On Thursday rumors that Zendaya had made a major luxury brand move were confirmed, with Louis Vuitton announcing her as its newest house ambassador.
Master photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott captured Zendaya as the face of its Capucines bag, shot in color-saturated, cinematic images of blue sky and a quiet Mediterranean backdrop at the restored 1929 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin house, designed by Irsh architect Eileen Gray./ Hair by Raoul Alejandre; makeup by Antoinette Hill
The Golden Globe–winning actor’s career is in fifth gear, with two highly-anticipated films this year. ‘Challengers’, a Luca Guadagnino–directed tennis drama [‘Call Me by Your Name’] will release in August on August 11, 2023. Zendaya stars with ‘The Crown’s’ Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist ‘West Side Story’ in a tennis tournament in which her husband faces off against her former lover.
Wet Leg, a British indie rock group, was founded in 2019 by singer Rhian Teasdale and lead guitarist Hester Chambers on the Isle of Wight. The duo debuted with their single "Chaise Longue" in 2021, followed by their self-titled debut album in 2022.
Wet Leg has received five Grammy nominations, winning Best Alternative Music Album and Best Alternative Music Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. They also won Best New Artist and Best British Group at the 2023 Brit Awards.
Fast forward to now, where Wet Leg is the lead opening act on the 2023 Harry Styles ‘Love on Tour’ tour. Wet Leg performed hits like ‘Chaise Lounge’ at Coachella 2023 this past weekend.
Today we meet Wet Leg’s Rhian and Hester in the pages of Net-a-Porter’s April 17th issue, where Hanna Hanra talks “fun, friendship and tearing up the songwriting rule book.”
Photographer Annie Lai [IG] shoots the talented, conspiratorial duo Rhian and Hester, who are riding high in music, culture and now marriage.
Deeply immersed in the pending US Supreme Court stay issued against the dreadful anti-science decision by US FederalTexas District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk against Mifepristone, AOC completely missed the news that Choupette Lagerfeld has accepted an invite to The Met Gala honoring her famously controversial daddy.
Glamour Magazineposted the news last week. Is Choupette traveling on her own jet, or will she preferably take the heat in an airplane at least carrying a crowd of fashion folks?
Will Kim Kardashian Fly Choupette to The Met Gala?
Back to Choupette . . . she could be flying Air Chanel, which would make sense. Or now that Kim Kardashian is coming to the Met Gala, it’s a fact that Choupette would look great in KK’s new plane.
And if anybody can take the heat for flying a private jet to Europe to pick up Karl Lagerfeld’s famous cat Choupette, it’s Kim Kardashian.
After all, Karl Lagerfeld shot Kim Kardashian [West then] in 2013, seven months pregnant with North. He was the first major fashion photographer to shoot her.
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.
Korean actor Hoyeon covers the Spring 2023 issue of GQ US Creativity Awards. The ‘Squid Game’ star is lensed in recognizable images by Elizabeth Porodina [IG] with styling by Dena Giannini./ Hair by Tiago Goya; makeup by Holly Silius
Noteworthy is her renewed love and appreciation for her home city of Seoul, where she now has an apartment that serves as a sort of refuge for the busy star. Hoyeon has also been in a long-term relationship with fellow actor Lee Dong Hwi since 2015.
The buzz is about Yoyeon’s current project, a psychological thriller ‘Disclaimer’, in which she is working with Cate Blanchett. Filming for the Apple TV+ series wrapped in February.
Dutch fashion model Rianne Van Rompaey covers the second 2023 issue of Harper’s Bazaar France, photographed in London by Alasdair McLellan [IG].
Today’s popular culture does not value discretion, but we don’t see an obvious financial price to be paid for models living a lower-profile life.
As long as a model remains respected and popular enough to generate income in media or on the runway — she must create value for her clients, after all — s[he] may enjoy a well-rounded life of experiences and opportunities that most people only dream about. These pros aren’t caught up in the social media hype machine that reduces models earning $20 million a year and more to weep live on IG over the misery of their lives and unfair Instagram comments.
