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In the third episode of the controversial HBO series “The Idol,” Jocelyn, a pop star played by Lily-Rose Depp, and Tedros, a slimy wannabe Svengali played by Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, head off for a buying spree at the Valentino boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. After bypassing a gaggle of adoring Jocelyn supporters out front, the duo undertake some retail treatment. “You see that younger lady more than there?” Tedros asks a retail outlet staff. “Got something in this retailer as beautiful as she is?” Jocelyn tries on a series of Valentino outfits as Tedros eggs her on, threatens to “curb stomp” an staff he believes his ogling his woman, and dismisses just one top rated as “trash.”
At some point, the pair close up owning sex in a dressing place. When Jocelyn exits just before Tedros can finish, he finishes himself off alone in the dressing area whilst holding on to a rack of Valentino apparel. Later on, he appears to be at his soiled palms. Then his gaze turns to the incredibly high priced Valentino crimson attire hanging close by. The digicam cuts absent, but the implication is distinct: he wipes his fingers off on the dresses.
Did Valentino signal off on this? I puzzled as I viewed the scene. Just after all, Valentino is a honored luxurious trend manufacturer. Founded in 1959 by Valentino Garavani, its layouts have been worn by Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, and Oprah Winfrey. Had Valentino cosigned on what appeared to be the bespoiling of its brand—or was this was what product placement looked like in 2023? In look for of an response, I arrived at out to Valentino for comment. I didn’t get a reaction again.
For an expert’s acquire, I sent an e-mail to Stacy Jones, the CEO of Hollywood Branded, a pop lifestyle internet marketing agency. She didn’t know if there was any manufacturer partnership between Valentino and “The Idol,” but she did give her consider on the provocative Valentino scene, which had generated some discussion on Twitter.
“While the scene in the Valentino retailer was surely specific, there is not destruction to the brand name,” Jones opined. “Even the derogatory mentions produced by Tedros about some of the types and the store’s stylist had no lasting adverse influence. Tedros is revealed to be the not-so-pleasant character he is, and it was in simple fact Tedros who came off looking improperly, not Valentino. The rising spotlight on Valentino dressing Lily-Rose’s character and having her product their clothing on monitor feels like a earn regardless. The expressing that you just cannot pay back for media truly worth that is real. This distinct solution placement is more than delivering on brand name awareness huge time. There is not a good deal of chance in offending more mature Valentino customers as they just will not be observing the series. They are not the goal viewers.” These times, Valentino may be a lot more fascinated in focusing on millennials and Gen Z as opportunity consumers. According to Bain & Co.: “These generations are predicted to account for as substantially as 70% of the worldwide luxury industry by 2025.”
Not only that, it appeared I had missed the place totally. As Jones pointed out in her electronic mail to me, the Valentino scene from “The Idol” was a redux of a scene from the 1990 movie “Pretty Female,” starring Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward, a Hollywood escort, and Richard Gere as Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman, right down to the “Do you have just about anything in this store as lovely as she is?” line. “I googled to see where [the boutique shopping scene] in ‘Pretty Woman’ was filmed as I assumed it experienced a higher chance of staying Valentino,” Jones additional. “This short article states ‘Pretty Woman’ filmed the Rodeo Drive scene precisely at Valentino. There are a great deal of similarities in the scenes, just taken up a lot of grownup notches with an edgier, present day touch.”
Is “The Idol” “‘torture porn’”? Has it “set back again the feminist motion by at minimum a decade”? Is it “anti-feminist spectacle”? Or is a thing far more elaborate at do the job? At the very least in the case of the Valentino scene, the subtext is resolutely feminist. In “Pretty Lady,” Vivian says: “I want the fairy tale.” she needs a person to rescue her. In Sam Levinson’s “The Idol,” the fairy tale is more than. Right after all, it’s Jocelyn who denies Tedros his individual enjoyment, who is the star, and who, we presume, foots the invoice for their procuring journey. In this retelling, the lady retains the electrical power, not the man.
On a recent Friday afternoon, I created my way to the Valentino boutique. Due to the fact it was late June, the effectively-heeled shoppers creating their way up and down the sidewalks experienced to share space with groups of travelers. In the Valentino retail outlet, I was satisfied by a stability guard. A salesperson adopted me about as I admired a pair of $1,800 see-by way of system pumps that reminded me of the strippers’ shoe brand name of choice, Pleaser Footwear, and a purple gown that appeared like just one Jocelyn experienced worn. On the 2nd floor, the salesperson indicated the dressing room wherever the racy scene for “The Idol” experienced been shot, supposedly. I opened the doorway. No a single, considerably much less Tedros, was there.
This report was originally released on Forbes.com.
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