RELATED: The Best Looks From the 2023 Cannes Film Festival

As the festivities took place over the last ten days on the French Riviera, countless A-listers graced the red carpet in their best black-tie attire and most glamorous, jaw-dropping gowns. Some even sported the recently revived exposed bra trend while others opted for uniquely puffy and playful silhouettes. The excitement didn’t just stay on the carpet, though, as many behind-the-scenes moments made waves on social media too. After all, would it even be Cannes without a little drama?

Check out our wrap-up of some of the top moments from the 2023 Cannes Film Festival below.

Rawdah Mohamed stole the show in Robert Wun’s “The Scorched Bride” couture dress

We can’t begin to talk about fashion at this year’s festival without mentioning the stunning Robert Wun gown that Somali model Rawdah Mohamed wore to the premiere of La Passion De Dodin Bouffant. The couture look is known as “The Scorched Bride” dress from Wun’s Spring 2023 horror-themed collection and with the dramatic burn marks on the beautiful silk fabric, it certainly lives up to its name. Stunning details such as its distressed veil and detailed train also make the outfit a red carpet standout. The dress also proves that modesty has a place on red carpets, which is a principle that Mohamed has long been an advocate for.

Brie Larson shuts down a journalist who asked her about Johnny Depp

During a press conference for the jurors at this year’s event, Brie Larson had a tense exchange with a reporter when she was asked about her opinion on about Johnny Depp’s new film, Jeanne du Barry, opening the festival. This comes after months of Depp being in the news for his controversial abuse case with his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Larson was visibly confused by the question and told the reporter, “You’re asking me that? I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically.” The reporter explained that since Larson has been a vocal supporter of the Time’s Up movement (and was a member of the cause’s celebrity advisory council), he was curious about her thoughts on Depp’s involvement in this year’s festival and if she’d watch his film. In response, Larson ended the awkward exchange by saying, “Well, you’ll see, I guess, if I see it and I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do.”

Helen Mirren sported a bold blue hairdo

There were tons of exciting beauty moments (we’re really tempted to get bangs now) on this year’s Cannes red carpet but a standout has to be Helen Mirren‘s colourful hairstyle that perfectly matched her gown. As she attended the premiere of Jeanne du Barry, audiences were blessed with the surprise of seeing Mirren in a beautiful blue dress with a matching azure updo. Fun fact: Lady Gaga sported a similar look back at the 2019 Golden Globes. Who said “feeling blue” is always a bad thing?

Jennifer Lawrence wears flip-flops and Cate Blanchett ditches her high heels 

The “no flat shoes” ban for women at Cannes has been a topic of conversation yet again this year as both Jennifer Lawrence and Cate Blanchett seemingly took a stand against the alleged “rule.” While she didn’t speak out directly on the ban, Lawrence caught lots of media attention when she changed from her red high heels into a pair of black flip-flops before descending the famous Cannes red carpet steps. Blanchett made a more direct statement by telling her audience exactly why she was taking off her heels while presenting the Breakthrough Artist Award to Iranian-French star Zahra Amir Ebrahimi. We’ll certainly be paying attention to the footwear choices at Cannes next year!

An influencer doused herself in artificial blood on the red carpet to raise awareness for the Ukraine war

In one of the more shocking moments from this year’s festivities, a Ukrainian blogger named Ilona Chernobai made a daring political statement ahead of the premiere of the sci-f horror film Acide. As she posed in a blue and yellow dress, which represents the colours of Ukraine’s flag, Chernobai suddenly grabbed two small packets of artificial blood from her dress and poured them on herself before being quickly ushered off the carpet. In an unverified English translation of a statement Chernobai posted on her Instagram account after the protest, the influencer allegedly said, “I took my chance and with this act, I reminded what is happening in Ukraine!!!…People should not forget about us!”

Sam Levinson’s The Idol premiered — and social media had a lot of thoughts

The award for the most controversial screening at this year’s festival has to go to The Idol, a new HBO show from the minds of Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) and producer Reza Fahim starring Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp. The buzzy series focuses on the life of an up-and-coming pop star (played by Depp) and acts as a cautionary tale for the dark side of Hollywood. But why’s it so controversial? In March 2023, Rolling Stone exposed the drama that was going down on the show’s set while explaining how its plot romanticizes abuse and even called it a tale of twisted “torture porn.” Users on social media chimed in to critique the show as well, with many connecting Levinson’s troubling directorial choices to similar Euphoria plotlines while celebrating the bad reviews for the series as they came out. Despite the controversy, Levinson still claims that the series will be “the show of the summer”  — will you be watching?

The post The Buzziest Moments From the 2023 Cannes Film Festival appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

RELATED: What Is Mermaidcore?

When we hear a celeb is going “method,” we can have an unsavoury impression of what that means. The controversial technique is known for seeing an actor throw themselves fully into a role, on and off camera. Think Jared Leto reportedly sending his castmates unwelcome gifts in the name of playing the Joker, or Lady Gaga adopting an Italian accent and living in character for 18 months while filming House of Gucci. Method dressing, on the other hand, is innocuous (and impressive), because it involves submerging oneself into a role using only clothes and accessories. At its core, method dressing is when actors take aspects of a film — like the plot, the scenery, and the characters — and apply them to their red-carpet or street-style ensembles. Simply put, it’s sartorial storytelling at its finest.

Case in point: Ahead of The Little Mermaid‘s premiere on May 26, Bailey has stuck to an array of Ariel-approved ensembles. When performing on American Idol, she donned a custom Michael Fausto mermaid silhouette, inspired by the Disney princess herself. At the UK premiere, her Miss Sohee look had a subtle tail shape and an ornate beaded headpiece. A week earlier, she went viral in a metallic number from Valdrin Sahiti, featuring a shell-like bra and corseted bodice resembling splashing water. When attending the premiere in Mexico City, she emerged in a Georges Chakvra pearl-embellished dress, her billowing skirt made with netted detailing.

This under-the-sea oeuvre is nothing if not intentional. It’s a narrative that Bailey’s stylist, Nicky Good, has been crafting for months. At the Oscars, Bailey sported a gauzy blue Dolce & Gabbana princess ballgown before slipping into a sculptural Maison Yeya after-party dress reminiscent of flowing water. At the Met Gala, her white Gucci cape garnered comparisons to sea foam, coral, and jellyfish tendrils. Of course, with each new look, hype for the film has only grown. Herein lies the tried-and-true power of method dressing.

Zendaya and image architect Law Roach have long been masters of this pr strategy. Over the years, Roach has weaved references into Zendaya’s red-carpet looks when promoting a new project. Take Spider-Man: No Way Home. To the premiere in 2021, Zendaya wore a custom Valentino gown with spider web embroidery and a superhero eye mask. At another screening, she sported an Alexander McQueen suit jacket dripping with crystal web detailing and statement spider-web earrings.

In advance of 2017’s The Greatest Showman, Zendaya wore exuberant colour blocking that referenced the circus setting, while her suited ensembles channelled a ringmaster. For 2021’s Dune, each of her showstopping get-ups paid homage to the sci-fi universe, from her character’s uniform to the desert of the fictional planet Arrakis.

The beauty of this technique? It allows the actor to establish a defining career era in line with each respective project. Exhibit A: Jenna Ortega has been faithful to goth aesthetics since starring in Netflix’s Wednesday, making her basically synonymous with the character. Then there’s Zoë Kravitz, who reliably stunned in sleek leather trenches as well as bat and cat motifs to mark her role as the elusive Catwoman in 2022’s The Batman.

Unlike method acting — which can cause stars to get stuck in the fictional mind of the person they’re playing — method dressing flourishes on the premise of reinvention. When promoting 2015’s Cinderella, Lily James embraced a princess-style alter ego with voluminous ballgowns and glass slippers. Cut to 2022: She had a decidedly sexier look to promote her role as Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy, even cosplaying the ’90s icon in a Baywatch swimsuit-inspired dress.

But perhaps some of the best method dressing of all time took place surrounding the Maleficent series. Starring Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora and Angelina Jolie as the titular witch, the leading duo consistently mirrored their starkly contrasting aesthetics. At the 2019 premiere, Fanning wore a Gucci fairytale-like design emblazoned with droplets of blood — a reference to the tale of Sleeping Beauty pricking her finger. The same night, Jolie opted for a severe Versace gown with a scorpion brooch, evoking unmistakable sorceress imagery. In dressing as polar opposites, they brought the film to life.

Ultimately, method dressing sees stars skillfully play up their roles without assuming the entire personality of the character, making it all the more interesting. As for whether Halle Bailey really is an undercover mermaid? It’s still up for debate. She certainly looks the part, though. And that’s the whole point.

The post Halle Bailey, <Em>The Little Mermaid</Em>, and the Art of Method Dressing appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

TikTok beauty influencer. CBD gummy entrepreneur. Low-key party animal, first-time restaurateur and, now, Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover star. Media mogul Martha Stewart is feeling herself, living it up and still making serious bank—at age 81.

From her coastal grandmother aesthetic (which she rebukes for the record), to her genuinely close friendship with Snoop Dogg, the model-turned-stockbroker-turned-caterer-turned-DIY-icon continues to delight and surprise us.

Here are just a few of the reasons why Stewart is having the last laugh.

 

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Her social media posts are an exercise in self-love

Ever since the famously reserved Stewart stunned fans by posting her first smouldering thirst-trap from her East Hamptons pool last July, she’s been leaning into the pure joy that is her selfie game. Just a few weeks ago, for her 81st birthday, she shared a shot of her gravity-defying face—revealing a little bit of tipsiness and a whole lot of confidence.

In true DIY fashion, Martha Stewart also generously shares her hot tips which anyone can use at any age: “Just look good and pose with a provocative look on your face,” she tells Insider. Her smize would make Tyra Banks proud.

She’s still checking off her life goals

Stewart is a savvy businesswoman. She modeled—for Chanel among others—from her teens to her early twenties to supplement her Barnard College scholarship. She’s published 97 cookbooks to date. At one time, she was worth a billion dollars. She’s never needed her own restaurant, but she’s always wanted one, so why not now? At the media luncheon for her first ever full-service eatery, The Bedford by Martha Stewart at Paris Las Vegas,  the doyenne of domesticity recreated a larger-than-life replica of her upstate New York farmhouse. (Unfortunately, sans roaming peacocks and donkey baths.) It’s an ode to the home Stewart has lived in for more than 20 years, where she spent the early part of the pandemic concocting Martha-ritas, and where, 17 years ago, she served the five-month home confinement part of her sentence for insider trading. (Her prison nickname was M. Diddy). If Martha Stewart has taught us anything, it’s that it’s never too late to rebrand, no matter your age.

 

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She’s having more fun with fashion

The dame of good taste has always had iconic style, but in her golden years, she’s taking on more risks—and glitter. At The Bedford opening party, Stewart wowed on the red carpet in a yellow, feathered Valentino gown. She knows high fashion, but she can also go low. The next morning, her Instagram outfit of the day was a sparkly and inexpensive sweatsuit by Fashion Nova paired with matchy Simon Miller clogs. The OG influencer cleverly used this playful fashion moment on TikTok too, with a montage of her younger years to the track of the 2000s hit single “Teenage Dirtbag.”

 

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Her youthfulness is also a state of mind 

Stewart is a knockout who clearly takes her looks seriously (her very expensive face looks a few decades younger than it really should), but she has no trouble poking fun at herself, which makes her even more appealing.In a series of chic-yet-hammy TikTok beauty videos she starred in for Clé de Peau earlier this year, she plays along with her famous “it’s a good thing” meme and  “parodies not only herself but the whole idea of hard-sell beauty ads,” writes the New York Times. From her “thirst trap 101” explainer to her viral “recipe for hydrated skin,” Martha Stewart is pumping out the beauty content, and we can’t get enough. The latter has been viewed more than 48 million times.

 

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She hasn’t given up on love (and odd friendships)

It might still surprise people that the octogenarian queen of crafting is friends with Snoop (not to mention Drake and Justin Bieber), but the pair have been consistently showing up to support each other for years. They hit it off when he came on her show to make “green”  brownies for Christmas and they’ve since collaborated on many fun business projects together, including her eponymously named wine on his 19 Crimes label: Martha’s Chard.

And even though Stewart laughed off rumours she was dating her longtime friend, Pete Davidson, 28,  after he and Kim Kardashian split up,  she’s been open about wanting a romance in her life, joking that she’s waiting for her friends to “just die” so she can date their husbands.

For Martha Stewart, aging can also be “a good thing” and it’s never too late to try something new.

The post No One Is Having More Fun Than Martha Stewart in Her 80s appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

November 16, 2010 is a day that will go down in history. After seven years of dating, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced they were engaged. Finally! And for the fashion world, it was the day the “Kate effect” was born. Within minutes of appearing at the photocall, Catherine’s blue Issa London wrap dress sold out in the UK — and it went on to sell out in 43 countries including the United States. Such has been the case for so many Kate Middleton outfits since.

RELATED: Colour, Tailoring and Hats Reigned Supreme at King Charles III’s Coronation

Kate gave her first press interview that day, sitting down for the traditional engagement interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby, and she didn’t give another one for nine years. But like Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and countless people in politics (hey, Michelle Obama), Kate’s clothes tell us her story. Her engagement dress established who the Duchess of Cambridge would be as a royal: perfectly appropriate, full of symbolic gestures — the sapphire blue colour of the Issa dress was a subtle nod to Princess Diana’s own engagement outfit — and always flying the fashion flag for Britain. “I think she’s acutely aware of the power she wields which is why we see her choose the labels she wears so carefully,” Bethan Holt, author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style, tells FASHION.

There is a message behind every blouse, necklace, handbag and pair of shoes Kate wears. And as the duchess reaches a decade of marriage (and royal duty) on April 29, her power is becoming clearer than ever. Here, we dive a little deeper into those fashion choices and the story they tell.

