The Fashionista Diaries coming to the UK

2008 looks like being a very hot year in terms of TV entertainment. Not only have ITV 2 snapped up the rights to screen the fabulous, Gossip Girl. Rumour has it that Five are to broadcast a UK version of The Fashionista Diaries. Set in New York, the slick reality show followed the lives of six twenty something fashionistas taking on traineeships in companies such as CosmoGirl, Flirt Cosmetics and Seventh House PR. Roll on the New Year!

Farewell to The Fashionista Diaries

Sob, sob, The Fashionista Diaries is over. Finished, caput, done. The show came to a fantastic climax last Friday with all the teams preparing for New York Fashion Week. There were two shows, Just Sweet, a label that is owned by Jennifer Lopez who Flirt Cosmetics were doing the make up for and the main one, Charlotte Ronson which everyone was working towards. Bridget and Laurie who are just getting tighter by the minute were in charge of the goodie bags and collecting all the props to make the place look pretty. Our Rachel had the meaty job to interview people backstage for CosmoGirl.com while Andrew was given the task of quizzing Cosmo readers about their outfits and their personal style. Sounds like a pretty interesting job to me but Andrew was not happy with that and thought that his skills could have been put to better use. Meanwhile Janjay and Tina were backstage assisting the make up artists with all their needs. Both fashions show went exceedingly well, apart from a nail biting moment when Janjay forgot to bring the face chart for uber make up make up artist Charlotte Tillbury. However, the Gods must have been smiling down on that girl because a co-worker managed to run back to the office to get hold of the face chart in the nick of time. Of course Jennifer Lopez made an appearance at the end of her show which was full of A-line dresses and skirts in floral colours. Charlotte Ronson's collection was more slim line with lots of over the knee dresses and plenty of orange, grey and whites. Seeing the show was a culmination of all the assistants work and anyone who has worked on a big project can identify how all the fashionistas felt during the show. Everyone was very happy at end and full of smiles and I am even talking about Mandie! At the end of the fashion show she even came over and hugged Bridget and Laurie and thanked them for all their efforts. Awww, she is growing on me. The quintets spent the evening grooving at the after night party where Charlotte Ronson's sister, Samantha Ronson was DJing.

Ok, judgement day, this is where the fashionistas will be finding out who will be staying and who will be going. At the CosmoGirl headquarters it was a thanks but no thanks to Andrew. It seemed that Editor, Susan Schultz had a problem with his work and mentioned his missing deadlines. He got a pat on the back and was shown the door. It was totally different story for Rachel though, she impressed Susan so much that she was offered a position as a senior writer. Needless to say she was delirious. At Flirt Cosmetics , Tina was heaped with praise upon praise by Kathleen who then turned round and questioned her commitment to Flirt. I think Tina was just as shocked as I was, from what I have seen of the young Miss over the last 10 weeks, she seems to throw herself into everything she does. Janjay's evaluation ended with tears of joy as she landed her much coveted position at Flirt Cosmetics. She almost had me crying as well.

At Seventh House PR, Laurie was praised by Mandie and Mark for all her hard work but she commented that she felt the pressure to be another Bridget. Mandie replied that she never wanted her to be another Bridget and the world can only can take one Bridget. I agree totally. Now to the madam herself, she thanked Mandie for giving her the opportunity BUT turned down a position as a PR Manager because she has always wanted a career in magazines!! Mandie was gob smacked, I don't think anyone saw that one coming. Mandie promised to help her achieve her goals. Well there we are, the end of a scintillating 10 weeks of fun, tension, fall outs, glamour and fashion. So what next for the fashionistas? I can see Andrew finally finishing his designer line, Laurie getting snapped up by a PR company, Tina definitely getting a gig in cosmetics or PR and Bridget working on the fashion section of a magazine. It looks like my hour of pleasure is no longer but thank god that I still have Gossip Girl and bring on Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle.

The Fashionista Diaries - Meet Rachel Jacoby

Well London Fashion Week is up and running and fashion is on the tip of everyone's tongue. All the magazine editors are out in full forces in their Jimmy Choos clutching a skinny latte checking out the latest trends. The whole atmosphere in the British Fashion Council tent is intoxicating. Someone who knows better than most about covering fashion events is 22 year old, Rachel Jacoby. The New York native is one of the stars of The Fashionista Diaries and is now working at CosmoGirl following the demise of Jane magazine. During our interview, she spills all to me about life on CosmoGirl, Jane and what is going down with Andrew.

I was impressed with your knowledge about Jane magazine in your first editorial meeting, would you say you are a real mag hag?
I am most definitely a mag hag. Ever since I was a little girl, I would devour the pages of any magazine that passed my way -- I even would read catalogues. After a short detour of wanting to be a civil rights attorney, I turned back to my original love of magazines and took a six week course at NYU post college graduation called the "Summer Publishing Institute". It was basically a bootcamp for magazine publishing, which confirmed my interest in working in the industry. I even took a position for a year as an advertising assistant at a different magazine in order to break into publishing.

Which magazines do you buy, apart from Jane that is?
The better question would be which magazines don't I buy! I love ELLE, Marie Claire, Vogue, New York Magazine, Glamour, W, Shape, Allure...I could go on forever. I even love to read GQ (and a few other men's magazines) because of its intelligent wit and differing perspective.

How did you find out about The Fashionista Diaries and what made you apply?
I was actually frustrated with my job as an advertising assistant at Fitness Magazine and was perusing Media Bistro for editorial opportunities. I discovered a posting to be a fashion assistant at a magazine as part of a documentary TV show. Although I was quite hesitant to put myself on national television, I persevered and figured this would be my chance to gain experience and exposure as a fledgling fashion/beauty journalist.

How upset were you when Jane folded?
I was incredibly bummed (if you couldn't tell). Although the show only
showed me as upset because I lost my "big chance", I was also quite disappointed as a reader -- Jane was my bible. I most importantly felt for the entire staff of Jane, as I had grown to know and love many of the staffers and knew how much they believed in the magazine and its editorial message.

How are things going at Cosmo Girl?
Cosmo Girl is great! The entire team is passionate about their magazine, which makes it quite an exciting place to work. They have really given me a fabulous opportunity to showcase my skills and raw desire to work in publishing.

Lets talk Andy-licious, you guys make a great team. Any romance there?
I adore Andrew -- he's a great guy. We compliment each other in the work place, but unfortunately there is no romance there. As I stated in an episode, I don't like to mix work with play!

Who are your favourite designers?
I adore a lot of designers, many of which I cannot afford as an
assistant. However, my current favorites include Marni, Catherine
Malandrino and of course the American wunderkind Marc Jacobs. But realistically, I buy a lot of my clothing either at vintage shops or at H&M -- great, affordable style.

How would you describe your dress style?
I like to switch it up, depending on where I am or what I'm doing. I love to mix boyish hippie elements such as funky vintage tees with glizty-girly pieces. In a nutshell, I'd say I'm a glam hippie/tomboy.

The Fashionista Diaries is on SOAPnet.com on Wednesday at 9pm (US time).


Picture supplied by Shepley Winings Public Relations