As African Art Thrives, Museums Grapple With Legacy of Colonialism

TOP: GUS CASELY-HAYFORD. COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON.. BOTTOM: THE BENIN ROYAL MUSEUM WILL HOUSE MANY OF THE BRONZES LOOTED BY THE BRITISH AND SPREAD ACROSS MULTIPLE MUSEUMS AND INDIVIDUAL COLLECTIONS.

As African Art Thrives, Museums Grapple With Legacy of Colonialism

In 1897, 1,200 British troops captured and burned Benin City. It marked the end of independence for the Kingdom of Benin, which was in the modern-day Edo state in southern Nigeria. In addition to razing the city, British troops looted thousands of pieces of priceless and culturally significant art, known as the Benin bronzes.

More than a century later, the museums that house these pieces are grappling with the legacy of colonialism. Leaders in Africa have continued their call to get the Benin bronzes and other works of art taken by colonists back, at the same time as new museums open up across Africa. (In 2017, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art organized its first traveling exhibition in Africa showcasing the work of the Nigerian photographer Chief S. O. Alonge. The show, catalogue and educational program were organized and produced in partnership with Nigeria's national museum in Benin City. Alonge was the official photographer to the Royal Court of Benin.)

The British Museum, which has the largest collection of Benin bronzes, is in communication with Nigeria about returning the bronzes. They’re waiting for the completion of the Benin Royal Museum, a project planned for Benin City. Edo state officials recently tapped architect David Adjaye, who designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture, to do a feasibility study on the site.

Gabriela Hearst Supports Save the Children in Yemen through December 9, 2019

We might as well make it Angelina Jolie Day at Anne of Carversville. I just went to the Gabriela Hearst website searching for any additional info on the designer’s campaign to support Save the Children’s relief efforts in Yemen. Who greets me but Angelina, AOC’s founding muse who we profiled this morning, wearing a Gabriela Hearst Crowther Dress.

UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie called for an urgent response to the crisis in Yemen a year ago. More than 12 million children in Yemen are in need of humanitarian assistance. Save the Children is providing food, cash vouchers, critical healthcare services, education and protection to children and families affected by this crisis.

A new analysis by the global humanitarian organization reveals tens of thousands of children are one step away from famine. An estimated 17,000 children living in hard to reach areas in Yemen – cut off by war – are at increased risk of severe acute malnutrition and death if issues with aid access are not urgently resolved.

“Save the Children is working around the clock every day to give the children of Yemen the support they desperately need. I visited the war-torn country earlier this year, and Yemeni children are truly bearing the brunt of this conflict. They suffer from malnutrition and other illnesses, and are missing out on school and childhood,” said Carolyn Miles, Save the Children CEO. “We are incredibly grateful to Gabriela Hearst for making Save the Children’s efforts in Yemen the focus of this campaign. As we enter the season of giving, this is a unique and meaningful way for shoppers to give back and make an impact on the lives of children growing up in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.”

From December 2nd to December 9th, 100% percent of net proceeds across all products in Gabriela Hearst flagship stores (985 Madison Avenue, New York and 59 Brook Street, London) and Gabrielahearst.com will be donated to Save the Children to support child nutrition and relief efforts in war-torn Yemen.

All Gabriela Hearst handbags, which are usually only available via request only, will be click-to-buy on Gabrielahearst.com

Adut Akech Wins 'Model of the Year 2019' at British Fashion Awards in London

Adut Akech winning Model of the Year, getting a big hug from Naomi Campbell at Monday night’s British Fashion Awards 2019. © Darren Gerrish via British Vogue

In the words of British Vogue, “Adut Akech brought down the house”, winning Model Of The Year at Monday night’s British Fashion Awards celebration in London. Adut wore a voluminous Valentino gown that featured a ruffled midriff and a thigh-high split. Of course Adut used her speech to highlight the need for the fashion industry to continue its high-gear march towards far greater diversity.

The South Sudanese model is at the vanguard among the huge wave of creatives of color across the fashion industry, a trend that impacts photographers, stylists and countless other categories of vibrant talent virtually ignored by fashion industry leaders.

