fashion brands and is responsible for producing back to back shows every season for her clients at New York and London Fashion Weeks. Every February and September is crazy as hell for Kelly and her team at People's Revolution what with recruiting models for shows, putting together seating charts and sending out invites to shows and after parties. Dressed head to toe in black (what else?) Ms Cutrone resembles a raven who would devour you relentlessly if you ever tried to hurt her loved ones. In the anticipation for the launch of the show I was expecting a reality show which focussed totally on Kelly’s very snarky personality; you know those shows which feature the protagonist reflecting in their deep thoughts. Instead we have a very entertaining programme which reflects the buzzy, ever so manic but exhilarating nature of the fashion business. We also get to see another side of Kelly as mother to seven year old Ava who is as cute as a button. The scenes between the two are quite endearing but what impressed me about Kelly was her attitude to motherhood. Her business and home is based in her four level block in Manhattan and she created this haven so her world can centre around her daughter. This kicks ass to the myth that women cannot succeed in business and bring up babies at the same time or that they have to sacrifice one for the other.

In Kell on Earth we meet the real players of People’s Revolution ie the ones who did the real work while Whitney and Roxy waltzed around all day gossiping about their trivial problems. There is Robyn Berkely who is Kelly’s right hand and a partner at the company. She lives and breathes fashion so much that she forgot to find somewhere to live when the lease for her apartment expired and now inhabits a room one of the floors in the People’s Revolution building. Like Kelly, Robyn has very high demands and will not tolerate mistakes. The pert, Emily Bungert is also a partner at the firm and is a feisty madam from the Midwest who tells it like it is. Stefanie Skinner, is Kelly’s former PA who has just been promoted to junior executive and is struggling to stay above water to meet the demands of her bosses. She is a tough cookie though and is not frightened to fight her corner even against the mighty Kelly. Then there is Andrew Mukamal, Kelly’s new PA and the only male in a room full of strong and opinionated women. His love of fashion and goth like dress style makes him a big hit with all members of staff who he can be seen lending a listening ear to.

I find it very interesting watching Kelly at work because then I think of Rachel Zoe and how very different they both are. Rachel is very girly girly and Kelly is not, Rachel is also quite touchy feely with her staff and something tells me that Kelly would collapse into a big heap of black lycra if anyone tried to hug her. However what the two women have in common is their passion for fashion, obsessive eye for details and demands for perfection. In a nutshell, the reality show was surprisingly good; pacey enough so you can get caught up in the drama but not too over melodramatic that you lose touch with it. While shows like The Hills and The City have presented a fairytale look at working in fashion, Kell on Earth knocks that tooth right on the head. Kelly’s book, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You was released this week much to her dismay which she described as hell on earth. The book is aimed at women who choose not to have the conventional lifestyle ie getting a degree, getting a great job, getting married and having a baby and yes in that exact order. It acts as an empowerment tool for women who are just a little bit different. 

Kell on Earth airs on Mondays on Bravo TV at 10.00pm.