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“Why do we need three shawl cardigans?” J. Crew president Mickey Drexler asks a stylish gaggle of his buyers. He doesn’t pause for a response. “We don’t!” Put on your colorblock stripe scoopneck tee and old faithful-wash jeans, UnBeige readers, because America’s favorite hands-on merchant and his latest success story are the subject of a documentary that premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on CNBC. Reported by David Faber (get that man a Ludlow suit!), J.Crew and the Man Who Dressed America unbuttons the piped wool hacking jacket to peek inside the retailer, which has seen revenues rocket by 170%—to $1.9 billion last year—since Drexler took the helm in 2003. Even longtime Drexler followers and die-hard J. Crew fans are likely to learn something in segments that follow the months-long process of conceiving, creating, and marketing a new line of clothing. Did you know, for example, that the production of the J. Crew catalog requires 120 shooting days a year? Or that the Garden City, New York store is something of a laboratory, where window displays and merchandising are perfected—and where new stuff hits racks first? And we like any CNBC program in which a Gerhard Richter book makes a cameo among the cashmere (look sharp toward the end of the first clip below). Meanwhile, we’d love to see Drexler’s motivational mantra on a tissue tee: “Cut back, sell out, and be very happy!”

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

With its Nick at Nite orgins, TV Land has long been associated with classic sitcoms such as Bewitched, Mister Ed, and the infectious, toe-tapping opening credits of My Three Sons. The network’s stylized logo (at left), evoking the technicolor geo-whimsy of the zippy 1950s, was a perfect fit for that programming, but when the TV Land line-up evolved to include more modern syndicated shows (Everybody Loves Raymond, Boston Legal) and orginal programming devoid of nuclear families and happy homemaker-witches in prim dresses (Hot in Cleveland, The Exes), its branding remained tied to the atomic age. Enter Trollbäck + Company, which in its latest branding project for the network has undertaken the first logo reinvention in the 16-year history of TV Land.

“Given our familiarity with the brand, we knew that the logo was due for an overhaul to shake off some old perceptions,” says executive creative director Jacob Trollbäck, whose New York-based firm has tweaked the network’s branding in three previous projects. The new look is rolling out this month, with a modern edge, bold colors, and a fresh tagline (“Laugh More”). “The new horizontal logo locks up with type neatly,” notes T+Co creative director Anna Minkkinen, “allowing us to constantly reinforce the brand connection between the network and the shows.” Check out a montage that features the new branding here.

Ai Weiwei’s “Study of Perspective – Tiananmen” (1995–2003). Photo courtesy of the artist.

Art21 is back with more Art in the Twenty-First Century. The sixth season of the TV series premieres tonight on PBS (check your local listings) with “Change,” an episode featuring documentary profiles of Catherine Opie, El Anatsui, and Ai Weiwei. The latter segment proved particularly challenging to complete, as Chinese authorites arrested Ai midway through filming. He was detained for 81 days (and charged with a $2 million tax bill), and Art21 arranged one of the first on-camera interviews with him after his release. In that conversation, which took place in his Beijing studio, Ai discussed his marble sculpture of a surveillance camera, which, he says is used to “secretly monitor people’s behavior.” “But once it’s marble” he continues, “it’s only being watched. It’s not functioning anymore.” Opie’s camera is always working, and tonight’s episode follows the photographer as she works on projects in Sandusky, Ohio (her childhood hometown) and her current home base of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, Anatsui and his studio assistants transform old bottle caps into amazing sculptures. Here’s a video sneak peek at the season, which will also feature artists such as Marina Abramović, Glenn Ligon, and Sarah Sze.
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Now that Andy Rooney has gone to that big grumpychamber in the sky, Morley Safer has taken over the role of irascible clean-up hitter for the doddering team of Bad News Bears that is 60 Minutes. In the final minutes of yesterday’s show, timed appropriately to coincide with April Fool’s Day, Safer filed a follow-up to the infamous 1993 segment in which he poked fun at the world of contemporary art, rolling his eyes at the work of everyone from Cy Twombly and Robert Ryman to Jean-Michel Basquiat (“heaven-sent for hype”) and a bright-eyed up and comer named Jeff Koons. Nearly twenty years later, CBS News sent Safer back to the front lines: Art Basel Miami Beach, where we spotted him last December toward the end of the VIP preview, looking gloomy and flouting the Miami Beach Convention Center’s no smoking policy.

