Latest news with #TheFace
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Carrie Bradshaw dressed for herself, not men, and gave us licence to follow suit
Overdocumented as they might be now, the Nineties were a strange and lonely decade to be a fashion-lover. Fashion was a niche interest, like bone or stamp collecting. All information was strictly channelled through the pages of monthly magazines such as Vogue, Elle, The Face or i-D, bar the occasional style page in a newspaper. Interviewed for my first job as fashion editor of a national broadsheet, the editor asked, 'So, do you like clothes?' One wonders whether he asked the sport editor whether he liked football. It's hard to remember a time when people didn't post videos of their weird shoes, designer hauls, salacious handbag unboxings, bargain charity shop finds and #OOTDs on social media. In 2025, having a unique sense of style can make you rich and famous. In 1995, it was more likely to have you bullied or ostracised. Into this barren wasteland in 1998 tripped Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, four New York women who loved sex, shopping, cocktails and men, though never as much as they loved each other. Based on a newspaper column of the same name by Candace Bushnell (published in the New York Observer between 1994 and 1996), Sex and the City (SATC) revolutionised fashion: how it was perceived, how it was documented and how it was consumed. It legitimised fashion – not because naysayers suddenly realised the allure of a Fendi Baguette bag, but because the show's popularity proved that clothes, shoes and accessories had mainstream appeal, and deserved to be given space beyond the pages of a glossy magazine. You might think that the vast exposure inherent to being featured on a TV show would be catnip to fashion designers, whose only recourse to publicity was via print and billboard advertising, magazine editorial or catwalk shows. Not so. Rather than seeing it as an opportunity, many designers were reluctant to place their brand in an environment where they would be unable to control the narrative. 'It was difficult to borrow clothes, as everyone heard the name 'Sex And The City' and thought 'what is this?'' remembers costume designer Molly Rogers. 'I guess it sounded pretty racy. No one loaned to TV shows then, as I remember – that world was strictly for editorial.' She cites Chanel, Dior and Christian Lacroix as early supporters of the show. Rogers worked on SATC from 1998 to 2002, and served as costume designer on the 2008 and 2010 films, as well as all three seasons of And Just Like That, the divisive sequel. She witnessed first hand the genius of Patricia Field, the show's formidable New York stylist and costume designer whose eclectic, exuberant tastes ensured that Carrie would never fall into the dreary trap of wearing 'quiet luxury'. Without Field, there would be no oversized floral corsages, diamanté skull caps or ballgowns as daywear. Nor would there be what many consider to be Carrie's most iconic look, a tiered white tutu teamed with a pale pink vest top and strappy sandals, as immortalised in the show's opening sequence. Field later revealed that she'd sourced the tutu from a thrift store bargain bin and bought it for $5 – a common practice for stylists and costume designers today, but an unusual one in 1998, an era when luxury brands would pull their advertising if a glossy magazine had the temerity to feature their expensive wares next to items that might threaten to devalue them. Field's 'high-low' approach of mixing designer and vintage together was hugely influential, although it wasn't until the beginning of season three that designers wanted in on the action. 'The show exploded then,' Field said in an interview, adding that costume design 'isn't about selling clothes, it's about telling a story. That's something I learned along the way.' Now 84, Field is still telling stories through clothes, most recently as the costume designer for Emily in Paris (Netflix), the fifth season of which is due to air later this year. Before Sex and the City, the idea of 'fashion' as a main character in any TV show was virtually unheard of. While clothes had an important role in shows such as Dynasty, Friends or Beverly Hills 90210, they existed as costume, and were rarely, if ever, discussed by the characters themselves. They certainly weren't an integral part of the plot: characters didn't utter pithy lines like 'I like my money right where I can see it – hanging in my closet.' SATC made fashion a fundamental part of each character's identity – literally, in the case of Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Carrie' necklace. Here were four women with very different aspirations: Carrie a hopeless romantic, Miranda a driven career woman, Charlotte keen to settle down and Samantha happy to play the field. Their wardrobes were a visual shorthand for their aspirations. From the beginning, the clothes were given as much consideration as the acting and the script. 'At the very start [of filming], Pat [Field] had an extensive conversation with [producer and writer] Darren Starr, where he gave her so much background information on each of the actresses that it really aided in building their costume DNA,' remembers Rogers. 