No, we're NOT dead...REAL-ly!!!
Many folks were inquisitive as to the apparent demise of THE REAL RE-Edit which- while it stroked my ego somewhat to get email after email expressing concern and having people ask about it at almost every social affair I attended- made me realize that now is as good a time as any for the its resurgence. I was going to sit out the remainder of the year, targeting January 1st 2009 as the "relaunch date". But how could I sit idly by while history was being made in the White House, beauty was being made on the runways and in art galleries, and pop culture grew even more interesting with every passing day? With the stock market plunging lower and lower, many more folks in foreclosure than even six months ago, and with no real economic uptick in sight, a lot of us have seen the demise of a lot of businesses, jobs, and perks. So why should THE REAL RE-Edit follow that trend? It shouldn't. So... here ya go- some things to ponder as we gorge ourselves with turkey and all the dressings this week...
Some things to be thankful for this weekend
1-Be thankful you didn't take that "dream" Thanksgiving holiday trip to India...Because you didn't (or couldn't), you are sitting comfortably at home reading THE REAL RE-Edit while gasping at the coverage of the Mumbai massacre on CNN...
2- Be thankful you chose to forego playing a part in the obscene consumerism that the day after Thanksgiving brings out in some people at most retail outlets...
Because of that decision, you weren't in the Toys R Us parking lot in Palm Desert, CA. when two men exhanged gunfire, nor where you at the Walmart in Valley Stream, NY when people stampeded the doors, causing the death of a Walmart employee.
3- Be thankful you don't have an infant to feed (or that you choose to breastfeed!), given the levels of melamine found in infant formula products lately...
Months after baby formula imported from China was found to be tainted with the kidney-damaging chemical melamine, the FDA still cannot guarantee the absence of the chemical from the three major formula makers in the U.S, which produce 90% of the country's product.
4- Be thankful that a senseless tragedy hasn't robbed you of the opportunity to spend the holidays with your mother just as your music career was beginning to flourish...
We can't imagine what Thanksgiving must feel like for Jennifer Hudson this year.
5- Be thankful that a senseless tragedy hasn't robbed you of the opportuntry to spend the holidays with your mother just as you were blossoming into a beautiful little girl...
Casey Anthony, mother of Caylee Anthony, has been indicted on seven criminal counts-including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to police. While Casey Anthony has been arrested, the death of 3 year-old Caylee Anthony makes us look at our own children with much more love this season. 
Questions for the Zeitgeist- the THANKS for GIVING edition!!!
1- Pardon me, Mr. President...
Shouldn't rapper/Fugees producer John Forte (and his manager Carly Simon) offer his THANKS to President Bush for commuting the remaining 7 years of his 14-year cocaine distribution conviction, thereby GIVING him a second chance at a viable music career?
2- Madge's SECOND "Ray of Light"...
Shouldn't Madonna extend her THANKS to Guy Ritchie for GIVING her a divorce without resorting to the accusations of adultery that everyone else is accusing her of?
3-From the blonde who's lovelife EVERYONE seemingly cares about to the blonde who's lovelife NO ONE seems to cares about...
Bets are being settled across the country, as Paris Hilton and her "brother-in-law-by-proxy" Benji Madden announce their breakup. Should Benji proffer THANKS to Paris for GIVING him his freedom while also proffering his THANKS to her for GIVING him the sexually-transmitted disease that the majority of gossipmongers intimate she has?
4- While we're on this theme of Thanksgiving...
Isn't candied cranberry sauce the nastiest thing you can put on your dinner plate?
5-Missy's misses...
Should Jazmine Sullivan give THANKS to Tweet for GIVING her both her producer AND her sound? And what happened to the Tweet CD that was supposed to come out this past September? 
6-'Foxy Brown' not necessarily The Baddest Chick"...
70's Blactress Pam Grier to release a memoir through Grand Central Publishing in 2010chronicling her rise through the blaxploitation movie era while managing not to get pigeonholed. That's great, but...shouldn't JUDY PACE do the same???
7- Proposition "LATE"?...
Seeming to fume over the outcome of Proposition 8 (the California constitutional amendment that effectively banned gay marriage in the state), comedian Wanda Sykes came out as gay, saying "Everybody that knows me personally they know I'm gay". Sykes (who is funny as HELL and whose recent October marriage was recognized by California's municipalities until it was NOT recognized the day after Election Day) said the passage of Proposition 8 made her feel like she was being (personally)attacked. Wait a minute...Wanda Sykes is GAY and came out last week???!!! Should we even feign surprise?
8- BARACK-STARs???
He's been on the cover of Rolling Stone twice in the past year. He has garnered good will across the world, from Berlin to Brooklyn. He is one of GQ magazine's 'Man of the Year', as well as the darling of the majority of the American electorate (at least for now). We are confident in his abilities, but... is President-Elect Barack Obama being marketed as 'The Last American Superhero', able to leap tall budgets with a single veto? Are people unfairly looking at him as "the second coming", able to turn water to wine and fix foreclosures overnight?
8a- She has rocked everything from Alexander McQueen and Thakoon Panichgul to J. Crew and H&M- to RAVE reviews (mostly! That Election night ensemble was questionable at best!). She eschews harrowing high-heeled stilettos (mostly!) for flattering flats or subtle sabrina heels. Avon Cosmetics is publishing a Michelle Obama Style Guide due out this spring. Which continues to beg the question...Is Michelle O. "the second coming" of Jacki O.?
9- Speaking of all things presidential...
What if John Edwards had won the Democratic nomination before the press had uncovered the secret of his infidelity (and rumored love-child)? Would John McCain be en route to the White House? Was that the REAL reason Edwards dropped out of the race so soon? Moreover, why hasn't Edwards submitted to a DNA paternity test to quiet claims that he's the father of his former mistress' child?
10-Aren't we happy that singer/actress/performance-artist/activist/beauty ICON Grace Jones has a new CD out, 'The Hurricane' ?(http://www.thehurricaneiscoming.com/)
11- Speaking of DIVAS with new music projects...Aren't we glad that the talented trio Labelle have finally reunited and put out a new project, 'Back to NOW", as well?
11a- Shouldn't Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, and Fantasia get together and do a remake of Labelle's classic, 'What Can I do For You'?
11b- How do we feel about Jennifer Hudson's "The-Boy-Is-Mine-meets-any-Betty-Wright-song"-like duet with Fantasia, 'I'm His Only Woman', on her debut CD?
12- The Dreamgirl's nightmare...
Why haven't we heard about any news in the Jennifer Hudson family tragedy? The arrest of Jennifer's estranged brother-in-law aside, why hasn't the "Spotlight" been put on the Chicago Police Department to find, arrest and formally charge whoever perpetrated the murders?
(UPDATE: As of Tuesday, December 2nd, Chicago police have formally charged Hudson's brother-in-law, William Balfour, with all three crimes)
13- If I can't sell it, I'm gonna sit right on it...
While some of us are scrambling with two (or three!) jobs to make ends meet, shouldn't we bow down to NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury, who has figured out how to make money without doing a damn thing? Due to his public squabble with The New York Knicks, Marbury was fined $400,000 and excised from the team's opening rotation indefinitely. However, because of his untradeable $21.9 million contract, he gets an estimated $4100.00 for every second he sits on his ass on the bench...So who's REALLY getting f*()_CKed???
14- Don't Sleep on Dave...
Though not a hearthrob and never voted one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive", he continues to get the choice cuts of Hollywood tuna. Past conquests include Lara Flynn Boyle, blonde bombshells Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson, girl-next-door Jennifer Love Hewitt, 'Desperate Housewives' star Teri Hatcher, and sexpot Carmen Electra. His new chick, plucked right out of Michael Bolton's arms, is none other than (Teri's 'Desperate Housewives' co-star)Nicolette Sheridan. Exactly what does comedian David Spade have swinging between his legs?
15- Are you not Entertained???
Cedric The Entertainer, John Leguizamo and Haley Joel Osment will need to find new gigs, as their Broadway play, the revival of the David Mamet- penned "American Buffalo" recently closed...after a week's run of eight performances!!! Did Cedric choose the wrong Mamet revival, as "Speed-the-Plow," starring Jeremy Piven, Elisabeth Moss and Raul Esparza, continues to run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre?
Recession? What recession?
THE REAL RE-Edit gets economically medieval on your asses for a few minutes...