Soft diplomacy at its finest

“Kate is a future queen and wife and mother to two future kings so she chooses outfits which encompass that,” says Holt. “They’re elegant, regal and epitomize how seriously she takes her role by supporting British designers and symbolizing the royal family’s soft power.” Shortly after her engagement, Kate had her first day on the job at a royal engagement in North Wales. She somehow had to show the world that this commoner was ready to one day be queen consort. A fascinator was obviously the solution. Designed by British designer Vivien Sheriff, the fascinator featured military badges, including the Royal Welch Fusiliers, of which Prince Charles is Colonel-in-Chief. It was a subtle nod to the family she was joining and its role supporting the Armed Forces.

But Catherine’s most symbolic fashion moment was undoubtedly her Alexander McQueen wedding dress. The royal family’s job is to “strengthen national unity” and Kate weaved that duty into her gown’s bodice and skirt. Beautifully intertwined in the lace were roses, thistles and shamrocks representing England, Scotland and Ireland respectively, as well as daffodils for Wales. This might be the most stunning example of soft diplomacy.

The Duchess of the high street

When the Duchess of Cambridge left Buckingham Palace after her wedding, she walked across the palace lawn in a $90 Zara dress. “She knows that people love to see her as ‘normal,’” Holt says. The duchess joined the royal family at a unique time, explains Holt. The Queen and Diana didn’t have to contend with the internet, and fans being able to identify what they’re wearing (and where to buy it) within minutes. Fashion sleuths have quickly found Kate’s $65 Topshop maternity dress, $30 Gap pants and $8 Zeen earrings (among many other items).“There was also this growing expectation for the royal family to be more ‘relatable’ when Kate came onto the scene so it made sense for her to make wearing [the] high street her ‘thing.’”

A new work uniform

In 2018, we saw a new Duchess of Cambridge. Fresh from her third maternity leave, she sashayed into the Victoria & Albert Museum in a tweed Erdem dress with an edgy neckline, zippy hemline, bold earrings and velvet shoes. Holt says there was definitely an “I’m back and better than ever” feel to Catherine’s look that we never saw after her previous mat leaves. “It felt like a signal that she was ready and willing to take on more royal responsibilities, to step into her future and to use fashion very cleverly to do that,” Holt explains.

Over the following months we saw small tweaks to Kate’s wardrobe — there were still coat dresses, clutches and her beloved nude pumps, but she added wide-legged trousers, handbags and block heels. It was a spin on the uniform she frequently wore to royal engagements for her early years’ work, showing how seriously she took her duties (and how seriously she wanted to be taken). “The duchess is astute enough to understand that glamour is a huge part of her appeal and that she can harness that to make even more impact in her work,” Holt explains. Say, the glamour of a duchess arriving at an event in a Gucci blouse, purposely worn backwards. The media went wild and her picture (and her work supporting children) was on front pages everywhere. “She was reluctant to embrace this too much in the early years of her marriage but now she’s learnt to use it for good,” Holt says.

Flying the flag for Britain (and shopping local)

From her very first day as a royal-to-be, Kate has supported British fashion (remember the Issa dress?). And she’s done a damn good job of it, boosting the British fashion economy by $1 billion a year. But like the rest of us, she’s changed her shopping habits over the last year. “She’s joining the huge movement towards shopping small and local which has been fuelled by lockdowns,” Holt says. In September 2020, Kate stepped out wearing a new necklace with each of her kids’ initials. The piece was made by Irish brand All the Falling Stars, who had orders from around the world for the necklace Kate wore. The designer has had to enlist help from her family and friends to help with shipping orders! Later in 2020, the duchess debuted a new leather bag by Grace Han and the Kate effect struck again. Sales doubled for the London-based designer. “It’s a combination of her ever-growing confidence and her consciousness that she can really elevate the brands that she wears,” Holt says.

Our future Princess of Wales

The next decade poses a new duty for Catherine — becoming the Princess of Wales when her husband becomes King of England. Does that mean a new style? “I don’t think there will be radical changes but we might see the duchess adopt more and more of a uniform, like the Queen,” says Holt. And truly, who better to emulate in fashion and duty than Her Majesty?

The post Kate Middleton’s Style and the Soft Power in Her Fashion Choices appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

RELATED: Gen Z Revives Y2K Fashion and Its Obsession with Thinness

Grande’s appearance, like that of every other person in Hollywood, has long been a topic of conversation. But over the last few weeks, celebrity-watchers-turned-health-watchdogs have picked up on something new. In a since-deleted video that’s now been endlessly stitched, duetted and quoted, a TikTokker says they’re concerned about Grande “wasting away over the years.” The kicker? They compare a photo of her when she was 15 to a current photo of her at age 29 to illustrate this perceived Ariana Grande body change.

“I don’t do this often,” Grande begins in her three-minute video statement that’s garnered a whopping 60-million views. “I don’t like it. I’m not good at it. But I just wanted to address your concerns about my body, and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body and to be seen and to be paid such close attention to.” OK, you have my attention.

@arianagrande♡♬ original sound – arianagrande

“There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. And personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body,” she continues. “I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy, but that, in fact, wasn’t my healthy.”

Her confessional continues in the same vein, stressing that “healthy can look different,” that you never know what someone is going through and that everyone is beautiful, “no matter what weight, no matter how you like to do your makeup these days, no matter what cosmetic procedures you’ve had — or not — or anything,” she says.

It is, by all accounts, a desperate grasping for humanity, something often elusive to celebrities (and, mind you, to anyone who doesn’t fit the mold of the Western standard of beauty). It’s a desperation that I can’t, as a normie, understand on Grande’s level, but can as a woman with a body that’s very much on the internet, never to be erased, and as a fat person who deeply empathizes with the fervent need to address the “but” in these conversations, as Grande does in her statement. But I’m healthier now. But I’m happier now. But look at me now. But I was sad then. But.

Here’s the bigger picture: As a society, we fail to agree on the fact that no one — no celebrity or regular ass human being — owes anyone anything as it relates to their bodies. No explanations about weight loss or gain, about plastic surgery or procedures, about genitalia or gender representation.The list goes on. We fail at this perhaps because we love to, for lack of a better word, consume them. We eagerly scroll through paparazzi photos. We look at before-and-after pictures to make us feel better about ourselves; to remind ourselves that celebrities aren’t, in fact, infallible. I’m not immune to this. I want to feel less alone, too. I want to know that it isn’t just me; that even the richest, most famous people in the world share my struggles, too.

 

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But there is a delusion around celebrity, the delusion being that we (the public) have the right to comment on their bodies; a right justified by these people choosing to be in the limelight and therefore choosing to be critiqued and picked apart relentlessly. What we really mean to say is we feel badly about our own bodies, and prefer to be critical of others — the ones who deserve it. The ones who asked for it. What we don’t see is how doing this means we’re doing it to ourselves and to each other, too.

And when we don’t feel comfortable doing that — commenting on celebrity weight gain and loss because we allegedly know right from wrong — we pivot to “health.” Because caring about someone’s health is legitimate, despite not being their doctor (or any kind of healthcare professional, period), right? What happens now is not the fault of Grande’s, but the conditioning of a world and a wellness pedagogy that says true beauty is health, that if you’re healthy then you must be beautiful, too, and that we owe health to ourselves and to the world. This kind of health can be seen and performed (read: gorgeous skin, a lean body, drinking green juice, going to the gym). At least, we think we can see and do it.

We can’t. And unfortunately, Grande assuring that “healthy can look different” and that hers looks like what she implies — getting off antidepressants, drinking less, eating healthier and getting smaller as a perhaps unintended result — feeds the idea that we have to be healthy to be respected at all. Because that’s what she’s asking for; an understanding and respect from the millions of people who “know” her that this is her version of healthy.

RELATED: I Identify as Body Positive, But I Still Think About Losing Weight *A Lot*

On a smaller scale, I know what it’s like to be held under a microscope. As someone who has been an athlete, who likes to move their body, I feel the pressure to justify why I’m “still fat,” to address those aforementioned “buts.” As a person who’s been sober for five years, I feel the pressure to explain my own weight gain and to reckon with the fact that people definitely thought I looked healthier when I was keeping myself small using drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, and by over-exercising and monitoring everything that went into my body. Do you want me to be healthy, or do you just want me to be smaller? is a question that used to torture me. Now the answer to this rhetorical question is a sad truth I hold with compassion and a gentle knowing that it doesn’t f-cking matter.

There’s a reason why celebrities escape the spotlight when something is wrong. They go to rehab, they stop touring, they hide. This is why. We’re so preoccupied with other people’s bodies and by proxy our own that we, Grande included, can’t see the bigger picture. The picture being that healthy doesn’t look like anything at all. It’s not a number on a scale or a pant size or clear skin or long, glossy hair. It’s not a diet or an absence of needing medication to get by. It’s not a lack of mental illness, of chronic conditions, of needing substances to cope with the pain of *gestures vaguely* this.

Yes, we should, as Grande says, be less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies and health. But we should also feel less pressured to justify our own, and instead reframe how we think about health entirely — and the things we absolutely owe no one but ourselves.

The post Celebrities Like Ariana Grande Don’t Need To Justify Their Bodies appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

As many questionable decisions do, it all started with a TikTok — nay, a short film. From the gate, it is delightfully unhinged. “Make a vodka sauce pasta with me because I’m grounded,” she says at full tilt. Why the stay-at-home punishment? She goes on to casually explain that it’s because she tried to charter a helicopter on her dad’s credit card to go have dinner with a friend from camp (as one does). “Okay, let’s get started.”

Maybe it’s the fact that the video shows all her movements at 2x speed. Perhaps it’s her confession that she doesn’t know the difference between garlic and onion — before preceding to cut a shallot. It’s hard to place, but there’s something utterly cinematic about the whole thing.

Our narrator goes on to explain why she’s making the video, with no decipherable punctuation in earshot. “I thought I would do this since I’m already grounded because my parents’ biggest rule is that I’m not allowed to have any public social media accounts, because they don’t want me to be a nepotism kid,” she says. “But TikTok is not gonna make me famous so it doesn’t really matter.” (Famous last words.)

There are other cameo appearances, too, like her father’s Grammy Award, her dog, and most importantly, her babysitter’s boyfriend, Ari. “My parents are never home so these are my replacement parents,” she says. Next, babysitter boyfriend Ari goes on to change filmmaking — and the English language — forever, by proposing that the term “fiasco” be rephrased to “fiascA,” because, in his words, “It’s women’s history month.” Gender equality, at long last.

Unlike other nepo-baby-self-referential content, this post has been overwhelmingly celebrated. Why? She’s not trying to be relatable. She’s not hiding her parents’ Hollywood success (see below). Her candid spiel doesn’t come off as unlikeable, or even mildly annoying. In fact, in the grand scheme of wildly privileged teens, wanting to visit her friends at camp seems like a totally reasonable request, actually.

If anything, it’s poetry. Think about it: Sofia Coppola’s signature subject matter (Bling Ring; Virgin Suicides; Marie Antoinette) focuses on the distant melancholy of white, thin, affluent teenage girls. Now, her daughter has debuted on the world stage with an undoubtedly similar oeuvre of ennui. Life really does imitate art!

Is it irony? We may never know. And it doesn’t really matter, because regardless, it’s pure entertainment. It has drama. It has intrigue. It has vegetable-related befuddlement! The video has since been deleted, but there’s an element of expectation still lingering in the air. As Romy Croquet Mars said herself at the end, “I will see you in part two, where I actually make the pasta.” Talk about a cliffhanger.

The post Is Sofia Coppola’s Daughter the Nepo Baby We Deserve? appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

A graduate of Toronto’s College of Sports Media, award-winning broadcaster Kayla Grey started out as an intern for the Toronto Argonauts before venturing to Winnipeg as a beat news reporter and later Prince Rupert, British Columbia to cover local sports. Today, the 30-year-old mother of one is an anchor for SportsCentre on TSN (her 2018 debut on the network made her the first Black woman to host a flagship sports highlight show in Canada), a sideline reporter for the Toronto Raptors, and co-producer and host of The Shift, a game-changing show she launched on TSN.ca in 2021 that covers topics at the intersection of sports, life and culture. Here, Grey talks to FASHION about her show, her personal style and the importance of being your true self.

RELATED: How My Jamaican Culture Has Helped Me To Not Fear Aging

On how The Shift came to be:

“The Shift came out of frustration [with] what I was not seeing in media. I felt like there wasn’t a place that was allowing certain viewers and audiences to feel seen and heard and I was done just talking about it. So I started putting in the work by thinking about, if I were to have a show in sports that made me feel seen or heard, and that didn’t require me having to stream American ESPN to see myself represented on television, what would it look like? Once I came up with the show idea and how I wanted it to look, I eventually went into a brand partnership at TSN who helped me pitch it to Dell at the time.

 

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“I created The Shift during a time when there was a lot of trauma within marginalized communities being highlighted. I wanted the show to be a place where that was spoken about and where we could hold space for the really rough and tough conversations that needed to be had. But, I also high key wanted it to be a place where it also really highlighted joy — Black joy. I thought that, as media, we weren’t doing a good job in terms of balance — talking about a community’s lack but also highlighting what a community has. The Black community already knows what it doesn’t have. I feel like there needs to be reminders of what we do — of what we have done and what we can create. Reminders of the groundwork that we have already laid and where we’re headed next. I wanted a show that really embodied all of that.”

On pushback and difficulties she faced along the way:

“There were naysayers who would comment like, ‘Oh, she’s just getting a show because she’s Black and because of the climate right now. This is the trend right now.’ There was definitely that element to it. But at some point you have to turn off the noise and do your thing and understand that I’ve put in years and years into my craft and my place in this industry. I would expect good things to happen to someone who works incredibly hard to position themselves.

