Faux | Observe

Artidote.

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The Infinite Colors of the Flesh.

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Beauty Through the Decades.

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Lost in Identity.

Youth.

47 Burdened by Beauty.

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How the Sneaker Culture Conquered the World.

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To My Dearest...

| THE OBSERVE ISSUE | We are sun and moon, dear friend; we are sea and land. It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is: each the other’s opposite and complement.

- Hermann Hesse, Narcissus and Goldmund The “Observe” issue is a celebration of all of us, no matter how different.

“Observe” is about seeing all of our uniqueness, and accepting that we are all one. Exploring culture, identity, and what it is to be the minority, this issue lets you “observe” the beauty in every aspect of ourselves and others.

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Beijing Ariways Observe the world one country at a time.

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Written by: Margaret Rhodes

Perhaps, in the near future, besides wearing mobile devices on our faces and sporting unisex high-waisted pants, we’ll cease to refer to people as black or white, or some variant in between.

Instead, we’ll use their corresponding Pantone color to describe the tone of their skin.

If this happens, we’ll have to thank artist Angelica Dass for building the first database of skin hues. Dass started her project, Humanae, in April 2012, by photographing some of her Brazilian family members. Dass created a system of color classification– the process of which is rigorous and systematic: the background of each portrait is tinted with a color tone identical to a sample of 11x11 pixels taken from the subject’s skin—usually from the well-lit cheek area—which was then matched to a Pantone hue. She does this with all her photographs for Humanae, which now number around 2,000. Collectively, they create a gorgeous index of pink, brown, honey, and taupe (the list goes on)— hues that correspond to all possible skin pigmentations– its horizontality not only formal, but also ethical.

Dass intends to deploy a chromatic range of the different human skin colors. Those who pose are volunteers who have known the project and decide to participate. There is no previous selection of participants and there are no classifications relating to nationality, gender, age, race, social class or religion. Nor is there an explicit intention to finish it on a specific date. It is open in all senses and it will include all those who want to be part of this colossal global mosaic. The only limit would be reached by completing all of the world’s population.

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the PANTONE ® guides, which gives the collection a degree of hierarchical horizontality that dilutes the false preeminence of some races over others based on skin color or social condition.

A photographic taxonomy of these proportions has been rarely undertaken; those who preceded Angélica Dass were characters of the 19th century that, for various reasons - legal, medical, administrative, or anthropological - used photographs to establish different types of social control of the power. The best-known is that of the portraits of identity, initiated

by Alphonse Bertillon and now used universally. However, this taxonomy adopts the format of

Thus, with the extraordinary simplicity of this semantic metaphor, the artist makes an “innocent” displacement of the socio-political context of the racial problem to a safe medium, the guides, where the primary colors have exactly the same importance as that of the mixed ones.

It even dilutes the figure of power that the photographer usually holds. The use of codes and visual materials belonging to the imagery that we all share leaves in the background the self-referentiality of the artist, insistent and often tiresome.

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“Humanae is a pursuit to highlight the subtle continuity of our tones that make more equality than difference… our true colors, rather than the untrue Red and Yellow, Black and White. It is a kind of game for subverting our codes.

The ultimate goal is to provoke and bring currently, using internet as a discussion platform on identity, creating images that lead us to see past factors such as nationality, origin, economic status, age or aesthetic standards,” says Dass, who is the “granddaughter of a ‘black’ and ‘native’ Brazilian and the daughter of a ‘black’ father adopted by a ‘white’ family.”

Each individual portrait is pretty monochromatic. But when all the Humanae images are viewed together, as they are on Dass’s website, it is hard to escape the 08

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awe of seeing exactly just how nuanced skin tone can be. Some faces that would typically pass as “white,” are practically hot pink. Two people who look like they might be siblings could actually have opposite base tones of yellow and red.

Diversity is important to Bass, and not just for skin tone. She’s photographed at art fairs and galleries, but then expanded to favelas, NGO offices, the headquarters of UNESCO, and even cooperatives that work with the homeless. She has shot in Madrid, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paris, Chicago, and Winterthur, Delaware.

Uruguay and Madrid are on the docket for spring.

