Fashioning February: Pop Idol or Stylista?

2009 was most definately the year of Lady Gaga and it was also a year which Rihanna would never forget for personal and career reasons. Both singers sold bucket loads of albums; Gaga had collaborations with Akon, Beyonce and Rihanna dueted with Jay Z and Kanye West. However as successful as these women are I find it hard to warm to them because I do not think they are great vocalists. You see I am a bit of a purist and I believe that people should hone their craft before they kick start their career and to me neither ladies can sing. I don't get any joy listening to Gaga's voice the way I do when I hear Whitney, Mariah or Lauryn Hill and Rihanna's voice frankly just jars me. As far as I am concerned both ladies are all about the image nothing more and nothing less and Lady Gaga and Rihanna's looks have most certainly been their fortune. Take yourself back to 2005 when Rihanna first came on the scene. With her long brown weave and sexy outfits she was dismissed as a poor man's Beyonce. Fast forward to 2007 with a monster hit, Umbrella and she was on everyone's lips. So what happened between those two years? Simple, a stylist. Out went the long brown weave, jeans and cropped tops and in came an edgy asymetric bob that you would die for as well as a funky designer couture which consisted of man suits, netted skirts and shoulder pads. Not many artists deserve to be compared to Madonna but I would say that Lady Gaga does. Her revolving image is rather akin to the Queen of Pop. The mini blonde manages to combine pop, performance art and fashion in the same way that Madonna has been doing for over 20 years. With her own production team called Haus of Gaga, Ms Gaga takes her fashion very seriously, pity she can't hold a note though. We all know that image is everything in the music industry and your success is all about the way you look and the way you brand yourself but somehow I think we have gone a bit too far with Gaga and Rihanna.  The only people who seem to show any talent from the Rihanna and Lady Gaga camp are Mariel Haenn and Nicola Formichetti who style them respectively. So maybe it should be the stylist going up to pick up all the awards?

I decided to ask two ladies who breathe fashion and music to share their thoughts on Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

Ruki Garuba, stylist and founder of Neon Style by Ruki.

Lysa Cooper is the stylist who introduced Rihanna to the world of European labels and couture. I believe that’s where her true passion for fashion started then Mariel Haenn came on board and helped her grow and develop a look that’s like no one else out there. In addition Mariel is also a designer, so even if what they want isn't in the store, they can have it made. Gone is the tomboy we met in Pon De Replay and the girly girl in SOS. The Rihanna we have now is so hard and so sexy. She is lucky to have been blessed with two amazing stylists, I admire the work both stylists have done with Rihanna as well as their other clients. I think her musical success means that the label give her a bigger buying budget for appearances and promo, therefore it’s slightly easier to get creative. Her musical success and model like proportions also mean that brands will be more open to working with her because they know that their pieces will be look amazing on her and they'll get international exposure. Lady Gaga definitely has people talking again and excited about seeing life shows. She’s a brilliant entertainer and very talented, plus no one else looks like her right now. She’s like a modern Madonna. I know that Gaga is very hands on when it comes to her wardrobe selection and also how she wants to look. In the beginning she was going out and buying pieces herself and customising them herself too. So now it must be easier for her to have a stylist that gets her vision and evolve it for her – which means she can focus on the music and performance side, which is how it should be.

Janice Spence, founder and editor of Mad News. 

Rihanna doesn't have a very good voice. I have heard her sing live and her backing band were playing their instruments extra loud, which kept on drowning out her vocals. I'm guessing that this was done deliberately. Lady GaGa on the other hand can sing. I am not a big fan of her music but the woman always delivers with her live vocals. I think that Lady GaGa has made a huge impact on the industry because to many she's original and brings the fun and wierdness back in to pop music. She creates a buzz. As for Rihanna, I don't think she's made much of an impact musically. I think the situation with former boyfriend Chris Brown has made more of an impact. In today's music industry I would say that it is more about image than singing talent. All you need is a pretty face, a nice figure and a top class stylist, make-up artist and hairdresser. When Island Def Jam signed Rihanna they were only interested in her looks and figure. They knew she couldn't sing a lick but that didn't matter. They used "studio magic" to make her vocals sound half way decent and brought in the best production teams and song writers to create the illusion of talent. The same can also be said for Ciara, Ashanti, Christina Milian and even Keri Hilson.

