2013-05-21T23:40:58-04:00 Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=naomi-mdudu Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Naomi Mdudu Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1589470 2012-06-12T09:46:56-04:00 2012-08-12T05:12:06-04:00

Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-mdudu/
'Natural hair can VERY beautiful. Solange's hair is not. Even if she wore an afro, pick it out even or something. It always looks unkempt...Boo for not even trying to represent with her natural fro'ness,' one commenter said. 'She really needs to put some work into STYLING her hair. This is why people think natural hair looks bad,' another added.

Solange decided to respond to the comments on Twitter on Thursday:

'I never painted myself as a team natural vice president. I don't know the lingo and don't sleep with a satin cap... However, I did [notice] when I picked out my hair, I kept seeing feedback about needing a "twist out". Connnnfesssioonnn: I HATE twist outs. Correction, I hate the way they look on me SO I end up always picking them/ steaming them out. Look, all I'm saying is. My hair is not very important to me... so [i] don't encourage it to be important to you.'

The saga got me thinking. Where's the backlash coming from? Knowles is one of the few African-American women in the public eye actually embracing her natural hair so shouldn't this be supported rather than criticised? 'It's disappointing that when the target of criticism is a successful woman, the attack usually focuses on some aspect of her appearance,' Michelle Bobb-Parris of blog Who Is Bobb Parris, told me in an email. 'I think that the comments speak more to the insecurities that some women have about their own hair than Solange's choice of hairstyle. I feel her frustration, as whether I choose to define or straighten curls, or to go with the 'fro can be quite polarising. Ultimately, Solange's hair is beautiful, and the natural hair police have no business with how she chooses to style it.'

Natural hair is something that Miggy Likes The Internet blogger Michelle Gibbs has focused on and celebrated on her blog. 'There's a lot of people out there who are looking for tips and inspiration and I'm always happy if I can give that to even only one person,' she said over email. 'No doubt some negativity will arise at some point but I guess that is just something that you have to expect when you are choosing to put information about yourself on the web.' Is she surprised about the backlash against Knowles, well, no. 'So many people see wearing their natural hair as some kind of 'movement' and they have made Solange Knowles the leader of that so-called movement but the fact is, that like me, she is not interested in that side of the natural hair story,' she said. 'Of course people will idolize and scrutinize her because she is in the limelight but people who feel 'let down' by her as an example for the natural hair community are just being ridiculous.'

What do you think?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1535160 2012-05-22T04:27:39-04:00 2012-07-21T05:12:12-04:00

Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-mdudu/
As you'll remember, much was said about the reality star's absence from the Met Gala this month, with reports alleging that Anna Wintour did not want her there. Joe Zee also spoke out recently explaining that the most profitable Kardashian could not be considered as potential Elle cover star simply because that 'role of a lifetime' is not enough to bag her the big spot.' Is the fashion industry finally rejecting the overzealous interest in celebrity, or at least reality stars, that has dominated over the last few years? Well, at least that's what it seems.

'What's shocking to me is how important the red carpet is. At one point I thought it was ruining [fashion] but I don't think that anymore. I don't think any celebrity can take away from fashion,' André Leon Talley said this week. 'Not even Kim Kardashian could take away from fashion...Though, of course, Kim Kardashian didn't come to the Metropolitan Met Ball but [her boyfriend] Kanye West did.' While I'm not anti-Kardashian, there is a lot of truth in what he says. The rise in the celebrity-for-celebrities sake culture has been perpetuated by magazines who have been more than happy to put them on their covers and by designers who are increasingly clamouring to get them on the front rows at their shows, TV crews in tow.

'So would you ever dress Kim Kardashian?' Robin Givhan asked Ralph Rucci. 'No, I think that's bastardizing yourself [as a designer].'

