Julia Fox, "Downtown" and Selling Out
Is the Kanyeification of Julia Fox the flex we're being told it is?
Hi ladies. I wanted to drop this essay for y’all before the weekend is over. Don’t worry: I’ll be back again this week for all your Valentine’s weekend parties and more.
In the past, people in subcultures would throw around the word Sellout. They’d slap the label on someone who got their song in a commercial, who signed to a major label, who took a role in a Marvel movie. After Courtney Love traversed the path from the messy leader of a noise band to aspiring Hollywood starlet, we ditched that particular source of piety. As the rents continued to rise and the money continued to get concentrated in the pockets of big business, the act of selling out became necessary for survival. Get your bag sis! There just isn’t a large enough audience of bohemian-minded benefactors to sustain it-girls like they used to. And what with time eroding the sharp edges off of subcultural styles, and the internet making anything potentially mass media, it’s never been easier to go big. Who could deny the wardrobe of Balenciaga/Diesel, the attention that would convince skeptical execs you have the wattage to lead a movie, the invitations, the power? It’s all worth it (right?)
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