The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 5 Fashion's new face far too familiar America's blind obs with celebrity life just motivate the t - it's also steered fashion, point of artistic degradati statuesque models once gr covers of fashion magazin stars and various other far figures have stepped in to the work of prominent des For the past decade or so, has driven the fashion ind deliver familiar faces to a gossip-ready public at the unnecessary expense of the garment industry's integrity. Fashion is an art form, but it's also a business tha relies heavily on its prod- uct's marketability. By attaching a celebrity's name to a design label - or even an entire style - the brand is exploiting pop culture's in ible cache of likeable pers But clothing should lend i quality to a model's body, versa. When Louis Vuitto to someone like Jennifer L boost its image, the design sacrificing the very eleme make her a fitting woman in the first place - indepe successful, stylishly bold to an extreme. Fashion's p in its ability to make a won of these things, without th manipulative advertising There's no arguing that rity endorsements have thi to exponentially increase but will a purchase based begin to replace the reaso passionate about what we Even Vogue has jumpe board; the glamorous high magazine, made famous f ting-edge design and haut editorial spreads, used act cover girls for nine of its i year alone. Though many, are beautiful - as well as ents of solid public backin net worths ranging in the - should that give them th ity to advertise innovative Besides being silhouett physical perfection, mode sically possess something, remains unattainable to e highest-profile celebs - n A model's body exists to b and transformed by the fa much in the same way tha acter role should transfor actor or actress assuming using a celebrity who has lished image in the public designer is stripping its cl their ability to recreate th without a preexisting bias Great fashion should be Mondrian: conceptually e but emotionally and intell evocative, tangible in expr but untouchable in its bea recognizable face of a mov simply cannot accomplish Though the necessary fication of models is in pa qualifies them for a photo ession over an actress or singer, let it doesn't be known that personality is by abloids no means expected to be absent. to the Neutrality is not a measure of indif- on. Where ference. Supermodels that have hit raced the the mainstream have landed at the es, movie top for a reason - and even their mous specific personas are startingto get show off in the way. signers. The supermodel face is nearing the media banal superficiality. Recent years lustry to have seen a pattern in highlight- ing models from an era now long passed. From Cindy Crawford and Jan- ice Dickinson to Christy Turlington and Kristy Brinkley, the names of t supermodels are now so well-known that their fame has reached a simi- lar point of trivializa- CAROLINE tion. Women from the HARTMANN Age of the Supermodel are no longer revered texhaust- for their unique ability to display onalities. fashion as it's meant to be seen. ts own Instead, the very nature of their not vice hard-earned success is what war- n turns rants recognition well beyond their Lopez to glory days of groundbreaking run- n house is way shows. Figures like Kate Moss nts that have entered into dangerous terri- to dress tory, suspended in a kind of fashion ndently purgatory between her skills as and sexy a model and inescapable tabloid ower lies attention. man all From a more practical view- he help of point, models have a career to tactics. maintain that the current mar- t celeb- ket will not continue to support. ie ability sales, on fame on wae Why Beyonc6 as wear? aon a cover model h-fashion or cut- hurts fashion. e-couture tresses as ssues last When I heard Beyonce won this actresses year's Sport's Illustrated Swimsuit recipi- Edition's cover, I was up in arms g and - not because her beauty and tal- millions ent don't deserve recognition, but he author- because she doesn't need it. The SI fashion? cover is a behind-the-scenes, com- es of petitive crusade, capable of making ls intrin- a model's career - one of the most that accessible media venues to cata- ven the pult a rookie into stardom. Yes, the eutrality. modeling workforce is obviously a e adorned minority faction of the world's pop- shions, ulation, but the job is rarely viewed it a char- with the respect it deserves. m the As Oscar night approaches it. By - a fashion spectacle and personal an estab- guilty pleasure - rumors of who 's eye, a willbe named "best dressed" othes of become increasingly important, e body since the media circus provides s. designers with an ideal marketing like a tool. But for one night, letthat be lusive all, because the potential threat to ectually the fashion industry, should design- ression ers dare to extend celebrity involve- uty. The ment into the realm of couture vie star modeling, is dangerously imminent. this. objecti- - Hartmann thinks everything rtwhat should be like a Mondrian. E-mail shoot her at carolinh@umich.edu. She's got the pedigree, the looks and the chops. When is Nora Jones going to cut an above-average record? Even-keeled JONES'S TRADEMARK MELLOW SOUND LOSING ITS EDGE By CAITLIN COWAN Daily Arts Writer It's hard not to fall in love with Norah Jones. The mysterious, raven-haired Texan is the daughter of iconic sitarist Ravi Shankar and a sometime student of jazz piano at the ** University of North Texas. Her cross-genre appeal has Norah Jones garnered a fan base as diverse as her influences, her dulcet Not Too Late voice and tactful piano earn- alue Note ing strong if restrained praise. Her debut album, Come Away With Me, captivated the hearts and ears of dewy-eyed young girls, cof- fee-shop patrons and mellow jazz lovers alike. Her next effort, Feels Like Home, wasn't quite as successful either critically or commercially, but it remained consistent with her debut: earnest piano gently defined by percussive stand-up bass and minimal drums. Not Too Late, seems to come from another time and place entirely - and not always for the better. In fact, the album suffers in comparison to her last two albums, which were marked by a measured consistency. The minimalist opening track, "Wish I demise. A mellow, unremarkable groove under- Could," sets a mellow tone for the album from scores overly simplistic lyrics and a warmed- which Jones rarely deviates. However, in their over sound. The songs that follow are a series of own way, the next half dozen tracks are varied well-orchestrated blunders. The observational and distinctive. The plodding, show-tune sound "Little Room," an unlikely song about sex, trips of "Sinkin' Soon" comes complete with mis- through silly lyrics like "There's bars on the placed trumpet hits, banjo and, like many other window / And if there were a fire we'd burn up tracks on the album, strangely naive lyrics. for sure" before finishing with a half-hearted "We're an oyster cracker on the stoop / and the whistle. honey in the tea / we're the sugar cubes / one It gets worse. At first the lilting "My Dear lump or two / in the black coffee," Jones coos. Country" sounds like it belongs in an animated The brilliance of another cut, "The Sun feature until the lyrics float lazily to the sur- Doesn't Like You," sounds like typical Norah, face. "I love the things that you've given me / reminiscent of songs like Come Away With Me's And most of all that I am free / To have a song "Nightingale" but notably more upbeat. "So that I can sing on election day." Politics and sen- tonight we can build a fire / in the open field timental piano ballads don't mix. The effect is past the razor wire," she sings. Grounding ethe- tackierthan a plastic purple ring from a gumball real love songs in natural imagery is a staple of machine. Jones's music, and for good reason - it works. Jones tries to create something truly artful "Not My Friend" is the sonic equivalent of a on Not Too Late, but there simply isn't enough sad-looking half-carat diamond ring. Delicate passion behind her songs to bring them togeth- acoustic picking sparkles in the background er. After the disappointingsecondhalf dwindles while Jones delivers some of her sweetest, most to a close, the title grows more ironic. Jones is affecting material in a broken lilt: "You are not still more than capable of producing albums my friend /I cannotpretend anymore," she sings, of better quality, but Not Too Late exposes her "You found a place no one should ever go." inconsistencies. Whether she can regain what The watered-down first single, "Thinking kepther first two albums from sounding like her About You," marks the beginning of the album's third remains to be seen. Get 300 free text messages a month for one year. Sign up for new service and show a valid college ID at the Sprint store. After 12 months, pay the regular monthly fee. 5f F <, f coast: E A. 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