Designers fight having their clothes on the "wrong" celebs

[fashionista-ta]

^ I requested facts showing that Melania Trump is the most popular first lady since Jackie O? What knowledge I have would indicate that's not true.

 

[GoldenPetals]

^ I requested facts showing that Melania Trump is the most popular first lady since Jackie O? What knowledge I have would indicate that's not true.

There are no such facts because she's not even remotely popular.

She's box office poison for the fashion industry post-presidency because although private buyers are politically diverse, mainstream media and popular culture are both overwhelmingly Democratic.

I've spoken about this before, but luxury industries occupy a very paradoxical and hypocritical space in society. Their business models grossly perpetuate poverty and barbaric labor practices in order to sustain their profits and exclusivity; but they simultaneously keep the general public happy by pandering to their fantasies and moral whims - something VERY easy for high fashion to do. All they have to do is throw in a couple of non-straight-White models in their shows, or drop a pretty campaign video starring the 'right' pop star, and the general public is happy to look the other way and stay distracted from how destructive the industry is.

Melania Trump is NOT someone the public is willing to do that for. She's not someone that Left-leaning popular culture has deemed as 'morally sufficient' enough to fool them into buying a Prada handbag that costs more than most people's entire monthly paycheck. She married THE most hated Republican in Democratic circles. She's absolutely the "wrong" person for designers. It also didn't help that she did NOTHING during her time as first lady. She was cold, detached, and clearly uninterested in public service.

I think a good comparison might be someone like Carla Bruni, who married a far less divisive Right-wing president and did a much better attempt at philanthropy and public service. High fashion is much more willing to work with her because pop culture is willing to overlook her political affiliations.

 

[Drusilla_]

but Carla Bruni was an actual supermodel from what people consider the glory days of fashion i.e. the 90s. She was always going to find high fashion friendly to her/willing to work with her for public appearances and designers and pop culture could get over her being married to a right wing politician because unlike M. Trump, she wasn't just a client or some wife, she was one of them - an insider with an established image of the right kind.

Also Carla is French/Italian, not American - those nations don't seem to have the same level of political divisiveness attached to the idea of 'dressing well' or even high-end fashion, that Americans do. The same way you will never see anyone bitching out Mary-Kate Olsen for marrying Sarko's brother (since divorced, but no one said anything bad about her for it even while they were married) but everyone drags Karlie Kloss for marrying that dude's son-in-law's family. The profile is different, and so are the societies.

 

[Lola701]

but Carla Bruni was an actual supermodel from what people consider the glory days of fashion i.e. the 90s. She was always going to find high fashion friendly to her/willing to work with her for public appearances and designers and pop culture could get over her being married to a right wing politician because unlike M. Trump, she wasn't just a client or some wife, she was one of them - an insider with an established image of the right kind.

Also Carla is French/Italian, not American - those nations don't seem to have the same level of political divisiveness attached to the idea of 'dressing well' or even high-end fashion, that Americans do. The same way you will never see anyone bitching out Mary-Kate Olsen for marrying Sarko's brother (since divorced, but no one said anything bad about her for it even while they were married) but everyone drags Karlie Kloss for marrying that dude's son-in-law's family. The profile is different, and so are the societies.

And I may add that all political parties in France understand the power and importance of the fashion industry. The fashion industry, thanks to it weight in the economy and the image of the country is essential.
I remember it was a scandal when Sarkozy’s first wife wore Prada instead of a French brand for his intronisation.

The irony regarding someone like Carla Bruni is that she is historically from the left in terms of ideas but then married someone from the right, who in order to maintain his influence, crossed sometimes the red line between right and extreme right.

But the hypocrisy in France is that someone like Karl for example saw no problem dressing Melania while being vocal about his hate for Trump…And at the same time, he would have never dressed Marine Le Pen (which is a good thing nevertheless).

 

[GoldenPetals]

but Carla Bruni was an actual supermodel from what people consider the glory days of fashion i.e. the 90s. She was always going to find high fashion friendly to her/willing to work with her for public appearances and designers and pop culture could get over her being married to a right wing politician because unlike M. Trump, she wasn't just a client or some wife, she was one of them - an insider with an established image of the right kind.

Also Carla is French/Italian, not American - those nations don't seem to have the same level of political divisiveness attached to the idea of 'dressing well' or even high-end fashion, that Americans do. The same way you will never see anyone bitching out Mary-Kate Olsen for marrying Sarko's brother (since divorced, but no one said anything bad about her for it even while they were married) but everyone drags Karlie Kloss for marrying that dude's son-in-law's family. The profile is different, and so are the societies.

Sure. All I'm saying is that Carla had more going for her than Melania. She was a much easier pill for the public to swallow.

 

[Drusilla_]

^absolutely, I was just stating the specifics of why.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Too funny about Karl ... I hope he was collecting the $$$, not doing it for free. Apparently Ralph Lauren had no qualms with dressing Melania ... but I also thought the results were just OK

When her husband recently gave a soliloquy about pants, the image that came to mind was all the pantsless looks that have gone down runways, including those that look like the covers quite small children wear. I don't know that he could pull it off however