“There was also [pressure of feeling] like the show had to make sense to everybody — even to people it probably would never make sense to in the first place. I faced comments like, ‘It’s not going work. It’s not going resonate.’ I think when you push something on the mainstream, you always have these thoughts in the back of your head like, how is this content digestible? How is it going to be monetized? But often, you’re gearing those types of questions towards a white audience only. I had to let go of all of that to prove that it could be done — and not only done well but received well, too.”

On overcoming biases and microagressions throughout her career:

“I remember someone had the audacity during my very first on-air experience to tell me that ‘Someone who looks like you should be lucky that you even have a job.’ And with me being a woman — a Black woman — around professional athletes, there have been people over the years (never the players themselves) who have objectified me. To them it’s like, ‘God forbid this ‘object’ actually has something to say about sports. She must be here for other reasons.’ It sometimes feels like, as a woman in this industry, you are hyper-sexualized in that sense. Also, when you start to advocate for yourself as a Black woman, some people can often take that as ‘she’s angry’ or ‘she’s defiant.’ That’s how you’re automatically described when you set boundaries for yourself. So for the longest time, as a result, I would dress a certain way and talk a certain way — hide my true light so that I could fly under the radar and not be seen as ‘other,’ because I just wanted to feel safe at work and safe in this industry. Eventually, I had to check myself because it was taking so much energy trying to be who I’m not and I knew I wouldn’t get far playing that game. I’ve discovered that the more authentic I am, the more things flow my way.”

 

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More on being a woman in the sports space:

“It’s still a very male-dominated industry, but there are a bunch of women that have entered the game. I’m seeing sideline reporting done by predominantly women. I’m seeing more women in front office positions, in tech and also in the sports science space, which is great! But it’s been this old boys club for a very, very long time, so certain conversations have been slow moving — there are certain rules that haven’t been made, boundaries that haven’t been established. It’s one thing to have women in this space, it’s another to make us feel safe, supported and like we are allowed to have a sense of balance. Like when I got pregnant with my son, I remember not wanting to tell anyone for months, and trying to figure out how my professional and personal goals could coexist — because it felt like the groundwork had been laid for them not to be able to coexist. It’s not like anyone had told me that flat out, but it felt like there was this unwritten rule or suggestion that once you have a baby your career is done. That it’s time to find something else. That’s the assumption I had and I know it didn’t just come out of nowhere. It wasn’t a story that I was simply telling myself. So I rushed back six weeks after I gave birth because I felt like I was going to be forgotten about.”

 

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How fashion and personal style play a critical role:

“I know I have a great personality — I love who I am — and I’m really learning to enjoy it by expressing myself more, especially through the clothes I wear. I like to play in both the masculine and feminine worlds with my style; I adore my sneakers but can easily go into a heel, and I feel good in a nice dress moment or even a tech fleece. To me, fashion gives my personality permission to show up. It helps me get into the mindset that I can be whoever I want to be on any day. I’m not saying that I adapt my personality to my clothes. It’s more that clothes allow me to adopt the concept of, ‘Kayla, you are many things and you are allowed to be many things — and those many things look pretty dope, too.’ I feel like I do my job that much better coming at it with a certain confidence because, for me, my outfits help set the tone.”

 

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On her relationship with beauty:

“I love to play with my hair and I love a good nighttime routine: heavy face cream, eye cream — all of those things. I really believe in the practice of settling down and ‘taking off’ the day. And I love to play with makeup. I think because for so long I wasn’t getting makeup artists who knew how to properly work with my skin tone — today I work with a really good artist — I found fun in watching YouTube and Instagram videos (these days I’m all about TikTok) and learning how to do things on my own. They made me fall in love with the process of getting ready and knowing that I have the tools myself to make myself look my best.”

 

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On the future of The Shift:

“I see The Shift becoming a completely different show, owned by a completely different network and produced by a completely different person. What I’ve created is just a starting point. I want someone else to eventually go out there and create the next Shift, but like ten times better with ten times more resources. I want The Shift to be a testament to what you can do when you put pen down to paper from your ideas and actually see them through. I hope that the show sparks others to go for it in their own ways, and not limit or cap things. I want abundance for what the show has already brought and the team and staff behind it that I’m so lucky to work alongside. Bigger, greater things ahead are what I see.”

The post Sports Reporter Kayla Grey on Style, Authenticity and Highlighting Black Joy appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

The 49-year-old American multi-hyphenate is an established titan in the music world, with accolades including 13 Grammy awards and two Oscar nominations. The “Happy” singer has a prolific resumé that spans industries, including work with non-profits, music festivals, film and fashion. In 2003, he co-founded the streetwear label Billionaire Boys Club with designer Nigo. And in the decades since, he has become a fixture of fashion show front rows, known for his experimental and influential personal style.

“Pharrell Williams is a visionary whose creative universes expand from music, to art, and to fashion — establishing himself as a cultural, global icon over the past twenty years,” the fashion house said in a press release. “The way in which he breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores aligns with Louis Vuitton’s status as a Cultural Mason, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneer spirit and entrepreneurship.”

In this role, Williams will be succeeding Virgil Abloh, who passed away in November 2021 at only 41 years old after battling a rare form of cancer. Abloh made history as the first Black artistic director of the French retail company. He was widely credited for revolutionizing the fashion industry by bringing streetwear aesthetics to the forefront of luxury and attracting a younger clientele to Louis Vuitton. With a fanbase that transcends industries, Williams is expected to continue that legacy.

In 2004, the artist co-designed a line of eyewear for Louis Vuitton — called the “Millionaire” collection — which was later recreated by Abloh in 2018. In 2008, Williams teamed up with the fashion house yet again to design a jewellery line. Throughout his career, the producer has worked with fashion brands such as Chanel, Adidas and Uniqlo, and he was presented the Fashion Icon Award at the 2015 CFDAs.

“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director,” said Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s chairman and CEO, in a statement. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”

What exactly that chapter will entail is yet to be revealed. But with Williams’s extensive experience and creative prowess, it’s sure to be exciting.

The post Pharrell Williams Is Louis Vuitton’s New Men’s Creative Director appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

But why is fashion so willing to forgive and forget?

After rising to prominence in the late 2000s with his eponymous label, the designer established a New York City party-goer aesthetic, both through his work and personal brand. In 2019, this captivating image came into question when Alexander Wang faced allegations of sexual assault. After model Owen Mooney alleged that he was groped by Wang in 2017, other accounts began to surface on social media accusing the designer of drugging, non-consensually touching and exposing the genitals of victims, many of whom were trans women.

Though he initially denied these claims, Wang later met with his accusers in March 2021. He then issued a statement on Instagram expressing remorse. “A number of individuals have come forward recently to raise claims against me regarding my past personal behaviour,” it read. “I support their right to come forward, and I’ve listened carefully to what they had to say. It was not easy for them to share their stories, and I regret acting in a way that caused them pain.”

He added that he and his accusers “disagree on some of the details of these personal interactions,” but that he will “set a better example” and use his influence to “encourage others to recognize harmful behaviours.” Since then, he’s been mostly laying low. That is, until now.

After marking his initial comeback with a Los Angeles runway show in April 2022, Wang’s return to the New York fashion scene has been met with a questionable amount of industry backing. Take Julia Fox, who closed the February 8 show. When confronted about her decision to support the contentious designer, she defended Wang on TikTok. “We do need to leave room for rehabilitation and for those who put in the work and heal and learn from their mistakes,” she wrote in part. But what “work” has Alexander Wang done?

Even in the thick of being “cancelled,” the designer’s label hasn’t exactly suffered. Since the allegations, Alexander Wang has been building his brand presence in China with new stores and investors. He has maintained an exclusive celebrity client roster from Rihanna to Kylie Jenner. He’s even outfitted A-listers for high-profile red carpets, including the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Through it all, his company reportedly makes more than $200 million in sales annually. This momentum, paired with his return to the New York City fashion landscape, points to the skewed power dynamics between Wang and his alleged victims. But really, his comeback should come as no surprise.

After all, Alexander Wang is not the first authoritative fashion figure to evade controversy. For years, Kanye West spewed hate toward minority groups without facing real repercussions. Despite his racist remarks and fatphobic rhetoric, Karl Lagerfeld is being honoured at the 2023 Met Gala. And even with a track record of racism and homophobia, Dolce & Gabbana continuously proves to be infallible thanks to endorsements by celebrities like the Kardashians. Instead of taking victims seriously, the fashion industry has a habit of repackaging unethical actions into subversive aesthetics.

As such, Alexander Wang’s refreshed brand presence is leaning into the trendy counterculture du jour. A recent promotional video shows fraudster-turned-fashion-icon Anna Delvey flashing her ankle monitor. The label’s new standout runway stars, Fox and Bechtel, are best known for their viral rebellious beauty choices. And thanks to his collection of low-slung pants, faux fur jackets and animal print motifs, Vogue proclaimed that the designer “still has a handle on what the kids want.” In other words, Alexander Wang is cool now.

With a stronger global audience and new financial backing, Alexander Wang is arguably more influential than ever, allegations and all. Somehow, this means a reputation fraught with sexual assault accusations can be repackaged as new and on-trend. Unfortunately, his return to fashion’s good graces is indicative of a system that prioritizes those who have power and ignores (or exploits) those who don’t.

By propping up provocative figures to garner flashy moments of shock factor, the fashion industry reliably views controversy as its most valuable currency. But when will it embrace accountability?

The post Why Is the Fashion Industry Supporting Alexander Wang? appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Want to make a lipstick statement? Look no further than Estée Lauder’s new Pure Color Lipstick launch. Formulated with a Moisture Lock Complex and naturally derived ingredients, these lipsticks are the brand’s most conditioning and long-wearing lippies yet. And they’ll also be the most luxe-looking on your vanity with their newly designed fluted bullet lipstick housed in a chic golden metallic case. Available in 55 shades from nude to berry with matte, crème, and lustre finishes, these Estée Lauder lipsticks are made to flatter all skin tones and deliver a blast of captivating colour with just one swipe. Talk about range.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is the new face of Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk

Charlotte Tilbury has announced that actress Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is the first American beauty to join the brand’s iconic Pillow Talk family alongside Brits Kate Moss, Twiggy and Jourdan Dunn. After scoring a Best Actress in a TV Drama Series win at the 2022 Golden Globes for her breakout role as Blanca Evangelista in <Pose, Rodriguez became the first transgender actress to take home the award. Now, she continues to be both an inspiration and advocate for the LGBTQIA community through her powerful work. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Pillow Talk franchise, Rodriguez stars in Charlotte Tilbury’s new Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wands campaign — and introduces a new line of lightweight liquid blush in the brand’s signature beauty light wand packaging.

Yves Rocher drops two new French skincare products

We all know the French have major stakes in the beauty game, so the announcement of two new skincare launches from French beauty brand Yves Rocher is très exciting. First up, The Illuminating Cure, a groundbreaking product that seeks to regenerate the appearance of skin and revive its natural glow with anti-aging Precious Botanical Nectars. And with a focus on skin smoothing and soothing comes the newly released Rose Oleo Infusion, a rose petal-infused oil that reduces the appearance of wrinkles with each use.

Laline’s Shea Glam Collection is fit for a spa

Valentine’s Day may be fast approaching, but Laline has made gifting easy this season with the release of their Shea Glam Collection. Elegantly curated to channel the ultimate spa experience, this collection combines luxurious product packaging with the brand’s Shea & Kukui line made to moisturize your skin with shea butter while filling your bathroom with the aroma of sweet kukui nut. Add to the experience with the collection’s baby pink satin robe and glass candle for maximum spa vibes.

CoverGirl drops clean beauty-approved eyeshadow palettes

If you’re looking to convert to clean beauty products, start with CoverGirl’s new highly-pigmented Clean Fresh Color Quads, eyeshadow palettes that are free of talc, mineral oil, paraben and fragrance. Universally gorgeous, each of the colour combinations include matte, shimmer and metallic finishes across three bold burgundy, smokey brown and nude-based palettes.

Omy Laboratories believes in personalized and travel-sized skincare

A person’s skincare regimen is entirely personal. This Quebec-based brand upholds a personalized skincare philosophy while eliminating the hassle of shopping around to customize your routine. In 2018, a chemist and a cosmetician collaborated to create Omy Laboratories, the first Canadian beauty company that offers fully customized facial creams and serums. Through their online Skin AI tool, consumers can analyze their complexion and order custom skincare formulas directly from their website. Want to test the brand? Shop their latest drop — a travel version of their best-selling BHA Active Foam Cleanser made to deep cleanse the skin while leaving behind a refreshed and radiant glow.

e.l.f. Cosmetics’ viral Power Grip Primer just got even better

Makeup junkies, are you listening? e.l.f Cosmetics’ viral Power Grip Primer just got a bright new upgrade. Behold, the Power Grip Primer + Niacinamide. Infused with skin-adoring four percent niacinamide to even out your complexion and add brightness before you go in with glam, this gel-based formula is designed to grip makeup and make it last *all* day. Plus, it’s translucent so it’s ideal for all skin tones.

The post Estée Lauder Launches New Long-Wear Lipsticks + More Beauty News appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

When it comes to makeup, Doja Cat is a woman of the world. She had her E-girl phase. She long embraced an alien aesthetic. Now, after shaving her head and eyebrows, she has entered an “I’ll try anything” era. And we’re all better for it.

To mark the start of Paris haute couture fashion week on January 23, the pop star further cemented herself as a boundary-breaking beauty icon — no catwalk necessary. Sitting front row at the Schiaparelli Spring 2023 show, Doja Cat was adorned head to toe in ruby-red Swarovski crystals. The look — which reportedly took nearly five hours to complete and involved 30,000 hand-applied gems — was created by famed makeup artist Pat McGrath, and speaks to the Planet Her singer’s multidimensional beauty prowess.

