Chopard Extends Luxury Brand Sustainability Drive To Chloe Sevigny's Handbag Inspo

Chopard Extends Luxury Brand Sustainability Drive To Chloe Sevigny's Handbag Inspo

Swiss luxury jewelry and watchmaker Chopard has made another advancement in its commitment to sustainability with a handbag designed by award-winning actor Chloë Sevigny.

The geometrically-styled, highly-recognizable evening bag featuring a large heart overlapping the front and side panel, was inspired by “iconic images of the 1940s,” according to a Chopard release on Friday. The bag, sold in three colors, is made from calf-skin leather that is sustainably sourced and “fully traceable,” Chopard said.

For the Sevigny-designed “Green Carpet Collection” bag, which retails for $2,360, Chopard sought to not only trace the leather lineage, but also to work with the tannery on environmental management systems that ensure “all processes and resources, including water, waste, and energy were responsibility managed,” according to Green Carpet, sustainability expert Livia Firth’s Eco-Age. Reinforcement materials on the bag also are made from natural latex and vegetable tanned leather waste.

The Evolution of the Medieval Witch – and Why She’s Usually a Woman

The Evolution of the Medieval Witch – and Why She’s Usually a Woman

By Jennifer Farrell, Lecturer in Medieval History, University of Exeter. First published on The Conversation.

Flying through the skies on a broomstick, the popular image of a witch is as a predominantly female figure – so much so that the costume has become the go-to Halloween outfit for women and girls alike. But where did this gendered stereotype come from? Part of the answer comes from medieval attitudes towards magic, and the particular behaviours attributed to men and women within the “crime” of witchcraft.

Taking one aspect of the witch’s characterisation in popular culture – her association with flight – we can see a transformation in attitudes between the early and later Middle Ages. In the 11th century, Bishop Burchard of Worms said of certain sinful beliefs:

Some wicked women, turning back to Satan and seduced by the illusions and phantasms of demons, believe [that] in the night hours they ride on certain animals with the pagan goddess Diana and a countless multitude of women, and they cross a great span of the world in the stillness of the dead of night.

According to Burchard, these women were actually asleep, but were held captive by the devil, who deceived their minds in dreams. He also believed that none but the very “stupid and dim-witted” could think that these flights had actually taken place.

Washington Becomes First State to Allow ‘Human Composting' As A Burial Method

Washington Becomes First State to Allow ‘Human Composting' As A Burial Method

In 2015, cremations outpaced burials for the first time in United States history. And as the National Funeral Directors Association points out, this upward trend is set to continue over the coming decades, with the national cremation rate predicted to reach nearly 80 percent by 2035. Still, while cremation has obvious environmental advantages over burial—think of all the wood, reinforced concrete, steel, copper and carcinogenic formaldehyde needed to inter the deceased—the process isn’t as Earth-friendly as you might think. In fact, Laura Yan reported for Pacific Standard in 2016, cremation releases 600 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

Human composting is the brainchild of Katrina Spade, CEO of alternative burial company Recompose. Speaking with local news station KIRO 7, Spade explains that recomposition involves moving the body to a specially designed facility—“part public park, part funeral home, part memorial to the people we love,” in the entrepreneur’s words—and placing it inside of a vessel filled with wood chips, alfalfa and straw. After several weeks of microbial activity, the body breaks down into soil that can then be given to family of the deceased or used by conservation groups to “nourish the [surrounding] land.” Overall, the process uses an eighth of the energy required for cremation and saves more than one metric ton of carbon dioxide for every individual who opts to use it.

Donald Trump: Why White Evangelical Women Support Him

Donald Trump: Why White Evangelical Women Support Him

During the US president Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in early February, House Democratic women showed up clad all in white. The colour, a nod to the suffragettes, was meant to show their displeasure with the president’s policies towards women, climate change and immigration. But Trump’s contentious relationship with Democratic women contrasts sharply with the support he receives from another group of women – white evangelicals.

As is well known by now, in the November 2016 presidential election, 80% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. That constituted the largest “evangelical vote” in nearly two decades. If scholars, journalists and the general public have puzzled over why so many white evangelicals would vote for someone whose language and behaviour violated key tenets of the Christian faith, the question of why evangelical women voted for him is even more puzzling – especially given Trump’s long track record of alleged sexual misconductand derogatory comments about women.

But the 2016 vote wasn’t a fluke. A recent poll reports that two-thirds of white evangelical women still approve of the president.

