King Charles III Joins TIME 100 Most Influential People List 2023 As Beloved Mushroom Hunter

King Charles III Joins TIME 100 Most Influential People List 2023 As Beloved Mushroom Hunter

King Charles III, awaiting his coronation as king of the United Kingdom on May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey, was honored by TIME Magazine on their new TIME 100 Most Influential People 2023 list.

When the new annual list is released, the person chosen to write about the TIME 100 honoree, can be as interesting as the list itself.

The person introducing King Charles in the TIME 100 2023 issue is Edward Enninful, OBE, editor-in-chief of British Vogue and Vogue European editorial director. [OBE stands for Order of the British Empire.]

The high-achieving Enninful agrees that on the face of it, he grew up a young Black boy in Ladbroke Grove without understanding how intimately involved then Charles, Prince of Wales was with the Prince’s Trust. The charity had dramatic impact on the lives of Edward’s community, directed by the then Prince on many fronts.

Just as British Vogue’s EIC Edward Enninful seeks to humanize King Charles III in his commentary for the TIME 100, AOC was impacted by a story that broke last weekend by royal biographer Robert Jobson. As AOC drills deeply into the topic of mushrooms, mycelium, talking plants and future fabrics made of mushrooms and other natural materials, then Prince Charles pops up frequently in our research.

Mushrooms came to play a critical role in comforting King Charles in the final hours that would physically take his mother and Queen away from him.

Then Prince Charles returned to his estate at Birkhall for a walk in the woods, drawing emotional and psychological sustenance from the trees, the earth and the quiet sound of the River Muick. Charles made good use of himself, taking a wooden cane and a basket to forage for mushrooms along his walk.

Read More

Tom Ford's Edgy Spring 2023 Campaign by Steven Klein Probes Deep, Sexy Questions

Tom Ford's Edgy Spring 2023 Campaign by Steven Klein Probes Deep, Sexy Questions

Designer Tom Ford was among the 150 newcomers to the annual Forbes list of the world’s richest people released last week. The 61-year-old with a deep understanding of human sexuality — and women’s sexuality in particular — entered the list with LeBron James. That’s kind of cool.

The first time Moore met Ford, she was nominated for an Oscar and had checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel with her two-month old baby. “I wasn’t really in Tom Ford shape,” the actor told Vogue. “The first thing Tom did was pick up my little boy—who’s now 21—and said, ‘I want one of these.’”

There are many layers to Tom Ford and these layers drift through every element of his work and life.

Signing a one-year-contract last November with Estee Lauder, agreeing to stay with the brand as Lauder digests their big-leagues’ purchase, it’s very Tom Ford to get edgy on his way out the door in this Spring 2023 campaign film. It’s equally edgy to have Steven Klein behind the lens, creating this tableau of subtle, erotic tension and beauty that provokes questions.

Models for the Tom Ford Spring 2023 Campaign include Akbar Shamji, Annemary Aderibigbe, Felice Noordhoff and He Cong styled by Carine Roitfeld. K Studio acted as Creative Director./ Hair by Jawara; makeup by Yadim

Read More

Hyun Ji Shin and Mathiieu Simoneau Lensed by Cho Giseok for Numero #238

Hyun Ji Shin and Mathiieu Simoneau Lensed by Cho Giseok for Numero #238

Models Hyun Ji Shin and Mathiieu Simoneau share an ‘Attraction Fatale’ styled by Lisa Jarvis with references to supernatural energies in a ‘Love Is Stronger Than Anything!’ issue. Photographer Cho Giseok [IG] is in the studio, capturing the would-be lovers in color-saturated images for Numero Magazine #238 April-May 2023./ Hair by Gabe Sin; makeup by Oh Seongseok

Read More

French Protesters Storm LVMH Paris Offices, Opposing Macron's Pension Reform

French Protesters Storm LVMH Paris Offices, Opposing Macron's Pension Reform

The protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension overhaul escalated Thursday as a crowd of men waving flares and banners stormed the headquarters of luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.

The Wall Street Journal described the event [free AOC ink] as a moment in which the weekly protests “morphed into a populist rebuke of France’s establishment”.

The central issue is the intention of Macron’s government to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64 by 2030. The French prime minister used his constitutional powers to take the action without a vote.

Representatives of LVMH said the protesters did not stay long, after forcing their way through the Avenue Montaigne entrance of the luxury group’s headquarters and taking an escalator to the reception area leading to LVMH corporate officers, including Bernard Arnault. There is no confirmation that Mr. Arnault was on the premises.

