Wondering what to expect on tonight's premiere of Elle reality show Stylista? Then revisit our review of the series' first two episodes over here. "The first two episodes feature multiple feuds, a dramatic cat fight (taking place in a kitchen — how cliché) and a truly unnerving panic attack that leads to a contestant being rushed to the hospital. So it's safe to say the show isn't lacking in drama." [Mollygood]
Just in time for tomorrow night's premiere of The CW's Stylista, Elle magazine's fashion news editor and its newest reality star Anne Slowey jumps at the chance to drum up buzz courtesy her feud with former staffer and current Marie Claire fashion director Nina Garcia. Or actually, she totally tries to swat away the spat but at the same time only fuels it. Totally by coincidence! CONTINUED »
Upon exclusively viewing the CW's Stylista — a reality show featuring 11 contestants competing for The Greatest Prize Ever (and a job at Elle magazine) — we discovered the premise is quite obviously based on The Devil Wears Prada: Incompetent people who have no business being involved in the fashion industry? Check. Frightening dictator (fashion news director Anne Slowey)? Check. Inane tasks that have seemingly nothing to do with fashion? Check. The difference: We wanted Anne Hathaway to succeed in the movie; in the reality TV version, we kind of hope everyone fails miserably.
While you're busy watching The Rachel Zoe Project tonight on Bravo, you will pine for the days when you could count on Project Runway not to be delayed right before its season premiere. Too bad the Marie Claire reality show for the Style Network won't be out till next March to tide over your Nina Garcia cravings till Tim Gunn makes it back on the airwaves, huh?
Running in Heels, the new reality project from Garcia and her new magazine home, documents "life at Marie Claire through different sets of eyes, from senior level staffers to interns," which means it won't be a competition show per say, though there are bound to be many losers, like Lifetime — since the show is headed to the Style Network, which is roughly the equivalent of cable's wasteland.
Garcia, who left Elle earlier this year to work at MC so she could continue her Runway judging gig, also guarantees herself a new platform to compete with Elle's Anne Slowey, star of that magazine's upcoming reality show Stylista and new face of the magazine. We're particularly excited for the videotaped confessionals that interns will be forced to complete, though this would be a much better gimmick on Stylista, where Slowey purposefully tries to make tears flow from the unpaid help.
According to a handful of Elle staffers we've spoke with in the past few weeks, the magazine's editor, Robbie Myers, is actually pretty well liked by many on the masthead. Sure, she has her flaws ("What's with the constant giggling?" snipes one; she's always in a "shitty mood," counters another) and we've been fed plenty of anecdotes to squeeze her in to some Jossip copy, but might Ms. Myers actually be running a fashion magazine and have the respect of her staff? Pity, then, that in New York's feature this week about the feud between soon-to-be-ex-Elle staffer Nina Garcia and fashion news director and Stylista face Anne Slowey, Myers didn't get to have her say. Though quizzed by the article's author (Gawker Media's Moe Tkacik) about Project Runway and Stylista, Myers wasn't asked about the supposed bad blood between her two minions. And that doesn't sit well with her: "That story is full of quotes about why I did what I did, how could they possibly know why I did anything or what motivated me to do anything in my job, unless they ask me? Even if someone else where to speculate about why I did something, the fact that nobody called me even to fact check it is egregious." (Myers has written us notes before, saying some of our coverage hurt her, too.) And there's the rub: Tkacik is, by profession, a blogger (from Jezebel to Gawker in some twisted job hijacking involving Radar), and we're trained not to ask those type of questions that might have you confuse us with journalists. But if her work is going to appear in New York, well, perhaps it should have met higher standards — and reported all sides of the story. By not doing so, well, this mini scandal stays alive.
It comes down to this: Nina Garcia and Anne Slowey played for separate teams under the same owner. Garcia, the former Elle fashion director who's now connected to the magazine in name only, was a protege of creative director Gilles Bensimon, who did not time to check his wristwatch for incoming Elle editor Robbie Myers, who arrived in 2000. Slowey, the fashion news editor and star of Elle's new fall reality show Stylista, is in the Myers camp, though perhaps only because she wasn't in the Bensimon camp.
Which isn't to say these two never got along — they did — but in the end, it explains why we've heard handfuls of stories, about both sides, trading gossip about each other. CONTINUED »
With Elle's reality show Stylista in the can, The CW screened the first episode on Saturday for critics at the Television Critics Association's event in L.A. If reports are to be believed, it's quite scathing! As we could tell back in May, the show's real appeal comes from fashion news director Anne Slowey, who's Miranda Priestly-d herself into an on-air diva.
Slowey claims to have carried 32 goldfish in 32 separate bowls to a woman's house, without killing them, as part of her duties on Day One at Vogue. She also claims that on Stylista, she's "just being myself." Heh. CONTINUED »
Despite our excitement about Elle's The CW reality show Stylista, and fashion news director Anne Slowey playing the evil villainess, our behind-the-scenes spies are painting a less entertaining picture. At least for those working on the show.
As Jossip was the first to tell you last month, staffers have been roped into participating in the series unwillingly, being forced to ditch weekend plans to attend tapings at the show's faux office.
Now we're hearing two senior editors, Joann Pailey and Kate Lanphear, were blatantly lied to about their involvement on the show, originally being told they'd be extras, which they begrudgingly allowed, and then bait-and-switched into prominent roles as judges. "Both were completely humiliated and wanted nothing to do with it but were basically lied to by the powers that be," says an insider.
As for the overdramatic Slowey? "Where do you start," says our source. CONTINUED »
Here's a preview of the upcoming Elle reality show Stylista (nee Fashionista?), starring fashion news director Anne Slowey as the evil villainess who will RUIN YOUR NAME IN THIS INDUSTRY.
She arrives via town car! She wears dark sunglasses! She dons four-inch heels! She expects her lunch plate to be feng-shuied! THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF GLAMOUR, PEOPLE.
She's clearly trying too hard to be Miranda Priestley, but those who know her might, uh, say the act isn't an act. Whatever. We're going to love it.
Below, dos mas clips. One almost features tears! CONTINUED »
Although Elle always had "no comment" for us when we asked them to confirm they were working on a TV project aside from Nina Garcia's involvement in Project Runway, it's clear they've finally found a skein to latch on to.
As we were the first to report in December, Elle EIC Robbie Myers and creative director Joe Zee were running around town meeting with various TV outfits, including Ugly Betty and America's Next Top Model.
Now it seems Myers' minions have sealed a deal with the latter, with Zee and Anne Slowey signing on to a Tyra Banks-Ken Mok-produced project for The CW that's billed as The Devil Wears Prada meets The Assistants. Rumor has it, the show will be called Fashionista, with the contestants all gunning for the grand prize of a gig at Elle.
Editorial Director
