Recession Chic: Quirky Out, Blond In

TV spots hint at hard times, and does it well

(NEWSER) - Advertisers trying to market to recession-bruised consumers could take a cue from Ketel One vodka, suggests Seth Stevenson in Slate . Rather than playing Debbie Downer and addressing the recession with coupons—or ignoring it entirely à la Grey Goose’s glamorous yachting women—Stevenson says Ketel One has made “an effective and fully internalized response to the crisis.” More»

(NEWSER) - Naked photographers, orders to strip for no reason and sex assaults are a troubling part of the modeling business and involve some of the top names in fashion, according to a new documentary by a popular model. "Every girl I have talked to has a story," model Sara Ziff tells the Guardian. "It's all under the radar because people are embarrassed and because the people who are doing these things are much more powerful, and the model is totally disposable." More»

Model denies rumors, rejoices over boobs

(NEWSER) - Kate Moss isn’t pregnant, she’s just grown boobs, she tells New York magazine. “I’ve just started wearing bras. It’s a miracle. I am a woman now!” says the model, who can finally fill a B-cup. “Even my friends are phoning me up and saying ‘Are you pregnant?’ And I’m like, ‘No! I just put on a couple of pounds, and they went in the right place.’” More»

Models see shift away from whites-only runways

(NEWSER) - The figurative—and sometimes real—"Whites Only" signs in the fashion world are starting to come down in the wake of Barack Obama's election win, male models tell the New York Times. Fashion shows in the US and Europe are starting to more closely resemble the real world's diversity, the models say, and scouts are beginning to pay a lot more attention to African-Americans. More»

(NEWSER) - The airwaves are getting a lot more mature. On Sunday, 15 cities saw an Absolut Vodka ad during the Grammy Awards, the first time in years that a liquor commercial has run in prime time on a network-owned station. Other ads not suitable for innocent ears (K-Y Jelly, anyone?) are surfacing elsewhere in prime time for one reason: With the recession in full swing, media outlets can’t be as picky, the LA Times reports. More»