Red String Magazine Tamir Tumenjargal

Fashion Culture & more

Beauty trends

Paris Fashion Week highlights Upcoming fashion designers How to choose art for your interior

Interview with designer

Philip Lim

Japanese myth “red string of fate” And many more !

Content Beauty

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Beauty 101: Red lipstick Hairstyle: How to embrace your naturally straight hair Beauty trend: Yellow for

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Fashion Paris FW21: Lanvin “If I were a rich girl” Upcoming designers: Tamir Tumenjargal on Air Pollution in Fashion

Culture

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Interview with Philip Lim on AsianAmerican culture in Fashion The ancient Japanese myth: Red string of fate - Soulmates

Beauty 101 : Red Lipstick E very woman has a beloved item or two in her wardrobe or makeup drawer that can always be counted on to deliver a reliable boost of empowering confidence: a dress with a fluid drape that’s especially flattering, for example, or a heady perfume that always attracts multiple compliments after it’s been daubed on the pulse points.

The most popular of those accessories is comparatively inexpensive, and easy to acquire, and beloved worldwide for its unique combination of boldness, strength, and self-assured sexiness: red lipstick.

Red lips are a classic but they’re always on trend as well. They’re at once classy and edgy, polished and elegant but unpretentious too. They work in a busy office—and are a truly womanly empowered accessory, unlike things like blazers and suits that are essentially feminized takes on menswear—and also on date night. With a myriad of different nuanced shades, textures, and finishes, there’s a red lipstick that’s a flattering, perfect fit for literally every woman.

Red lips and the strength they radiate has been loved by women been for centuries. Cleopatra reddened her lips, for example, with a deeply-pigmented colourant made from thousands of crushed beetles.

(That colouring, called cochineal, is actually still used in a variety of consumer items today.). The cherry-toned hue also literally signified her power, since her subjects’ lips were a more rusty tone, tinted with colouring made from red ochre, which was far less expensive to produce. Queen Elizabeth I daubed her lips in red and felt the colour would ward off evil spirits. Queen Elizabeth II has acknowledged the power of red lips as well: she commissioned a custom shade of deep crimson to be produced for her coronation in 1953, blended to precisely match her ceremonial royal robe that was worn on that day.

Today, the potency of red lipstick certainly hasn’t waned. It’s still the signature accessory of a long and diverse list of powerful women: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amal Clooney, Rihanna, and Madonna, to name just a few. (Ocasio-Cortez is a stellar example of a woman whose red lips radiate a mixture of self-assurance, resolute femininity and confident beauty.).

And it’s the colour you see most often on the lips of stylish real-life women out and about every day. For both celebrities and “civilians”, it looks polished even if you’re just wearing a t-shirt and jeans. With its implied confidence, it expressed boldness even if you’re really feeling tired or u n sure;

on stronger days, it’s the sword that intensifies and underlines every word the lips it covers utter.

Since it’s so forceful—the shade that’s not for wallflowers, if you will—some women feel that they can’t wear red lipstick. That’s truly incorrect. The trick to red lipstick’s power is to “own” wearing it—to find the one that’s right for you and know it’s the ultimate accentuator of feminine strength.

For most women, that’s actually about finding a wardrobe of reds: the perfect choice for a big meeting in the winter probably isn’t the one you’d opt for a sunny summer weekend brunch with friends.

BEAUTY TIP:

How to Embrace Your

Naturally Straight Hair

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owadays, girls are embracing their curls and going through transitions to make their curls look as luscious and bouncy as possible. Most Egyptians have curly hair which is why the transitions and curly heads are increasing drastically. This friend of mine has straight hair, while the rest of the group (including myself ) are curly heads so you can imagine how our group texts look like. Product recommendations, tips and an overall curly hair extravaganza, which automatically made our straight haired friend feel left out, therefore making her want curly hair. This situation is what triggered this out-of-the-blue article.

I started asking myself a lot of questions like ‘What lead to the curly hair transitions?’ and I realized that the situation I just explained to you above is the reason we’re all embracing our curls, well, our natural hair. It’s not about curls & coils, it’s about embracing and loving what you have whether it’s straight or curly. So, here’s how to embrace your naturally straight hair:

ONE: Make peace with your hair You won’t be getting anywhere unless you actually make peace with what you have. Accept the fact that you have straight hair, think of all the pros and find solutions for the cons. Know that this is you, embrace the real you stop thinking about what others have, be happy with what you own and just rock it.

TWO: Know you’ll have healthier hair Using a curling iron on your hair to achieve the curly hair look which will probably end up being wavy by the end of the day will do nothing but cause heat damage which is when you can start welcoming frizzy strands. Stop with the heat and

take care of your hair, find the right products and find the cut that looks best on you and is best for your hair. As soon as your natural hair becomes healthy you’ll be able to embrace it more than ever as you don’t have to worry about trying to change your natural hair texture nor will you have to deal with unhealthy hair.

THREE: You were born with it, so it’s a part of you Every single thing about you basically makes you YOU. The details scattered all of your body and personality can define who you are, its what people identify you by and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just own what you have and make the best out of it.

FOUR: Know how to deal with it The second you find ways to mix things up and make the best out of your natural texture you’ll find yourself having fun with your hair instead of giving up on it and going for the same look everyday. Experiment with braids, buns & updos so you can embrace your natural hair everyday while still keeping it looking healthy and shiny. heads were aiming for, they weren’t aiming to change their hair, but to love and make the best out of it.

In conclusion, I want you to know that no matter what type of hair you have you’re still the beautiful human being you were born to be, so don’t waste your time trying to change something natural about you because if you just learn to embrace it you’ll feel 100% more satisfied. This is what curly heads were aiming for, they weren’t aiming to change their hair, but to love and make the best out of it.

u t a y e

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n e r d T

B Yellow Eyeshadow Is The Sunny Beauty Trend To Embrace This Summer!

As the days get a little warmer and our favourite sandals make their way back into our outfit cycle, we're looking to add a little oomph to our beauty looks. And what better hue to get us in the festive springtime mood than a bright and sunny yellow?

Best products to level up your

summer make-up!

M.A.C

Eyeshadow (Chrome Yellow) €18

Dior Snow

Mono Eyeshadow €36

NARS

Eyeshadow Pro Pops €22

Sephora Laura Mercier

Color Hit €3.99

Eyepencil €32

Yves Saint Lauren Marc Jacobs Eyeliner €27

Golden Mascara €34

Paris Fashion Week: Lanvin FW21

If I was a rich girl...

Unapologetic glamour is almost controversial in the current climate. “It feels radical,” said Bruno Sialelli. “Going into a fabulous hotel and dressing up and having a party with friends was something so normal not long ago. Now, you feel challenged by it.” That was the innocent—but loaded—scene that played out in his Lanvin film, shot as a sort of alternate lockdown music video for Gwen Stefani’s Rich Girl, with a real cameo by Eve. In it, a group of young people bring their extensive Lanvin shopping spree back to the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris, dress up, and have the kind of ball that hasn’t been put on a pedestal like this since pre-pandemic times, or perhaps before the recession.

portant new Chinese buying power.

There, the appetite for excess is akin to that of the West in the early ’00s. “This community is not ashamed of having the lifestyle they have. They love fashion; they crave fashion. They’re really playing with their looks,” Sialelli said.

“For me, it’s exciting to go to China and see characters that are over-thetop and imagine how far you can go, that your ideas can have a real life.”

For millennials like Sialelli, who graduated college during the financial crisis and went into adult life with anti-excess fingers hovering above our heads, such displays of glamour are inseparably tied to the early 2000s: the old world, where Stefani and the rest of us proudly dreamed of having “all the money in the world” to “clean out Vivienne Westwood in my Galliano gown.” Sialelli grew up in the South of France with MTV as his window to the world. “My understanding of fashion was very linked to singers and actors I had been watching,” he explained on a video call from Paris. “Now, in my 30s, I’m fascinated with that period of my life, because whatever you’ve been fed as kid will follow you for the rest of your life. This collection is very personal to me.”

Look up what Lanvin did in 2004—the year Stefani released Rich Girl—and you’ll see an instant affinity between those clothes and the memories Sialelli imbued this collection with.

It’s a done-up and sexed-up but streamlined type of elegance founded in sumptuous emblems of glamour—of richness—like leopard prints, gem colors, thigh-high boots, and drapey cocktail dresses, lingerie elements, and the ever-alluring tuxedo. It wasn’t what Stefani wore in Rich Girl, but it was part of the same time, ruled by Tom Ford and Gisele Bündchen and Alber Elbaz’s Lanvin. “Honestly, I didn’t look at his collection. It’s just an emotion,” Sialelli noted. “I remember the vibe of that moment.”

If wicked tongues would say that the Lanvin man looks like the son of the Lanvin woman, Sialelli says it’s a similar acknowledgement of his clientele: a reflection of how wealthy young couples dress today. At Lanvin, Sialelli is emerging as a designer particular to his generation. While an older audience might watch his film in horror, his peers will instantly get the sentiment. And as he stressed, “It’s second-degree.

It’s ‘If I was rich girl….’” Contrary to the younger social media generations, who shamelessly flaunt their swag on the internet, the millennial generation was so affected by the recession that put an end to our own version of it that we’re constantly balancing materialistic shame with desire. “I was raised in a left-wing family…. I’m quite fascinated by a certain lifestyle and obsessed with fabulous women,” he said. Through his Lanvin, maybe it’s okay to indulge.

