'Team Too Much' by Carlijn Jacobs Blasts into Ancestral Future for Dazed Magazine Winter 2021

'Team Too Much' by Carlijn Jacobs Blasts into Ancestral Future for Dazed Magazine Winter 2021 AOC Fashion

If only Anne had been the quiet muse in the room, my spirit hovering up in the corner of the ceiling with no body attached, when photographer Carlijn Jacobs [IG} and Dazed EIC, stylist extraordinaire Ibrahim Kamara conceived ‘Team Too Much’.

It’s not like Carlijn needs a lot of coaxing when it come to visual flights of imagination, but this story is creative DNA on steroids. And in case anyone hasn’t noticed, Ib Kamara’s creative engine transmits a high frequency power supply to others in his orbit. His is not a one-act play, but a serial novel — a Shakespearean mind gone 21st century modern, with deep ancestral African roots.

In three words: creative awe blitzkrieg. Kamara’s got a lot of people living in his head. He’s a spiritual, creative, limitless empath of the highest order. Give him room, people. A lot of room. Let him live in free fall some of the time and see where he lands,

Let his fairy dust fall on the creative minds around him. Carlijn is great on her own, but I can’t help thinking that 1+1=3 here.

‘Team Too Much’ models, actors, players include Abeny Nihal, Babafemi Mustapha,, Dave Cho, Delphi McNicol, Diana Achan, Goy Manese, Grace Sharp, Hugo Fulton, Leo Comanescu, Temitope Ajayi, Tsunaina and Xue Huizi,/ Hair by Kiyoko Odo; makeup by Ammy Drammeh

For her part, Jacobs quips on IG that the lead image invokes “prepping for that new lockdown”. She posted the image yesterday, and sadly, Carlijn is spot on. The new variant is called Omicron. ~ Anne

There Is NO Justice: Louis Vuitton Men's Virgil Abloh Passes From Virulent Cancer

Virgil Abloh, the founder of luxury streetwear brand Off-White and artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton, died in Houston Sunday at age 41. Abloh has battled a rare cancer cardiac angiosarcoma for two years.

Abloh’s role within LVMH “made him the most powerful Black executive in the most powerful luxury group in the world”, wrote Vanessa Friedman for the New York Times.

“We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend,” a message posted on the designer’s Instagram account stated. “He is survived by his loving wife Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and numerous dear friends and colleagues.”

For people who didn’t know this well-kept secret — like us — news of Virgil Abloh’s passing is a grade AAA gut punch.

“Virgil is incredibly good at creating bridges between the classic and the zeitgeist of the moment,” Michael Burke, chief executive of Louis Vuitton, told The New York Times when Mr. Abloh was named to the luxury brand.

As Friedman points out, Virgil Abloh was controversial in his approach to design — not having any formal education in fashion. Abloh had no difficulties acknowledging ways in which he borrowed, built upon and transformed the designs of others into his own. He studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. These tools gave him a definite design perspective — which combined with superb instincts in understanding how to generate cultural currency in today’s consumer world.

To be honest, with Bernard Arnault backing him with the world’s biggest luxury brand, Louis Vuitton, I don’t think it matters all that much what “some people” thought of Abloh’s approach to design. The son of Ghanaian immigrants who lived in Rockford, Illinois, grew up immersed in skate culture and hip-hop.

Virgil Abloh’s rise was closely involved with Kanye West. Since AOC is NOT a fan of Kanye West — and less so every day — you can refresh your memory at the NYT.

In a historical timeline that Abloh shared with GQ’s Tom Bettridge, this quote resonates:

“There was a professor by the name of Louise Wilson, who was the head of the [master's program] at Central Saint Martins in London, and she was the teacher for some of the greatest designers of our time. Kanye and I sat with her, and we were like, “Hey, we want to learn the right way.” And she basically said, “You guys are idiots. You know more than my students. Why on earth would you want to go to fashion school?” But that process was sort of how we ended up interning at Fendi. And when we were there, we did all the meetings. We were off the radar in Rome, getting to work at 9 a.m. on a Monday. We did all the intern shit, and this was in the midst of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. We went to Hawaii after this period.

WSJ Magazine has a solid overview of Virgil Abloh’s work, and my link should give you access.

British Vogue EIC Edward Enninful called Abloh “a giant among men”, writing:

“Virgil Abloh changed the fashion industry. Famously prolific, he always worked for a greater cause than his own illustrious career: to open the door to art and fashion for future generations, so that they – unlike himself – would grow up in a creative world with people to mirror themselves in.”

Wondering if Ralph Lauren had weighed in yet on Abloh’s passing, AOC learned that his first design was a screenprint on a Ralph Lauren rugby shirt. Lauren was on my mind because in November 2020, I learned that one of our most prominent anti-racist voices Ibram X. Kendi has battled colon cancer.

His own revelation came a few months after ‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman died of cancer on my birthday. This is the same day — August 28 — that Emmett Louis Till was lynched beyond recognition in Mississippi in 1955.

Till didn’t die of cancer, but I’ve studied the evolving positive linkage between racism and diseases like cancer for several years now. The scientific paradigm ties the constant stress of racism in the lives of Black people to chronic inflammation in the body — similar to that of being in war for extended periods of time or a prolonged situation of verbal and/or physical abuse.

The ties between inflammation and disease — in the form of genetic damage due to inflammation — grow stronger every year, now that scientists better understand inflammation of the body and its impact on health generally.