Rianne Van Rompaey has that balance in her life. So do Vittoria Ceretti and Saskia De Brauw. Two Dutch models and an Italian. When one considers that it’s the Americans who weep, this reality begs for more thought. It’s a light bulb moment!!
In the Harper’s Bazaar Spain April 2023 fashion story ‘Romper Barreras’ [‘Breaking Barriers’], Pat Cleveland and Anna Cleveland are styled by Inmaculada Jiménez in images by Vladimir Martí [IG] for ‘The Picasso’ issue.
A Model Icon’s Life Turned Inside Out in March 2019
In Spring 2019, legendary AfricanAmerican model Pat Cleveland was diagnosed with colon cancer. The then 68-year-old model icon rushed to the American Hospital in Paris, after walking the Tommy Hilfiger and Zendaya show in very early March.
Resulting from the emergency surgery in Paris on March 23, Cleveland’s colon cancer was detected. Anna Cleveland, Pat’s daughter, who is also a model and performer, was living in Paris and able to care for her mother during the crisis.
4 Years Later, Pat Cleveland Is Thriving
In a miracle of miracles moment, Pat Cleveland is thriving four years out from her life-threatening medical event.
Colorectal cancer disproportionately affects the Black community, where the rates are the highest of any racial/ethnic group in the US. African Americans are about 20% more likely to get colorectal cancer and about 40% more likely to die from it than most other groups.
AOC has studied and promoted Karlie Kloss from her first steps into New York fashion world, because it was clear that she is a woman of principle and also a progressive activist at heart.
The folks at Carolina Herrera, now part of the Barcelona-based Puig Group of brands, were also drawn to Karlie, and not only because of her 6’2” stature and athletic/professional dancer training.
Karlie Kloss is the epitome of the classic Good Girl, updated for the 21st century. In fashion marketing, we toss around the term ‘boss lady’ with ease. Karlie Kloss helps define what a boss lady IS.
Supermodel Kendall Jenner mannequins [yes, AOC is making it a verb] the April 2023 cover story of Vogue Italia. Kate Phelan styles Jenner in Burberry, Chloe,Dior, Fendi, Hermes, JW Anderson, Loewe, Max Mara, Prada and more for images by Robin Galiegue [IG].
In her own words, Jenner’s main focus is her mental health and not posing in a fashion magazine. "The beginning of the year was emotionally difficult." Kendall Jenner, 27 years old in November, tells Vogue Italia. It’s not clear whether she means 2022 or 2023. I’m assuming 2022.
“To come out and feel optimistic is reassuring. Everything is temporary, I feel intensely grateful and happy, ready for what's to come,” Kendall says, explaining that she is practicing "hope for something until it comes true, using the law of attraction.”
In this episode — posted a year ago and not part of the Vogue italia interview but Kendall’s mental health is all about the interview —Kendall sits down with Dr. Jorge Partida, Chief of Psychology at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, to discuss social media addiction, our human need to feel connected, and how both of those things can contribute to feelings of anxiety.
Actor Hunter Schafer covers the April 2023 issue of British ELLE, styled by Carolina Orrico for ‘Leaning In’, lensed by Paola Kudacki [IG]./ Hair by Lacy Redway; makeup by Carolina Dali
Lynette Nylandersits down with Schafer in New York, six years after their first interview. At the time, the journalist was writing about new changemakers. Hunter Schafer, then age 18, was an emerging voice in the fight for trans rights. I learned that she was an early contributor to Tavi Gevinson’s blogging site ‘Rookie’.
Because AOC is politically-involved, we actually followed and wrote about her trans fight to transition in North Carolina — before we wrote about her as a model and then actor.
‘It was my [modelling] agency that told me about the audition for Euphoria,’ she says [to ELLE]. ‘I think every trans girl at the time got the call. They asked me to come in for a reading, but I wasn’t looking for it.’