What do you think? Are Rihanna and Lady Gaga great music artists or just brilliant clothes horses?

Fashioning February: Retro review - Desperately Seeking Susan

Susan played by Madonna is a free spirit who roams from place to place living out of a round leopard suitcase. She has a casual relationship with Jim played by Robert Joy who is a member of a local rock band. He keeps in touch with her by placing an advert in the personal section of the New York Mirror to let her know when she is in town. Their romance is observed by Roberta played by Rosanna Arquette who is a bored housewife living in New Jersey. Unsatisfied with her life as the wife of Gary played by Mark Blum, a totally self absorbed sales guy, she begins to live vicariously though Susan's more exciting one. One day after seeing Jim's latest ad for Susan to meet him at Battery Park she decides to turn up and watch them at play. Meanwhile Susan finds out that a guy she had a one night stand with was killed right after she left him but unknown to her she actually passed the killer in the hotel when she was on her way out. The killer got a good look at her pyramid style jacket but not her face.

After Susan and Jim's brief reconciliation, Jim takes off to a gig and Susan goes shopping with Roberta following her. Entering a thrift store Susan sees a pair of boots she likes and swaps them with her distinctive jacket, Roberta buys the jacket from the shop owner and places her own ad for Susan inviting her to meet her to Battery Park. Susan is frantic to get her jacket back as it has the key for the locker where she kept her suitcase. However two events occur that prevent Susan and Roberta meeting; Susan gets arrested for not paying her cab fare and Roberta is knocked unconscious after trying to flee from the killer of Susan's one night stand. Coming to Roberta's aid is Dez played by Aiden Quinn, Jim's pal who has been asked to keep an eye on Susan, worried that she may come to harm. Seeing Roberta in Susan's jacket, Dez assumes that she is Susan and as Roberta is suffering from amnesia due to her little accident she is none the wiser. She moves in with Dez and gets a job as a magician's assistant. Meanwhile, Roberta's husband is looking for her as well as Susan and the killer who thinks she is Susan.

On retrospect, Desperately Seeking Susan was a pretty good film, had a decent script, great cast and a wonderful wardrobe. Sadly it never got the kudos it deserved simply because Madonna was in it. Saying that the film will always be known for its brilliant fashion, particularly that of Susan, whose style was basically a mesh of Madonna's look as it was then and the character's. Susan rocked backcombed hair which was hlghlighted to the max, her make up consisted of black liquid eye liner and matte red lipstick. Her wardrobe was funky and boho with lace camisoles, lace gloves, shoe boots, trillberry hats raybans, sleeveless gloves, leggings and a sequined blazaar. The look was topped off with accessories - loads of them - necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Then there was the blazaar jacket which was the basis of the storyline; it had a leapord lapel and rolled up sleeves. Roberta's suburban housewife style was very preppy and full of dresses and jump suits topped off with pearls. There was a lot of nuetral colours and unstructured shapes going on which reinforced the character's sense of emptiness. Hubby, Garys wardrobe was mostly full of preppy armani suits along with designer sunglasses. Susan's frumpy bestie, Crystal could be seen in neon coloured tights, pretty cardigans, satin dresses and donning a grey rinse in her hair. This was pure Librarian chic before it became chic and as for the blue rinse - hello Tavi! The storyline in Desperately Seeking Susan might not have set the world alight but the fashion certainly did.

