Curious icons: the cult of celebrity

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan have suddenly put frivolities like fashion into perspective. This month my intention was to focus upon the links between celebrities, fashion, art - and religion... The 21st century has some curious icons, in particular, the new class of ‘non-ebrities’ - those famous for simply being famous.

A desire to make obscene amounts of money, together with relentless self-promotion, reality TV and the tabloid press have created unlikely stars, like Big Brother’s Jade Goody and I’m a Celebrity’s Jordan and Kerry Katona.


In November last year, a couple of aspiring US reality stars even gate-crashed President Obama’s first state dinner, posting photos of themselves on their Facebook page in a bid to garner publicity. The whole premise of reality TV is that it’s about real people, which means anyone can be a celebrity. But celebrity culture is founded upon narcissism, fed by devout materialism, and often fuelled by extreme ‘recreational’ drug use.










Anna Nicole Smith was similarly attracted by the lure of media attention and a luxury lifestyle – and eventually consumed by its trappings: junk food, sex, booze and drugs. The opera, Anna Nicole, with Eva-Maria Westbroek in the lead role, has recently been running at London’s Royal Opera House, to mixed reviews. I wasn’t wowed by the music, but the show is in equal measure entertaining, clever, funny, thought-provoking and sad.


Anna’s life was a tragi-comic Cinderella of a story. She started out as a waitress, married an 89 year old billionaire when she was 26, and went on to become the bloated laughing stock of reality TV - her sole ambition to ‘party to the end of time, party like primeval slime.’ Even her dog was on Prozac. She died penniless at the age of 39, shortly after the death of her only son.



Despite her childlike charm and celebrity aura, Anna was painfully insecure and easily manipulated by those around her, especially photographers, filmmakers and her lawyer-lover. She became a pumped-up puppet of the press – the living doll of media fantasy, not unlike her own idol, the ‘sacred’ screen star, Marilyn Monroe. (Anna Nicole was deluded enough to think she was the farmed-out child of Marilyn Monroe, even though Monroe died five years before Anna was born).




It’s weird how celebrities have come to be idolized with almost religious fervour. This curious phenomenon has been captured with irreverent humour by Nathalie Queyraud, whose Defiles from Paris fashion icon rosary necklaces are now available at ShopCurious. Icons featured include Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs.








Much like the operatic immortalization of Anna Nicole, these serve to remind us of our false gods. There’s even an icon of John Galliano, except we’ve decided not to offer this for sale. But have you ever considered that dictators like Hitler or Mussolini were actually ‘supreme celebrities’?




Anyway, rather than worshipping celebrities, why don’t we save our prayers for people who need and are worthy of them – like all those affected by the horrific disaster in Japan…

Will you?

The gold that got the cat

I was just waiting to hear the last part of Keith Floyd’s autobiography, Stirred but not Shaken, on BBC Radio 4. I've so enjoyed sharing Floyd's curiously all consuming passion for food and drink over the course of the week. In the process, I caught the end of Desert Island Discs, something I usually go out of my way to avoid, mainly due to the off-putting opening music. Thankfully, all I heard was Julia Donaldson being told by Kirsty Young that she couldn’t have a cat on the island.

At around the same time, I received an email with a link to this very curious ‘Cats for Gold’ website.

Am I hallucinating, or is this for real?

I’ve often thought it would be rather nice to have a big fluffy cat around the house, though not in exchange for my jewellery! However, in case you’re looking for some gold to swap for a feline friend this Christmas, we’ve got some fabulous necklaces, earrings, bangles and rings at ShopCurious. Check out these stylish designs by Marcelle Lawson Smith and Sarah Bond. Actually, never mind the cat, any of these pieces would make a suitably unique and unusual gift for Christmas... and I think even Floyd would have approved of Ornella Iannuzzi's golden fruits de mer.

Do you?

The fashion for pop art

The term ‘pop art’ was first coined in 1950s Britain, but has become synonymous with American art that draws upon the popular consumerist culture of advertising and comic books. Pop art often portrays mass market iconic images of the 1950s and ‘60s and offers a bold, bright and outspoken alternative to traditional and abstract art.








Pop art also draws heavily upon fashion and style, from household branded goods to celebrity icons. We’ve turned this on its head by creating colourful fashion accessories with a pop art theme. Designed by the Maggio sisters and based on retro comic strip art, each of the handmade pieces available at ShopCurious offers a snapshot of its own unique cartoon style plot.





Wear one of these hand painted belts or necklaces and you’ll find that people are suddenly very curious to read the captions – so you’d better have a good storyline ready to tell them...

Do you?

South African flowers

Flowers make a timeless and classic gift for Mothers' Day. The only trouble is that floral arrangements and bouquets are so expensive these days and they usually only last for a few days – possibly a week at best. What’s more, most of them have come from far-flung and exotic locations around the world, so they’re not nearly as eco-friendly as they might appear.






At ShopCurious, we’ve some unusual gifts in the form of beautifully hand painted pendants made from natural materials such as wood and mother of pearl, featuring designs of vibrantly coloured South African flowers. These necklaces and chokers have been handmade and intricately painted much closer to home by micro-biologist Margherita Maggio, who certainly knows her flora.





I have to admit that I did add a little to my own carbon footprint last year when I flew to South Africa. The scenery was stunning with magnificent views - from the sandy bays of Cape Town, to the lush green hills of Franchoek in the winelands region and the quirky Candelabra Cacti of the Kruger National Park.





I’ve just been looking for photographs of some of the beautiful blooms I saw on my travels and it turns out that I didn’t take any shots of the flowers on these unique pieces, but I can tell you a little bit about them:





The Bird of Paradise flower is said to have originated in South Africa and evolved in Madagascar. It’s called this because its flower resembles a bird’s head - and you've probably seen this before as it’s very popular in tropical flower arrangements.

Apparently this one - the Protea - is the national flower of South Africa and its name comes from the Greek god, Proteus, who was capable of changing shape and assuming many different forms.




The other flowers featured on these original pendants look like Hibiscus (though not so easy to identify as there are around 5,000 hybrids of this five-petaled, bell-shaped flower) and the South African Geranium, of which there are also many varieties.






Anyway, there are four of these stylish necklaces to choose from and, at around £80 a pop, you’ll be getting great value for money – along with a collectable mini-work-of-art that can be worn and admired for many years to come. So, if you’re curious to find something a bit different for your mother, or for any other cherished person in your life, I suggest you invest in one of these - and, if you're in the UK, we promise to get it to you before the end of the week.

Will you?