Zoe Fang with NFT artist Pplpleaser by Hedy Chang in Vogue Taiwan April 2022

Zoe Fang with NFT artist Pplpleaser by Hedy Chang in Vogue Taiwan April 2022 AOC Fashion

The April 2022 issue of Vogue Taiwan represents a collaboration with New York-based, NFT artist Pplpleasr (Emily Yang) IG. Through Yang’s digital art combined with the exquisite nature-inspired, fashion story Vogue shot in Taiwan, the Vogue team created a different vision for the cover of fashion magazines.

Peng Chang in 'Heat Wave' by Zhong Lin for Vogue Taiwan January 2022 AOC Fashion

Tying the fashion styling to the story line of ‘Dune’ - perhaps the great sci-fi fiction ever written - just wouldn’t happen in the big Vogues.

Too intellectual. This is another way of learning about past culture and writers.

Peng Chang in 'Heat Wave' by Zhong Lin for Vogue Taiwan January 2022 AOC Fashion

The January 2022 Vogue Taiwan cover story, ‘Heat Wave’ was also artistic to the max, supported local artists and talked to environment and sustainability in a high-design way.

About ‘Dune’

‘Dune’ is a 1965 science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert. The writer, who was very interested in ecology, was inspired by a US Department of Agriculture program to to stabilize shift sands along the Pacific Ocean by introducing European beach grass.

The Guardian wrote about ‘Dune’ 50 years later in 2015, saying that many consider it to be greatest sci fi ever written. This single paragraph will get you started:

‘Dune ‘is set in a far future, where warring noble houses are kept in line by a ruthless galactic emperor. As part of a Byzantine political intrigue, the noble duke Leto, head of the Homerically named House Atreides, is forced to move his household from their paradisiacal home planet of Caladan to the desert planet Arrakis, colloquially known as Dune. The climate on Dune is frighteningly hostile. Water is so scarce that whenever its inhabitants go outside, they must wear stillsuits, close-fitting garments that capture body moisture and recycle it for drinking.

How Emma Raducanu Won the Fashion World Over in 2021 . . . While Women's Tennis Shakes

How Emma Raducanu Won the Fashion World Over in 2021 . . . While Women's Tennis Shakes AOC Fashion

Before 2021, not even the most ardent of tennis fans would recognize the name of British star Emma Raducanu. Today, she’s far more than a sports celebrity, catching the eye of the red carpet press at events around the world.

The 18-year-old from Kent arrived in New York for the late August-early September US Open tennis tournament, having already captured hearts at Wimbledon, as the first British woman in 42 years to get to the fourth round.

Bets weren’t being placed that Raducanu would win the US Open, even though she was wearing lots of public good will on her back. And then lightening struck in tennis world. Days later publicist Mark Borkowski said Raducanu was poised to become “a billion-dollar girl”, scoring a raft of sponsorship deals.

“I think Emma will earn well over $100 million [in the next calendar year]. She’ll eclipse all the men,” said Jonathan Shalit, the chairman of InterTalent Group, a London-based talent management agency.

The 'Unstoppable' Precious Lee Covers ELLE US April 2022 by Adrienne Raquel

The 'Unstoppable' Precious Lee Covers ELLE US April 2022 by Adrienne Raquel AOC Fashion

Rising model star Precious Lee covers the April 2022 issue of ELLE US, styled by the legendary Patti Wilson in AZ Factory, Bad Binch, Balaclava, Bottega Veneta, Christian Cowan, Eric Javits, Maison Atia, Michael Kors Collection, Mônot, Moschino [cover], Sinéad O’Dwyer and more. Photographer Adrienne Raquel [IG] is behind the lens for ‘The Unstoppable Precious Lee’./ Hair by Evanie Frausto; makeup by Raoúl Alejandre

Growing Up Like an Atlanta Peach Queen

AOC has told the Precious Lee story several times now. We are well aware that the Atlanta beauty has continually resisted external expectations of what she can and cannot do. Her glorious family was not only behind her efforts but cultivated a home life centered around the good life.