Naomi Wolf's 'Outrages' Book Exposed On Air By BBC As Full Of Major Errors About Victorians

Naomi Wolf's 'Outrages' Book Exposed On Air By BBC As Full Of Major Errors About Victorians

Author, activist Naomi Wolf is living the worst nightmare for a writer. She did not properly investigate the term "death recorded", a key research term in her new book 'Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love, '

The error is a whopper, one that goes to a core premise of her book, which deals with people not only being imprisoned for 'illegal love acts' but -- according to Naomi -- being executed.

Wolf was interviewed on BBC Radio Thurs. where she apparently sat with interviewer Matthew Sweet , as he read to Wolf the definition of “death recorded,” a 19th-century English legal term. “Death recorded” means that a convict was pardoned for his crimes rather than given the death sentence.

The legal term means the exact opposite of what Naomi assumed. The error speaks volumes about her lack of scholarship and a book that is on sale as we speak.

Chrissy Teigen, Queen of Social Media Lands An Airstream Photo Op For Porter Edit, May 24, 2019

Chrissy Teigen, Queen of Social Media Lands An Airstream Photo Op For Porter Edit, May 24, 2019

Talented wit, supermom, wife, cook par excellence, Trump troller and the “queen of social media” Chrissy Teigen has become “the woman that everyone wants to befriend” writes Christine Lennon for the May 24, 2019 issue of Porter Edit. Tracy Taylor styles Chrissy in ‘Hot topics’ for images by Sebastian Kim.

Elephants Reduced to a Political Football as Botswana Brings Back Hunting

Elephants Reduced to a Political Football as Botswana Brings Back Hunting

Botswana has reinstated trophy hunting after a 5-year moratorium on the practice.

In the wake of evidently declining wildlife numbers, former president Ian Khama imposed the ban in early 2014. Elephant numbers had plummeted by 15% in the preceding decade. The hunting industry had been granted a total quota of between 420 and 800 elephants a year during that time. Evidence of abuse was prolific and communities were not benefiting from the fees that hunters were paying.

Over the past five years Botswana has earned a reputation as the continent’s last elephant haven. It harbours just over a third of Africa’s remaining savanna elephants.

Khama’s successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has been in the job for just over a year. He’s promoted a conservation doctrine that is diametrically opposed to Khama’s.

Masisi recently hosted a conference in Kasane that brought together heads of state and environment ministers from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its pretext was to formulate a common vision for managing southern Africa’s elephants under the banner of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). But the conference was used to drum up support for Botswana’s intended reversion to elephant hunting.

Elle Fanning's Dior Haute Couture 'New Look' Tribute To ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Cannes Premiere

Elle Fanning's Dior Haute Couture 'New Look' Tribute To ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Cannes Premiere

Actor Elle Fanning was an apparition straight out of old Hollywood glamour, appearing at the Cannes 2019 screening of Quentin Tarantino’s highly-anticipated film ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’, wearing a jaw-dropping tribute to Christian Dior’s New Look.

The 21-year-old Fanning is the youngest juror in the history of the Cannes Film Festival and doesn’t appear in ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’. The film tackles the summer of 1969, a tumultuous moment of American unrest and the Manson murder of pregnant actor Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robbie). At the time, the pregnant Tate was married to besieged director Roman Polanski.

Prada Goes Fur Free In All Company Brands Starting With Spring 2020 Collections

Prada Goes Fur Free In All Company Brands Starting With Spring 2020 Collections

Italian luxury Prada is joining the ranks of fur-free luxury brands, announcing that all collections starting with women’s spring/summer 2020 will not use fur. Prada previously used fur from foxes, minks and rabbits in its luxury collections.

The decision comes after working closely with the Humane Society International, Fur Free Alliance, and Italian animal rights group LAV. Prada’s subsidiary Miu Miu is on the same fur-free spring 2020 timetable. Products that have already been produced will be sold.

How One State Has Become a Model for Protecting Abortion Rights From Supreme Court Conservatives

How One State Has Become a Model for Protecting Abortion Rights From Supreme Court Conservatives

As Republican-controlled state legislatures across the United States pass near-total abortion bans, Vermont Democrats are looking to establish the country’s most comprehensive abortion rights protections.

The pro-choice effort in Vermont is two-pronged: a constitutional amendment via Proposition 5 to guarantee personal reproductive liberty, and bill H 57, which codifies the right to an abortion and prohibits public entities from interfering with a person’s right to choose.

Vermont’s Democratic-majority house and senate have passed both measures this session, and H 57 will soon head to the governor’s desk, where he can either sign it, allow it to become law by taking no action, or veto it. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) does not plan to veto H 57, his spokesperson told Rewire.News.

Africa Has Lost Binyavanga Wainaina. But His spirit Will Continue To Inspire

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE WITH BINYAVANGA WAINAINA AT LANNAN FOUNDATION 2011. VIA FLICKR

Africa Has Lost Binyavanga Wainaina. But His spirit Will Continue To Inspire

Binyavanga Wainaina, one of Kenya’s most famous writers, has passed away.

