The Weekly Spill #26
tony tuxedos, chanel critism, merch madness, and the sweet aroma of amyl nitrite
Happy Tony Sunday!! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I wanted to spill the beans quickly before the Tony Awards start, so I’ll cut the intro short. Please enjoy this special Sunday edition of the Weekly Spill!
Patti LuPone’s Tony tuxedo: I’m not going to dive any deeper into Tony Awards past since I’ve already done that this week, but I couldn’t not share these pictures of Patti LuPone at the 1980 ceremony. She just looked so damn cool. According to her memoir, this was not what she planned to wear. She writes, “My Tony dress was a disaster, so I had to wear my sweaty Les Mouches tuxedo to the Tonys.” I can’t believe that she just pulled this out of her closet last minute. I love that her and Mandy are matching. It’s just all-around iconic.
GQ’s Merch debate: I’ve gotten totally absorbed into the conversation started by GQ’s “The End of Merch” essay this week. I don’t agree with the essay, but perhaps I’m just biased: I love a good concert t-shirt or bookstore tote bag. I do find it laughable to use the lack of swifties hanging around Dimes Square as the defining death knell of merchandise. Despite disagreeing with much of the original essay, I’ve enjoyed the conversation it started. I loved Emily North’s essay about it, and am very tempted to write something of my own on the topic.
I also read GQ’s follow-up article listing the most iconic pieces of merch from the last decade, and I would like to raise the question: iconic to whom? The post is committing the same sin it levels at merch-wearers: that you are only trying to communicate how cool you are. I wouldn’t have minded the limited scope if the post was a list of the coolest or best-designed merch items of the decade. Iconic or decade-defining is another metric entirely. For example, I don’t think you can write objectively about merchandise that defined the last 10 years and not mention the MAGA hat. As ugly as the hat (and the politics it stands for) may be; it has undoubtedly become a symbol that defines this time in our history. On a less terrifying note—where was the Lana Del Rey coke spoon necklace?
The post was simply about merch that the editors think is cool, which is probably a much more fun article to write. So fun that I have decided to do a quick version of my own. Here are a couple of merch items that I think are cool:
Boy Smells poppers fragrance: happy pride!
Cathy Horne’s piece on Virginie Viard: I found this to be really refreshing to read. When the news of Viard departing Chanel broke, it felt like everyone was thinking one thing and writing another. It’s not as if it’s some big secret that many didn’t like the work she was doing for the brand. The comments came after every show or red carpet. The memes about Margot Robbie alone are enough to gauge the public and critical perception of Viard’s Chanel. So, after the initial reporting that she was leaving, the sort of basic press release information, I really expected to see more critical pieces like this one from Horne. It feels like she’s the only one to say what we’ve all been thinking, and I appreciate it.
BeKindRewind’s video on Eartha Kitt: I thought this video essay was fascinating. I had heard about the incident between Lady Bird Johnson and Eartha Kitt, but didn’t know very much about it. I knew was that she criticized the Vietnam war at the White House, which embarrassed and upset the First Lady. That embarrassment lead to a media frenzy which had a negative impact on Kitt’s career. Basically, I had seen this (iconic) clip a few times and assumed I knew the story.
I also knew her name was on Nixon’s enemy list, but that wasn’t a particularly exclusive list. A whole handful of liberal celebrities, including Barbra Streisand, were put on it. So, that was the extent of my knowledge on the supposed feud between the Johnsons and Kitt. Turns out, there’s more to the story. Obviously. I highly recommend checking out the video and learning more about Eartha Kitt. Many people, especially young people, only know her as voice of Yzma in Emperor’s New Groove, but that is only scratching the surface of this legendary woman. She was an absolute icon, a fierce activist, and a true inspiration.
She also apparently had a threesome with James Dean and Paul Newman, and that was before Challengers.
That’s all for this week! Thanks for tuning in for my short little weekly spill. I’ll be back next week to spill more beans as usual. TTYL, divas!
💯 Would also love to see Viard’s work would look like for another house. She may be a visionary, or maybe not. But I don’t think Chanel was the place for her to spread her wings and show any true vision because the higher ups probably wanted to keep things status quo, at least got the interim. Regardless, it’s exciting to think about who will land there next. My money’s on Hedi but I would love to see Marc Jacobs take the reins.
I loved Horyn's piece on Chanel. But I also hate that everyone has been crapping on Viard's collections. It's not that she's not talented, as she certainly is. The bottom line is that we don't know what was happening behind the scenes. It's quite possible that her hands were tied, and she was *prevented* from taking risks. And ultimately, her collections did very well for the brand's bottom line.