Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci Ancora Campaign Lensed by David Sims

Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci Ancora Campaign Lensed by David Sims

Gucci Ancora is creative director Sabato De Sarno’s ad campaign for his debut Gucci collection. The director’s choice of the word Ancora is an Italian terms that translates “again” in English.

Gucci Ancora is creative director Sabato De Sarno’s ad campaign for his debut Gucci collection. The director’s choice of the word Ancora is an Italian terms that translates “again” in English.

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Birgit Kos Wears Mermaids in Sergio Rossi's SS 2024 Campaign by Claire Rothstein

Birgit Kos Wears Mermaids in Sergio Rossi's SS 2024 Campaign by Claire Rothstein

Top model Birgit Kos fronts Italian shoemaker Sergio Rossi’s [IG] Spring-Summer 2024 campaign, where all-white leather Mermaid sandals deliver a seductive twist.

Photographer Claire Rothstein [IG] shot the campaign in Sorrento, a coastal town in southwestern Italy. CRothstein also has a long commitment to imagery of strong, sensual, confident women and is the genesis of Girls, Girls, Girls Magazine [IG].

Mermaids have captivated human imagination for centuries, touching ancient civilizations from Mesopotamia to Africa to China.

In ancient civilizations, tales of mermaids emerged as a way to explain the mysteries that lay beneath the vast expanses of water. They should not be confused with sirens, who are half human and half-birds.

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Alessandra Ambrosio Is Pure Va-Va-Voom by Ellen Von Unwerth for Schön! Magazine 04, 2023

Alessandra Ambrosio Is Pure Va-Va-Voom by Ellen Von Unwerth for Schön! Magazine 04, 2023

AOC has shared images of supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio since 2007. Photographer Ellen von Unwerth [IG] manages to cultivate the va-va-voom in every woman — including the former Victoria’s Secret Angel.

Alessandra walks on the wild side —being a blonde bombshell for a day — styled by Mike Adler for Schön! Magazine 04, 2023 [IG]./ Makeup by Vincent Oquendo; hair by Eduardo Bravo

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Candice Swanepoel Promotes Hailey Bieber's Rhode Skin Pineapple Refresh Cleanser

Candice Swanepoel Promotes Hailey Bieber's Rhode Skin Pineapple Refresh Cleanser

Candice Swanepoel and Hailey Bieber are two of the smartest women in the fashion and beauty sectors. Now they are teaming up in the launch of Bieber’s Rhode Skin calendar girls, with Swanepoel owning January and July.

Low-Key Cross Promotion

As of this moment, Candice has her @Rhode images on her personal IG, not Tropic of C. That may change in a few days, but Monday, this is Swanepoel’s only action. The sequence of three images and one video has 255,000 likes in 3-4 days.

No fanfare, no endorsements. Just the two women together as the friends they are in real life. Moving over to Rhode [IG], Candice appears again as Miss July and this time she’s carrying a big tube of the new Rhode Pineapple Refresh Cleanser.

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America’s Black Cowboys, As Tributed by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Collection: Pt 1 of a French-American Cowboys Story

America’s Black Cowboys, As Tributed by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Collection: Pt 1 of a French-American Cowboys Story

America’s Black Cowboys, As Tributed by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Collection: Pt 1 of an American-French Cowboys Story

Historians estimate that in the latter half of the nineteenth century, one in four American cowboys was black. Anne of Carversville seriously doubts that this reality is taught in the history classes of American schools. Additionally, an estimated 12% of cowboys were Mexican.

Thanks to the January 18th Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Collection show at the Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris, this historical lens of exploration is opened wide. AOC is both incredulous and excited to tell this story. But first — a look at the highly-praised, Louis Vuitton Men Creative Director Pharrell Williams Fall-Winter 2024 show.

