10 Things to Love About Copper Jewelry and Ancient Goddesses
/The human desire for self-adornment is universal, and writing about copper jewelry trends should be a snap for most people. Not for Anne. I can make writing needlessly complicated, but in this case, the writing took me back to the continuously-revealing story of women’s history.
Only Anne of Carversville whips up a narrative around copper jewelry that takes us back to the dawn of human existence, and then out of Africa between 60,000 and 90,000 years ago into the Levant, a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia.
Background: in understanding the importance of human history and invention, jewelry was not very high on the list of primarily male researchers and scientists.
Frankly, jewelry as artifacts was considered inconsequential and frivolous in the story of human development. Copper jewelry was so frivolous that the existence of The Copper Age, dating from the mid-5th millennium BC, and ending with the beginning of the Bronze Age proper, in the late 4th to 3rd millennium BC, was barely worth mentioning in the scientific community.
You’ve heard of The Stone Age and the Bronze Age. But few of us — including me — knew about The Copper Age. The REAL history of copper jewelry starts to upset several thousands of years of assumptions around women’s lives.
Read MorePrada Launches Fully Recycled Eternal Gold Collection with Aura Blockchain Certification
/American poet, activist, Prada ambassador and UNICEF supporter Amanda Gorman; Dutch-Korean-Canadian singer, rapper and dancer Jeon Somi; and American actor and model Maya Hawke, daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke star in Prada’s 2022 launch of Eternal Gold, representing the luxury brand’s first forray into fine jewelry.
In addition to being made from certified recycled gold, every piece of jewelry in the collection will be fully traceable, thanks to blockchain technology. Every purchase will be traceable by logging into the Aura Blockchain Consortium.
The Prada Eternal Gold collection is very modern a 100 percent recycled collection that pushes category boundaries. Amanda Gorman came to Prada’s attention, not because of her 2021 Inaugural Poem, but because of her environmental activism.
Read MoreKezako Paris Rolls Out Real-Deal VS Angels in More or Less Magazine by Oliver Hadlee Pearch
/This fashion story ‘Earth Angels’ from More or Less Magazine [IG] adds a fabulous new twist to the VS Angels saga. If you don’t know, the magazine is devoted to sustainability and our living with less. More or Less wrote:
Hallelujah! For our final cover, we assembled an all-star cast of Earth Angels, styling nine ex-Victoria's Secret models in faux-fashion label Kezako’s upcycled underwear made from aluminium wrap, dried-out loaves of bread, old newspapers, cuddly toys and then some.
We are looking at creativity on steroids here and a brilliant way to call attention to sustainability.
Models include Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Elsa Hosk, Lais Ribeiro, Leomie Anderson, Lily Aldridge, Martha Hunt, Sara Sampaio and Stella Maxwell.
Read MoreArtemis 1 Mission Now Eyes Saturday Two-Hour Window Opening 2:17 pm ET | Bad Florida Weather Looms
/NASA space agency will try again to launch its Artemis 1 mission moon rocket— the most powerful ever — on Saturday pm September 3. Complications continue.
Looming weather and hydrogen-loading issues cancelled Monday’s Artemis 1 launch.
Will the new heat shield withstand a searing 5,000 degrees?
"We are stressing Orion beyond what it was actually designed for, in preparation for sending it to the moon with a crew," said Cabana, last week. "And we want to make sure that it works absolutely perfectly when we do that."
Orion is the space capsule traveling on a 32-story rocket, and NASA intends to push it beyond every possible limit. With this mindset driving the mission, the team will take chances not possible with humans on board. One assumes that the dummy data will tell scientists if they lived or died.
Read MoreLoro Piana FW 2022 Campaign by Mario Sorrenti | AOC on Sustainability at Loro Piana
/Top models Edie Campbell, Mona Tougaard and Leon Dame pose against rocky but fecund terrain of Brittany, France. LVMH brand Loro Piana unveils its Fall-Winter 2022 campaign, lensed by Mario Sorrenti [IG], with art direction by Heiko Keinath.
As always — and especially on the subject of a mostly cashmere-driven collection— AOC turned our attention to Loro Piana’s sustainability efforts. Our usual sustainability pit-stop at Good on You was operating just now.
Read MoreGigi Hadid in 'Well Worn' Fashion Story by Theo de Gueltzl for Vogue US September 2022
/Supermodel Gigi Hadid is styled by Camilla Nickerson in ‘Well Worn’, fashion story for American Vogue September 2022. The title suggests that Gigi’s story is part of the growing resale market or pieces made of recycled fabrics. Or the fashion story is a mix of old and new, which would at least be progress. I’m seeing that more frequently these days.
Theo de Gueltzl [IG] photographs Gigi, and while he doesn’t have her images yet, his own IG has a wonderful vibe and hits some of these AOC notes.
Read MoreThredUp and Priah Ferguson 'Stranger Things' Star Beg Gen Z to Stop Buying Fast-Fashion
/‘Stranger Things’ Star Priah Ferguson has a message for you. She is not going to make you feel badly about yourself. No. Priah is on your side, and so is AOC. She is not shaming you. Rather, Priah is giving you a big hug and begging you to take action not words.
The new ThredUp and Priah Ferguson “Fast Fashion Confessional Hotline” is meant to encourage Gen Z shoppers to stop shopping fast fashion and embrace more sustainable options.
Read MoreCandice Swanepoel's Tropic of C and Alo Yoga Collab with Peruvian Artisans
/Supermodel Candice Swanepoel and her eco-lifestyle brand Tropic of C [IG] launch a new collaboration with Alo Yoga [IG] for a swimwear capsule collection that also embraces yoga movements.