The following rant was borne out of a conversation I was having at a recent brunch (which turned into a dinner party!). As I sat devouring the tastiest crepes I think I've ever had, one of the party's attendees was trying to make the case that the United States was in better economic shape than the mainstream media would lead us to believe. I damn-near choked as he gave his version of John McCain's "the U.S. economy is basically strong" presidential campaign gaffe.
It is painfully obvious that the United States IS in a recession. While I don't pretend to know any more about economics than the average American citizen who relies on CNN and the BBC for information, I think I've figured out how a world superpower like the U.S.A., who had a surplus under the last Democratic president, could take a turn for the economic worse in a little more than 8 short years. The upshot of it is that we fell prey to American arrogance. Even as terrorists tried to shake us from our collective phantasm on 9/11, we continued to think we could just shop through our domestic and economic problems- even though we were using the next generation's money.
But how did we get HERE? The credit-card-backed shopping sprees and sheisty mortgage-backed securities didn't necessarily start this mess; I submit that it was the selling off of American companies and culture itself- the "fleecing" of America if you will- that started the ball rolling toward two straight quarters where the Gross National Product has contracted. Today America finds itself deeper and deeper indebted to other countries, specifically China. This past summer, we even found ourselves on their very soil- not besting them in technology or scientfic development, but competing for gold, silver, and bronze.
However, while the Olympians battled in Beijing (well, at least those who weren't doping, Marion Jones and Antonio Pettigrew!), America's economic veneer was slowly being stripped away, fleeced even, by the very countries that we've sold our economic soul to. China, the Middle East, and every other part of the world that takes advantage of our trade policies, oil dependence, domestic product inferiority and military preoccupations, all participated in the grand march of the Olypic's opening ceremony, while the collapse of the American dollar against the Euro and other currency forms laid the foundation for some of these countries -who were strapped with billions of dollars and a need for some very high-end retail therapy- to take advantage of what amounted to American red-light specials. Even four years ago, no one thought about the absurdity of living way beyond our national economic means, borrowing future money from the very countries that we were simultaneously liquidating our present American assets to.
Consider:
-Chrysler Building bought by Dubai...
Even as we are slaves to oil from the Middle East, we continued to hand over our assets to the oil-producing country of Dubai. Now, in addition to charging us ridiculous amounts of money to ship oil from overseas, we can now pay exorbitant amounts of money to rent the very office/retail space in American that we sold to them. BRILLIANT, huh? (get the full story here)
-Dunkin Doughnuts owned by The Carlyle Group...
Remember back in the day we smiled at that quintessential Dunkin Doughnuts commercial where our trusty baker fumbled his way out of bed in his tiny home in Anytown, U.S.A at the crack of dawn, mumbling "It's time to make the doughnuts"? Those days are over. Now, we are so incensed over Rachael Ray appearing in a commercial for Dunkin Doughnuts wearing a simple, lack-and-white printed scarf that we declare her wardrobe an affront to American ideals. In a ridiculously unbridled (and might I add, completely unfounded)) case of American moral outrage, some levied accusations of subliminal terrorist ties at a company trying to push coffee and doughnuts just because Ray's scarf (if u strained your eyes really hard) supposedly resembled a Palestinian kaffiyeh. Surely she (and by default, Dunkin Doughnuts) were supporting Palestinian hate and terrorism by her wearing it in nation-wide ads, they surmised.
It never occurred to those hurling those untruths that the article of clothing in question wasn't in fact a kaffiyeh (which is worn primarily as a show of solidarity by Palestinian men), but rather a scarf that you can get on any street corner in New York City (and so what if it was a kaffiyeh- isn't Ray entitled to her political views- if she had any- in this country?). It also never occurred to those "concerned citizens" that instead of participating in what could only be described as a ridiculous post 9/11 attempt at modern-day McCarthyism, they ought to instead be concerned with the idea that key americana (and jobs) were being supplanted by foreign interests. I find it interesting that there can be such misdirected uproar over Ray's "scarf", but no outcry over the business acquisitions and practices of the OWNERS of Dunkin Doughnuts- part investment firm, part U.S. defense contractor The Carlyle Group. In September 2007, Mubadala Development Company- an investment vehicle for the government of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates- purchased a 7.5% stake of the company for $1.35 billion. Under the auspices of the UAE-owned Mubadala Development Company- if you believe filmmaker Michael Moore's claims in his documentary Farenheit 911- The Carlyle Group had close business ties with the bin Laden family prior to the World Trade Center collapse and conflict of interest issues with The Bush family and several U.S government officials. But no one's screaming over that. Brilliant, huh?