Most likely a few Atlanta bluebloods would raise an eyebrow over her cosmetologist, hair-salons-owning father wearing Versace and “silk shirts unbuttoned with gold chains.” But in this interview with Alexis Okeowo and others, it’s clear that Lee’s family nurtured her enormous self-confidence and comfort level with being in the spotlight.

Lee admits that she hasn’t spoken to the fact that her sister Charisma died in a car accident when she was young. Checking a couple earlier articles, we haven’t talked about this tragic event in Lee’s young life.

“It was so much pain at that age from losing the brightest light,” Lee says. “I actually never talk about this in interviews, but it’s just really important to because I’m starting to realize and understand how transformative that age was for me in being able to tap into things that were creative as an outlet for healing for me.”

Confronting Stereotypes: A Move to the Front of the Bus

Precious Lee needs to develop this story in a TED Talk. It should inspire us all. Lee was no different than many young women about pursuing competitive cheerleading. I have to believe it’s even more competitive in the South. Precious Lee believes that mastering ‘healthy competition’ is key to success in the modern world.

Early in practice, the coach began organizing the physical structure of the cheerleading squad. She assigned Precious a base position, at the bottom of the pyramid, because of her height and size, leaving Lee hurt and confused. Today popular culture calls it a “micro-aggression” and people carry these perceived insults for years.

Precious Lee wasn’t having it. Read on to learn how Precious Lee carried the day. The 'Unstoppable' Precious Lee Covers ELLE US April 2022 by Adrienne Raquel AOC Fashion

Prior Precious Lee Interviews: Precious Lee by Tyler Mitchell Is Committed to Uplifting Us in i-D No. 363 Summer 2021 AOC Fashion

Georgia's Queen Precious Lee Delivers Self-Love Power Punch in Harper's Bazaar May Beauty Issue AOC Fashion

Lous and the Yakuza by Hunter & Gatti for Madame Figaro France March 25, 2022

Marie-Pierra Kakoma known professionally as Lous and the Yakuza, is a Congolese-Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter, model, and artist. Carine Roitfeld styles Lous in an all Louis Vuitton fashion story lensed by Hunter & Gatti [IG] for the March 25th issue of Madame Figaro France.

Describing the artist after the debut of her 2020 album ‘Gore’, Geneva Abdul wrote:

With words sung and rapped in French, Lous and the Yakuza feels like a distinctly globalized project, interweaving Kakoma’s Belgian-Congolese-Rwandan background with eclectic influences including politics past and present, manga comics, Mozart and Whitney Houston.

Lous Is Soul for a Child of War

As for her name Lous, it’s an anagram of soul, the music of the soul, explains the richly-endowed talent in a Madame Figaro story that accompanies her Louis Vuitton fashion images.

At 25, she's an old soul in a young woman's body, the daughter of two doctors a Rwandan mother and a Congolese father, both doctors engaged in humanitarian work. Lous herself is focused on opening a medical clinic in Rwanda, following in the footsteps of her mother’s status as a pediatrician.

Both of Lous’ parents were imprisoned during the the second Congo war in 1998.

Lous cannot speak of all the tribes in her ancestry, because they are at war with each other. The gender-fluid music activist acknowledges being part of the Kalwena ethnic group as expressed in Swahili.

Tribute to Amanda

In a very moving paragraph of her Madame Figaro interview, Lous speaks to her translation of Amanda Gorman’s book ‘The Hill We Climb’. Gorman recited the original poem created for US president Joe Biden’s graduation. Gorman wrote: "We will make this wounded world a marvelous world." — a narrative that inspires so many of us, no matter the color of our skin.

Related: Amanda Gorman Shocks America with Soaring Poetry | Dr. Jill Biden's Gabriela Hearst Federal Flowers AOC Fashion

Being a Louis Vuitton Muse

Translated: “The story that I have woven with Louis Vuitton was born from my simple and sweet encounter with the greatest designer that I had the opportunity to meet, Nicolas Ghesquière. I appreciated the risk he took by offering me to be muse when I was not yet known. It is an extraordinary prestige for me to have closed two shows for Louis Vuitton. I like the values ​​of this house and the way it respects women.”