Adut Akech also brought her voice and status as a refugee born in then Sudan, now South Sudan, whose family migrated to Adelaide, Australia in an effort to remake their lives.

“It is important for all of us to remember that someone like me winning this award is a rarity,” she pointed out after expressing her gratitude for the statuette. “This is for the young women and men who found representation and validation in my work. I want them to never be afraid of dreaming big like I once did. To them, I say this: Whatever it is you want to do, whether it’s modelling or acting or medicine, you should never doubt yourself. Don’t let the world convince you that it is not possible.”

Akech appeared on the prestigious September 2019 covers of British Vogue, Vogue Germany and Vogue Japan. The British Vogue issue was guest edited by Her Royal Highness Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and featured women who are ‘Voices of Change’.

At a time when ‘refugee models’ are making their marks across the fashion and luxury market industry, Adut stands high on the list of beautiful young women enjoying their own mercurial success in an industry that has long shunned them.

The Aussie beauty’s activism and seizure of every limelight moment to discuss issues that matter to her is unrelenting, and in her own words: “I Will Always Be a Refugee”. As the model reminded us in her article ‘Refugees Are Just Like Everybody Else’ for British Vogue’s September 2019 issue:

“You don’t wake up thinking, I’m going to be a refugee. The only difference between a refugee and someone who grew up in the Western world is that we were forced out of our own country, out of our homes, because of fear – not out of choice.”

TIME Magazine honored Adut Akech on their 2019 TIME 100 Next list. Follow Adut Akech’s archives @ AOC.

Adut Akech’s September 2019 Vogue Covers

Frida Kahlo 'Portrait of a Lady in White' Sells for $5.8 Million at Christies Latin America

Frida Kahlo, Portrait of a Lady in White (c. 1929). Courtesy of Christie's Images Ltd. via ArtNet

Frida Kahlo’s ‘Portrait of a Lady in White’ (c. 1929) carried a pre-auction estimate of $3 -$5 million. The painting sold Wednesday at Christie’s Latin American art sale in New York for more than $5.8 million, making it the second-highest price ever paid for a Frida Kahlo painting. Her ‘Dos Desnudos en el Bosque (La Tierra Misma)’ (1939) sold for over $8 million at Christie’s in 2016

A visitor looks at “Portrait of a Lady in White” at the Frida Kahlo Retrospective at Martin-Gropius-Bau on April 29, 2010 in Berlin. Courtesy of Sean Gallup via ArtNet.

The painting has been maintained in private collections, most recently the collection of Dr. Helga Prignitz-Poda, a Kahlo scholar. One of Kahlo’s few oil paintings, “Recent research suggests that the subject of the portrait is Kahlo’s high school friend Elena Boder, a Russian émigré and an influential doctor. It was previously believed that the sitter was Kahlo’s American friend Dorothy Brown Fox.” writes Forbes.

Rihanna+Jahleel Weaver vs Victoria's Secret: Embracing Women

Rihanna's Savage x Fenty Xtra VIP Campaign Rings In A New Day in Lingerie Leisure

Rihanna rings in the holiday season, sharing her Savage x Fenty three VIP boxes in a campaign lensed by Dennis Leupold. Designs were handpicked by Rihanna’s stylist, creative collaborator and best friend Jahleel Weaver. Talking with British Vogue, Weaver describes the VIP boxes as representing everything the lingerie brand represents: “Expressing the truest version of yourself and celebrating how different and unique we all are.”

From the “Truth or Dare” package to “Still Watching?” and “XXX”, Weaver wanted to include as many lingerie styles as possible for Fenty’s expansive following, writes British Vogue. “The pieces I chose all have their own unique Savage twist and show personality – a mix of strength and sensuality,” Weaver tells Vogue. “I love it when people take risks with their clothes. It’s always so obvious when you can see that a person is having fun with fashion.”

Lucy Hughes' Bioplastic Made From Fish Scales Just Won the James Dyson Award

Most people look at fish guts and think, “eww.”

Lucy Hughes looked at the bloody waste from a fish processing plant and saw opportunity.

Then a student in product design at the University of Sussex, Hughes was interested in making use of things people normally throw away. So she arranged to visit a fish processing plant near her university, on England’s southern coast.