Read More

Selena Forrest Feels 'Miami Heat' in WSJ Magazine April 2023 by Angelo Pennetta

Selena Forrest Feels 'Miami Heat' in WSJ Magazine April 2023 by Angelo Pennetta

Top model Selena Forrest covers the April 2023 issue of WSJ Magazine, styled by Julia Sarr-Jamois in hot weather, fluid elegance. Photographer Angelo Pennetta [IG] captures Selena in hot-weather mode in Miami, where she has a home since 2021. “Work can be so fast-paced, and here I have a big backyard,” says Forrest. “I’m just soaking in the nature and the sunshine.”/ Hair by Mustafa Yanaz; makeup by Susie Sobol

Read More

The Health Benefits of Natural Pools, Thanks to Edita Vilkeviciute in Mango Swimwear 2023

The Health Benefits of Natural Pools, Thanks to Edita Vilkeviciute in Mango Swimwear 2023

Top model Edita Vilkeciviute is blessed to have a home in Ibiza, one featured in the July 2021 issue of Vogue Spain. We’re not clear if the top model swims in a natural pool on her property, but they are prevalent on the famous Spanish island in the Mediterranean.

In these images Edita poses in Mango swimwear from the 2023 spring/summer collection. The shoot takes place in San Andrés, Tenerife — part of Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of southern Morocco and the disputed Western Sahara. Photographer Pepe Lobez [IG] captures the famous Lithuanian beauty — who is in high demand for sensual summer fashion stories and campaigns — styled by Rebeca Abad and Pili Álamo. Patricia Diaz Manzano provides the art direction.

A core way to experience the benefits of biophilia is through swimming, an activity that not only connects us with water, a vital element of nature, but also offers numerous physical and mental health benefits. Water is also key to Jungian psychology and the unconscious mind is symbolized by the vastness of the ocean and its crashing waves.

Read More

Vogue US May 2023 Tributes Karl Lagerfeld with 10 Top Models and 10 Luxury Brands

Vogue US May 2023 Tributes Karl Lagerfeld with 10 Top Models and 10 Luxury Brands

American Vogue’s May 2023 issue pays tribute to Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, one of fashion’s greatest talents. Lagerfeld is the focus of the upcoming retrospective at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and annual fundraiser hosted by Anna Wintour and referred to as The Met Gala 2023, scheduled for Monday May 1, 2023.

Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s brilliant curator has titled the new exhibition “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” a reference to the painter William Hogarth. The artist believed that an ever-turning, ever-changing line captures more energy and life than a straight one. This idea was conceptually embedded in nature by Hogarth and other artists and intellectuals discuss this concept. More than one of them referenced the serpeant as an ideal symbol.

Lagerfeld’s career spanned appointments at Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, and his eponymous brand.

For the cover, Vogue photographer Annie Leibovitz [IG] photographed 10 muses, women who are part of a larger group of models adored by Karl Lagerfeld.

Models include Adut Akech, Amber Valletta, Anok Yai, Devon Aoki, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Liu Wen, Naomi Campbell, Natalia Vodianova and Shalom Harlow, pose in the creations of other designers paying tribute to Karl Lagerfeld with the fashion itself and also words.

Read More

Adut Akech Shares Brother Bior Akech in 'Rising Up' by Josh Olins for Vogue Australia April 2023

Adut Akech Shares Brother Bior Akech in 'Rising Up' by Josh Olins for Vogue Australia April 2023

Supermodel Adut Akech introduces fashion world to her brother Bior Akech, with three covers in the April 2023 issue of Vogue Australia. Christine Centenera styles the shoot with photography by Josh Olins [IG]./ Hair by Sophie Roberts; makeup by Kellie Stratton

Adut’s younger brother Bior, age 17, remains currently in Adelaide, Australia, where he is finishing school.

The word ‘supermodel’ is almost meaningless today, it is so bandied about with no clear understanding of what is means to be a supermodel.

Adut Akech is a supermodel with 1.8 M followers which is very high for a model — as opposed to a Kardashian or Bieber or Jenner. They are in their own league.

Read More

400 Pharma and Biotech Companies Issue 'Scorching Condemnation' of Texas Mifepristone Ruling

400 Pharma and Biotech Companies Issue 'Scorching Condemnation' of Texas Mifepristone Ruling

Scientists and senior executives from more than 400 pharmaceutical and biotech companies and also investment firms issued what the New York Times called a “scorching condemnation” of the ruling of Texas District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued late Friday, April 7th that invalidated the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

Titled “In Support of FDA’s Authority to Regulate Medicines”, the letter excerpts shared on AOC read:

On Friday, April 7, a federal judge with no scientific training fundamentally undermined the bipartisan authority granted by Congress to the Food and Drug Administration to approve and regulate safe, effective medicines for every American.

