Naomi Osaka Covers Vogue Japan August 2021, Saying She Will Play in Olympics

Naomi Osaka Covers Vogue Japan August 2021, Saying She Will Play in Olympics

Tennis star Naomi Osaka covers the August 2021 issue of Vogue Japan, and Naomi did appear on social media to share her cover shot and a preview of the fashion editorial.

"Hi guys. Popping out to post this @voguejapan cover, hope you’re all doing well and staying safe," she wrote.

Patti Wilson styles the shoot with Osaka wearing a Louis Vuitton bralette paired with orange pants on the cover. Vuitton is well represented in the fashion pages, with Naomi being an official ambassador for the luxury brand. Nike also gets good exposure. Zoey Grossman [IG] is behind the lens, as Naomi promises that she will play in the Tokyo Olympics starting July 24, but not on the US team. Naomi will play for Japan.

Pharrell Williams Launches Black Ambition for Black and Latinx Entrepreneurs

Pharrell Williams Launches Black Ambition for Black and Latinx Entrepreneurs AOC Eye

Black Ambition, Pharrell Williams’ newest venture dedicated to cultivating Black and Latino entrepreneurs, is the winner of the impact investing category of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards.

Williams launched Black Ambition last December 2020, with Louis Vuitton Men’s artistic director and founder of Off White Virgil Abloh is onboard as a member of the Black Ambition advisory team. Black Ambition will act as a non-profit initiative providing a bridge to success for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs who are launching start-ups in tech, design, healthcare, and consumer products.

Ivan Erick Menezes Honors Florbela Espanca for Vogue Portugal June 2021

Ivan Erick Menezes Honors Florbela Espanca for Vogue Portugal June 2021

In this Vogue Portugal June 2021 issue fashion editorial dedicated to Florbela Espanca, models Camila Simões, Elson Lima, Lana Rost, and Natalia Renken are styled by fashion editor and creative director Alexandre Dornelles. Ivan Erick Menezes photographs ‘Eu quero amar, amar perdidamente’ [I want to love, love hopelessly] inspred by Florbela Espanca./ Beauty by Silvio Giorgio; hair by Silvio Giorgio

Florbela Espanca (1894-1930) is one of Portugal's most known and loved poets, an early feminist in a very turbulent period in the country’s history. Her avant-garde mind and soul were frowned upon by a conservative society, and the poet ended her early life at age 36.

'Physical' Apple Series Star Rose Byrne Covers Marie Claire Australia by Nicole Bentley

'Physical' Apple Series Star Rose Byrne Covers Marie Claire Australia by Nicole Bentley

“She’s elegance incarnate with impeccable comedic timing,” writes Marie Claire Australia about July cover star Rose Byrne. The actor talks to Rachel Sharp about family, feminism and her new role as a captivating but flawed ‘80s guru in her new Apple TV series ‘Physical’.

Byrne is styled by Naomi Smith in images by Nicole Bentley./ Hair by Koh; makeup by Kellie Stratton

Building on her role as iconic feminist Gloria Steinem in ‘Mrs. America’, the true story of how conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly (played by Cate Blanchett) derailed the Equal Rights Amendment, Byrne now plays ‘80s California exercise and lifestyle guru Sheila Rubin.

Elsa Hosk Is Yummy Mummy Covering Vogue Russia Living June 2021 by Julia Gorbachenko

Elsa Hosk Is Yummy Mummy Covering Vogue Russia Living June 2021 by Julia Gorbachenko

Swedish beauty Elsa Hosk roars back from giving birth in mid-February to her baby girl Tuulikki Joan Daly, named after Elsa’s mom and grandma-in-law. Hosk wears green Bottega Veneta on the cover of Vogue Russia Living’s June 2021 rich-imagery fashion story.

Sandy Armeni styles ‘Desert Oasis’, puttingElsa in a SoCal mood wearing Balenciaga, Etro, Isabel Marant, Louis Vuitton, Versace and more in wonderful images captured by Yulia Gorbachenko [IG]. Love, love, love. / Hair by Dennis Gots; makeup by Natasha Severino

A Fashionista's Guide to Casino Nights Wearing Ageless Flygirl Style

A Fashionista's Guide to Casino Nights Wearing Ageless Flygirl Style

Beyond the “glow up” and bronzed skin, in addition to beach waves hair with plenty of volume and bounce — whatever your age — be like Martha and own YOU on YOUR casino night. Preparation is important. Everyone from Martha Stewart to her vegan cooking protégé Snoop Dogg will tell you that preparation is key to a successful party.

After that, just imagine you are Jennifer Lopez in Vegas or Martha Stewart in her East Hampton swimming pool. Own the moment with confidence and sincerity — but also with conviction. Because we all know that wearing self confidence is your best fashion statement. And be sure you have a divine time doing it. ~ Anne

Simone Biles Claims Her GOAT Title in Gymnastics, Leaves NIKE for Athleta

Simone Biles Claims Her GOAT Title in Gymnastics, Leaves NIKE for Athleta AOC Living

"The idea was to hit back at the haters," she told the outlet. "[The haters] were joking like, 'I swear, if she put a goat on her leo, blah, blah, blah.' That would make them so angry. And then I was like, 'Oh, that's actually a good idea.' And so that's exactly what we did and why we did it."

