I’m trying really hard to understand the right perspective for this new Lara Stone pictorial in Vogue Paris October 2009. I already indulged Kate Moss’ new old photo spread, now I’m facing the black & white dilemma as orchestrated by Carine Roitfeld.
Is she trying to convince us that Lara Stone’s features are perfect, no matter the color of her skin? Is she trying to push us to such tanning extremes as to overcome the overbakness that (sometimes) is Lady GaGa? (the story continues right after the jump with more pictures!)
Does it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, we’re (and by that I mean me) taking things too dramatically? Who am I kidding? Fashion loves drama! If you buy a fashion magazine these days and there’s no drama, no SM-thingie, no controversial photo inside, then they wrongfully call themselves fashion magazine!
Also, you’d have to agree, they could have used some other model for these photos. Instead they went with a certified value: Lara Stone. Chanel’s Lagerfeld favorite. Sure, she’s versatile, sure she can take a zillion shapes, but we’ll end up seeing them all. Bored out of our fashion minds with Lara. (and Baptiste, by the way!) Black or white! (I’m still having troubles with the positive perspective on this one! And I’m cutting this story short because I’ll dip my fingers in some very sensitive matters, all because of Carine’s risky fashion sense!) (photos via)
19 comments
I don’t get it either…..do I have to spread my legs now or to be into SM to be fashionable? Look weird? Being inspired by Eyes Wide Shut? Whatever? Maybe Ellington knows something witty to say? I just sighs and *shakes head*…..sorry……:(
A “complain” after I clicked on “submit” I get a grey page which says: “Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that!”
Of course it’s possible I do repeat myself but I believe this something technical right? See what happens now……
OK this time!
Right…
They are just trying to be provocative with having Lara Stone in Black face, because basically that is what it is. It was not cool when Al Jolsen did it and it still is not cool.
This can be seen as racist, and I am sure that they will get a lot of backlash for this. What are they saying by doing this? Do you remember the mess was made when they did this with Kate Moss for an African cover?!! I found it alarming and in poor taste.
There is pushing the envelope and then there is poor taste and the leap of pathetic which I think that this layout is.
If they truly wanted to be “provocative” then they should have used Alek Wek in White face to give this forum a tad of credence.
It may have still have been in poor taste but it would have at least made some sort of statement that would have people querying what is actually being presented.
Ellington, you’re so right! Lara blackfaced is so shallow and borderline obsessive for Carine and her closed circle of Vogue featured girls, it just doesn’t send any message at all. Except the offensive type. Which, even so, is something that has been done before, is nothing new, nothing original, same old obtuse cliche.
If they would have featured Alek Wek, like you said, and paint her face white, now that would have sent a message! Now that would have meant something!
Adriana, we’re getting old by fashion time! If we won’t learn this SM move fast, we’ll be overrated and last season in a blink! lol!
Oh, that nasty duplicate screen! I get it too!
these images are so forgetable they will be lining tomorrow’s rubbish bins before you know it. sometimes i think criticing fashion photos is like trying to find meaning in some poems (remember @ school) – there is nothing there except a fleeting thought of creativity.
My first thought was replying yesterday like Ellington did but then I thought, nah, nonsense. It’s like anom stated. She/he kinda saved me!! I wanted to reply again and then not and now I do it nonetheless, tiresome to be me sometimes….
So let’s Google then though they have not all the answers……Al Jolson that’s 100 years ago, early in the 20th century!! Haven’t we grow up then? Learn to live and act different? Let’s move on now as Barrack Obama stated. Not keep on dwelling on this kind of stuff. Racism, sexism, ageism, it’s all disgusting and it will never stop I’m afraid. It comes in different ways and different colours. And some people shall never stop because we are and live with this species called human “kind”.
Oh, and this, black girl dyes their hair blonde or and love straight hair, get rid of their curls, white girls dyes it black and wants curly frizzy hair. Why don’t we celebrate we mix and match nowadays? Enjoy each other cultures? I’ve never ever thought that blonde black girls wants to be white or the other way around! Never!
This is just another silly photoshoot that doesn’t inspire me to desire the clothes at all…..that’s what its all about it to me.
I am african american, and I don’t see why people continue to do such things…Why? When is it all done and over with??
Carine – you need to start checking the polaroids. So you want to be the editor of American Vogue? Over who’s dead body? With an editorial like this the American will chop your heads off (including the one between your legs).
Have always, always detested French Vogue and always will.
There is nothing of artistic value in this photo spread. Its a nod to mistrels of the past that do nothing but set everyone back. Not to mention these photographs should offend all who strive to live in a better world even the superficial out of focus world of fashion. I don’t but the notion that painting Lara Stone in blackface speaks to a woman being perfect regardless of her color. This spread was done in poor taste and French Vogue should shamed for this! I look forward to seeing what type of backlash they will receive as a result of this tasteless spread and will raise an eyebrow at anyone who defends this as provocative art rather than call it what it is…..shameful, racist and unnecessary.
