Whitney Manney’s fresh prints: How one KC designer’s life got flipped-turned upside down by a call from ‘Bel Air’

Whitney Manney in Black History Month photo shoot for WHITNEYMANNEY + Joann

When the Kansas City-provoked reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” begins streaming Sunday, its creator won’t be the only recognizable local name to roll in the credits.  “This has been a dream opportunity,” said Whitney Manney, founder of the WHITNEYMANNEY (WM) fashion label, announcing her participation in costuming “Bel-Air” — the dramatic retelling of…

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MTV veteran’s new docu-series crowns ‘greatest startup on The Blox,’ evolving reality TV beyond ‘messy’ sensationalism 

Season 1 cast of "The Blox"; photo courtesy of Weston Bergmann

The premiere of a 17-episode, gamified entrepreneurship challenge marks a pivot in reality TV — as “Shark Tank meets Top Chef” within a competition show that focuses more on startup development than sensational conflict. “We weren’t prepared to go down a ‘messy’ reality TV path, because we don’t want to exploit or hurt entrepreneurs. But,…

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