月別アーカイブ: 2015年7月

How Skateboarder Hugo Villanova Made His Way to the Runway

The recent men’s fashion weeks highlighted a fair share of new faces, but few proved as compelling as Hugo Villanova. With blond curls, full lips, and graceful features, Villanova represents an idealized male beauty, one that designers have found irresistible. The newcomer made appearances at Public School, Dior Homme, Valentino, Tim Coppens, and Dries Van Noten, making him one of the industry’s most in-demand faces, a fact he finds surprising. “It’s unusual to find myself in this position,” Villanova tells Style.com. “I never thought of myself as a model, but getting to be a part of this [business] has been great so far.”

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Approached by scouts while visiting China with his family six months ago, the French face decided to try modeling because of the prospect of travel. At the time he was scouted, his interests lay more with skateboarding than catwalking. Back home in Bordeaux, Villanova and his friends documented their visits to skate parks, practicing tricks and uploading their best takes to social media. These days he finds time to mix work and play, posting clips of his skateboarding to Instagram as he travels the world modeling. “I love anything physical,” he confesses. “Skateboarding, biking—as long as I’m moving, I’m happy.”

Modeling has provided Villanova with one very big move, taking him from France to New York, where he temporarily relocated for work. With clients vying for his attention—he’s already shot several editorials in the short time he’s been in the city—he hopes to make the most of his new home. “I love that you can do everything here. I’m still exploring, still trying to learn all I can about fashion and New York.”

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Body confident Lena Dunham shows off her legs in a tartan print dress while filming Girls season five in NYC

Lena Dunham was spotted legging it around the set of Girls in New York on Monday while filming season five of the hit HBO show.

The 29-year-old actress – who plays Hannah Horvath in the comedic drama – was dressed in a green coloured tartan dress and styled with red accented accessories.

And during the breaks, the best-selling author sat in the director’s chair working on her laptop and sipping on healthy green drinks.

Lena looked casual chic in a patterned dress which showed off her long legs in a frock that cut just above her knees.

The girlfriend of musician Jack Antonoff covered her arms in a black cardigan which color coordinated with her leather shoulder bag.

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Her red accessories were most eye-catching including a red lip hairpin and scarlet sneakers.

Joining her on set was her on-screen mother played by actress Becky Ann Baker.

Lena appears to have maintained her trimmer figure despite fears shooting the new season of Girls would have a negative impact on her new exercise regime.

‘Promised myself I would not let exercise be the first thing to go by the wayside when I got busy with Girls,’ Lena previously vowed on Instagram.

‘It has helped with my anxiety in ways I never dreamed possible. To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it’s mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen. I’m glad I did. It ain’t about the a**, it’s about the brain.’

Also on Monday, the HBO show shared a cuddly photo of Lena with co-creator Judd Apatow.

‘Weirdest sex scene we’ve shot to date,’ the photo was captioned of Lena and Judd with their arms wrapped around each other on top of a bed.

HBO has yet to announce the premiere date of Girls but will most likely air in early 2016.

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There’s no doubt Chuck Taylors are cool. But comfortable? Not so much.

Converse plans on answering this long-standing critique on Thursday when it unveils a spiffier, pricier version of the nearly century-old sneakers. The biggest upgrade in the Chuck II, as the company is calling the revamped shoes, comes with technology imported for the first time from corporate parent Nike. Lunarlon, a lightweight, bouncy foam used in Nike’s running and basketball shoes, will now be found in Chuck’s rubber sole.

Converse Chief Executive Jim Calhoun, 48, knows exactly what people say when they gripe about his shoes: “I love them, I just wish I could wear them for more than a couple hours.”

He knows from personal experience, too. During an interview last week at new headquarters in Boston’s North End, Calhoun wore an untucked blue shirt, jeans, and black-and-white Chucks. Now he believes sneakers need to feel good to remain relevant. “Kids are growing up in a world where they know comfort, expect comfort, and won’t stand for discomfort,” Calhoun says.

Creating a more supportive shoe doesn’t sound like a groundbreaking project for a sneaker manufacturer, but few brands are quite as conservative as Converse. Simply messing with the Chuck Taylor All Star – as the iconic shoes are officially called – strikes fear into Converse fans and executives alike.

The old-style Chucks are one of the best-selling shoes of all time, with more than one billion pairs sold, and still account for a majority of Converse’s revenue. In short, people like the shoe as it has been and don’t want to see it change. Calhoun says he gets letters imploring him not to screw it up or “put a swoosh on it.” (That’s not happening, by the way.)

Chucks are that rare product that has remained a pop-culture mainstay for decades, worn by no less than JFK, the Ramones, Kurt Cobain, and Miley Cyrus. Inside the company, executives attribute much of that success to staying the same, staying classic, staying moderately uncomfortable.

