Marni x No Vacancy Inn Campaign Images Shot in Accra, Ghana by Derrick Ofosu Boateng

Marni x No Vacancy Inn Campaign Images Shot in Accra, Ghana by Derrick Ofosu Boateng

Fresh off Marni Creative Director Francesco Risso’s collaboration with Erykah Badu and Vogue’s March 2023 deep dive into the twosome, AOC turns our focus to another Marni Jam series Marni x No Vacancy Inn.

Both collabs are on Marni’s Instagram now, but we will also pull them in their entirety onto AOC for archiving. Forgive me, but Virgil Abloh is on full blast today, and is probably just driving my brain and I’m along for the ride.

AOC may not be hip, but I am chill, so it all works out.

In the same spirit of low-tech, color-saturated Ghana-inspired images, Marni x No Vacancy Inn rolls in with campaign images shot in Accra, Ghana by Derrick Ofosu Boateng [IG], who calls himself “a Ghanaian photographic hueism artist and designer.’

Like Prince Gyasi, Boateng is shooting with an iPhone and then whipping up his techno-colored image souffle.

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Blueblood Alex Consari Wears Quiet Luxury Lensed by Arnauld Lajeune for The Travel Almanac

Blueblood Alex Consari Wears Quiet Luxury Lensed by Arnauld Lajeune for The Travel Almanac

Model Alex Consari is styled by Clare Byrne in a fashion story with Quiet Luxury bonafides. If you think the fashion choices look like the Old Money Aesthetic, you’re right. The trends are difficult to distinguish, except that Quiet Luxury is often more modern. / Hair by Lucas Wilson; makeup by Jen Myles

Photographer Arnaud Lajeunie [IG] captures Alex with her signature pearls for The Travel Almanac [IG] TTA22 - “Performance".

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Big Miss but Africa Archives Coming! Naomi Campbell's African Odyssey by Prince Gyasi

Big Miss but Africa Archives Coming! Naomi Campbell's African Odyssey by Prince Gyasi

In Spring 2021, AOC made a mistake, not posting this summarized archive Naomi Campbell by Prince Gyasi post that controls all the tags into our complex system of Models and Photographers Archives into their summary pages.

Bad Anne!!!!

Mistakes happen, but this was was a big miss, given AOC’s commitment to all matters related to Africa and Africa-connected creatives, history and also political issues.

Naomi’s Madame Figaro narrative references the ALÁRA Lagos Africa luxury concept store [IG], designed by the pre-eminent architect David Adjaye, who describes his vision for West Africa’s first signature and lifestyle store.

There is no debate that in 2023 Adjaye and associates is one of the most influential architectural firms across the world.

Naomi’s Madame Figaro photographer Prince Gyasi doesn’t have a strong presence in fashion photography but the artist’s Instagram is a big wow!

Gyasi shoots on his iPhone and is very color-driven — as is AOC.

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Mariam de Vinzelle in Puglia Sun by Giampaolo Sgura for Sunday Times Style

Mariam de Vinzelle in Puglia Sun by Giampaolo Sgura for Sunday Times Style

French model Mariam de Vinzelle covers the May 28th, 2023 issue of Sunday Times Style, living in her happy place of Puglia sunshine and dry days.

Stylist Verity Parker channels luxury boho vibes in ‘Pure Shores’ with slouchy pyjama-style bottoms, supersoft silks, crochet detailing and the occasional tie-dye print.

There’s plenty of plain geometry stripes in harmonious colorways, coupled with color print splashes lensed by Giampaolo Sgura [IG].

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Deepika Padukone Stars in Launch of Cartier “Le Voyage Recommencé Collection” May 2023

Deepika Padukone Stars in Launch of Cartier “Le Voyage Recommencé Collection” May 2023

In one her first photoshoot since becoming a Cartier ambassador, Deepika Padukone shares images of her wearing extraordinary pieces from the French Maison’s new high jewelry “Le Voyage Recommencé Collection”, lensed by Johan Sandberg [IG].

An elaborate soirée in Florence in the gorgeous garden of the Palazzo Corsini, was the scene of the new collection’s unveiling. The palace is known for its artistic heritage and is home to works by Rubens, Fra Angelico, and Caravaggio.

As Jacqueline Karachi, Director of High Jewelry Creation at Cartier describes it, the new Le Voyage Recommencé is "a journey back to the heart of Cartier creation, an uninterrupted story being told over time."

Louis Cartier discovered the "Islamic arts" exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1903, which led to a long-standing presence of Islamic inspired geometric motifs, arabesques, and peacock motifs in the brand’s pieces.

