Kari Skogland is developing a small screen adaptation of R.J. Hernández’s “An Innocent Fashion.” The Emmy-nominated “Handmaid’s Tale” director will exec produce and serve as showrunner on the project.
Published in 2016 and described as a “younger, lighter, and more intersectional ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ meets Brett Easton Ellis’ ‘Glamorama,'” “An Innocent Fashion” tells the story of Elián San Jamar, “a sexually fluid Cuban-American from a working-class background in Corpus Christi, Texas,” the source details. “Changing his name to Ethan St. James, Elián graduates Yale and heads to New York City – where he confronts the reality of the millennial fairytale through a cut-throat internship at a prestigious fashion title. The biting truth of his ennui and the reality of the limitations his background places on him catch up to Ethan as he navigates the fashion world in the ‘Age of Woke.'”
Skogland’s Mad Rabbit Banner is joining forces with Blonde Mamba, Amelia Baker and Mackenzie Munro’s production house, to develop the series.
“Hernandez’s book is an original and compelling exploration of the American dream through a millennial lens – tackling the realities of privilege and class with biting humor and irresistible flair. We’re thrilled to be working on this adaptation together with Kari at the helm,” said Baker and Munro.
Skogland added, “We are very excited to bring Hernández’s timely story to the screen in collaboration with Amelia and Mackenzie who provide a fresh vision as voices of a new generation.”
An Emmy nominee and BAFTA winner for her work on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Skogland’s other directing credits include “The Loudest Voice,” “The Walking Dead,” and “The Americans.” She’s helming “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” an upcoming Disney+ series set in the Marvel universe.
“I was just told it’s impossible — you will not be able to have a family and direct,” Skogland has said. “And so I decided to embrace making it all normal, kind of making it our family business. My husband is an editor, and in fact he was the first person who hired me as an assistant editor. Then we fell in love and the rest was history. Sadly, the narrative hasn’t really changed and and the numbers haven’t really changed. And that’s not about griping about it, it’s just saying, ‘How is it it hasn’t changed?'” She continued, “I think a female tends not to be able to fail up. I think men often fail up and women generally don’t. So if you’ve made a mistake, you wear it, and it’s really hard to dig yourself out from under that mistake. Having said that, you just do it. And I mentor a lot of women. Not only on set, but I have several people who call me, and I have people that I call — both male and female. And I can say I’ve had as much support from men as I have from women to get past some of these barriers that are gender-specific.”