“We’ve never sold more Chuck Taylors, and the company has never been as big or profitable as it is today without changing the product,” says Calhoun. “One of the curses of having an icon is a fear-particularly in the midst of success-of doing any changes.”

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Converse is on quite a run. Sales rose 21 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in May, surpassing Nike’s overall growth rate of 14 per cent, and hit $2 billion for the first time. Calhoun, who took the CEO job four years ago, decided that keeping up that pace meant embracing footwear innovation in earnest. Up to this point, newness at Converse has been centred on style and collaborations with designers like John Varvatos and Missoni, expected moves from a lifestyle brand.

Adding Nike tech will make Chucks more comfortable and conform to a footwear trend that has even seeped into dress shoes. It also gives Converse a much-needed “benefits” story, Calhoun says, something shoppers have come to expect when deciding on a smartphone or a running shoe.

Converse is also betting it will be able to charge more for an enhanced sneaker. The Chuck II, which also has better materials and a fully embroidered star logo, will fetch $15 more than the original. The price of high-tops will now be $75; revamped low-tops will sell for $70.

Still, sneaker conservatism is a hard habit to break. When the Chuck II hits stores on July 28, the revamped shoes will be sold alongside the originals. “I believe when people know that they can get a Chuck Taylor that’s super comfortable, they’ll run to the Chuck II,” Calhoun says. “Then we’ll figure out what the opportunity is for the original Chuck.”

Calhoun took the helm at Converse a decade after the shoe maker filed for bankruptcy, following stints running major divisions at Levi Strauss and Walt Disney as well as a stretch at Nike in the late 1990s as a director of basketball apparel.

Nike purchased Converse from a private equity firm for about $300 million in 2003, and by the time Calhoun showed up the retro shoes had already made a comeback and surpassed $1 billion in sales. But executives had little way to explain the sudden revival.

Early on, Calhoun recalls, he asked his executives simple questions almost as an icebreaker like: “Who is our customer?” “How are we going to keep up this growth?” He got back such drastically different answers that he soon realised there wasn’t a coherent plan. “It absolutely shocked me,” Calhoun says.

Nothing exemplified this more than Converse’s insistence to keep holding onto its past by continuing to make shoes for playing basketball – even intensifying the effort – despite little recent success. The forerunner to the Chuck Taylor debuted in 1917 as innovative footwear for the emerging sport of basketball. By the 1940s, almost every NBA player wore them.

Converse’s dominance continued for decades, helped by endorsements from superstars like Julius Erving and Magic Johnson, even as Chucks evolved into a casual shoe. In the 1980s, however, Nike and Michael Jordan would combine forces to all but own the basketball market. Calhoun decided to exit hoops in 2012 as his team reconsidered the brand. “We stopped for a second and said let’s figure out what’s working and who we are,” Calhoun says.

The cross-generational, retro appeal of Converse can obscure the fact that the company pitches itself mostly at what Calhoun calls the “active creative kid,” a teenager who doesn’t identify primarily as a jock. That niche seems to be a good fit – sales have grown an average of 15 per cent over the past three years.

After the two-year project to revamp the Chucks, this appears to be just the beginning of a shift at Converse to create a company open to borrowing from Nike. The alternative, as Calhoun sees it, would be “a company that is trying to nurture the past.”

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Don’t let the dress fool you.

The gorgeous white gown with silver sequins and velvet adorns a pure villain. Margy Ryan wears it in the Lincoln Community Playhouse production of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

Returning to the Playhouse stage for the first time since starring in “Dixie Swim Club” in 2011, Ryan will play the White Witch in an adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic.

“I’m an evil character who gets to look nice,” Ryan said of her dress designed by costumer Karen Statham.

When told her White Witch sounded a bit like Cruella de Vil from “101 Dalmatians,” Ryan agreed.

“That’s not a bad comparison,” she said. “But I want to kill children instead of puppies.”

Scary stuff.

Directed by Dustin Mosko, a graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” opens the Playhouse’s 70th season. Performances begin Friday on the mainstage.

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“Wardrobe” is the first of seven young adult novels making up Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia.” It (and the play) tell the story of four children (Carson Cash, Amanda Schumacher, Matt Stephens and Colleen O’Gara) who inadvertently wander from an old wardrobe into the exciting, never-to-be-forgotten Narnia, where the great lion Aslan (Walter J. McDowell III) struggles against the White Witch (Ryan).

For Ryan, the play is sort of coming full circle for her. A veteran of 39 shows in 17 years, she first appeared in a children’s classic: the stage adaptation of Madeline L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” in February 1998 at the Playhouse. Ryan had a supporting role in “Wrinkle,” a play that featured her daughter Caitlin (McCleery) Casella as the lead, Meg.