How to write an obituary for a person of such standing? The conventional way would be by starting with the key biographical facts.

Wainaina was born in 1971 in Nakuru, Kenya. He went to school in Nakuru, Thika, and Nairobi. He studied a degree in Commerce in South Africa (University of Transkei) and later an MPhil in Creative Writing in the UK (University of East Anglia).

In 2002 he won the Caine Prize for African writing, with his short story “Discovering Home”. In 2003 he became the founding editor of African literary magazine, Kwani?, and he served as the director of the Chinua Achebe Centre for African Literature and Languages at the Bard College in the US.

There Is More Than One Religious View On Abortion -- Here's What Jewish Texts Say

There Is More Than One Religious View On Abortion -- Here's What Jewish Texts Say

By Rachel Mikva, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Chicago Theological Seminary. First published on The Conversation.

Alabama’s governor signed a bill this week that criminalizes nearly all abortions, threatening providers with a felony conviction and up to 99 years in prison.

It is one of numerous efforts across the United States to restrict access to abortion and challenge the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide.

Six states have recently passed legislation that limit abortions to approximately six weeks after the end of a woman’s last period, before many know they are pregnant. Although the laws have not yet taken effect and several have been blocked on constitutional grounds, if enacted they would prohibit most abortions once a doctor can hear rhythmic electrical impulses in the developing fetus.

Arizona Muse Gushes Biodynamic Farming, Lensed By Richard Phibbs For Town & Country UK

Arizona Muse Gushes Biodynamic Farming, Lensed By Richard Phibbs For Town & Country UK

Arizona Muse is styled by Miranda Almond in ‘Taking A Stand’, a collection of earth-friendly, noble origins, country manor looks. Photographer Richard Phibbs captures the bucolic scene for Town & Country UK May 2019./ Hair by Paul Donovan; makeup by Polly Osmond

Lydia Slater interviews Arizona at a farm in Sussex, peering into polytunnels of spinach and lettuce while discussing her escalating commitment to eco-fashion and sustainability.

Sharon Stone Delivers Epic Sensuality, Age 61, Lensed By Branislav Simoncik For Vogue Portugal

Sharon Stone Delivers Epic Sensuality, Age 61, Lensed By Branislav Simoncik For Vogue Portugal

Sharon Stone channels her defining role as an actor, playing Catherine Tramell in ‘Basic Instinct’, styled by Paris Libby in femme fatale looks suitable for a Hollywood icon. Photographer Branislav Simoncik captures the screen siren is stunning images — with a soft hand on retouching, bravo — for Vogue Portugal May 2019./ Hair by Giannandrea; makeup by Jo Baker

Diane von Furstenberg Raises $100 Million For New NYC Harbor Statue of Liberty Museum

As fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg prepares to step down as chairwoman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America — turning over the position to Tom Ford — DVF celebrates her new role as chair of the fund-raising campaign for the Statue of Liberty Museum, which opened on Wednesday.

The designer is interviewed by friend Mellody Hobson, an African American businesswoman who is president of Ariel Investments and the former chairwoman of Dream Works Animation about her first job of raising $100 million for the Statue of Liberty Museum.

With Edwin Schlossberg, the museum’s designer, Von Furstenberg came up with the idea for an abstract “Stars and Stripes” mural for the entrance. The stripes are iron bars from the Statue of Liberty’s original armature created by Gustave Eiffel, and Diane’s friend sculptor Anh Duong designed 50 stars to sell to donors. It was easy, explained the philanthropist, activist businesswoman and wife of Barry Diller.

There’s something magical about the Statute of Liberty: She belongs to everybody.

Read more details at Harper’s Bazaar US. Photographer Alexi Lubomirski captures Diane with models Akiima, Charlee Fraser and Emmy Rappe honoring one of Americans’ (well most Americans) most cherished symbols of the country we want to be again, as a member in high standing of the international community.

EMMY RAPPE (L), CHARLEE FRASER (C) AND AKIIMA (R)

The Century-Old ‘Science Fiction’ Behind Ohio Rep’s Bill Covering Nonexistent Ectopic Pregnancy Treatment

The Century-Old ‘Science Fiction’ Behind Ohio Rep’s Bill Covering Nonexistent Ectopic Pregnancy Treatment

Ohio Rep. John Becker (R) drew widespread criticism last week for an anti-abortion bill that would allow insurance coverage for the “reimplantation” of an ectopic pregnancy into the uterus—a treatment that does not exist. Physicians and pro-choice advocates have called the line in the bill “science fiction,” but Becker told Rewire.News he does have sources to back up his claim: two articles—one more than 100 years old—with anecdotal stories from physicians who claim that “reimplanting” ectopic pregnancies into the uterus is possible.