'Charlotte was 'Upper East Side', Miranda was 'corporate', Carrie was 'eclectic and downtown' and Samantha spoke for gay men. Pat always said three things: that SATC was a moving fashion magazine, that we aren't making a documentary therefore I don't care where she gets these clothes, and finally, that we should never repeat an outfit – they don't repeat scripts.' This idea of SATC as 'a moving fashion magazine' is spot-on. Like many viewers, I might not always have loved the wilder reaches of Carrie's style, but I loved what she stood for. Thanks to a writing and production team powered largely by women and gay men – co-creator and writer Michael Patrick King, producer and writer Darren Star, with Parker co-producing from 1999 onwards – viewers were served a heroine who wasn't traditionally beautiful (straight men almost universally seem to think SJP is unattractive, and probably wouldn't have cast her in a lead role), who unabashedly loved clothes, smoked cigarettes, enjoyed sex and had an enviable career as a writer. Who said women couldn't have it all? Well, heterosexual men, for a start. 'I despised Candace Bushnell's vile cultural monster as a book and as a TV series,' one male critic opined in 2008. 'They represented a vacuous, trivialising, anti-feminist act of self-sabotage on the part of women. What amazed me was that women, even quite smart women, seized on this frivolous, vain confection as an emblem of sisterhood and empowerment.' It shouldn't need saying that women can be clever and stylish, or debate geopolitics with the same expertise that they discuss Phoebe Philo's latest drop. Yet there still exist people who seek to diminish anyone whose interests they deem less serious or worthy than their own. Rather than being a 'vain confection', it was a joy to see Carrie – and in a different way, Samantha – dress for themselves, seemingly unconcerned with any other gaze than the one that greeted them in the mirror. 'Carrie made me bolder,' says Alison Cragg, a 50-something fan who works in HR. 'I remember having a boyfriend in the early 2000s who had a habit of laughing at some of the wilder clothes I wore. I've still got most of the clothes, but I don't have the boyfriend.' In the absence of a fulfilling relationship, a good pair of shoes is a decent consolation prize. Most fans would agree that friendship, not fashion, was the beating heart of SATC. Flawed as the sequel was, when Michael Patrick King announced earlier this month that its third and current season would be its last (the final episode airs on Aug 14), longstanding fans of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha took to social media to share their sadness. 'Carrie Bradshaw is the most important character that has ever graced television, and arguably, she is up there with the likes of Odysseus, Hamlet and even Jesus,' said one user, perhaps only half-joking. While their fashion prowess will live on through re-runs and Instagram fan accounts such as @everyoutfitonsexandthecity, their honest representation of female friendship will die with them. I'll miss their finery, but more than that, I'll miss their flaws. As someone who grew up with them, I'd have happily watched these women navigate life, love and Loewe into old age. 'I'd have loved the actresses to make it to 'Golden Girl' status and create their own commune,' Rogers admits. 'But I always thought Carrie should have a certain ending, and when I read the last script of season three, I knew the final cosmopolitan had been drunk. I have not processed what it means – though superficially, it means no more stoops, no more closet scenes and no more shoe shots. It was the most incredible experience of my life. 'I saw the world and learnt from Pat and Sarah Jessica how to achieve visual success. The key to that is to be detail-oriented to a fault, make everyone around you nuts because you demand perfection – and never, ever, settle or compromise on an outfit.' Carrie couldn't have said it better. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Carrie Bradshaw dressed for herself, not men, and gave us licence to follow suit
Overdocumented as they might be now, the Nineties were a strange and lonely decade to be a fashion-lover. Fashion was a niche interest, like bone or stamp collecting. All information was strictly channelled through the pages of monthly magazines such as Vogue, Elle, The Face or i-D, bar the occasional style page in a newspaper. Interviewed for my first job as fashion editor of a national broadsheet, the editor asked, 'So, do you like clothes?' One wonders whether he asked the sport editor whether he liked football. It's hard to remember a time when people didn't post videos of their weird shoes, designer hauls, salacious handbag unboxings, bargain charity shop finds and #OOTDs on social media. In 2025, having a unique sense of style can make you rich and famous. In 1995, it was more likely to have you bullied or ostracised. Into this barren wasteland in 1998 tripped Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, four