What do you think?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1418055 2012-04-11T12:48:01-04:00 2012-06-11T05:12:02-04:00

Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-mdudu/
Whilst you may be unfamiliar with the brand now, give it a year or so and that will change. The company has actually been around for several years but it is only now that things have really come together. Teams have come and gone and the aesthetic has changed several times so it was only four seasons ago when Powney was appointed as head designer that things began to change. This fact isn't something they shy away from. In fact, Powney was pretty frank when asked about it. "People in the industry take fashion very seriously so if you've seen a brand through several different phases, people move on and lose interest. It has taken time to get people to come back and see it but I finally feel like it's at a good point and people can see that it's a good concept." It's the brand's present carnation that has helped win them a legion of fans and become on of the industry's best kept secrets. And while MOP, as the team call it, was established by Maia Norman who continues to serve as creative director, it is Amy who has managed to articulate her easy sports wear vision.

But the aesthetic goes beyond sports wear. What instantly strikes you about the clothes is the ease in which they can slip into your wardrobe alongside what you already have, whilst also managing to be statement pieces in their own right. Take the block coloured maxi skirts or simple shirts and round hemmed blazers from their summer collection for example. Whether, like me, you're a woman in your twenties trying to move away from your Topshop years and now invest in quality pieces or you're a forty year-old mother of three, there's something in there for you.

With all of the new challenges that the recession has brought, this makes sense. Women are looking for pieces that are multi-functional and will take them from the school run to an after work event and a full on work day in between. "She's always doing something," Powney said about being inspired by Maia's busy lifestyle. "She really wanted to create a casual brand. When Maia and I go out, we want to feel comfortable. I hate that feeling of clothes hugging and pulling on you so you would never see me in big heels and a tight dress. It's much sexier when you see a woman look really comfortable in her own skin and whatever she's wearing. That easiness comes with simpler silhouettes." And it's true. It's this reason that women have fallen in love with Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo's work at Celine, for example. Their clothes encapsulates the 'for women, by women' mantra, which strangely is a lot less common today that you would expect.

It's no surprise then that Powney names celebrities like Tilda Swinton as a source of inspiration and someone who she'd like to see wearing the brand. "I truly believe that women should wear the clothes and not have the clothes wear them but equally, the clothes should reflect your personality and what you want to say" and that's exactly what Swinton does. "She is one of the few women who can wear something a lot more causal to an event but still look great," she said. "It's great when you have those girls that can where something simple and classic but still look amazing." And that's what Mother of Pearl do so well. It's not about being included in the trend round ups for Powney. Instead, she's unapologetic about maintaining the MOP voice so even if you do see the occasional big trend in one of their collections, you can sure as hell count on them being done in a very Mother of Peal way.

And it's going down well. Over the past year the brand has teamed up Show Studio on a series of collaborations, launched a hugely successful partnership with Pierre Hardy, are currently working on a pop-up shop in Harrods and their clothes are going down a treat in the new Asian economies. "I'm really proud of that because [the Asian market] just get it," she said. "They're the sort of people that wear brands like Marni and can carry off pieces that are much cooler. When they go out they don't necessarily wear some kind of bod-con dress. They're a lot cooler and that really fits our product and it's fortunate that they're having a boom over there."

That acute sense of awareness about what the market is doing and what customers want, is Powney all over. Unlike a lot of young designers she has a good head for business, something she credits Kingston university for, as well a stint working for Giles during his early days. In Amy's world, creativity and business go hand in hand. "One day I might be designing and the next day I'm working on accounts and for me it works. It enables me to really understand what the brand is, where it's going and who the customer is," and that something that is instantly apparent the moment you talk to her. Mother of Pearl was her first job after leaving university but rather than starting off in her current position, she actually began as a design assistant before moving into the business side and later heading the design team. "It was good because I really got to see what worked and what didn't work, which has helped get the brand to where it is now."

