REPOST: The Kimye-Vogue Backlash

Anna Wintour’s decision to put Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on the cover of Vogue did not sit well with subscribers, fashionistas, and concerned citizens who question Kardashian’s credibility to grace the renowned magazine. This article discusses the public backlash.

Image Source: yahoo.com

 “There’s no way Kim Kardashian shouldn’t be on the cover of Vogue, she’s like the most intriguing woman right now. She’s got Barbara Walters calling her like everyday.”

None other than Kanye West, the loudest—and most innovative—voice in hip-hop, made this proclamation to Ryan Seacrest in an interview late last year.

West finally got his wish.

The couple will grace the cover of Vogue’s April issue. Shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, the image resembles a mock wedding photo, with Kardashian in a cream-colored wedding gown flanked by West in a blue suit, and is accompanied by the headline: “KIM & KANYE: Their fashionable life and surreal times” as well as the lengthy hashtag “#WORLDSMOSTTALKEDABOUTCOUPLE”—an apparent nod to West’s viral disclaimer that he tapped out amid his mini-feud with late night host Jimmy Kimmel: #NODISRESPECTTOBENAFFLECK.

Kardashian was elated by the news.

And understandably so. There had been rumors flying for years that Vogue editrix Anna Wintour had it out for Kardashian. New York magazine reported that the reality star-entrepreneur had been banned for years from the Wintour-curated Met Gala, one of the biggest events of the fashion season that attracts every A-lister imaginable. Kardashian finally attended the mega-event last year, accompanied by West, but was conveniently cropped out of Vogue’s Best Dressed gallery.  And just last March, a vicious rumor was reported by various publications that Wintour had labeled the reality star-entrepreneur “the worst thing since socks and sandals.”

In May, Us Weekly reported that West and Kardashian dined with Wintour at her New York City home—just months before the hip-hop impresario proposed to her at San Francisco’s AT&T Park while a 50-person orchestra played Lana Del Rey’s sultry ballad “Young and Beautiful.”

Any rumored beef between fashion’s gatekeeper and the superstar couple has been quashed, according to Wintour’s letter from the editor in the issue.

“Part of the pleasure of editing Vogue, one that lies in a long tradition of this magazine, is being able to feature those who define the culture at any given moment, who stir things up, whose presence in the world shapes the way it looks and influences the way we see it. I think we can all agree on the fact that that role is currently being played by Kim and Kanye to a T. (Or perhaps that should be to a K?),” she wrote.

“As for the cover, my opinion is that it is both charming and touching, and it was, I should add, entirely our idea to do it; you may have read that Kanye begged me to put his fiancée on Vogue‘s cover. He did nothing of the sort. The gossip might make better reading, but the simple fact of the matter is that it isn’t true.”

There were, nonetheless, hordes of detractors—including Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, of all people—who took to Twitter to voice their disapproval over the Kimye cover.

Seems a bit precious. Vogue has, after all, previously featured The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Sienna Miller, and more on its cover, and has been angling towards more celebrity-driven content for ages, so why not Kimye, arguably the fourth most popular couple in the country (after the Obama’s, Jay Z-Beyoncé, and Jolie-Pitt)? It's no longer the highbrow mecca of fashion it once was.

Elizabeth Rehnke is a dedicated promoter and follower of the latest fashions. Read more articles on fashion on this blog.

REPOST: Giambattista Valli: Looking Beyond the Clothes

This New York Times piece talks about Giambattista Valli’s coffee table book revealing the private side of the flamboyant designer.

Image Source: nytimes.com

Giambattista Valli’s career is a little young to be the subject of a coffee-table book. He started his signature label only in 2005 and became a couturier two years ago, so how to fill the nearly 400-page book ($100) being published this month from Rizzoli?

“I wanted to do something different,” Mr. Valli said. “I wanted to get naked. I didn’t want to show only the facade but to invite the reader into the most private side of my profession.”

He is not literally naked. Rather, Mr. Valli is barely seen in the book, beyond a few images of him working on his collection, adjusting the details, or in a portrait by Francesco Clemente that shows the designer wearing his customary pearl necklace.

But you do see his inspirations clearly, like how dresses that appear to be made of hydrangea blossoms are linked to the sculptures of Louise Bourgeois and Piero Manzoni. Mr. Valli also included an image of Lee Radziwill and Jackie Kennedy sitting on the ground because it showed the sort of relaxed beauty that informs his work. “This not an egocentric kind of book,” he said. “This is simply my method that I wanted to share with other people.”

Florida-based Elizabeth Rehnke is into fashion, sports, and travelling. Like this Facebook page to stay updated on the fashionista’s latest pursuits.