Last season, the designer found his stride at Lanvin in a womenswear collection that laid the foundation for a new glamorous universe. Sialelli—who wants to considerably expand the Chinese-owned house—has already seen increased interest from showbiz (Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Rita Ora) and all-im-

Lanvin

FW21

At Lanvin, Sialelli is emerging as a designer particular to his generation. While an older audience might watch his film in horror, his peers will instantly get the sentiment. And as he stressed, “It’s second-degree. It’s ‘If I was rich girl….’” Contrary to the younger social media generations, who shamelessly flaunt their swag on the internet, the millennial generation was so affected by the recession that put an end to our own version of it that we’re constantly balancing materialistic shame with desire. “I was raised in a left-wing family…. I’m quite fascinated by a certain lifestyle and obsessed with

Society

Fashion &

Designer Phillip Lim

on Asian-American Activism in Fashion

In the wake of hate crimes against Asian-Americans, the New York designer has moved his studio to Chinatown and refocused his energies toward advocacy and fundraising on behalf of the AAPI community. As he said,

‘I can no longer separate Phillip the person from Phillip Lim the brand.’

During the summer of the pandemic shutdown, fashion designer Phillip Lim moved his studio from anodyne Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan to the center of bustling Chinatown. To him, it felt like the right thing to do at a time when the historic Chinese neighborhood was reeling from racism, violence and economic depression. Mr. Lim, whose Chinese family survived the Cambodian genocide and landed in

Southern California when he was a child, wanted to be present in the community that he says “feels like home.”

Now he walks down Baxter Street daily, checks in with shop owners and eats chicken pho at Nha Trang One and pork chops at Bo Ky. He talks traditional goldsmithing at the New Top Jewelry shop. Speaking from his home in nearby Soho, Mr. Lim said, “Creativity still comes from here. Beauty still is born from here.”

Designer Phillip Lim on Asian-American Activism in Fashion It was a natural move for a well-respected designer who has increasingly become known as an organizing force in the Asian-American community and beyond. “If you look at the last 20 posts on my Instagram, it looks like I’m an activist,” he said. “It looks like that has nothing to do with fashion anymore.”

Mr. Lim has been raising awareness about anti-Asian racism and xenophobia for over a year. He first appeared on CNN to raise the alarm in February 2020 after being shaken by the news that an elderly man in San Francisco was attacked while collecting cans. He returned to speak on the network one year later, as violence against Asian-Americans continued to rise. Then came this week’s killing of eight people including six women of Asian descent in the Atlanta area, for which the investigation is still ongoing.

Mr. Lim described the news rippling through his “three different group chats of Asian excellence: the ‘Asian Avengers,’ the ‘Slaysians’ and ‘Go Fund Good Stuff’” as “a punch in the gut.” “You could feel the collective sense of loss,” he said. “And we just got back up and this means more than ever, this [activism] is more important than our day jobs.”

This week alone, Mr. Lim co-hosted and spoke at a virtual event called “Doing Something About It: Conversations about Culture, Community and our Collective Power.” The Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Fund, which he co-founded in collaboration with Go Fund Me’s chief marketing officer Musa Tariq, reached over $2 million in donations. The fund, which raises money and advocates for grassroots AAPI organizations, was developed over a period of two weeks after its organizers finished work. Since Go Fund Me is based in California, for Mr. Lim that meant logging on at 9 pm to do the

demanding work of setting up a charitable venture.

Often, those late nights would be followed by early-morning fittings for his line, 3.1 Phillip Lim. The name of the company, which he launched in 2005 with his friend and business partner Wen Zhou, is a nod to the ages of the two founders when they began it: 31. The brand occupies a sweet spot in American fashion: affordable yet low-key luxurious; interesting yet not overly designed. Mr. Lim has won awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for womenswear, menswear and accessories. His most recent fall collection was typical of his approach to elevated sportswear: Its finale look was a mix of slouchy houndstooth tailoring with a slim baby-blue cardigan.

H

aving found his groove creatively, for years Mr. Lim stayed in his lane and focused on growing his business. He explained, “When you work in fashion, people are always like, ‘Just stick to fashion, just make pretty things.’...You could never mix business with politics because then it gets not neutral anymore.”

Now, he realizes, “I can’t separate a world of fashion with the reality of what’s happening to our people.”

Of the outmoded idea that clothes should speak for themselves, he said, “Hello, that consumer has left the building. You have to speak, you have to get in front of and be the face of the brand because your customer needs to know what your point of view is, what your values are, what you stand for.” Mr. Lim asserted that his brand was now less about “physical beauty” and more about “the beauty in shared values.” He continued, “I can no longer separate Phillip the person from Phillip Lim the brand.”