This head for business and what women want transcends through everything they do, especially their work with the art world. Each season the brand teams up with an acclaimed artist whose work will serve as the starting point of a given collection. What's most exciting about these partnerships is the accessibility. To buy an artwork of their any of their former collaborators like Keith Tyson or Jim Lambie will set you back a fair bit but through these collaborations, you can access these artists. Don't get me wrong, the pieces are more expensive than the middle range high street stores but nothing they sell would warrant losing sleep over, which is proving to be a good business move. The recession is putting pressure on brands to rethink their price points. While the big fashion houses are still there, it's contemporary brands like MOP that are getting the most traction today, especially as spending continues to shift to the middle market.

"Years ago we used to have couture on one end of the spectrum and then you had the high street. There was no middle ground - it just didn't exist. Now we have diffusion lines and designers like Alexander Wang and we also have shops like Cos, Whistles and Jaeger who are just completely bridging the gap," Powney said when asked whether contemporary brands will have longevity post-recession. "The reality today is that their quality is as good as the diffusion lines and in some cases as good as the mainlines so now it's becoming really competitive because you customers can get can such great products on the high street." But this is a challenge that the team don't shy away from. "I'm a logical person so I actually like the challenge. Sometimes when you have countless money the process can go on an on and that sometimes frustrates me," she admitted. "I like to have a goal so I can then decide the pockets of the collection where we don't think about the money and it's all about the quality. Then it's also nice having a point where you have to create the more accessible pieces too. We use the statement pieces to show what we can do because they are the visual representation of the brand and the other bits are great but in a different way."

Business aside, it's the candid moments during my stay that sums the team up best. "We have so many issues that we face from deliveries and dealing with people in different countries and different languages but when things arrive, we all get excited," she said smiling. "At the end of the day we're all a bunch of girls and we love the clothes," her assistant added. And it shows. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1418048 2012-04-11T12:45:21-04:00 2012-06-11T05:12:02-04:00

Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-mdudu/ Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model have ensured that he has found a place in all of our living rooms as well as our wardrobes.

Because of his focus on all things celebrity, he was never a designer that followed. That's not because I don't respect what he does - I really do - but rather, his penchant for all things glamour and IT girl isn't something that I'm particularly drawn to. That said, recently I was lucky enough to join Shop Style on the Fashion Fringe roadshow where Collin McDowell spoke to the designer at the University of Brighton where he studied and I was totally won over. Not only is he incredibly charming, he is also incredibly outgoing (a characteristic, which Macdonald himself noted isn't very common amongst designers) and completely honest and unfiltered.

What was interesting about the talk was that a lot of us left realising just how little we knew about his incredible past.

When he was a child he wanted to be a singer:

'I loved the show-off nature of showbiz,' he said. 'I loved to dance. I was the only boy in my dance class.'

On his background:

'I didn't come from a fashion background. My mother worked in a light bulb factor and my father worked in a washing machine factory,' he said. 'My father played for QPR in his young days so I was far from the token son.'

On choosing to go to study fashion at the University of Brighton:

'I really wanted to move to London and Brighton was like my step to London,' he said. 'I was really sacred about leaving home but was so happy to meet people with the same interests. I was a loner and really outsider before and was teased.'

On working with McQueen:

'I designed the knitted pieces for Alexander McQueen's first collection. Isabella Blow brought us together. It was during my sandwich year at university and he paid me in clothes.'

On studying at the Royal College of Arts:

'That was my ticket to London,' he said. 'The MA at the Royal College is the best fashion course in the world. It was there that I really developed my style.'

On working on a project for Karl Lagerfeld as part of his RCA course:

'The task was to designer a capsule collection for his brand,' he explained. 'I got Phillip Treacy to do the hats and Manolo Blahnik to do the heels and turned up wearing McQueen.' Andre Leon Talley who joined Lagerfeld in judging the competition reportedly said 'this is not Lagerfeld, this is Chanel Haute Couture' when announcing that Macdonald had won. The prize was the opportunity to go and work for Lagerfeld in Paris. When he was offered a job at the end of it he said no and asked for Karl to wait from him to finish the MA course as he was worried about having to pay the scholarship back. Instead of going back, Lagerfeld talked to the Royal College and convinced them to allow him to work at Chanel as his final year project.

On his graduating show:

'The show was styled by Isabella Blow and Suzy Menkes reviewed it.'

On returning to Chanel after graduating from the Royal College:

'Over those years I became Karl's protegee. I designed the knitted tweeds for the brand that they still use today and was one of the 15 in Karl's inner circle,' he said. 'I spend two years watching and learning everything from Karl.'

On leaving Chanel to start his own brand:

'After two years at Chanel I had made enough money so I was ready to leave.' He continued: 'Karl was supportive. The knitted tweeds I created for Chanel were a huge seller and continue to sell today. They really kept the factories ticking over so they helped me when I started my own label...They owed me.'

On his approach to his own brand in the early days:

'It was never about the money. It was always about the next show.'

On his signature style:

'I made my name by dressing celebrities and that's fine...glamour is always in fashion.'

On people criticising him for not being avant garde:

'I never liked crazy avant garde things,' he said. 'My clothes have always been camp and over the top...and sold all over the world.'

On banning critical journalists:

'I told journalists that if they don't like, don't come and I was very happy to do so,' he said laughing.

On being offered the job at Givenchy:

'When Bernard Arnault came knocking on the door I thought he was offering me the job at Pucci...but he had spoken to Karl who had recommended me,' he said. 'I was worried. I had never done tailoring and was inexperienced. I was a knitwear designer not a fashion designer.' He continued: 'The team hated me. I was another British designer working there [after John Galliano and Alexander McQueen] and didn't speak a word of French.'

On his first task at Givenchy:

'They told me to design a pre-fall collection. I went and sat in my office and I sat around the whole day trying to figure out what a pre-fall collection was.'

On the design approach of the Givenchy atelier:

'They had a really bourgeois way of thinking. Everything had a corset and I didn't think that that was the way women wanted to dress.'

On the critics:

'People hated me,' he admitted. 'Mr Arnault didn't care because the company was finally making money.'

On being unhappy at Givenchy:

'I wasn't happy there...the last year there I cried myself to sleep every night. I was going crazy. I was always on my own and became more insular...I didn't care about the money anymore. I had paid for my parent house and their bills so I didn't have to do it anymore. I just wanted to to go home. They asked me to stay and offered more money but I said no. I had been ticking the days of my calendar.'
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.926589 2011-09-26T19:00:00-04:00 2011-11-26T05:12:02-05:00

Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-mdudu/
With the rise of reality shows and celebs embracing social networking like Facebook and Twitter, we all think we know them intimately and as result, have followed their on going struggles with weight, which is why diet companies are increasingly incorporating celebs into their marketing plans. Take Jennifer Hudson for example. We all watched her battle against the prejudices about her weight and image on American Idol and later stand as the 'curvy' woman's champion after outshining her slimmer 'Dream Girls' co-star Beyoncé and going on to win the Best Supporting Actress gong at the Oscars. Fast forward to now and Hudson is a svelte size 6 having lost over 80lbs and we all feel like we've walked her journey with her.

The same is true for Kim Kardashian, whose career has catapulted over the last few years largely thanks to her hit family reality show 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' but also due to her considerable weight loss to match - hello Quick Trim and Shape Up endorsements and the multi-million dollar contacts that came with them. Call me cynical but has her celebrity status not increased with every inch lost? After all, you'll be forgiven for forgetting the last time that the future Mrs Humphries wasn't on the cover of People magazine sharing her latest weight loss tips with the signature bikini shoot to accompany. Hudson put it perfectly, although rather diplomatically, when she explained that her career options have definitely opened up since her dramatic weight loss. "I didn't even realise I was being discriminated against and missed out on things until I crossed over to the other side," she told US magazine Live Smart. "Now, on the other side, they treat you differently, the opportunities are different..."