“My daughter and I both loved the book,” Ryan remembered. “She was active in the Playhouse, doing tech and acting. She always kept saying, ‘you need to come and audition with me.’”

Ryan admitted to being a Lewis fan. She’s read “Wardrobe” multiple times and seen the movie and BBC series. She also played Aunt Letty in “The Magician’s Nephew,” the sixth book in the Narnia collection and a prequel to “Wardrobe.”

She showed up to auditions hoping to land the Aslan role. She even frizzed up her long hair into a bushy mane.

“I thought it would be fun,” she said, “but I got the witch.” Not that she’s complaining, because “evil is always fun to play.”

This isn’t even her first time as a witch on stage. She portrayed one of three in Flatwater Shakespeare’s production of “Macbeth,” but noted that director Bob Hall toned down the witchy aspects of the characters.

“He said there would be no cackling, no pointy hats and no green makeup,” she recalled. “I do some cackling (in ‘Wardrobe’), but there’s no pointy hat. It’s a crown.”

And a beautiful white dress.

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Plus Size Bride Tania Jennings Spent Over 1000 Hours Crocheting Her Dream Wedding Dress

We hear the stories and see them on all of the wedding TV shows: Women who are willing to do anything, travel any distance, and pay any amount for their dream wedding dress. A plus size crocheted wedding dress is going viral for taking that to the extreme. Tania Jennings from Chesham, England spent over 1000 hours creating the 150 pieces for her unique, offbeat wedding gown.

Using various shades of purples and white, the pieces making up the overlay and train took Jennings seven months to create — including the last few hours before the wedding. “The photographer asked me, ‘Tania, do you think you might actually finish the dress today?’” she told WHAS-11. “I just laughed and said, ‘Yes, I will finish at three o’clock.’ They asked how I knew and I just said, ‘Look, that’s when I have to get my hair and makeup done so I can go marry my best friend.’”

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The various pieces of the dress took between two and 80 hours to complete, depending on the size. Jennings said she has been crocheting since she was three years old, but she had never crocheted lace before — which posed some challenges and made her question her decision. “There were a lot of tears along the way as I tried to learn new techniques, ripped out pieces that just weren’t working right, and tried to envision what it was going to look like,” she said.

The final result not only allowed this bride to wear something uniquely suited to her tastes and needs, but it also celebrated her family and the people in attendance. Jennings said that she added different little pieces that were meaningful to people in her life like “an elephant for my younger daughter Bridgette, a tulip for my daughter Gabby, my husband wanted a martini glass on the dress, a friend of my daughter’s requested a giraffe, another a turtle, and so on… It became a bit of a game at the reception for everyone to find ‘their’ piece.”

While dress choices are overwhelming for most, plus size women can have a harder time finding a gown due to the diminished selection over a bridal size 14. Never mind that bridal sizes typically run two to three sizes smaller than standard sizing! The majority of gowns at your average shop, and even more size inclusive wedding retailers like David’s, are going to be for a size 14 or under. It’s hard out there for a plus size bride!

Whether Jennings struggled to find something that she felt suited her perfectly or whether she was just choosing to opt out of a mountain of ivory taffeta and “bling,” her customized dress is pretty perfect. Although it’s not for every bride, it seems so fitting that Jennings chose to create something that was meaningful to her, her family, and that she connected with so deeply over a course of seven months. On a day about celebrating love, commitment, and family, there couldn’t be another dress more perfect.

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As Islamic fashion is becoming a global industry, plenty is happening on the couture front.

The characteristic scent of Arabic perfumed oils linger around the entrance of Selfridges, a high-end Central London department store, where abaya-clad women from the Arabian Peninsula can often be seen searching for their latest luxury item in the Louis Vuitton and Gucci boutiques. Fashion-interested and with money to spend, Gulf Arabs also flock to the iconic British shopping mecca Harrods, which was bought by the Qatari royal family in 2010 from Egyptian businessman Mohamed al-Fayed.

Wealthy Middle Eastern consumers have long enjoyed shopping in European fashion capitals, but now Muslim fashion designers are increasingly claiming their own space in the world’s fashion scene.

“Islamic chic” is a fast-growing market. The State of the Global Islamic Economy 2014-2015 report shows that Muslim consumers spent around $266 billion on clothing globally in 2013. And Thomson Reuters, which co-commissioned the study, estimates that figure will increase to about $484 billion by 2019.

AAB IN EAST LONDON

Aab, one of the world’s leading Islamic clothing retailers, opened its first boutique in East London this spring. Complementing its online offering, the physical store opened its doors to a crowd of 2,000 people eagerly awaiting its arrival.

The opening of Aab’s London shop is the first in an international long-term growth strategy that includes expanding to key international fashion and financial hubs in the Middle East, Malaysia and Indonesia over the next three years. “With the success of our first flagship boutique in London, we plan to open more in the UK and overseas due to the demand for our brand,” says Nazmin Alim, creative director of Aab.

“[With] the population of young Muslims rising, they have [significant] spending power as this is the generation that are now independent, working and exposed to media in more ways than one,” Alim adds.

As Islamic fashion is becoming a global industry, plenty is also happening on the couture front. The Islamic Fashion Festival, which started in 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, has been held 17 times to date in cities that include New York, London, Jakarta, Dubai and Singapore. Names like Sydney-based Frida Deguise, Rabia Z and young trend-aware Muslim fashion lovers, dubbed “hijabistas,” are leading a modest fashion revolution with their own brands, garnering hundreds of thousands of followers on social media in the process.

“The new younger generation want to be modern without compromising on their halal lifestyle,” says Salma Chaudhry of The Halal Cosmetics Company, which launched in 2013. “We’re in a society where any and all information is at our fingertips, ladies are chatting and sharing information on social media particularly about topics like beauty and fashion all the time.”

Chaudhry, who will be speaking about her cosmetics range in Saudi Arabia, France and Azerbaijan this year, predicts both the Islamic fashion and beauty industries are on the cusp of something big.

“Muslims of this generation are embracing their identity, and businesses that do not cater to this huge consumer sector will be left behind. I think that halal cosmetics will be as readily available as any other types of beauty products pretty soon. The industry is still in its infancy and the future is about to boom,” she says.

QUIRKY TURBAN HAUTE COUTURE

Iman Aldebe is a Stockholm-based fashion designer who focuses on quirky turban interpretations as an alternative way of wearing the hijab. Raised in a religious Muslim family from Jordan—“I hated my mother’s baggy and shapeless clothes,” she says—Aldebe studied design at high school and started creating dresses for friends’ graduations and weddings at an early age.

DESIGNER IMAN ALDEBE. PHOTO: BINNIAM ESKENDEREach one of her trendy pieces is hand-made. Her collections are sold in exclusive galleries in Sweden, Paris and Dubai. “I’m always at the forefront because I’ve worked with Muslim fashion during a large part of my upbringing. It used to be men designing women’s clothes but now women have taken over,” she says.

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The daughter of a religious leader and politician in Sweden, Aldebe’s groundbreaking quest to modernize Muslim fashion provoked the conservative views of Islamist and right-wing extremists alike. “If you are paving the way for something new, you can count with a certain resistance,” she says.

When one of Aldebe’s female friends attended Polishögskolan (Police College) in Sweden and needed a suitable hijab, Aldebe was commissioned to create the hijab that now forms part of the official Swedish police uniform. The task, complicated by security considerations, resulted in is a sleek, stylish, yet highly functional hijab that seamlessly blends with the required headgear. So far, just one Swedish police officer wears it for work. But Aldebe will soon be creating an official military hijab for the Swedish army (in camouflage), as well as another for women working in pharmacies and hospitals.

CHALLENGING NORMS

Aldebe is currently working on her first Islamic clothing line for both men and women for the Arabian Peninsula, particularly Riyadh and Dubai. Combining Swedish style with long, traditional garments, her norm-breaking collection is all-white for both sexes, challenging the Gulf norm that women should wear black and men white. The white collection aims to strengthen women’s role in society and promote equality. “Sometimes, clothes have a larger impact than politics,” she says.

Making art out of fashion, Aldebe says, has always been a tool for her to try to eliminate prejudices and open up the eyes of the fashion world to other cultures and religious influences. “I want to show the emergence of strong, individualistic, intelligent, independent and driven women with a different background from the Swedish one, and that are Muslim,” she explains. “I’ve wanted to eradicate the image of the oppressed Muslim woman that voluntarily isolates herself from society to live on welfare and produce babies.”

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the second largest consumer of Muslim clothing in the world, spending $22.5 billion in 2013. In first place is Turkey, with $39.3 billion spent on the merchandise in the same year. “When I was asked to change UAE’s traditional outfits, I discovered that the men’s traditional garments have remained the same for centuries. But colored female abayas are now slowly being accepted,” Aldebe says.

“Since I’m not confined to a certain norm, it’s been easier for me to think outside of the box and to create something modern, particularly after the Arab Spring,” she continues. But she has stuck with the wealthy region’s penchant for silk, pearls and Swarovski crystals, which features heavily in her newest designs.

Anas Sillwood, manager of Jordan-based Islamic clothing company Shukr, points out that most women, however, don’t wear haute couture. “The majority of Muslim women wouldn’t wear turbans. But Muslim women are looking for nice evening gowns to wear to special occasions,” he says. “At Shukr, we’re trying to meet some really pressing needs in the Muslim community.”

“Shukr’s sales are highest in the summer months because Muslims can’t find mainstream alternatives. In the winter months, sales slow down because the clothes become more modest in mainstream stores,” says Sillwood.

“Ideally, Muslims have a very balanced approach towards clothing—they want to look presentable and beautiful, but they don’t become obsessed with it, or with the latest fashion,” he adds.

BEYOND “MUSLIM COOL”

The term “Muslim Cool” relating to fashion was coined by ethnologist Leila Karin Österlind in her doctoral thesis on Muslim fashion that has the working title, “Next Year in Dubai Incha Allah. Islamic Fashion and Muslim Cool.” The concept works in two ways: It includes how trendy hijabistas like Instagram star Mariam Moufid and fashion blogger Dina Tokio dress, as well as the way in which Muslim fashion affect mainstream Western brands—for example, H&M’s offering of harem trousers and Moroccan-style kaftans in its collections.

A DESIGN BY JORDAN FASHION HOUSE SHUKR. PHOTO SUPPLIEDÖsterlind points to how this has also infiltrated wider male fashion: The now-infamous hipster beard, the height of its popularity occurring a few years ago and much-spotted in capital cities worldwide, was originally an expression of Muslim Cool. According to Österlind, there are mainly two trends that are taking over the global Muslim fashion scene: tight outfits combined with wraps or turbans and Khaleeji-influenced (Gulf style) abayas, and large, built-up hijabs. “Being a Muslim today is increasingly connected to consumption,” Österlind toldSwedish newspaper DN in April.

While valid as a description of previous trends, both “Muslim Cool” and “Mipsterz” are now dated terms according to Aldebe—as is “Muslim fashion” itself. She says that Islamic-inspired fashions are becoming more and more mainstream.

“The pressure for fashion profiles and celebrities to always be the first to deliver inspiring looks has contributed to an increased acceptance of the unknown. Trends shift so quickly today, so people are happy to get inspired from other cultures and religions,” she says.

Sillwood believes Islamic international fashion companies will emerge to compete in the fashion industry. He says that Turkish companies, while much bigger than Western Islamic clothing companies, are heavily influenced by Turkish fashion, which is not appreciated everywhere, and they are unlikely to become major international brands.

“Overall, the Islamic fashion industry will become more and more similar to the mainstream fashion industry—in terms of presentation and style of clothing. Because of the globalization of Western mono-culture, it is probably Western Islamic clothing companies that have the greatest chance of becoming major international fashion companies,” he says.

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Life in the Boomer Lane has just returned from Santa Fe. Having been there many years ago, she was eagerly anticipating the art, the food, the vistas, the laid back vibe, and the magical mix of Indian/Latino/Caucasian culture. She will bypass all of this to tell her readers about some of the extraordinary people she met under the most ordinary of circumstances, in the shops and galleries she visited. These people, whether born in Santa Fe or in New York City or in any other place in the country, have chosen to make Santa Fe their home. These people are the heart of Santa Fe.

Norma, the sales clerk, appeared as a vision, in the first store LBL and her friend, Sandy, entered. LBL is a huge fan of the blog Advanced Style, and Norma looked like she had stepped from the blog directly into LBL’s line of vision. From a long career as an artist and designer, Norma and her husband settled in Santa Fe, to soak in the arts and the culture, and to inspire whoever might cross her path. LBL told her she would write about her in her blog, and so she needed Norma’s last name. Norma asked, “Which last name? I have two.” LBL has now looked up both of her last names (Andraud and Sharon), and it turns out she is well-known with either. One is her art work, the other her fashion design. She doesn’t have an inspiration website, but she should. She is a master at that.

LBL and Sandy asked Norma where they should eat, and her first suggestion was a restaurant called The Shed, right near the main plaza. They went there for dinner, and the place was packed. The hostess suggested that they stand at the bar, and, if seats were available, could be served there. In awhile, they did get seats at the bar, next to three people who were already eating. LBL, being polite, smiled and introduced herself and asked them where they were from. The married couple was from Austin, TX, their friend from Oklahoma. The woman from Austin was a Methodist minister, here in Santa Fe to officiate at a wedding.

After awhile, LBL, again simply being polite, leaned over and commented to the husband how lucky is wife was to be officiating in Santa Fe. She asked him if the bride and groom were paying their way. His answer was, “It’s a groom and groom, and no. The church doesn’t allow my wife to marry same sex couples, so we have come here so that my wife can officiate until the last sentence that says, “I now pronounce you…” She will leave that sentence out. In that moment, all of LBL’s preconceived notions about these people flew out the window. She said to the husband, “Soon, there will be no such thing as same-sex marriage. There will simply be marriage.” He shook his head and answered, “Amen to that.”