Just two days later, Doja Cat attended Viktor & Rolf show in Paris on January 25, wearing an androgynous look with false eyelashes as facial hair. Later the same day, she arrived at the Valentino show with a completely new aesthetic.

This is not the first time Doja Cat has made the front row of fashion week her creative playground. If history is any indication, it also certainly won’t be the last.

Recall, back in September 2022, when Doja Cat (quite literally) went out shining to commemorate the end of Fashion Month. At the Awake Mode show on October 4, the 27-year-old stepped out with her skin covered in a glimmering layer of gold thanks to makeup artist Laurel Charleston.

In fact, while attending events across the city, Doja Cat sported variations of sculptural eyebrows, body paint and intergalactic illustrations. To attend the Mônot show on October 1, her face was coated in white, with dark blue contouring and bright red lipstick. On her forearms, black designs mimicked the look of opera gloves.

Earlier that same day, she attended the Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood show with a completely different ensemble — because, of course. Thin spikes sat in place of eyebrows and dark lightning-bolt eyeliner crept onto her nose.

As the week went on, her looks got more shocking — hence the aforementioned gold finale. For the Givenchy show, makeup artist Sophia Sinot gave her smudged black checkerboard-design lips with studs for eyebrows. To attend a party hosted by Beyoncé, the singer’s whole face became an optical illusion thanks to an expertly-placed swirling line. “After I was finished she asked me if I could sign her neck like an artist signs their work when they’re finished,” Charleston wrote on Twitter. Herein lies the genius of Doja Cat’s maquillage mantra.

Think about it: for the Grammy-winning singer, makeup is yet another way to perform. And lately, she’s been leaning heavily into this aspect of her artistry. After shaving her head and eyebrows on Instagram Live over the summer, Doja Cat has used her face as an unrestricted canvas. More and more, the singer goes against the beauty grain — from painting her own detailed facial designs to sporting a cow pattern on her head. With each new wonderfully weird look, she advocates for beauty as a means of art instead of a boring background feature.

 

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These days, show-stopping style statements are hard to come by. With minimalist makeup routines reigning supreme and red-carpet looks often blandly replicating the runway, there’s a lack of risk-taking among celebrity beauty. Doja Cat, on the other hand, uses makeup as an accessory that’s up for interpretation and meant to garner a reaction.

Case in point: for the Balenciaga show back in October, she sported an eyeshadow look that resembled a black eye and split lip. “I think people are going to love it,” she told Vogue. “And I think that, as they do, people are also not going to love it.” But either way, Doja Cat doesn’t seem to care. The thing is, this subversive style isn’t supposed to appeal to everyone. Who can forget when Lady Gaga wore her meat dress to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards? She was ridiculed at the time, but it’s since gone down as one of the biggest moments in recent fashion history.

Of course, an important element of any memorable ensemble is the personality behind it. Doja Cat stands out not only because of the masterful creations on her skin, but the passionate energy that she carries with each design.

As we head into a new Fashion Month, we can surely expect even more surprising surrealist Doja Cat statements. By pushing against beauty boundaries and sporting thought-provoking paintings on her face, the star’s makeup aesthetic continues to be unapologetically unique. And isn’t that what art is all about? In the immortal words of TikTok: I don’t want to be pretty, I want to be iconic. If that’s Doja Cat’s mission, consider it accomplished.

The post Doja Cat Dons More Artful Beauty Looks at Couture Week appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Born in Russia, Anna Delvey (née Sorokin) moved to New York City in 2014 and infamously posed as a German heiress. Living in luxury, despite having virtually no money of her own, Delvey worked her way into exclusive circles and effectively scammed the elite, until of course, she got caught. After being released from immigration detention in October 2022, Delvey has transformed from a faux socialite fraudster to a real-life influencer. And, like with all things surrounding her, this aggressive ascension is both hard to ignore and almost too easy to applaud.

For starters, Anna Delvey is nothing if not consistent. Though on strict house arrest, the ex-con is making herself relentlessly visible. She’s secured lengthy features with The Cut, Vogue and The New York Times. She’s been snapped by the paparazzi. Her social media following has sky-rocketed. On TikTok, she’s been aestheticized into an elusive, glamorous style legend with a bejewelled ankle monitor. And if recent coverage is any indication, her career is going better than ever. She’s selling original art. She’s venturing into the NFT business. She’s starting a podcast, writing a book, and perhaps even soon doing a law apprenticeship.

From the books she’s reading, to a tour of her apartment to the outfit she’s wearing to meet her parole officer, it seems like Delvey is everywhere. As fashion publications jump at the chance to secure exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes shots of her life, there’s an air of inflated importance surrounding her. The overarching message is that this is someone we should be talking about. But why?

Perhaps it’s because her story — and by extension, her personhood — has been hyper-glamourized from the start. In 2018, New York Magazine introduced the world to Delvey via a salacious exposé printed alongside a striking image of the con artist with messy hair and smudged eye makeup; the portrait of a beguiling party girl. And ever since, there’s been a cultural desire to figure out who the real Anna Delvey is.

Netflix’s adaptation of the New York Magazine feature, Inventing Anna, further positioned her as an mysterious, kooky protagonist to a global audience. With this scale of sensationalization, Delvey’s image has been packaged into a consumable product. To some, she embodies a crafty socialite aesthetic. To others, she’s an emblem of the anti-establishment. Across the board, no one can seem to deny her impressive audacity in scamming people so out in the open. By wearing expensive clothes and simply lying about her background, Delvey swindled banks, hotels and actual rich people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that’s kinda remarkable.

The thing is, we all grow up (hopefully) learning right from wrong. Lying, cheating and stealing? Bad. And yet, the ethical lines of Delvey’s scenario have been blurred by the notion that her white-collar crimes — which largely preyed on multi-million dollar companies — were victimless. But in reality, people got hurt, too, like her former best friend Rachel DeLoache Williams, who has spoken out against Netflix’s sympathetic portrayal of the fraudster. Not to mention, Delvey’s inherent privilege as a white woman permits her to glamourize going to prison, while people of colour are disproportionately criminalized without ever being propped up on a public pedestal. Even still, her enduring determination to be front and centre of the zeitgeist has made her something of a pop culture legend.

Ultimately, it’s not that hard to figure out why fashion is obsessed with Anna Delvey. For one, she’s a provocative icon. Time and time again, contentious figureheads are revered not in spite of their polarizing actions, but because of them. On top of that, Delvey dresses like a winner: she wears chic designer outfits, walks around in high heels, and adorns her ankle monitor with bedazzled initials. The act of showing little to no remorse for doing something objectively wrong — all the while looking fabulous — is the type of scandal the fashion industry devours, for better or worse.

Sure, there’s been something undeniably alluring about her brand of blatant criminality. But as her widespread glorification continues, Anna Delvey is being positioned as an icon, or at the very least, someone worth talking about. So I ask: should that really be the case?

The post The Icon-ification of Anna Delvey appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

“I blocked that stolen tape out of my life in order to survive, and now that it’s all coming up again, I feel sick,” Canadian-born Anderson says in the trailer, referring to her ex-husband Tommy Lee’s personal sex tape that was stolen from their home in the 1990s and uploaded to the internet as a pornographic film. 2022’s wildly popular Pam & Tommy recreated this ordeal, detailing not only how it led to the end of their tumultuous marriage, but the victim-blaming and trauma that Anderson endured because of it.

Here’s everything to know about Pamela, A Love Story.

What is the Pamela Anderson documentary about?

According to Netflix, it’s an “intimate and humanizing portrait of one of the world’s most famous blonde bombshells” that “follows the trajectory of Pamela Anderson’s life and career from small town girl to international sex symbol, actress, activist and doting mother.” After decades of living a relatively quiet life, and having to relive the trauma associated with her stolen sex tape all over again through Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, it’s clear that Anderson is finally ready to tell her story, her way.

How can I watch the Pamela Anderson documentary?

Pamela, A Love Story is a Netflix original documentary, so you’ll need a Netflix subscription to watch it on the streamer.

When will Pamela, A Love Story be released?

The Pamela Anderson Netflix documentary about Anderson’s life after surviving the leaked sex tape is set for release on January 31, 2023.

Watch the first trailer for the Pamela Anderson Netflix documentary here:

The post Pamela Anderson Is Reclaiming Her Narrative in the First <em>Pamela</em> Trailer appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Vivienne Westwood, who died December 29 in London at age 81, is widely credited for being the “high priestess of punk.” But she was so much more than that. Westwood was a visionary whose designs always led, never followed. She was a wit who could skewer aristocratic snobbery with a shrewdly mangled plaid. She was irreverent and provocative, receiving her Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace panty-less and putting the Queen with a safety pin through her lip on a T-shirt. But beyond being fashion’s foremost provocateur, Vivienne Westwood is the reason corsets, crinolines, rubber, leather and latex are accepted aspects of modern dress.

“She was revolutionary in so many ways,” says George Antonopoulos, FASHION’s creative and fashion director. “She took historical elements like corsets and coquette silhouettes and made them supercool and exciting.” S&M gear and fetish wear became “normalized” in her hands. “And back in the ‘80s, she was the very first gender bending designer,” he says. “She created unisex clothing and showed men’s and women’s together on the runway and it all made sense.” She was also one of the first designers to use her platform to raise awareness for political and social issues including nuclear disarmament and climate change.

Ever the non-conformist, Westwood seemed to get particular pleasure from sending up British culture. “She took traditional elements like tailoring and tartans and Harris tweed and turned them upside down,” Antonopoulos says, adding that Westwood was the first designer he ever spent money on as a teenager. “I loved how disruptive she was. She was the designer that made me fall in love with fashion.”

In the ‘70s, Westwood met Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, and together the pair shaped the punk movement — he with the music and she with the clothes. They were romantic partners too, though Westwood later married her current husband Andreas Kronthaler, a designer who has worked alongside her since they married in 1992. In typical Westwood fashion, the union raised some eyebrows — he was 25, she was 50. But she could hardly care what others thought — a theme that ran throughout her career.

Perhaps that is why Westwood is also one of the most respected creatives of our age and one whose ideas have been referenced by so many who followed her. “She was a designer’s designer,” Antonopoulos says.

Below, a look at some of Dame Vivienne Westwood’s signature designs, from tartan to corsets, on the runway.

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

Photography by Getty Images

1/10

A model in the first show Westwood presented outside of London

2/10

Kate Moss, 1993

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Naomi Campbell, 1994

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Eva Herzigova, 1995

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Kate Moss, 1994

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Linda Evangelista, 1995

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Kate Moss, 1996

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Pamela Anderson, 2009

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Two models, 2017

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Bella Hadid, 2020

The post Vivienne Westwood Was “a Designer’s Designer” appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Update: On December 19, SZA pushed back on the characterization of her songs as “sad girl” music. “Ignoring songs like Sos, Psa, concieted, low, forgiveless, seek n destroy, notice me, or ex pack … to pretend I only make sad girl music is dumb,” she wrote on Twitter. In a separate Tweet, she questioned why she can’t be perceived to have “a FULL spectrum of emotions,” instead of just unhappiness.

Cancel your weekend plans, there’s been an emergency. SZA released her latest album, SOS, and it urgently calls for a days-long marathon of crying in solitude. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.

Released on December 9, the record comes five years after her era-defining debut album CTRL. Exploring topics like self-worth, femininity and growing up, the 2017 Grammy-nominated project established SZA’s reputation for radical vulnerability. Half a decade later, the artist is still hitting us where it hurts with her all-too-accurate, brutally honest introspection. Who needs holiday cheer, anyway?

With SOS, it seems the songstress has decided to close out the year in a characteristically chaotic way: by messing with all of our emotions. Her newly released 23-track project is yet another ode to muddled feelings, with lyrics about body image, being misunderstood and (theoretically?) killing an ex. Clearly, SZA is not here to give us a party playlist — she’s here to make us sob.

Spanning multiple genres from pop to alternative to R&B, SOS has range. Take “F2F,” (co-written by Lizzo) which has scream-along lyrics reminiscent of early 2000s pop-rock. Or “Conceited,” an unapologetically upbeat ode to none other than herself. But in true SZA form, the genre-blurring record features more self-reflective ballads than danceable bops. It pays homage to slightly unhinged — yet objectively iconic — fictional women in pop culture, with titles like “Kill Bill” and “Gone Girl.” It tackles self-comparison on “Far” — “Lately, I feel less cool than before” — and destructive thoughts on “F2F” — “I hate me enough for the two of us.” Above all, listening to SOS is akin to receiving an emotional gut punch. And with that, she gave the people what we needed!

In 2022, there is an undeniable appetite for open expressions of gloominess. With the rise of “sad” beauty aesthetics and TikTok’s romanticization of notoriously glum figures like Lana Del Rey, we’re in an age of embracing emotional instability. And while this trend may be widely deemed a “sad girl” trope, it transcends gender altogether. First and foremost, it’s about acknowledging unhappiness when you need to. Ultimately, no one embodies that catharsis quite like SZA.

With ample critical success under her belt, some find it shocking that the superstar still struggles with not feeling worthy. But that’s the magic of her stream-of-consciousness songwriting: She shows that self-love is a complicated, non-linear process filled with growing pains. In other words: There are layers to these emotions.

While music legends Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have gifted the world with upbeat albums in recent months, SZA has offered us something we may have needed even more: a tracklist for revelling in conflicting feelings.

After all, sometimes nothing feels better than being a little bleak. SOS gives us that permission, and so much more. It supplies a soundtrack to re-evaluate your self-esteem. It encourages self-destructive behaviours like texting an ex. Not to mention, it’s the perfect playlist for putting your speaker on full blast, taking a scalding hot shower and dissolving into a puddle of tears on a Friday night. Hypothetically.

