Art, Culture, Creatives, Humanism
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Actor, activist, wife of Ryan Gosling and mom to their two daughters, Eva Mendes is a fabulously sensual woman. Much of American culture would call her a sex bomb.
Eva Mendes also calls herself a sex bomb, highly influenced by her husband’s deep appreciation for her sex appeal.
I asked AI to explain how neuroimaging would differentiate brain activity in a person who particularly enjoys fragrant flowers, dancing, and swimming with heightened awareness and intense pleasure. Someone like Eva Mendes.
AOC has been a huge fan of brain science for years because our brains are truthful when different regions are activited.
The basic idea I want to communicate is that our brains are a fingerprint of sorts of who we are. In the case of Eva Mendes, I promise you that she has highly-elevated SPS, as defined in point 4.
She also has elevated Openness to Experience, as defined in my Louis Vuitton analysis from Monday, see final notes in article link.
Doechii Covers British Vogue August 2025 Issue, Lensed by Elizaveta Porodina
I’ll not derail this spectacular British Vogue [IG] August 2025 issue cover story starring Doechii, with the origin of the expression ‘hell on wheels’. Or how it morphed into a gender-specific phrase applied to women.
Stella Greenspan styles Doechii in regal clothes from top luxury houses, lensed by Elizaveta Porodina.
Vogue writer Jazmine Hughes, author of Doechii’s cover story ‘“I Was Born To Do This”: Hip-Hop Disruptor Doechii On The Year She Entered The Stratosphere’ covers a wide berth in the interview.
Life is good for Florida’s self-described Swamp Princess, who grew up in Tampa, Fla. Here we get a taste of Doechii’s sound.
Naomi Campbell Taps Humanity's Origins in Dazed Magazine 'Celebration' Issue 2025
Supermodel Naomi Campbell takes one cover of Dazed Magazine’s [IG] Summer 2025 issue, the last one under the editorial vision of IB Kamara, who also photographs Naomi.
The glorious Naomi Campbell channels humanity’s oldest African origins and self-adornment using beads, shells and hair collages made of twigs, real flowers, leaves and even stones and butterflies that honor the deep ties between humans and nature.
Transit In and Out of Africa Was Not a One-Way Ticket
No discovery has unseated the region of Lake Turkana, which includes the Omo Valley of southern Ethiopia and the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, as the route humans took out of Africa into the Levant.
AOC readers understand the attempts by white nationalists to press the case for a superior group of humans who came from the north, eventually reaching the Levant themselves. Anne has a personal mission to follow this argument very closely.
Out of Africa and into Bronze Age Canaan
After sharing critical new DNA info on Africans carrying Neanderthal DNA at much higher levels than previously tested [blowing out the white men from the north theory], AOC moves to recent DNA analysis that proves as high as 30% shared DNA between Palestinian and Jewish men with ancestors living together as Bronze Age Canaanites.
Charlotte Gainsbourg for W Magazine Korea Vol.7 'Women In Motion' by Peter Ash Lee
Charlotte Gainsbourg takes a cover of W Magazine Korea [IG] Vol.7 July 2025 ‘Women In Motion’ issue. Peter Ash Lee [IG] captures the actor wearing Saint Laurent throughout the fashion story, styled by Shin Kim, with creative direction by Nat Canguilhem, who also collaborated with Nicolas Salet aka ne3ko on last week’s Saint Laurent SS2026 mens show in Paris. / Hair by Yuji Okuda; Yusaku Nakahara
The Saint Laurent talent shares that making the documentary ‘Jane by Charlotte’ about her mother Jane Birkin became a very complex endeavor.
The problem is that I started without knowing what I wanted. That must have been dissatisfied with mom. Because I was too vague. Mom must have thought I would make a documentary about her professional life and work. I didn't want to make something that would have already been made about my mother, and I wanted a much more personal story. So my mother was uncomfortable with my approach at first, and eventually stopped working for about 2 years. In the meantime, I came to understand what I really wanted to do.