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Kathleen Piccione was seated at a desk in Gallery One, one of the 300 art galleries and studios that wind their way up the legendary Canyon Road, Santa Fe’s most famous street. Kathleen is sweet, she is welcoming, she is beautiful. She is a vision of young, artsy-looking Santa Fe. LBL thought how lucky she must be to have a job that surrounds her with such beautiful art, until she asked Kathleen who the artist was. It was Kathleen, herself. The work was hers, as well as the gallery. Originally from Wisconsin, Kathleen is largely self-taught. She pointed to a stunning portrait of a young Indian girl. Kathleen found the girl at a powwow, painted her, and has now entered the painting in an international art competition. You can see her work on her website and the painting she has entered at Art Prize 2015.

The Railroad District is a part of Santa Fe that, until some years ago, was simply, well, the railroad staging area. Gradually, young artists and gallery owners began to buy up the cheap spaces that surrounded the tracks. Now, the area is filled with galleries, shops, and the Santa Fe Farmers Market. One of the galleries LBL and Sandy went into was owned by a sculptor, Joyce Stolaroff, who bought the cavernous space to start a gallery some years ago. Joyce sculpts dogs: big, black dogs. They were all over the place. They were beautiful, scary, intimidating, friendly, depending on one’s belief system about big, black dogs. This is what Joyce had to say:

“Did you know that black dogs are euthanized at a much higher rate in shelters than any other kind of dog? But the few black dogs that are adopted go on to live lives in which they are loved, cared for, valued. I think about this all the time. What makes one dog a throwaway and another an object of love? It’s like what makes one person a throwaway and another an object of love? So I create most of the dogs like the ones you see here, the ones that never make it. Then, I make a few that are gilded. These are the lucky ones, the ones who are deemed precious.” Her words stayed with LBL long after she left the gallery.

Joyce works tirelessly for the dignity of all dogs. She uses her art for fundraising events and is constantly trying to raise people’s awareness. You can see Joyce’s work and feel her passion at Wheelhouse Art Gallery.

The William Siegal Gallery is a huge, slick, contemporary art gallery on the outskirts of the Railroad District. By the time LBL and her friend entered it, they were becoming brain-dead from art overload. But there, amid the huge contemporary works of art, were the “Retablos” of Victor Huaman Guitierrez, a self-taught folk artist from Peru.

Guitierrez is 38-years-old and has always lived in the place he was born, a remote village in the Central Highlands of Peru. His journey as an artist began at the age of eleven when he saw a Retablo for the first time. Retablos are a key part of the Peruvian culture and originally served as religious shrines, but have evolved to include depictions of secular scenes of daily life and traditional events. Victor has since dedicated himself to this ancient art form that originated in the nearby town of Ayacucho.

Guitierrez is one of fifteen siblings, seven of whom died at an early age due to malnutrition and other hardships of living in extreme poverty. To this day, as a result of these harsh conditions, he is ill at ease with much of adult life. He has a singular manner of speaking, is unusually shy and sheltered for his age, often struggling to fit in. He lives in the village of Quinua with his now elderly parents, in a rustic adobe house with no indoor plumbing. He works in almost complete isolation, in a small corner of his home reserved as his “studio”, surrounded by the clutter of family belongings. His materials include a local brand of children’s water color paints, a variety of odds and ends he finds on his daily walks and brushes he makes from hair that is either his own or that of the cat, burro or goat.

What astonished LBL about Guiterrez’ Retablos was the cultural perspective they are drawn upon. Guiterrez, whose only perspective would seem to be defined by his tiny village, instead makes artistic statements that are more indicative of world-traveled and highly educated individuals. It would be like someone growing up without a piano, sitting down one day in a music store, and beginning to play Mozart.

Gallery Director Eric Garduno told LBL that Guiterrez was actually in Santa Fe that very week to participate in the huge, annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, that draws artists and collectors from all over the world. Because the William Siegal Gallery carried Guiterrez’ work (the only folk art they have ever carried), they were hosting him. This was his first time out of Peru.

“For the last couple days, we have been doing fork training,” Eric said. Thinking this was a new art form, LBL asked him to explain. “Victor has never used a fork to eat. We thought he should know how to do that, for all the events that will take place this weekend.”

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Cowgirl fashion and rodeo lifestyles got off to a rip-roaring start on a recent weekday night at the Miss Rodeo South Dakota competition as the ladies came out dancing to country music.

Mikayla Sich, 22, of Brookings, hit the stage in a white hat and a purple dress and boots for the modeling portion of the competition. It was a standout wardrobe of vibrant colors that was difficult to resist.

In the speech and on-stage question portion of the pageant, Sich spoke in a pleasant South Dakota singsong, citing former Miss Rodeo America Jennifer Smith as an inspiration for her stage career and speaking about her own plans to conquer the world of broadcast journalism.

