Essence Hires White Fashion Editor: Discuss!

Ellianna Placas installed as new "face" of magazine
By A. Scott Walton
For now at least, the tag line "Where Black Women Come First" still runs down the spine of Essence magazine. But will all that have to change once a white woman takes over as fashion editor of the publication this September?
Media critics, faithful readers and former employees at Essence don't have the kindest things to say about Editor-in-Chief Angela Burt-Murray's choice of Ellianna Placas to direct the most marketable aspects of the magazine.
Since news of the move broke some 72 hours ago, there's been a cyclone of outrage swirling in social media circles. Some highly qualified and immensely experienced black fashion editors have unabashedly gone to Facebook to speak out harshly about the situation.
Burt-Murray has reached out to major media outlets to defend her decision; but, oddly, there are no current references to Placas on Essence's web site. Is there fear within that readers would overwhelm the site with criticism?
So, what's your reaction? Does Essence deserve kudos for taking such a drastic step, or condemnation?
LEAVE COMMENTS BELOW...
AP: - Justin Timberlake's fashion line lands at Target

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For free samples of "M.P.3" you can download, visit Hidden Beach.

Halle Berry's Hammer Toes to the Rescue?

Sultry actress to star in a different kind of nail-biter!
By A. Scott Walton
Asking Halle Berry to star in a film about stiletto heel worship is like making a movie about celibacy, with Tiger Woods as the leading man.
To quote the ever-eloquent R&B lyricist Keith Sweat: "Sumpin, sumpin, sumpin, sumpin just ain't right" with this next picture Berry's set to appear in.
After extensive online research - excluding Youtube clips of the toe-curling sex scene with Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball" that won her an Academy Award - Halle Berry's feet appear too jacked up for her to play the lead in the screen adaptation of "Shoe Addicts Anonymous". But, as WWD reports, filming of Beth Harbison's best-selling novel about a group of women who share the same shoe size (and little else)begins in Chicago this fall.
Photographers follow Berry relentlessly, whether she's on the red carpet or at Wal-Mart. Rarely, if ever, are her feet portrayed as her best asset. In fact, there are frequent suggestions that Halle Berry has six toes.
She's gonna need all her Oscar-winning talent _ or a stung/foot double _ to pull this role off.
Luckily for her, "Shoe Addicts Anonymous" is meant to be a farce about fashion obsession. So, if Halle has a moment reminiscent of Jim Brown (or was it Isaac Hayes who got his big toe shot off) in "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka", feel free to laugh.
P. DIDDY WEARS GRANNY PANTIES?: Just check out page 118 of the "134th Annual Comedy Issue" of GQ to see all the shameful lengths of self-promotion a man will go to at the risk of showing his short-comings. We're left speechless; as we're sure the security guy lurking in the background of the photo is as well...
MediaTakeout - Diddy comes up short!
Boston Globe - Bikinis previewed for summer 2011: Think shrink
Us Magazine - Giorgio Armani, 76, shows his "package"

Surface Tension Jolts Atlanta Fashion Scene

Deka Athletics Blazes Trails, Kat Goduco Goes Skin Deep
By A. Scott Walton
Listen to me now. Believe me later on.
That, essentially, was the message expressed by Jim Whitlow, owner of the DEKA Athletics shop in Buckhead once he sealed the deal to start selling designer down vests so exclusive that customers are paying as much as $2,500 for them.
Until now, the "Love Vests" - produced in collaboration between pop-culture impressario Darren Romanelli and haute couture apprentice Tetsuzo "Tet" Okubo - were only available at Maxfield in L.A.
To herald a move from his current Pharr Road location to new digs at the revamped Around Lenox shopping strip this fall, Whitlow called (almost breathlessly) with the news that limited-edition Love Vest designs will be included in his store's mix of Atlanta exclusives (Y3 and Stella McCartney for Adidas included).
Each Love Vest is, "a piece of art...one of a kind", Whitlow gushed as he rattled off names of NBA stars and chart-topping musicians who are clamoring to purchase. The vests combine gritty war supply fabrics and patches with chic cashmere and leather details.
Mainly, the Love Vest look piques EyeSeeStyle's interest due to the sneak peek at them in the new music video for the confab between the rapper Nas and the prince of reggae royalty,"Jr. Gong" Marley.


THE KAT'S MEOW:Some people purr about the way tattooing in Atlanta has evolved into an art form. Others, like photographer Kat Goduco, growl about the intense and intimate link between ink and bar skin.
To see dozens of portraits featuring real people with no shame about how they've marked up their bodies, go to the Adidas store at Lenox Square Mall on July 29 (6:30-9 p.m.) for a glimpse that will be complemented with dance and DJ performances. According to the Facebook invite, discounts and give-aways will be included.
EXTRA POINTS...Listen, even if you're too busy to watch

Janet Jackson Endorses Blackglama: Fur Flies

By A. Scott Walton
The planet yawned, yesterday, in response to the first credible report that Janet Jackson will soon appear in glossy ads endorsing Blackglama furs.
Frankly, so did I.
I waited a full day after reading the news from WWD to comment; because if People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) didn't lodge a protest, it wouldn't be news. Would it?
A day late, and a relevancy quotient short, a PETA spokesperson's statement finally started circulating around certain blogs saying that Miss Jackson took the luxury fur endorsement deal because her career is declining and she's "desperate".
If PETA can't even get people riled up about the massacre of non-commercial wildlife in the wake of the BP oil spill, how much impact can the have on the fashion fur industry right now? Who's truly desperate?
WWD answered the most intriguing question related to the story: Yes, Janet did get to keep the furs she modeled.
To this Eye, the only problem with the "What Becomes A Legend Most" ad Jackson appears in for Blackglama is that is doesn't go far enough to link the stark, surreal imagery of the "Scream" music video she shot eons ago with her dearly departed brother, Michael.
Entertainment Tonight - Video: Janet strikes a pose
Now that would have caught people's attention...
Agree or disagree?

ESPN's Erin Andrews Busts Vanity Fair's Balls

College Game Day Sweater Girl Looks Aloof, Hypocritical
By A. Scott Walton
Apparently, the message hasn't gotten through to ESPN's Erin Andrews that the public's grown tired of her personal pity party.
Perhaps the uninviting portrayal of her in the August edition of Vanity Fair magazine will bring the sports network's "sideline reporter" to the realization we collectively have more dire crises to attend to then hers.
In an awkward and scathing question-answer session with the glossy’s celebrity news editor George Wayne, Andrews comes across as a selfish poseur who was granted a prime opportunity for positive exposure but, “(clearly) was not in the mood for any lighthearted banter.”
The sexy star who corrals coaches and players during college football halftime shows was victimized in 2009 by a cyber-stalker who posted illegally-obtained nude images of her on the web. In the aftermath: the seedy character was caught and sent to prison; Andrews (32) announced plans to move away from Atlanta for the bright lights of Manhattan; she wore a series of “barely there” ensembles during a failed attempt to win “Dancing With The Stars”; and she recently inked new deals to report for both ESPN and ABC’s “Good Morning America”.
Andrews’ ongoing whimpering about “everything that I have been through”, juxtaposed against the gallery of Vanity Fair photos she posed for (clingy dresses, stiletto heels, alluring poses), smacks of hypocrisy. And if she’s so opposed to the objectification of women, why did refer to herself as “the human pretzel” and speak so precisely about her body measurements?
At the very beginning of Wayne’s article on Andrews, it’s pointed out that she was born under the sign of Taurus. In a back-handed way, Vanity Fair seems to be hinting that Andrews is full of bull.
Huffington Post - Fashion winners, losers at ESPY Awards
WWD - Rumors sour on Lady Gaga scent deal
ET! - Savannah designer joins next "Project Runway Cast"
Photo: Patrick Fraser/Vanity Fair

"Avatar" Star Zoe Strips, Mary J Blige Trips

Film star Zoe Saldana, R&B queen scramble for dollars
By A. Scott Walton
Never mind that most ads for Calvin Klein Underwear are shot in black-and-white.
Calvin Klein Mens for Summer 2010
The label still deserves praise for featuring more models "of color" in its campaigns than any other prestige brand that comes to mind. Other labels should be envious of Klein's track record.

Actress Eva Mendes
At a German trade show this week, "Avatar" star Zoe Saldana (above) was introduced as the next spokesmodel for innerwear that's become synonymous with comfort and controversy. The off-shoot collection is called Envy.
The initial campaign shot of Saldana released to the media leaves a bit to be desired: sure it evokes that fiber-optic sheen of the blockbuster movie she most recently starred in, but it doesn't necessarily distinguish the look and feel from what's already stagnating on retail shelves.
Will the Zoe Saldana campaign come between you and your cash card?
EYES WIDE SHUT?: Somehow, it's hard to envision a day when a sunglass collection "co-designed" by Mary J Blige can begin to compete with the labels (i.e. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Fendi, Versace, etc.) that she and her musical ilk helped to popularize. Frankly, it's hard not to forecast a quick bootlegging effort chasing any sunglass brand the R&B diva attaches her name to, either. But here she goes: Blige just announced the launch of an exclusive collection of shades (4 styles, $165-$225 per pair) to be sold only at Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman stores starting, according to WWD in October.
(Pardon ESS for asking, but: isn't the prime time for buying sunglasses over by then?; and are those stores really where Mary J's core fans shop?)
Just askin'...
Huffington Post - Mary J's College Decree Bogus?
SCAD - Go fly a kite!
Washington Post - Plus-sized women strike a pose

Big Boi Gets 'Girly', Bruce Willis Gets 'Funky'

By A. Scott Walton
What's the true price of celebrity?
Having to make marketing moves that cast you in a foolish light. That's what.
Take the supreme Dirty South rapper Antwon "Big Boi" Patton, of the duo OutKast, for instance. Dude's been so desperate to get his much delayed solo CD launched that he's reached beyond all the respected critics who rave about "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty", and submitted himself to sideshow acts like the one in Paste magazine.
What a bummer: being teased into thinking you'd be reading intimate secrets about a hip-hop star who prefers to wear bow ties, only to realize the feature consisted of Big looking at a short sampling of product photos and having his description of them cropped to a clipped few sentences.
And (pardon the expression) WTF?? Why does big keep saying in the article that he likes, 'whatever girls like'?
Isn't he married with kids? Can we trace the saggy pants trend back, therefore, to females' approval?
Just askin'...

SMELL GOOD, OR DIE TRYING: Running low on your supply of "eau de action movie hero", fellas? Well, never fear. Bruce Willis is here to spritz you down with a signature scent that must have seemed like as good an idea, at the time, as greenlighting "Lucky Number Slevin".
No doubt, this fragrance launch will provide classic comedic fodder for the next Willis appearance on the Letterman show. But the funniest thing is: if the action hero's name wasn't etched on the sturdy square glass bottle with a cedar wood stopper, we might have considered buying it.


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