Weekend Fashion News Alert: Did Beyonce Call Out Rachel Roy?, Karlie Kloss Makes Time Top 100, Hardwick Clothes Chosen to Dress NBC Olympics Studio Hosts, and Barbie Launches You Can Be Anything Campaign

This has been a fashion weekend of callouts and questions. With the long-awaited release of Beyonce’s video poem“Lemonade” on HBO over the weekend, Beyonce’s “Lemonade” speaks of a woman who is self-identified and is “not to be messed with.” There are references to the Black Lives Matter movement, female empowerment and well as some inferences of marital strife.

The infidelity inferences expressed in the “Apathy” portion of the video poem with somewhat cryptic lyrics that tell the cheater “ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks … he better call Becky with good hair,” has caused some cultural pundits and Beehive fans to conclude that paramour in question is fashion designer Rachel Roy. To make matters worse, Rachel Roy posted on Instagram immediately after the “Lemonade” HBO special, “Good hair don’t care, but we will take good lighting, for selfies, or self truths, always live in the light.”

Cultural pundits and Beehive fans blew up social media over Rachel Roy’s Instagram comments, with some mistakenly placing nasty comments on cooking host Rachel Ray’s Twitter and Instagram pages. Remember, at the 2014 Met Gala, Solange Knowles had a confrontation with Rachel Roy that resulted in harsh words and a videotaped fight with Jay Z later in the evening.

Did Beyonce call out Rachel Roy? Hmm, you decide!!

Influential Karlie

What does it take to make Time magazine’s top 100 influential list? Well, if you are Karlie Kloss, apparently it takes beauty, several brand campaigns, and supermodel status.

The list was released on April 21^st, and Karlie Kloss is in the ‘Titan’ category. Coincidentally, she is very good company. Kloss’ 2016 co-Titans include Nicki Minaj, basketball player Stephen Curry, Pope Francis, Apple’s boss Tim Cook, Academy Award winner director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei.

Barbie’s career ambitions

Do you think you can be anything you want to be? Well, Barbie believes you can. On April 28^th, for the ‘Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work’ Day Barbie launches ‘Be Anything You Want To Be’ campaign in Canada.

From April 28 to May 2, Barbie is encouraging families in Canada to share photos of their Barbie fans living out their career ambitions by using the hashtag #Youcanbeanything. Canadian girls can upload a photo of their #YouCanBeAnything girl in her career of choice to the You Can Be Anything event page.

“Barbie has always aimed to show young girls that they can be anything they can imagine from movie star to doctor. She’s always been a role model in being true to herself and making possibilities come to life, and to a child, that’s everything,” says Akram Sharkawy, Brand Communications Marketing Manager, Mattel Canada Inc, in a news statement.

Looking good, Olympic style

Do you want your hosts for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio to look stylish? Well, NBC Olympics has come up with a solution. Hardwick Clothes, the oldest tailored clothing brand in the US, has been chosen to dress the studio hosts of NBC Olympics.

Though Hardwick Clothes is not necessarily a household name, Hardwick Clothes has been in business since 1888 and is one of the few American brands that has its complete operations stateside, making its all it clothes in Cleveland, Tennessee. “As long as Hardwick clothes has been in business, we don’t have a lot of recognition on the consumer level. It’ll help reestablish Hardwick as a great American brand. It’s exposure to an audience that hasn’t heard of us before,” said Jake Cremer, Hardwick’s brand director in a fashionunited.com article.

Hardwick Clothes started working with NBC over a year and a half ago when the brand began providing clothes for NHL hosts and analysts. Later, Hardwick Clothes dressed Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels for Sunday Night football programs.

—William S. Gooch