I never doubted that she could do it again, but I had no idea she'd do it like this. Wednesday night, Kimora Lee Simmons threw down the gauntlet for other reality television series with Kimora: House of Fab. Just as she promised, the show gives viewers an inside look at the creative process at online fashion behemoth Just Fabulous where she's President and Creative Director. It is a hit!
Kimora prefers to call the show a docu-drama and I agree. It's less like a traditional reality tv series (no beatdowns, no screaming matches between drunken, far too old to be behaving that way women, no idle chatter about dumb sh*t, etc.) and more like a short-form documentary in series form. I love home designer Jeff Lewis's Flipping Out series and Kimora: House of Fab has that same organic, fresh feel. When I watch Jeff's show, as much as I'm entertained, it's amazingly interesting to see how he puts his genius to work. Kimora: House of Fab handles its content very similarly and I'm hooked!
The cast on the show is interesting. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the elephant in the room, which I'm not necessarily bothered by, but which some viewers won't be able to properly process. So, let's go ahead and have this discussion so we can move on and focus on the good stuff in the weeks ahead. The Kimora: House of Fab cast is primarily comprised of white girls. There, I said it. It's a stark contrast to what most Kimora fans have become accustomed to in her previous series Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane. But, this is a new chapter for her and it's important to remember that what Kimora did at Phat Fashions was truly revolutionary. There were no other companies using that many people of color to hold itself together, for that length of time. So, if nothing, let this new cast be a reminder of that fact and may it renew your appreciation for her genius and willingness to think outside the box.
I'll be honest, it didn't really occur to me until I watched the replay last night, after I enjoyed Nashville on ABC of course, and I'm sitting there thinking, "Hmm. Not a lot of people of color." Maybe I didn't notice when I watched the first airing because, let's face it, it's how most businesses are structured and it really does feel like you're getting an inside look at how Just Fab operates. But, when it did hit me, it hit me. However, I don't think it's a bad thing, just something that I hope the company will take note of now that the first episode has aired and consider addressing. Even though, there's something satisfying about seeing Kimora, in all her multi-ethnic glory, telling a room full of white girls what to do. My white peeps, you know I love you all the same, but I'm just telling you what everybody else is thinking and it does nobody any good for me to come here and pretend. Homey don't play that.
So, let's focus not on the fact that there aren't a lot of people of color in the cast and more on the fact that a woman of color is leading the cast into the fashion promised land. Can we do that? Good. Now, let's carry on.
The show is a hit and anybody with even the slightest notion of exercising their creative genius should make it a part of their weekly television viewing routine. Anything with Kimora in it is at least sure to be entertaining, but the show is so much more and I'm looking forward to it each week. I don't know how many episodes are planned for the series, but I hope they don't tease us with a mere 5 or 6. There's just far too much material for that, so don't do it Style Network! Give us the boom! Let's take this thing to at least 10 or 12 episodes for the first season!
I'll do more detailed episode reviews in the coming weeks, but I wanted to address the cast here first. So we can all be on the same page. Now, go forth and spread the word! Kimora Lee Simmons is back, bitches! Go get it. --Sugar
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