Stella McCartney's Mushroom Rich SS 2022 Campaign by Mert & Marcus

Stella McCartney's Mushroom Rich SS 2022 Campaign by Mert & Marcus AOC Fashion

The Stella McCartney brand, defined by its sustainability commitments and credentials, is now so firmly entrenched in the minds of luxury consumers, that we can look at her Spring-Summer 2022 campaign as pure fashion. Stella is more committed than ever to now cultivate a larger message of people’s relationship with nature.

Photographed by Mert & Marcus [IG], the creative entourage captures the new Stella McCartney campaign with supermodel Natalia Vodianova center stage. The fashion shoot happened at France’s Marqueyssac gardens, one of France's listed 'Jardins Remarquable' sitting high above the Dordogne river.

Additional photography from the Stella McCartney’s Spring 2022-Summer 2022 campaign took place at the Espace Niemeyer in Paris, the site of Stella’s runway show. “The space gives the sense of being in a mushroom cap, an iconic nod to Oscar Niemeyer’s artistic expression and openness,” says the Stella McCartney website.

Fashion’s GAIA Queens

Spring 2022 mushrooms, center stage at Stella McCartney’s runway show in fall.2021, got a fresh boost two weeks ago. Sarah Burton stepped into the mushrooms and mycelium creative romp with her post-Paris, mid-March Alexander McQueen Fall 2022 runway show in New York City.

The womanly synergy of Stella McCartney, Sara Burton and Gabriela Hearst leading the discussion around our relationship to nature and organic processes cannot be ignored.

Is sustainability primary a ‘woman’s thing’? The dynamic has changed in the last decade with women now much more likely than men to be green activists and financial contributors to environmental causes. Be sure to set Google search time parameters when exploring this topic, because the current data delivers very different results from total Google results.

Fashion’s Leather Debate

Committed to making mycelium a big topic in fashion world, Stella works with mycologist and ‘Entangled Life’ author Merlin Sheldrake to host summer events paying homage to mushrooms. Activities include cooking sessions with globally renowned chefs, synthesizer music created from the sounds of fungi growing by Cosmo Sheldrake and this season’s hand-drawn print, emblazoned on luxury wallpaper by British heritage fabrics house Cole & Son.

Related: Stella McCartney's Spring 2022 Collection Hugs Shroom Power Sustainability AOC Fashion

The Times’ Vanessa Friedman is not entirely fair — or her memory failed her — when she wrote that sustainability finally made its full-throated entrance in the spring 2022 shows with Stella McCartney’s collection.

Friedman wrote: “Well, hello sustainability. Wondering when you’d show up.” The fashion industry expert must have slept through Gabriela Hearst’ Chloé show: Gabriela Hearst Takes Chloé to Bugatti Speed in Redefining Purpose for Luxury Brands

Within this creative atmosphere, the fashion crowd heard the voice of American mycologist and entrepreneur Paul Stamets, who is considered an intellectual and industry leader in everything associated with fungi. In only a few seconds, Stamets summed up the future of fashion with his admonition: “In fashion, mushrooms are the future.”

Eco-Warrior Tasha Tilberg by Greg Swales for Fashion Canada April 2022

Eco-Warrior Tasha Tilberg by Greg Swales for Fashion Canada April 2022 AOC Fashion

Supermodel turned sustainability eco-warrior Tasha Tilberg covers Fashion Magazine’s April 2022 climate crisis issue. Simply stated, Tasha Tilberg always saw modeling as a financial means to an end, a financial goal that she adeptly achieved wearing her septum piercing, hand-poked tattoos and granola meets grunge aesthetic.

Tilberg underscores her essential identity to writer Annike Lautens this way:

Tilberg says that even from the beginning of her career, modelling was always just a job, not an identity. “When I introduce myself to someone, I never call myself a model,” she reflects. “It’s one of the things I do, but it’s not who I am. I was always buying my freedom. I did this because I wanted to buy a tractor.”

Her major success in modeling allowed Tilberg to buy her first farm at age 16.

Photographer Greg Swales [IG] captures Tasha Tilberg, styled by Leila Bani.