Rod Blagojevich, fashion icon?

tom ford via wwd.com


Ah yes Tom Ford has done a Karl Lagerfeld/Hedi Slimane by lensing his own advertising campaign. Yesterday WWD got the scoop on the SS09 campaign for Ford’s menswear line, which bows in March issues, stars Jon Kortajarena and Karen Elson and was shot by Ford. Ford told WWD, “I wanted to create clean, straightforward shots of a handsome man in beautifully cut clothes. Simple, clear, and fresh.” There was no mention by Ford of any specific inspiration and frockwriter cannot help thinking that the outlets which have since picked up the story may have overlooked the elephant in the room. Is frockwriter the only one to notice that Kortajarena’s scenester coiffure seems uncannily reminiscent of one Rod Blagojevich? Blagojevich being of course the recently ousted Illinois governor who is facing federal corruption charges, including accusations of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. It’s not like Blago’s hair has not been in the US news of late.



getty images via the cut

In an earlier WWD story on December 11, the flamboyant chestnut 'do with bangs prompted the following comments from the hair styling industry.

Calvin Klein’s hairstylist Roberto Nova:

“Ugh....there’s no name for that”

Jennifer Anniston’s coiffeur Chris McMillan:

“Jack Lord from ‘Hawaii 5-0’ called. He wants his look back.”

And hair stylist to Meg Ryan, Courtney Love and Hillary Clinton, Sally Hershberger:

“It’s very dated. And it looks like a wig.”

And Womens Wear Daily is by no means the only US news outlet to discuss Blagojevich's hair.

From a cartoon competition in The Washington Post to identify the best Blagojevich hair caricature, to a score of stories and headlines, the controversial 'do has evidently been, well, front of mind for not just Blago.

The Dallas News called Blagojevich:

“The politician with America's Most Important Hair“

In a story entitled "Big hair, big head, big bozo: That's Gov. Blagojevich", The New York Daily News noted:

“Now we know why Blago has such big hair. It's to cover his great big empty head”

During a studio interview with Blagojevich, The View co-host Joy Behar could not resist touching the merchandise, telling her co-hosts:

"Where do I get the chutzpah to touch this guy's hair? It's like I have this little kid inside me that just wants to do it."

Meanwhile, The Chicago Sun Times dedicated quite some space to an analysis of the coiffure, asking the probing question, “Is Blago's hair a sign of sickness?”.

The Times interviewed several psychologists, who concurred that the trademark "glossy locks...perfectly sculpted in rain or snow" may be a sign of a narcissistic personality disorder.

Clinical psychologist Scott Ambers told the paper:

"It's all part of managing his image, managing his image of being without a blemish, without a flaw.... This grandiose sense of self . . . doesn't carry the implication that [Blagojevich] is a raving lunatic, crazy and out of touch with reality, but it does suggest he has a really overinflated view of his own importance".

When the corruption issues are dealt with, needless to say, Blago would be infinitely better suited to a gig in the fashion industry.