Occupy Fashion Week

Staff / Truthdig Feb 18, 2012 Fashionistas are a funny lot, sometimes unintentionally so, and often given to talking about the rag trade and all things stylish in highfalutin' terms. Here we have some from that set -- and a couple of outliers, including Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges -- holding forth about the nuanced relationship between fashion and OWS. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

And Now, This Presidential Appraisal From Scarlett Johansson

Staff / Truthdig Feb 9, 2012 There may be untold millions of onetime Obama boosters whose feelings of hope have significantly diminished since, say, November 2008 -- and with good reason. But on Tuesday night, one of the president's celebrity supporters, Scarlett Johansson, showed she's still willing to stump for Obama at a gathering in New York that brought fashionistas and politicos together. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

High Fashion in the Time of Recession

Staff / Truthdig Dec 8, 2011 Granted, he is the head designer at Chanel, and haute couture has never been about realism or frugality, but Karl Lagerfeld might do well to drop his socioeconomic commentary to the level of a whisper breathed to like-minded luxe junkies from behind a lacy fan in Paris. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Vatican Isn’t Buying What Benetton’s Selling With Pope-Imam Ad

Staff / Truthdig Nov 18, 2011 Italian clothing company Benetton's latest foray into multiculturalism, this time with interfaith overtones, has landed the retailer in hot holy water with the Vatican In a blatant bid to stay relevant while broadcasting a shock-inducing message of love in the time of globalization, Benetton launched an ad campaign (more). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Model and Mutassim Gadhafi

Staff / Truthdig Nov 4, 2011 Given what we now know about Moammar Gadhafi's obscene fortune, it's not surprising to hear that his son, Mutassim -- the one who died on the same day as his father -- had lavish spending habits, or that he liked to spread the wealth while courting (more). Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Haute Love, High Fashion

Richard Schickel / Truthdig May 14, 2011 Bergé admits that his own nature was controlling, and he makes no apology for it. Indeed, he makes no apology for anything in his life. And therein lies something of a mystery. We are not allowed to imagine what Saint Laurent saw in this man—except an enabler.I think Saint Laurent had something like an artist’s spirit, but he was obliged to operate in a world that is almost the definition of ephemera. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Mixed Race Beauty Gets a Mainstream Makeover

Marcia Alesan Dawkins / Truthdig Mar 8, 2011 We need to remember that beauty and race are both social constructions—concepts societies create that may not actually exist in nature. As a result, beauty and race are associated with and impacted by class, immigration, gender, sexuality and marketing.Are mixed race faces considered the most beautiful? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Fashion Police: France Votes to Ban the Burqa

Staff / Truthdig Sep 15, 2010 The French Senate voted 246-1 Tuesday to make it illegal for women to wear garments that cover their entire faces. The measure, if greenlighted by a constitutional body, will affect only a few thousand people, but its implications for religious freedom and women's rights have attracted international interest. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Reality TV Hits a New Low With Disabled Model Show?

Staff / Truthdig Dec 2, 2009 There's a lot to unpack when it comes to BBC America's new reality show, "Britain's Missing Top Model," which focuses on a group of disabled women competing to win a high-profile modeling gig. First, what, exactly, is "missing" here, aside from the fact that some contestants are missing limbs? Could it be a sense of humanity, then? Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Now Men Everywhere Can Dress Like Harvard Elitists

Staff / Truthdig Aug 7, 2009 Now, everyone knows that even the toniest of Ivy League institutions recently suffered substantial blows to their massive endowment funds, but Harvard University's idea to launch a menswear line called Harvard Yard just seems like school branding gone horribly awry. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Brüno Blitzes Conan O’Brien

Staff / Truthdig Jun 26, 2009 Sacha Baron Cohen's latest cultural satire is upon us -- and the host of the "Tonight Show." Conan O'Brien does his best, but all the lap-dancing and Kugel-staring is just too much for him to bear. [Update: Video fixed] Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Bruno’ Tricks Ex-Mossad Spy

Staff / Truthdig Jul 8, 2008 Sacha Baron Cohen is already notorious for his alter ego Borat, and now, fortunately for his career (and unfortunately for those who get caught in his comedic cross hairs), he has another invented personality -- Austrian fashionista Bruno -- who just pulled one over on former Mossad agent Yossi Alpher. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )