VivirLatino

Fashion Is Not Revolutionary

10:22 H | Topics: Fashion - TV

Unless we're talking about women wearing pants but anyway the other day my best friend tells me over the phone that she thought of me when she saw an ad for this new show about fashion. She didn't think of me because I'm a fashionista in any way, shape, or form but rather because she knew the imagery being used to promote the show would piss me off. And she was right. The premise of The Fashionista Diaries is that

"Six hungry twentysomethings plunge headfirst into the New York fashion world".

Riveting no? The five women and one man are sent to work at magazines, cosmetics companies, and at a PR firm. Fluffy tv is fine , fluffy tv with a culturally appropriated logo, well not so fine.

Nothing pisses me off more than the ubiquitous Che Guevara t-shirts on the chests of hipsters and now add this to the mix. The logo for the Fashionista Diaries is a feminized Che Guevara image. On here beret she wears not a star but a high heel stiletto. Her face is covered by sunglasses and she wears a lipstick pout. The tagline of the show is "The Revolution Will Be Accessorized", a play off the Gil Scott-Heron phrase.

Now let me be clear, I am not of the belief that activism has to look a certain way. Hell I wore lipstick when I participated in my first civil disobedience action (and caught hell for it!). And I know I shouldn't expect much from a show on SoapNet! But what would the reaction be if an image of George Washington was used? I guess Latin American revolutionaries are much easier to make fun of and appropriate. I mean who takes the idea of Latin American revolution seriously these days anymore right? Right?

If you want to learn more about the Fashionista Diaries you can here.

If you want to learn more about Che Guevara (and yes, sigh, buy Che gear) you can here.

Related

• National Rican Organization Challenges Presidential Candidates to Speak Address the Community (Wednesday, Sep 17 2008)
• Looking back the the DNC08 Via Kai/Zuky (Sunday, Sep 14 2008)