Southamptons

I can’t help but open my big fat mouth today about WWD’s blatantly irresponsible content decisions in running a story entitled “Blood and Guts in the Hamptons.”

The fashion industry’s trade publication—the bible of all things retail, fashion and design that can affect how investors feel about the sector and what foreigners read to keep on top of the U.S. retail market—reported on ROADKILL today. That’s right. Is this roadkill preventing textiles mills from producing fabrics for the upcoming collections? No. Is this roadkill the latest accoutrement to Jeremy Scott’s next collection? No. The big story that deserves a quarter of page four in today’s edition is about how socialites and various notable media personas are noting an increased number of dead animals—aka, roadkill—on the byways of the Hamptons.

Former New York Times Style writer Alex Kuczynski, astutely observes about Southampton: “I’ve seen two dead squirrels on South Main Street this summer, and I’ve never seen two dead squirrels on South Main Street before.”

Are you kidding me? I’m mortified that Kuczynski (whose writing I don’t actually admire) agreed to lend a quote IN PRINT. It’s not even a story about the media—for which a quote from a member of the media would be apropos. Why in the world is a former NYT style writer an appropriate source for a story on roadkill? Of course, let’s not forget the fact that the story is ludicrous in the first place. So my question is akin to asking why J. Edgar Hoover chose to wear tan stockings and not nude when he dressed in drag.

I get it that in the past year WWD has ramped up its celebrity and pop culture reporting—people care. It keeps eyeballs on the page. But roadkill? Unless it’s Lindsay Lohan’s carcass on Montauk Highway (at least she has a leggings line), I don’t want to read about it in WWD. K?

Source: eskimo.com, wwd.com