Monthly Archives: January 2021

"I loved being in public service. I loved serving this country. I gave up millions of dollars to go into the White House." So said Kellyanne Conway, a former senior counselor to Donald Trump, on Friday night's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher.

While she may have conceived of this appearance as a victory lap, it's more likely a farewell to relevance. When suggesting that, after Trump's four years in office (featuring two impeachments) "you cant deny that many people are better off," Maher fired back, "Well, theyre not better off now, a lot of them are dead."

Maher and Conway's on-air relationship goes back to his old Comedy Central/ABC show Politically Incorrect, so it is unlikely that we've seen the last of her. "You are good at what you do," he laughed when, after reading a litany of Trump's transgressions, she fired back with some wonkish talk about charter schools.

She also had the temerity to suggest that Trump, he of locker room talk, was a shining example of an executive who respected women. "I'm happy I worked for a president who had the Oval Office door open to many of us, we could go in and express ourselves," she said.

While condemning the January 6th attack on the Capitol, she pulled a #NotAllTrumpers, suggesting that the "troublemakers, thugs, and marauders" that invaded Washington, D.C. are not the same as those who merely vote every two or four years. She added a warning to "corporate America" that this larger group "consume goods and services every day." (Maher seemed to agree with her on this point.) She also said that Trump people are currently on the receiving end of prejudice, mocked for how they they appear.

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Kellyanne Conway Appears on Real Time with Bill Maher, Makes Final Desperate Spin for Trump - Vanity Fair

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Letter to the editor: Disgusted by both parties - TribLIVE

With less than a week to go before a brand new President of what was once called The greatest country on earth yes, America is sworn in, the biggest question being asked is: what will Kamala Harris wear to the swearing in ceremony? And even more importantly, what will she sport earlier, when she prosecutes The (disgraced) Donald? From an unprecedented second impeachment of the President to peachy outfits worn by the Vice President elect, the world is literally sizing up the state of the United States of America. During the shocking invasion of Capitol Hill (come on, we have seen worse in India and elsewhere), there was a parallel breaking news story burning up the wires it involved a fashion shoot featuring Kamala Harris.

All sorts of political subtexts were being read into the cover of the fashion bible that has ruled without resistance for decades. Kamala was featured in a dull brown, utterly unflattering pant suit, in a particularly ungainly pose. I totally loved the real portrait of an accomplished woman who, excuse me, is not a professional model. It was in keeping with the mood and the times down to her statement-making Converse sneakers (I so hope she pairs them with her gown at the fancy-shmancy Inaugural Ball).

Kamala is a powerful symbol of all that women across the globe aspire to be. She does not need to look like an over-glamorised, pimped up mannequin with the full fashion diva treatment. What was all that fuss about? Baby blue pant suit versus mud brown? Arms across the chest versus a more relaxed body language? Baap re all this charcha and heated debate over a glossy cover? Can we not go beyond optics for once? Did anybody bother to read her interview with the same level of scrutiny? Most importantly: had a man been the Vice-President elect, would he have been featured like a rock star on the cover of a leading mens fashion magazine? Would political analysts have gone into a tizzy deconstructing his choice of a tuxedo?

Its surprising how the American public has supported the fashion positioning of their first ladies over the years, and given it such exaggerated importance. Whether it was the birdlike Nancy Reagan in borrowed designer feathers (she conveniently forgot to return a few gowns), or the trademark pearls worn by the motherly Barbara Carter, everybody was all eyes. When it came to the ultimate trend setter Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, her every public appearance started a fashion craze (pillbox hats, anyone?). More recently, Michelle Obama made sleeveless shifts a personal call for supporting inexpensive mass merchandise though it was only later when she showcased high fashion, clad in sexy off-shoulder gowns created by top designers, that she was dubbed a bona fide fashionista. The same fashion bible featured Michelle twice over as a cover girl. Much to Donald Trumps frustration, his stunning, former model wife Melania, was studiously snubbed by the clearly partisan fashion press a snub he will not forget.

The impeachment shenanigans are likely to keep Americans on their toes, given the long-term implications. Will the Trumps flee to some distant land to save their skins and escape charges? Media reports are talking about a flight ban, making Donald Trump same-same but different from our desi standup comic who faced a similar ban. Rich irony? Trumpji is facing multiple bans and dealing head on with todays cancel culture. However, he is capable of turning all the hate around and claiming it as a personal victory (No other US President has faced not one, but two impeachments!).

