Margot Robbie Delights in Lachlan Bailey Flamingo Estate LA Fashion Shoot

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Margot Robbie Delights in Lachlan Bailey Flamingo Estate LA Fashion Shoot AOC Fashion

The real magic of British Vogue’s August 2021 cover story with actor Margot Robbie is that it was a gathering of Australians. Flying to Los Angeles when so many fashion shoots are now virtual, Australian stylist and art director Clare Richardson felt inspired and downright joyous.

Few fashion stories and interviews are a joy to read, especially for a serious person like myself. Yet, Robbie’s feature is a true getaway— perhaps because she talks unapologetically a lot about her work and excitement over her success. It was a quick read with no angst that AOC truly enjoyed.

In today’s world, any interview that leaves one smiling and appreciative of the moment, is a success. That’s probably due to Margot Robbie, who Richardson describes as “down-to-earth, professional and polite (on set, you always notice the person who says hello to everyone). There was no fuss; she is warm, kind and grounded, yet extremely smart and astute.”

Normal fashion chatter like fellow Aussie, photographer Lachlan Bailey, sharing amused delight over Robbie’s new haircut — a French-girl fringe and golden highlights — made me smile.

Shooting in the gardens of the Flamingo Estate immediately got my attention, primarily because we added another Australian Richard Christiansen to the friendly California fashion crew salad. The Flaming Estate brand is another story worth pursuing after one look at the website.

So now you have the entire mood and cast of characters that produced the British Vogue August 2021 cover fashion story. As the Flamingo Estate website says “It’s time to feel good again.”

That message isn’t escapism, anxiety and stress over climate change, women in Afghanistan, Black Lives Matter, the fifth iteration of COVID, American going to war over face masks, and the rise of white nationalism.

It’s about simple delights California style, which means that the bar of Flamingo Estate soap is $25 but it truly is medicine from the garden — beautiful, fragrant, and the work of mother nature — “our doctor, therapist and friend. Take care of her and she’ll take care of you.” That’s food for thought, and yes, you can shop the pantry.

Eva Wiseman shares the Robbie interview, which just rolls on in a survey of the star’s career and successes. In a story I already knew — and adore: “The description of the character she read for in Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ was “the hottest blonde ever”; she went off-script and slapped Leonardo DiCaprio hard across the face, launching her into the humid air of movie stardom.” [Every woman needs a story like this one!”]

Robbie’s a friendly feminist to the core, naming her 2014 production company with husband Tom Ackerley and two other creative friends ‘Lucky Chap’. Its aim was to tell women’s stories on-screen, and to support female creators behind the scenes – a plan grounded in business as much as politics. An early production was “I Tonya”, the biopic of skater Tonya Harding that garnered Robbie’s first Oscar nomination.

You must read the entire interview. Robbie returns now to her role of Harley Quinn in an all new film ‘The Suicide Squad’. - Rebellion’.

Gucci Diana Bag Honors Her Memory at Gucci Bamboo House in Kyoto, Japan

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Gucci Diana Bag Honors Her Memory at Gucci Bamboo House in Kyoto, Japan AOC Fashion

Princess Diana in Japan, May 1986

Nearly 100,000 people cheered Britain’s Prince and Princess of Wales on the streets of Tokyo, when they arrived for a six-day visit to Japan on May 12, 1986. The headline in the New York Times read: ‘Diana Fever’ Comes to a Quiet Emperor’s Land.

Part of Diana’s duties in Japan included attending a traditional Japanese tea ceremony at Nijo Castle in Kyoto. {collage of images above} where she was gifted a traditional kimono fit for a princess.

Thirty-five years later, Gucci has paid tribute to the Kyoto visit in two ways.

First, in honor of Diana’s 60th birthday, Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele reimagined the royal’s favorite, iconic handbag in a series of bold and bright colors in three different sizes: medium, small and mini. Additionally, the new handbag — called the Gucci Diana — includes removable neon buckled belts on each bag, which serve as a nod to the functional bands that were first released with the original to secure the handles’ shape.