Black Cowboys and Slavery

The history of black cowboys in America is deeply intertwined with the legacy of slavery and the Civil War. Prior to Emancipation, many enslaved African Americans were forced into labor on plantations, including working with cattle. Other African Americans went west to California as slaves of gold miners and to Utah as slaves of Mormons.

Texas became the largest home to black cowboys.

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'Amor e Cia' for Vogue Portugal December 2023 Explores Skin Color Beauty

 'Amor e Cia' for Vogue Portugal December 2023 Explores Skin Color Beauty

Photographer Catharina Pavitschitz [IG] adds poetic beauty to the pages of Vogue Portugal’s [IG] December 2023 ‘Love and Hope’ issue with ‘Amor e Cia’ [Love and Company].

Vogue Portugal has an exemplary history in dealing with deeply-challenging issues of skin color, as it impacts racial identity and global culture images.

As European powers began to expand their empires through colonization, the concept of race as a hierarchical system based on physical attributes — particularly skin color — gained traction. This intellectual position was driven by the need to justify the subjugation and exploitation of indigenous populations and the mass enslavement of Africans across the continent.

The Vatican occupies a position of great prominence at the historical heart of the global slave trade, dating back to the 15th century when Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas in 1452, granting the Portuguese the right to enslave non-Christian peoples.

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Dolce & Gabbana Spring-Summer 2024 Campaign by Steven Meisel

Dolce & Gabbana Spring-Summer 2024 Campaign by Steven Meisel

Designers Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana work with art director Fabien Baron and stylist Karl Templer to create a Spring-Summer 2024 campaign rich with high-class swagger, penetrating eye confidence, and an attitude that says “judge me at your own risk — because I will take you down.”

With Steven Meisel [IG] on photography, the images will have these ingredients because Meisel often plays high-low with his human subjects. As a result, there are layers of meaning and interpretation that seep out of the images and into our own minds. They are created to be mildly disruptive, another characteristic that makes them interesting and one that Meisel understands deeply.

What AOC loves about Dolce & Gabbana is that their garden is an Italian garden in the same way Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli are Italian gardens. But they are planting different crops growing in different parts of Italy and Sicily and Sardinia — from Rome to Milan to Florence and Venice.

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Gisele Bündchen by Luis Alberto Rodriguez for Harper's Bazaar US February 2024

Gisele Bündchen by Luis Alberto Rodriguez for Harper's Bazaar US February 2024

The ‘superest’ of supermodels Gisele Bündchen covers the February 2024 issue of Harper’s Bazaar US, writes Alicia Kennedy.

Carlos Nazario [IG], recently named Harper’s Bazaar Style Director, and photographer Luis Alberto Rodriguez [IG] — and Gisele, of course — deliver a high-impact, resort into spring fashion story.

Fresh news for AOC is Bündchen’s forthcoming cookbook end of March, “Nourish: Simple Recipes to Empower Your Body & Feed Your Soul”. And also that photographer Nino Muñoz is a close, forever-friend of hers.

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Isla Gaskin in 'Laced Up' by Janneke Van der Hagen for Service Magazine Issue 1

Isla Gaskin in 'Laced Up' by Janneke Van der Hagen for Service Magazine Issue 1

Rising British-Iranian model Isla Gaskin is one to watch. She appears here in ‘Laced Up’, a rather daring fashion story for a new model, styled by Monika Tatalovic. Photographer Janneke Van der Hagen [IG] captures Gaskin for Service Magazine [IG] Issue 1./ Hair by Shunsuke Maguro; makeup by Thomasin Waite

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América González Covers Vogue Korea December 2023 by Hyea W Kang

América González Covers Vogue Korea December 2023 by Hyea W Kang

Venezuelan model América González covers the December 2023 issue of Vogue Korea, styled by Eunyoung Sohn in Dior riches lensed by Hyea W. Kang [IG]./ Hair by Lee Hyun Woo

González left a heartfelt message on her IG, about the cover stories and her undeniable current success as a model. The road to success for most models is very difficult, as expressed with América González sharing her thoughts:

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América González, Sora Choi for British Vogue February 2024 by Scott Trindle

América González, Sora Choi for British Vogue February 2024 by Scott Trindle

Top models América González and Sora Choi are styled by Eniola Dare in ‘Up and Away’. The voluminous, breezy fashion looks from Burberry, Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton, Junya Watanabe, Michael Kors Collection, Prada, Ralph Lauren Collection are lensed by Scott Trindle [IG]for British Vogue [IG] February 2024./ Hair by Eugene Souleiman; makeup by Janeen Witherspoon

AOC checked in with América González Tuesday, celebrating her first cover story for Vogue Korea.

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Candice Swanepoel's Business Savvy Takes Tropic of C Henna into Art Basel Miami

Candice Swanepoel's Business Savvy Takes  Tropic of C Henna into Art Basel Miami

Candice Swanepoel’s Tropic of C swimwear shares a new henna pattern, giving us a light touch different from typical swimwear prints and patterns. The henna pattern also sits well against the weathered surfaces of Villa Parodi Delfino [IG], available for rental on the Amalfi coast, a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, in the Campania region.

Swanepoel also lives in Miami, and she launched the Tropic of C henna collection with curator Kimberly Drew, and Vogue's Elise Taylor.

The trio gathered an intimate group of friends for a luncheon with Vogue100, hosted at Jason Wright’s private residence.

Kimberly Drew is best known as the former social media manager for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and her use of the social media handle MuseumMammy [IG].

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Naomi Osaka Suffers First-Round Loss to Caroline Garcia at Australian Open

Naomi Osaka Suffers First-Round Loss to Caroline Garcia at Australian Open

USA tennis pro Naomi Osaka was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open today. Osaka suffered a straight sets loss to French player Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6. Garcia entered the Melbourne tournament as No.16 seed.

Osaka is back on the tennis court for the first time since the US Open 2022.

“I have a lot of respect for Naomi Osaka as a person and as a player,” Garcia said after the victory. “We all know she’s had an amazing career.

“She’s been away for 15 months and been through a lot. I’m just very glad to see her back. I hope she can enjoy the tennis and have fun out there.

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Sascha Rajasalu in 'Wild' Cedeira by Yago Castromil for Vogue Spain January 2024

Sascha Rajasalu in 'Wild' Cedeira by Yago Castromil for Vogue Spain January 2024 AOC Fashion

Swedish-Estonian model Sascha Rajasalu is styled by Beatriz Machado in ‘Hacia Rutas Salvajes’ [Into the Wild]. Photographer Yago Castromil [IG] captures Rajasalu in Cedeira, Spain wearing Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Dries Van Noten, Falconeri, Loewe, Loro Piana, Maison Alaia, Miu Miu for Vogue Espana January 2024./ Hair and makeup by Jose Carlos Gonzalez

Dior Magazine Delivers Niki de Saint Phalle Capsule, Lensed by Charlotte Hadden

Dior Magazine Delivers Niki de Saint Phalle Capsule, Lensed by Charlotte Hadden

Models Gonzalez Corona, Majesty Mare and Sophie Dominique invite us to a resort-capsule, art-inspired getaway, deeply grounded in nature and whimsy for Dior [IG]. Artist Niki de Saint Phalle is in the house and also the new issue of Dior Magazine.

Niki de Saint Phalle and the House of Dior

Initially working as a fashion model for the esteemed fashion house during the 1950s, Saint Phalle became acquainted with influential figures in the art world. This exposure provided her with invaluable insights into the realm of aesthetics and design, as she garnered the support of several Dior clients who recognized her potential as a creator.

In 1967, the artist with a rapidly growing international reputation was invited by Marc Bohan, then creative director of Dior, to collaborate on a collection that would challenge conventional notions of beauty and femininity.

At age 37, Saint Phalle's bold and vibrant Nana sculptures became the centerpiece of this collaboration.

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