Tyra's Hair @ The White House Correspondents Dinner

She will never abandon her lace-fronts but the darker color really suits her. With all the comments online about Tyra and her wigs I'm surprised that she (to the best of my knowledge) hasn't done a show about the topic. I mean, the woman got her breasts screened on TV to prove that they are real. I'm dying to know what's underneath her wig cap.

What do you think of this new look?

ETA: Naturally Sophia provided this link about the show. Jezebel discussion on the show here.
s: lipstickalley

America's Next Top Model

I will admit that the only reason I watched America's Next Top Model last night was to see Isis, the transgender contestant. I stopped watching the show a few "cycles" back because I just got tired of the formula. After last nights episode, my opinion hasn't changed. Tyra and Co. are more bizarre than ever and the casting of potential models according to the reality show rule book is still in effect. For as much as I liked Isis and Sheena (pictured above)  I won't be coming back for more. I wanted to jump through my TV and strangle the girl who referred to Isis as a drag queen. My heart just can't take the ignorance and exploitation. 

"American Dream" - Tyra Banks

I was more than a little irked when I read that Tyra Banks would be dressed up as Michelle Obama in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar but I must say that after viewing the pictures (scanned by MissMagAddict,) I'm not hating these.

Tyra is no Michelle and the shoot lacks imagination (I've seen the "politician's wife spread more than once this year) but there are some positive things about it.

For one, Harper's got Tyra to peel off that blonde lace-front wig. I mean, sure they just slapped another one on but at least her follicles got to breathe for a minute. Second, color me shocked (!) that two dark skinned black children were used in the editorial. I didn't know fashion magazines knew what to do with black children save dress them in 'ethnic' clothing and maybe photograph them in close proximity to livestock and vacationing models.

The only photo that really leaves me scratching my head is the one of the First Couple in bed. Tyra's beautiful strapless gown is strewn across the sheets but instead of being in an intimate embrace, the couple (dressed in Harvard sweatshirts) are reading the paper and appear to be discussing the health benefits of  peppermint tea. I mean, I know this is supposed to be a little tongue in cheek but THAT is not my Barack and Michelle. I guess HB chickened out at the prospect of showing a little black love. 

Photographer: Alexi Lubomirski 

Tyra on Harper's Bazaar - September 2008

Harper's Bazaar has unveiled a peek at one of their two September covers, both set to feature Tyra Banks.

From what I can see the photo looks good and for as much as I find Tyra completely irritating, I'm pleased to see a black woman on the cover of a fat September fashion magazine. 

It's also a relief to see that she is not dressed up like Michelle Obama on the cover.

From what I can gather there will be two covers, one for subscribers and one for the newsstand. I'm guessing this one is for the subscribers. I'll share some scan when I get the magazine in the mail unless I find them somewhere else sooner.

ETA: Newsstand cover:

NYT: Tyra Banksable

My personal opinion of Miss Tyra has taken a nosedive in the last several years. To me her self-involved talk show is only watchable via clips on The Soup and the appeal of America's Next Top Model has evaporated. But then, I'm old. These days my tastes run more towards TV Land's "She's Got the Look". I guess I just prefer that my crying model wannabes have stretch marks.

That said, I was surprised to see her name dropped with the likes of Oprah and Martha in The New York Times Magazine. Clearly she's doing something right, even if I don't quite get it.

The article itself is mildly interesting and worth a look if you are at all interested the lace-front mogul.

This bit caught my eye:

From her two shows, Banks makes an estimated $18 million a year, and her net worth is around $75 million. She owns 25 percent of “Top Model” and last fall Bankable Productions signed a deal to develop projects for Warner Brothers television. Their first project is “The Clique,” based on the national best-selling series about a group of preteen girls from the wealthy suburbs of New York. True to Banks’s practical nature, “The Clique” will be produced on a low budget and will be sold only as DVDs, avoiding the costs (and risks) of theatrical distribution.

I remember Tyra saying to Essence Magazine that she was going to use her power in the industry to create rolls for underemployed black actresses. I just wonder if that power will ever create something more exciting than cheaply produced direct-to-video movies and reality shows.

Is there any black actor or celebrity in the industry actually powerful enough to make the kind of film that I want to see? Something that's not Soul Plan or a biopic or something starring a Wayans brother or a black man in a dress?

Today on Tyra...

Thursday, October 4th

"Model Blackouts"

Has black become unfashionable? Tyra addresses the “Model Blackout,” a recent controversy surrounding the lack of African-American models at this year’s Fashion Week in New York and in the modeling industry overall. Traver Rains and Richie Rich, designers of the Heatherette fashion line, discuss why they like to use black models and why other designers do not. They opened and closed their show with Chanel Iman, a 16-year-old model Tyra mentors. Chanel then joins Tyra to discuss the challenges she faces and what she did to get the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, Anna Wintour’s, attention. Then, supermodel Alek Wek speaks openly about the roadblocks she faced in the industry as a black model and lets cameras follow her to see what a day in the life of a supermodel is really like. Tyra and Alek also share behind-the-scenes footage from their recent Ebony cover with fellow models and entrepreneurs Iman and Kimora Lee Simmons. Alek then talks about her new book that chronicles her struggle as a Sudanese refugee and how she escaped the country to become a fashion model. Plus, Alek shows her new handbag line and surprises one of her biggest fans, a woman who also lived through the civil war in Sudan.

I'm not a big fan of Tyra's show (I think she's a little too egocentric) but this was a pretty good show. Chanel Iman was adorable and it was nice seeing her on the show with her mom (who is Black and Korean) on the show.I always love seeing Alek Wek. It was also interesting to see Trevor Rains & Richie Rich of Heatherette talk about their decision to use 10 (!) Black models on their runway this season.

ETA: Clip of Chanel Iman from the show