Simone Biles may be 4’10” in stature, but she packs a power punch twice her size. In late April, the platinum athlete ended her six-year relationship with Nike to join Athleta, Gap’s female-focused activewear brand.

The GOAT gymnast did not directly criticize Nike in announcing her move to Athleta — even though the company has a rocky relationship with female athletes.

“I felt like it wasn’t just about my achievements, it’s what I stood for and how they were going to help me use my voice and also be a voice for females and kids,” she said. “I feel like they also support me, not just as an athlete, but just as an individual outside of the gym and the change that I want to create, which is so refreshing.”

Simone Biles delivered an astonishing set of images by Kennedi Carter in this weeks’ online release of her cover story and interview in the June issue of Glamour US. There’s yet more to the Simone Biles story, with Athleta backing her competitive bird dogging of USA Gymnastics over her being willing to take on permanently USA Gymnastics, the governing body of her sport — a system that ignored staggering sexual abuse by team doctors of young women in their care. Biles has been a leader in that ongoing fight.

DO check out the Simone Biles cover story for Glamour’s June 2021 issue.

Simone Biles Soars by Kennedi Carter for Glamour US June 2021 AOC Fashion

Gigi Hadid Covers i-D Magazine No.363 by Daniel Jackson | Gigi's Blue Pasta

Gigi Hadid Covers i-D Magazine No.363 by Daniel Jackson | Gigi's Blue Pasta

A pensive Gigi Hadid covers the Summer 2021 issue of i-D magazine No. 363. The supermodel appears as a low-key, blank canvas styled by Alastair McKimm in modern, relaxed designs from The Row. Daniel Jackson [IG] creates the studio portraits with a brief interview by Osman Ahmed.

Two concepts resonate with AOC from Gigi’s interview. The first concerns her own mixed-race status — and Bella’s, although that is not mentioned. And her baby daughter Khai is also mixed-race in a world that is on the one hand increasingly embracing of the identity but also cruel about it at the same time. And that includes progressives — Anne’s words, not Gigi’s.

Christian Louboutin, Irdis & Sabrina Elba's Monumental 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' Campaign

Christian Louboutin, Irdis & Sabrina Elba's Monumental 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' Campaign

Fashion designer Christian Louboutin collaborates with close friends Irdis Elba and his wife Sabrina Elba on a superb campaign to support Black activism and philanthropy. The English actor, writer, producer, rapper, songwriter and DJ is best known for his 2018 role in ‘Black Panther’. Elba played the ruler of Wakanda, a fictional African nation with the most advanced technology. French photographer and director Julien Vallon [IG] captures the campaign.

Sabrina Elba spoke with Glamour UK about the brilliantly-conceived ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’ campaign from Africa, where she is doing philanthropic work with IFAD — the International Fund of Agricultural Development and the UN.

In the month of May 2021, I found myself in a discussion on The Conversation about the impacts of racism on human health. A Trump-supporting white male piped up about American Blacks constantly playing the victims and my response was “Until you’ve walked a mile in the shoes of a Black person in America, do not be accusing them of playing ‘the victim’ card.”

I didn’t add “those words reveal your own ignorant racism”, but that thought was going through my mind.

As Estee Lauder Ambassador, Adut Akech Brings Ubuntu Values to Our Needy World

As Estee Lauder Ambassador, Adut Akech Brings Ubuntu Values to Our Needy World AOC Blackness

Supermodel Adut Akech is now an Estee Lauder global ambassador, joining other famous women like Karlie Kloss, Carolyn Murphy, Anok Yai and Ana de Armas in a role that is a truly prestigious and long-lasting business and human-values relationship. Estee Lauder is known for paying ambassadors very well and this new achievement for Akech will help to cement her financial future.

Adut Akech Understands Ubuntu

At age 21, Adut has mastered the art of — or is innately gifted in — speaking to activist values with honesty and grace. Consciously or unconsciously, Adut embraces ‘ubuntu’. The Zulu concept of ‘ubuntu’ — expressed Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu — literally means that a person is a person through other people.

Condensed “ubuntu’ is a concept that believes 'I am because of who we all are’ — and that includes you, too. As members of the human family, we don’t live in silos apart from each other, but connected to and impacted by each other’s values and actions. I feel your love and it helps me thrive, and I also feel your hate or indifference which can be spiritually, psychologically and physically crushing.

Now 21 and stepping up as an Estee Lauder ambassador, Adut Akech is the representation she once sought for herself as a young woman of color. "It means a lot to me, because this is something that I never saw – it's something that I never thought I would be able to do," she says. "Even though I had wished and dreamed to do it, I didn’t see it. And now in the position I'm in, I get to be that representation – someone for others to look up to."

