When Kelly Cutrone walks into a room, her presence is felt. Often considered a polarizing force in pop culture — I make that distinction because if you’ve been around enough in fashion, Kelly’s personality is not that shocking and overshadowed by the simple fact that she gets the job done — her public relations company, People’s Revolution is an industry leader. Kelly was a guest panelist at the Origins Passions & Belief fair, working with Not Just A Label. The designers had the opportunity to pick her brain about everything from when they should procure public relations, to sales etc. There was no shortage of shock and awe in her speech but one of the things that really stood out to me was her telling young designers, “before engaging PR efforts, get a bank loan, set that money aside because publicists are not running a charity and they have bills to pay and overheads as well.” She also discussed the advantages of celebrity placements and encouraged the designers to tread lightly before committing to a runway show every season because it’s noticeable if you go backwards. I saw several people taking notes — I did as well. However, my favorite part of the talk was the beginning — when the term “bitch” came up. I have a clip of some of Kelly’s words below, how she has re-purposed the word to mean someone that’s fully in control of themselves and their affairs. I’ve also including a clip of what the word means to me via the Mayimba Music Women’s History month campaign.

One thing that I unfortunately didn’t catch on film was Kelly’s discussion of the obviously sexist connotations of the word. She mentioned that if she was leading a soccer or a football team and she said, “no crying on the field” she would be praised. Definitely some food for thought. What do you think about the re-appropriation of the word to mean Boss Bitch a la Beyoncé.

Kelly and Stefan talking fashion and feminism.