Model Emily Sandberg blog rant against Sarah Jessica Parker's image as a style icon

[Jennika]

How much money do you think the studios paid to put Sarah Jessica Parker on the cover of Vogue? I'll tell you why I ask, I'd like to know how little Vogue is willing to accept to give Sarah Jessica Parker the credit that Patricia Fields deserves.

Sarah Jessica Parker is not the fashion icon Anna Wintour and all the other fashion business heads want you to believe.
See? This is back when she made her own fashion decisions.

Remember when she did the exclusive $38 million multi-season artistic director contract for Gap? Remember the financial disaster that ensued and how quickly Gap dropped her? Remember how Gap had to go back to using and paying supermodels 1/10th of their day rate to reshoot that season's White Jean campaign because Sarah had been given the majority of the advertising budget? The brand returned to it's good financial standing because of this move. Models bailing out celebrities again.

Isn't it time to start paying models and stop wasting money chasing after US Weekly dollars?

It's cheap. It's lame. It's obvious. And fashion isn't any of those things.

It's also a complete lie. The public already knows most celebrities don't dress themselves. Please stop calling them icons when the only thing they've done to deserve the title is fit into the sample size of a dress a stylist picked off a runway that the artistic director of say, Versace, decided to put on the runway in the first place. Not only is a celebrity last in a long chain of creative decisions; most of them don't even decide what goes on their bodies, Sarah Jessica Parker being one of them.

The artistic directors and stylists that make these decisions for brands should be given the praise. For instance, Patricia Fields, who created SJP's look and got the ball rolling on her.

Sarah, please, please go back to squeaking at lacy Louboutins and man-childs who don't treat you right. I refuse to buy any more magazines with you on the cover promoting films.

Is anyone else annoyed?

Oh, and let me quickly answer the question on the cover: How does she do it?
She employs a small army of people.

http://supermodelblogger.posterous.com/sarah-jessica-parker-not-a-style-icon












gotta say, she makes some good points

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[Not Plain Jane]

She is eloquent. But Sarah Jessica's style in candids proves, to me at least, that she has good taste and a strong sense of style. And just because she dressed one way in the 80s doesn't mean her taste can't evolve and change through more exposure to fashion, which SJP certainly had on Sex & the City.

That being said, I take it that Emily's main point is that celebs are taking the jobs of models, being editorials and on covers. And it is true. I have 10 years of American Vogue, from 1985-1996 saved, and I still buy some issues. Vogue used to feature models on the cover and now it seemingly NEVER does. I find most Vogue covers uninteresting, although the editorials are still sometimes strong. I guess you cannot fault Wintour if celebs sell more magazines and directly or indirectly get more people interested in fashion. But I do miss the days when models donned the covers of fashion mags and were in most of the brand adverts too. Now it seems like actresses are EVERYWHERE: on covers, in ads, in eds, at the shows, etc. I would like to see Karlie Kloss on more covers! Or Freja or Abbey-Lee.

Interesting post and discusssion. Thanks!

Was just reading some of the responses at Emily's blog and they are very interesting. On the one hand, while Emily did probably go about this the wrong way by singling out SJP, on the other hand, it will certainly draw more attention to the issue than a tactful post probably would have. Everyone loves controversy!

One poster pointed out that the average person relates more to an SJP or other celeb who they have seen in films, on TV, etc, than to a model who is unknown and seemingly unrelateable to. And that is a valid point, too, for putting celebs on the covers or in ads to sell stuff.

It may border on the commerical versus artistic debate with fashion, and while we know the two cannot be divorced, we also know that, in the end, money matters most??

Personally, I'd always side with art over commerce if I had to choose (and I did once, hence am no longer in the fashion business), but sadly that is not the way of the world these days. Dostoevsky once said "beauty will save the world" (which Daphne Guiness quoted in a recent interview), but I feel like getting a tattoo that says, "will beauty save the world?"

Okay, I may be veering off topic.

But surely one of the most dominant issues here is what more effectively sells magazines and products? Models or Celebs?

 

[ALAUU]

Even if SJP has a stylist who dresses her at least she has the personality to carry it all off unlike many models nowadays who lack the personality and charisma to make clothes look appealing. Put anything on SJP and she can pull it off and I think great style is more than just clothes. It's about personality as well and she has lots of it.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Agree with you on SJP. I love her! She has boat-loads of personality, style, chutzpah, you name it.

But what about other celebs who maybe have less personal style and personality but who get Vogue covers? PErhaps who even "pay" to get Vogue covers, or pull strings, so it becomes about promoting themselves and a movie as opposed to fashion? Personally I would rather see Karlie Kloss than Blake Lively on Vogue. But that is just me.

 

[HeatherAnne]

Way to state the obvious Emily Sandberg [yawwwwwn].

 

[chickadee]

I agree with ALAUU. Most models these days don't have the kind of personality SJP has in her big toe. And I say this as someone who is not a huge fan of hers. But at least I can say that she knows how to wear clothes and she does have style. Not only that, but it's more profitable to market celebrity actresses/singers and whatnot because they are more in the public eye than models. I know of only one person in my entire social group (including family, friends, associates) that watches fashion shows: me. But I can name at least six different people who know, have watched, or are serious fans of Sex and City.

 

[blueorchid]

I don't even think the problem lies with SJP though. Every celebrity who seems to have an above-average (well, depending on who you talk to) seems to be deemed a STYLE ICON.