Next weeks Inaugural Ball has managed a decent line up of top entertainers clearly, Biden supporters. Trump didnt succeed beyond getting a choir for his big day. We are told Joe Biden will be dressed by Americas iconic designer Ralph Lauren. Im guessing no self-respecting male invitee will sport a red tie Trump gaya, laal tie bhi gayee. Im hoping Kamala will wear a saree by one of Indias best. Or at least stick on a bindi! Come on, Kamala your mother was Indian, even if she brought you up as a Black. We need that nod from you, okay? A bindi wont hurt sneakers and a bindi and/or a maang tikka?

Incitement to Insurrection is the phrase of the year. The spotlight is also on stylish Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who famously repeated her impeachment outfits. Nancys look and perfectly coiffured hair will be carefully analysed for hidden messages. As for the macho pantsuit that Hilary Clinton brought into the White House, looks like Kamala Harris will make it her uniform, as well. Unless, of course, she too starts flirting outrageously with fashion (please do!) and begins flashing her collar bones and false eyelashes a la Michelle Obama. Nothing like a dash of ummmm chutzpah and daring, to keep dem voters hooked!

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Why so much charcha over Kamala Harriss clothes? - The Times of India Blog

Despite the difficulties of 2020, some beauty brands made strides that have set them up for long-term growth. Case in point: customized and personalized Function of Beauty, best known for its hair care products.

The 4-year-old startup closed out December 2020 with a $150 million Series B raise led by L Catterton, which it followed with a brick-and-mortar retail expansion with Target. And before that, the brand made several strategic moves, such as extending into body careandskin care, and launching national linear television ads.

Of the success, on this weeks episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, Function of Beauty co-founder and CEO Zahir Dossa said, Its getting borderline politically incorrect to ever say you had a great 2020, so I will not commit to having a great one. For the business itself, weve had some wins, but we had a lot of tough challenges to overcome, as well. Overall, I think it was a huge success with the ability to carry out all our ambitious plans, all in one year. Reportedly, the brand has hit $100 million in sales, and it currently has a $1 billion valuation.

But there were hiccups, namely shipping delays and effectively communicating those issues to the customer in the pandemic-filled year. We were negatively affected by much longer lead times and a harder time getting our products to our international customers, as well, he said.

Dossa admitted that, in a way, the company is a technology-powered version of the defunct Este Lauder Companies brand Prescriptives. Prescriptives did custom foundation with people hand-mixing things, but we were the first to automate. And I think thats the big difference maker of why were still around and continue to grow, he said.

Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been lightly edited for clarity.

How personalization and customization can work in traditional retailTheres still a small percentage of customers that shop solely online. So, it does become increasingly difficult to get more and more customers and make Function of Beauty and what our model is about not a niche. Target was a perfect partner for us and overlapped really well with our customer base. Its a really cool spot for [letting] customers, who are a little antsy about customization or dont want to take a full step into it, have a really easy way of learning the benefits of customization and what makes Function of Beauty so great. It also [allows us] to get a whole other target segment of customers who frankly just prefer shopping in brick-and-mortar stores and getting products right when they want them.

On possible exit opportunitiesI think anything is possible. I mean, the ideal case is global domination At the end of the day, our real goal is to make personalization the norm, and were going to do anything and everything that makes that possible. If IPO is the right path, then so be it. If its a merger with with a big, traditional strategic, so to speak, then that could also be a possibility, or there is a world where we stayed private. Were constantly assessing each and every single one of those options to figure out just what makes most sense and is most true for our brand.

Can beauty companies be tech companies?Theres a new area of consumer tech companies, so tech companies that are really focused on delivering consumer products and goods. I definitely think were in that space. I think the downside of saying youre just a tech company, it makes it feel like youre almost all solutions-oriented and almost a service. You lose a lot of the beauty of the brand and that emotional experience that would distinguish us or would establish us as a beauty company or a consumer-first company. I think it is really hard to come up with, Heres, exactly what Function of Beauty is, when it comes to industries as a whole. I think we do high-end automated manufacturing better than anyone for being able to do products like we do. I think we have a stronger brand than anyone in beauty, as well.

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Function of Beautys Zahir Dossa: The ideal case is global domination - Glossy