Blog Six- Heroin Chic Today

While heroin chic died out in 1997, some things aren’t meant to be gone forever. Heroin chic and the grunge look have been making their way back to the fashion scene in present days.

stylefrizz.com

Heroin chic was a look that popularized the ultra-skinny frame and today we are still seeing people who idolize and inspire to look like that. Most models walking the catwalk have the waiflike look to them that Kate Moss brought to the scene. So while Gisele Bundchen brought sexy back with her curves in ’97, society is seeing a gravitational pull back towards that rail thin frame.

It’s not just the skinny frame girls are after but the overall look in general. If you were to Google “heroin chic” you would find multiple YouTube video demonstrations of how to achieve the perfect ‘90s grunge look. YouTube gurus are filming videos about the makeup, clothing and hairstyles that once ruled the scene and explaining how to get the look today.

www.thefashionspot.com

Blog sites like Tumblr still obsess with heroin chic. It is hard to get on and scroll through your feed without seeing at least one picture that is either an original heroin chic image or an image that has been inspired by the 90’s look.

Along with YouTube videos and blog sites that are still in love with this trend, some fashion designers are incorporating the look into their designs and ads. In 2012 BCBGMAXAZRIA lined their runway with models who looked like they could have been pulled from the ‘90s. It is not just the designers but celebrities as well. The Olsen twins style could be seen as having a heroin chic vibe to it. Them, as well as models, like Cara Delevingne, have done photo shoots that portray the heroin chic feeling.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/17521886023877100/

http://www.blackmailersdontshoot.com/2014/02/02/anyone-remember-heroin-chic/

While researching the topic, I stumbled upon a website titled “Heroin Chic for Dummies” and was very intrigued. The information underneath read something along the lines of “how to tell if the person you are shopping for is heroin chic.” So, of course, I had to click on the website. It went on to talk about what to purchase when shopping for someone who rocks the heroin chic look.

These were the suggestions:

·         Shop in the size zero to one section.

·         Not buy anything too clingy or with a bare back

·         Not buy anything with giant polka dots

·         Look for layered or fluffy fabrics.

·         Avoid vertical lines.

·         Add boots to the ensemble.

(Cohen, 2007)

http://www.tumblr.com/search/heroin+chic

I thought that this was an interesting take on the look and quite frankly, I would look for suggestions elsewhere. But everyone has their own approach to fashion and this was theirs.

While I don’t support the use of heroin or any other drug for that matter, I am a big fan of this overall look. I like the grunge and the perfect imperfection. And like Calvin Klein, I look at it in an artistic way. It is fashion and fashion is art. I do think that the models could put on a few pounds and still be drop dead gorgeous and I don’t think that drugs need to be visible in the images but I love the messy hair and vulnerability captured in the images. If it were up to me, heroin chic would live on forever.

Sources:

J. Cohen. (2010, May 1). Heroin chic shopping for dummies. Retrieved from http://jesseacohen.blogspot.com/2010/05/heroin-chic-shopping-for-dummies.html

Blog 5- The End of an Era

http://www.lifelounge.com.au/photography/news/davide-sorrenti-and-heroin-chic-.aspx

On February 4, 1997 the overdose of Davide Sorrenti brought even more light to the controversy surrounding the heroin chic look.  Within the following months, antidrug groups expanded from just parent led groups to designer groups, President Bill Clinton spoke out about the issue and magazine editors were starting to agree with the downside of this trend.

President Clinton addressed the issue by saying that the glorification of drugs is not a necessary factor for selling clothes. He talked about how the fashion world took something that was once looked down on when he was a child and made it an inspiration for many. He went on to say that heroin is not creative and it is not art but rather an ugly and destructive drug. President Clinton spoke out about the rise of heroin and fall of cocaine. He said that young people had access to the heroin chic images and because of that they were influenced to partake in the recreational use of it.  (Blanchard, 1997)

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/03/are-secret-clinton-white-house-tapes-lost-to-history/

“When the President of the United States states it, he states it even louder. It will have an effect. This is going to be everywhere tonight and tomorrow, and you'd have to be crazy not to listen.'' -Patrick McCarthy, Editorial director for W Magazine (Blanchard, 1997)

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/heroin-chic/

And Patrick McCarthy was right about that. Shortly after the death of Davide and the speech given by President Clinton, Designers Against Addiction was formed. 13 British designers made up this group and went around campaigning and speaking out against heroin chic. Stella McCartney and John Galliano are a couple of designer names that you might know who were actively involved in this group. Designers Against Addiction stressed the fact that fashion has a huge impact on society and that the heroin chic look was sending negative images for young girls to look to.  Instead of promoting this negative way of life, the fashion world should be promoting healthiness. They were quick to say that heroin was not glamorizing or chic but instead a real life disease. (Blackstock, 1997)

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/10/kate-middleton-dazzles-at-charity-gala/

Many argued that the fashion world was making drug use acceptable by promoting these kinds of images.  Designers Against Addiction worked with the charity Action Against Addiction to campaign against heroin chic. Action Against Addiction is still actively participating in the research, treatment and education of addiction all while supporting families who are dealing with addiction. In 2013 fashion influence Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton attended an event hosted by Action Against Addiction.