London Fashion Week @ 25

Can you believe that London Fashion Week (LFW) has been going for 25 years? I can’t get my head round it; I feel that the event has been going forever and I really cannot imagine a time when it never existed. I was also surprised to hear that LFW was more ore less created by PR guru, Lynne Franks and that the first ever show at LFW in February 1984 took place in a tent in a car park. The launch of LFW also coincided with the introduction of Virgin Atlantic and since then both brands have created a huge splash in the British cultural consensus. 1984 was also the year of Torvill and Dean the LA Olympics, Madonna mania, Band Aid and Thriller was the best selling album. Remember this was the era of the Miner’s strike where hardcore socialist battled with intolerant Thatcher regime and public morale was very low so the launch of a creative hot bed such as London Fashion Week was a breath of fresh air. According to designers such as Betty Jackson, showing at the inaugural LFW was like painting on a blank canvas. “It was really unorganised but we didn’t care because we were all so excited about it,” she enthuses. This is a far cry from the slick operation that the LFW now employ; it is all top notch security, elegant looking staff (dressed in black of course) at the reception and a very classy press area with complimentary hairdressers in the shape of Toni and Guy and MAC stand giving make overs.

The British Fashion Council is commemorating this momentous occasion by hosting a variety of events around London as well as legacy initiatives. The BFC have a brand new spanking website which is set to become an essential industry portal and act as a resource for designers. LFW will be moving to a new home and from September they will be based at the swish Somerset House. These celebrations will culminate in November at the British Fashion Awards where the good and great of British fashion will be honoured. The anniversary has been represented visually; all the publicity material for LFW has 25th logo emblazoned on it, including the corporate buses that ferry the journos and photographers between shows. So after an amazing 25 years what is next for LFW? Well the first thing is to maximise the exposure that the 2012 Olympics will bring to present the energy of the fashion industry. Also to maintain and grow London’s reputation as the birthplace of exciting talent and culturally diverse fashion industries. So roll on the next 25 years.

LFW in 1984

Designers: Betty Jackson, BodyMap, Jasper Conran, Arabella Pollen, Zandra Rhodes, Jean Muir, Vivienne Westwood and Caroline Charles
Venue: Olympia
Sponsors: Murjani
Celebrities: Boy George, Samantha Fox

LFW in 2009

Designers: Vivienne Westwood, Luella Bartley, Ben de Lisi, Basso and Brooke, Jenny Packham, Eley Kishimoto, Betty Jackson, Nicole Farhi, Jaeger and many more.
Venue: Natural History Museum
Sponsors: Canon Europe, London Development Agency, British Airways, Chambourd, Drapers, Evening Standard, Evian, Lavazza, LG, M*A*C Cosmetics, The May Fair Hotel, Monsoon, Moet & Chandon, Red Bull, Renault UK, Selective Beauty, Toni&Guy, TopShop, ToyWatch and UKTI.
Celebrities: Kanye West, Samantha Cameron, Alexa Chung, Roisin Murphy, Peaches Geldof and numerous others.

Images provided by the British Fashion Council

Roisin Murphy

I love my R&B and it is deeply rooted in my soul. I like other genres of music such as hip hop, reggae, raga, jazz, pop and even rock but R&B just does it for me. It is the variety; we’ve got jazz funk, electro funk and good old fashioned soul. Singing diva, Roisin Murphy has had a varied life; born In Arklow, moved to Manchester, lived in Ireland for a bit then back to Manchester and then to Sheffield and all by the time she was 17. It was in Sheffield where Roisin met Mark Brydon and the outfit known as Moloko was born. Between 1999 and 2001 Moloko released cool dance tunes such as Sing it Back and The Time is Now and established the fact that British artists could make refreshing music that was commercially successful. Roisin Murphy is now back with her second album which is heavenly and full of electronic dance beats accompanied by great melodies which she has co-written and co-produced. One of my favorite tunes on the album is Let Me Know which is a brilliant jazzy R&B track that has a fantastic video to go with it. Roisin looks amazing in it with her razor sharp bob and 60s make up. Check out her wicked dance moves. That lady is agile, Madonna eat yer heart out. Check out her mySpace account here and don't miss her on The Jools Holland Show on Friday 9th November.