The footage speaks for itself: here is Safer posing under Erwin Wurm’s giant police officer’s cap, there he is lobbing softballs at Larry Gagosian (“This place has become one of the places that someone like yourself have to show at?”), all interspersed with shots of parties, concerts (infernal rock music!), and the occasional graph that depicts the climbing valuation of the art market since Safer last visited. A chat with the whipsmart Guggenheim curator Alexandra Monroe about the likes of Anish Kapoor and Haegue Yang is harvested for “artspeak” soundbites, a row of Nick Cave’s Soundsuits is used for a segment-capping punchline, and don’t even get him started on video art. The conclusion: Safer still doesn’t like this contemporary art stuff, but we did notice one person he seems to be warming up to: Kara Walker. When Eli Broad beams over a recently acquired Walker, Safer refers to her as “a truly gifted young American artist.” Walker is sure to be delighted.

“I’ve worked very hard in a very short time to gain Michael and Felice’s trust,” a deadpan Jeff Lewis confides to the camera, less than 24 hours into his five-day, live-in makeover of the Steinbeck family’s Brentwood home. “Unfortunately, that trust gets questioned when water starts leaking out of the ceiling in the hall.” Bring on the busted pipes and twisted family dynamics, because the persnickety house flipper is back with a new show, Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis, which premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on Bravo. The frantic project juggling of Flipping Out (now filming its sixth season) is here replaced with feverish yet focused efforts to identify and solve the problems of homeowners, whose cramped closets or shabby bathroom may be symptoms of deeper conflicts—whether turning a child’s bedroom into a posh closet is the best solution is up to the viewer to decide.

Each episode follows Lewis and trusty assistant Jenni Pulos as they move into someone else’s house and get down to business: finding flaws, discreetly rolling their eyes, chatting with adorable children, and calling in reserves (sassy-but-lovable housekeeper Zoila Chavez, a contractor and his ever-growing crew) to accomplish considerable feats of design within the allotted five days. “On Flipping Out, you don’t always get to see the finished products,” said Lewis on a recent press call. “With Interior Therapy, it’s a true before-and-after reveal, which I like, because I get to see the project all the way through, and then so do the viewers.” Tonight’s premiere episode involves a domineering wife, a wildly ambitious tiling scheme (marble, herringbone), and a shopping trip to the aptly named “Interior Illusions.” When a conflict-soothing headboard gets wedged in the stairwell, the only option is cringe-inducing: “Open the wall!” barks the contractor. And for all of his smirking asides, Lewis’s softer side does emerge—occasionally—on the new show. “These people had problems. It wasn’t just about the design, and I really became a champion for them. I really cared about them,” said Lewis, pausing for a beat. “Some of them, not all of them!”
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Follow the conversations @juneambrose has with her “style socials” (or Twitter followers to you and me), and one thing becomes clear: people either want to dress like her or be her. So, in the final installment of our Media Beat interview, we got the celebrity stylist and star of VH1′s Styled by June to tell us the biggest mistake aspiring stylists make on the job.

“[A lack of] Osmosis. You know, sometimes, just sitting back and just sucking it all in, you learn so much,” Ambrose said. “When you’re new on the scene, I’ll definitely ask you trick questions just to kinda see where you are. Humility is your best aspect when you’re entering a new area, and I learned that. I would just sit around and just listen.”

But what about fashion courses — are they worth it? And how does a newbie afford the clothes necessary for editorial shoots? Watch the full video to find out.