The ‘Diana’ bag, which the Princess made famous in one variation or another running errands around London or arriving for a gym workout. Diana LOVED her Gucci handbags with their bamboo handles.

Gucci creative director Alessandro Michel celebrated the Gucci Diana handbag at one of her favorite London institutions — The Savoy Hotel, where Diana was sometimes seen twice in a single day. In a bit of historical nothingness, the luxury brand’s founder worked as a lift boy at The Savoy in his youth.

The Gucci Diana campaign itself was shot by Angelo Pennetta [IG] with a variety of models strolling around London sporting the new bag, most notably leaving The Savoy Hotel

Second, Gucci took the Diana Bags to Kyoto. Thirty-five years later, Gucci’s new Gucci Diana bag traveled to Kyoto in an early August, Olympics concurrent exhibit called ‘Gucci in Kyoto’ project. AOC continues the narrative about the exhibition — which closed today August 15, after the campaign images.

See Campaign images @ AOC.

The Gucci Bamboo House, Kyoto, Japan.

Gucci Celebrates its 100th Anniversary in Kyoto

Learning about the special pop-up at Architectural Digest, Gucci renovated a ‘machiya ‘— a Japanese traditional wooden townhouse typically inhabited by merchants and craftsmen—formerly known as the Kawasaki Residence. Though these homes have existed since the Heian period, running 794 to 1185 AD, the Gucci restoration was constructed during the Taishō era of the 1920s (the same period as Gucci’s founding).

According to Japan Property Central, the townhouse, located in central Kyoto, has fashion in its bones: It was originally built for a wealthy cotton merchant, and after selling to the Kawasaki family, it ultimately served as a kimono museum. Despite its current designation as a Cultural Property of Kyoto City, the house risked demolition just two years ago. However, Gucci has since been able to supply additional funding.

Some images of the Gucci Bamboo House in Kyoto from the Gucci Instagram.

Ashley Callingbull Covers Fashion Canada September 2021, Talking Indigenous Peoples

Ashley Callingbull Covers Fashion Canada September 2021, Talking Indigenous Peoples AOC Fashion

Ashley Callingbull, Indigenous model, pageant queen, and motivational speaker from Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta, covers the September 2021 issue of Fashion Magazine Canada. The activist wears a dress from Native American visual artist and California fashion designer Jamie Okuma on the cover, styled by Lucrezia Mancini.

Savage X Carmel Curves Bad-Ass Biker Ladies Were Born to Ride in Rihanna's Lingerie

[Image: Shaniqwa Jarvis/courtesy of Savage X Fenty]

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Savage X Carmel Curves Bad-Ass Biker Ladies Were Born to Ride in Rihanna's Lingerie AOC Fashion

When AOC saw the headline about Savage X Fenty’s newest lingerie campaign with ‘Carmel Curves’, we smiled big.

We wrote about the Carmel Curves Motorcycle Club, a 10-woman biker gang of some of New Orleans’ best Black beauties three years ago. Caramel Curves Motorcycle Club was founded 16 years ago by Nakosha “Coco” Smith and Shanika “Tru” Beatty. Back then, we wrote:

The group consists of 13 [now 10] women with a decades-long love of motorcycles and a desire to bike with other women. "The ladies wear helmets ridged with fluorescent pink mohawks and matching vests bedazzled in blingy patches and sequins. Finishing the look are Barbie-pink stilettos. Their bikes are big Suzuki Hayabusas (that they call “busas”) and Gixxers, and Can-Am Spyders, airbrushed in shades of pink, with brightly colored rims to match. And when they stunt, with curving burnouts or wheelies, their tires send off plumes of magenta-hued smoke."

In fact, the Savage X Fenty team read the same New York Times article that AOC did. Read our original post below.