AOC isn’t suggesting that all of these creative and masterfully talented young Black men are getting cancer because of systemic racism. But we all should at least be knowledgeable about the topic. And with Ralph Lauren being so involved for decades now in funding major cancer research projects and care, I suspect that some of his own activism is grounded in the scientific knowledge he has acquired on this very subject.

Ralph’s recent holiday 2021 campaign — one of the most activist I’ve ever seen from any luxury brand — assures me that he understands the cancer-related toll that discrimination and racism, sexism and anti-LGBTQ policies take on the human body. I really applaud Ralph’s efforts and in the case of Virgil Abloh, I literally screamed in disbelief at what I was reading. When I wrote “There is no justice,” those words are coming from a deeply emotional belief. ~ Anne

An Eclectic Twist on Fashion's Future by Amer Mohamad for Grazia Serbia December 2021

An Eclectic Twist on Fashion's Future by Amer Mohamad for Grazia Serbia December 2021 AOC Fashion

Model Ania Chiz covers the December issue of Grazia Serbia, lensed in an eclectic twist on futurism by Amer Mohamad [IG}.

Akuol Deng Atem in ‘Metamorphoses’ by Amit Israeli for Revue Magazine FW 2021

Akuol Deng Atem in ‘Metamorphoses’ by Amit Israeli for Revue Magazine FW 2021 AOC Fashion

Model Akuol Deng Atem is styled by Jack Borkett in ‘Metamorphoses’. Amit Israeli [IG] photographs Atem in spectacular hair art sculptures by Olivier Schawalder for the Fall Winter 2021 issue of Revue Magazine France.

Jill Kortleve Plunges Into Hot Springs Water, Lensed by Felicity Ingram in British Vogue

Jill Kortleve Plunges Into Hot Springs Water, Lensed by Felicity Ingram in British Vogue AOC Fashion

Rising model Jill Kortleve poses in a beauty split fashion story for the October and December 2021 issues of British Vogue. Lorna McGee styles Kortleve in ‘Fresh Takes’ for October, focused on upgrading our wellbeing — with products, of course. British photographer Felicity Ingram captures the model at Hrunalaug Hot Springs in Iceland. / Hair by Anna Cofone

The health benefits of hot springs are generally well-established around the globe. They include:

• Boosting Blood Circulation due to the variety of different minerals and specifically calcium and sodium bicarbonate in the water.

• Reducing Stress and Promoting Sleep

• Pain Relief

• Healing or Improving Skin Problems

Dazed Magazine Winter 2021 Look at 'Proper' Youth Culture by Ewen Spencer

Dazed Magazine Winter 2021 Look at 'Proper' Youth Culture by Ewen Spencer AOC Fashion

Mollie Dendle [IG] casts nameless people for Dazed Magazine’s Winter 2021 issue. Ewen Spencer [IG] is not new to photographing British youth and subcultures, but these images strike a perfect pitch. See lots more of his work at Dazed. Imruh Asha styles the story with art direction by Gareth Wrighton./ Hair by Alfie Sackett; makeup by Joey Choy

Ina Lekiewicz Shoots Giedre Dukauskaite in Iceland for Vogue Poland December 2021

Ina Lekiewicz Shoots Giedre Dukauskaite in Iceland for Vogue Poland December 2021 AOC Fashion

Photographer, stylist, art director and EIC of Vogue Poland Ina Lekiewicz delivers Lithuanian model Giedre Dukauskaite in ‘The Sound of Silence’ for the December 2021 issue. Ali + Aniko style Dukauskaite for the cover story shot in Iceland.

Ina Lekiewicz was on a mission in Iceland, speaking with local people about living in harmony with nature and the idea of omnipresent silence. “Confrontation with nature is ruthless. It leaves a permanent mark on you,” says Hördur Ingason, a photographer born in the capital of Iceland. “It makes us more dark and melancholic. But we also owe her inner peace,” he adds.

n a translated paragraph from the editor’s letter, we stumble into one of those obvious questions for us fashionistas — a question that stands on its own with or without a conversation around sustainability: Why do we not respect clothes? Better still:

“What if we stopped treating clothes like rags?”

Michał Zaczyński is looking for an answer to the question why we do not respect clothes. In the essay "What if we stopped treating clothes like rags?" he writes that the contempt is primarily due to a lack of knowledge, experience and poor PR: "If we knew how much work it takes to create a dress, and had an idea of the complexity of the process, we would not treat it so condescendingly."

The fashion editor of "Vogue Polska" Kamila Wagner in a special report analyzes the situation in the fashion industry, which has finally begun to demand balance and suggests itself how to achieve balance in many of its fields: "In balance, we see the only chance to survive and, in fact, we seek it on the market of services and goods. The related discourse thus mastered all trade and the communication that is inseparable from it, 'she writes.

A Racy Penélope Cruz Puts Her Foot on the Gas,by Nico Bustos for Elle España December 2021

Actor Penélope Cruz covers the December 2021 issue of ELLE España styled by Sylvia Montoliù in black lace dressed woman driving red convertible. You get the drift. Nico Bustos captures Cruz, who is winning rave reviews for her role in ‘Parallel Mothers’, with her great collaborator Pedro Almodóvar.

“Parallel Mothers” debuted to rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival, where Cruz captured the best actress prize, and then resonated with audiences and critics again when it screened on the closing night of the New York Film Festival, writes Variety Magazine.

The BBC writes that the film received a nine-minute standing ovation in Venice.

Nico Bustos [IG] photographs Cruz for ELLE Espana and also for an excellent interview in Variety. We looked forever for an online ELLE Spain editorial for translation.