SOS makes one thing clear: SZA is okay with leaning into sadness. And once again, she welcomes us all to join her.

The post SZA Says <em>SOS</em> Is Not Just “Sad Girl” Music appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

There are tender moments of connection, heart-wrenching pieces of footage from Harry’s childhood, countless non-famous friends offering their perspectives of Meghan and Harry’s courtship, and, blessedly, a definitive answer to the burning question: how did Harry and Meghan meet? The most revealing — and ultimately relatable — nugget of information, in the first episode of Harry & Meghan is, in my opinion, that the couple first connected on Instagram in the summer of 2016 after the prince saw a video of his future wife on “a mutual friend’s” profile. And, AND, she was using none other than the extremely 2016 dog Snapchat filter. Yes, the one with the floppy ears and the big tongue. According to the pair, they then started chatting over DMs and text and eventually met in person for the first time when Meghan next travelled across the pond.

Now, this account does somewhat differ from how Meghan and Harry previously described their initial meeting, telling the press they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend without ever revealing the role that Instagram (and that fateful doggy filter) played. But fair play for not wanting the world to know their love story started with a Snapchat filter, like so many modern romances do.

The Netflix series goes on to explain how after the aforementioned nameless mutual friend (who many have speculated was either Harry’s childhood friend Violet von Westenholz or fashion designer Misha Nonoo) told Meghan that a pal was interested in her, Meghan promptly asked the friend to show her the royal’s secret Instagram feed. When asked why she didn’t just Google Harry, Meghan explains that the barometer for getting an impression of a high-profile person is “not what someone says about you, but what you put out there about yourself.” Lucky for Harry, Meghan was taken by the “beautiful photography” and “environmental shots” in Harry’s Finsta feed and the rest is history. Stars (and royals)… they really are just like us.

The post Turns Out Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Met On Instagram appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

As far as beauty is concerned, hairstyling is often the final act in the holiday party prep process. The crowning glory! Short, long, up, or down — your hair ties the whole look together. Formal Christmas functions and elegant New Year’s Eve nights become opportune moments to experiment with hairstyles we’ve waited all year to try.

From gold-flecked afros and bow-shaped buns to fun Y2K revival updos, look to celebrities for eight show-stopping looks to recreate. Taking inspiration from Bella Hadid, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber and more, scroll on to find holiday party hairstyles worthy of a Gatsby gathering. We promise you’ll be the life of the party.

 

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Since May, we’ve had our eyes on this updo worn by Brazilian model Caroline Trentini on the Met Gala red carpet. Sculpted by Erol Karadag, this bow in the front, bun in the back style is ideal for party-goers looking to try something a little avant-garde this year. Sure, this look will take a little extra planning (and maybe practice), but if you start now the payoff will be well worth it. Besides, what could be more festive than looking like an actual gift yourself?

 

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Protective style wearers are likely no strangers to adorning their hairdos with cuffs and beads, but Rihanna’s bejewelled braids will surely serve as new inspiration for those who’ve tucked their natural hair away for winter. Crafted by Naphia White, RiRi’s go-to hairstylist as of late, the incorporation of treasured beads and baubles are the finishing touch you just might be missing.

 

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If it’s soft simplicity you seek, look to Hailey Bieber’s take on a ’90s updo styled by Amanda Lee. “It’s been such a nice journey of kind of just doing less and learning that less is more,” the trendsetting model told People this summer of her newly minimalist approach to makeup. This less-is-more philosophy seems to have translated to Bieber’s hairstyling as well. Though there is often an element of elegance to her looks, there is equally a sense of ease that still works sublimely for a night out.

 

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We hope you don’t mind being the centre of attention, because you’re sure to steal the show with this impossible-to-ignore bedazzled hairdo. As confirmed by this tour look from Alicia Keys, it’s clear that Euphoria-esque rhinestones aren’t going anywhere, and we’re pleased to hear it. Add a little interest to a jumbo twist-pony like this one with rhinestones around the perimeter of the face to keep all eyes on you, all night. A little spotlight never hurt anybody, right?

 

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In 2022, we find ourselves in the midst of an early aughts revival — and if you’ve made it through the year without giving in to Y2K trends, that defiant streak may very well end here. Blame your acquiescence on Cassie with her imposing spiked bun updo and face-framing tendrils. “It’s giving Masterpiece,” says stylist Dhairius Thomas of his creation in an Instagram caption. Masterpiece, indeed.

 

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This is not the viral middle-parted Bella Hadid bun that garnered 19.5 million views (and counting) on TikTok’s #bellahadidbun hashtag, but it is a sophisticated offshoot of the star’s signature model-off-duty hairdo. At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Hadid elevated her usual slicked-back style with a braided bun and strategically placed tendril by Evanie Frausto, a hairstyle upgrade just begging to be recreated for your next festive outing.

 

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At the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere in London earlier this month, actress Danai Gurira served the statement hair of the season, sporting a cropped afro adorned with gold flakes to match the embellishments on her Elie Saab couture gown. If there’s any gold involved in your holiday gathering get-ups this season, seize the opportunity to recreate this gilded work of art.

 

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The versatility of Megan Fox’s messy bun-meets-updo allowed for the star to pair it with two contrasting looks for two separate events in one night, so it’s guaranteed to be a reliable option regardless of your outfit or makeup. Carried out by stylist to the stars Andrew Fitzsimmons, this “après sexe” style stuns from every angle with its face-contouring waves and romantic texture.

The post 8 Celebrity Hairstyles to Recreate for Your Next Holiday Party appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Short for nepotism baby, the expression has taken off on social media in recent years as a cheeky, backhanded label for the children of Hollywood elite who have pursued careers in the entertainment industry. Of course, said nepo babies aren’t exactly thrilled with the term. And Lily-Rose Depp is the latest to remind us.

On November 16, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis pushed back on the label in a now-viral interview with Elle. The 23-year-old, who has had a series of acting roles (including her upcoming gig in The Idol), walked high-fashion runways (despite being 5’3”) and long worked with Chanel, downplayed the influence her movie star dad and model mom had in her success.

“People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part,” she said. “Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There’s a lot of work that comes after that.” But that’s the thing: most people don’t get access to those opportunities, like, ever. And nepo babies seem to consistently miss that crucial point.

The problem is that even when celebrity children recognize their privilege and acknowledge the validity of the “nepo baby” label, it often comes off as disingenuous. In an interview with The Cut published on November 21, Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon  shared a decidedly “me-vs.-them” take on the term. “Nepotism babies are pretty awful usually, and my mom and my father raised me to be so much smarter than that,” she said. But this denial discounts the fact that the nepotism in question is not a personality trait. It’s an inherent privilege. And despite efforts to distance herself from the label, Leon still faced criticism for sounding tone-deaf throughout the interview. This begs the question: Do we just want to dislike nepo babies?

After all, it’s not hard to find their faults. Aside from being out of touch and admittedly easy to poke fun at, nepo babies are also reminders of the world’s unfair advantages. They have not only money and connections, but they grow up immersed in exclusive spaces, with proximity to iconic role models and a roadmap to success. Many celebrity kids then reach those coveted career goals, regardless of whether they’re the best — or even very good — at what they do. With all the privileges that most people don’t get, it’s easy to villainize the children of famous people for simply existing.

But that, of course, is not fair. After all, some of today’s biggest talents — like Dakota Johnson, Miley Cyrus, Timothée Chalamet, Jaden Smith and Zoë Kravitz — are from showbiz families. And while social media’s fixation on famous offspring has made it feel like we’re in the unprecedented age of nepo babies, the trend of successful celebs having famous parents is nothing new in Hollywood. The Kate Hudsons, Drew Barrymores and even Liza Minnellis of the world all come from well-connected families, and many have no problem admitting it. From Jane Fonda crediting her actor father as the reason she attained fame to Jamie Lee Curtis acknowledging that her big break was thanks in part to her movie star mom, there’s something refreshing about Hollywood royalty recognizing they had the upper hand.

The problem is that today’s nepo babies seem to want to hide from and deny the label, or worse, reframe it as a barrier they had to overcome. Depp has previously suggested coming from a famous background made things somewhat harder for her. Not to mention, Kendall Jenner has long insisted that being from a prominent family — and starring in Keeping Up With The Kardashians — actually hindered her from finding success in the modelling world.

Sure, there are some downsides to having the proverbial leg up. There’s the constant comparison, being overshadowed by a larger-than-life legacy, and a world of people who expect you to be not quite as good as your family. But in the grand scheme of things, being a product of nepotism is not one of life’s great injustices.

It’s not always easy to root for celebrity children, and maybe that’s because they offer an inadvertent reality check to the rest of the world. Above all, they remind us that we’re not living in a meritocracy. As much as Hollywood loves a good rags-to-riches story, at the end of the day, success often comes down to financial privilege and right-place-right-time connections, not just pure talent.

Perhaps it’s this lack of understanding about the way the world works that makes nepo babies admittedly easy targets. “If somebody’s mom or dad is a doctor, and then the kid becomes a doctor, you’re not going to be like, ‘Well, you’re only a doctor because your parent is a doctor,'” Depp continued in her interview with Elle. “It’s like ‘No, I went to medical school and trained.'” The great irony here is that nepotism exists in the healthcare world, too. It pervades nearly every industry. In fact, the world is basically built on unfair connections, and children of the Hollywood elite only remind us of that fact.

Is it reasonable to hate them for that? Of course not. But is it cathartic to poke fun at them when they miss the point? Kinda.

The post Are Nepo Babies Simply Unlikeable? appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

First, it was the viral meme of him holding hands with his then-fiancé Ariana Grande in 2018. Throughout the better half of 2022, his ten-month-long relationship with Kim Kardashian was a constant fixture on my social media feeds. Each time the 29-year-old comedian enters another rumoured romance, the internet can’t quite shut up about it. His latest reported love affair, with model Emily Ratajkowski, is no different.

The relationship rumours began on November 13, after celebrity gossip watchdog DeuxMoi shared an anonymous tip claiming the pair were out on a date in Brooklyn, New York. Us Weekly then ran its own story on the couple, quoting sources who said the pair have been in the “talking” stages of their relationship for months. On Wednesday, November 16, rumours were all but confirmed after a (pretty invasive) paparazzi video showed the two hugging — and wearing matching outfits — in a residential building in New York. It would seem Pete Davidson and Emily Ratajkowski really are dating, and of course, social media is in a complete tailspin.

At this point, Pete Davidson dating a new beautiful megastar every few months is as natural as the changing of the seasons. Along with his high-profile relationships with Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande, he has, in recent years, been romantically linked to a myriad of gorgeous celebs like Kaia Gerber, Phoebe Dynevor, Margaret Qualley and Kate Beckinsale. But even with this romantic track record, Pete Davidson’s lure is still largely seen as an unsolved mystery. Each time he has a new girlfriend, unflattering photos of him flood social media, conspiracy theories are formed and there’s a general sense of bewilderment as to how, exactly, the couple came to be.

All things considered, his ambiguous appeal is not that hard to figure out. For starters, he is famous, wealthy and really tall — each generally enticing qualities. But what really makes him attractive is that, despite these traditional markers of male attractiveness, he’s still decidedly uncool. As someone who was bullied growing up and who still struggles with mental health, he has an underdog energy that’s pretty rare in Hollywood. On top of all that, he’s a nice guy. Just ask Kim Kardashian.

During his fling with the reality star earlier this year, she gushed about him on her show, The Kardashians. “Pete has got to be literally the best human being I have ever met. Like, the best heart,” she said. “He is really, really thoughtful, humble and so genuine. I would say the perfect word to describe Pete is genuine.”

Perhaps it’s as simple as that. With his self-deprecating humour and lanky, awkward demeanour, Pete Davidson doesn’t take himself too seriously. He can go from looking a little dishevelled in baggy pants, hoodies and baseball caps to wearing a dress on the Met Gala red carpet. In an image-obsessed industry, Davidson’s adorkable, humble image goes a long way. And though he’s often made fun of for not being “attractive” enough for his romantic conquests, he proves the world wrong each time he enters a new high-profile relationship.

Emily Ratajkowski may have put it best. In November 2021, long before their rumoured coupling began, the model opened up about Davidson’s perceived attractiveness on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “He seems super charming, he’s vulnerable, he’s lovely, his fingernail polish is awesome,” she said. “Like, he looks good.”

With A-listers of the world basically lining up to date him, there’s an undeniable magnetism about Pete Davidson. And I’d argue he even serves a higher purpose for each girlfriend. Often dating women right after they leave long-term partnerships (see: Kim Kardashian after she divorced Kanye West and Emily Ratajkowski after she split from her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard), a Pete Davidson fling is always fun, exciting and reliably short-lived. That, I think, is the point.

Time and time again, he goes out with women who are independent, powerful and who notably don’t actually need a man. Some even suggest he serves as a perpetual “rebound” boyfriend, empowering those he dates to flourish on their own when they’re done with him. When you think of it that way, dating Pete Davidson is kinda like an act of self-care. Maybe it’s even a step on the journey to self-actualization. Next up, may I suggest Julia Fox?

The post The Appeal of Dating Pete Davidson appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

On this cool day in October, she’s taken a similar, albeit less luxurious, approach. When she pops up on my screen, she’s lounging in a black-and-brown tie-dyed sweatsuit. “The secret to my personal style is wearing the most comfortable thing possible but making it look good,” she laughs. While she sometimes struggles wearing Mindy’s flamboyant fashions (have you seen how tall her heels are?), what’s important is that the clothing is true to her character. “Costume designer Patricia Field and I try to ensure that whatever outfit Mindy is wearing, you can tell she feels like herself — empowered and comfortable,” says Park. “Ashley might not always feel that way [laughs], but that’s what’s so fun about acting.”