Rising talent Deva Cassel, daughter of Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel, headlines the Spring 2023 issue of Wonderland Magazine, lensed in three separate covers by Ellen Von Unwerth [IG].
Cassel has deep roots in the best of French and Italian heritage. The jeune fille turned 18 last September, and we can expect to see her soar in influence.
In a storyline scripted straight of her now-divorced, parents’ lives, Deva Cassell is making her acting debut as a provocative artists’ model in Italian director Laura Luchetti’s ‘The Beautiful Summer’.
Based on the widely-translated novel ‘La Bella Estate’ by Italian author Cesare Pavese, Cassell plays the role of the unhibited artist’s model Amelia.
Supermodel Gigi Hadid covers the March 3, 2023 issue of M Le magazine du Monde, as her ‘Next in Fashion - Season 2’ Netflix series trends in the Top 5. Hadid has joined Tan France as the co-host in the show. Gigi made the announcement last night on IG to her 77 million followers.
M Le magazine notes that Gigi, her sister Bella, Kylie Jenner [who books 277 milion followers] and Hailey Bieber are far more than models. Their omnipresence explains their attractiveness to luxury houses, making them ambassadors with notoriety equaling — if not exceeding — that of successful actresses or singers.
We learn Gigi’s complete name of Jelena Noura Hadid and the desire of French photographer Karim Sadid [IG] and stylist Carlos Nazario to present her in the fashion story with minimum artifice. AOC adds also her sensuality, as Gigi Hadid rolls out the most alluring images we’ve seen of her in years.
Superstar actor Cate Blanchett returns, this time in AnOther Magazine’s Spring-Summer 2023 issue, lensed by Harley Weir [IG]. The actor is styled by Robbie Spencer in Alexander McQueen, Gabriela Hearst, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe, Steve O Smith, Y/Project and more.
Marin Alsop is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship — the latter regarded to be in near-Nobel Prize prestige.
The Guardianwrites: “Tár, the US conductor told the Sunday Times, was “anti-woman” and a personal affront. The film could have told the story of a rapacious male monster, but chose instead to make its lead a female conductor. “To have an opportunity to portray a woman in that role and to make her an abuser,” Alsop said. “For me, that was heartbreaking.”’
Blanchett is heavily favored to take a Best Actress Award for Tár at the Oscars. Cate has already locked down a Golden Globes Best Actress award and also a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Supermodel Cindy Crawford covers the sixth anniversary issue of Vogue Arabia, taking the March 2023 spotlight with a declaration: “What I don’t want to do is be part of that message that’s telling women of a certain age, ‘You got to hang it up now.’ Like, why? I don’t believe in a season of invisibility.”
Patrick Mackie styles Crawford in va-va-voom elegance for women of every age in images by Thomas Whiteside [IG].
The point made by this 57-year-old fashion industry insider is that she can wear the clothes if she wants to — although Cindy does confirm that she’s not trying to be on the cover of ‘Sports Illustrated’ in 2023. Deal with it!
Speaking to Vogue Arabia’sHala Gorani, Cindy wants to talk about the Apple TV documentary series that will introduce four of the supers — Cindy-Naomi-Linda-Christy — to a younger generation. “Two weeks ago, we were all on set, shooting together. It’s been a long time since the four of us were together in front of the camera and it was amazing. In a weird way, it was like no time had passed and, in another way, we also were fully our adult selves.”
Supermodel Naomi Campbell covers the March-April 2023 issue of Vogue India. Kate Phelan styled the supermodel legend in rich images by Campbell Addy [IG].
Naomi wears major jewelry by Sabyasachi [IG] and fashion, too, throughout the images. Never has Campbell had a Vogue India cover, nor a solo fashion feature, even though she’s been coming to India since 1994.
