metropolitan opera

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SibaniThemis
12/10/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
To me this is just more body-snarking. I am skinny. I was born that way. I don't have many curves so am I not a "real woman". People have always felt free to comment on my body weight in a way they never would an overweight person. It's all offensive.
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toastandlove
12/10/09

@SibaniThemis: Yes; that is often covered on Jez. It is a good and valid point.

However, did you read the piece? There was no body-snarking on skinny people; only saying it's baffling that Prada, of all the designers, would refuse to dress non-skinny people, and that it's unfair for non-skinny actors to be up and fired because of it. Where is the body snark? In the headline? ' "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models '? Really?
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thewitchandthemoll
12/10/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
God forbid the Prada brand is seen on nonmodels! In fact, let's jettison the singers too. They can all scowl at each other while the score is played and the supertitles go up. Come to think of it, if we only lost all that bothersome stage business and had them simply walk back and forth...
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LooseBaggyMonster
12/10/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
I seem to recall that Prada herself cannot sew--her design process is purely conceptual, so this is not just her balking at a technical challenge; it is her absolute refusal to associate her brand with anything other than the particularly and ridiculously narrow aesthetic that she herself has promoted in the fashion industry. I am appalled, but not surprised.
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IamnotStarJones
12/10/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
It's good to be the queen, shitting on people who don't fit into a carefully constructed vision of the world. Now remember in the award season ahead to laud all the socially conscious actors and actressess who will be swanning on the red carpet in their beloved Prada.

oh how i love this world.
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amplepie
12/10/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
I have always had a crush on Prada and Miuccia's intellectual chic leanings, as mentioned below. I also think the woman has a mean eye for accessories.

But I've long been ambivalent toward the politics of the house, in particular because she's notorious for not casting models of color in runway shows.

One of the things I find interesting about this whole mess is that Prada herself is not model-thin. I don't intend to body-snark, and I think she has a lovely, shapely figure, but she's not thin as a rail. I wonder how her self-awareness (and yes, she wears her own clothes, and often) jibes with her design aesthetic.
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Dagneymedea
12/10/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
Lawyer Jezzies? Do these actors have a legitimate case to argue in court? FIRED for not being a size 0?
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Le Kangourou de Kataroo
12/10/09

@Dagneymedea: I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure actors/actresses are exempt from discrimination laws as far as appearance goes just by the nature of the job. It's why certain restaurants can get away with hiring waitresses that look a certain way - they're "performers" not waitresses.
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scarlet_shoegal
12/10/09

@Dagneymedea: Sadly, we actors fall outside of this law - it's necessary within general casting purposes to 'discriminate' in order to cast correctly. For example, a casting director would be able to stipulate that an actor be black in order to play the role of Othello and not get into trouble for racial prejudice.
Unfortunately, this extends into all areas and you'll often see breakdowns for parts that require a certain size because the performers have to 'fit' into a costume already created. (Or so they say.)
In this particular case, I imagine they could argue that the costumes were made to a brief which the actors then did not fit so they had to be replaced, or it would have cost the production money. Of course, they could also go down the 'creative change' route they did - either way, it would be pretty much impossible as a performer to argue the toss on this one and it's not actually worth it for your future employability. It sucks, but then so does the fact actresses in general are supposed to conform to such ridiculous standards.
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Cimorene
12/10/09

@scarlet_shoegal: I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be to be one of the actors fired for not being the "right" size. My sister is a dancer, and every couple of months she goes to whole slews of auditions for performances that are months away. When she gets cast in more than one, she sometimes has to choose which one to do--she has to waitress 20 hours a week, so her time is limited, and dance rehearsals are often at the same time. If she ever took a job and turned down another to do it, and was then fired after the season's auditions had passed? Holy shit, she'd be SOL. I know that in NY there are less seasonal chances to act, but still. You plan on having this job, and even if to someone like Prada getting paid $500 bucks for 6 months of hard work is like no money at all, to some artists it's a lot of money.