Emily in Paris has been a sensation since it debuted in 2020: It’s charming and a little corny, the European locations are luscious eye candy and the ensemble cast has colourful chemistry. But the core of the show, and the reason for the mania, is the fashion, which is over-the-top and always designer; it provided some much-needed escapism during the dark times of the pandemic. “I always knew that fashion was going to be a huge part of the show because it’s set in Paris and has Darren and Patricia, who, of course, did Sex and the City,” Park reflects. “But we had no idea the show would become such a part of the zeitgeist.”

Park has had two going on three seasons of being Mindy, best friend to Lily Collins’s Emily and an heiress turned nanny turned burgeoning singer. “She marches to the beat of her own drum,” Park says of the character that made her recognizable. And with the show set to premiere its third season on Netflix this December, her star will only keep rising.

But before all that, Park was just a young girl from Glendale, Calif., who loved performing, dancing and playing piano. It wasn’t until middle school, when she accompanied some friends to an audition for a youth community theatre, that she discovered her love of acting and singing. “I was like, ‘What is this world?’ And then I quickly became obsessed with musical-theatre albums,” she shares.

Shortly after, a 15-year-old Park was diagnosed with leukemia. She spent eight months in the hospital and underwent six rounds of chemotherapy. To make matters worse, she was also battling mastocytosis. This condition causes severe allergic reactions and resulted in Park experiencing symptoms any time she was required to take medication — so almost constantly. “I think when you’re going through such trauma at a young age, you aren’t aware that it’s traumatic — you’re just trying to get through it,” she reveals. “Maybe I got my resilience from my parents, but it was never an option that I wasn’t going to make it.”

Now, Park says she’s learned to look at her battle with cancer as “a complete blessing” because it fundamentally shaped her and her perspective on life. She even goes as far as to say that it pushed her toward the stage because she could pretend to be a different person. “I was determined that I was not going to be held back or defined by my diagnosis,” she explains. “As an actor, I didn’t have to worry about people worrying about me. Being in another person’s skin became a very fun and safe place.”

Of course, some bodies have been more fun to inhabit than others. Park began her Broadway career as an understudy and ensemble member in the 2014 production of Mamma Mia! In 2018, after a string of other successful musicals, including The King and I and Sunday in the Park With George (in which she worked with Jake Gyllenhaal), she earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway adaptation of Tina Fey’s Mean Girls. Impressed by her comedy chops, Fey then cast Park in a recurring role in the Peacock sitcom Girls5eva. And most recently, Park starred in the Regency-period drama Mr. Malcolm’s List.

But her next project hits a little closer to home: The currently untitled R-rated all-Asian comedy directed by Adele Lim, the co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians, is set to hit theatres in 2023. “To have it written and directed by and starring Asian females is very empowering,” shares Park, who herself is Korean American. “It’s a true Asian-female story. I get to be a fully realized person, not just a side character who propels another person’s story forward. We are not being laughed at; rather, we are laughing at ourselves.”

When I ask if Park has experienced discrimination firsthand, I don’t even finish my question before she responds with “Every second of every day.” But she doesn’t like to dwell on it. “If I thought about it all the time, I would never move forward,” she begins, mirroring her sentiments from our earlier conversation about leukemia. “This business is hard, so if you don’t find joy in it, then there’s truly no reason to be in it. I’ve always felt like acting is in my blood and bones — I just love it!”

Besides the actual craft of acting, Park also loves how film and TV sets bring people together. Since filming Emily in Paris, she now considers Collins to be one of her besties, and she’s excited for the audience to see how their fictional friendship continues to develop in season three. Park also somewhat cryptically teases that Mindy’s journey this year might be related to her birth chart. “In the first season, we got to see her rising sign,” she says. “Then, last year, we got to see her moon and what’s really going on inside of her. And now we get to see her star sign and understand who she is as a whole.”

But unlike her character, Park knows exactly who she is and isn’t. She is an eternal optimist who has learned to take the good with the bad, can find the humour in horrible and unapologetically prefers slippers over stilettos. Still fresh from Paris Fashion Week, she’s looking forward to getting some rest. With a new season of a hit TV show and a hotly anticipated film all on their way, though, it’s unlikely this will happen — and that’s fine by her. “Sometimes I wish there were four of me so I could have time to sleep, eat and do everything else,” she reflects. “I hate half-assing stuff — I want to give 150 per cent to everything. I just have to work on my stamina [laughs].”

Photography by NELSON SIMONEAU. Creative direction GEORGE ANTONOPOULOS. Styling by DARRYL RODRIGUES. Hair by JULIEN PARIZET. Makeup by CAROLE NICOLAS. Nails by SYLVIE VACCA for CALL MY AGENT. Photo assistants: CARLOS ESTEVEZ and SILVIA ROCCHINO. Fashion assistant: MARLÈNE LE GALL. Digital assistant: MARTIN VARRET for IMAGIN PRODUCTIONS. Art direction: LEO TAPEL.

The post Ashley Park Is <em>FASHION</em>’s Winter 2023 Cover Star appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

On November 7, she emerged at the prestigious affair in a trailing black dress with oversized cutouts that left her undergarments completely exposed. Created by Milan-based designer Valerievi, the theatrical silhouette perfectly complemented her wet-looking hair that was painted grey as a “love letter to getting older.” The ensemble was cheeky, experimental and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. That, right there, is the appeal of Julia Fox.

If you’ve been on the internet at all over the past year, chances are you’ve seen at least one viral style moment from the Uncut Gems star (nay, muse). On the red carpet, her elaborate outfits range from whacky to downright hazardous. Posed paparazzi pictures show her traipsing around in outfits that resemble the final product at an arts-and-crafts table. These skin-baring getups consistently look unfinished, unravelled and anything but functional. But the purpose here is not to be beautiful. It’s to be seen.

The thing is, Julia Fox is not trying to be conventionally pretty. In fact, she’s arguably trying not to be. Her bleached brows call to mind extraterrestrial visuals. In lieu of the celebrity spray tan standard, she embraces her pale skin, veins and all. Where the polished “clean girl” aesthetic reigns supreme, Julia Fox wholeheartedly embraces looking “dirty.”

While the star is often ridiculed in real time for her subversive style choices, her lasting influence is undeniable. After her signature chalky black eyeliner became a meme earlier this year, the messy makeup look resurfaced on multiple fall 2022 runways. And now that she herself is an in-demand model during fashion month, it’s clear her out-of-the-box aesthetic is onto something.

Don’t get us wrong, despite not adhering to mainstream trends, Julia Fox obviously fits into certain Eurocentric beauty standards: she’s thin; she has abs; she has clear skin and full lips. These physical privileges alone have likely helped her to go viral and accrue adoration for her purposely “ugly” looks. But despite possessing certain markers of traditional attractiveness, it seems Fox genuinely does not want to be palatable.

In an industry of trending filters, Photoshop fails, and highly curated influencer content, Julia Fox is the people’s It girl. Take her online presence. On TikTok, the star is beloved for her candid stream-of-consciousness content, while picture-perfect celebs like Kim Kardashian haven’t been able to crack the code. Sure, Fox may run errands wearing a torn-up trash bag, but her social media platform has become an intimate, safe space to ponder life’s big questions. She opens up about mental health in the bath. She theorizes about politics laying down in bed. She gives life advice while sitting on the toilet. Unlike the It girls of yore, Julia Fox is not a typical Hollywood bombshell. And that’s where her appeal lies.

After all, Fox didn’t exactly have a warm welcome to the world of mainstream stardom. When her highly publicized relationship with Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband Ye began in January 2022, the single mom was immediately positioned against the most powerful celebrity family in Hollywood. And while she was already well-known as an artist, actor and social butterfly in New York, to most of the world, she was an outsider. As such, Fox was harshly judged, with many accusing her of being an opportunist.

And perhaps she is — but what’s so wrong with that?

As someone who wasn’t born into wealth or fame, Julia Fox has long been using conventional beauty to her advantage. “I pretty much, in my teens, learned that I was a commodity and I can get money,” she said on Emily Ratajkowski’s podcast, High Low, of her experience working as a dominatrix. But even still, the 32-year-old says leveraging her attractiveness in this way was a survival method. And it’s one she no longer needs to rely on.

“Now, I don’t need men to like me. And that is a luxury that I earned by making men like me and find me desirable or interesting or attractive for so many years,” she said on TikTok. “No hate to the girlies that have lots of male followers. I used to be like that too. But now I’m at a place where… I just don’t give a f*ck.”

Understand this: Julia Fox is not here to look hot. She’s here to be an artiste. Her pre-planned photos are so obviously staged they’re almost satirical. Her shockingly uncensored social media posts are akin to a captivating one-woman show. The style icon has made a career out of curated performance art. It’s just that now, she no longer cares what the audience has to say.

The post Julia Fox Doesn’t Care If You Think She’s Hot appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Wearing matching Gucci sleep sets, the giggling pair stood cuddled up under a large duvet for their red carpet debut. With this loudly unified ensemble, the couple only added fuel to the fire concerning their 11-year age gap. But, in all fairness, subtlety is practically impossible at this point.

From their matching red carpet appearance to a questionable Halloween costume choice, Billie Eilish, 20, and Jesse Rutherford, 31, are not flying under the radar with their relationship. But they haven’t exactly had a choice. For weeks before they appeared at public events together, dating rumours surrounding the couple were fraught with social media commentary. In mid-October, paparazzi pictures first showed them kissing on an outing in Los Angeles. And as news about this courtship developed, so did the criticism.

Many took issue that the two artists have reportedly known each other since Eilish was a teen. The duo are seen smiling together in one widely circulated picture that was reportedly taken in 2017,  when Rutherford was 26 and Eilish was 16. The Happier Than Ever singer has also since spoken of Rutherford’s band, The Neighborhood, as a longtime inspiration, sharing that theirs was the first live concert she ever attended.

“I feel like that power imbalance of her idolizing him since she’s been young is just… I find it really gross,” said TikTok creator Hannah Zook (@hannahzookpop) on October 15.

But amid the growing backlash, the pair doubled down on their partnership with a getup that further emphasized their age gap. To celebrate Halloween 2022, Billie Eilish donned a baby costume while Jesse Rutherford dressed up as an old man. Eilish later made their relationship Instagram-official with a picture of the cheeky ensembles. Not everyone found this funny.

Their bold outfits sparked a myriad of viral, angry tweets, mainly aimed at Billie Eilish herself. Some said the look was “embarrassing” and she would soon regret it. Others suggested the costume was “making fun of grooming.” One user went as far as to say that “every adult in Billie Eilish’s life has failed her.”

But amid the widespread condemnation, there are also calls for more nuance than short-form social media platforms generally allow. Because Billie Eilish has arguably been more commercially successful than Jesse Rutherford, some argue there is, in fact, no power imbalance in his favour. Others point out that regardless of whether we deem their relationship problematic, publicly chastising Eilish is neither helpful nor productive, but actually a “parasocial invasion of privacy.”

In a segment on Shameless Podcast, host Michelle Andrews suggests it’s anti-feminist to criticize the 20-year-old’s romantic choices. “She’s not a child,” says Andrews. “And I find it very patronizing for people to be talking down to her or commenting online like she’s in an abusive dynamic. Like, we don’t know.”

In the midst of endless hot takes, TikTok creator Link Lauren (@itslinklauren) put their stance plainly: “Let Billie have her fun, fall in love [and] do what normal 20-year-olds do.” It would seem regardless of the intense backlash, she’s doing just that.

After their relationship was first revealed through invasive paparazzi photo-ops, the pair have been using orchestrated appearances to speak out on the scrutiny they’re facing. One thing’s for sure: Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford know their relationship is a trending topic of discussion. But rather than speaking on it verbally, they’re letting their highly publicized outings and coordinating outfits do the talking. Through these sartorial statements, the two seem to be revelling in their critics’ rage.

The controversy surrounding this couple will likely continue to grow. And though they’re not speaking on the situation, their organized outings are telling us all we need to know.

The post Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford Know Their Relationship Is Controversial appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

The thing is, the moment on The Kardashians was so absurd and entertaining, it almost didn’t matter how it came to be. If KJ had orchestrated the entire thing, she deserves an Oscar for screenwriting and a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the world together to enjoy such a ridiculous moment of celebrity privilege. If it wasn’t fake and Kenny chops a cucumber in such an acrobatic, chaotic and inefficient way, well that’s a gift unto itself. And now this: amid the elaborate celebrity Halloween costumes and full-fledged photoshoots, a Kendall Jenner cutting cucumber Halloween costume. Simple yet very effective. Step aside, pizza rat.

 

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The Kardashians are not really known for their… relatability. In fact, scenes like Kris and Kylie absolutely delighting in the “cute” novelty of going to a grocery store (a mundane and sometimes painful errand to most of us) feel wildly out of touch much of the time. But Kendall opting to laugh at herself along with us is what I’d call a small win for relatability. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. And we always appreciate a self-aware queen. Now, somebody tell one of Kendall’s assistants to hide her kitchen knives so she doesn’t lose a digit while trying to dice an onion.

The post Kendall Jenner’s Sense of Humour Was the Biggest Surprise of Halloween appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

With the pressure of red carpet outfit rankings and best-dressed street style lists, getting ready for any old outing is like a sport to celebrities. So Halloween, in turn, is the Olympics. From wearing gravity-defying getups to spending hours undergoing makeup transformations, celebrities know how to make Halloween into a spectacle. And with the wholehearted return to in-person festivities, high-profile costumes in 2022 are making up for lost time.