 

[agee]

To me the entry of celebs into fashion was probably inevitable, but I have to wonder why no celeb-models have emerged in recent years, to me the fault for that lies within the model machine. Granted you have to be pretty substantial to score a U.S. Vogue cover, or one of Anna Wintour's random faves, but heck reality TV stars score major magazine covers, what's up with that? To me this suggests that if you have the right kind of it factor, and I believe that there are at least two or three working models who do, then why aren't these models being primed to be exposed to the public.

While I do think that a "style icon" celeb should have some interest in fashion and some sense of style, I don't get why this is the be all-end all in the model vs. celeb debate, when the model's style is pretty irrelevant and she is serving as a mannequin that the fashion editor or photographer is using to execute his / her vision.

 

[Party.in.Paris]

wow am I the only one who actualy thinks this rant was MEAN.

There are so many celebrities out there who are celebrated as fashion icons like mmmmm say blake lively and oh so many with a huge lack of allure and personality imo
so many starlets would have been a better exemple than sjp
poor sarah jessica parker, shes so often described as "ugly" and now shes even attacked for that.

again, to me this article is mean and useless.

 

[lunabella]

this seems like a personal attack based on jealousy.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Jenna-maria]

Sarah Jessica Parker is not the fashion icon Anna Wintour and all the other fashion business heads want you to believe.
See? This is back when she made her own fashion decisions.

seriously, she did pick picture from 80s? or is it early 90s?
anyway, let me laugh

that is the way people dressed back then
and no one looked good!

Originally posted by ALAUU

Even if SJP has a stylist who dresses her at least she has the personality to carry it all off unlike many models nowadays who lack the personality and charisma to make clothes look appealing. Put anything on SJP and she can pull it off and I think great style is more than just clothes. It's about personality as well and she has lots of it.

​

YES!!!!!
usually models look just like
walking ghosts!
no personality and no charisma
and...well, i can´t talk about here
but i rather see pictures of sarah jessica


​

 

[Spike413]

It's pretty easy to be spiteful when you're doing it from the safety of a computer, I suppose.

I'll admit that the flawed logic of it is kind of funny. I mean what model made it to icon status without the help of "a small army of people" like agents, stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, designers, art directors, photographers and magazine editors? Pot calling the kettle black, I say.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

^ Excellent point, re: pot & kettle.

I still think we could use more model icons though.

 

[mint condish]

It is interesting, but it IS weird. I don't even really like SJP, and I have this weird impression I wouldn't like her personally, like at all, but I will always accept that Carrie Bradshaw the character (and by extension, the good genes of SJP and the wonderful stylings of Patricia Field, and I guess arguably, their cohesion-teamwork) was a big, big, big influence on my style.

SJP just seems like the WEIRDEST person to attack. I might even agree with the "jealousy" accusation up-thread. Is it really SJP's fault that people like Anna Wintour label her a fashion icon? Or even that like, middle American housewives buy into it? Is that notion really our worst enemy? People might confuse Carrie Bradshaw and SJP --- in the same way people confuse the lovability of Rachel Green with Jennifer Aniston --- and I am guilty of this --- but so what?

Just seems like a weird thing to rant about...... there are other things I hate way more, like when actresses claim they eat junk food all the time and never have to work out -- true or not, what impression is this supposed to give me? What am I supposed to take away from that? There is so much I could rant about, why I hate that so much -- And the blame in these cases can totally be placed at the actresses' feet.

But ... this? To rant about...? Really?

 

[cestmagique]

^^^that's quite funny... and true. Models are crafted to the same extent that celebrities are, so what's the gripe? SJP may not put together all her own outfits but even so, she doesn't come off as a prepackaged product the way a lot of other celebrities do. A lot of what people pick up on is her charisma and flair, as others have mentioned, and how much she loves what she's wearing. I'm ambivalent about her in general but she does bring her clothes to life... quite like a good model would actually!

 

[MON]

I also agree with ALAUU. SJP can pull it of anytime. She`s on of the few celebrities that can look regal in any clothes given to her.

 

[Ives927]

Anyone that wears and pulls off the Tabi boots are deemed stylish in my books.

thelifefiles.com, retro.obsessedwithshoes.com

This alone says to me that SJP knows what she's doing without the help of others.

--

To me, this chick is just bitter and her rant is rather personal. Why is SJP taking the fault? If she wants to blame celebrities taking jobs away from models, blame Anna for putting them on covers and starting a phenomenon.

And in response to her rant,

1. SJP was never artistic director of Gap, she starred in the campaign.
2. How are celebrities getting dressed by stylists any different than what models do? They don't decide what goes on their body.
3. Stylists may dress celebrities, but they are not held at gun point to wear what may be suggested, so it is rather inaccurate to say they have no decisions on what goes on their body.
3. Patricia Fields gets plenty of praises for her work on Sex & The City and for Carrie's style. Clearly, she is unable to separate the actor from the character.
4. No I'm not annoyed and no one is forcing you to buy magazines with SJP on it.
5. Leave SJP alone.

 

[olga.]

5. Leave SJP alone.

Since SJP looks stunningly even if she's walking James to school...

Nice action, bad target.

 

[advo]

Hmmm, while her rant might have some flawed logic... like pointing fingers at SJP when there are far more faux fashion icons, I get that her point is how celebs have taken over the models' work.

And while I do agree with her in that, people relate more to SJP than a model. What she really should have addressed is why models don't have personalities. But let's not forget the super models of the past. Like Helena Christensen said, they were successful because they had personalities.

Models nowadays, unfortunately because it's probably not true, have a vapid image. Gisele, while I personally find her horrid, knows how to stand out.

 

[shoesexy]

Very much on point.

She'll probably get blacklisted.