New York women who loved sex, shopping, cocktails and men, though never as much as they loved each other. Based on a newspaper column of the same name by Candace Bushnell (published in the New York Observer between 1994 and 1996), Sex and the City (SATC) revolutionised fashion: how it was perceived, how it was documented and how it was consumed. It legitimised fashion – not because naysayers suddenly realised the allure of a Fendi Baguette bag, but because the show's popularity proved that clothes, shoes and accessories had mainstream appeal, and deserved to be given space beyond the pages of a glossy magazine. You might think that the vast exposure inherent to being featured on a TV show would be catnip to fashion designers, whose only recourse to publicity was via print and billboard advertising, magazine editorial or catwalk shows. Not so. Rather than seeing it as an opportunity, many designers were reluctant to place their brand in an environment where they would be unable to control the narrative. 'It was difficult to borrow clothes, as everyone heard the name 'Sex And The City' and thought 'what is this?'' remembers costume designer Molly Rogers. 'I guess it sounded pretty racy. No one loaned to TV shows then, as I remember – that world was strictly for editorial.' She cites Chanel, Dior and Christian Lacroix as early supporters of the show. Rogers worked on SATC from 1998 to 2002, and served as costume designer on the 2008 and 2010 films, as well as all three seasons of And Just Like That, the divisive sequel. She witnessed first hand the genius of Patricia Field, the show's formidable New York stylist and costume designer whose eclectic, exuberant tastes ensured that Carrie would never fall into the dreary trap of wearing ' quiet luxury '. Without Field, there would be no oversized floral corsages, diamanté skull caps or ballgowns as daywear. Nor would there be what many consider to be Carrie's most iconic look, a tiered white tutu teamed with a pale pink vest top and strappy sandals, as immortalised in the show's opening sequence. Field later revealed that she'd sourced the tutu from a thrift store bargain bin and bought it for $5 – a common practice for stylists and costume designers today, but an unusual one in 1998, an era when luxury brands would pull their advertising if a glossy magazine had the temerity to feature their expensive wares next to items that might threaten to devalue them. Field's 'high-low' approach of mixing designer and vintage together was hugely influential, although it wasn't until the beginning of season three that designers wanted in on the action. 'The show exploded then,' Field said in an interview, adding that costume design 'isn't about selling clothes, it's about telling a story. That's something I learned along the way.' Now 84, Field is still telling stories through clothes, most recently as the costume designer for Emily in Paris (Netflix), the fifth season of which is due to air later this year. Before Sex and the City, the idea of 'fashion' as a main character in any TV show was virtually unheard of. While clothes had an important role in shows such as Dynasty, Friends or Beverly Hills 90210, they existed as costume, and were rarely, if ever, discussed by the characters themselves. They certainly weren't an integral part of the plot: characters didn't utter pithy lines like 'I like my money right where I can see it – hanging in my closet.' SATC made fashion a fundamental part of each character's identity – literally, in the case of Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Carrie' necklace. Here were four women with very different aspirations: Carrie a hopeless romantic, Miranda a driven career woman, Charlotte keen to settle down and Samantha happy to play the field. Their wardrobes were a visual shorthand for their aspirations. From the beginning, the clothes were given as much consideration as the acting and the script. 'At the very start [of filming], Pat [Field] had an extensive conversation with [producer and writer] Darren Starr, where he gave her so much background information on each of the actresses that it really aided in building their costume DNA,' remembers Rogers. 'Charlotte was 'Upper East Side', Miranda was 'corporate', Carrie was 'eclectic and downtown' and Samantha spoke for gay men. Pat always said three things: that SATC was a moving fashion magazine, that we aren't making a documentary therefore I don't care where she gets these clothes, and finally, that we should never repeat an outfit – they don't repeat scripts.' This idea of SATC as 'a moving fashion magazine' is spot-on. Like many viewers, I might not always have loved the wilder reaches of Carrie's style, but I loved what she stood for. Thanks to a writing and production team powered largely by women and gay men – co-creator and writer Michael Patrick King, producer and writer Darren Star, with Parker co-producing from 1999 onwards – viewers were served a heroine who wasn't traditionally beautiful (straight men almost universally seem to think SJP is unattractive, and probably wouldn't have cast her in a lead role), who unabashedly loved clothes, smoked cigarettes, enjoyed sex and had an enviable career as a writer. Who said women couldn't have it all? Well, heterosexual men, for a start. 