The Paradise of El Hierro: Maria Khan by Xavi Gordo for Bazaar Spain
Harper’s Bazaar Spain [IG] May 2025 devotes an issue to the theme of water, with model Maria Khan lensed by Xavi Gordo [IG] in ‘Acqua’.
The island of El Hierro embraces and awes, like the crystal-clear, dark-bottomed water that surrounds it. Among its volcanoes and extraordinary natural sculptures, model María Khan finds peace in this swimwear story, an ode to the power of nature in the most sustainable corner of the Canary Islands.
Over the past few decades, this island has embraced a pioneering approach to sustainability, driven by a commitment to renewable energy and environmental conservation and its UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status.
Maison Keï Akai Presents “Damier” Exhibition Featuring Richard Bernardin until June 30, 2025
Maison Keï Akai is proud to unveil DAMIER, a striking new black-and-white group exhibition opening on Thursday, June 12th, in celebration of Grand Prix Montreal 2025 weekend. Drawing inspiration from the graphic elegance of the iconic checkered flag, the exhibition is a bold homage to the visual language of Formula 1 and the energy it brings to Montreal each summer.
AOC’s pleasure in sharing this Maison Keï Akai news flows from the intersection of multiple events, cultural issues and people who have touched my life in very positive ways.
Richard Bernardin: the Heart of Maison Keï Akai’s ‘Damier Exhibition
Breathing “life, sensuality and wisdom” [all Anne’s words] into the Montreal exhibition is internationally-acclaimed fashion photographer Richard Bernardin, whose evocative large-format black-and-white prints will be prominently featured.
Deva Cassel in Dior for Re-Edition SS2025 | Anne's Thoughts on Nepo Babies
The uber-talented, Dior ambassador Deva Cassel lands a Dior-story in Re-edition Magazine [IG] Spring/Summer 2025 issue 23.
When the NYTimes wrote ‘Nepo Babies Crowd the Runways’ in February 2024, there was some solid commentary from former casting director James Scully and two models we love, love, love.
“Kaia Gerber and Gigi Hadid would have walked into agencies and been signed, whoever their parents were,” Mr. Scully explained. “That said, the net is cast very wide now, and almost anyone will do. If you’re the average-looking daughter of a celebrity these days, then frankly you are as likely to be cast in a Prada show as if you are an actual model.”
Should Nepo Babies Be Banned?
Regarding Deva Cassel, she understands the ‘nepo baby’ label and doesn't view it negatively. Cassel believes that her own abilities and dedication will allow her to succeed beyond her parents’ names, which she agrees brought her to the industry’s attention, got her auditions, interviews and probably her initial small roles.
'Edge of the World' Shot by Alasdair McLellan and Lessons of Ancient Rebellion in a Changing World
The May 2025 issue of Bazaar Italia adds a wonderful phrase in translation with a new twist. It inquires what beauty is for us, beyond a concept reduced to an “orgasm of the ego”.
Rather, this process illuminates the free expression of oneself, which evolves with our person and with the passing of time.
It’s possible — not probable — but possible in the world of fashion, that this focus could take hold not only under the umbrella of humanist thought, but now influenced further by Pope Leo and his beliefs as a member of the Augustinian order.
The Commitment to Educating Oneself: The Good, the Bad and the Indefensible
Augustinians have a deep commitment to the idea that each of us has the opportunity to embark on an inner journey towards understanding and cultivating a deeper relationship with God.
In America, where young white men are the primary drivers of a closer relationship to faith, the focus is regaining control, in my opinion.
There is a much richer vision for young people that is embedded in humanism — as expressed by designer Brunello Cucinelli. Remember that humanism came together in launching the Renaissance with both a secular wing and a religious wing. They were not identical but highly compatible in their views and values.
Txema Yeste at Reiffers Art Center in Paris until May 31, 2025 | Txema Yeste Renewed on AOC
Spanish photographer Txema Yeste[IG] is one of Anne of Carversville’s favorite photographers. His style vision is boldly elegant, color-saturated and deeply committed to a sensual portrayal of a wide variety of strong women.
The AOC Archives for Yeste begin in 2011, and they number 120 entries.
Long before fashion was committed to a wider representation of women in marketing, Txema Yeste was regularly photographing women of color — EVERY skin color from South Sudan to Seoul, Korea.
Txema Yeste & Numéro are on view in Paris May 21 - May 31, 2025
Reiffers Art Center; 30 rue des Acacias; Paris 17, FR
Artsy shares an overview of all Yeste’s 41 works in the show. Here’s a sampling:
Highgrove X Burberry Supports The King’s Foundation with 4th Capsule
Burberry has launched its fourth capsule in partnership with Highgrove, the foundation dedicated to funding Highgrove Gardens, which surround the private residence of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
This ongoing collaboration with Highgrove also promotes the work of The King’s Foundation, a charity founded by then Prince of Wales in 1990 to support now King Charles III’s philosophy of Harmony: that by understanding the balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world, we can create a more sustainable future.
The latest 28-piece Highgrove X Burberry collection has collaborated with British artist Helen Bullock [IG], who has created four artworks inspired by the Kitchen Garden at Highgrove. Bullock said in a statement: “The Gardens are so vast and rich it was hard to decide where to start. But I soon fell for the tangled sway of wildflowers and that special combination of dancing poppies and cosmos.”
Pope Leo the 14th; The Augustinian Order; Renaissance Humanism; and Brunello Cucinelli
The Catholic Augustinian Order, formally known as the Order of Saint Augustine, traces its origins to the early centuries of Christianity, inspired by the teachings and rule of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Saint Augustine, a pivotal figure in early Christian theology, emphasized a communal life dedicated to the pursuit of truth, charity, and devotion to God, principles that became foundational to the order.
America has delivered our 1st pope to the world community on this day May 8, 2025, and he is an Augustinian. In this moment, Anne of Carversville assures readers that this is a brilliant choice, one that does not surprise me at all, when I read his curriculum vitae over the weekend.
'Superfine' Met Exhibition Catalogue May 2025 Dandy Images by Tyler Mitchell
‘Superfine’ is the official catalogue published in conjunction with the Met Gala Monday night, May 5 and the ‘Superfine’ exhibition running from May 10-October 26, 2025. Rising star photographer Tyler Mitchell [IG],now represented by Gagosian, shot the ‘Superfine’ catalogue and this series of images from it.
In this presentation of catalogue story images, Mitchell works with top stylist Carlos Nazario [IG] to capture dandy-worthy images of artist Ike Ude and models including Abdou Ndoye, Craig Shimirimana, Lamine Seck and Mou Lam./ Hair by Dre Demry Sanders; makeup by Keita Moore; set designer Julia Wagner
Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio's Spirit Surely Enjoyed the Chanel Show at His Villa d'Este
The Cardinal who originally built Villa d’Este in 1568 with architect Pellegrino Tibaldi — home of Chanel’s recent Resort 2025/26 show was Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio. The Cardinal was a self-made man by all reports, a thinker deeply influenced by the movement AOC continually calls out, thanks to Brunello Cucinelli. The philosophy is called ‘humanism’ and even ‘Christian humanism’.
As AOC noted in Anne’s recent post examining the religious views of the controversial US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his embrace of Christian Nationalism and the Crusades, Arab world universities were instrumental in translating and preserving ancient Greek and Roman texts, which would later be transmitted to Europe and spur on the Renaissance.
Anne of Carversville works really hard to find new twists and turns in historical stories for which we believe we have the facts. The role of the Arab world in intellectual discussion and debate about Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and more in Europe’s most valued and prominent universities in the early Renaissance is one of those stories.
