Yes, I know, she's loud and frequently obnoxious and can be very imperial towards her hapless staff. When interviewed by the media, she can come across as being utterly self-absorbed. (In last night's episode, in the middle of lecturing her children about making noise by the pool during her chat with the
European press in Cannes, she interrupts herself and asks one daughter, "What do you think of my ring? It's emerald!!")On the other hand, she's also very strong-willed, fiercely intelligent, financially and sartorially savvy, and knows how to work a room. People (like myself) gravitate towards her because of that magnetic charisma that brought her model superstardom and a marriage to one of the wealthiest impresarios in music. Above all, she knows what she wants and is not afraid to get it. That's something that can be said of many, many ambitious women who've "made it," but how many do you know who've made it looking as fabulous as she does? And really, how many of them are Asian-American?
The most prominent Asian-American women I know -- and by "prominent" I mean those who are household names, not powerful but otherwise unknown to the average American on the street, like Avon CEO Andrea Jung -- can be counted in one hand: Connie Chung, Margaret Cho, Lucy Liu, Lisa Ling, and....uh....if you think of another, let me know. They're all in entertainment in one way, shape or form, but KLS has made it in the brutal world of the fashion industry. She started out modeling but has since held her own as the CEO of the Baby Phat empire. Word has it that the company is worth US$750 million. That's a lot of bling for KLS and her two precocious babies.
Yes, I would love to be like her. Hell, I'd love to have her money and power and her f***-you attitude. She's an intriguing mix of no-bulls*** CEO and doting mom, and watching her command her troops to meet her exacting standards of perfection is great fun, as it's not often you see a beautiful woman actually working on TV. I would never want to actually work for her (while assistant Mallory's job seems positively glamorous and fun, especially on the yacht in Cannes, I would probably suffer a massive stroke while running around looking for double-sided tape in some French village, worried as I would be about missing my deadline and having to face KLS' legendary wrath. And those arched eyebrows! Eeeek!!), but on the other hand it's a fabulous way to see a woman -- and a towering Asian-American woman at that -- demand what she wants and make no apologies for it.
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3 comments:
three words:
Kimora
For
President!!!
Great post -- you summed everything up really well!
she's such an inspiration to strive for your best and go for what you want.
i wanna be like her when i grow up!
Hi, Miss O! Oh geez, the last thing mainstream America will accept is Kimora for Prez. I'd love to see it happen, but we're having a tough enough time getting Hillary -- a bona fide candidate with the political and educational credentials to really make a difference -- accepted.
But ah, we girls can dream, can't we?
I love that she's the no-holds-barred head of a global fashion empire. If you think about it, despite the fact that fashion caters almost exclusively to the desires and dreams of women, it's ruled primarily by men. Even Kimora, when she was stuck with having to find a dress at the last minute for the Vanity Fair party after her assistant gave away her chosen dress to an actress, turned to Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley for advice. Most design companies are headed by men, and most cosmetics and skincare companies are run by men. For KLS to hold her own in the industry in that world is a testament to her tenacity and sheer bullheadedness, something we could all learn from!
Marjorie
LET'S NOT, FORGET THAT, KIMORA LEE SIMMONS, IS ALSO, AFICAN AMERICAN HER FATHER IS BLACK, AND MOTHER ASIAN. THAT SAYS, A LOT WHEN YOU COMBINE THE TWO TOGETHER.
SO, SHE IS REPRESENTING 2 WORLDS, ASIAN, AND BLACK, NOT TO MENTION, SHE'S A HUMAN BEING FIRST AND FOREMOST.
WOW
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