 

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Take Heidi Klum. From Ogre to ageing grandmother, the model’s yearly transformations have made her the “queen of Halloween.” And each year, the pressure to one-up — or at least live up to — her previous looks builds. Case in point: her highly-anticipated 2022 ensemble reportedly took 14 hours to create. “I can’t let my Halloween fans down,” she told E! News, calling this costume her best one yet.

There’s such an urge to go viral, and it’s not hard to see why. Historically speaking, consistently high-quality costumes elevate a celeb’s street cred. Building a reputation for epic Halloween celebrations can take someone from A-list to icon. It’s why, each year, the Kardashian-Jenners give us special-effects-filled photoshoots and transform their mansions into elaborate haunted houses. Or perhaps why they continued on with maskless Halloween parties amid a raging pandemic.

 

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Not to mention, extravagant celebrity costumes give the world another reason to keep talking about them. I can’t remember what I had for dinner yesterday, but I vividly recall Lizzo’s Baby Yoda costume in 2021. Naturally, this year, she continued her shock-factor legacy with elaborate transformations into both Marge Simpson and Miss Piggy.

 

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When you’re famous, there are simply different parameters — and expectations — for Halloween. After all, if you wear a rubber catsuit to do some casual shopping, the bar is understandably higher when you’re actually expected to dress up. As such, festivities are not bound to the constraints of October 31. Celebrity costumes are often posted weeks in advance — because, of course, one is never enough.

This year, Kylie Jenner has had a myriad of over-the-top ensembles. She became the Bride of Frankenstein in a custom Jean Paul Gaultier bandage gown. She did a magazine-worthy photoshoot as Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark. She was superimposed into a cartoon poster as a latex-donning, alien-fighting space warrior. And she’s gone viral in each.

Then there’s the anonymity of it all. With prosthetics, elaborate makeup and shockingly realistic props, Halloween is a time when celebrities can revel in unabashed ugliness. In fact, looking conventionally “good” is frowned upon. Some of this year’s winning getups — like Janelle Monáe as Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element or Kim Kardashian as Mystique from X-Men — are objectively weird.

 

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The thing is, at Halloween, celebrities’ knack for impracticality tends to come in handy. They can turn out imaginative looks without worrying about sensible everyday situations, like being stuck in a long line wearing uncomfortable shoes or taking weather conditions into account. In fact, it’s arguably the one time of year when being out of touch actually does some good. For famous people, Halloween is a competition; a way of performing their relevancy and putting their star status to the test. And fans are the ever-eager judges.

To us non-celebs, Halloween might be an opportunity to live out a fantasy for the day. But for celebrities, it’s a time of year when they get a break from being themselves. After all, stars are already donning costumes every day with meticulously crafted social media posts, pre-planned paparazzi shots and actual on-screen performances. Halloween, by contrast, offers the opportunity to trade the mundane mask of stardom for a more exciting one.

 

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Every year, one of the most popular costumes among famous people is simply dressing up as other famous people. And 2022 was no exception. Lori Harvey was Beyoncé. Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly were Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Addison Rae was Lady Gaga and Kate Moss. It seems Halloween and fame culture are inextricably linked. And perhaps that’s because, ultimately, being a celebrity is the biggest costume of all.

The post Why Is Halloween So Important to Celebrities? appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

After a six-year hiatus, music-making Rihanna has entered the chat. And we simply cannot remain calm. On October 28, the beauty mogul dropped a new single, “Lift Me Up,” which will appear in the new Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and is reportedly a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.

This comes just one month after Rihanna announced she would be the halftime headliner at the 2023 Super Bowl. To share the news, she posted a photo of her recognizably tatted hand holding an NFL football in the air. Her caption was a simple-but-effective period (“.”), which can only be described as the keyboard equivalent of dropping the mic.

Obviously, these announcements have shocked the internet. After all, the singer’s last album was way back in 2016, and she hasn’t given a live performance in more than five years. Instead, her focus has been on building her business empire comprised of Fenty Skin, Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty.

But by releasing a brand new song and using the Super Bowl as her concert-venue comeback, it’s clear that a new age of Rihanna — one that converges her music, fashion and beauty endeavours — is coming. Let’s examine the evidence, shall we?

Since her first album in 2005, Rihanna’s artistry has been defined by distinct eras. She entered the music scene with her Caribbean-inspired album Music Of The Sun, then adopted a darker image and sound with Good Girl Gone Bad before becoming the red-haired party girl with Loud. Throughout her career, each new album has illustrated a shift in her life — a different version of her. And it’s this type of experimentation that has made Rihanna the richest female singer in the world.

Since her last album, Anti, she has skillfully built her fashion, cosmetics and skincare empire in the same era-defining way. Fenty Beauty set a cosmetics precedent with groundbreaking shade ranges. Fenty Skin was hailed for “disrupting the skincare industry” with gender-neutral and diversity-minded messaging. Savage X Fenty redefined what lingerie can look like by showing garments on all types of bodies and presenting inclusive runway shows.

Now, with the arrival of her child with A$AP Rocky, she’s entered an entirely new period of life. What better time than now to release music?

Rihanna’s elusive upcoming album, dubbed R9 by fans, has reportedly been in the works for years. But other than confirming it will be reggae-inspired and posting the rare shot of her in the studio, the artist has been notoriously tight-lipped. And all this time, fans have been waiting for a sign that a new music project is near — like, say, a wide-scale televised performance.

Sometimes drawing in more viewers than the football game itself, the annual Super Bowl halftime show is an iconic pop culture event and the only reason some of us would willingly watch sports. It’s also a career-defining moment for the performing artist. Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga have each released documentaries chronicling their preparations for the coveted show. We can only expect that Rihanna, too, will be using it for her own unique branding purposes. After all, she famously turned down the halftime gig in 2019, so the choice to do it now leads us to believe that there is something more in the works.

If we can guess one thing, it’s that the Fenty empire will factor into this performance. On Twitter, Rihanna’s brands have already hinted at their involvement, cheekily dubbing the show #FentyBowl. What might that look like, you ask? Think background dancers wearing a new Savage X Fenty collection and stage makeup courtesy of Fenty Beauty. Some fans speculate the show will feature a choreographed Fenty Skin tutorial. There have also been predictions that Rihanna will use the event to announce a new line, Fenty Sports. If we’re lucky, she may even perform “Lift Me Up” live.

Some fans predict the performance will be a mashup of all Rihanna’s classic hits, finished with a never-before-heard single and album announcement. At this point, we’re not ruling anything out. All that matters is that Rihanna is performing music again. And surprisingly, we have football to thank.

The post A New Rihanna Era Is Here appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

On October 25, the German sportswear label announced it was ending its longstanding lucrative partnership with the rapper-turned-designer. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous,” the brand said in a statement, adding that the company is ceasing production of Yeezy-branded products and stopping all payments to Ye and his companies “immediately.”

ICYMI, on October 3, Ye debuted a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at his YZY runway show during Paris Fashion Week. Shortly after that, he embarked on an ongoing campaign of antisemitic remarks and white supremacist rhetoric. Needless to say, the fallout has been destructive.

Over the past few weeks, Ye has burned nearly every bridge. Vogue and Anna Wintour have reportedly cut ties. The Yeezy designer has been released from his partnerships with Balenciaga and Gap. Even his individual endeavours have been impacted: the talent agency CAA dropped him as a client, his documentary has been shelved and his Instagram and Twitter accounts have been restricted. Multiple public figures — including his ex-wife Kim Kardashian — have spoken out against his comments. Perhaps most notably, after losing the Adidas partnership, he is reportedly no longer a billionaire.

With the rapper finally facing tangible consequences, it may seem like this is a win against bigotry. But as the trending topic of Ye’s antisemitism grows, there’s been another narrative emerging: that we should all just ignore it.

Some argue Ye is simply looking for attention, and that media coverage is exactly what he wants. Others say criticizing him is insensitive to his struggles with bipolar disorder — as if antisemitism is a symptom of mental illness. (It’s not.) In efforts to avoid the messiness of it all, certain outlets have put a halt on writing about Kanye altogether.

But here’s the thing: silence amplifies hate. Whether we like it or not, Ye is a pop culture authority. He alone has more Instagram followers than there are Jewish people in the world (18 million to 14 million, respectively). “Dismissing Kanye west as a troll — someone who says inflammatory things just to provoke an audience — is unfortunately ignorant,” wrote Matt Bernstein (@mattxiv), a Jewish content creator, on Instagram. “You might not take [him] seriously, but someone out there is.”

There have already been sinisterly substantial outcomes from Ye’s words — both online and in-person. On October 23, a group of neo-nazis gathered in Los Angeles holding a banner that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” while doing a nazi salute. This is exactly why his behaviour demands our attention.

After all, though the designer’s flagrant discrimination is disturbing, antisemitism is not new to the fashion industry. Labels like Zara, Urban Outfitters, Brandy Melville and Forever 21 have all come under fire in recent years for releasing offensive products or perpetuating harmful narratives against Jewish communities. Social media, too, has become a hotbed for this type of hate speech, thanks in part to Ye himself.

Despite the pervasiveness of antisemitism on the internet, there’s pressure to simply disregard it. This is something fashion content creator Clara Perlmutter (@tinyjewishgirl) deals with all the time. “People online are always trying to tell me I’m not experiencing antisemitism,” she said in a recent TikTok. “Like, I’ll get a comment and I’ll make a response, and people will be like, ‘Oh, they didn’t mean it like that. Take a joke.’ And that’s what they’re saying in response to Kanye.”

On October 15, Ye bragged about his impenetrable pop culture presence on the Drink Champs podcast. “I could say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me,” he touted. “Now what?” For a while, that statement seemed to be unfortunately true. In the heat of his hate speech, Ye went largely unchecked by the fashion industry as a whole. Despite Adidas finally cutting ties, the damage has been done.

And sure, maybe Ye is just a troll. But his words — sincere or not — are objectively influential. For years, the rapper has been publicly bullying people and spreading offensive rhetoric about minorities. But through it all, he maintained a loyal fan base, a powerful social media presence and a prestigious fashion reputation. Clearly, dismissing hostility and hatred only allows it to spread.

In 2021, Canada saw a record rise in antisemitism. Not to mention, a 2019 Canadian survey suggests that one in five young people don’t know what happened in the Holocaust. Now is the time to amplify Jewish voices and learn the facts about antisemitism in Canada and elsewhere. Perhaps we’re not all pop culture titans whose individual opinions can sway the masses. But together, speaking out against hate is the most powerful thing we can do.

The post We Need To Keep Talking About Ye’s Antisemitism appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

The months-long drama surrounding Wilde’s film, Don’t Worry Darling, has had its share of unexpected twists and turns. And after serving Wilde with custody papers in front of a live audience at CinemaCon earlier this year, her ex-partner Jason Sudeikis has been a lingering fixture of this fraught production. The pair, who share two children, were together for seven years before separating in 2020 — right around the time Wilde began dating her film’s male lead, Harry Styles. But on October 17, the Daily Mail published an interview with the former couple’s alleged ex-nanny that provides more unsettling — and food-oriented — details about their fallout.

According to the unnamed woman, during the production of Don’t Worry Darling, Wilde started spending time away from the family to be with Styles. She says Sudeikis began drinking heavily and angrily ranting, causing her to be “very afraid.” This culminated on one fateful night, in which Wilde made her “special salad dressing” to bring to Styles’s house for dinner. Sudeikis reportedly chased after her and laid under her car to prevent her from driving away. Disturbing, to say the least. And at the centre of this explosive affair is an objectively unremarkable condiment. But why?

Salad dressing has long been overlooked. I mean, it’s not even the most interesting condiment. It’s hardly a cult favourite like dijon mustard. It’s not nearly as flashy as hot sauce. But the humble salad dressing does what it says it’s going to do, and with near-endless variations, it’s a condiment for all people. Those with richer tastes may enjoy a creamy ranch or Thousand Island. If your palate is more refined, you can opt for a simple balsamic vinaigrette. At the very least, it makes vegetables exciting. At most, it’s the last string holding your rocky relationship together, apparently.

After the source’s scathing account was published, Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis responded in a joint statement to CNN. “As parents, it is incredibly upsetting to learn that a former nanny of our two young children would choose to make such false and scurrilous accusations about us publicly,” they said. “Her now 18-month-long campaign of harassing us, as well as loved ones, close friends and colleagues, has reached its unfortunate apex.”

But amid these conflicting claims, the salad dressing detail has been seemingly confirmed. On October 18, Wilde broke her social media silence with a cryptic Instagram Story picturing a recipe from journalist Nora Ephron’s memoir, Heartburn. Famously a story about Ephron’s divorce, the sauce featured is made of just three ingredients: mustard, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Much to the internet’s surprise, the allegedly adulterous salad dressing in question is admittedly dull. But for the scale at which this scandal has spread, that makes perfect sense.

The thing is, this story is not really about the Olivia Wilde salad dressing. It’s about the intimacy of recipe sharing. It’s about the sanctity of making someone a meal, however boring or precise it may be. And if the claims about Sudeikis’s behaviour are true, it’s about trying— and failing — to remain in control.

If I’m taking anything away from this head-spinning saga, it’s to no longer underestimate salad dressing. After all, every kind of food has the power to bond strangers, connect cultures and bring people together. Even the most no-frills sauce can leave an impact. But beware: the right combination can make you do impulsive things.

The post Olivia Wilde’s Sexy Salad Dressing Recipe Is Actually Remarkably Boring appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Thanks to her iconic role as Laurie Strode in the Halloween franchise, Curtis is the original scream queen. And with the series’s final instalment, Halloween Ends, hitting theatres globally on October 14, she continues to set the bar for survivors in the horror genre.