Center stage are the crochet swim pieces and accessories made by hand by Quechua and Mochica women across 3 regions of Northern Peru: Pacasmayo, Cajamarca and Huamachuco and in nine communities.
Read MoreBalenciaga Pre-Fall 2022 Campaign by Nadia Lee Cohen | 'Fourth Choice' Leathers
/Balenciaga shared really exciting news on the sustainability front, including the brand’s shift to using ‘fourth choice’ leathers. These hides have been rejected for some imperfection, and the term ‘fourth choice’ is theirs.
Read More“Everything we buy is made from leftover skins that would otherwise be burned. If you can make it into a skirt or a jacket, why not? You can find a lot of this, all over the place. We’ve been doing this for a while.”
Vogue Scandinavia's 'Nordic Dystopia', Perhaps a Reference to the Rök Stone Catastrophe
/AOC works hard to identify any backstories or cultural references in fashion stories and ad campaigns. We came up empty-handed all over Instagram checking the individual IGs of the cast of this Vogue Scandinavia
The Scandinavian countries are deeply admired for many reasons, but environmental awareness and a necessary austerity due to the impact of fashion-world consumption on nature are well-established in the culture.
So AOC kept looking for clues, unearthing astounding new research on an old Scandinavian artifact.
Read MoreCarolyn Murphy and Antwaun Sargent in Gucci's 'Off the Grid' Spring 2022 Collection
/Carolyn Murphy and Antwaun Sargent in Gucci's 'Off the Grid' Spring 2022 Collection AOC Fashion
Supermodel and environmental activist Carolyn Murphy and art critic, writer and Gagosan curator Antwaun Sargent are styled by Tess Herbert in Gucci’s Spring 2022 ‘Off the Grid’ collection. Photographer Daria Kobayashi Ritch [IG] shot the campaign in partnership with So It Goes magazine at the Flamingo Estate.
Home to Richard Christiansen and a brand created from Gaia’s orchard, garden and friends. AOC has written about Flamingo Estate previously, and the website is just intoxicating in its natural beauty. It’s truly a stunner, even if you are only searching for a 2 minute mental getaway.
This season’s Off the Grid collection is heavy on Gucci luggage made of regenerated ECONYL® nylon — the miracle-fabric used by many top luxury brands.
Gucci’s Demetra
Karlie Kloss x adidas Unite in Tech-Inspired, Gaia Friendly May 17 Activewear Drop
/adidas steps up with longtime partner Karlie Kloss to co-create a new collection, dropping phase one today, May 17th. Kloss is committed to helping the next generation of girls and women lead active and informed lifestyles.
The supermodel’s project priorities consistently promote a healthy and agile brain and body, while supporting Gaia and Planet Earth. Karlie is committed to being a super-activist in their perilous fight to recover environmental vitality after centuries of aggressive neglect and environmental abuse.
Read MoreMANGO's Visions of Summer Collection 2022 with Mona Tougaard Sustainability Review
/Top model Mona Tougaard appears in fashion brand MANGO’s ‘Visions of Summer | Natural Echoes take over the Season’ collection. Maria Alvarez and Aritz Iriarte Aguinaga styled the largely fluid and sheer silhouettes with earth-inspired textures, sensual details and increasing amounts of sustainable materials.
Read MoreZero + Maria Cornejo Spring 2022 Expands Sustainable Fabrics
/Maria Cornejo has a gift for creating sensual, female-centric designs using angular, architectural lines and fabrics. In spite of her tag line, not all Zero + Maria Cornejo production is made in New York. In the case of the French terry sweat-shirting from Japan, she is manufacturing the items using the fabric in Japan.
Read MoreKARL LAGERFELD by Amber Valletta Spring 2022 Sustainable Collection
/DESSERTO®, the highly-sustainable alternative to leather, made from cactus plants and a finalist in the LVMH 2020 Innovation Awards, is again center stage in the new Lagerfeld-Valletta collab. Other earth-friendly fibers use in the new collection are 100% organic cotton, GRS certified recycled linen, and pre-consumer upcycled material Tencel™ x Refibra™ by Lenzing.
Read MoreH&M Innovation Stories 'Cherish Waste' Collection Launches April 21 Lensed by Rafael Pavarotti
/Sustainability is in the house, with H&M’s reveal of the fifth drop in their Innovation Stories series. What the world needs now — more than ever — is Love Sweet Love, and H&M is onboard with the theme. The new ‘Cherish Waste’ collection is birthed from recycled garments, ocean-bound plastic and other waste or low-impact materials.
In the world of trendy fashionistas: garbage, garbage, garbage.
The sound minds, visionary team of Rafael Pavarotti and Ibrahim Kamara return to H&M to shoot and style the new campaign, with set design from Ibby Njoya.
Read MoreDNA Used to Count Gabon's Endangered Forest Elephants in Breakthrough Research
/Compared to other countries in Africa, Gabon has one of the lowest human population densities, and the 90% majority of people live in towns and cities. Researchers estimate that there may be one elephant for every twenty humans living in Gabon.
Read MoreRaffaele Marone Images ELLE Serbia's April 2022 Green Theme with Milica Rajkovic
/ELLE Serbia glorifies certain shades of green and yellow as must-wear colors of the spring 2022 season. It begs the question: If we diminish our fashion obsession with black — the color of death, sobriety and alleged female confidence — for the color of nature and spring rebirth, might sustainability become more important to us?
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