A fascinating chronicle of how celebrity has inundated the world of fashion; realigning the forces that drive both the styles we covet and the bottom lines of the biggest names in luxury apparel. From Coco Chanelrsquo;s iconic tweed suits to the miniskirtrsquo;s surprising comeback in the late 1980s; fashion houses reigned for decades as the arbiters of style and dictators of trends. Hollywood stars have always furthered fashionrsquo;s cause of seducing the masses into buying designersrsquo; clothes; acting as living billboards. Now; forced by the explosion of social media and the accelerating worship of fame; red carpet celebrities are no longer content to just advertise and are putting their names on labels that reflect the image theymdash;or their stylistsmdash;created. Jessica Simpson; Jennifer Lopez; Sarah Jessica Parker; Sean Combs; and a host of pop; sports; and reality-show stars of the moment are leveraging the power of their celebrity to become the face of their own fashion brands; embracing lucrative contracts that keep their images on our screens and their hands on the wheel of a multi-billion dollar industry. And a few celebritiesmdash;like the Olsen Twins and Victoria Beckhammdash;have gone all the way and reinvented themselves as bonafide designers. Not all celebrities succeed; but in an ever more crowded and clamorous marketplace; itrsquo;s increasingly unlikely that any fashion brand will succeed without celebrity involvementmdash;even if designers; like Michael Kors; have to become celebrities themselves. Agins charts this strange new terrain with wit and insight and an insiderrsquo;s access to the fascinating struggles of the bold-type names and their jealousies; insecurities; and triumphs. Everyone from industry insiders to fans of Project Runway and Americas Next Top Model will want to read Aginsrsquo;s take on the glitter and stardust transforming the fashion industry; and where it is likely to take us next.
#235761 in eBooks 2014-02-25 2014-02-25File Name: B00IN3M5EK
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy robert husbandInteresting but would have appreciated more on his private life2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Fine examination of a screen legendBy Jerry MuellerMickey Rooney could do it all: sing; dance; play musical instruments; do imitations; execute raucous physical comedy and deliver dramatic performances of remarkable subtlety. His amazingly prolific; decades-long career was filled with enough peaks and valleys for at least three lifetimes. This book does an expert job of selecting the most representative titles in the Rooney filmography and examining them in terms of their aesthetic merits as well as how and where they fall within the scope of his career. (Sixty-one movies are highlighted; although many others are touched upon.) The coverage includes the great Rooney performances (BOYS TOWN; THE HUMAN COMEDY; GIRL CRAZY; THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI; THE BLACK STALLION; etc.); along with frequently overlooked and underrated endeavors. (Rooney himself later dismissed efforts such as QUICKSAND; THE STRIP and DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD; so itrsquo;s good to see them given their critical due.) Even ldquo;lesserrdquo; movies are discussed; as these minor works underscore how Rooneyrsquo;s immense talent could breathe life into inert material.THE ESSENTIAL MICKEY ROONEY also serves as a biography; weaving details of Rooneyrsquo;s turbulent private life into the coverage; explaining the circumstances as to how and why he came to appear in specific productions. By any standards; Rooney was one of the screenrsquo;s greatest actorsmdash;and; I would contend; the most versatilemdash;and this book is a worthy tribute to his magnificent gifts.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Essential James NeibaurBy James Zeruk; Jr.Film historian James L. Neibaurrsquo;s ldquo;The Essential Mickey Rooneyrdquo; is a comfortable; well-written filmography covering more than 60 of the Hollywood legendrsquo;s motion pictures. To be sure; Mickey Rooneyrsquo;s screen work included hundreds of roles over a period spanning nine decades. But Neibaurrsquo;s book is about the ldquo;essential;rdquo; not the entirety; and thatrsquo;s just fine. Early on; the author points out that ldquo;essentialrdquo; doesnrsquo;t mean only good films or only starring roles. In this vein we learn that certain films and performances hold significance regardless of the box office take or attention paid by the governing bodies of the usual awards organizations.Whatrsquo;s nice about this book is that on one hand its scholarship is thorough enough for competent authors needing good source material related to Rooney or a number of his costars of the films featured therein; and on the other hand itrsquo;s light and breezy enough for Rooney fans to enjoy. Whatrsquo;s extra nice about this book is that Neibaur has included many relevant comments from Mickey Rooney which he culled from notes taken during his personal interview with the star. Another pleasure within the pages are the quality of the photographs. Hats off to the publisherrsquo;s art department for giving us excellent imagesmdash;no grainy or blurry incompetence here; folks!I have read a number of Neibaurrsquo;s filmographies; all of them top notch. ldquo;The Essential Mickey Rooneyrdquo; is just what I have come to expect from the author. It provides the reader with a wonderful look at whatrsquo;s happening with Mr. Rooney on screen and some of what occurred behind the camera. Itrsquo;s a delightful blend of work put together by a proven; reputable film historian and noted author who also happens to be a Mickey Rooney fan. These two aspects help make this an important book hellip; an essential book.