I’ve read a lot and I’ve done also a lot off thinking. And here’s another opinion by me but my last. I stick to my words: that this is just another silly or “arty” photoshoot. Whatever….. I’m afraid the fashion world is shallow and in fact a small circle we only have access to via the magazines, the blogosphere and of course our fashion and fashion related purchases. That shallowness shows it’s ugly face here. It’s so close minded. Apparently the glitz and glam has blinded those people. I read somewhere a line that strucked me by lightning because it’s so very true: “subtle racism is more dangerous than blatant racism”. That goes for many other forms of discrimination. I saw a video of Mickey Rourke which did disturb me a lot. He defended using the word “faggot” as nothing really bad. Like “it’s not what you say, it’s how you act” and “I’ve many gay-friends blahblah, etc.” It’s still subtle homophobia. And therefore dangerous. Those people has still to fight their equal rights though it seems as they are accepted. Not.
So this shoot, the whole shoot, is just wrong. Not only for black people as in the Al Jolson period but for all people of colour. There are so many colour nuances around on our earth and this photoshoot humiliate them all. Maybe even whites who have no tan! It’s not a pleasure to hear in summer nasty remarks about “being too pale”. That’s my colour. And this is for me the only way I can relate to this you see……
Discrimination comes in all forms and I’m sick of it. I’ve enough of it. I’ve mentioned it often before racism, sexism and ageism and the (ab)use of too young girls for the sake of fashion are wrong. But as I’ve said yet, as long as we’ve to deal with what since we are species of the human kind shall it ever really disappear? I keep my hopes up in my lifetime. I also say sometimes things on the edge without thinking which I do not support. Let’s be open and honest here about myself also.
We all have to take care, if only a bit, because being fanatic is another scary thing!
This peace is far too long girls, I know. I can write 1/3 of it in my own language. But I hope I’ve made some sense……and let’s move on to be colour blind in a good way and on all what really matters. :)
Yep, 1/4 in Dutch…..ouch…..:(
I know it’s Halloween overseas but not here and I’ve a change of heart and soul and mind. And it’s not a festive one.
It was a long scroll to find this piece……I passed some gorgeous black ladies……
I read that V magazine and Tyra Bank (in ANTM) also picked up the “Paint it Black” trend! We have here, in the Netherlands, a new “fun-show”. A successful white Dutch tv-personality has a new character: in a fat suit and “painted black” she’s a “fun” woman from the Netherlands Antilles and uses a Surinam accent to poke fun with Dutch celebs. Huge success… This caused some controversy here. As well people who are original from the islands as some Dutch who do not appreciate this, I am among those who do not like this trend at all…..
If this was a “one-time-Carine-thing”….ah, well, Carine…..but now this seems to be a trend!! A trend who has the stop! WTF is the matter with people? I thought we had moved on, but no….I made a mistake and therefore I’m angry. Very angry…….:(
Oh, sorry I used a word I never use here….
It is ok about the word Adriana, you are/were very angry and you have every right to be.
I agree with you, this is beyond insipid. : (
I have family who live in Aruba so I have a Dutch Antilles connection I have also been there, very beautiful and very very arid! : )
I’ve seen that ANTM thing. But there’s something about Tyra bugging me high and low so I don’t get close to anything it involves her. It’s safer that way!
As much as I love fashion and all things art & entertainment, I sometimes cringe at the real feel of these artsy circles. They seem to spread this (and more) strange ideas like venom and, to my surprise, the world welcomes the oddity for being fash-art-entertainment originated. So they think it’s ferosh and uber cool. Not.
I was scrolling down my Reader and noticed a very pouty Posh at a basketball game (with her husband and the boys) wearing a truly glamourous pair of sky high Louboutin platforms. As opposed to the casualty of the occasion, I think this pretty much summarizes what happens in our fashionable, trends-following society. People want to do things differently just because. And they’re making a trend, an art from being different. yes, thankfully, we’re all different (and so much alike), but it’s not like you have to paint the yolk with transparent paint just to make an artsy egg, right? There’s something naturally wrong with this black-painted trends. It’s like they’re painting the desert with trees and lakes. It’s so forced and just sad.
Thanks Ellington so you’ve a kind of itsy bitsy Dutch blood so to speak. :)
Kpriss so very true “People want to do things differently just because”! Well, we keep doing it our way right?
Thanks for the understanding ladies, I had to get it off my chest and thought later: “what I’ve done now, why can I never shut up?” But I still feel like this…..xo
P.S. For people who doesn’t know it, Surinam and Antilles people speak different! So that’s even more worse….
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