She came away a bit smelly—“I had to wash even my shoes,” she says—but inspired. After tinkering with various fish parts, she developed a plastic-like material made from scales and skin. Not only is it made from waste, it’s also biodegradable.

The material, MarinaTex, won Hughes this year’s James Dyson Award. The £30,000 (nearly $39,000) award is given to a recent design or engineering graduate who develops a product that solves a problem with ingenuity. Hughes, 24, beat out 1,078 entrants from 28 different countries.

Hughes, who grew up in suburban London, has always loved to spend time near the ocean. As a budding product designer—she graduated this summer—she was disturbed by statistics like 40 percent of plastic produced for packaging is only used once, and that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea by weight than fish. She wanted to develop something sustainable, and figured the sea itself was a good place to start, given that the University of Sussex is outside the beach town of Brighton.

“There’s value in waste, and we should be looking towards waste products rather than virgin materials if we could,” Hughes says. Read more about Hughes’ project Smithsonian.com.

Kylie Jenner Sells 51% of Kylie Cosmetics to Coty, Making Her the Richest Kardashian

Kylie Jenner, who recently unseated Mark Zuckerberg as the world’s youngest billionaire, is selling 51% of her stake in Kylie Cosmetics to Coty Inc. for $600 million.

"This partnership will allow me and my team to stay focused on the creation and development of each product while building the brand into an international beauty powerhouse," Jenner said.

The young mogul’s team will continue to manage her creative and communication efforts, a critical component of the deal because Jenner is one of the most-followed people on social media. Jenner delivers an audience of 150 million followers on Instagram and 30 million on Twitter.

“On social media, Kylie has over 270 million followers,” Coty Chief Financial Officer Pierre Andre Terrise said in a conference call. . “To put this in perspective, with a single post, she’s able to reach more than double the number of people who watch the Super Bowl every year.”

With Coty suffering turbulent times in an industry reeling under the success of brands like Jenner’s, the deal benefits from Jenner being a stable, prime mover of beauty products. Coty launched a $3 billion write down in value of brands it acquired in 2015 from Procter & Gamble, that included Clairol and CoverGirl. The deal also establishes Coty with another player in the younger women, direct-to-consumer sales channel. For 22-year-old Jenner, the all cash deal is a brilliant business move.

Coty CEO Pierre Laubies said in the release that the deal is "an exciting next step in our transformation and will leverage our core strengths around fragrances, cosmetics and skincare, allowing Kylie's brands to reach their full potential."

We note that some Wall Street analysts expressed skepticism over the deal, while admitting that reliable brands like Estee Lauder, Loreal and Sephora are suffering, as the industry enters choppy waters. “Brands tied to a celebrity have a unique risk in that their popularity can ebb and flow with the popularity of the celebrity,” said Rebecca Scheuneman, an analyst with Morningstar. “That’s one risk we don’t care for with the deal.”

Baltimore Museum Will Acquire Work Only By Women Artists in 2020

Georgia O’Keeffe's "Pink Tulip" is on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art as part of its 2020 Vision initiative,which will be a year-long series of exhibitions and programs focused solely on female artists. (The Baltimore Museum of Art)

Women artists received a tough love message in a recent survey of art acquisitions by America’s museums. Only 11 percent of art acquired by 26 of America’s top museums for their permanent collections from 2008 to 2018, is the work of women artists.

The Baltimore Museum of Art announced a new drive for women artists, announcing that in 2020, the museum will only acquire work for its permanent collection that is produced by women.

The decision is an attempt by the museum to “truly be radical and emphasize to the arts communities that we are taking this initiative quite seriously,” and “re-correcting the canon,” chief curator Asma Naeem said.

The initiative comes as many museums in Washington and across America prepare to celebrate women artists in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment and women’s right to vote. It’s also expected that the newly Democratic state government of Virginia will ratify the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) early in 2020, pushing the amendment across the finish line with state ratifications. The time is beyond the original ratification dates, and the issue will surely be moved into the federal court system.

Celebrating women artists is great, but just as American women have learned with achieving the ERA, progress is very painful and slow.

