‘Too f***ing sexy.’ Funny women are turning the script on what they wear to do | CNN

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Close your eyes and imagine a stand-up comedian. Perhaps they are standing on the ground floor in front of an exposed brick wall. Or sitting on a wooden chair in the middle of a black curtained stage. What are they wearing? A shirt tucked into belted pants? Rat Pack-style suit and loud tie? A plain t-shirt and skinny jeans?

Today, female comics are more likely to be seen in vintage Versace, Gucci or Alessandra Rich than a denim button-down. Last year, the American comedian and host of the YouTube show “Baited,” Ziwe, did an amazing online interview with George Santos while he was dressed. 1980s red Jean Paul Gautlier skirt suit. Ayo Edibiri – best known for her role as Sydney in “The Bear” – began her career as a stand-up comedian, although these days you’re more likely to see her sitting in front of Prada, Loewe or Thom Browne. Rachel Sennott, a former comic-turned-A24-actor, is Balenciaga’s ambassador; while Saturday Night Live’s Maya Rudolph is donning famous names like Kaite, Rodarte and Schiaparelli while promoting the second season of her show, “Loot.”

Outside of the stand-up circuit, some comedians arrive on stage dressed to the nines, going out in vintage fashion and statement shoes. Earlier this year, New York comedian Mary Beth Barone released her first independent single, “Thought Provoking,” on YouTube. For those who don’t know, Barone was wearing a shiny silver dress. For those interested in fashion, it was part of history. The archival Versace chainmail slip dress was first worn by Kate Moss on the arm of Naomi Campbell at a charity event in London in 1999. According to Moss, she “walked straight down the Versace runway” for the event .

While promoting her show on Instagram, Barone nodded to this strange collision of worlds with the words: “When the brilliant designers of Versace created this dress for Kate Moss in 1999, I don’t think they thought it would be worn by a standup comedian 25 years later!” Barone appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a black Fall-Winter 2003 Gucci dress, designed by Tom Ford during his time as creative director – a key moment in Gucci’s esteemed history. fashionistas know best.

“I love fashion, first and foremost,” Barone told CNN during a video call from her New York apartment. “It was the culture I grew up in; Britney Spears, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Paris Hilton, all these people who had a big influence.” Barone’s women’s, ready-to-fly wardrobe is often a stark contrast to his deadpan punchline delivery, two different threads coming together to create an interesting platform. He proudly describes himself as a “generation of pop stars,” inspired not only by the casual fashion of celebrities who don’t work, but by their commitment to clothing as part of their act – to raise the bar. of program production. “Those pop stars were very strong and determined to have their beauty and personality as actors. I feel like sometimes, why can’t comedians do that?

Cat Cohen, whose first Netflix comedy special “The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous” is set to air in 2022, is also committed to turning comedy clothes into something shiny and fun. “I always thought, ‘Well, I’m going to act like a pop star and see what happens,'” she told CNN in a video interview. On stage, Cohen is all feathers and rhinestones. – she’s rarely seen without a sweep of electric blue eyeshadow. Her go-to outfit is a loud little dress and tall boots. It helps that most of Cohen’s appearances are made by real pop designer Kelsely Randall, whose client list includes Beyoncé, Lizzo, Lorde and Chloe and Halle Bailey. “If I have a TV appearance, or an example my next one, as soon as we have the stadium on the shoot, I’m joining Kelsey.”

Female comedians are not new. Phyllis Diller, Jean Carroll and Joan Rivers used to dish out zingers on stage while wearing elbow gloves and pearls. (The rivers were the inspiration for the well-dressed actress Midge Maisel, star of the Golden-Globe-winning TV series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”) But their image was slowly replaced by a single muddled mirage. -blazer and casual business attire.

“For a long time, female comedians were pressured to dress like their husbands,” Barone said. “When I started studying, there was a book that you would buy and read next to the classes. In it, it said that you should not wear shorts or dresses on stage because if the audience can see your legs, that will distract you and will take away your comedy.” Barone remembers after one set, he was followed out by booker. He was like, ‘Your sense of humor is great, but you’re dressed so well.

Cohen, too, had an outlook that, in his early years, influenced what he wore. She says: “When I first started I felt more shy, and I was reluctant to express myself. I remember one time wearing overalls and a T-shirt to a show. Like no, baby. It wasn’t me.”

Margaret Cho – named one of Rolling Stone’s top 50 comedians of all time – has long flown the flag for fashion, performing on stage in the 1990s for Betsy Johnson, Todd Oldham and Gemma Kong; although he became famous at one time for his industrial chauvinism. The comedy scene of the 1980s and 1990s was dominated by men like Andrew Dice Clay (whose vulgar children’s rhymes got him banned from MTV in 1989) and Louis CK, who was accused of sexual misconduct by five women in 2017. Given that women were often a joke, any sign of weakness – including an unusual outfit – could spoil the performance . “You had to approach ‘attractive’ in a certain way, you didn’t want to come across as hyper-feminine,” Cho said via video call from LA. “Because then it would contradict what you say. It was hard to get people to trust you as a comedian if you were ‘attractive.’ There was such a culture of misogyny.”

But Cho still enjoyed the act of dressing up, partly in defiance of the male-dominated environment in which she worked. “I remember there was a television show where we couldn’t afford to buy a new dress. So, Karen Kilgarriff and Janeane Garofalo and I bought one dress,” she said. The three of us went in, and put it on differently. The frock in question — from fast-fashion brand Contempo Casuals, Cho recalls — was a boxy, tiny silver hammered dress. “I think it was a rip-off of one of Kim Gordon’s designs for X-Girl. I wore mine without tights, Janeane wore a long (bottom) shirt and I think Karen he fastened his seat belt.”

As the worlds of comedy and couture inch closer, perhaps one day the stand-up set will be as lucrative for fashion brands as Harry Styles’ world tour. (During his last gig in 2022, which according to Forbes earned Styles $617.3 million, the artist wore almost exclusively Gucci.) “It’s like rock and roll,” Cho said. said. “You want your rock star to be fully aware of their style. The brand of a comedian, really, includes style.” He already has confidence in Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott and the comedy invasion “(Sennott and Edebiri) are perfect for bringing new energy to these old houses. It is a twist on the ingénue, as we use the comedian. It’s really special. ”

Cohen agrees. “Before, people felt like (dressing up) wasn’t important to what they were doing artistically. But now, I think it just adds to what I’m doing.” Barone – recently seen wearing Y/Project and archival Dior – no doubt she’ll be packing a treasure trove of vintage pieces for the US leg of her new tour, “Pillow Talk” this August “I’m the first person to ever wear a dress to do stand-up comedy,” he said. “But it feels like there’s a change going on. And I’m happy about it.”