The World Premiere Finale 44 years in the making. #HalloweenEnds FRIDAY. pic.twitter.com/MT7fHfi1Sg

— #HalloweenEnds (@halloweenmovie) October 13, 2022

At the red carpet premiere of Halloween Ends in Los Angeles, she emerged wearing a sparkling blood-red Ralph Lauren gown — the ultimate sartorial celebration. Jamie Lee Curtis doesn’t even like scary movies, but as this striking ensemble suggests, there’s power in horror, and Curtis has learned just how to wield it.

The actor was only 19 years old when she made her feature film debut as the babysitter-turned-victim in the original 1978 Halloween, directed by John Carpenter. The thrasher follows Michael Myers, the notorious masked villain who embarks on a killing spree on October 31. One of his targets? Curtis’s Laurie Strode, a book-smart high school student — and lasting source of style inspiration.

With her fluffy ’70s blowout, preppy style, and down-to-earth demeanour, Laurie Strode was the textbook definition of horror’s “final girl” trope. She was the observant, virginal girl next door whose conservative traits allowed her to outsmart Michael Myers as her boy-crazy counterparts perished.

This performance set the tone for Jamie Lee Curtis’s Halloween-themed career. (Over the years, she has performed the role seven times.) Sure, she’s ventured outside the genre, working in classics like My Girl, Freaky Friday and, most recently, Everything Everywhere All At Once. But her lasting legacy is forever tied to the horror universe. By reprising, remaking and redefining what the “final girl” looks like, Jamie Lee Curtis has become a Halloween icon for multiple generations.

And now, with Halloween Ends, Curtis has reprised her role for one last time. The film marks the third and final instalment in David Gordon Green’s trilogy (including Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021)), which is regarded as the original’s canonical successor. The series explores what happens to a horror protagonist after they survive, humanizing Laurie as an older, isolated alcoholic, grappling with the untreated trauma of the fateful Halloween night from her youth. This approach was record-breaking, with The New York Times reporting that the 2018 film had “the biggest opening for a horror movie with a female lead and for any film starring a woman over 55.”

Over the years, Laurie Strode evolves from a young, innocent every-girl to a grandmother seeking vengeance. She hardens, and there’s something empowering about that. After all, the traditional defining traits of the “final girl” — someone who is young, innocent and unsusceptible to vices — are not realistic. But as she ages, Laurie Strode becomes nuanced: she makes mistakes and stumbles through her struggles, all while narrowly escaping death (of course).

Halloween Ends reportedly offers some hope for Laurie’s fate after she goes to therapy and trauma counselling. Present-day Laurie is no longer the romanticized style symbol that she was in the original film, but she remains a survivor. And her enduring presence has left an impact on pop culture, with her personal resilience even being compared to larger social movements.

Jamie Lee Curtis, too, has been moved by her. “Everything good in my life can be traced back to Laurie,” she wrote in a recent essay published by People. “Life is scary, but Laurie taught me that life can also be beautiful, filled with love and art and life.”

The actor’s Halloween era may be coming to a close, but Jamie Lee Curtis will always be the horror icon of our time. Not least because, over 44 years, her portrayal of Laurie revealed the importance of growing, changing and fighting for yourself.

The post Jamie Lee Curtis Is Still the Queen of Halloween appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Zendaya was supposed to be here with us, grooving alongside Roach, but work called. As an ode to the Dune star’s FLARE December 2015 cover (also shot by Nino Muñoz) and FASHION Winter 2018 cover (the two brands merged in 2021), Roach and Zendaya decided to switch roles for the ultimate full-circle moment. “She saw the mood board, she chose the clothes and then we got to shoot with the same photographer, which is so cool,” says Roach on-set.

And the young star turned temporary stylist couldn’t have had a better teacher. Roach is the most in-demand “image architect” — a term he coined to describe his ever-evolving creative role — on the planet. Last year alone, he styled 32 different covers plus ad campaigns for Valentino and Bulgari, among others. Roach’s resumé also includes designer (in June, he collaborated with Hervé Léger for the Resort 2023 collection), contributing West Coast editor of British Vogue and judge on the hit HBO Max ballroom competition show, Legendary. And his current client list includes Celine Dion, Megan Thee Stallion, Bella Hadid, Halsey, Tom Holland, Kerry Washington and so many more. But his trendy transformation of Zendaya is what put him on the map.

As fashion folklore goes, Roach met a 14-year-old Zendaya at his former store, Deliciously Vintage, in 2011. Needing a dress for the premiere of the Justin Bieber: Never Say Never documentary, the Disney Channel star had come to Roach following a tip from a family friend. She left with a silver blazer, a patent green skirt and a mentor for life.

“All my girls have a certain ‘f*ck you’ mentality to them, but I don’t think Zendaya had it when we first met,” reveals Roach. “It’s one of the things that she credits me for giving her: the gift of not caring what people have to say about her.” Regardless, in those early days, Roach struggled to find designers who would dress the rising star. So, to get attention from the press, he would purposefully pull pieces that other celebrities had worn to ensure that Zendaya would appear in the now-extinct “who wore it best” tabloid column. (Spoiler alert: She always did!) And now that she’s reached icon status, Roach hasn’t forgotten the big brands who passed on her in the beginning. In 2018, he made headlines for saying that when a brand says no to Law Roach, it’s a no forever.

However, he does admit that he’s grown up a little since then and that the challenge pushed him as a stylist. “Because these luxury labels said no for so long, I was forced to find other ways to dress her,” he says. “And I think she’s proof that you don’t need to wear big brands to become a fashion girl. We did it on our own.”

Roach knows what it’s like to start from humble beginnings. Born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, he is the oldest of five siblings and describes his family as pretty unstable. As a result, he spent most of his time with his grandmother. “I didn’t grow up reading fashion magazines; my first runway show was actually at church,” he shares with a smile. “It was a visual smorgasbord of colours, fabrics, hats, gloves and heels, and I thought it was incredible.”

During trips to thrift stores with his grandma, Roach began collecting clothes and accessories in his car. One day, a friend opened Roach’s trunk and offered to buy some of his pieces, thus birthing Roach’s vintage boutique, which would later become a full bricks-and-mortar store in Chicago and a go-to destination for Kanye West in the late 2000s.

These days, you can see Roach’s love of vintage in everything he touches. One of the most used tools in his arsenal is sourcing iconic designer dresses from the past and giving them a modern twist. (Think Zendaya in old-school Valentino and Anya Taylor-Joy in Bob Mackie.) But first, the quintessential Law Roach process starts with a deep dive into his client’s fashion history. “I want to see everything they’ve ever worn,” he shares. “We all have our fashion mistakes, so I look at them and try to figure out where things went wrong.” Next comes the “energy meeting,” which involves an intimate conversation between him and the prospective patron to see if they have chemistry. Then comes the fun part: a giant rack of clothing. The star must pull pieces they love or hate from the lineup to help him better understand their own style process. “The biggest compliment I get is that all my clients look different,” reveals Roach. “They look like themselves — just a little more elevated.”

One look he’s still incredibly proud of is the white Vivienne Westwood gown Zendaya wore to her first Oscars, in 2015. “It was just so simple, but it started a real global conversation about what’s appropriate for Black women’s hair,” he shares, referring to her choice to pair the dress with dreadlocks.

Paying homage to Black fashion figures has been a common theme throughout Zendaya and Roach’s working relationship. Previous references include Ebony magazine co-founder Eunice Johnson, performer Josephine Baker, singer Aaliyah and, of course, Beyoncé. “More than anything, I am a storyteller,” says Roach. “Zendaya and I enjoy creating a character for her on the red carpet. We also believe that the only way to truly change someone’s life is financially. So if she wears a dress by a South African designer and it sells out, you’ve made all the difference.”

I ask him if this is what he thought success would look like: styling top stars, being a judge on a hit TV show and collaborating with renowned designers. He pauses to think. For someone whose visual and TV voice is quite loud (he’s considered the Simon Cowell of Legendary), Roach is surprisingly soft-spoken when it’s just you and him sitting on a leather couch in a green room. “When I came to L.A., I knew I wanted to be considered the best,” he begins. “But I’m also a firm believer that you don’t have to know the end goal. I figured out what I love to do, and I love being successful. I get the most joy from knowing I’m inspiring somebody else and showing people like me that it’s possible.”

Roach continues to be an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the industry. In 2020, he teamed up with Chicago-based non-profit Rebuild the Hood on The fLAWless Fundraiser to financially support Black-owned fashion and beauty businesses. But are things actually changing? Roach isn’t sure. “I think the industry is very performative,” he reflects.

“I’m trying to do my part to leave as many open windows, doors, garage doors and holes in the roof as possible so other people who look like me can have opportunities. What I have learned through this job is that people want to work with people who look like them.” (Read “white.”)

And while other stylists, like Jason Bolden and Wayman and Micah, may have broken through the barricade, Roach reiterates just how tough it truly is to do so. “Being a Black stylist is the same as being Black in any industry: You are born with a sense of burden and trauma,” he explains. “If you want to be respected, you have to be 10 times better than everyone else.”

What keeps Roach fighting is the drive within him. “Being complacent is never an option for me,” he says. “There’s always something else coming my way.” Like, say, a hit reality-TV series. Having premiered in 2020, HBO Max’s Legendary (available on Crave) is a voguing series in which dance teams (or “houses”) compete to win a cash prize and earn “legendary” status. Love him or hate him, after three seasons, nearly every viewer has an opinion of Roach’s blunt judging style. His quotes have inspired a magnitude of memes, tweets and gifs. My personal favourite is the time he sang the first few bars of “Amazing Grace” and told the dancer, “I just sang at your funeral; it’s over for y’all.”

However, Roach’s tendency to roast contestants doesn’t seem to translate into real life. He reveals that he thinks of “Legendary Law” as a persona. “When I sit in that chair, I just turn into somebody else,” he laughs. “I get to play a b*tch on TV, and I enjoy it. The comments come from a place of tough love. I’ll say shocking things, but then I’ll turn around and encourage, love and support you.”

So, who is Roach when he’s not causing a red-carpet revolution or tears on a TV show? “I’m quiet. I’m at home. I’m in bed,” he shares. “I love being by myself. It doesn’t take much to make me happy. Give me a Walmart sweatsuit and fuzzy socks and I’m good.”

Hours after our interview, Zendaya, Roach’s team and the crew are long gone. He’s changed out of his fancy finery and is back in the long denim coat, plastic slides and (yes!) fuzzy socks he arrived in. No longer in front of the camera, Roach effortlessly reverts to his behind-the-scenes role and asks to see all the shots from the day, eager to pick his favourites. With expert precision, he identifies why some photos work (he loves unexpected poses, movement and composition) and others don’t (it’s all about that attitude!), and it’s easy to see why he has transcended the title of “stylist.” He’s passionate, unapologetically himself and standing on his own — exactly as he should.

Photography by NINO MUÑOZ. Creative direction GEORGE ANTONOPOULOS. Styling by ZENDAYA. Hair by KIM KIMBLE FOR A-FRAMEAGENCY.COM/KIM KIMBLE. Makeup by SHEIKA DALEY FOR DAY ONE STUDIO and FRANKIE SEGURA FOR LANCÔME. Nails by MARISA CARMICHAEL FOR FORWARD ARTISTS. Production: ALEJANDRO RESTREPO FOR COPIOUS MANAGEMENT.  Fashion assistant: TIMOTHY LUKE GARCIA. Art direction: LEO TAPEL.

The post Law Roach Is <em>FASHION</em>’s November Cover Star appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

But his latest provocation does raise a lot of questions, especially in the areas of mental illness and fashion reporting.

Kanye West is impossible to ignore for editors tasked with keeping numbers high on their websites and social media platforms. From his false and incendiary claims (slavery “sounds like a choice”) to his harassment of ex-wife Kim Kardashian, Ye is the traffic gift that keeps on giving. But it’s also painful to watch someone with bipolar disorder (he was diagnosed in 2017) so recklessly attacking others. Social media has allowed us a front-row seat to the illness and we are witnessing in real time the impulsivity that is a core feature, along with grandiose delusions, feelings of invulnerability and self-destructive behaviours. (It should be noted that some of those same qualities might have contributed to Ye’s artistic achievements as well.)

But his illness can only be blamed for so much. It is the corporations who back his fashion ventures, the consumers who buy his wares and the media who keep shining a spotlight on him (as I might be criticized for doing here) who are enabling Ye to continue to wreak havoc.

And then there’s the matter of fashion reporting.

I am old enough to remember the ’90s (and earlier!) when critics like Suzy Menkes and Cathy Horyn spoke their minds in show reviews for The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, respectively. Sometimes they would be banned from attending a show the following season, a wrist-slap that seems almost quaint today. But there’s very little critiquing now, partly because no one wants to upset a current advertiser or potential sponsor, but also because it’s up to you, the consumer, to decide what is good and what isn’t. There is just too much freedom of expression today for editors to declare what’s hot and what’s not. We show you what’s new and your choices are your business.

There is a problem, however, with what Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Versha Sharma describes as “fawning media attention” and, specifically, how it has enabled Ye to feel empowered to say and do anything he wants, without any consequences. She calls for fashion editors, journalists, headline writers, social media managers and editors-in-chief to “Please. Stop. Covering. Kanye. Uncritically.” If we do that though, don’t we need to Stop Covering Everyone Uncritically?

Fashion is just a slice of the pop culture sphere that Ye operates in, which makes his influence so potent. And also puzzling. With all the hate spewed and hurt inflicted, with his bullying of Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMA’s and alignment with racist homophobe Donald Trump, why has this man not been cancelled? Many people have for less. At press time, there was still no call to boycott Ye or his products. Does his illness provide him with a shield? Is it the traffic he generates, thanks to our ravenous appetite for voyeuristic thrills, that makes him untouchable?  Do his random acts of kindness (giving cash to the homeless, donating $2 million to the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor among them) somehow redeem him, if only temporarily?  Or is there a point at which a person becomes so famous, they are simply uncancellable?

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