Stylista

The theme tune is a bit like the signature song to The Devil Wears Prada (Jump by Madonna) and it has the formidable boss from hell so comparisons between Stylista and The Devil Wears Prada are expected. Stylista is a reality show that followed 11 wannabe fashionistas vying for the position as assistant editor at US Elle magazine. This job comes with other perks such as a plush apartment in Manhattan for a year and a wardrobe allowance from H&M for a year. Now who can argue with that? Stylista aired on CWTV between October 22nd and December 17th in 2008.

The contestants were aged from 19 to 28 and all came from a variety of backgrounds and as you can expect had very different personalities. There were five of them who stood out to me - for example Dyshaun - a wardrobe stylist who clicks his fingers a lot and squeals OMG quite a lot.

Then there was Kate - a former Law student who drama seemed to follow everywhere. She seems to get into arguments with every candidate in particular Megan - a boutique owner who is as calculating as they come. There was Ashlie - fashion buyer who is passionate and not afraid of confrontation. Then there was Johanna - a former Military Analyst who you would view as a fish out of water.  Fashion News Director aka boss from hell, Anne Slowey made no impression on me at all; she came across as stiff, cold and very awkward. She lacked the presence of Miranda Priestley/Anna Wintour and the sophistication. She was like a low rent version of Nina Garcia. Also what was up with her accent? Is it British, American, faux Brit or what? 

In each show each contestants are given two tasks; an assistants task that consists of something menial like putting together breakfast for Anne, pitching a birthday party for Anne's spoiled bratty niece or selecting an outfit for her to wear for a weekend away. The winner is given the power to choose the team members for all groups. A move that a few of the contestants relish as they have the power to influence the outcome of that episode's task as well as the actual competition. After the groups are decided they are given an editorial task which ranges from styling a photo shoot, working on a trends page, producing an ad campaign and working on a fashion shoot. This is really where the show comes into its own and sheer genius; think Project Catwalk and The Apprentice - candidates getting down and dirty into an exciting and creative project and you get the gist. The groups present their ideas to Anne and her cronies, the weakest group is brought back in to face the music and the worst performing person or in many cases - the scapegoat is sent packing. The show wonderfully demonstrates that it is the combination of a great idea and the execution that makes a successful project.

Stylista has enough action to keep you interested but the constant bickering between the contestants gets tiring and very jarring after a while.  We all know that the fashion industry contains unsavoury characters but I feel that the producers went too far with this. No matter how bitchy fashionistas can be to one another the ultimate thing that remains is that they are always professional. My opinion about Stylista is what a great show it is bloody shame about the drama.  However, there are some good stuff that came out of the show such as insider blogs from the peeps from Elle mag such as Fashion Bookings Editor, Malina V. Joseph. More interesting are the stories from the contestants, Ashlie shares her Stylista experience with us in her blog along with Kate. 

I enjoyed watching the show but what I have gained from the show is the amount of thought and effort that goes into producing those editorial pages; the pondering over the headline, strap lines, images and captions. Not an easy task and who said working on a magazine is all glamour. In case you are interested the person who landed the coveted position was Johanna who worked her ass off to raise her stake in the fashion game. She even went as far as to set up a blog where she could display her writing talents. Check it out here. 

Reality Bites

It is almost June and as far as I am concerned almost officially summer time. That means lots of sporting activities like Wimbledon, The Olympics and Euro 2008 as well as another ordeal of Big Brother. Since it launched nine years ago, Big Brother has become an important part of our lives and the sometime controversial show changed the course of TV. Gone are the days when TV bosses aired lengthy shows and period dramas and instead they have been replaced by the reality genre. According to those guys at Wikipedia "Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic, unscripted situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors." We are talking about programmes like America's Next Top Model, I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!, Project Catwalk and The Apprentice which are competitive based. Also 'so called' talent shows like X Factor and the show that is currently tormenting the country; Britain's Got Talent. I say so called because we all know that they are shown so people have someone to laugh at. Then there are the fly on the wall shows where celebrities make the decision of taking us into their world. For some famous bods this calculating move can pay dividends; The Osbournes and Jessica Simpson for a start, but for others it can be the kiss of death. It is not just celebs who make amusing viewings thought, non entities such as Nicole Ritchie, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and The Hills posse are now household names. Although the contrived dialogue and convenient plots in The Hills have led some to wonder just how 'real' The Hills. Still real or not real, The Hills is now the number one show in the US and top show on MTV Europe.