'I despised Candace Bushnell's vile cultural monster as a book and as a TV series,' one male critic opined in 2008. 'They represented a vacuous, trivialising, anti-feminist act of self-sabotage on the part of women. What amazed me was that women, even quite smart women, seized on this frivolous, vain confection as an emblem of sisterhood and empowerment.' It shouldn't need saying that women can be clever and stylish, or debate geopolitics with the same expertise that they discuss Phoebe Philo 's latest drop. Yet there still exist people who seek to diminish anyone whose interests they deem less serious or worthy than their own. Rather than being a 'vain confection', it was a joy to see Carrie – and in a different way, Samantha – dress for themselves, seemingly unconcerned with any other gaze than the one that greeted them in the mirror. 'Carrie made me bolder,' says Alison Cragg, a 50-something fan who works in HR. 'I remember having a boyfriend in the early 2000s who had a habit of laughing at some of the wilder clothes I wore. I've still got most of the clothes, but I don't have the boyfriend.' In the absence of a fulfilling relationship, a good pair of shoes is a decent consolation prize. Most fans would agree that friendship, not fashion, was the beating heart of SATC. Flawed as the sequel was, when Michael Patrick King announced earlier this month that its third and current season would be its last (the final episode airs on Aug 14), longstanding fans of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha took to social media to share their sadness. 'Carrie Bradshaw is the most important character that has ever graced television, and arguably, she is up there with the likes of Odysseus, Hamlet and even Jesus,' said one user, perhaps only half-joking. While their fashion prowess will live on through re-runs and Instagram fan accounts such as @everyoutfitonsexandthecity, their honest representation of female friendship will die with them. I'll miss their finery, but more than that, I'll miss their flaws. As someone who grew up with them, I'd have happily watched these women navigate life, love and Loewe into old age. 'I'd have loved the actresses to make it to 'Golden Girl' status and create their own commune,' Rogers admits. 'But I always thought Carrie should have a certain ending, and when I read the last script of season three, I knew the final cosmopolitan had been drunk. I have not processed what it means – though superficially, it means no more stoops, no more closet scenes and no more shoe shots. It was the most incredible experience of my life. 'I saw the world and learnt from Pat and Sarah Jessica how to achieve visual success. The key to that is to be detail-oriented to a fault, make everyone around you nuts because you demand perfection – and never, ever, settle or compromise on an outfit.' Carrie couldn't have said it better.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon couldn't put each other down during photoshoot'
Celebrity photographer Steve Read shares the inside track on some of the most famous celebrities he has snapped ahead of an exhibition of his work, Shooting Stars Pays the Rent A constant flow of hilarious anecdotes about everyone from Hollywood idols to rock 'n' roll stars trip off Steve Read's tongue. But it is the lensman's images that really do the talking, a gallery of which are on show in his new exhibition - Shooting Stars Pays The Rent. The original art director of lads' mag loaded, Steve's incredible pictures take viewers on a journey through the celebrity world of the late 1990s and early noughties, when he swapped commissioning photographers for taking pictures himself - and rubbing shoulders with La La Land's glitterati. It comes after The Face magazine celebrated its 45th anniversary. He tells The Mirror: 'Soon I was on a different planet.' One of his favourite memories comes from photographing Sharon and the late Ozzy Osbourne. 'This was before she was properly famous, but The Osbournes reality TV show was just about to come out in 2002,' he says. 'The shoot was supposed to be all about her, but you couldn't stop Ozzy getting in the shot and they just couldn't put each other down. 'Sharon had wanted to do another shot, but the one that worked was them giving me the finger while they were kissing. 'Pussy' the cat is in the pic too.' Now 64, Steve's picture of the couple can be seen in his exhibition, which opens in Edinburgh at Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel on Monday, 18 August, before touring the UK. Also a filmmaker, Steve continues: 'Ozzy was getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the next day and he asked me if I wanted to go with him. Robbie Williams had just moved out to L.A. and he was like his new best friend and hanging out as well so I just tagged along. That was the level of intimacy you used to get back then.' Another priceless anecdote comes from his shoot with Princess Anne's daughter, the talented equestrian Zara Tindal. He anticipated some problems, because he wanted her to bring her horse indoors, but he needn't have worried - recalling how a middle-aged woman in a headscarf even offered to help. 