Feminist icon (and ’70s fashion icon in her own right) Gloria Steinem has become even more of a pop culture mainstay, now that she’s appeared in a series of Kate Spade promotional videos touting the benefits of dining alone, for ladies. The video is part three of the brands “#Missadventure” series, which star Anna Kendrick.
Feminist reactions inevitably contain multitudes: No doubt thousands of righteous heads are shaking at Steinem’s venture into rank commercialism; others are saying “told you so” and others are applauding the charming enough spot, which features actress Kendrick eating alone at the Russian Tea Room and talking to her (Kate Spade) gnome purse, only to realize Steinem is also dining alone behind her because that’s what powerful women do, I guess.
The company also released two short videos of Steinem talking about the empowerment of dining alone, her career and her life as a writer. “I hope there’s something in [my success]that makes people find their own lives…and also reach out for humanity,” she says. And presumably, also reach out for a functional yet high-end deisgner purse.