This popularity has prompted other celebrities to sign up for a slice of the pie. Hence uber stylist to the stars, Rachel Zoe, who has a show coming out later this year. However more pending are the shows by former Bond girl, Denise Richards who is keen to prove to the public what a nice person she really is despite a nasty divorce from Charlie Sheen and a fling with Richie Sambora; Bon Jovi's guitarist and hubby to Heather Locklear who was also a close friend to Richards. Denise Richards: It's Complicated airs on E! (Entertainment Television) later this month. Joining her is Living Lohan which shows Dina Lohan - Mum to troubled actress, Lindsay Lohan. We see her juggling her role as parent and manager to younger sibling, Ali Lohan who attempts to follow in her older sister's foot step. All I can say is that I hope that young Ali does not go down the road that Lindsay has by drinking and clubbing in excess. Reading between the lines I think we can be assured that this documentary is all about Dina. TV critic, Mary McNamara sums it all up in her review in the LA Times.

Project Catwalk 3

Don't laugh but I only signed up for Sky last year so I missed out on the first series of Project Catwalk with the divine Liz Hurley. I am now rapidly catching up via YouTube. I am beginning to wonder how I ever coped before that amazing invention. I throughly enjoyed the second series of Project Catwalk albiet my shock when dumpy, Kelly Osborne was given the presenter's gig. No matter how I try I cannot bring myself to like that girl. Maybe it is her awful dress sense, her obnxious manner or the fact that she possess no talent whatsoever. Anyway - mini rant over - as you all know the second series ended with wonder boy, Wayne Aveline taking the crown and all the perks that came with it. I had my bet on Monika Rene with her flair and feistiness. Didn't you just love the sparring contest between her and Julien McDonald?

The third series started a few weeks ago and I have managed to catch some of it but what I have seen it seems to be more fight than fashion. Contestants bickering over trivial matters. Anyway it is the same format as last year; 13 contestants competing for the sum of £25,000, a spread in Grazia magazine and the chance to design a clothing range for catalogue, Oli. Now I am not one to turn my nose up at clothing labels but surely no aspiring fashion designer wants to be associated with a catalogue. It would be different with if you were an established designer and created a diffusion range to bring in some readies and make your line more accessible. The winner of Project Runway gets to show at New York Fashion Week, now that in my opinion is huge and much more beneficial to any designer's career than a catalogue deal. So how about next year's winner getting a gig at London Fashion Week? That is something I would love to see.

Project Catwalk 3 is on Sky One on Wednesday at 9.00pm

Fashion Britannia

Well last week was pretty hectic, I spent all of Friday at London Fashion Week and the first stop was the show by Unconditional and Ashish which took place at Heaven. A rather strange affair as those who know Heaven will be aware that it is a night club. The crowd outside the venue was huge and as usual the show was running late and there was quite a scrum to get in. Inside we were treated to some alcoholic beverages as well as the sight of semi naked men and women parading around with one treating us to a pole dance - as I mentioned, strange. The collections for Unconditional featured supermodel Lily Cole strutting out in very hardcore masculine stuff. Ashish on the other hand was the epitomy of femininity and with uber shoe store, Aldo as your sponsor you can't really go wrong.

After that we legged it down back to the Natural History Museum on the courtesy coaches for the Bora Aksu show but we were out of luck. PR honchos Blow PR who were representing the label told us it was packed to capacity and would not let us in. So off we went to the press room for some much needed hot tea and a grumble before we stepped out again for Gavin Douglas. In the queue, stylist Karen Binns breezed by looking as manic as usual while barking orders at her entourage. Inside we saw the biggest African Caribbean crowd for the whole week with Project Catwalk contestant, Luke Youngblood. However this show was worth waiting for as Douglas sent his muses down the runway in 1940s dresses that screamed elegance and glamour. Talk about talented and humble with it as well. There were also goodies galore with Mac giving us a goodie bag with some fantastic bits of make up and a sister who gave us one of her beautiful notepads which she made herself with African cloth. Check out her stuff on www.ethnicky.com.