-Coors Breweries owned (in part) by Canadian Molson
Even the national pastime of sitting back and chugging back a beer has economic ramifications these days, depending on what you drink. The USA is the world’s most profitable beer market. With the U.S.-Canada NAFTA trade policies undoubtedly benefitting them, The Molson company of Canada, and Coors of the United States- two of North America's largest breweries , merged to become the Molson Coors Brewing Company on February 9, 2005- headquartered out of Montreal Canada.
Then on October 9, 2007, South African-founded SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Company announced a joint venture to be known as MillerCoors for their U.S. operations that will market all of their products. SABMiller is headquartered in London, England, and even though the MillerCoors venture will be headquartered in Chicago, it still makes the inevitable fleecing of American jobs hard to swallow, no matter how good the hops are. Think about that the next time you take a swig of your Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Olde English 800, Milwaukee’s Best, and Miller Chill.
All of this while the some of the US railroads were on the selling blocks. CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation's leading transportation companies, providing rail-based transportation services through its approximately 21,000 route mile rail network, which serves every major population center in 23 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces on Ontario and Quebec. It serves 70 ocean, river and lake ports along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway with track connections to more than 230 short-line and regional railroads. Now this important entity, which provides the undeniable nuts-and-bolts that make it possible for government and private businesses to transport goods and services throughout the East Coast of the United States, was reportedly up for grabs.
American real estate, doughnuts and beer are one thing, but transportation?
In that same vein, a while back the management of some of the United States' most important maritime ports were up for sale to- wait for it- Dubai Ports World, before widespread outrage over national security effectively led to a veto on legislation which President George Bush and former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole tried, ineffectively, to push through congress. Although Dubai wasn't brazen enough to think that they would be able to just walk into a deal wherein they would manage a major aspect of American security just by asking for it, they took the back way in. Disturbingly enough, American ports are not stevedored, or managed, by American companies. At that time, they were managed by London firm Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O); Dubai Ports World simply acquired P&O, thinking that they would assume all P&O contracts. In February 2006, came reports that there were 22 U.S. ports in the deal, including Portland, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Davisville, Rhode Island; New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Camden, New Jersey; Wilmington, Delaware; Baltimore, Maryland; and Virginia locations at Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth we well as nine ports along the Gulf of Mexico .
In a movement spearheaded by New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the national community was galvanized and the public outcry against the sale proved too much. Dubai Ports World eventually sold P&O's American operations to American International Group's (AIG) asset management division for an undisclosed sum. Yeah, that AIG...
And those are just the ones I can think of offhand...
THEN the subprime foreclosure mess comes along, with its fine print at the bottom of loan applications and its grossly maladjusted adjustable-rate mortgages. Many new homeowners found they couldn't afford the homes they bought once the interest rate rose on the legally-sanctioned (but rather criminal) loans they were approved for. The issue of foreclosure starting budding its ugly head in a real way around 2006. Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac (who were already on the brink of a Federal takeover by virtue of a well-intentioned but ultimately flawed legislatively backed plan to put lower-income families into homes), then have their bad business decisions underwritten by the U.S government, opening the floodgates for other major U.S. businesses to put their hands out for help. Wall Street investment firms (including AIG), in the biggest legal pyramid scheme this country has probably ever seen, collapse because they purchased Fannie and Freddie's ill-gotten gains in the form of mortgage-backed securities- but not before rewarding their CEOs with unspeakable bonuses for their questionable business acumen. Automakers fly in (on their private jets, mind you), asking for a piece of the taxpayer-bankrolled pie.
Congress will eventually relent and release even more of the fear-ridden $700 billion bailout piggy bank, correctly rationalizing that not helping these all-important monopolies (which the government is supposed to regulate and protect consumers from) would result in even more adversely-affected employment levels and consumer spending. Thus begins the whole horrible cycle of borrowing from other countries on credit to pay our domestic bills all over again ...
Couple all of this with trade policies that don't benefit the average American worker, record new unemployment claims and an unwillingness for the mortgage-holders to negotiate with struggling borrowers, and you have the perfect storm for the road to the recession...
That's how I see it. How about YOU???...