“Curators say they struggle to convince their acquisition committees to pay up for work, particularly by older, overlooked female artists, who frequently lack an auction history that might be used to validate the asking price,” the investigative report on museum acquisitions stated.

AOC discovered a perfect example of this reality in our recent post about 99-year-old artist Luchita Hurtado.

“If you think about the word ‘artist,’ there’s a tacit assumption that it’s a male genius who is in fact the artist,” Naeem said. “That can be seen in the fact that we even call these ‘women artists.’ They’re not women artists. They’re artists.”

BOF Interviews Rising Super Photographer Ethan James Green

Chantal Fernandez interviews rising star photographer Ethan James Green for Business of Fashion. The interviews seems accessible free, although you might have to register for the newsletter.

Green is clearly a young man with tremendous self confidence and self awareness, transitioning from being a model for brands like Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs to a position behind the lens. Why do I say self-confidence and determination? Because Green racked up $150,000 in debt working with small magazines to build his portfolio.

A Fashion Industry in Flux

Fernandez raises a valid point about Ethan James Green getting an opening for success with the sexual conduct allegations around several prominent fashion industry photographers including Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier and Bruce Weber — to cite three majors.

I will add, though, that female photographers and photographers of every skin color and heritage are also on the rise, in an effort to address an industry dominated by white male photographers. 50 years after a wave of activism and legislation designed to not find ourselves in a white male dominated world in 2019 clearly, visibly failed to make a dent in those efforts. The Internet has made this possible, with influencers and websites like AOC determined to change this dominate of white men, just as we are determined to change the hue of models beyond white women.

AOC regularly bends an extra 90 degrees for poc and female photographers, although we’ve raved about Ethan James Green for a long while and celebrate his success. Read on at BOF and review a large portion of Green’s portfolio in his AOC Photographer Archives.

These recent works will get you started.

New York City Foie Gras Ban Awaits Mayor's Pen | Alternatives Do Exist

Image Credits: Top Photo by Gary Bendig on Unsplash; Bottom Culinaria.

It appears that New York will ban foie gras but now on a three-year phase-in schedule to help upstate farmers retool, writes Food & Wine. Down about six paragraphs, I note that Councilwoman Carlina Rivera -- the bill's sponsor -- references an alternative way of feeding the geese, which is considered to be acceptable. She said

"I also encourage all foie gras-producing farms, many of which purport to use sustainable practices, to pursue other methods of foie gras production, such as those done by farmers in Spain that employ different methods using highly dense foods.” '

So foie gras doesn't have to be banned as a food, suggests Rivera. It's being banned over a force-feeding process that is generally considered to be disgusting, the most involved one becomes in understanding the story behind the delicacy. Apparently, there’s an alternative feeding process for the geese used in Spain that is much more humane.

Note that restaurants can "give away" the foie gras, based on the new law. But it's interesting to know that there is an alternative, more humane process that could end this entire food fight. I believe this same philosophy of fundamental to the functioning of a democracy, so this article has me reflecting.

Long ago activist ,upstate New York Blue Hill Chef Dan Barber launched the conversation around an ‘ethical’ fois gras alternative and the issue has received considerable attention. Listen to Barber speak to the issue and see related reading links below.

Dan Barber’s Foie Gras TED Talk

Related Here’s an ‘audacious’ science project: foie gras without the controversy Science | Business July 2019

The farmer who makes ‘ethical’ foie gras The Guardian

: This Man Might Be Producing the World’s Only Ethical Foie Gras VICE Jan 2015

Can Dan Barber Produce a Humane Foie Gras? TheKitchn.com Dec. 2011

Nike Signs (No) Arctic Shipping Pledge, Joining H&M Group, Kering, PVH Corp

The truth is that many large corporations have no problem that the Arctic is melting. They want the new shipping route as a terrible example of corporate greed and self-interest. Still, corporate interests are salivating to ship through the Arctic year-round.

It’s very important that NIKE has teamed up with the Ocean Conservancy to launch the Arctic Shipping Corporate Pledge, inviting businesses and industry to join in a commitment against shipping through the Arctic Ocean.