The four women in the main competition all performed well together and individually at the Belle Fourche Area Community Center on July 2. Two days later, Sich, 22, of Brookings, was selected as the next Miss Rodeo South Dakota Lady in Waiting.

She was crowned by last year’s winner, Kendra Peterson, of Sisseton, who was given a heartfelt sendoff by Miss Rodeo South Dakota President Ted Thompson and National Director Cindy Wilk.

“It’s hard to put into words the bond we have with these girls,” Wilk said.

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Peterson tried to keep things short, saying that “if you give a rodeo queen a mic, she’ll keep talking.”

Peterson’s reign will end in December, after she competes at Miss Rodeo America at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. Sich will compete in December.

Sich wasn’t lacking competition: Her fellow contestants, Carrietta Schalesky of Bison, Shamee Merkel of Aberdeen, and Stephanie Gruener of Brandt, all performed admirably.

Schalesky wore a red leather dress with a cowhide design on the skirt and a white hat. Her speech praised the work ethic of South Dakotans and an on-stage question gave her time to speak of her travels in South Africa.

Gruener wore a purple dress with a white hat and spoke of her background in agriculture.

Merkel’s white dress, hat and boots all matched beautifully as she gave an energetic speech about her greatest inspiration, her grandmother. Her on-stage question gave her time to talk about her background in physical therapy.

Each contestant had a chance to speak about what South Dakota meant to them and about their own inspirations, but it was Sich’s speech about how South Dakota is shaped by its weather that won over the crowd.

In the Junior Miss Rodeo South Dakota pageant, Bailey Bosworth of White Lake was crowned by last year’s winner, Martina Loobey of Sturgis.

Bosworth’s gray dress with blue satin ruffles was accentuated by her black boots and hat, and her amiable on-stage presence and speech about South Dakota’s self-reliance won over the crowd.

She was joined in the competition by Victoria Hagg of Rapid City and Tyler Flintz of Aberdeen. Hagg hit the stage in a red satin gown with a black hat while Flintz wore a green satin and lace gown.

The contestants also competed in a horsemanship section on July 3. Wilk said that she looked forward to working with Sich and Bosworth in the future, and said that they’d be excellent role models for future Miss Rodeo South Dakota contestants.

“Their job is to promote the sport of rodeo and to be all around well-rounded girls and good role models,” Wilk said. “And I have faith in them and in all of the girls.”

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When contemplating the nature of love, don’t you ever hark back to the good old days when marriages were prudently negotiated? When a relationship was built on solid, practical ground? Like how handy your potential boo was with a plough, or how well they could withstand an acute bout of dropsy? Married At First Sight runs with this commendably pragmatic attitude towards coupling, combines it with shit-hot science, and takes sexual chemistry back to its natural home: the laboratory.

It hopes to show that modern medical technology can break love down to its component parts with genome sequencing, things written meaningfully on to clipboards, dippers whooshed about in spit samples, and questionnaires analysing the very foundations of how you love. Evidence is then sifted and a slick, biologically watertight and hormonally compatible union created between willing volunteers, the strength of which is tested by a very real and legally binding on-the-spot wedding. What Channel 4 joins together let no man put asunder.

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The concept of a dating show that – all going well – ends in holy matrimony is not new to TV, as fans of high-quality broadcasting such as The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad will note. As the extensive lab coats illustrate, though, Married At First Sight is an in-depth study of partnership. And if, after five weeks of closely documented will-they-won’t-they, they don’t, the matched couples are offered a very real and sensible divorce. I’ll admit, I don’t know a lot about wedded bliss, but I know these contestants won’t be the first people to walk down the aisle repeating the mantra that it doesn’t have to be for ever, so at least an element of tradition remains.

The tumbleweed love lives of the urban millennials involved is a symptom of a wider problem, the programme suggests. Thirty-one-year-old Emma is pretty typical of the test subjects as she stoically tells us about how she buggered up her chances of happiness with modern indulgences like “turning up to work”. Across the board, in fact, the hopefuls say that they’ve found themselves unexpectedly in their 30s – around the time most Londoners start idly fantasising about moving from their seven-person houseshare and settling down in a nice cupboard above a butcher’s/VHS outlet – single and sapped of any inclination to mingle.

The show’s scientific approach – and especially the Phones 4 U-inspired rolling contract to commitment – seems like a much better option than a solid decade of terrible dates. But, as most people will tell you, love can’t be quantified with beakers and charts. There is something ethereal in the bond that unites two souls, and it’s best summed up as the mortal fear of dying alone. Maybe the question isn’t whether modern science can determine compatibility, but whether five weeks is long enough to convince yourself that the person you’re now waking up next to is a better alternative than pegging it on the floor beneath a Morrisons turkey dinner for one. Or “let love grow”, if you want to get poetic about it.