(UPDATE!!! A couple of days after this went to press came news from the National Bureau of Economic Research, stating that not only is the U.S currently in a recession, but that we've BEEN in a recession since last December!!! Take that, Mr. __________; (you know who you are!)
THE RECESSION-PROOF CLUB
Are we REALLY in tough times, because some of us aren't acting like it.
Some situations to ponder as we "debate" whether or not we can afford that $388.00 flat screen LCD television from Walmart...
THOSE WHO ARE ACTING AS THOUGH THEY HAVE MONEY TO BURN...
- On the heels of the biggest deficit NY State has seen in decades (which might result in a trip on the NYC subway being raised to TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS!!!!), it seems Governor David Paterson is living by the old adage "Do what I say, not what I do". Recent reports surfaced that $21,000 of taxpayer money was spent on a pair of antique Turkish patchwork rugs for the Governor's upstate mansion. Which explains a lot...Why would it seem ridiculous to force the people of New York City to cough up TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS FOR A SINGLE TRIP on the subway or to deny the city's employees raises to keep up with the cost of inflation if we have an administration that feels its okay to spend the equivalent of a half-year's salary for a low-level NY government staffer ON A RUG(that, by the way, he can't even SEE!)?
AND THOSE WHO ARE PAINFULLY AWARE THAT WE ARE IN A RECESSION...
1- First Lady-Elect and fabulous fashionista Michelle Obama in J. Crew...enough said.
2- One "Fugee" out of a mess, one "Fugee" in...While Fugees producer John Forte enjoys his new-found freedom, it seems Wyclef Jean has found himself imprisoned by foreclosure, for failing to satisfactorily repay a 2.4 million loan on his as-yet unfinished Miami mansion. Looks like the bank is telling Wyclef "Ready or not, here I come, you can't hide..."
3- Ed McMahon is reportedly having his own home (which he lost to foreclosure) leased to him by Donald Trump...Shouldn't he enter the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes?
4- Guess which 'Real Housewives of Atlanta" star is in foreclosure? Guess which one reportedly filed for bankruptcy?
5- Yeah, he still has $35.1 billion to work with, but...
Even one of the richest men in the world is cutting back. Reports surfaced this week that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the most famous charitable foundation which doles out grants to address global health initiatives, is decreasing the amount they are releasing from their coffers in the next year...Next thing you know, Bill will be asking for his old Microsoft job back...
5a- Microsoft plans to avoid the Fannie/Freddie/Bear Stearns/ fiaso by buying back $40 million in its own stock. Now if only they can get all the kinks out of Windows Vista...
The CULTURE Club
Even as our bank accounts grow smaller, there's still no reason to shortchange our patronage of the fine arts. This summer, NYC residents were treated to danish-born Olafur Eliasson's visions of fluidity around the city. Although the installations have been removed (they were disassembled in October), Eliasson's gigantic "water sculptures" under the Brooklyn Bridge and other points on NYC's East River demonstrated New York's biggest commitment to a public work since The Gates, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artistic statement which ran for two weeks in Central Park back in 2005.As THE REAL RE-Edit is still trying to get its collective head around the creative energy of South-African born artist Robin Rhode , there are still great artistic offerings out there for your consumption.
Consider...
-Robin Rhode's street art seems at once allegorical, basic and graphic, his urban narratives expressive in the same way that Jean-Michele Basquiat's seemed abstract, and his mixed media is both playful and thought-provoking...
-Khalif Kelly (and company)at The Studio Museum in Harlem...
Ever since redefining what it means to truly support emerging black artistic talent with three artistically erudite exhibitions- namely 'Frequency', 'Freestyle' and then 'Flow'- The Studio Museum In Harlem has redefined the vibration of the space they inhabit on 125th Street. Always ahead of the curve, Studio brought celebrated artists like Kehinde Wiley and Kara Walker to the forefront, while still showcasing lesser-known (and lesser-celebrated) artists in their hallowed halls. This season brings even more heavyweights; of particular excitement to THE REAL RE-Edit is Khalif Kelly's works . Currently one of three artists-in-residence at The Studio for 2008 (joining Adam Pendleton and Dawit L. Petros), Kelly melds pop culture with classical references shown through the eyes of beautiful black children. Add to that the incredibly prolific Barkley L. Hendricks, the extremely expressive and intellectual visual artist George E. Lewis (who won a MacArthur "Genius" award in 2002), Shinique Smith, and a host of others doing their thing and you have a great museum experience. Best of all, The Studio is continuing their commitment to the community by extending free admission to everyone on the first Saturday of every month, and- through sponsorship underwritten by Target- Sundays at The Studio are FREE as well!