Zara Taps Chinese Artist Fanglu Lin in Her First Commercial Project
The commercial alliance covers women, men, kids and home categories and represents the first time the artist has affiliated herself in a commercial venture.
In these Zara campaign images, models Chu Wong and David Yang are lensed by Chris Rhodes [IG] in Yangshuo, Builin [China], considered among the most beautiful locations in China.
Gaia’s Influence Dominates Fanglu Lin’s Artistic Universe
Fanglu Lin is known for her commitment to preserving and reinterpreting traditional textile craftsmanship through the ‘female’ [‘feminist’] eye and goddesses, especially Gaia.
Honoring the Yunnan-based Bai Minority
Lin’s artwork, ‘SHE’ [2016], spotlighting the sewing traditions of women from the Yunnan-based Bai minority ethnic group in China, earned Fanglu Lin first prize and a €50,000 purse in the Loewe Foundation’s Craft Prize 2021.
Zara is firing on all cylinders with this 5-stars collaboration. Learn more about it and Fanglu Lin’s artistry.
Black Enterprise Was a Key Part of New England's Whaling Industry, Including As Ship Owners
At its peak, in the 1850s, the American whaling industry alone employed 50,000 to 70,000 workers who worked on an estimated 700 to 800 ships.
In the decades before cheap oil helped many industries truly take off, whaling played an important, but often overlooked, role in laying the groundwork for the antislavery movement.
Black sailors made up perhaps 20% to 30% of whaling crews. Of these sailors, some were enslaved and used their hard-won earnings to buy their freedom. Some of these sailors went on to finance abolitionist efforts. Others built houses of worship.
Ursula Corberó Covers Vogue España May 2025 in Elizaveta Porodina Excavation
Ursula Corberó covers the May 2025 issue of Vogue Espana [IG], styled by Helena Tejedor in layered images that project her status as a female action hero player.
In her latest performance as Nuria, the unknowing wife of the mysterious assassin, ‘The Jackal’ [played by Eddie Redmayne], Corberó shifts from her usual intense-characters portfolio to one that is more delicate and emotional.
The type of intensity has transformed. Dare we say this reflection of women is more ‘complex’?
Who better to photograph a talented, female actor playing a ‘psychologically complex’ woman than Elizaveta Porodina? [IG] The uber-talented creator of wide-ranging visual portraits of women is comfortable describing the female terrain called ‘dark sorcery’, a term that takes many of us to the historical reality of ‘witch-burning’ — or hanging witches in America — directed primarily against women.
Anne asks: As humans, don’t we create some kind of storyline around the simplest observation we have of another person? What’s our storytelling accuracy rate with the real story behind actors and the life dramas they play out before our eyes? Perhaps 10%?
Porodina and her fellow players explore women’s layered selves with eyes wide open.
Apolline Rocco Fohrer Explores Dadaism As Art in Fashion for W Magazine China AOC Fashion
The January 2025 issue of W Magazine China Vol.1 The Art Issue, carried a story focused on Dadaism, with French model Apolline Rocco Fohrer styled by Austin Feng and lensed by photographer Nick Yang [IG].
Designers influenced by Dadaism began experimenting with deconstruction, tearing apart established shapes and reconstructing garments in playful, unexpected ways. They favored collage techniques, layering fabrics, textures, and prints in an almost haphazard manner, creating multidimensional garments that defied logic and expectation.
This transformative approach allowed fashion to become a canvas for political and social commentary, breaking down the barriers between high art and everyday wear.
Ariana Grande by Elizaveta Porodina in 'Pure Fantasy' for Vogue Italy March 2025
Top talent Ariana Grande gets the Elizaveta Porodina [IG] treatment, styled by Max Ortega for Vogue Italia’s March 2025 issue.