'No, I'm ok love thanks,' he told her, without looking up. His assistant ran up after she had walked off and told him: 'That was Princess Anne you tw*t.' While Steve blushed, Zara laughed. He says: 'Zara is a dream to work with.' As a photographer, Steve often found celebrities very different to their public persona. 'I bumped into John Lydon in a diner when he was in the States with the reformed Sex Pistols and he was on his own,' he says. 'This was when I was working for loaded and he loved the magazine, took my number and said he'd call the next day. I thought no more about it until he actually did. Lovely guy. We had a great couple of days.' His knack for putting famous people at ease comes from his childhood, according to Steve, as his dad was a Luton Town goalie and he became used to seeing celebrities, like Eric Morecambe - who was a director of the club - coming to his house. Steve, who also worked with legendary editor Tina Brown on Talk magazine - an iconic celebrity title in America - adds: 'Celebrities are like everybody else. 'They have good days and bad days.' Shooting Stars Pays The Rent' exhibition Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel, Edinburgh from Monday 18th August.
The Irish Sun
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Who is TikTok influencer and podcaster Madeline Argy?
TIKTOK has been the cause for the rise of many young creators, but not many have managed to stand the test of time. And yet in the four years Madeline Argy has created content, her fan base has grown, making her one of the most recognisable faces on TikTok and Instagram. 5 Madeline has reached new heights as a content creator. Credit: Getty Who is TikTok influencer and podcaster Madeline Argy? Madeline is a West Sussex-raised creator, who was born on July 7 2000. In 2018, she attended the University of Kent, studying Forensic Linguistics, a degree she settled on after feeling inspired by an episode of Criminal Minds, Madeline told The Face. 5 Madeline has spoken about anxiety, imposter syndrome with followers since 2021 Credit: TikTok/madelineargy During the final year of her degree in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic put the world on hold, Madeline started making TikToks. And since then, the 25-year-old has become an internet sensation, breaking through the social media algorithm and amassing an army of fans who watch her humorous videos and lifestyle content. READ MORE SOCIAL MEDIA CRACKIN' ON Love Island winners through the years from 2015 to the reigning champs Since her rise to social media stardom, she has spent much of her time transatlantic between LA and her home in Sussex. How many followers does Madeline Argy have? In July 2022, the British creator posted a simple video discussing the time her sister found a worm trapped in her leg, and from there, she went viral. Since posting the video, it has received over five and a half million likes and is the foundation of her career today. She now has over 9.6million followers on TikTok and over 3.3million on Instagram, which is a rapid rise from 2023, when she had more than 1.8million on Instagram and only 4million on TikTok. 5 Madeline is a viral sensation with over 9million followers on TikTok Credit: TikTok/madelineargy It is Madeline's low-key, intimate and relatable stories that has allowed her to garner such a following. In her low-production videos, Madeline is a friend to her followers as she sits in her car with no makeup and wearing spot stickers, telling them about her life. She opened up about her content with Elite Daily in 2023, saying she has few regrets about the intimate anecdotes she's shared. She said: 'Maybe I regret sharing some of the TMI stuff, but nothing I've ever done in my personal life has made me a bad person. "Some of it's embarrassing and overly personal, but none of it was ever wrong. So what's the worst that can happen?' But it was this style of openness which helped Madeline land her own podcast in 2023. In 2023, she began hosting Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy, which was in connection with Alex Cooper's Unwell Network. It touches on topics such as anxiety, imposter syndrome, sexuality and mental health. Is she single? Madeline also received a mountain of media attention due to her on-again, off-again relationship with rapper Central Cee. 5 Central Cee and Madeline dated for two years Credit: The pair began in 2022, and kept the details of their relationship private for the two years they were together. In September 2024, Madeline shared more about their relationship after they had broken up on Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast. She described to Alex that the relationship had become toxic. 5 Madeline went on Alex Cooper's Call her Daddy and spoke about all things Central Cee Credit: She said: 'It was a lot of back and forth and like, kind of in a fun, toxic way when you're like, oh God, this needs to end, but f--- it, let's go on one more trip together or let's have one more night.'
