Fans of actress and comedian Tracey Ullman’s Showtime series “Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union” know that Ullman has an uncanny ability to immitate fashion designers. She has flawlessly imitated everyone from Diane Von Furstenberg to Donna Karan to Miuccia Prada.
Not only have her imitations made it clear that she is gifted when it comes to comedy, but also that she has a love and appreciation for fashion. In fact, in a recent New York Times article, it was revealed that Ullman is very well versed in fashion – both in terms of its history and the latest news and buzz.
“She is a big collector of Claire McCardell, one of the originators of the American fashion industry, and can casually drop into a conversation references to Christian Lacroix’s financial troubles, Iris Apfel’s eccentric style and the insistence of fashion magazines to churn out issues about how to dress for your age,” noted Eric Wilson, the author of the New York Times article on Ullman which ran in the paper’s style section on June 4th.
Ullman’s uncanny imitations, spot-on humor, and love and respect for the fashion industry are what led Diane Von Furstenberg (president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America) to ask her to host this year’s annual CFDA Awards.
The prestigious award ceremony will take place on June 15th. Interestingly, the comedian told Eric Wilson that she is not sure she will be poking fun at the designers up for nominations. She said that she is more interested in “exploring how those designers familiar with the fading era of New York society are adapting to the modern world of invented celebrities.
“You can imagine,” Ms. Ullman said, “Oscar de la Renta being shown a picture of Lauren Conrad, and saying, ‘Oh, if only we can get her to hold our purse!’”
Kudos to the CDFA, who picked the always-amusing Simon Doonan to host last year, for making such a wonderful choice for the night’s host.
