DIVALICIOUS!!!

True Divas in action
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Diva Duet - Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle turn out Carnegie Hall.
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The Legendary Original Diva - Miss Marian Anderson - her Ave Maria brings me to tears.
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My all time favorite - the incomparable Ms. Leontyne Price. Sheer perfection in her farewell Aida performance at the MET. When mother hit that final note, the hairs were standing on my arms. Also, one of the most gorgeous faces ever!!!

LIGHTER, CAMERA, ACTION.....

Now I love me some Bey, but baby girl, what in the hell is going on? Beyonce Knowles has a new campaign with L'OREAL Feria hair color and it seems as though they found a blonde, Swedish woman named Inga to fill in as a body double for Baby Bey. Now I love creative expression and artistic freedom as much as the next fashion designer living in NYC, but, come on now! If that photo were any lighter, you would only be able to see Bey's corneas.

Now this is the thing, we do not know if Bey and Mama T have photo approval as a clause in their contracts. This may ALL be the fault of L'OREAL. Bey never struck me as a person that hates her blackness - just as a girl who likes blonde hair. Does the love of blonde hair, light, skin, straight noses and light eyes speak to a deeper issue? I actually believe it may. It still amazes me that Americans are still stuck on this damn color issue. Blacks and whites in America can still have the field/house slave mentality when it comes to color. Amazingly enough, blacks all over the world experience this phenomenon - the lighter you are, the more beautiful you are, the less threatening you are, the smarter you are - the closer you are to being white. Many have embraced this as their own ethos. Sad.

Many blacks in Europe, Africa, South America and the Caribbean have ingrained, deep-seated issues with self hatred fostered by our collective and individual histories and by images of beauty in the media. I think it speaks volumes that far too many blacks (of myriad backgrounds) question the beauty of an Alek Wek or an India Arie, when the beauty of their lighter peers is instantly absorbed into the collective conscious. Now don't get me wrong - this is NOT hateration for my lighter sister and brothers. I think my life is actually enriched by acknowledging the beauty in ALL people, no matter if they are white, tar black, high yella, short, fat, skinny, bald, unbeweavable or have polka dot skin and striped hair. I do not want to cut myself off from any of God's beautiful handiwork. The real kiki of it all is that beauty truly does come from within - the outside, including our skin and hair, is all drag.

I love Bey in all of her blonde fierceness - I just hope that her Blonde Ambition isn't sending the wrong message to all the little Lakeishas and NayNays out there. I hope that these little girls (and boys too) - no matter how dark, nappy headed, broad nosed, big bootied or thick lipped they may be - will see the absolute perfection in their beauty. I hope they realize that GOD made them exactly how they are and that He only makes masterpieces. Their true beauty lies in their hearts, minds and spirits. When we can truly embrace that, we won't see our fellow man as ugly or as less-than.

A couple of years ago, Kiri Davis, a young black NYC high school student, created a film that documents the horrible stereotyping that we as blacks do to ourselves and that this form of self hatred starts with our small children. Please watch:

Now my take on it is that L'OREAL isn't thinking about the Coretta-Scott-King-ness-of-it-all, they are thinking solely about the coins. Corporate America and the American media could care less that a seed of self hate may be planted in a little colored girl in the projects in Fort Green, Brooklyn because all she sees is 'the other', never herself. In fact, it is that seed of self hate that will grow into a raging monster that cannot buy enough weave, perm, Ambi and hazel contacts that will keep these guys rich and keep her poor in the richness of her true self.

VERY VALENTINO

The VALENTINO exhibition stands, in my opinion, as one of the most amazing fashion exhibitions ever. It is in the same league as the Halston, Jackie Kennedy and Versace exhibitions. Staged in Rome at the Ara Pacis Museum, this was a breathtaking exhibition. The forms are all positioned and posed in a way that makes you think they are watching the second coming or watching some spectacular, natural event. They are all standing with arms outstretched, gazing to the heavens as if they were angels watching God's awe inspiring power. Needless to say, the effect is amazingly dramatic. This is the epitome of VAL'S GALS. To top all of that off, you see up close and personal the pure genius of the brilliant VALENTINO GARAVANI, or simply, Valentino (Val, Mr. Valentino, the sheikh of Chic, Le Chic, etc) . From the most amazing draping to the most beautiful embellishments to the amazing daywear and accessories - whatever this man touches has a severe feeling of luxury, money, chicness and rarity. Known for his love of red, Valentino's repetoire of color was amazingly diverse and rich. An amazing coral embroidered crocodile jacket would make you want to slap yo' momma....lace and ribbon basketweave plaid separates show you how twisting a classic brings about newness.... hand draping that must have taken 5 little Italian mamas 2 months to make...woven chiffon gowns....enough beading to give the little Indian beading men arthritis....cashmere double face coats.....camouflage day and evening......the choices of exquisite beauty were endless. Cases of notes and sketches gave you a small glimpse into the way a brilliant mind works. The original dress forms and gowns of celebs like Halle, Liz Taylor, Reese, Julia were fun to see (they are all freakishly tiny!). This exhibition was truly inspiring.