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Every subject is a volunteer, and Dass plans to find more, hopefully soon in Africa and Asia: “Humanae is a work in progress, is infinite and unfinished,� she says. It is an ever growing catalogue that shows us how we are not so different after all.

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BEAUTY

PHOTOGRAPHY: Jasmine Craciun

Visual Concept – Flesh and features are replaced with thick strokes of pigment, reflecting the thoughts & emotions that lay concealed below our appearance that deeply shape our identities. The juxtaposition of the black and white photography with the vibrant acrylic paints distorts the facial features of the subject although they still hold much expression.

When we think of 1940s makeup, we usually

think of rounded red lips. This, more than any other aspect of 1940s makeup, defines the era and spans women of all classes from all around the world.

But there’s more to 1940s makeup than just red lipstick! Here we will look at makeup in general during the decade, how the war affected product availability, and the canny way women invented and “made do” to keep up appearances. War was not going to stop women having a little glamour.

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BEAUTY

A FEW SIMPLE BRUSH STROKES OF OUR FAMOUS MASCARA WILL MAKE YOUR LASHES APPEAR NATURALLY DARKER, LONGER & MORE LUXURIANT...

EYESHADOW & EYELINER

Wartime meant eye shadows were hard to come by, so homemade solutions were found. For example, to create a soft and smoky eye shadow, women could burn a candle under a saucer, producing a sooty residue which could then be mixed with petroleum jelly. After the war, more coloured eye shadows started to be seen, especially blues and greens. Eye liner started to be worn on the upper eyelids in the late 40s.

EYE BROWS

Brows were kept groomed, shaped and defined with brow pencil. Brows could be arched or rounded in shape. 1940s brows had more to them than the thin brows of the preceding two decades, but were not left overgrown or too wide or full.

- Maybelline

MASCARA

Mascara came in liquid, paste and solid cake formulations, with a little brush. Women would spit onto cake mascara, work it into the colour with the brush before applying the resulting mix to their eyelashes. One of the women we spoke to recalled, “You could get a lovely build up with it!”

Mascara predominantly came in black, with blue and brown also being produced. During the war, burnt cork could be used as a mascara substitute if you’d run out of the block kind.

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ESSENTIAL ITEMS

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BEAUTY

MOVIE STARS

The overall makeup look of the 1940s was natural, from pale to slightly tanned skin tones, penciled in brows, a lashing of mascara and a rosy glow to the cheeks, topped off with a splash of red lipstick glamour.

Whatever a woman’s background or class, they always made an effort to look groomed with what little they had. The big selling makeup brands were Max Factor, Revlon, Helena Rubinstein, Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder. Other brands include Gala, Bourjois, Yardley, Coty and Rimmel.

Going to the pictures was a popular way to spend an evening and the glamour of the movie stars was admired and copied by women everywhere. Joan Crawford’s lipstick shape, known as “the smear” or Hunter’s Bow, was created by Max Factor for Joan in the 1930s and was much copied into the 1940s.

FOUNDATION

Foundation colours were geared towards “healthy glow” providing a natural look or a slight tanned look, like Helena Rubinstein Beach Tan Foundation and matching powder. Having a sun-kissed glow was popular. Various brands were on the shelves and came in both matte finishes and those advertised as “having a sheen”, but Max Factor’s Pan-Cake was the winner.

LIPS & LIPSTICK

Red, red, red! This was the colour of the decade, though there was variation in the red, from the classic pillar box to reds with undertones of blue, brown, orange and pink. One Gala lipstick advert in the late forties, for example, included the shades Lantern Red; Blaze; Heart Red; Heavenly Pink; Red Bunting; Red Sequin; Cyclamen; Cock’s Comb; Ballet Pink; Chestnut. Yup, the wonderful world of red and close friends.

In 1948, Max Factor followed Pan-Cake’s success with the launch of Pan-Stik, a cream foundation in a tube that was easy to apply. It was another product first developed for the movies, before being released to the public. To set foundation, a pressed powder in a compact would be used. Inspired by seeing movie stars doing it in their films, ladies would happily top up their powder in public.