Scottish Sun
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Who is TikTok influencer and podcaster Madeline Argy?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TIKTOK has been the cause for the rise of many young creators, but not many have managed to stand the test of time. And yet in the four years Madeline Argy has created content, her fan base has grown, making her one of the most recognisable faces on TikTok and Instagram. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 5 Madeline has reached new heights as a content creator. Credit: Getty Who is TikTok influencer and podcaster Madeline Argy? Madeline is a West Sussex-raised creator, who was born on July 7 2000. In 2018, she attended the University of Kent, studying Forensic Linguistics, a degree she settled on after feeling inspired by an episode of Criminal Minds, Madeline told The Face. 5 Madeline has spoken about anxiety, imposter syndrome with followers since 2021 Credit: TikTok/madelineargy During the final year of her degree in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic put the world on hold, Madeline started making TikToks. And since then, the 25-year-old has become an internet sensation, breaking through the social media algorithm and amassing an army of fans who watch her humorous videos and lifestyle content. READ MORE SOCIAL MEDIA CRACKIN' ON Love Island winners through the years from 2015 to the reigning champs Since her rise to social media stardom, she has spent much of her time transatlantic between LA and her home in Sussex. How many followers does Madeline Argy have? In July 2022, the British creator posted a simple video discussing the time her sister found a worm trapped in her leg, and from there, she went viral. Since posting the video, it has received over five and a half million likes and is the foundation of her career today. She now has over 9.6million followers on TikTok and over 3.3million on Instagram, which is a rapid rise from 2023, when she had more than 1.8million on Instagram and only 4million on TikTok. 5 Madeline is a viral sensation with over 9million followers on TikTok Credit: TikTok/madelineargy It is Madeline's low-key, intimate and relatable stories that has allowed her to garner such a following. In her low-production videos, Madeline is a friend to her followers as she sits in her car with no makeup and wearing spot stickers, telling them about her life. She opened up about her content with Elite Daily in 2023, saying she has few regrets about the intimate anecdotes she's shared. She said: 'Maybe I regret sharing some of the TMI stuff, but nothing I've ever done in my personal life has made me a bad person. "Some of it's embarrassing and overly personal, but none of it was ever wrong. So what's the worst that can happen?' But it was this style of openness which helped Madeline land her own podcast in 2023. In 2023, she began hosting Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy, which was in connection with Alex Cooper's Unwell Network. It touches on topics such as anxiety, imposter syndrome, sexuality and mental health. Is she single? Madeline also received a mountain of media attention due to her on-again, off-again relationship with rapper Central Cee. 5 Central Cee and Madeline dated for two years Credit: The pair began in 2022, and kept the details of their relationship private for the two years they were together. In September 2024, Madeline shared more about their relationship after they had broken up on Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast. She described to Alex that the relationship had become toxic. 5 Madeline went on Alex Cooper's Call her Daddy and spoke about all things Central Cee Credit: She said: 'It was a lot of back and forth and like, kind of in a fun, toxic way when you're like, oh God, this needs to end, but f--- it, let's go on one more trip together or let's have one more night.'