-David LaChapelle is due to be exhibited at the Hôtel de la Monnaie in Paris, Feb. 5 to May 31, 2009. Whether its his version of the Mona Lisa (featuring the paripatetic Madonna clutching a thorny heart) or a new series of 3-D photo installations he's been working on, LaChapelle is slated to attend the opening of 'Going to LaChapelle', his biggest show in France to date.
The(Budget???)Fashionista Files
-More evidence that Isaac Mizrahi was onto something when he introduced the concept of "high/low" via his line at Target department stores...Mass retailer H&M is turning it for their designer collaborations! Rei Kawakubo for Comme Des Garcons joins Roberto Cavalli, Marimekko, Kylie Minogue, Viktor and Rolf, Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, and Madonna as the latest sensation to hock a lower-priced collection to the masses.
Word on the street is the next designer to make his debut at the retailer will be none other than Matthew Williamson, who will make his mens and women's collections for the chain available in April 2009...
-Seems that fashion collaborations can't save EVERY retailer...Steve and Barry's (which narrowly escaped bankruptcy back in September by closing some stores while simultaneously finding a $168 million benefactor in Bay Harbour Management) recently announced that they would liquidate the merchandise in their remaining stores (which include Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker, Dear by Amanda Bynes, Eleven by Venus Williams and Starbury by Stephon Marbury) and close up shop completely. Those who raided Steve and Barry's a couple of months ago for those $5 "Sex and the City" t-shirts (from SJP's line) are probably glad they did...
-Steve and Barry's is just one of the many destinations that shoppers will have to take off of their list for their "Black Friday" retail therapy...
Those closing completely include Mervyns and Linens 'N Things, while popular retail stores like Circuit City, Mattress Discounters, Dillards, Limited Too, Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Ann Taylor,The Disney Store,The Sprint Store, Home Depot, and Ethan Allen are closing a significant number of their stores. Depending on where you live, you won't be able to eat at Bennigans or grab a latte at Starbucks, as a good portion of these stores are closing as well. Kohl's and Walmart, which remain solid ,economy notwithstanding, are geared up to take your money with Black Friday deals that seem like giveaways. Old Navy, though, takes the cake with across-the-board 50% discounts on everything in the store...
Chicks that we love...
-First we divorce, then we shop...
Not one to let something like the public dissolution of her marriage get in the way of her cash, Madonna has a NEW fashion collaboration on the way---starring in the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign for 2009 (the stylist for the session was Marie Amelie Sauve, fashion editor for Vogue Paris and consultant for Balenciaga, by the way!) . She was rumored to have been paid $10 million for the images (shot by Vogue magazine wunderkind photographer Steven Meisel-whom she worked with on her "Sex" book)- which would fatten her post-divorce pursestrings now that she won't have fork over a single cent to her ex-husband in their divorce settlement...Love that chick..
(UPDATE: On Monday, December 15, came reports that Madonna will probably fork over $75 million to Mr. Ciccone Ritchie in a post-marriage settlement. Looks like she might want to invest some of that Vuitton cash!)
Told y'all She was gonna bump like this...
-You model chicks better watch your backs!!!! Many of you scoffed when THE REAL RE-Edit profiled Arlenis waaaaaay back in the day (well, this past Spring!). With her recent "coronation" in this past summer's Italian Vogue, her recent profile in November's American Vogue, her complete domination of runways both domestic and abroad over the last two seasons (she opened and closed Oscar de la Renta's Spring 2009 show, and ramped in countless others), and her recent coup in landing a cosmetics contract as one of the newest faces of Lancome just six months after being whisked off the streets of Santo Domingo, should Chanel Iman and Jourdan Dunn start bowing down to the Dominican super-chica?
(P.S....There are always one (or two) waiting in the wings...)
- Her editorial in this past summer's Italian Vogue etched her face into the cerebral cortex of every fashionista from Milan to Manhattan (including Kanye West, who she's rumored to be dating). She possesses the savage beauty of androgynous masculoid Omahyra and the burnt cafe au lait skin of the late Katoucha. All of this while STILL being able to book Victoria's Secret.
