“There’s only one word that describes rich, dark, beautiful and rare.  I’m gonna call you – MAHOGANY…”

Ok so let me set the scene:

DiANA ROSS is Tracy Chambers, a young aspiring fashion designer from the slums of Chicago. She has dreams.  BiG DREAMS.  She wants to rise above the poverty and slums of Chicago and into heights of grandeur she believes she will find only in the fashion world.   So Tracy works damn hard and puts herself through fashion school in the hopes of becoming one of the world’s top designers.

Eventually she gets discovered by a shady but renowned photographer named Sean (ANTHONY PERKiNS), who changes her name, to MAHOGANY and propels her into SUPERMODEL status.  Not before ripping her from the arms of her true love Brian (BiLLY DEE WiLLiAMS), a wannabe congressman whose ardor for political justice is ludicrous to the inhabitants of his Chicago neighborhood, not excluding Tracy.  Her ambition leads her to Rome with Sean the creepy photographer, spurring a choice between the man she loves or her new found success as a supermodel.

But if you really want to know the end to this story I suggest you march out and rent MAHOGANY yourself.  I swear it will not disappoint.

And just a little bit of TRIViA about this stylish film:

DiANA ROSS designed all of the clothes worn in MAHOGANY herself, and they are a highlight of this otherwise over the top movie.  It took her eight months, almost twice as long as it took to shoot the film.  She designed 50 outfits.

This BERRY GORDY directed chronicle opens with a glow-in-the-dark Asian inspired fashion show, not intended for the demure.  Pensive face models file down the runway adorned in pre-natural wigs and geisha make-up.  Their gowns are uniquely escapist, surreal and created by MAHOGANY.   Throughout the film MAHOGANY is transformed into an ebony goddess, eccentric mermaid, Indian sheik, glamor girl, Egyptian queen, Hawaiian beauty, and most importantly – MAHOGANY.  I love them all.   <3