Ariana Grande’s fashion story ‘Pure Fantasy’ ignites marvels among many of her fans, who have never seen her look so ethereal, so mystical, so lovely and other-worldly./ Hair by GaborK; makeup by Michael Anthony
Elizaveta Porodina specializes in transforming her subjects, who have never appeared in images like hers. It’s as if she’s doing a psychological excavation of people’s inner selves — especially women — prompting them to look differently at the human in the mirror.
Gustav Klimt Painting of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona and ‘Human Zoos’
A potentially lost forever, early artwork by renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, missing since the 1930s, is now being exhibited after its recent recovery. The painting portrays Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, a leader of the Ga people from what is now known as Ghana in West Africa. Created in 1897, the portrait shows the prince in profile set against an abstract floral backdrop. Measuring just over 2 feet in height, the compact artwork is being showcased by the Viennese gallery Wienerroither & Kohlbacher (W&K) at the TEFAF Maastricht art fair in the Netherlands, with an asking price of €15 million (approximately $16.3 million).
The Rise of Ethnographic Showcases or ‘Human Zoos’
According to W&K, the painting was created by the artist amid the 1897 Vienna Völkerschau. These Völkerschau exhibitions were ethnographic showcases — also called human zoos — from the colonial era. These widely-attended exhibitions across Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries were often businesses created for financial profit.
AOC is reviewing the totality of Anderson’s work for LOEWE, including work we’ve not shared before. These fashion images capturing the 2018 Loewe x Charles Rennie Mackintosh capsule collection are a perfect example of Anderson’s enormous respect for Arts & Crafts movements worldwide.
The handsome Felix Sueur joined with models Fran Summers and Giselle Norman in the Loewe x Charles Rennie Mackintosh capsule collection lookbook lensed by fashion photographer Craig McDean with styling by Benjamin Bruno. /Hair by Anthony Turner; makeup by Lynsey Alexander
Designer Jonathan Anderson Resigns As Loewe’s Creative Director After 11 Years
The news was confirmed Monday, March 17 following months of speculation about the evolving chess game supporting creative talent at LVMH. The question is whether all players will be in place in a day or two, or the completion wait goes on.
After spending hours revisiting Jonathan Anderson’s body of work, taking the reins at Dior would be absolute perfection for him. Both Anderson are Chiuri are humanists, with a profound attachment to craft and human artistry. Both designers embrace the entire international community at large and are devoted to honoring history in fresh, new ways.
To seal the deal for AOC, watching the LOEWE Pre-Spring/Summer 2025 Campaign video, Lilith’s name appears as 1800 BC in the upper left hand corner of the art studio segment. That love note to feminists and Jewish women nails it for Jonathan Anderson at Anne of Carversiville.
Pharrell Williams Carries the Olympic Torch Onwards to UNESCO for Louis Vuitton Men
The Louis Vuitton Men Spring 2025 campaign, lensed by Stef Mitchell with Gabriel Moses [IG] as photographer and director, The visual effects continue the major themes Louis Vuitton Men creative director Pharrell Williams introduced at his fashion show held in Paris at UNESCO House.
This season Vuitton Men teamed up with Air Afrique in Paris, a consultancy inspired by those glorious years when all things seemed possible, and a multicultural youth quake took hold around the world.
After his recent role representing Louis Vuitton and his adopted country of France at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Williams was feeling the love of his own humanrace [Pharrell’s skincare brand] family.
Gigi Hadid Inspires a Jazz Age Dive into the Harlem Renaissance
Supermodel Gigi Hadid graces the cover of American Vogue’s April 2025 issue, styled by Alex Harrington in ‘Jazz Age’ inspired, fashion opulence. Annie Leibovitz [IG] captures the story in the buildup to the 2025 Met Gala’ on Monday, May 5.
A Fusion of Talent, Creativity and Extraordinary Financial Wealth
The Harlem Renaissance was a time of rich cultural exchange and collaboration between African American artists and intellectuals and their white counterparts. While it was fundamentally rooted in the celebration of African American culture, the period was also marked by significant interracial interactions, particularly in the realms of art, literature, and music.