“The second time that I ever travelled alone in my life [to India], I went to Trivandrum,” Naomi reveals to Shriya Zamindar. “I went there by myself in 2012 to learn about yoga. I saw yoga being done in all these different ways, for different purposes. But I specifically wanted to know how to find this triangle of peace,” she says to the photo shoot team. “I wanted to go to the source and teach myself. I stayed there for a month and put my phone in the safe. There were only two people who knew how to contact me. I immersed myself in the experience and I loved it.”
Naomi Campbell’s mission in India has taken on a new focus. “I just launched my new initiative, EMERGE, in Qatar and we’re looking to bring it to India. It highlights young creatives and gives them a platform so that the world gets to see them,” she explains. “The concept is to invest in them and bring them to London and Milan, mixing them in where they should be. It’s about highlighting their work which doesn’t get highlighted.”
‘Euphoria’ star Sydney Sweeney is receiving raves for her role in the film ‘Reality’. Following the film’s premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 18, 2023 — and staggeringly positive reviews — HBO has moved to pickup distribution rights.
In 2018 Reality Winner, a former intelligence contractor for NSA, left her National Security Agency contractor’s office at the Fort Gordon army base in Georgia. In hand was a single intelligence report about Russian attempts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election that saw Donald J. Trump beat Hillary Clinton for the White House.
Tina Satter directed the film, based on the story of Reality Winner’s day that the FBI showed up at her door. This press conference video says much about the structure of the FBI investigation and ‘friendly’ confrontation with Winner at her home. The FBI interview is also discussed in the ‘60 Minutes’ video.
Actors Marchant Davis, Josh Hamilton, and Benny Elledge have roles in the film.
The Kardashian-Jenners entertained the world, while shaping its customs and habits, writes Matchetti. People can protest all they want about the Kardashians, and they can also turn them off. The fact that they won’t tells us more about them than the K-women, who have made a fortune off our addiction to them.
You don’t find AOC criticizing the Kardashian-Jenner women, because our values say we must criticize their followers at the same time. It’s the followers who are making them rich and famous.
Consider that they probably know more about the human psychology of Americans than any think tank in America. Granted, they are a global brand, but this IS an American story — and we can always turn it off.
Danish top model Mona Tougaard explores the thinking of Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, who became notoriously popular in early 1890s London.
Ellie Grace Cumming styles Tougaard in edgy, intelligenstsia fashion lensed by Alasdair McLellan [IG]. ‘Pictures From an Institution’ was shot at Magdalen College, Oxford in 2023 for d la Repubblica February 18, 2023.
In 1887, Oscar Wilde became the editor of ‘The Lady’s World’, a high-end, monthly magazine produced by Cassell and Company. Wilde’s short but controversial tenure challenged how magazines narrated women’s lives and roles in society. Fascinating!
AOC adores these poetic images of Kaia Gerber’s 1960s Coke-can curls. Other key words from this big-hair period in America are bouffant and the beehive.
We think that only southern girls from that era believed “The higher the hair, the closer to God”, and definitely in Georgia.
i-D Magazine’s March 2023 issue no. 371 ‘The Timeless Issue’ refers to channeling Old Hollywood in this fashion story styled by Alastair McKimm. Perhaps.
To AOC, it’s less grand than Old Hollywood but with the same aspirations. Kaia is Southern girl cotillion-ready. And Tyler, look at this gorgeous picture of a Black debutante ball.
Gen Z actor admired by many, Hunter Schafer is one cover star of the March 2023 issue of Numéro [IG] 237, on newsstands now. Harley Weir [IG] photographs the ‘Euphoria’ star styled by Haley Woolens in Mugler.
The actor will collaborate on the next iteration of Mugler’s Angel Elixir Eau de Parfum, a scent that offers “a new fearless quest for femininity”.
Checking in with Hunter [IG] just now, her comments on the Weir Angel photo, include references to her covering her eye with the Angel fragrance bottle. Comments say this is a signal that she is a member of the Illuminati.
