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.

LOEWE X On Performance Gear Collab with Camila Morrone, Duckwrth

LOEWE X On Performance Gear Collab Lensed by Grey Sorrenti with Camila Morrone, Duckwrth AOC Fashion

LOEWE links up with Swiss performance brand On for a collaboration that represents LOEWE’s first venture into a performance gear collab. Model Camila Morrone, still going strong with Leo DiCaprio since late 2017, and South LA rapper currently touring with Billie Eilish Duckwrth, front the campaign shot by Gray Sorrenti [IG] in Big Sur, California.

Although LOEWE has established a track record of capsule collections with artists, turning to superb craftsmanship and innovation from 12-year-old On marks a new direction.

Founded by Olivier Bernhard, a three-time World Duathlon Champion, and two fellow running enthusiasts, David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti, On launched with a clear technical vision and objective.

The co-founders saw an opportunity to create a radically different cushioning technology for running shoes, a large category that had not experienced much product innovation in recent years.

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, who invested an undisclosed sum into On in 2019, has his own ‘The Roger’ On shoe.

The collab featured here is LOEWE’s riff on ON’s popular Cloudventure ($390) and Cloudrock ($450) shoes, both of which feature the Swiss brand’s trademarked rubber outsole and liquid-injected thermoplastic mid-soles. The result is a shoe that is visibly grippy, lightweight and supportive.

The unique patented cushioning system is activated only when you need it — during the landing. AOC doesn’t pretend to understand it, but the logic is attractive.

See the entire LOEWE X On Running collection here.

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

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.”

Cindy Bruna's Inner 'Joséphine' and Chaumet's Latest Jewelry Glamour

Cindy Bruna's Inner 'Joséphine' and Chaumet's Latest Jewelry Glamour AOC Fashion

The House of Chaumet, based in Paris, releases its latest Joséphine collection, channeling the French empress and wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. The explosive — and very modern, even by French standards — love affair between Napoleon and Josephine is often cited as the most documented love story in history.

Empress Joséphine was the first eminent client of Marie-Etienne Nitot, Chaumet's founder. Learning his art as an apprentice to Aubert, court jeweler to Queen Marie-Antoinette, Nitot moved to Paris in 1780. After surviving the French Revolution, he was appointed jeweler to Emperor Napoleon, tasked with making jewelry symbolizing the power that Napoleon wished to convey.

An 18th century aristocrat, Empress Joséphine cherished memories of life on tropical islands like Martinique, where she was born. As Empress, she reinvented the codes of fashion and taste, popularizing her own vision of elegance on Parisian society.

Cherokee Jack and Sam Mallos by Annemarieke van Drimmelen in WSJ Magazine Men SS-2022

Annemarieke van Drimmelen Captures Cherokee Jack and Sam Mallos in WSJ Magazine AOC Fashion

WSJ Magazine shares this spring 2022 men’s fashion story featuring models Cherokee Jack and Sam Mallos. Photographer Annemarieke van Drimmelen and stylist Giovanni Dario Laudicina traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they shot the fashion story at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, or “the Ranch of the Swallows.”

This historic ranch, now a living history museum, dates from the early 1700s and was an important ‘paraje’ or stopping place along the famous ‘El Camino Real’, the Royal Road from Mexico City to Santa Fe.

Van Drimmelen [IG] has close ties to New Mexico, since her father moved there nearly 12 years ago. “The light is absolutely phenomenal—the way it reflects on the earth. It brings this amazing warmth,” she says, noting that these qualities once drew artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe to the area.

Both models looks quite spectacular in the WSJ Magazine photo shoot. AOC’s complimentary link takes you to WSJ to review the product credits.

Cherokee Jack’s Heritage

Last year I had a totally visceral response to Cherokee Jack’s images by Richard Phibbs — his first ‘commercial’ shoot as an adult. He modeled as a child for years. Cherokee Jack by Richard Phibbs for Man of Metropolis | Minnesota History of Mankato Hangings AOC Fashion

The images caused me to reflect on our mutual Minnesota area upbringings, my writing a play about Minnesota statehood that was performed by my school, and the Mankato hangings — a devastating part of the heritage of my small Minnesota city that was unknown to me until then.

In trying to know more about the model, I learned a bit of agonizing Mankato, Minnesota history.

The Place of Women in Cherokee Society

The people of Cherokee Nation call themselves the Aniyunwiya, which means ‘Principal People’. The Cherokee society is historically matrilineal, meaning clanship is passed through the mother. Among the Cherokees, women were considered the head of household, with the home and children belonging to her should she separate from her husband. Women had an equal voice in the affairs of the tribe.

In writing about Bella Hadid’s references to the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet Tuesday evening, I referenced the demise of warrior goddesses, an end to female power and influence that was in its final phase in fifth century Greece. That statement is historically correct about Europe and the rise of Christianity.

But in the ‘undiscovered’ Americas, advanced indigenous cultures flourished and women held significant power in tribal affairs, generally enjoying far more power than the white Christian women who arrived in the Americas.