Ships are responsible for more than 18 percent of some air pollutants. It also includes greenhouse gas emissions. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates that carbon dioxide emissions from shipping were equal to 2.2% of the global human-made emissions in 2012 and expects them to rise 50 to 250 percent by 2050 if no action is taken.

The Arctic Shipping Corporate Pledge invites companies to commit to not intentionally send ships through this fragile Arctic ecosystem. Today's signatories include companies Bestseller, Columbia, Gap Inc., H&M Group, Kering, Li & Fung, PVH Corp., and ocean carriers CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Company.

"The dangers of trans-Arctic shipping routes outweigh all perceived benefits and we cannot ignore the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping on our ocean," says Janis Searles Jones, CEO of Ocean Conservancy. "Ocean Conservancy applauds Nike for recognizing the real bottom line here is a shared responsibility for the health of the Arctic—and believes the announcement will spur much-needed action to prevent risky Arctic shipping and hopes additional commitments to reduce emissions from global shipping will emerge." 

For Nike to take a lead in advancing and promoting awareness of the Arctic Shipping Corporate Pledge is an excellent victory. With all the moves to track how products are made and transported, we can check a product on our phones and see if it's been transported through the Arctic. If the environment means enough to us -- this is where consumer power comes into action. But it takes business leaders like Nike to talk to other corporate leaders on some of these topics. At least, it's a collaborative effort of business and activism like this one.

Queen Elizabeth II Says "Faux Fur Only Going Forward"

Queen Elizabeth II via W Magazine

Queen Liz is onboard: no more fur. Faux fur only on very cold days. Her Majesty has already had all the mink trim -- and any other animal fur -- removed from her most favorite coats, replaced with faux fur.

Stella McCartney has a marvelous new faux fur that is impossible to distinguish from the original — although the Queen’s longtime personal adviser and official dresser Angela Kelly says that Her Majesty’s preference is to move away from fur entirely.

The Humane Society International formally announced that it's "thrilled" before calling on the British government to make the U.K. the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur. The UK branch of PETA, hardly known for low-volume press messages on the subject of animal rights, tweeted "we're raising a glass of gin and Dubonnet to the Queen’s compassionate decision to go fur-free".

Image via Town and Country

After a quick sip, the organization then suggested that perhaps the Queen’s Guard, known worldwide for their enormous bearskin hats could follow Her Majesty’s lead. PETA has been lobbying for faux fur hats to replace the current ones for almost three years, even sending her prototypes from Only Me in 2017, writes Town and Country.

We all curtsy to a modern woman very concerned about protecting heritage and protocol, while keeping British royalty relevant with evolving values.

H&M Trials Clothing Rentals With Stockholm Store's Conscious Exclusive 2012-2019

H&M is launching a new concept store in Stockholm, a venue dedicated to rentals of sustainable ready-to-wear from Conscious Exclusive collections past and present. Pieces from sustainable Conscious Exclusive collections 2012-2019 will be available to customers who are members of H&M’s customer loyalty program.

Members will be able to book a time at the rental space where a stylist treats them to a personalised experience, helping them select some great pieces they can then rent for a week. Members can rent up to three pieces a time at a cost of around 350 Swedish kronor per piece.

“We love offering our fans something extra and we also want to encourage our customers to look on fashion in a circular way as we aim to lead the change towards a circular fashion industry,” says Pascal Brun, Head of Sustainability at H&M

To further inspire customers to reuse and recycle, the store will also offer repair services with an atelier where customers can get their fashion favourites mended or upgraded. The newly furbished Sergels Torg store, which opens end of November, will offer customers a great shopping destination with a curated assortment, a beauty bar and the café-concept It’s Pleat. 

Central Park Seneca Village Monument Will Honor African American Freed Slaves in NYC

A DOUBLE AMBROTYPE PORTRAIT OF ALBRO LYONS, SR. AND MARY JOSEPH LYONS. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

NYC Monument Will Honor African-American Family Displaced to Make Way for Central Park

Before Central Park leveled it, Seneca Village was a thriving 20-year-old home to African American freed slaves property owners seeking sanctuary in New York City .

Many of its members owned their own property, set apart from the crowds—and discrimination—of the city’s more populated downtown area. But when local authorities began moving forward with plans to build Central Park, Seneca Village’s residents were forced to leave their homes.