With the rise of anti-heroin chic groups, magazine editors started turning down images that reflected drug use and abuse. They were quick to tell photographers that they did not want any images that promoted this kind of lifestyle. In 1999 the heroin chic eventually fizzled out when Gisele Bundchen stepped onto the scene.

http://img179.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=46943_vogue5_122_336lo.jpg

Out with the little girl waif-like appearance, sexy was back in the form of curves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gisele_Bundchen5.jpg

Sources:

Blackstock, C. (1997, October 12). The ugly side of heroin chic. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-ugly-side-of-heroin-chic-1235403.html

Blanchard, T. (1997. May 23). A smack in the face for the gurus of heroin chic. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/a-smack-in-the-face-for-the-gurus-of-heroin-chic-1262928.html

Spindler, Amy. (1997, May 20). A death tarnishes fashion's 'heroin look'. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/20/style/a-death-tarnishes-fashion-s-heroin-look.html

Wren, C. (1997. May 22). Clinton calls fashion ads' 'heroin chic' deplorable. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/22/us/clinton-calls-fashion-ads-heroin-chic-deplorable.html

Blog Four- Other Names Associated with Heroin Chic

Now that I have talked about Calvin Klein, Kate Moss and Corinne Day, let’s take a look at a few other prominent people behind heroin chic:

Davide Sorrenti:

Davide Sorrenti was born June 9^, 1976, in Naples, Italy. He was a young photographer who was born into a family with two other prominent photographers, his mom Francesca and brother Mario. Davide’s name is often linked with heroin chic. In his late teens, Davide’s photos were becoming noticed. At the age of 19, Davide’s images were starting to appear in magazines like Detour, Interview and Raygun. These images were far from the high fashion editorials that had once been featured in all the magazines. Instead, they were dark and portrayed the abuse of drugs. One of Davide’s favorite muses was his girlfriend Jaime King.

http://www.idea-books.com/jamesisagirl.html

Unfortunately Davide’s promising future as a photographer was taken from him at the age of 20. His sudden death was a result of a heroin overdose mixed with a hereditary form of anemia.

Jaime King:

http://www.idea-books.com/jamesisagirl.html

Jaime King was introduced to the business at the young age of 15 when she chose modeling over high school. Going by the name James at the time, Ms. King was a native from Omaha Nebraska and found herself getting into a little trouble when she first moved to New York. In 1996, Jaime admitted that she was on the verge of getting sent back to Nebraska because she was missing planes and screwing up jobs. Her youth and skinny frame made her a poster girl for heroin chic. But it wasn’t just that Jaime was appearing in ads that glamourized drug usage but she was also abusing them on the side. In a recent interview King talked about her struggles of the 90’s:

http://www.idea-books.com/jamesisagirl.html

"But I think every girl who comes to New York needs to go through that stage. You know why? Because you get to the lowest point when you're so exhausted and so done from partying . . . and you're so depressed, and that's when you make a choice whether you're gonna let yourself sink or you're gonna swim, and I decided I was gonna swim. And you see girls who just give up hope, and then they deteriorate. But the successful girls do not do that." (Proud, 2013)

And she did swim. Jaime is now a successful actress, appearing as Lemon Breeland on the CW’s Hart of Dixie, alongside Rachel Bilson. She was also married in 2007 to filmmaker Kyle Newman. The two have one child together, son James Knight.

http://www.eonline.com/news/475716/jaime-king-cuddles-in-bed-with-baby-son-james-knight-see-the-precious-pic

Chloe Sevigny:

Peerie.com

The glamorization of drugs wasn’t just found in fashion. Heroin chic could be seen on the big screen as well and actress Chloe Sevigny was one of the young stars promoting the look. In 1995 Chloe appeared in the movie KIDS. This film showed the harsh realities of explicit teenage sex acts, STDs, date rape and drug abuse. A lot of reviews have criticized this film for condoning this kind of behavior. Chloe Sevigny is still acting today as well as designing and modeling.

A few other names to remember:

Mario Sorentti:

Mario captured photos of his then girlfriend, Kate Moss, in the Obsession ad for Calvin Klein.

