Moo Deng among New York Times’ 63 ‘most stylish people’ of 2024
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The New York Times list has raised eyebrows over some odd inclusions, even leaving aside viral baby pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Celebrity baby pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng has been seen just about everywhere in 2024, and her latest appearance is on The New York Times’ (NYT) 63 most stylish people of 2024 list – which has raised eyebrows over some odd inclusions, even leaving aside the four-month-old viral star.
Released on Dec 5, the list included the Seine River in France and New York City mascot Ellie the Elephant, among celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and influencers like Campbell Puckett, who shot to fame after her husband was recorded calling her “pookie”.
Under Moo Deng’s inclusion, NYT simply wrote: “She bit. She screamed. She conquered hearts the world over
NYT’s fashion news editor Anthony Rotunno had said in the list’s introduction that the 63 names, which were placed in no particular order, “emerged as those that may come to mind when asked to picture 2024”.
Reiterating that style is “subjective”, he added: “Each made us look, think and talk about the clothes we wear, the ways we live, or the approaches we take to personal style and self-expression.”
Proving that style is indeed subjective, netizens took to NYT’s Instagram page, leaving numerous comments criticising the year’s crop of picks.
Among several complaints, user @natsturzl said: “You’re not a stylish person if you’re professionally dressed by a team of stylists.”
Another user criticised the list for featuring only famous people, while others questioned if it was all just a joke.
The yearly list published by NYT has been the subject of confusion over the years, with the 2022 iteration including American politician John Fetterman – known for wearing hoodies and gym shorts on the Senate floor – whose own wife was in disbelief when she posted about it on X, then known as Twitter.
