Mariah Carey talks Oprah Winfrey, fashion and her new E! series, Mariah’s World
SHE’S known for a buxom, glitzy and occasionally shocking style that’s all her own — but Mariah Carey has now revealed who she turns to for fashion advice.
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IT’S the style advice Oprah Winfrey gave Mariah Carey which the pop diva just can’t bring herself to follow.
The Mariah’s World star has revealed the talk show, publishing and movie mogul gave the five-time, Grammy-winner a tip on how to keep it real in their world of the rich and famous.
“Oprah told me ‘don’t let anybody think that you don’t put your own shoes on anymore’ and she’s really right,” Carey tells viewers in her new E! documentary series, as an assistant laces her into a pair of skyscraper platform heels.
“Problem is, these shoes are abusive and I can’t put them on and I’m not going to lie about,” an exasperated Carey explains to camera.
While the Fantasy singer does her best to stay grounded in this eight-part fly-on-the-wall production, her luxe life and lavish wardrobe choices paint a different portrait of the artist and newly single star.
From the custom pale pink-beaded bridal gown she planned to wear to wed now ex-fiance, James Packer, to her “casual” at-home look of PVC corsets and fishnets, Carey is anything but your average real housewife of Hollywood.
Speaking to vogue.com.au, Carey said while she had a team of stylists who “like to dress me up like Barbie,” it was her children, five-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan, who gave her the best wardrobe advice.
“They do have their own opinions about what they like … how they like my hair to look, the ensemble. If anything, I’ll ask them if they like this dress, and it’s so funny because Monroe, my daughter is like ‘I like that one better, I like that one, Mommy, or that dress is not pretty because it’s not sparkly enough.”
Before Packer abruptly ended their 10-month engagement last month, the singer and songwriter took her Mariah’s World film crew to a wedding dress fitting — showing fans a glimpse of the fitted, princess-style couture gown, featuring a belted waist and delicate lace, embroidered with white sequins and pale pink beading, she had planned to wear.
Her daughter, nicknamed Roe (and named after her movie idol, Marilyn) also had a flower girl dress chosen and is filmed gasping at her “pretty momma.”
Son, Moroccan (their father is TV presenter, Nick Cannon), marvels at his mother and says, innocently: “She looks like she’s gonna start to marry somebody.”
But by the first episode’s end, the wedding is already looking shaky as Carey makes the decision to postpone the nuptials, originally planned for March, so she can focus on her 27-concert, 25 country Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour.
Before the Heartbreaker singer could complete her tour commitments, Packer would break off their engagement.
It is understood he was not interested in being a part of the E! documentary but appears briefly on camera in the premiere and as an awkward plus-one in scenes previewed throughout the season.
Carey has made it clear she intends to keep the $10 million, 35-karat diamond ring Packer presented her when he proposed in New York last January (and under Californian law is entitled to do so as a consolation for being dumped).
While rumours have already linked Carey to her back-up dancer Bryan Tanaka, who flirts outrageously with his tour boss, the performer has struggled to find lasting love from the men in her life.
Interestingly, she introduces the audience to her nephew Shawn McDonald who works for his famous aunty but is not so impressed by her racy wardrobe choices.
In denial about her penchant for plunging necklines, he refers to them as “turtle necks” and explains: “when she came out with ‘Touch My Body’ I renamed it ‘Touch My Elbow’ so that I could be comfortable with it.”
The son of Carey’s estranged sister Alison is filmed aboard the luxury yacht Packer rented his one-time bride-to-be in Capri, Italy; with both reflecting on how far they had come from their dysfunctional background.
“We did not grow up this way, people … you have to understand this,” Carey said, with McDonald adding, “this [lavish lifestyle] was not normal back in the day,” possibly alluding to his mother’s work as a prostitute, her drug addiction and subsequent disconnection from her family.
“There were a lot of economic and other difficulties when we were growing up and one of the reasons that I admire Mimi [Carey’s family nickname] is that she overcame that,” McDonald said.
Mariah’s World premieres at 1pm and 9.30pm, on Monday, December 5 on Foxtel’s E! channel.
Originally published as Mariah Carey talks Oprah Winfrey, fashion and her new E! series, Mariah’s World
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