Episode 4: Beat the Bots

It was the end of awards season with the Oscars this past week, and we're ready to put in our pre-orders for Maison Valentino mid-riff baring numbers because they were hot.  Hot Couture!! This week our live from the red carpet (our living rooms) coverage has no shortage of opinions. From Carey Mulligan to Zendaya to Daniel Kaluuya , we're always here for the fashuuuuns.  We also bid farewell to two legends we've lost, DMX and Alber Elbaz. Life is short, y'all. Live in the moment!

It is not the sole responsibility of Black stylists and Black talent to support Black designers!!!! And thank you, Jason Bolden and Law Roach, for stating the facts. This week we take a minute to discuss a certain WWD article that has us HEATED.  But first, let's start with the positive.  Whether it was on the actual red carpet or a shaky Zoom connection, celebs like Cynthia Erivo and Anya Taylor-Joy brought some much needed glamorous fashuuuuns to this year's Golden Globes.  However, between the HFPA having zero Black members and a severe lack of diversity with the nominees, Hollywood still has a long way to go.  And so does fashion for that matter. 

Well, we made it to 2021.  And...We did it, Joe!!!! We promise we did!!!!  For our Season 2 premiere, we're discussing the resplendent fashion looks we were blessed with on a very historic Inauguration Day.   We saw major moments for Black designers and American designers as the sun came out for the dawn of a new day.  From Kamala Harris wearing Christopher John Rogers to Michelle Obama making THE entrance in Sergio Hudson, optimism ruled the day when it came to fashion.  In fact, Jen will never get over Michelle Obama's epic entrance in her Sergio Hudson trouser look.  For J rod it was the youth and freshness of the Biden granddaughters in their monochromatic looks.  Nicole confirms she's the president of the Miuccia Prada fan club, and Amanda Gorman and Ella Emhoff did her proud.  Tiff is feeling the Bern, and she'll need to get on a Birkin-level waiting list for those mittens.  Bring it on 2021.

This week on Priority Standing, we begin our new guest series, "Plus One," with the one and only, legendary editor, Paul Cavaco.  We discuss the making of a fashion editor, the transition from models to celebrities on the covers of magazines, Paul's favorite supermodels and of course, his behind the scenes stories from the Oprah Vogue cover shoot and the making of Madonna's Sex book.   And no matter where we've journeyed in our careers, Paul will always be our Fashion Dad. 

Shirley. Angela. Michelle. Kamala. Stacey. On this week’s episode, we celebrate our true winners of this week: Black women. And with politics, comes the inevitable subject of fashion. In order to form a more perfect union, it’s important to explore the relationship between the two and how closely they go hand in hand. For women in politics, and especially women of color in politics, navigating the criticism in regards to their sartorial choices is not an easy feat. However, there are still plenty of euphoric moments we can get excited about. So even though Election Day felt like Election Eternity, I think we can all agree it was well worth the wait. 

What's our seat assignment? It's section and row H-O-M-E for us.  And that means front row for everything and everyone! This week we review our favorite Spring/Summer 2021 looks from Fashion Month.  Yes, the industry still managed to produce a month full of digital shows and real life shows.  If you attended the shows in person, we hope you wore a mask and sat at least six feet apart from everyone. If you watched from home like us, we hope your digital experience was glitch-free without any 90s-era-dial-up buffering moments. From new designer collaborations at major fashion houses, to the importance of jeans on the runway, brands still managed to (October?)  surprise. 

Award shows this week can be described in four words: Blackity Black Black Black.  Round of applause for the culture.  Black celebrities and designers dominated both the Emmys and the CFDA awards with well deserved accolades for their creative contributions to the television and fashion industry.  Our collective favorites include Zendaya in Christopher John Rogers and Armani Privé and Regina King in two Schiaparelli looks, including a shocking pink suit worn with a Breonna Taylor T-shirt.  It was also a big week for black designers. Kerby Jean-Raymond, Telfar Clemens and Christopher John Rogers all won CFDA awards.  It was great to see these talented three finally be recognized by the fashion industry.  Here's to more wins for the culture.

Pat McGrath's Supreme lipstick. Kim Jones designing for Fendi Womenswear. Monica 100% bringing it with her Fendi look. Fashion Week? This week on Priority Standing, we chat about a busy week of drops, new appointments, winning looks and a new, weird fashion week because let's be honest, fashion is weird.  Let's just hope Nic will finally get her Pat McGrath Supreme lipstick.

We can't even remember if there were florals for spring, but what we do know is that the September issues of magazines were pretty groundbreaking. In this episode of Priority Standing, we choose our favorite covers because we'll never not get excited about the most important issue of the year. Publications around the world managed to produce the ever anticipated fall issues with their staffs mostly working from home. Between styling sessions over Zoom and photoshoots happening under strict health guidelines, the hard work and creative forces of the publications' staffs produced an exciting array of covers that seemed, simply, right. And speaking of excited, as part of a generation that saw Lil' Kim's iconic purple pasty fashion moment in real time, we review our favorite fashion looks from the MTV VMAs. Whether it was Lady Gaga in a resplendent Christopher John Rogers gown (and a winning selection of practical yet creative face masks) or Miley Cyrus in a sheer Mugler number with matching gloves, you can always count on the VMAs for mixing it up.

You get a Fendi dress, you get a Fendi dress, you get a strawberry dress...EVERYBODY GETS A DRESS! In this week's episode of Priority Standing we give you the exclusive on exclusivity. Is having the cover exclusive with fashion magazines obsolete during a global pandemic? With the logistics of acquiring samples in disarray due to lockdowns around the world, and limited samples available to lend, the idea of magazines being able to score the cover exclusive on a look comes into question.  How does this currently evolving situation and mindset on exclusivity affect the retail landscape and the fashion industry as a whole? As we dissect a recent New York Times article, "Sweatpants Forever," and Telfar's Bag Security program, perhaps it's as simple as this when it comes to sales: give the people what they want.  And maybe a Fendi dress on multiple magazine covers signals a new "you can sit with us" era.