I'm Outta Here

To the ten people who read this blog, I apologize for not updating much lately. I'm in the middle of a fashion funk and just can't muster much excitement for the industry, especially with the economy going south for the winter. Also, I'm mad that snot faced Kenley made it to Fashion Week on Project Runway instead of Jerelle.

The family and I will be out of town for two weeks so I won't be updating at all until the end of October. In the meantime, please check out some of my favorite blogs and sites from the right hand columns.

Also, feel free to drop me a line: makefetch@gmail.com

Halle is Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive

Halle Berry has been chosen as Esquire's  "Sexiest Woman Alive" this year and will appear on the November issue of the magazine. 

Halle's cover look will re-create a 2000 issue that featured former President and non-Obama supporter Bill Clinton.

Unlike former actresses chosen for this issue, Halle's cover wasn't preceded by a months long campaign revealing photos of  various body parts with clues inviting readers to guess who the the sexiest woman is.  It's not like magazines aren't familiar with whitewashing a model's color away with lighting and Photoshop so I don't see how Halle's brown skin would have been a give away. 

Maybe TPTB at Esquire just don't think a black "sexiest" woman is worth the hype.

The Birth of Black Venus

I ripped this page out of an issue of Marie Claire magazines years ago.

Even though I've purged my magazine files many times over the years, I've always hung onto this page. There's just something about this lovely woman that sticks with me.

If you read the scan she just talks about how she's never been happy with the way she looks. She's had a boob job, surgery on her feet, and damaged her body with fad diets.

Nothing was ever enough. It's really easy for me to look at this pic and think "Damn, there is nothing wrong with the way she looks, why is she tripping?" But, if I'm being honest, at thirty-something years old, I still do the same thing to myself every now and then.

Crazy.

Hussein Chalayan Spring 2009

I don't usually go in for the more avant-garde shows but Hussein Chalayan's Spring "ready to wear" show sure did put a smile on my face. One can really see the innovation in his creations. They really do belong up on stage because seeing some marginally talented starlet show up in one of these designs would be a major downgrade.

Janelle Monae - Many Moons

I can't get enough of this girl.

Another Wakeema Hollis Post

If you blew on her she'd probably fall over but I still love me some Wakeema Hollis.

Chanel Iman, Arlenis and Jourdan may be getting the lions share of bookings among black models but this Memphis born American girl with the angel face is one of my favorites and I am always pleased to see her on the runway. Fortunately for her fans, she's been booking a steady stream of jobs. Well, on US runways anyway.

My excitement was dampered a bit by the fact that Wakeema's signature natural hairdo has been MIA in nearly all her recent runway and editorial work. I posted a little on this before on this blog, and I am aware that sometimes designers have all their models strutting their stuff wearing wigs but c'mon already. Why is it that white models are the only ones that get to enjoy distinctive looks? Mouth breathing top model Agyness Deyn has been sporting the slight variations on that same bleached blond short hair on the runway and in print for as long as I care to remember. Will there ever be a day when natural hair longer than an inch will be commonplace on kinky haired catwalkers? At least one? I'm not holding my breath.

Photos: The Fashion Spot

Chanel @ GUCCI - Don't Call it a Comeback...

Chanel Iman, who has worked an astonishing 40 shows this catwalk season between New York, Paris, and Milan, made headlines when she showed two looks for Gucci Spring 2009.

Fashionologie, reported that she became the first black model in a Gucci show since Tom Ford left and was replaced by Frida Giannini in 2005. Iman was the sole non-white model on the stage that was populated almost exclusively by models with nearly identical blonde shoulder length hairstyles.

Photo: fashionkid90/catwalking

In Other Blogs...Not Much Diversity in Milan

Milan Fashion Week is notorious for its lack of diversity on the runway and this season has brought out more of the same in spite of the universal love for Vogue Italia's "Black" Issue. 

The Shophound is a great fashion blog that has been tracking the presence of Black and Asian models during Fashion Week.

 Bottega Veneta featured the most diversity. Out of the 28 models on their runway, four were black and one was Asian. In second place was Dolce & Gabbana, who had three black models, 1 Asian and 1 South Asian model. A few shows had one token non-white models and many more had none. Read more of the numbers at The Shophound.

Photo: ONTD_fashinfags

Unfortunately, There is No Red Carpet Event for this Awards Show

Andrea, The Cruel Secretary, has bestowed my blog with the Certified Honest Blogger Award. I must say that I'm really touched.

I am required to give this award to seven other bloggers which was tough because there are dozens of bloggers out there that I read and admire. After giving it a little thought, these are the blogs with which I wish to share my award:

1.Black Girl Lost...In a Book

2.Nubian Fitness Goddess

3.Model Liberation

4.Invisible Woman...Black Cinema at Large

5. Safera

6. Adventures in Wheelville

7. The Musings of Ondo Lady

The rest of the requirements for receiving the award are below. Hopefully, I can get all this done by the end of the day today :) 

1. When you receive the award, you must write a post showing it, including the name of blog that has presented you with the award and providing a link to that blog.

2. Choose a minimum of seven blogs  that you feel are brilliant in their content or design. 

3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing them that they were recognized with this award. 

4. (Optional) Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize to.

5. Pass it on!

TRACE: Black Girls Rule

I can never find this magazine on the newsstands anymore but fortunately TRACE is still alive and well and putting out a Black Girls RULE! issue. It's available free (as a .pdf file) on their website. What I love most about BGR is that it always features a few new faces and not just to 1 or 2 black models of the moment.  This issue has been available online for awhile but I thought I'd share it anyway :)