Curt Cobain and Courtney Love:

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/kurt-cobain-and-courtney-love/images/21803626/title/kurt-photo

Curt was lead singer for the band Nirvana in the 90’s. In 1994, Cobain took his own life after taking a lethal dose of heroin. He left behind his wife, Courtney Love and their daughter, Frances Bean. Love was a heroin addict as well. In a recent interview Love opened up about her addiction. Claiming that she first shot up at actor Charlie Sheen’s house, Love has stayed sober for the most part since rehab. She admitted that she shot up once in 2005 with the intention to commit suicide.  

While there are others names to be associated with heroin chic, these are some of the most common people think of when reflecting back on this era of fashion.

Sources:

Carles. (2011, May 31). Chloe Sevigny talks openly about how she is 37 years old and potentially 'past her prime'. Hipster Runoff.  Retrieved from http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/altreport/2011/05/chloe-sevigny-talks-openly-about-how-she-37-years-old-and-potentially-past-her-prime.html

Egan, J. (1996, February 4). James is a girl. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/04/magazine/james-is-a-girl.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1

Nye, James. (2014, March 20). A discarded cigar box full of syringes, a filthy rag and a stamped out cigarette: The tragic new pictures giving fresh insight into Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide. Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2585567/Police-release-new-Kurt-Cobain-photo.html

Proud, A. (2013, May 6). From teenage addict to happily married mother-to-be.... how Jaime King battled heroin and crippling depression. Mail Online.  Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2320374/From-teenage-addict-happily-married-mother---Jaime-King-battled-heroin-crippling-depression.html

Sales, N. Jo. Caution: These Kids Are About to Blow Up. New York Nightlife. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/nymetro/nightlife/barsclubs/features/2937/

Heroin Chic Influences- Kate Moss

I briefly talked about popular names behind the heroin chic look in my previous blog but now let’s take a closer look at some of them:

alicebodkin.wordpress.com

fabricoftheheart.blogspot.com

To begin with, “The Queen of Heroin Chic” herself:  Kate Moss.

www.fashiongonerogue.com

Kate Moss was born January 16, 1974.  A native of Croydon, South London, Moss was discovered at the JFK airport in New York at the age of 14. The founder of the British fashion agency Storm was the first one to spot her. Her first cover shoot was the following year for a British magazine but it was not until 1993 when she appeared in Calvin Klein’s ad that she got her big break.

www.experiensense.com

For five years Moss was turned down because she was too short for the runway or too skinny in comparison to the 80’s supermodels like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington. But the wait was worth it. Since her 1993 ad with Calvin, Kate Moss has appeared on the cover of over 300 magazines and has also been the star of  many top fashion houses like Chanel and Christian Dior.

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In an interview with Vanity Fair done in 2012, Moss opens up about her first photographs with Mark Wahlberg- the notorious Calvin Klein ad. Kate said that she did not feel like herself and because of this she had a nervous breakdown that left her in bed for two weeks.  But when it came down to it, she forced herself into the limo that was waiting outside to take her to the next shoot because it was work.

When Kate stepped into the scene modeling was forever changed. Her (very) skinny frame is what inspired the waiflike trend of the 90’s. Kate’s skinniness added with the fact that she was the face of heroin chic had people genuinely believing that she abused drug. She was dating actor Jonny Depp at the time and the two of them were known for their partying ways so this did not help her case either.

alicebodkin.wordpress.com

In July of 2013, Allure Magazine featured Kate on the cover of their magazine. During the interview, Moss cleared up the rumors that had been going around since the 90’s. Was she actually a heroin addict? When the question was brought up, Kate just laughed and said the claims were “ridiculous.” Her jet black eyeliner was smudged… many girls rock this trend, are we accusing them of being heroin addicts too?

m.mtv.com

Although she could laugh off the heroin addict rumors, Kate couldn’t do the same with claims that she was anorexic.  

www.celebitchy.com

“… The anorexic thing was a lot more upsetting, to be held responsible for somebody's illness. I wasn't anorexic."

Kate has defended herself from these anorexic rumors in multiple interviews throughout the years. When asked about it her reasons are simple: she didn’t have time to eat, there was no food available or the food was just so disgusting that she could not phyally it.

Where is the Queen of Heroin Chic today? 

As for her personal life, Kate recently turned 40. She is married to Jamie Hince. Moss has one daughter from a previous relationship, Lila Rose and a 16 year old half-sister, Lottie Moss, who just recently starting following in her footsteps.

In 2005 pictures of Kate and her then boyfriend snorting cocaine circulated all over the media. When these images were leaked Kate lost contracts with Burberry, Chanel and H&M.

www.papermag.com

Although she lost her contract at the time, a new Burberry fragrance campaign with Moss and Cara Delevingne will be released later this year. In 2013 she walked the fall runway for Louis Vuitton.