Lipstick was matte so if a shine was required, a dab of petroleum jelly was applied. Lip Pomade made

by Max Factor was used to add a glossy sheen to an actress’ lipstick. It wasn’t just the lipstick colour, but the shape of the lips that defines the 1940s.

The fashionable forties lip shape was the Hunter’s Bow – it was deep, rounded and full, influenced by the stars of the screen. Lip pencils started to make their mark in the late 1940s, simply used to create a lip line which was then filled in with lipstick.

A woman’s 1940s makeup routine could take a while – the five minute face did not exist! First, the thick foundation had to be applied and blended. Women were encouraged to shape their face with lighter and darker shades of foundation – a darker shade could be used to ‘fix’ a large nose, big forehead, or square jaw. A lighter shade on cheeks could make them look plumpe.

Cheek colour was called rouge back in the forties.

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Following from the 1940s wartime austerity , the

1950s was a time of growth and prosperity. Many economies around the world blossomed and grew.

Consumers had more spending money available and the end of rationing opened up the way for new products. New colours and makeup produc appeared and the luxury cosmetics market took off. The Classic 1950’s makeup look was strong, chic and elegant.

Lip colours were rich and intene, and pastel tints were in for eyes and the face. While lips were strong, the eyes were seens as important, and emphasising them, while retaining a “natural glamour�, was key.

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INFLUENCES

Movie stars continued with their strong influence on the masses. Leading ladies like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Doris Day and Elizabeth Taylor had an enormous impact on styles, as did Betty Grable and swimmer Esther Williams – two of the biggest box office draws of the 1950s.

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FACE & FOUNDATION

The 1950s woman had the option to wear foundation and/or face powder. Lighter or natural skin tones were in. Foundation came in liquid, cream and cake formulations. Pan-Cake, the Max Factor staple, was as popular as ever in the 1950s, selling tens of millions throughout the decade. The 1953 introduction of Creme Puff was very successful – an easy way to apply foundation and powder all in one go. All face products tended to be warm in colour, with a pink or peach base. There were also green powders, used to knock out unwanted red colouring.

- Max Factor

EYELINER

A black line with a little outward flick was the fashionable look, creating an almond-shaped eye. Using eye liner in general was in vogue and pencils could be found in various colours, including the basic black, brown and grey along with blues, greens and purples.

EYE SHADOW

Eye shadow came in a variety of colours, mostly in shades of grey, brown, gold and the popular blue, green and purple pastels.Rouge was also used as eye shadow, as well as used to warm up the face around the temples and/or forehead.

EYE BROWS

By the late 1950s, a shimmering lustre was added to makeup via a substance called guanine – it came from fish scales and guano! Colours were applied quite minimally and generally only one colour was used on the eye lid. It could be taken out to the sides to elongate the eye, but colour wasn’t usually taken right up to the brow.

At the start of the decade, eye brows were dark and strong, with pencil being used to fill in and define the shape. Brows gradually became softer – still pencilled for shape, but softer – less “crayoned in”.

The fashionable shape throughout the decade was a strong arch with brows of a decent thickness that tapered out at the ends.

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MAKEUP

1950’s

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EYE BROWS

At the start of the decade, eye brows were dark and strong, with pencil being used to fill in and define the shape. Brows gradually became softer – still pencilled for shape, but softer – less “crayoned in”.

The fashionable shape throughout the decade was a strong arch with brows of a decent thickness that tapered out at the ends.

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MASCARA

The 1950s saw the emergence of tube mascara with a wand. Block mascara and cream mascara in a tube were still used and applied with a little brush. Block mascara needed activating with water, but most women would simply spit onto the block, mix to create a liquid paste and apply.

Mascara was mainly applied to the top lashes only.

It came in various colours, from the standard black, to brown, navy blue, emerald green and purple.

LIPSTICK & LIP LINER

Lips were the strongest element of a 1950s makeup, with red being the predominant lipstick colour choice.Red lipstick varied from true-red through to deep and dark brown-based colours, to more orange-based. Lipstick also came in shades of pink, orange tones and coral colours. Lip liners were used, sometimes to draw a line outside of the natural lip line to create a fuller-looking lip.

