Serena Williams 'Will Perform' Sports Wellness Brand Lands 3000 Walmart Stores
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Reverend-Ready Jennifer Garner in Fab Fakery Style for Allure May 2023
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Jennifer Garner covers the May 2023 issue of ‘Allure’ magazine, lensed by Tom Schirmacher [IG]. We don’t think of Jennifer Garner going edgy, but stylist Yashua Simmons creates a modern, steely-woman vibe with Miu Miu on the cover, LaQuan Smith [yellow trench coat], Loewe, Michael Kors and more.
“It spoke to the mountain girl in me — it’s a big part of Appalachian culture,” says Garner, 51, who grew up in West Virginia and gifts one of her wood-turning bowls created at a downtown Los Angeles studio to Pergament.
Garner learned the art of word turning in preparation for her current Apple TV+ thriller The Last Thing He Told Me.
Asked who she would be without Hollywood, Garner delivers an unexpected answer.
“I would have really liked being a minister,” she says. “My mom thinks I still will be. I grew up in such a lovely church in the United Methodist Church, and the minister was like the den parent. What I like about the study of religion, it reminds me of the study of theater . . .
Read MoreHailey Bieber Talks Rhode and Aching for Babies With Sunday Times Style May 14, 2023
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Super talent Hailey Bieber takes the stage in the May 14th, 2023 issue of The Sunday Times Style [IG], wearing Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello on the cover.
Stella Greenspan styles Bieber in images by Cass Bird [IG]. / Hair by Edward Lampley; makeup by Grace Ahn
Ellie Austin conducts the interview, which is focused primarily on her very successful [and lauded on AOC] skincare brand Rhode.
The entrepreneur and in-demand model-talent does make a health claim that caused my heart to hit the floor, given the times we are living in.
Apparently Hailey makes the claim often, and if estimates are that 10 people in 10,000 have this side effect annually, she may well be on the short list. Bieber makes no uber-rare disclaimer around her health assertion, so the right-wingers Maga crowd just runs wild with it.
AOC shares the facts around her claim from the world-respected Cleveland Clinic.
Read MoreQueen Charlotte's 'Power Play' in Harper's Bazaar UK June 2023 by Luc Braquet
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The brand new Netflix show “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” is inspired by actor Golda Rosheuvel’s role as “Bridgerton’s” feisty Queen Charlotte. Now, a younger India Amarteifio stars as the younger face of the monarch in the new spin-off series prequel.
Even Shonda Rhimes and actor Golda Rosheuvel stress that the purpose of putting Queen Charlotte front and center in the new Netflix spinoff is to inspire, even jumpstart new research around her ancestry.
"Our Queen Charlotte is based on and inspired by a real person, but is a fictional construct. We have made a beautiful, fantastical show with the hope that it makes people stop and wonder, 'Actually, who was this remarkable woman?' and go to find out more," she says. "Because she deserves it. She was part of the abolitionist movement; she knew Mozart; was a great patron of the arts."
The House of Windsor has never denied Queen Charlotte’s claimed African ancestry. David Buck, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, was quoted by the Boston Globe as saying “This has been rumored for years and years. It is a matter of history, and frankly, we’ve got far more important things to talk about.”
Read MoreHalle Baily Takes Digital Cover in Vogue Arabia May 2023 Lensed by Morelli Brothers
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Mermaid-loving Halle Bailey has a digital cover in the May 2023 issue of Vogue Arabia. The fabulous young talent is styled by Julia Müller in luxury looks from Chanel, David Koma, Jil Sander, Schiaparelli, Valdrin Sahiti, Valentino and more for images by The Morelli Brothers [IG]. / Hair by Tinisha Meeks; makeup by Christiana Cassell
My position with Ariel is that based on my studying of Hans Christian Andersen and having new reading from Andersen delivered to me — ‘Two Dramas. The Mulatto and The Moorish Girl’ — there is zero reason to take the position the ‘The Little Mermaid’ could not have been portrayed as a young creature of color in 1950 or in 1875, the year the author passed.
The problem is societal racism but not the author’s racism. And even people of color are jumping to conclusions about the author, which are presently unfounded. White people have the most simplistic argment: that Andersen was Danish and therefore Ariel was white.