Today, Moss can also be found working behind the scenes of fashion for her Topshop line. The 2014 launch brought a lot of famous faces together. Cara Delevigne, Sienna Miller, Naomi Campbell, Suki Waterhouse, Nick Grimshaw and Stella McCartney were all there to help celebrate with Ms. Moss. The collection features a lot of fringe and loose fitting clothes that give it a  bohemian feel. Oh, and black. Lots of black!

See for yourself and shop the collection here: http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/category/new-in-this-week-2169932/kate-moss-for-topshop-2916935

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Watch what her friends have to say about her here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyhcd7zJuCE

An inside look at the launch:

http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/category/kate-moss-x-topshop-the-icon-is-back-30042014-2834606/home?TS=1396356314294&intcmpid=W_HERO_WELOVE_UK_WK35_KM_WATCHAGAIN

Sources:

Berrington, K. (2014, February 11). Kate Moss. Vogue. Retrieved from http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/kate-moss-biography

Hauser, B. (2014). Kate Moss: her style timeline. Allure. Retrieved from http://www.allure.com/celebrity-trends/style-timeline/2013/kate-moss-style#slide=1

Ward, V. (2005). The beautiful and the damned. Vanity Fair.  Retrieved from http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2005/12/kate-moss-cocaine-scandal

Blog Two- Heroin Chic in the Media

http://fakingfashion.livejournal.com/490737.html

“To me, photography is about showing us things we don’t normally see, getting as close as you can to real life.” –Corrine Day, Fashion photographer (Martin, 2010)

In 1993, Corrine Day was able to capture that look of real life in British Vogue. The spread, titled “Under-Exposed”, featured Kate Moss clad in barely there pastel clothing. Moss had shown up to the shoot teary eyed fresh from a fight with her then boyfriend, which in turn, allowed Day to capture the feeling of vulnerability in her images. These images became some of the most reproduced ones of the editorial as well as some of the most iconic images from the 90’s.

http://fakingfashion.livejournal.com/490737.html

Not only was Kate Moss stirring up talk with her appearance in Under-Exposed but also in the most recent Calvin Klein advertisements. Like I said in my previous post, Klein and Moss had already teamed up in the previous year and created controversy when Moss (then 17) posed topless and straddled a much older Mark Wahlberg. In 1993, the advertisements for Klein’s cologne Obsession were under fire.

The Obsession ads featured Kate looking very frail. So frail that people were starting to ask “how thin is too thin?” The television advisement for Obsession highlights Moss’s bones in simple yet revealing clothing as she is seen repeating “obsession.” The music played in the background adds some dark vibes to the mix, thus giving off the feeling of heroin chic. Kate also posed nude for the ads that filled magazines. Critics complained that these images were portraying and promoting heroin chic. 

Check out Kate in the 1993 Calvin Klein Obsession Ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCqZp43vRpA

While Calvin Klein is often the designer that comes to mind when reflecting back on heroin chic, he is not the only one to showcase the trend.  An editorial for The Face done in 1997 shows a strung out Chloe Sevigney lying on a messy bedroom floor next to a stack of money.

alicebodkin.wordpress.com

And a shot by Davide Sorentti captures Jamie King (who at the time he was dating) in an explicit and memorable photo.  The image shows King in ripped up leggings, sprawled out on a couch with posters of rockers who had died of abuse hanging above her.

Like all things, there were people who loved the heroin chic look and others who hated it. Drug prevention groups, as well as parents, were so appalled by the latest trend that they organized a boycott. Parents believed that Calvin Klein had betrayed them in a “misguided and dangerous effort to glamorize heroin addiction to appeal to adolescents” (Harold, 1999). Klein understood that people were upset but stated that he, as well as other fashion labels, were looking at it from a creative angle and that it was misconceived as being a way to promote drug use.

Do you believe that Calvin Klein betrayed parents and the youth culture? Or do you agree with him and the others and believe that it was all in innocence out of the creative perspective? 

Sources:

Akbar, A. (2006). Photograph that inspired “heroin chic” is selected for ultimate fashion show. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/photograph-that-inspired-heroin-chic-is-selected-for-ultimate-fashion-show-423542.html

The Christian Science Monitor. Boycott groups: Klein ads carry scent of 'heroin chic'. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/1996/1025/102596.us.us.5.html/%28page%29/2

Harold, C. L. (1999). Tracking heroin chic: The abject body reconfigures the rational argument. Argument and Advocacy 36, 65-79.
Martin, D. (2010).  Corinne Day, photographer of Kate Moss, is dead. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/world/europe/02day.html?_r=0