Seriously, I don't usually like to hate on artistic organizations. But fuck all of these people. Fuck the producers who listened to this asshole woman and fired a bunch of people for no valid reason.
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scarlet_shoegal
12/12/09

@Cimorene: Ditto - I live for the day when my talent has more to do with me getting a job than whether I fit into the damn costume. Likewise, the day performers are treated with respect for the dedication they pour into their careers - they've honed a talent people and are not just a bloody clothes horse for some designer with no vision.
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LikeChai
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
But models are AWESOME at moving in the background. Nothing awkward about them at all.
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thewitchandthemoll
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
Boo hiss. I'm quite possibly ten times the costume designer Miz Prada is: I may not have graduated yet but when they said you create the costume FOR the actor, not the other way 'round, i paid attention kthxbai.
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theovercoat
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
How can it be surprising that Miuccia would do this? While she is not as notorious as Karl Lagerfeld, she is the designer who started the whole model-bot phenomenon. She was the same woman who wanted her models to have the same bland look in order to not take away from the clothes and actively sent out scouts to find girls who fit the mold. Look at Sasha P. and Gemma Ward. They were discovered by the same Prada scout, and I can never tell them apart.

Is this really that shocking? Not at all.
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Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
'Surely she ought to recognize that the most important part of a stage production isn't how it looks, but how all the elements come together to make the audience feel something'

Even if it is, surely she's seen enough art to know that it might look as good – or, gasp, even better – with trained non-models.

What a disappointment. At least when Project Runway contestants freak out the week they have to dress non-models they have the excuse of inexperience and, sometimes, lack of skill. Ms. Prada just sounds like a brat.
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Edited by Pizza!Pizza!Pizza! at 12/09/09 5:56 PM Pizza!Pizza!Pizza! was starred

baboonbutt
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
This production deserves to fail. I hope operagoers stay away in droves. It's OPERA for pete's sake not the effing runway in Milan.

The directors need to straighten out their priorities and find a costumer who can do the job.
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schlegs84
12/09/09

@baboonbutt: I have a fantasy where the fired actors put on a show of all their favorite songs and monologues and it sells out every night. No one comes to the MET show. The end.
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curiousgeorgiana
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
Is nothing sacred??

Sorry, Grandma, I had to borrow it.
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Edited by curiousgeorgiana at 12/09/09 5:16 PM curiousgeorgiana was starred curiousgeorgiana was unstarred

BestEuphemismEver
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
Is anyone else bothered by this headline? I hate, with a white hot passion, the 'real women have curves' saying. Can we please bin it?
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curiousgeorgiana promoted this comment BestEuphemismEver was starred

curiousgeorgiana
12/09/09

@BestEuphemismEver: I think that's why "real" is in quotes. I agree with trashing the phrase of course. Real women have bodies-- and that's about as far as it goes.
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badmutha
12/09/09

@curiousgeorgiana: Real women have vaginas!
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BestEuphemismEver
12/09/09

@badmutha: You mean, our popcorn-scented Shame Caves?
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ambiguousasian
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
it shouldn't be surprising that miuccia pulled this; she's actually the one responsible for setting the runway standard of the baby blond, eastern-european, nearly indistinguishable model that now dominate the industry a few years ago. the casting process actually revolves around the girls that get chosen for prada every season....and prada is notorious for its finicky taste in models.
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Alys Brangwin has a huge talent promoted this comment ambiguousasian was starred ambiguousasian was unstarred

ambiguousasian
12/09/09

@ambiguousasian: just to clarify:
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schlegs84
12/09/09

In reply to "Real" Women Have Curves; Miuccia Prada Wants Models
I kinda want to cry for these actors. With all the rejection, it's so wonderful to be cast (even in a non-speaking/singing role) and then to be fired? Because you're not "hot" enough? I want to give them all a hug.
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Edited by schlegs84 at 12/09/09 4:58 PM schlegs84 was starred schlegs84 was unstarred

Blodwynn
12/09/09

@schlegs84: You give out the hugs, I'll give out the cookie cake.
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