News
Madonna + Daughter Start Material Girl Line
Amy Dupcak :: Friday, July 2nd, 2010 12:30 pm
The world’s first Material Girl produced another one in 1996, and now the mother-daughter team of last-name-not-necessary Madonna and Lourdes are launching a fashion line together. The line is ’80s themed and geared to teenagers, even though Lourdes and every other teen today were born after the decade ended. Though the actual clothes are still-to-come, the line’s blog, updated by Lourdes, or “Lola,” herself, is already running. Madonna+offspring want to know: “Are you a Material Girl?” and “A fearless trend setter?”
In other words: “Have you reached the age where you feel pressured to dress slutty?” Or, “Do you weigh your self-worth in how good you look or how fashion savvy you are?” Or, “Are you a thirteen-year-old who goes to school in studded bras?” Or, “Do you have a disposable income to shop at the mall whenever you please?” But perhaps more importantly, “Do you want to ‘express your individuality’ by buying ‘vintage’ clothes at Macy’s?” If yes to all of the above, then congratulations, you are a bona fide Material Girl!
When asked about little Lola’s personal style, Madonna said, “I usually tell her to take off her three-inch or six-inch platforms and pull her skirt down just a little bit and take off some of the black eye makeup around her eyes….Because she does have amazing style, but I am the typical mother where I say, ‘Oh my God, you can’t go to school dressed like that.’” Hmmm, interesting. Should I remind everyone that she’s not even in high school yet?
Case in point, here are some samplings from Lola’s first Material Girl blog post:
“I’m 13 and I’ll be 14 in October, so I can’t wait for that because I am FINALLY allowed to dye my hair… THANK YOU MOTHER!! My favvvv color is black (just because it goes with everything) and my least favorite color is brown (because it resembles the color of something QUITE gross).”
“…Material Girl is coming out soon… HOLLA HOLLA! Ok and this is pretty awesome I will send a FREE t-shirt to the first person who can tell me in which big store the opening of Material Girl is….how cool rigghhhhhht???”
“Music wise My Chemical Romance is THE BEST BAND EVER for realzzzz. They are so awesome it hurts. If you don’t know who they are just… go away OR download their songs.”
“OK but no joke gladiator sandals are OUT. They came out in summer 2008 and I was like, ok those are really cute. Then 2009 comes around and people are still wearing them so I’m like, ok whatever it’s just a phase. BUT NOOOOO.”
I think it’s pretty bad parenting to let your teen blog like this to the universe, although perhaps it guarantees commercial success with the tweens who only wish they had a millionaire mother who trusts their fashion sense.
Madonna’s ever-evolving sense of style has always been inspiring, and trust me, I was obsessed with her as a kid, mostly during the “Like A Prayer” years. But even with all of the wealth and fame she’s acquired, there was always something more authentic about Madonna’s beginnings, and her style. Maybe it’s because she wasn’t born into the Hollywood lifestyle that her daughter entered into; Madonna came from very modest beginnings and could barely afford to eat when she moved to New York City, as a dancer, to pursue performing.
But a lot of celebrity (and non-celebrity) children, like Lourdes, become all-too-consumed by the culture of ‘what not to wear,’ and the idea of using their parents’ fame to their advantage, rather than developing their own creativity. The most poignant example of this might be that horrendous moment when Kelly Osbourne covered Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.” I mean, that was just painful. I do wish better for Lourdes…even though she lives in a material world.
