TV REVIEW - TRUE BEAUTY

Tyra Banks' and Ashton Kutcher's new show, True Beauty, is the perfect synthesis of their 2 styles - model meets prankster. The contestants believe they are in a beauty contest, but they are really being tested on both inner and outer beauty. I found it interesting that in order to be a contestant, you had to be a stereotypical beauty with no consideration of the person's spirit, but it is TV.

The intros of each contestant were painful to watch. It was scary to watch people so horribly self absorbed focus 100% of their attention on their own physical beauty. It is sad that people could be so superficial and shallow and then be so vocal & cocky about it. These people obviously have a lot to learn.

There is one person who seems to be the clear front runner so far. CJ, an African American coffee barista, had a moment where he shared his past battles with weight and how those battles have shaped his self image. He says his new found beauty is just a costume covering the fat kid that he really is. I did not expect to hear this on this show so early on in the season.

I hope the show continues to have these moments of self realization, honesty and depth. The show was actually very entertaining and had some truly hilarious moments. After a while though, watching people cover their insecurities with bravado, ugliness and ignorance will not be enough - we already have enough of that on Charm School, The Bad Girls Club, any show with Paris Hilton, etc. I hope the message of inner beauty resonates with the audience and the participants. It sounds so cliche', but being ugly on the inside can make the most physically beautiful person look like an ogre on the outside. There is not enough MAC or Prada in the world that can beautify an ugly heart.

My hat always goes off to Ms. Banks who is unabashedly doing her thing, changing the world one TV show at a time. GET IT GIRL!!!

BRYNJA FOR YSL

There is something so right about the bold swipes of vivid color and graphic shapes pictured above from Fall 1987.

YSL is one of the best and most influential designers ever. He did have his moments when he lapsed into redundancy and oddity, maybe brought on by his long time struggles with drugs, men, love and mental health....but all things considered, this man was brilliant to the end. His scope of fashion was not just about his brilliant play of color (he was the best colorist in the world), drawing from the highs and lows of society and culture and mixing and playing on them like no one before him had ever done, his amazing draping techniques, understated and over-the-top use of embellishment or his use of bold shapes.......it was also about a broad, international, inclusive view of beauty. YSL put THE BEST of all beauty in the spotlight. From the regal African beauty of Mounia to the all-American glamour of Jerry Hall, Yves saw beauty in every type. Yves always had the best of each group - the best French girl, the best African girl, the best red head, the best blonde - his world view was about beauty in all of it's diversity. His runway was always a veritable mini UN - and the girls were the ambassadors of their countries and cultures. These varied cultures also were a huge inspiration to him.

One of his favorites was also one of mine - Miss Brynja. Brynja is an Icelandic model from the 80's who was a fave of YSL, Versace, Valentino and Donna Karan, among others. She was most known for her wafer thin, long lean body, her beautiful sweetheart shaped face (cheekbones for the gods, baby) and her dark, Louise Brooks bob (apparently, she is actually a blonde). It is rumored that Brynja was also a big druggie, like many in her era. True or not, she was FIERCE. This girl could work a runway with the best of them - she was from the Dalma, Katoucha and Marpessa school of RUNWAY FEROCITY!!!

Brynja is now a jewelry designer and spiritualist. I always find it very interesting what THE GIRLS end up doing with their time. Princess Mounia became a world renowned artist...Carla Bruni is the First Lady of France...Iman and Tyra are business moguls...before her untimely and deeply saddening death, Katoucha became a writer (following in her father's footsteps) and ambassador fighting against FGM (female genital mutilation)...Beverly Johnson became a wig magnate. I love growth, reinvention, evolution and ingenuity in creating or recreating one's life.

GIGANTA

Recently on America's Next Top Model, the girls participated in a photo shoot where they had to depict natural disasters of California. They were each put on a set with little cars and buildings to give the effect that they were giants (see above). The obvious inspiration for this shoot was ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN:

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But at further glance, I 'd bet my bottom dollar on where this shoot truly originated from. ALLURE magazine did a shoot in the mid-90's entitled BODZILLA starring supes of the day like Helena Christensen, Stephanie Seymour, Bridget Hall and Naomi Campbell, among others. They were photoshopped into shots of Times Square, NYC. The affect was rather campy at best, but funny enough I remembered the shoot. Scary enough, I had kept it in my library!!! Here were a few of my favorite (cheesy) shots:

Elle Macpherson
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Naomi Campbell
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Meghan Douglas
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Linda Evangelista

OH MIGHTY ISIS

TAKE COVER

Tyra Banks covering Harper's Bazaar - September 2008