Their Eyes Were Watching God - an army of angels .
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Beading, draping, degrade', asymmetry, all add up to plain ole' gorgeous.
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Stairway To Heaven - Angels draped in rainbows of ombre chiffon and beads.
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Original wedding gown of Grace Kelly when she married into the royalty of Monaco.
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A heavenly chorus giving praise to God!!! All they needed was a little gospel music in the background. This was absolutely divine staging. Miles and miles of red chiffon, georgette, satin, taffeta and jersey...................

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Rouched tulle pouf gown in multi colored harlequin pattern.
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In addition to me, black was repping in the house that day.
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Off The Wall - the amazing entrance.
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The Arch Angel.
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FROM ROME, WITH LOVE

The Monument Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II was designed by Guiseppe Sacconi in 1895 and it's construction was completed in 1925. It is one of Rome's largest yet most reviled monuments. Romans dislike its grandiose size, stark white marble appearance and overly blocky shape. It is often called THE WEDDING CAKE in reference to it's stacked design. I am not a fan of the monument but what I love is the 2 gorgeous statues of the winged gods riding their chariots. I have always been a fan of any imagery of Greek and Roman gods, angels and other religious iconography depicting super-humans with God-like characteristics. Thus my love of Wonder Woman (Greek goddess Diana), Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans and 300.

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Roman street performer getting her dance on for cash. She was giving me lite African dance class feelings. I wanted to join in with a little basketweave move myself.

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Caesar's Forum
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Roman cats having their day in the sun.
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Amazing arches in close proximity to the Colosseum.
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The amazing Colosseum is one of my all time favorite monuments. It is truly breathtaking and other worldly. You feel as though you have been hyper warped into the movie GLADIATOR. This is the embodiment of awesome.

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The exit of the Vatican is actually one of the most spectacular features with it's amazing spiral etched staircase.

Draped in the name of the Roman gods.
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Gorgeous ceilings in the Vatican.
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The art collection of the Vatican rivals those of the great museums of the world. In addition to the amazing beauty and the luxe effect that the Vatican serves aplenty, I was also struck by the feeling that all of that wealth was funded with the blood of entire civilizations, cultures and ethnic groups. People were stripped of their histories, religions, beliefs and traditions in the name of the church. I thought of the demonization of gays and people who make alternative choices in life. I thought about all of the little children abused by priests and the way the church covered it up for lifetimes. I had a bit of a feeling of sadness at the Vatican because of this.

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Bodies beautiful.
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The Pantheon
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Fountains at the Piazza Navona.
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The world famous Spanish Steps.
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Rome has become one of my favorite European cities. The people are warm and inviting and the sights are unbelievably amazing. You really feel transported back in time. You expect a chariot to race pass you at any time. Rome of course has delectable food that will make any dieter say ciao to low carb menus. I will NEVER forget Rome. It will forever be emblazoned in my memory for reasons far beyond sightseeing and paninis. Rome is a MUST VISIT city - go and have a gelato for me!!!

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All photos by me.

DON'T MAKE ME READ YOU

A member of NYC's new moving garden

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While waiting in NYC for my return flight to Europe last week, I decided to peruse the urban reading section at the newsstand for a new book. After passing over such classic titles as MAMA-I'M IN LOVE WITH A GANGSTA, LAWD MO' DRAMA, FOREVER A HUSTLER'S WIFE, AROUND THE WAY GIRLS 4, HIP HOP HIGH SCHOOL and the crossover hit, TALK TO THE HAND, I decided that I needed slightly more up-market fare. Now don't get me wrong, everyone can use a little trashy reading every now and then, but I do have my dignity to think about.

So, I landed on 2 very different yet equally interesting titles. NO DISRESPECT was written by rap legend Sistah Souljah. She has been one of the most politically and socially active members of the hip hop generation and in this autobiography recounts important life altering moments and how racism, sexism and classism in the 90's shaped black life. She is also the author of one of my all time favorite novels, THE COLDEST WINTER EVER, which hopefully is still in development with Jada Pinkett Smith as a big screen flick.

The second book is WHAT IS THE WHAT. This is a novel based on the life of Achak Deng - one of the Sudan's lost boys. Forced to leave his home as a child because of war, Deng crosses 3 countries, deserts, avoiding wild animals and militia to finally end up in America where a new life of hope and different problems await him.

I am looking forward to reading both books after I finish HOW TO BE LOST. A novel about a woman who, after believing her whole life that her baby sister was missing and dead, sees a picture in a magazine and believes it to be her sister. She begins a journey to find her her sister and her own truth.

Halfway done, but A good, entertaining read so far.