This week's announcement that Jane's next issue will be the magazine's last has resulted in some unexpected drama for The Fashionista Diaries, a new still-in-production SOAPnet docu-reality series that's been following Rachel Jacoby and Andrew Kanakis, two assistants that work at the magazine.
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The Fashionista Diaries' film crews have been following Jacoby, Kanakis and four other assistants as they sharpen their skills in the world of fashion, beauty and publishing by working at three different companies -- Flirt Cosmetics, Seventh House PR and Jane, which is published by Conde Nast Publications. However Conde Nast president and CEO Charles H. Townsend announced Monday that Jane would cease publishing following its August 2007 issue, throwing a kink into The Fashionista Diaries' plans to continue filming Jacoby and Kanakis working there.
Despite Jane's shutdown, Jacoby and Kanakis won't be completely out of a job, as SOAPnet spokeswoman Jori Petersen told Reality TV World on Thursday that Jacoby and Kanakis will "absolutely remain" two of the assistants featured on The Fashionista Diaries.
"We're looking to reassign them," Peterson told Reality TV World, before adding that SOAPnet has yet to determine if the pair will end up reassigned to another Conde Nast publication (the magazine giant publishes more than two dozen other magazines, including Allure, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W) or working for another company.
Because Jane's shutdown is occurring while The Fashionista Diaries is still filming -- SOAPnet began production on the series in early May -- Peterson said Jacoby and Kanakis' employment there will still be featured in the show's "first six episodes," which will include footage of the two attending the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) ceremony to conduct celebrity interviews for the now defunct publication.
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"One-hundred percent of the two assistants will remain a part of the show, and the closing [of Jane] will probably be a part of it," Deborah Blackwell, SOAPnet's general manager, had told The New York Observer on Tuesday. "It's a day of great drama, but it'll be great TV that way, too."
Fellow The Fashionista Diaries assistants Janjay Sherman and Tina Patient will continue to work as assistants at Flirt Cosmetics, a brand from the BeautyBank division of the Este Lauder Companies; while Nicole Amendolare and Bridget Helene will also continue to be employed at Seventh House PR, a boutique public relations agency specializing in fashion.
The Fashionista Diaries remains scheduled to premiere Wednesday, August 1 at 9PM ET/PT on SOAPnet.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio