GABRIELLE UNION LAUNCHES NEW HAIR LINE..BUT THE CRITICS ARE TALKING

While I am sure Gabrielle Union’s new Flawless haircare line has been a huge success since its launch last week, it has not come without a bit of controversy for its creator. Since unveiling the collection via Instagram, Gabrielle has been inundated with complaints from people who think she’s simply trying to make a quick buck from the booming natural hair movement- while not actually wearing her natural hair. 

Gabby has also been taken to task for her vague use of the phrase “textured hair,” as well as the models she chose to use in the company’s advertisements.

The “textured hair” models Gabrielle chose to use to promote Flawless were also noted by critics, who accused Gabrielle of trying to get black women’s money while not actually using black models or women who have kinky hair. Gabrielle hasn’t offered a retort to that accusation, but we all know the #1 rule for selling hair products to black women with kinky/coily/nappy hair is never use models that actually have that hair type unless you are peddling relaxers or texturizers.

The black haircare market is a billion-dollar business. However, relaxer sales are down and natural hair products are where the money’s at. Gabrielle is aware of this and looking to cash in on it like any good businesswoman would. Gabrielle wants to sell her products to as many women as possible and will use the terminology and imagery to do so, hence the liberal phrase “textured hair” and the wavy and curly-haired models used in the advertisements.

Is Gabrielle wrong for trying to get her slice of the natural hair pie? No, I don’t think so, especially if the products are of good quality. Honestly,  why not give your money to  Gabrielle It's no different then some of these white-owned companies who also jumped on the natural movement once they realized there was a buck to be made.

RIHANNA DEBUTS FENTY UNIVERSITY PUMA COLLECTION IN PARIS

Class was in session at Fenty University as Rihanna debuted her latest Fenty x Puma collection on Monday (March 6) during an elaborate school-inspired fashion show in Paris.

Back at the City of Lights for her Fall 2017 show, Harvard’s Humanitarian of the Year took over the National Library of France, using study tables as runways for her dashing and daring models.

The sometimes NSFW show began with a choir singing Radiohead’s “Creep,” but then, things turned up with in-your-face smashes from M.I.A. (“Bad Girls”) and Die Antwoord (“Happy Go Sucky Fucky” and “I Fink U Freeky”). Meanwhile, models walked down the runways with a combination of casual cool, bold ensembles, and brief moments of nudity.

WHITNEY HOUSTON DOCUMENTARY GETS TO DEBUT AT TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

Whitney. Can I Be Me, a new documentary about the tumultuous life of singer Whitney Houston, is to debut at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The project is the brainchild of director Nick Broomfield, who has previously helmed documentaries on Sarah Palin, Curt Cobain and rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur.

Showtime Films financed the documentary and says it will use exclusive and rarely seen footage of Whitney to tell the story of her life. Via an interview with Billboard last year, Broomfield also detailed his plans for the documentary, including his reasons for declining commentary from Houston’s ex-husband Bobby Brown.

“Brown and Whitney were in a kind of strange dance,” Broomfield told the magazine. “They were completely destructive because they were in a weird competition with one another. I’ve never heard Bobby Brown even vaguely talk eloquently about that. I also didn’t want to spend a dime of money on him.”