Those white counterparts were other artists themselves. And white patrons also played a crucial role in the movement's development by providing financial support and exposure opportunities for Black artists, in particular.
Hotel Stories: The Ritz Paris Founders César and Marie-Louise Ritz
From the outset, the Ritz Paris, one of the most iconic luxury hotels in the world, set new benchmarks for luxury and hospitality, drawing an elite clientele that included royalty, politicians, artists, and writers. The hotel's origins are deeply intertwined with the vision and standards of César Ritz, whose legacy continues to influence luxury hospitality today at Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide.
AOC is exploring the history of Ritz Paris, the lives of people staying at the hotel and also its founders. I’m struck writing the first words with the idea of forming a timeline around great luxury brands.
We have Louis Vuitton arriving in Paris as a young man with little money in 1837 and César Ritz arriving 30 years later. The Ritz Paris opened in 1898, the year after Guccio Gucci arrived in London in 1897, finding work as a bellhop at the Savoy Hotel.
RIMOWA x GEWA Trumpet Case Collab
RIMOWA delivers again in this cooly-beautiful collaboration with historic German brand GEWA — first founded in 1925 in Adorf, and today a leading designer and manufacturer of world-class musical instruments.
The limited-edition piece represents more than just functional luxury. The result is a masterfully-crafted case that protects not only the instruments it carries, but also the artistry of its musicians.
Humanist Brand Values
AOC has long complimented RIMOWA for its embrace of cultural creatives values. We’re changing our vocab going forward, to speak more simply.
Today, we compliment RIMOWA as a brand with humanist values. AOC speaks separately to the Oaxaca women horn players film timed with this collab.
Tyler Mitchell's Three Beauties -- Anok, Awar, Mona on Jekyll Island, Ga -- in Vogue Magazine
Top models Anok Yai, Awar Odhiang and Mona Tougaard surely had a deeply emotional experience, working with stylist Camilla Nickerson in this ancient roots fashion story for Vogue, shot by Tyler Mitchell [IG] in Jekyll Island, Georgia.
Key Points About Jekyll Island
1] the human and ecological history of Jekyll Island, which now dates back to 2500 BC and the indigenous Native American tribes, predominantly the Guale people who lived there; 2] the arrival of the Europeans and slavery on the island; 3] the rise on Jekyll Island of an aristocratic cafe society getaway culture in the 1920s that parallels the same rise in Europe
Blame WWD: If Daniel Lee Is Taking a Final Burberry Bow Monday, AOC Is All In for Kim Jones
New Burberry CEO Josh Schulman is much more focused on the heritage DNA of the Burberry brand, and less so on the runway. Burberry also needs a storyteller, in AOC’s opinion.
Anne had a Eureka moment a few weeks back, weaving Kim Jones’ departure from Dior Men into a new reality: “The future for Kim Jones will include his work with Charleston Trust, where the designer became a vice president in fall 2024.”
Let’s talk British Heritage, Burberry
When Kim Jones made his couture debut at Fendi, he packed up Kate Moss to create ‘Kate Moss at Charleston, Wearing Kim Jones Fendi Couture.’
Olivia Singer interviewed Kim Jones in East Sussex, where he bought a holiday home. Their convo went deep into the synergy between the Bloomsbury artists and the Italians.
The enormous success of Brunello Cucinelli is rooted in the principles of humanism and AOC has been influenced by his thinking in very significant ways.
Penelope Cruz Life Timeline 2012: Babies Leo & Luna | Film 'The Counselor'
Penélope Cruz, the renowned Spanish actor, has graced the pages of Anne of Carversville for almost 20 years. AOC recently renewed Penelope Cruz’s Vogue Espana November 2012 fashion story ‘Sangre Caliente’, lensed by Tom Munro.
Penelope Cruz has always enjoyed Yummy Mummy status, and 2012 was an important year in that journey.
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