Despite the negative representations conveyed by such an obvious link between their respective weight losses and career highs, the Weight Watchers-Jennifer Hudson partnership has largely been a good one. Her recent commercials for the company (who she currently serves as spokesperson for) emphasise her feeling better and her 'lov[ing] myself that much more" rather than bashing her former curvy self.

But doesn't this put even more pressure on celebrities to look slim, especially when their endorsements and subsequent deals hinged on their increased profile, are on the line? Well seemingly so. That point was made ever so clear in a recent episode of 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' (I'm a secret fan, can you tell?) where momager Kris Jenner criticised Khloe for jeopardizing their Quick Trim endorsement by talking to the media "about how many cookies you're easting in between meals". To which she responded: "To tell me I'm ruining a whole brand because of my weight gain makes me feel like shit." But this isn't the only time that has happened. Cast your mind back to Natalie Cassidy's hard time after putting the weight back on after showing off her short-lived size 8 frame. And till today, Kristie Alley speaks of her regret about stripping down to her bikini on Oprah to show off her new body, only to put the weight (plus more) on immediately after, not to mention being dropped by the weight loss company she served as spokesperson for.

So what do we learn from this? By boosting these weight loss companies' profit margins by running to our local drug store and loading up on their projects in the hope of looking like a Kardashian, are we ultimately setting these celebrities up for a fall? As the Kardashian brood show, one successful fitness or weight loss endorsement leads to a string of others making a slim waist line an ever-growing financial necessity in Hollywood.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.957301 2011-09-11T09:35:32-04:00 2011-09-16T23:46:24-04:00

Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-mdudu/
The issue was brought to my attention a few weeks back when I was on an advertising job for a client based on the continent. Not one of the models used over the course of the three-day shoot was of Asian heritage. You can guess what I was told when I challenged the casting, can't you? "To the client, Asian models aren't aspirational," a member of the team said despite the fact that they are the people the campaign was targeted at. Am I surprised by that response? Well, no but the issue is definitely worth tackling.

At the height of the interest in Vogue Italia's 'All Black Issue' in 2008 Nick Knight explained that many people in the industry deem black models as non-aspirational, which appears to be the same attitude adopted in Asian markets. "I guess these companies are being told what sells and what doesn't sell," he explained. "And I think within those marketing strategies are assumed racisms." But how does that work? Don't Asian women want to see themselves reflected in advertising or does this trend for all things Caucasian reflect some deep problems?

It's no secret that agencies often send models over to East Asian countries like China and Japan during the slow months to make money in advertising, as clients have a propensity to favor Western over native models. "I don't think this is hard-core racism. I think it's more inertia and stupidity on the part of the fashion industry. It's a lack of imagination," Simon Doonan said when asked about his general view on the issue. "There's a collective responsibility the fashion industry has to get their ass into gear, come into the 21st century, open the windows and doors and see all the beautiful girls that are out there and not have preconceived ideas about it. This is reprehensible and it needs to change."

But it's not all bad, though. Although Asian models aren't doing to well regionally, they are slowly getting more face time in international magazines. Does the name Liu Wen ring a bell? She's bagged countless editorials, has walked for everyone from Jean Paul Gaultier to Chanel and was crowned the 10th highest paid model last year after being named as the first Asian face to secure a contract with beauty giant, Estée Lauder. There growing presence was even noted by American Vogue in 'Asia Major' dedicated to East Asia's top eight models. But before you applaud, have a think about it. Any person that has paid the slightest bit of attention to the luxury market since the 2008 credit crunch will have noticed that the Chinese market has been the only shining spot for the luxury goods industry making it no longer economically viable for Chinese models to be ignored. Estée Lauder's decision to hire Liu Wen and Louis Vuitton casting of Godfrey Gao is less likely to be as a result of their chiseled cheekbones, and that's not just me just be cynical. According to a TNS Retail Forward study, by 2015 China is expected to have passed the US and equaled Japan as the world's biggest market for luxury goods. In the said Vogue article, make-up artist Dick Page himself acknowledged that "Everybody in the in fashion/beauty industry recognizes the importance of global markets, and currently China, Taiwan and South Korea are at the forefront." As one writer aptly put it, "are Chinese advertisers living in a bubble and alienated from the consumers they are talking to?"