A planned monument announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office earlier this month is set to honor a prominent African-American family that once lived in the bustling community. As Julia Jacobs reports for the New York Times, the monument will pay tribute to the Lyons family, a trio of abolitionists, educators and property owners made up of Albro, Mary Joseph and their daughter Maritcha.

Meet the Powerhouse Talent Team Behind 'Harriet' Movie: Erivo, Lemmons, Martin-Chase

Essence Magazine interviews Tony-Award winner Cynthia Erivo about her starring role as the fearless abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the highly-anticipated biopic ‘Harriet’. I recall seeing Erivo in her powerhouse performance as Celie in the Broadway presentation of ‘The Color Purple’.

The film, which opened Friday and is discussed in depth in AOC’s The True Story Behind the Harriet Tubman Movie -- An Epic Tale of Fearless Heroism tells the story of a determined 5’1” abolitionist who freed more than hundreds of slaves, including herself. A union spy during the Civil War, Tubman was the first woman to lead a military expedition of its kind in America, when she led soldiers with Colonel James Montgomery to raid rice plantations along the Combahee Rover in South Carolina.

THE FILM BRIEFLY DEPICTS THE CIVIL WAR MILITARY EXPEDITION THAT FREED AROUND 750 ENSLAVED PEOPLE AND WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND TO BE LED BY A WOMAN. (GLEN WILSON/FOCUS FEATURES)

The film is directed by Kasi Lemmons, whose pedigree includes directing the critically acclaimed and award-winning Southern Gothic film ‘Eve's Bayou’ and her 2007 biopic ‘Talk To Me’ about legendary radio DJ Petey Green. She was described by film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon as "an ongoing testament to the creative possibilities of film".

Producer Debra Martin-Chase. is affiliated with Universal Television, a division of NBC Universal Television Group. It was affiliated with the Walt Disney Company from 2001 to 2016. How refreshing to read Martin-Chase’s comments on BlackEnterprise.com, addressing head-on some commentary of the film from black critics, who are “slave fatigued”.

“This is NOT a slave movie,” Debra Martin Chase declares, her passion for her latest production, Harriet, crackling through the phone. “This is a movie about freedom and empowerment. This is a movie that says we cannot control the circumstances into which we are born, but we can control what we do once we get here.”

“A lot of us are waking up every day feeling hopeless and helpless, and this film is a reminder to all of us that we can each make a difference, in our families, in our churches, our communities, our countries, our world,” she says. “Harriet saved herself, members of her family, and countless others. She changed people’s lives, she changed the course of history. This is an action hero origin story. She was a badass!”

AOC is tracking commentary around the film in our long piece from Smithsonian Magazine, anchor for the National Museum of African American History and Culture — including the responses of women writers vs male writers. And for the record, white people should learn from the complex discussion and keep our mouths shut. ~ Anne

The True Story Behind the Harriet Tubman Movie -- An Epic Tale of Fearless Heroism AOC GlamTribal Blog

The ‘Harriet’ trailer gives you an idea of what’s to come from this hyper-talented cast of black women creatives and business executives.

Extinction Rebellion Releases #WhereIsYourPlan 'One Lifetime' Climate Emergency Film

Marking six months since the UK Parliament declared an Environment and Climate Emergency, Extinction Rebellion – celebrating its first year anniversary – has released a short film calling for everyone to demand their government’s plan to address the crisis … #WhereIsYourPlan

Through voices representing a lifetime, aged 8 to 80, the film demands that leaders around the world act on the climate and ecological emergency, including stopping the destruction of our forests, our oceans and our wildlife, reducing global zero carbon emissions within 10 years [1] and investing in a green economy. 

The concept behind this globally significant film – presenting some of the demands of the climate movement and extinction revolution [2] – was developed by filmmaker Richard Curtis, and refined, shot and produced by RANKIN, an agency headed up by the British photographer and cultural provocateur of its namesake.

Directed by Jordan Rossi of RANKIN, the film shows that despite our race, age or gender, people need to unite against the threat of the global warming crisis. No matter who you are, this is an issue that will affect everyone, and the video reflects our last shot at making a difference.