HB 182, which Becker first introduced in April, seeks to ban almost all insurance coverage of abortions in cases where the pregnant person’s life is not endangered. It also bans coverage of what Becker called “abortifacients,” or “drugs or devices used to prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum.” (This language seems based on a fundamental misunderstanding of pregnancy, medication abortion, and some forms of contraception.) Becker has saidthe intention of the bill is to “save lives” and cut costs for employers and insurers.

The bill received national attention when Dr. Daniel Grossman, an OB-GYN and director of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) at the University of California, San Francisco, described ectopic pregnancies in a viral Twitter thread criticizing the bill. Ectopic pregnancies occur when a pregnancy grows outside of the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube, though Grossman wrote that they can rarely develop in the cervix or the abdomen as well. According to the Mayo Clinic, “an ectopic pregnancy can’t proceed normally. The fertilized egg can’t survive, and the growing tissue may cause life-threatening bleeding, if left untreated.”

Ectopic pregnancies are the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester.

Bumble Bees Don't Generate Big Buzz and Their Numbers Are Also In Steep Decline

Bumble Bees Don't Generate Big Buzz and Their Numbers Are Also In Steep Decline

Duke Ellington’s Melodies Carried His Message of Social Justice

DUKE ELLINGTON MURAL ON U STREET NW IN WASHINGTON DC.

Duke Ellington’s Melodies Carried His Message of Social Justice

At a moment when there is a longstanding heated debate over how artists and pop culture figures should engage in social activism, the life and career of musical legend Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington offers a model of how to do it right.

Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. His tight-knit black middle-class family nurtured his racial pride and shielded him from many of the difficulties of segregation in the nation’s capital. Washington was home to a sizable black middle class, despite prevalent racism. That included the racial riots of 1919’s Red Summer, three months of bloody violence directed at black communities in cities from San Francisco to Chicago and Washington D.C.

Ellington’s development from a D.C. piano prodigy to the world’s elegant and sophisticated “Duke” is well documented. Yet a fusion of art and social activism also marked his more than 56-year career.

Ellington’s battle for social justice was personal. Films like the award-winning “Green Book” only hint at the costs of segregation for black performing artists during the 1950s and 60s.

Duke’s experiences reveal the reality.

Overcoming Barriers to Urban Agriculture In American Cities

PHILLY’S URBAN FARMING PLAN COULD INCLUDE HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY THOUSANDS, OF VACANT LOTS. MARCH 20, 2019. JESSICA GRIFFIN / FILE PHOTOGRAPH PHILLY.COM

Overcoming Barriers to Urban Agriculture In American Cities

Achieving such yields in a test garden does not mean they are feasible for urban farmers in the Bay Area. Most urban farmers in California lack ecological horticultural skills. They do not always optimize crop density or diversity, and the University of California’s extension program lacks the capacity to provide agroecological training.

The biggest challenge is access to land. University of California researchers estimate that over 79 percent of the state’s urban farmers do not own the property that they farm. Another issue is that water is frequently unaffordable. Cities could address this by providing water at discount rates for urban farmers, with a requirement that they use efficient irrigation practices.

In the Bay Area and elsewhere, most obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture are political, not technical. In 2014 California enacted AB511, which set out mechanisms for cities to establish urban agriculture incentive zones, but did not address land access.

One solution would be for cities to make vacant and unused public land available for urban farming under low-fee multiyear leases. Or they could follow the example of Rosario, Argentina, where 1,800 residents practice horticulture on about 175 acres of land. Some of this land is private, but property owners receive tax breaks for making it available for agriculture.

NYU Hires Law Firm to Investigate Behavior of {Michael H} Steinhardt, a Prominent Donor

NYU Hires Law Firm to Investigate Behavior of {Michael H} Steinhardt, a Prominent Donor

NYU said on Monday that it had hired a prominent law firm to investigate whether the namesake of its school of education, Michael H. Steinhardt, had engaged in inappropriate conduct with students, faculty or staff.

The review will be headed by Joan McPhee, a lawyer who last year helped lead an investigation of Lawrence G. Nassar, a USA Gymnastics team doctor who last year was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing young women. McPhee was hired by NYU as part of its response to a New York Times-ProPublica article that alleged a pattern of crude and demeaning sexual comments by Steinhardt toward women over decades.

Steinhardt, a hedge fund pioneer and philanthropist, denied many of the specifics of the allegations, saying that his behavior was always meant in jest, and never involved physical contact.