Part 1: June Ambrose on Styling Diddy, Jay-Z and Hip-Hop’s Most Iconic Videos
Part 2: June Ambrose Collection to Bring ‘Disco to Daytime’
Bonus! Stylist June Ambrose on Her Trademark Turban

Perhaps it’s the proliferation of crystal-clear HD televisions, the ascendance of 2012 Colors of the Year Tangerine Tango (Pantone’s pick) and Terracotta Rose (the ruddier hue favored by AkzoNobel), or simply a sign of the coming apocalypse, but companies of all kinds are suddenly enamored with the same vibrant pitchman: Roy G. Biv. Fresh from the “full spectrum”-themed TED Conference, we can’t help but notice that it’s color, color, everywhere on TV commercials, whether they’re touting pricey accessories, cheap n’ cheerful throw pillows, or the newest services of a big-box retailer. In these three rainbow-rific spots, color gets downright aggressive: running amok as a boldly costumed Parkour troupe for Target (“Color Changes Everything”), as “Sans Cans” paint flowing freely in the streets for Lowe’s, and slapping unassuming headphone-wearers upside the head for Beats by Dr. Dre. The take-home message: resistance is futile, color is coming for you, probably in the form of a limber European gentleman dressed in head-to-toe cyan.
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Whether showing that turbans can be chic or bringing her cutting-edge style to contestants on The X Factor, June Ambrose often has the fashion world falling at her feet. And she single-handedly upgraded hip-hop’s street corner image with her innovative approach to music videos. (See this and this.)

In our Media Beat interview, Ambrose explained how she tapped into her West Indian roots for one of her most iconic looks: those shiny suits donned by Diddy and Mase in Notorious B.I.G‘s posthumous “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” clip.

“I showed [Diddy] the red metallic and he said, ‘I am not wearing that.’ I had to make one red leather outfit and one metallic leather outfit and… I won!” the star of VH1′s Styled by June said.

“You have to go into this business very fearless, and you have to have integrity for what you do… I said to him, ‘You have to just trust me. I know that sounds wild, but I put my career on this moment. I’m telling you it will make a huge difference.’ Once he saw the first take and he looked at playback, he looked at me and said ‘okay.’ And that was the beginning of not only a great working relationship, but a great friendship.”

Part 2: June Ambrose Collection to Bring ‘Disco to Daytime’
Part 3: June Ambrose on How to Become a Fashion Stylist
Bonus! Stylist June Ambrose on Her Trademark Turban

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We sat down with celebrity stylist June Ambrose for Media Beat recently to talk about her work as a celebrity stylist, how other fashionistas can break into the biz, and what to expect from her upcoming VH1 show, Styled By June. The full interview airs Monday, but here’s a bonus clip where Ambrose tells how she came up with her trademark turban. “People would tweet and say, ‘Oh, black women can’t pull off a turban. They end up looking like mammy dolls.’ Oh really?” Ambrose said. “I’ll show you how it’s done.”

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Watch the full interview with June Ambrose:

Part 1:June Ambrose on Styling Diddy, Jay-Z and Hip-Hop’s Most Iconic Videos
Part 2: June Ambrose Collection to Bring ‘Disco to Daytime’
Part 3: June Ambrose on How to Become a Fashion Stylist

“Miffy and Friends is a Claymation series based on the children’s books by the Dutch artist Dick Bruna, who created the character in 1955. The show presented a world so stunningly peaceful that I dreamed of entering it myself. It was drawn in the minimalist, mouthless style of Hello Kitty. (The brand sued the owner of the popular Japanese character for ripping off Bruna’s style; the two sides recently settled in court.) Its heroine (at right) lived with her animal friends in an idyllic Dutch town, but none of them spoke; their small dramas were narrated in voice-over. The pace was slow. The colors—red, blue, and yellow—were brilliant. It was like a shelter magazine for toddlers. The mood was so lulling that when, in one sequence, Miffy gave her broken toy a small, frustrated kick, my husband was startled. Yet, meditative as the show was, Miffy was a jolt to my expectations. This was children’s TV? Why was it so beautiful?”

-Critic Emily Nussbaum examining the renaissance in children’s programming, in the February 13 and 20 issue of The New Yorker