Read MoreCharles and Camilla's Highgrove House Hosts First Ever Fashion Shoot in Harper's Bazaar UK June
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The beautiful, meticulously-maintained gardens of Highgrove House hosted this exquisite fashion story featuring model Aishwarya Gupta, of Indian heritage posing for Harper’s Bazaar UK [IG].
The private residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla was used in a collaboration with The Prince’s Foundation, for which British Vogue EIC Edward Enninful is an ambassador. [See link end of this post].
The newly-crowned royal couple Charles and Camilla’s convoy was seen Saturday evening May 6, 2023 passing through Tetbury in their maroon Bentley, less than two miles from their Highgrove Estate.
Read MoreHalima Aden Takes A Bow With Four Vogue Arabia May Covers Shot by Youssef Oubahou
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Model and Muslim-rights activist Halima Aden is featured on four Vogue Arabia May 2022 covers. Aden is styled by Amine Jreissati in images by Youssef Oubahou [IG].
Vogue Arabia EIC Manuel Arnault writes the interview: Halima Aden on Her Three-Year Hiatus from the Industry, Inhumane Working Conditions of Models, and Muslim Representation. I have read the entire interview and for the mostpart, Aden seems frozen in time.
Even in 2022, Halima was giving the same new interviews to media that shared her story of walking out of the fashion industry in 2020. AOC checks on her about every 90 days. Aden brings that identical voice to this Vogue Arabia May 2023 interview — but after therapy, which she cites as being very beneficial for her.
Is the fashion industry still rife with “inhumane working conditions for models”? I don’t know, but the New-York based Model Alliance four days ago posted on IG that the ‘Fashion Workers Act’, represents the culmination of the Model Alliance’s work over the last decade.
The Master of Diplomacy
In AOC’s opinion, Manuel Arnault probably has the most delicate and politically-fraught EIC role in fashion media. He walks that tightrope with an impressive maturity and diplomacy that I certainly don’t possess.
Arnault impressed me today, because he has taken up the topic of the Cleopatra Netflix series. Hence the paragraph that preceds this one. I bow down, Manuel Arnault.
Read MoreTexican Eva Longoria Introduces Us To Her Beloved Mexico in Vogue Mexico May 2023
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On March 26, 2023, Longoria debuted her new CNN show, “Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico”, which is modeled after the very successful “Searching for Italy with Stanley Tucci”. She is both host and executive producer of the series.
The series consists of six episodes, each exploring a different location in Mexico, including Jalisco, Mexico City, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Yucatan. Throughout the show, Longoria immerses herself in the rich culture, landscape, and history of Mexico, which have all played a significant role in shaping its world-renowned cuisine.
There are plenty of star chefs in the series, but Eva Longoria is unusually mindful of the stories of simple people like Ponciano Méndez, a farmer from Santa Ana Zegache, a town one hour from the capital of Oaxaca. In the valley where Ponciano lives, corn has been planted for more than six thousand years; In the neighboring valley, the oldest maize remains of humanity were found.
I truly love the show and was eager to learn more about Eva’s experiences of visiting indigenous communities and eating a traditional decolonized diet.
Before the Spanish conquest, Mexico was a predominantly vegetarian territory.
Read MoreWinnie Harlow Is Primordial Earth Goddess by Daniella Midenge for Women's Health
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Sharing these fabulous images of Winnie Harlow lensed by Daniella Midenge [IG] at California’s Joshua Tree National Park, Winnie is just the most beautiful, articulate, focused and inspiring warrior-woman, love goddess on our precious Earth.
It’s a challenge to do her justice with words, although Jeannine Amber does a great job of explaining Winnie’s impact on the general population in her Women’s Health April 2023 interview Winnie Harlow Wants To Be More Than Just Your Role Model. Amber and Winnie go deep into how she maintains her extraordinal physique and warm spirit.
Between Daniella’s unique persona as a photographer/model and Winnie in all her glory, we’re damn lucky this duo and their team didn’t cause a major earthquake in the desert.
I hope Winnie won’t be cross with me for saying this, but when I saw her images, I thought they were primordial. We know that humans lived in Joshua well over 15,000 years ago — a group of hunter-gathers known as the Pinto Culture. The park's oldest rocks, Pinto Gneiss among them, are 1.7 billion years old.
