Second Style Magazine Publisher: Being Black Is A Benefit

"I love the way the darker tones look with a lot of the really popular color palettes.."- Celebrity Trollop- Publisher, Second Style Magazine

Who always has the skinny on the latest fashion designs sweeping over sims in Second Life? Of course it's the publisher of Second Style, SL's hottest fashion magazine.

When I caught up with Celebrity Trollop, the force behind the SL publication that receives nearly 60,000 unique visitors to their web properties which includes Second Style Magazine, Men's Second Style (blog for all things male fashion), Second Style Fashionista (women's fashions), a podcast "Stylecast" and a Second Style Fashion Network which is a federation of top notch fashion blogs that cover a specific niche like hair, freebies, shoes, and "sexy stuff" their fashion magazine, various blogs and spin off fashion publications.

Back in early 2006, Celebrity rezzed in-world and immediately became a fashion magnet. She admits spending up to $150 real life dollar per month, dressing up her avatar. She decided that she needed a way to keep track of all of the new releases that she wanted to check out, so she started blogging about them. Only 10 days after she launched her fashion blog, she had a private meeting with Second Style's magazine's Josie Hamilton. In preparation for the launch her magazine and Josie needed an editor with a detailed fashion sense to pull together all of the editorial. Celebrity agreed to do it.

When Josie decided to take a break from SL, Celebrity jumped in and purchased the publication turning it into a landmark Second Life publication. But, just how are the Second Life fashion trends created in a virtual world where anyone can virtually become a stylist?

"We have a monthly staff meeting where Iris Ophelia, who is my managing editor, collects ideas for upcoming issues from our whole staff," Celebrity says. "I'd say we have a pulse on what's popular and stylish in SL during any given month with our amazing staffers."

Over the course of her career as a fashion guru on Second Life, Celebrity's avatar has undergone a dramatic change that may reflect her love for her personal beauty icons Tyra Banks, Iman and Naomi Campbell. Her 'tan' has deepened significantly, and is now considered to be an Afro-inspired skin. Celebrity, who is a white male in real life says that there is a pronounced benefit to wearing dark skin in the fashion world.

"To be honest I love the way the darker tones look with a lot of the really popular color palettes," Celebrity reveals. "What makes silver and gold metallics pop? Dark skin. What kind of canvas plays off bright neon colors to stunning effect? Dark skin. Now, since I've made the choice to be dark skinned in SL, I'd have to say I've become more conscious of the fact that there are a lot more pale skin tones around me."

"My true feeling is that being Black in Second Life has only been a benefit to me," Celebrity continues. "I love how my avatar looks and I get tons of compliments, seriously, look at my flickr page, on the way I style her. As far as experiencing "blackness" in SL, I'm not really sure that I have. I can't say that I've had anyone overtly change the way they behave around me since I've switched skin tones that I've noticed. Most people accept your avatar as she is, whether she's a plywood box or a dark skinned fashion model.