Here’s the Carmel Curves Instagram Page. It seems that members also have their own personal page. Shaniqwa Jarvis [IG] is the photographer behind the campaign. We’re working on lining up the names of all the bikers featured.

I love it. Victoria’s Secret has got their VS Collective all lined up with star power that includes: Adut Akech, Amanda de Cadenet, Eileen Gu, Megan Rapinoe, Paloma Elsesser, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Valentina Sampaio — totally fab women chosen to keep the brand on track with what women really want.

And then Rihanna swoops in with probably the most body-affirming, pro-woman lingerie video ever created to inspire American women.

If VS was really game, they would ask the VS Collective to critique this totally out-of-the box video. I promise you that at least five — if not all seven — members of the VS Collective LOVE the Savage X Carmel Curves campaign.

The Carmel Curve ladies don’t typically ride in lingerie. But they DO ride in heels. They ARE the sisterhood in action, and the body-affirming, pro-empowerment message of the documentary-style video cannot be overstated. It’s just absolutely the BEST!

Beyoncé Celebrates 40 Years of Excellence for Harper's Bazaar, Lensed by Campbell Addy

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Beyoncé Celebrates 40 Years of Excellence for Harper's Bazaar, Lensed by Campbell Addy AOC Fashion

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is revered worldwide. As she prepares to celebrate her 40th birthday on September 4, the star is ready to listen to her own inner voice.

During the years of making herself a star music talent, businesswoman, activist, Black cultural hero, philanthropist, mother to four-year-old twins Rumi and Sir and nine-year-old Blue Ivy, and wife to JAY-Z, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter learned the power of putting in the work. “Vision and intention weren’t enough; I had to put in the work,” Beyoncé explains in the September 2021 Harper’s Bazaar US cover story.

The September issue of Harper’s is the first time in a decade that Beyoncé has appeared on the cover of the magazine.

For the majority of her life, including her childhood, the mega-talent had not only ambition and a desire to create excellence in her life. Beyoncé had standards — the highest standards for herself. She explains:

If something wasn’t helping me reach my goal, I decided to invest no time in it. I didn’t feel like I had time to “kiki” or hang out. I sacrificed a lot of things and ran from any possible distraction. I felt as a young Black woman that I couldn’t mess up. I felt the pressure from the outside and their eyes watching for me to trip or fail. I couldn’t let my family down after all the sacrifices they made for me and the girls. That meant I was the most careful, professional teenager and I grew up fast. I wanted to break all of the stereotypes of the Black superstar, whether falling victim to drugs or alcohol or the absurd misconception that Black women were angry. I knew I was given this amazing opportunity and felt like I had one shot. I refused to mess it up, but I had to give up a lot.

Tiffany & Co jewelry is worn throughout the fashion story ‘The Once & Future Beyoncé.’ With her husband JAY-Z , the couple have been named new faces and ambassadors for the luxe jewelry brand. LVMH, Tiffany’s new owner, is now an equal owner with JAY-Z of his champagne brand Armand de Brignac, aka ‘Ace of Spades’.

Beyoncé’s narrative for Harper’s is illuminating and deeper than others we’ve read. She tells a wonderful story about agencies and “formulaic corporate companies” that’s truly wonderful. She’s always sought to surround herself with creative, innovative thinkers, but sometimes there’s just no escaping sterile, corporate thinking.

Like there was the time this agency told her that her audience didn’t like black and white photography. It had to be color. ‘And how do you know that,’ Beyoncé wondered to herself. ‘Market research’ was the answer, and the modern music icon wasn’t having it. She was beyond aggravated:

It pissed me off that an agency could dictate what my fans wanted based on a survey. Who did they ask? How is it possible to generalize people this much? Are these studies accurate? Are they fair? Are all the people I’m trying to uplift and shine a light on included? They’re not. It triggered me when I was told, “These studies show…” I was so exhausted and annoyed with these formulaic corporate companies that I based my whole next project off of black and white photography, including the videos for “Single Ladies” and “If I Were a Boy” and all of the artwork by Peter Lindbergh for I Am…Sasha Fierce, which ended up being my biggest commercial success to date. I try to keep the human feeling and spirit and emotion in my decision-making.