This, I’m sure, is the real reason for love’s endurance, and trying to foretell how strong that love will be probably yields results similar to casting a chicken’s entrails over a divining table. This visual metaphor brings us nicely to the delicate matter of if and when the couples will cultivate the petri dish. Mash the mitochondria. Partake in a bit of horizontal housekeeping. When will the couples consummate their holy vows is what I’m trying to hint at here. At this stage, it’s unclear exactly how probing Married At First Sight’s research will be, but I’ll take my cue from the innocent optimism of the participants and hold out hope for some awkward night-vision footage.

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The fifth edition of Africa Fashion Week London, which is scheduled to hold between 7th and 8th of August at the Olympia, London, is set to deliver a platform that might change the economics of design on the continent.

Since debuting in 2011, Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) has gone from strength to super-strength in its attempt to change how fashion is done and perceived in Africa. The balance of trade is tilted towards the developed west, because the African fashion industry, although harbouring a few out-of-the-box successes, is still largely undeveloped, with over a billion people to cater for. AFWL hopes to solve this conundrum, by showcasing young, upcoming, and unknown African designers to the world.

“It’s a conscious decision we made,” AFWL’s creative director, Sola Oyebade told THISDAY during a press conference in Lagos announcing the fifth edition. “We don’t go for the big names. We try to give a platform to young designers and help push their products out there. We’ve had top designers approach us, but told them, no, this is not your market.”

This, the bringing of the unknown to global consciousness, is invaluable in setting up the continent as a fashion destination. A plethora of accomplished designers can only be a good thing, as it boosts retail trade, even across the Atlantic. It probably accounts for why the South African Department of Trade and Industry is sponsoring 20 designers to AFWL 2015. Other African countries, including Nigeria, should do the same.

About 68 designers from all parts of the world will take part in the two day event, which will have three shows per day.

“Last year, we had designers that came from Thailand showcasing African fabrics. They are coming again this year. We also have designers coming from Uganda, Hong Kong and other places. So those two days, the 7th and 8th August will be remarkable for fashionistas ,” Oyebade said.

There will also be emerging designers such as Taiwanese Aimme Ku, who is flying the flag for Africa-inspired fashion in her native Taipei City; and a welcome back for one of the favourites of the 2014 catwalk, Nigerian designer, Needlepoint. The winner of the Mercedes Benz Best Designer in Africa, Mary Martin, will also make her bow on the AFWL 2015 catwalk.

The AFWL 2015 brand ambassadors are top models, Victoria Michaels and Noella Musunka Coursaris. Michaels is one of the most sought-after models for leading businesses in Africa. She has played major roles in commercials for Hertz Rent-a-car, Vodafone, MTN, Nexcafe, Da-Vica and Bela-Aqua mineral water. Noella, meanwhile, is also an international model and the founder of Malaika, a non-profit organisation which is aimed lives in her native Democratic Republic of Congo.

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“It feels really great to be chosen as the Brand Ambassador for a globally acclaimed proudly African event like the African Fashion Week London,” Michaels has said. “I am particularly excited to be part of this grand platform that showcases the original African creativity, style and talent.

“We have a very rich fashion culture and I look forward to working with inspiring African designers from both within the continent and the Diaspora as we thrill and dazzle the world with authentic mind-blowing designs that speaks only of our incredible creativeness.” For Noella, she is “delighted to be serving on this year’s Brand Ambassador to Africa Fashion Week London, and to help showcase the brilliant work of African designers. It has always been my belief that fashion can be a tool for breaking down barriers and transcending cultures.

“This industry has the ability to put Africa on the world stage and can provide for countless job opportunities on the ground and abroad, from local factories to international shops. It is time for the world to see the amazing talent that lies within Africa.”

Maggie Smith takes over from Chi-Chi Nwuba as the face of AFWL 2015, after being chosen in a pubic via social media. “Maggie is of Ugandan/Scottish heritage and with her beautiful personality and impressive work ethic, she is an excellent ambassador for African fashion, and the perfect representative for Africa Fashion Week London,” a press statement read.

“I’m so proud to be the face of AFWL 2015. The journey so far has been very overwhelming and the support I’ve had so far is incredible. I look forward to the rest of this experience, and I intend to enjoy every minute,” Maggie said. Moving Forward

A rare combination of brains and beauty, Ronke Ademiluyi is the founder and headmistress of the AFWL team. At the press conference, she wears a warm smile as she touches, in brief words, on how AFWL has managed to survive to its fifth birthday.

“A lot of fashion weeks that started with us have died. We try to do everything on a very tight budget,” she says, “but if you are walking with the right team, it makes things look very easy. And, this year, a lot of people wanted to see more, and that’s why we have a larger cast of exhibition and designers, and why we are very diverse with the choices we make.”

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