One model for this kind of values-driven fashion is the conscious outdoors company Patagonia, which Mr. Lim would love to partner with in a “dream collaboration.” He explained, “Once you have that courage as a brand, it starts to automati-

cally change the marketing and the brand strategy.

And in the end, your business will be better for it.”

Mr. Lim has already begun introducing cause-driven garments, with “New York, Tougher than Ever,” the project he launched last year with creative director Ruba Abu-Nimah. The initiative does periodic drops of T-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags and key rings emblazoned with slogans including “New York, Tougher than Ever” and “Stop Asian Hate,” with 100% of net proceeds going to various charities. The line shifts focus depending on what’s going on the world; last September it released “Beirut. Tougher than Ever” hoodies in both English and Arabic after a huge explosion occurred in Lebanon.

As the youngest of six kids raised by refugees, Mr. Lim said, “I’m working hard to make sure that I don’t lose sight of where I come from.” When he was growing up his mother, Hannah, was a fulltime mom, but also a full-time seamstress. Reflecting on his own over-full plate, he remembers hers and wonders how she managed. “I do this because I want to. She did this because she had to.”

Upcoming designer:

Tamir Tumenjargal on Air Pollution and Fashion

How did you decide to make Air Pollution collection? How did you get inspired?

Nowadays we see lots of news and articles about environment pollution and climate change, it’s getting more serious. Air pollution is not seen or felt but it’s one of the biggest environment problem in the world. So I decided to make collection inspired from Air Pollution and send a message through my designs. I was inspired from motions and texture of smoke and used plastic free sustainable materials.

What do you think about this global problem?

I really admire the beauty of nature and I want it to stay as beautiful as it is now. Also I wish future kids to have a safe and healthy childhood like we did. I believe small changes can lead to big results, it’s never too late to make a change!

What’s your new collection ideas in future?

Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world. Behind our beautiful, ontrend, new season clothes there is pollution, industrial waste and child labour. I want to design sustainable and meaningful clothes rather than trendy fast-fashion clothes. Lastly, I also would like to encourage everyone to buy less and recycle more!

NEW SCENT

BY BYREDO

Some parts of modern life are, at this point, widely known to cause environmental harm — flying overseas, using disposable plastic items, and even driving to and from work, for example. But when it comes to our clothes, the impacts are less obvious.

As consumers worldwide buy more clothes, the growing market for cheap items and new styles is taking a toll on the environment. On average, people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than they did in 2000. Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity's carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams.

What's more, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year. And washing some types of clothes sends thousands of bits of plastic into the ocean.

RED STRING OF FAITH The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances.

This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. This myth is similar to the Western concept of soulmate or a destined partner.

F

or the Japanese, who know so much and intuit more, human relations are predestined by a red string that the gods tie to the pinky fingers of those who find each other in life. Legend has it that the two people connected by this thread will have an important story, regardless of the time, place or circumstances. The red string might get tangled, contracted or stretched, as surely often happens, but it can never break.

This legend, so much more aesthetic than that of the twin souls, occurs when it is discovered that the ulnar artery connects the heart with the pinky finger (which is the same reason why in many cultures promises are made by two people crossing their pinkies). The thin vein running from heart to hand extends through the invisible world, to end its course in someone else’s heart.

But unlike other amorous superstitions, the Japanese one isn’t limited to couples, or a single person who one is destined to find. It speaks of a type of arterial ramification that emerges from a finger toward all those with whom we will make history and all those whom we will help in one way or another. For the ontological imagination, the myth of the red string is a way to understand our itinerary of encounters as a predetermined plot where couples’ relationships, the intimate brushes against someone, and all the

little stories we crisscross with others are neither random triumphs nor accidents, but part of a scarlet tapestry whose threads were given to us when we were born but which we knit ourselves.

One Japanese legend tells of an old man who lives in the moon and comes out every night to search among kin spirits to reunite them on Earth, who have something to learn from each other, and when he finds them he ties a red thread to them so they find their paths. Thus, our red strings end in someone else. Accepting this, or at least considering it, is a secret consolation: it is as if our steps — stubborn as they may sometimes seem — knew the route and geography of our multiple amorous destinations, and therefore there were no “slips” or poor decisions.

There are two memorable moments in cinema that pay tribute to the subtle and mysterious aesthetic of this conductive read string: the first is the film Dolls

by Takeshi Kitano, and the second Sayonara, by Joshua Logan.

In both we find out at the end that the couples were united by the red string of destiny, and that everything that occurred before was nothing more than a plot through the route of string that would end up reuniting them.

“Journeys end in lovers meeting,” William Shakespeare said.

© RED STRING April 2021