A NY Times writer is on the hot seat for questioning singer Beyonce‘s status as a fashion Icon. Writer Vanessa Friedman questioned why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland included 7 of Beyonce’s tour costumes in an exhibit in the Legends of Rock section. Friedman notes that Beyonce is not a legend of rock music, nor is she a fashion icon.
Friedman’s opinion did not sit well with the so-called ‘Beyhive’ — Beyonce’s name for her overzealous fans on social media.
Beyonce has never been known for her personal style. And Friedman noted that Beyonce’s own clothing line — House of Deréon — failed to spark trends or interest among her fans.
Friedman points out that the clothing line’s official Facebook page links to a website that “cannot be found.”
But the unkindest cut of all came when Freidman compared the 33-year-old mom to her arch rival Rihanna: “Beyoncé hasn’t moved, or influenced, the direction of fashion writ large in the way that, say, Rihanna, the winner of this year’s CFDA Fashion Icon award, has,” she wrote.
From The NY Times:
Beyoncé hasn’t moved, or influenced, the direction of fashion writ large in the way that, say, Rihanna, the winner of this year’s CFDA Fashion Icon award, has. (See, for example, the luxe athletic pieces peppering collections like Pucci, Balmain and Tom Ford.) She doesn’t wear things and spark a million trends, like Madonna once did with her jeweled crosses and lace minis, not to mention her bullet bra corsets. She doesn’t cause items to sell out overnight, like wee Prince George.
She doesn’t worm her way into designers’ imaginations, the way Patti Smith and Courtney Love did. Her stylist has not become a well-known name in his own right, the way Nicola Formichetti has moved from working with Lady Gaga (who also won the CFDA Fashion Icon award in 2011) to becoming the creative director and frontman of Diesel.
Her megafame could not even sustain her own fashion brand, House of Deréon, which appears to have been suspended (the Facebook page links to a website, houseofdereon.com, which the Internet says “cannot be found,” though some jeans and shoes are still sold on third-party sites), unlike, say, that of Jessica Simpson, which has revenues of about $1 billion, according to Forbes. Li & Fung, which owns House of Deréon, did not respond to requests to clarify the situation.
Thanks to loyal reader Ernest O. for the tip.
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