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Graydon Carter's Air Mail News Wows with Tom Ford Interview by Briget Foley

Graydon Carter's Air Mail News Wows with Tom Ford Interview by Briget Foley

AOC just read Air Mail, the subscription-based digital magazine company launched by former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.

Reading the first article, Briget Foley’s new interview of Tom Ford stopped us cold.

In a media landscape where talk and promises are so cheap that we are in a state of mental rebellion before reading the first word, the Tom Ford interview is stellar, capturing our minds like a really good TED Talk.

No BS promises and definitely not clickbait. It’s personal and humanizing, filled with haunting quotes from Ford.

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Karolina Kurkova in Miami for Mujer Hoy June 2023 as 'Ultimate Supermodel' by Agata Serge

Karolina Kurkova in Miami for Mujer Hoy June 2023 as 'Ultimate Supermodel' by Agata Serge

Supermodel Karolína Kurkova becomes the protagonist of the June 2023 cover of Mujer Hoy. In the world of modeling, the quality of your works counts a lot, says Kurkova. But what sets you apart is your reputation.

Photographer Agata Serge [IG] shoots Kurkova in Miami, the city where she lives with her husband and their three children since 2012. Sarah Gore Reeves styles Kurkova in ‘La Ultima Supermodelo’ in patriotic colors this Memorial Day weekend in America.

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LVMH Concedes Likely Defeat in Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills Vote to Override City Approval

LVMH Concedes Likely Defeat in Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills Vote to Override City Approval

When we first wrote in 2020 about the LVMH plans for a Cheval Blanc Hotel in Beverly Hills, it seemed to be on cruise control, a fait accompli. Now the fight is all but over and LVMH conceded probable defeat on Friday.

Labor union Unite Here Local 11 and a local residents group garnered enough signatures to put two referenda on the ballot in Beverly Hills that would ask voters to overturn the City Council’s approval of the Cheval Blanc hotel and the development agreement for the project in September 2022. They got signatures from 10% of Beverly Hills voters which triggered a vote to override the City Council’s approval.

"Although some votes remain to be counted, it now appears that Measures B and C have fallen short by a narrow margin, overturning the results of a comprehensive, years-long review and approval process," said Jessica Miller, a LVMH spokesperson. "We are proud to have worked with so many residents, civic leaders and business owners who supported this once-in-a-generation investment that would have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in city funding and a beautiful gateway project for the Golden Triangle. If the final vote count confirms the voters' rejection of our project, we will respect the outcome, and will not bring the hotel project back in any form."

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Nagi Sakai Captures 'Diamonds for Day' High Jewelry for WSJ Magazine

Nagi Sakai Captures 'Diamonds for Day' High Jewelry for WSJ Magazine

For every fashion trend, there its opposite. Focusing this morning on ‘New Luxury Codes’ in Vogue Turkey’s May 2023 issue, we abandon “the Quiet Luxury trend rebellion against our collective pursuit of more, more, more’.

Stopping by WSJ Magazine, ‘Diamonds for Day’, where major gems come out to play for daytime glamour, is the fashion focus in a High-Jewelry story lensed by Nagi Sakai [IG]. Model MJ Herrera is styled by Louise Ford in High-Jewelry luxury not bound by codes of when and where to wear diamonds.

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Bulgari Launches Mediterranea High Jewelry and Watches Collection in Venice 2023

Bulgari Launches Mediterranea High Jewelry and Watches Collection in Venice 2023

Bulgari chose Venice to host the unveiling of its new High-Jewelry and high-End Watch collection Mediterranea. The choice of La Serenissima [Italian name for the Republic of Venice] references the Byzantine title that governed the city’s role as a center of trade and business.

Venice was also a city that preferred conflict mediation and peaceful solutions that arose with the many diverse cultures and peoples navigating the Mediterranean Sea in pursuit of commercial trading partners and sometimes territorial conquest.

LVMH-owned Bulgari retraces this imaginary trip across the Mediterranean Sea as an inexhaustible source of inspiration layering multiple arts, traditions and crafts into its newest High-Jewelry collection.

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Aylah Peterson in 'New Luxury Codes' Lensed by Arseny Jabiev for Vogue Turkey May 2023

Aylah Peterson in 'New Luxury Codes' Lensed by Arseny Jabiev for Vogue Turkey May 2023

Model Aylah Peterson covers the May 2023 issue of Vogue Turkey, styled by Ceylan Atınç in the Quiet Luxury trend rebellion against our collective pursuit of more, more, more.