District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a decision that overturns the 23-year old approval of mifepristone, the primary medicine used in abortion and miscarriage care, and which has been proven by decades of data to be safer than Tylenol, nearly all antibiotics and insulin.

The decision ignores decades of scientific evidence and legal precedent. Judge Kacsmaryk’s act of judicial interference has set a precedent for diminishing FDA’s authority over drug approvals, and in so doing, creates uncertainity for the entire biopharma industry . . .

As American citizens and interested parties, we are invited to add our names to the letter. Anne of Carversville has signed on to the simple Google doc. Texas District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s assault on science and a key federal institution deeply embedded in American life — the FDA — was even more chilling to me as an American citizen than the June 24, 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned the nearly five-decades-old Roe v Wade decision.

Read More

Versace Fall 2023 Glamour for Los Angeles Times by Maya Fuhr with Gisselle and Saye

Versace Fall 2023 Glamour for Los Angeles Times by Maya Fuhr with Gisselle and Saye

The Los Angeles Times captures the shimmering, sophisticated style tableau with model Gisselle Hidalgo and Saye, styled by Keyla Marquez. Photographer Maya Fuhr [IG} imaged the Oscar-worthy sleek drama and shares on IG news of her show ‘Compersion’.

Nuvo Magazine interviewed the Canadian artist about her lifelong obsession with latex and voyeurism in her first LA show, now closed, at Gallery Sade. We share the press release.

The inspiration behind the new collection was the highly-influential 1995 and chic collection designed by Versace house founder and Donatella’s brother Gianni Versace.

Richard Avedon’s photographs of Kristen McMenamy captured an unusually chic and elegant Versace collection. Donatella told Vogue: “I wanted to go back to the cut and shape of the clothes, to concentrate on the perfect little black dress, the perfect black suit.”

Read More

American Women Ensnared in Dueling US District Court Mifepristone Rulings

American Women Ensnared in Dueling US District Court Mifepristone Rulings

On Sunday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on CNN’s “State of the Union” said that not only is the Texas ruling unlawful, but it threatens the entire process of FDA drug approval.

“First and foremost, when you turn upside down the entire FDA approval process, you’re not talking about just mifepristone,” he said. “You’re talking about every kind of drug. You’re talking about our vaccines, you’re talking about insulin, you’re talking about the new Alzheimer’s drugs that may come on.”

Many exciting new drugs involve stem-cell research, and the Catholic Church already raised ethical objections to promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are manufactured using cells derived from human fetuses electively aborted decades ago.

Will the Catholic Church and MAGA crowd sue in Texas to take all drugs off the market derived from human fetus stem cells? Because the list of new drugs coming out of the COVID vaccine epidemic research is breathtaking. We’re talking cancer vaccines.

Meanwhile, the drug Mifeprex [Mifepristone] is so safe that deaths associated with taking Viagra are 10x the number associated with Mifepristone.

Read More

Eco-Warrior Amber Valletta by Gregory Harris for D la Repubblica April 1, 2023

Eco-Warrior Amber Valletta by Gregory Harris for D la Repubblica April 1, 2023

You probably know that Amber Valletta was committed to true sustainability long before it was fashionable. And you might know that activist actor Jane Fonda is also a true eco-warrior on the record for about four years, saying she tries hard not to buy anything new — and especially fashion.

Amber Valletta covers the April 1, 2023 issue of ‘D la Repubblica’, styled by fellow sustainability advocate Tonne Goodman. Gregory Harris [IG] is behind the lens for ‘Amber Valletta, Se Non Ora Quando’ [Amber Valletta, If not Now When’./ Hair by Rob Talty; makeup by Nikki DeRoest

Read More

Pasticceria Marchesi Inspires Prada Caffè Harrods London Until January 2024

Pasticceria Marchesi Inspires Prada Caffè Harrods London Until January 2024

On the eve of its 200th anniversary, the spirit of Pasticceria Marchesi transformed as the Prada Caffè has popped into the main floor of Harrods in Knightsbridge, open until January 7, 2024.

Open from 9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 6pm on Sunday, Prada Caffè is a full-fledged restaurant serving strong espresso accompanied by pistacchio fagottini and eggs Florentine with caviar for breakfast. Take heart — you can also enjoy yogurt and granola.

The Prada Group acquired control of Pasticceria Marchesi in 2014, nearly 200 years after its opening at Via Santa Maria alla Porta. Despite the change in ownership, the pastry shop continues to operate with the same passion for excellence at its original location, offering its fresh patisserie, signature chocolates, and classic Milanese Panettone.

Read More