Fear and Clothing

Smoking isn’t new to the world of fashion. It had a central role in Sex and the City; Carrie Bradshaw began life as a smoker. I wonder how many kickbacks the producers received with the product placement and blatant depiction of Marlboro Lights. The film posters for Coco Avant Chanel were altered in regions (e.g. Australia) to remove the cigarette, and the French weren’t impressed with the image of actress Audrey Tatau with a cigarette in her hand. It doesn’t make sense to have a diary open, and a cigarette in the hand. A pen is more appropriate, right? No, for some mysterious reason, the first posters featured a cigarette.

Smoking isn’t foreign to luxury house Cartier. It still has its cigarette brand, as does Yves St Laurent. But there is nothing elegant, sophisticated or luxurious about bad breath, smelly clothes and premature aging.

In the media recently, Kate Moss -no doubt her public profile will rise again - made an appearance about her smoking habits. If tobacco advertising wasn’t illegal in most western countries, Kate could live out her years as a Philip Morris spokesperson. Kate has even been quoted to say that smoking is part of her personality. Poor Kate, she should have stayed in school longer, to ensure a rounded education. Smoking isn’t part of anyone’s personality. It’s a learned behavior, and the habit tends to show with terrible skin tone (below) and wrinkles, that is usually premature, Kate isn’t forty but she has the legs of a fifty year old woman:

Anyway, the recent articles on her smoking claim that Kate can’t live daily life without having 100 cigarettes on standby. These poor women have everything: career, enough money never to fret over housing, utilities or clothes, and they’re still so unsatisfied that nicotine is more than a prop, it’s a best friend to them:

“Kate has five coffee tables spread between her living room, kitchen, office and bedroom so that’s a lot of cigarettes. She also has a special tennis ball with holes for cigarettes to stick out from so visitors can relax with a smoke.”

How can anyone relax with nicotine? It’s a stimulant, not a relaxant. But one day, they’ll educate themselves…