Is there any doubt that Sessilee Lopez is the face of the future?
Is 5'11" Celia Johnson poised to join Arlenis and Sessilee Lopez as one of the "next new" girls?
-How HOT is Agyness Deyn's new ad and television commercial for Jean Paul Gaultier's newest fragrance, 'Madame'? So ahead of her time...
Hello... Kimmy?
-Speaking of being ahead of the curve, it seems that Kimora Lee was prescient when she incorporated Hello Kitty into the Simmons Jewelry Company line (Kimora ahead of the curve? There's something I never thought I'd say!) . However, she may have missed a great opportunity for her KLS makeup line, as Hello Kitty has teamed with the maquillage monopoly known as MAC cosmetics to produce the pop culture phonomena's first makeup line!!!
Makeup fiends, get thee to http://www.maccosmetics.com/ for online orders (which begin Jan 7th for the Feb 10th online rollout) or to the nearest MAC counter on the Feb 12th in-store rollout in North America- the line is only going to be available for a maximum of eight weeks!!!
BUT...THE REAL RE-Edit wonders aloud...Why wouldn't the kitsch pop culture company align itself with one of the most kitsch (and conspicuously consumptive) individuals in modern antiquity? My guess is that Hello Kitty owner Sanrio Global Consumer Products probably thought that if Kimora HERSELF doesn't believe in her own makeup line enough to carry it EXCLUSIVELY in her own bag, why should anyone else?
FASHION REMIX: Mugler's Mutiny
As if taking its cue from the recently resuscitated Halson and Herve Leger lines, it seems Thierry Mugler is up next. Thierry Mugler Edition (which was designed by the line's artistic director, Rosemary Rodgriguez), made a little drop in the fashion pond when it was shown in Mugler's Paris showroom last summer. Conspicuously absent from fashion lately, monsieur Mugler busies himself with the fragrance/beauty aspect of his house (which accounts for about 80% of his total business; hence the ubiquitous "Angel" parfum/eau de toilet that seems to be EVERYWHERE once the Fall weather hits).THE REAL RE-Edit predicts that the Mugler label, replete with the sharp lines, cutting corsetry, painfully perfect peplum, and fashion-as-fetish aesthetic it was famous for in the 80's and 90s, will make its way back onto the backs of the citizens of the fashion landcape- SOON... (don't say we didn't tell you...) REALly, if Beyonce and Ciara are up on it, can a complete 'pop culture' resurgence be far behind?...
Remember this Mugler mini-retrospective from the 1995 Vh-1 Fashion Awards?
-Speaking of everything old (from the 90's) being new again, Romeo Gigli will return to our closets as of Fall 2009 with his new line Ipse Idem. Although a new project for Gigli, his prices remain as steep as the old Gigli (Retail prices for the blouses range from $565 to $816, coats average $1,256 while the knitwear is about $565). We ARE in a recesssion, right?
Labouring in Louboutins? Lack of Labour at DNR?
-Seems Thierry Mugler isn't the only designer that seems obssessed with the idea of fashion as self-torture...Exactly WHO will be buying the EIGHT-INCH HEELS (sans platform!) that Christian Louboutin is rumored to be debuting next year?
Will he have women on the streets of New York doing their own version of Naomi's tumble at that infamous Vivienne Westwood show?
-The thought of eight-inch heels undoubtedly pains some women, but Menswear afficionados are feeling some pain as well, as news comes that DNR magazine- the "bible" of menswear fashion industry- is folding into Womens Wear Daily (which most credit as the "bible" of the womenswear fashion industry). Will Fairchild publications (which produces WWD) give the world of menswear the same depth of coverage it enjoyed at DNR, now that it has to share printed space?...-While we're pondering the future of fashion...
He designed a line about 4 years ago, followed by a t-shirt line, then evaporated into fashion's very thin air. He's also rumored to be dating one of THE REAL RE-Edit's obsessions (and Vogue "Girl of the Moment") Genevieve Jones.
The question is: WHERE THE HELL is fashion heir-apparent Moises de la Renta?
FLASHBACK...
Since we are calling for the re-emergence of the Thierry Mugler line, why not take a minute to watch the video which brought Mugler to the mainstream (as well as the second time this ex-member of Wham!UK used supermodels to sell his records)... George Michael's Too Funky" video...
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