Read MoreHalle Bailey On Reinventing Ariel, The Disney Mermaid Princess for British Vogue
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Actor, singer talent Halle Bailey takes a May 2023 cover of British Vogue with an interview “Making Waves: Halle Bailey On Reinventing The Disney Princess In The Little Mermaid.”
Law Roach styles the 23-year-old Atlanta native in Dsquared2, Gucci, Philosophy by Lorenzo Serafini, Prada, Ralph Lauren Collection and more in images by Sharif Hamza [IG].
Back to Halle Bailey, she is interviewed by Jen Wang about her upcoming role as the lead of Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
“The version of Ariel in my head was the one we all know and love: pale skin and bright red hair. She didn’t look like me,” Bailey tells Wang.
Bailey auditioned her heart out for The Little Mermaid. Rob Marshall was totally spellbound by Halle, but her acting experience was limited — and Ariel is the lead role.
At every step of the way, Marshall found himself immersed in her excellence — even as he put more challenging obstacles in her path.
My Revolt Against MAGA Ignorance
The difference between AOC and MAGA is that we educate ourselves. And unless you just reject all of the historical record, and all facts about Denmark and author Hans Christian Andersen, MAGA is drowning in ignorance when they hit Twitter with claims that the author was Danish and therefore the Little Mermaid had to be white.
Read MoreEmily Ratajkowski Cheers Vogue Spain May 2023 35th Anniversary Lensed by Brett Lloyd
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The model, writer, businesswoman and podcaster Emily Ratajkowski travels to the picturesque town of Chinchón, southeast of Madrid, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Vogue Spain’s May 2023 issue.
Emrata embodies Mediterranean sensuality in a fashion story that is pure style, celebration and tradition.
Photographer Brett Lloyd [IG] captures Ratajkowski, who is styled by Laetitia Gimenez Adam, in a story with a Sophia Loren vibe. That’s a compliment ER.
Emily Ratajkowski reminds me of Marilyn Monroe, who also sought to be regarded as a woman with an active, intelligent brain. Speaking of this major transition to being a multi-hyphenate writer, 'podcaster', political subject and mother [as described by Vogue], she explains:
“I thought the most I could do with my life was be a sex object and I said to myself, 'My God, I'm so unhappy.' So I started writing.”
Read MoreIrina Shayk Covers Harper's Bazaar May 2023 With a Key Message: 'Be Kind!'
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Top model Irina Shayk shares a more intimate side of her personality, in what becomes a wonderful interview, as told to Nikki Ogunnaike for the May 2023 Beauty issue of Harper’s Bazaar. / Hair by Cim Mahony; makeup by Marcelo Gutierrez
The concept of ‘kindness’ is the biggest theme in her story, beginning with Shayk’s grandmother who never wore makeup but whipped up natural potions, using ingredients in the fridge. Irina reflects:
She was always so positive and grateful for every day and was like, “Always be yourself. Be kind to people.” That’s what true beauty is.
I mentioned on Wednesday reading a powerful Emrata interview in the LA Times, and that it was “a welcome jolt”. The minute I began reading Irina Shayk’s interview, my thoughts immediately went to Emrata.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton Makes Zendaya Official in 2023 Capucines Campaign by Mert & Marcus
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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.
Read MoreWet Leg Lets Loose at Coachella and in Net-a-Porter April 17, 2023, Lensed by Annie Lai
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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.
Read MoreJust In! Choupette Lagerfeld Is Coming to The Met Gala ! Is She Flying Private?
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Deeply immersed in the pending US Supreme Court stay issued against the dreadful anti-science decision by US Federal Texas 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 Magazine posted 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.
Read MoreAdut Akech Shares Brother Bior Akech in 'Rising Up' by Josh Olins for Vogue Australia April 2023
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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 MoreHoyeon Talks Apple TV+ 'Disclaimer' in GQ US Creativity Issue Lensed by Elizaveta Porodina
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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
GQ Style Editor Yang -Yi Goh gets a life update from the star in ‘How ‘Squid Game’s Hoyeon Became a New Kind of Megastar’.
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.
Read MoreRianne Van Rompaey Covers Harper's Bazaar France, Lensed by Alasdair McLellan
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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!!
Read MorePat and Anna Cleveland Make Fashion Bliss in Harper's Bazaar Spain April 2023
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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.
Read MoreCarolina Herrera Blush Fragrance and Karlie Kloss Celebrate Feminine Empowerment
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