Related: Extinction Rebellion Takes Aim at Fashion New York Times

H&M Opens Mitte Garten Neighborhood Store for Local Talents in Berlin

H&M’s first hyper-local flagship Mitte Garten opened its doors on October 25th in Berlins creative Mitte district. With it’s approximately 300 square meters, it’s one of H&M's smallest stores offering curated womenswear, selected external brands, vintage pieces and a showroom for customers.

"It’s a test for us as a global retailer to elaborate around how we can be more personal and locally relevant."

                                                                            Anna Bergare Business Developer at the Laboratory H&M Group 

H&M Mitte Garten will regularly offer events such as lectures, fashion talks and yoga for its customers. In the public showroom upcoming trends and looks are presented. Here consumers can try on and lend pieces to make sure that their future purchases are consciously made.

"This is a unique location and it has served as a meeting place for Berliners for over a hundred years, a tradition we want to honour. We aim to offer a neighbourhood store serving as a platform for local and global talents within retail, culture and art."

                                                                                          Thorsten Mindermann country manager H&M Germany

Lily-Rose Depp Welcomes Chanel No. 5 Suspended in Snow Globe

If you ever wanted to live in a snow globe — a totally-sheltered existence away from the cacophony of Trumplandia — the Holiday 2019 Chanel No. 5 campaign is for you. Karl Lagerfeld favorite Lily-Rose Depp celebrates a life of falling flakes wearing a perfect Chanel beret and red over-the-knee boots , accompanied by an auto-tuned beat as far away from holiday favorite ‘Let it Snow’ as possible. The film is directed by Jean-Paul Goude and gem.

Artist Micol Hebron's Instagram Account Suspended Shortly After FB Censorship Meeting

Digital collage by Micol Hebron (all photos courtesy of Micol Hebron)

A group of about 20 artists, curators, and activists met Monday afternoon at Facebook and Instagram’s New York City office. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss Instagram’s treatment of artists and its impact on their art and livelihoods.

Interdisciplinary artist, curator, and associate professor at Chapman University in Southern California, Micol Hebron has an extensive history of campaigning to free womens’ nipples. Fellow artist Joann Leah was in attendance as an essential bridge between Facebook and artists, having established long-standing relationships with the organization over its censorship of artwork, writes Hyperallergic.

To Hebron, the policy — and perhaps Facebook’s overall approach to gender — lacks nuance.

“The policies that Facebook enacts are essentially policing the bodies and the identities of the users — and are a particular problem who people who are queer or trans … that is my primary concern from the beginning. How does an algorithm know what someone’s gender is? How does a person know what gender someone is by looking at their nipples?”

“Artists that are working with the nude, who censor their own works on Instagram in order to meet their community standards, can be deleted with no recourse because of a lack of a proper appeals system,” Spencer Tunick told Hyperallergic. “The deletion of an artist’s account is like throwing someone’s address book and portfolio into a fire.”

In a note of irony, three hours after the Facebook meeting ended, Hebron’s Instagram account was suspended for posting the image of her and Tunick below, as they prepared to enter the meeting. Being connected at Instagram, Hebron was able to solve her suspension in short order.

For relatively unknown and unconnected artists, the process is far more complicated and potentially career-defining in today’s Insta-world, Hebron acknowledged.

Londolozi 'Cathedral of the Wild' Teaches Us Meaning of 'Ubuntu'

Londolozi 'Cathedral of the Wild' Teaches Us Meaning of 'Ubuntu'

I watched just now this 2013 TED Women Talk delivered by Boyd Varty, who learned literally minutes before going onstage that his beloved Mandela had passed. Boyd’s is one of the finest TED Talks I remember watching — and only regret that at 12 minutes long, it would have 8 minutes more at Big TED Talks. I want those 8 minutes more from Boyd. Introducing the talk, TED writes:

"In the cathedral of the wild, we get to see the best parts of ourselves reflected back to us." Boyd Varty, a wildlife activist, shares stories of animals, humans and their interrelatedness, or "ubuntu" -- defined as, "I am, because of you." And he dedicates the talk to South African leader Nelson Mandela, the human embodiment of that same great-hearted, generous spirit.