Greta Thunberg Covers Vogue Scandinavia Issue 1 Lensed by Alexandrov Klum

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Greta Thunberg Covers Vogue Scandinavia Issue 1 Lensed by Alexandrov Klum AOC Fashion

Climate activist Greta Thunberg launches the first cover of Vogue Scandinavia Issue 1 August-September 2021, lensed by artists duo Alexandrov Klum [IG], The couple Iris and Mattias Alexandrov Klum live in Stockholm and Costa Blanca, located on the southeastern coast of Spain. Read Vogue Scandinavia’s separate interview with Alexandrov Klum.

As you would expect from Thunberg, she doesn’t mince her words in her interview with Tom Pattinson, but also clarifies where she’s coming from on the topic of optimism and change. What better place to do that than in the launch issue of the new Vogue Scandinavia. Thunberg breaks it down for Pattinson:

“There is some kind of misconception about activists, especially about climate activists that we are just negative and pessimists, and we are just complaining, and we are trying to spread fear but that’s the exact opposite. We are doing this because we are hopeful, we are hopeful that we will be able to make the changes necessary.”

[Note that digitally we’re not finding information of Greta’s clothes. We assume they are by sustainable designers.]

There are models who use their Instagram Vogue covers to thank everyone and express gratitude for the opportunity of stepping into the fashion world limelight. Not Greta Thunberg. She used a Sunday Instagram post. to send her main message about fashion around the world.

“The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate-and ecological emergency, not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables,”

“Many are making it look as if the fashion industry are starting to take responsibility, by spending fantasy amounts on campaigns where they portray themselves as ‘sustainable,’ ‘ethical,’ ‘green,’ ‘climate neutral’ and ‘fair.’ But let’s be clear: This is almost never anything but pure greenwashing. You cannot mass produce fashion or consume ‘sustainably’ as the world is shaped today. That is one of the many reasons why we will need a system change.”

Greta Thunberg is now 18. In 2020 the then 17-year-old founder of School Strike for Climate and Fridays For Future in America won the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity and its accompanying prize worth one million euros. In 2019, Greta was names TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year and she’s has three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize [2019-2021. Note the 2021 prize will be Awarded in October.]

AOC shares Swedish government-sponsored editorial on the state of fashion consumption in the country: Fast fashion is out — circular fashion is in. Sweden is in it for the long term.

Conservation Architect Gurmeet Sangha Rai by Avani Rai in Vogue India August 2021

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Conservation Architect Gurmeet Sangha Rai by Avani Rai in Vogue India August 2021 AOC Fashion

Mother-daughter duo Gurmeet Sangha Rai and daughter Avani Rai invite us to Chinar Haveli, their family home near Delhi. Both women are connected to legendary lensman Raghu Rai, called India’s best-known photographer alive by Fortune India. His website is awesome.

The women are not mere appendages in the life of Raghu Tai. Gurmeet Sangha Rai is one of India’s most important conservation architects. Priyanka Kapadia styles ‘Lay of the Land’, with hair and makeup by Deepa Verma.

Located two hours from Delhi is Chinar Haveli, a lush and private farmhouse located in the kingdom of nature. The 15-year-old home is build by hand using natural materials. It melds Western concepts with Indian karigari, writes Vogue India.

It’s here that the esteemed conservation architect is captured by her daughter, photographer and artist Avani Rai [IG].

In this interview with TheDesignBridge, Rai talks about the history of architecture and how it has been an evidence to a more intelligent and sensible solution to the world's environmental problems. She also highlights upon the fact that the smallest of the decisions can lead to a larger repercussions.