Gugu Mbatha-Raw by Danika Magdelena in 'Star Power' for Porter Edit

Actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw by Danika Magdelena in 'Star Power' for Porter Edit

British actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw is super pleased about landing the female role in the new Disney+ series ‘Loki’, playing opposite Tom Hiddleston.

Maya Zepinic styles the actor in ‘Star Power’, choosing crisp, modern looks from Agolde, Kassel Editions, Lanvin, Lisa Marie Fernandez, Loewe, Loulou Studio, Saint Laurent, The Row, Wardrobe NYC and more. Photographer Danika Magdelena [IG] is behind the lens for Porter Edit’s June 14, 2021 issue.

Ajesh Patalay conducts the interview.

What Elephant Crop Raids in Kenya's Masai Mara Are Telling Us About Future Conflict

What Elephant Crop Raids in Kenya's Masai Mara Are Telling Us About Future Conflict

Elephants need large amounts of space to roam in search of food and water. Because of this, they often move outside the boundaries of protected areas – such as the Masai Mara National Reserve and wildlife conservancies – into areas where people live.

These people are impacted by elephants that eat and destroy farm crops. Sometimes their lives are threatened. This often creates fear and anger towards this species and sometimes leads to elephants being killed in retaliation.

These negative interactions – termed human-elephant conflict – pose a huge threat to populations of this endangered species.

Edward Colston Museum Display: What Happens Next for the Fallen Statue

Edward Colston Museum Display: What Happens Next for the Fallen Statue

When Black Lives Matter protests broke out in the summer of 2020, attention quickly turned to perceived symbols of oppression. After years of calls to remove racist monuments, Confederate and colonial statues quickly came down all over the world. But despite this, art historian Erin Thompson has found that many or most have gone up again in new locations.

Some statues have been moved into museums; others have been moved to private locales owned by people who are most enthusiastic about preserving them. Few have been destroyed, and in many places, including the UK, new laws block removal of statues, prescribing instead that they should be retained and explained. Thompson argues that since permanent removal is rare, the question is less whether statues should be removed, and more where they should be located, and how they should be contextualized.

Malala Yousafzai's British Vogue Interview Causes Hateful Controversy in Pakistan

Malala Yousafzai has created a storm in Pakistan with her recent British Vogue cover story and interview. As much as Malala — like Obama and Oprah, she is known by her first name — is beloved by western liberals for her true grit spirit, the founding of her foundation dedicated to educating girls worldwide, and her sensitivity generally to embracing progressive issues like climate change and suffering in Syria and Pakistan.

The vast majority of people in Pakistan shed no tears and felt no horror when a Taliban insurgent shot Malala in the face and part of her brain, after boarding a school bus looking for the 15-year-old in 2012. Already — and with her parents’ permission — she was blogging about girls issues for the BBC.

The back lash against Malala’s British Vogue interview was severe, when Malala said: “I still don’t understand why people have to get married.”

"If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can't it just be a partnership?" she queries to the world towards the end of her interview.

Pakistan has a lot in common with Trump supporters these days. In the same way that significant numbers of Trump supporters do not believe the Biden won the presidential election, Pakistanis are horrified that Malala is a stooge for the global liberal elite and has brought great dishonor to her home country.

The Washington Post details the outrage sparked in Pakistan over the British Vogue interview. Reality is that the divorce rate is rising in Pakistan, along with women’s bargaining power. Both the nation and large numbers of Pakistani men are not amused.

The TED Talk above is from 2020 one, post Malala’s graduation from Oxford. I’m surprised that British Vogue has no follow up piece on all the controversy around Malala’s interview. You can read it here.

“I Know the Power A Young Girl Carries In Her Heart”: The Extraordinary Life of Malala”

World Oceans Day: We Cannot Meet Sustainable Development Goals with a Sick Ocean

World Oceans Day: We Cannot Meet Sustainable Development Goals with a Sick Ocean

Jute Rugs and Biophilic Design: Why Natural Fibers May Create Brain Bliss

Jute Rugs and Biophilic Design: Why Natural Fibers May Create Brain Bliss

6 Reasons Why Interior Designers Vouch For Jute Rugs | AOC Agrees

Almost every interior decorator is raving about jute rugs, and there must be a reason behind it. It’s as if something ancestral — almost primal — happens when we talk on jute rugs, and especially in bare feet.

Working on a recent AOC post Raffia: AOC Launches Earth-Friendly Fibers Sustainable Inquiry in Fashion and Design, we came across the same concept twice in a couple hours: “biophilic design”. Fast Company summed up the concept this way:

Biophilic design dates back to the early 1980s, when the biologist Edward O. Wilson outlined his philosophy of biophilia, hypothesizing that humans have an innate, biological affinity for the natural world. Biophilic design takes this idea one step further: Because humans today spend 90% of our time indoors, according to the 2001 National Human Activity Pattern Survey, it’s necessary to bring the outdoors in and create indoor environments that reference nature in both obvious and subtle ways.

As a reminder, modern humans may be awash in a sea of plastic, but 99% of human life has been lived in concert with nature. Biophilic design assumes that core aspects of nature have contributed to our health and wellbeing, and this connection can be scientifically measured.