The Skeptical Idealist

More specifically, one Carmen Marc Valvo. To be clear, I had never heard of this particular designer until I was incredibly, and quite embarrassingly, bored enough to watch an episode of Bravo’s NYC Prep. There is one girl named Jessie who is a senior and apparently almost as desperate to work in the fashion industry as another girl with far less personality, Camille, is to get into Harvard. But I’m not hear to talk about the uppity, pretentious, facetious people on the show. Not really, anyway.

Anyway, back to my very likely silly post on an even more silly subject.

After deciding that an  internship during Fashion Week with Charlotte Ronson was too beneath her, or something like that, Jessie got a job with the aforementioned Carmen Marc Valvo. Yay! To make things even better, Jessie’s friend-with-benefits (that’s just my guess, nothing certain there) PC showed up with handful of people that were most assuredly not invited to Jessie’s first day of work and nearly cost her the coveted job. Oh the drama!

Trying desperately to get to my point, not only did Frank, Jessie’s boss and PR man for the designer, let the camera crew follow them around for her first couple days of work but Carmen Marc Valvo himself appeared a number of times in the episode. They even filmed inside the warehouse where all of his dresses are stored as he showed Jessie the “Beyonce” dress. It all smacked slightly of desperation.

I can’t help but wonder if Jessie got the internship, that’s right…internship, because she was the most qualified (after all, her Charlotte Ronson interview was shared with four people seven, count them SEVEN, years older than her with less experience! the indignation!) or because in a crappy economy Carmen Marc Valvo’s sales are slumping and what better way to get some free and handy publicity than to hire a girl with a ready-made camera crew. Am I wrong? I think not.

You may think that I’m grasping at straws or even jealous that I wasn’t a NYC prep school kid (believe me, that I am not), but honestly, how common is it even in the world of high fashion for the designer to spend a high school intern’s second day of work with her? In front of a camera crew? I think it is very hard to argue with me on that. Hmmm, that’s a very Jessie-type thing to say, isn’t it?

But about Carmen Marc Valvo, if my theory is correct (about the free publicity), I am still a bit confused. I guess I would be interested to see the demographics for people who watch the show. Do other NYC prep kids spend their time watching NYC Prep? If they do, Carmen Marc Valvo has the right idea…if said prep kids haven’t heard of him, which I doubt. Or do decidedly not prep school kids, the Gossip Girl viewers in need of some reality, watch NYC Prep to drool jealously or make sniping comments? If that is the case, Carmen Marc Valvo’s plan may backfire. Because the average American teen (and adult) cannot afford the $395 to $940 that his dresses are selling for at the Saks website.

To wrap all this drivel up, I find that I watch Bravo reality shows for one primary reason. That reason? To make fun of the very rich people who for some reason, incredibly inflated egos perhaps, allow themselves to be filmed saying things like “I should have taken the limo driver, I hate being lost.” You would think they have enough money to not need a reality show. But to each his own. Right?