Photographer Arseny Jabiev [IG] captures the fashion story ‘New Luxury Codes’ with its emphasis on modern, sophisticated — ideally sustainable — luxury fashion that can be worn for years./ Makeup by Ece Birsen

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Candice Swanepoel in Carolina Herrera Eyewear Spring Summer 2023 by Dan Beleiu

Candice Swanepoel in Carolina Herrera Eyewear Spring Summer 2023 by Dan Beleiu

Supermodel Candice Swanepoel grabs the limelight with a commanding self-assurance in Carolina Herrera’s 2023 Spring-Summer eyewear campaign.

The oversized, geometric, embellished frames, styled by Alba Melendo, mix glamour with brainiac status — and Candice clearly has both. Berlin-based photographer Dan Beleiu [IG] is in the studio, and we’re here for him — since 2016.

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Anna Ewers In Casual '90s Summer Style by Inez & Vinoodh for Vogue Mexico June 2023

Anna Ewers In Casual '90s Summer Style by Inez & Vinoodh for Vogue Mexico June 2023

Shooting for Vogue Mexico’s June 2023 issue, photographers Inez & Vinoodh [IG] run through the fashion shoot checklist in Sisal, a port in the Yucatan.

Top model Anna Ewers fronts the rock & roll inspired fashion story that channels leather, eclectic prints and shiny metallics styled by Valentina Collado.

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Jacquemus Summer 2023 Campaign 'Raphia' Is Sun God Worthy with Vittoria Ceretti

Jacquemus Summer 2023 Campaign 'Raphia' Is Sun God Worthy with Vittoria Ceretti

Sunshine-soaked yellow reigns supreme over Vittoria Ceretti’s dominant hold of our attention span in the Jacquemus Summer 2023 Campaign. The raffia hats are impossible not to adore.

Photographer Oliver Hadlee Pearch [IG] is behind the lens with styling by Ursina Gysi.

Simon Porte Jacquemus adores Italy, and his namesake boutique has popped into Cernobbio, home to Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Cuomo. George and Amal Clooney, who own Villa Oleandra in nearby Laglio, will surely be fans of the Jacquemus boutique, open until October 16, 2023.

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Paloma Elsesser Wages War on 'Fatphobia' in D Repubblica May 19 Cover Story

Paloma Elsesser Wages War on 'Fatphobia' in D Repubblica May 19 Cover Story

Supermodel Paloma Elsesser covers the May 19, 2023 issue of D Repubblica, styled in a wide range of sensual, dark beauty looks by Laetitia Gimenez Adam.

Luxury labels including Blumarine, Dolce & Gabbana, Maison Alaia, Niccolò Pasqualetti, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello and more join forces with Paloma in designs that do not contain the female body.

Photographer Pablo Di Prima [IG] is in the studio./ Hair by Matt Benns; makeup by Marcelo Gutierrez

Paloma Elsesser is waging a war against fatphobia, saying:

"It's absurd that such a large percentage of people are excluded. Who can think that fashion only interests thin people?". "I want to get the message across that even if you're imperfect, you can have the life you want," she explains. And here she talks about the days on set when you don't have "that" size, the hypocrisies of the system and that time at the age of 8 in Gap's dressing room ...

The Failure of BodEquality

Non-luxury retailing is having major struggles with keeping their businesses solvent. But in the case of BodEquality, a new challenge I’ve not read before, has entered the convo. Brands should invest years of losing money to earn the trust of potential plus-size customers. I will also add, even if you are trying to achieve new sustainability goals that require major financial investment.

Our dear Edward Enninful, EIC of British Vogue, has very strong opinions on this topic. Let him take his three new supers he has crowned and his very intelligent self and become a “flying squad of larger-bodies intelligence” that is deeply-embedded in three test case brands.

Don’t just demand representation. Do something constructive.

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Erdem's Vacation 2023 Collection With Anok Marial and Ayuol Manyok Lensed by Trinity Ellis

Erdem's Vacation 2023 Collection With Anok Marial and Ayuol Manyok Lensed by Trinity Ellis

In the age of Queen Charlotte and Bridgerton on Netflix, Erdem holds extra appeal. Launched in 2005, the brand is synonymous with a versatile yet powerful femininity that projects an uncompromising beauty.

Erdem Moralıoğlu shares lookbook images from his Vacation 2023 Collection. Models Anok Marial and Ayuol Manyok are styled by Ola Ebiti and photographed by Trinity Ellis [IG]./ Hair by Adam Reed

Both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle love and wear Erdem. Middleton and Markle may be a mess, but Erdem keeps inspiring me to believe that a more harmonious world is possible. I love that Erdem makes queens of women of color — excessively so and worthy of applause for his consistency of purpose.

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