As with everything, there isn't an easy answer to this one. It's the prime chicken and the egg scenario. Without getting too heavy the following question needs to be asked: what needs to change first - the attitudes of brands and advertisers or the outlook of society? If recent research is anything to go by 'women respond favorably to a brand if the models it uses somehow mirror their own identities' so fashion brands, take note. You still have a lot of work to do.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.930093 2011-08-18T03:34:11-04:00 2011-10-17T05:12:01-04:00

Naomi Mdudu http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-mdudu/
With the rise of reality shows and celebs embracing social networking like Facebook and Twitter, we all think we know them intimately and as result, have followed their on going struggles with weight, which is why diet companies are increasingly incorporating celebs into their marketing plans. Take Jennifer Hudson for example. We all watched her battle against the prejudices about her weight and image on American Idol and later stand as the 'curvy' woman's champion after outshining her slimmer 'Dream Girls' co-star Beyoncé and going on to win the Best Supporting Actress gong at the Oscars. Fast forward to now and Hudson is a svelte size 6 having lost over 80lbs and we all feel like we've walked her journey with her.

The same is true for Kim Kardashian, whose career has catapulted over the last few years largely thanks to her hit family reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians but also due to her considerable weight loss to match - hello Quick Trim and Shape Up endorsements and the multi-million dollar contacts that came with them. Call me cynical but has her celebrity status not increased with every inch lost? After all, you'll be forgiven for forgetting the last time that the future Mrs Humphries wasn't on the cover of People magazine sharing her latest weight loss tips with the signature bikini shoot to accompany. Hudson put it perfectly, although rather diplomatically, when she explained that her career options have definitely opened up since her dramatic weight loss. "I didn't even realise I was being discriminated against and missed out on things until I crossed over to the other side," she told US magazine Live Smart. "Now, on the other side, they treat you differently, the opportunities are different..."

Despite the negative representations conveyed by such an obvious link between their respective weight losses and career highs, the Weight Watchers-Jennifer Hudson partnership has largely been a good one. Her recent commercials for the company (who she currently serves as spokesperson for) emphasise her feeling better and her 'lov[ing] myself that much more" rather than bashing her former curvy self.

But doesn't this put even more pressure on celebrities to look slim, especially when their endorsements and subsequent deals hinged on their increased profile, are on the line? Well seemingly so. That point was made ever so clear in a recent episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians (I'm a secret fan, can you tell?) where momager Kris Jenner criticised Khloe for jeopardisng their Quick Trim endorsement by talking to the media "about how many cookies you're easting in between meals". To which she responded: "To tell me I'm ruining a whole brand because of my weight gain makes me feel like shit.' But this isn't the only time that has happened. Cast your mind back to Natalie Cassidy's hard time after putting the weight back on after showing off her short-lived size 8 frame. And till today, Kristie Alley speaks of her regret about stripping down to her bikini on Oprah to show off her new body, only to put the weight (plus more) on immediately after, not to mention being dropped by the weight loss company she served as spokesperson for.

So what do we learn from this? By boosting these weight loss companies' profit margins by running to our local drug store and loading up on their projects in the hope of looking like a Kardashian, are we ultimately setting these celebrities up for a fall? As the Kardashian brood show, one successful fitness or weight loss endorsement leads to a string of others making a slim waist line an ever-growing financial necessity in Hollywood.

thefashpack.onsugar.com
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