CHEEKS

Rouge was used sparingly and is not a prominent feature of 1950s makeup. It came in soft pinks and corals. It was often used to warm up the face, not just on the cheeks, but around the temples and forehead and so on, to add a “soft warm glow”

- Maybelline

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AUTHOR: Bethany Tyndall MAKEUP ARTIST: Mikaylee Mullins 22

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ARTIDOTE

Isn't it amazing how beautiful people are? Like just look at anyone and study them and their features and how their lips tort and eyes glisten and how their hair falls or sticks or lays. How their eyebrows flex and the way their arms fold, how expressive their hands are. The way their body moves and how their chest rises and falls so subtley with their pulse.

People are beautiful even if we dont find them attractive. The fact that they’re a living being is unbelievably magnificent.

—casinoangel

I crave so much more than just a physical connection. I crave words and depth. I crave who you are and where you came from, your desires and fears. I yearn to know every inch of you beyond the surface.

—sweetestramblings

Let someone love you just the way you are – as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as unaccomplished as you think you are. To believe that you must hide all the parts of you that are broken, out of fear that someone else is incapable of loving what is less than perfect, is to believe that sunlight is incapable of entering a broken window and illuminating a dark room.

—hereisthelight 24

I was in a place where nobody knew my heart even a little bit. —Carol Rifka

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Be kind to yourself while blooming. I know it feels like your soul doesn’t always fit sometimes. It’s all a part of the process.

—Emery Allen

Don’t underestimate the power of another human being to lift you to the highest heaven, or cast you to the lowest hell.

—Bruce Adler

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Emotions are supposed to be raw, ugly, brutal… you don’t want someone to ‘sorta’ love you. You want that love to be a bursting flame, not a candle.

— hildoflust

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to find peace with exactly who and what I am.

To take pride in my thoughts, my appearance, my talents, my flaws and to stop this incesant worrying that I can’t be loved as I am.

—Anaïs Nin 27

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ARTIDOTE

I thought she was sleeping until I heard her call out from across the room, “Will you bring me a glass of water?” I did.

Then in her always-sleepy tone and drawl she said, “Do you remember when you were a little boy and you would ask your mama to bring you a glass of water?” Yeah. “You know how half the time you weren’t even thirsty. You just wanted that hand that was attached to that glass that was attached to that person you just wanted to stay there until you fell asleep.” She took the glass of water that I brought her and just sat it down full on the table next to her. Wow, I thought.

What am I gonna do with love like this.

—One Night from Dito Montiel’s

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I wonder if things can happen too early or too late or if everything happens at exactly the right time.

If so, how sad and beautiful. —Simon Van Booy

I crave space. It charges my batteries. It helps me breathe. Being around people can be so exhausting, because most of them love to take and barely know how to give.

Except for a rare few. — Katie Kacvinsky 30

The fact that you’re struggling doesn’t make you a burden. It doesn’t make you unloveable or undesirable or undeserving of care. It doesn’t make you too much or too sensitive or too needy. It makes you human. Everyone struggles. Everyone has a difficult time coping, and at times, we all fall apart. During these times, we aren’t always easy to be around — and that’s okay. No one is easy to be around one hundred percent of the time.

Yes, you may sometimes be unpleasant or difficult. And yes, you may sometimes do or say things that make the people around you feel helpless or sad. But those things aren’t all of who you are and they certainly don’t discount your worth as a human being. The truth is that you can be struggling and still be loved. You can be difficult and still be cared for. You can be less than perfect, and still be deserving of compassion and kindness.

—Daniell Koepke

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IDENTITY

Culture is a major defining point of an individual’s identity; from culture stems language, history and ultimately purpose.

The vast diversity of culture is an aspect that encourages the growth of humanity’s ever-changing and contrasting identity.

To even begin to comprehend humanity’s collective identity one must first focus on the individual. From understanding the culture that makes up oneself then this recognition can then grow to include others and their own perception. This relationship in itself is symbiotic; with the individual’s identity defined by a relation to others, and in turn, other’s identity constructed by the individuals involved. Once an understanding of self and environment develops, only then can one conclusively recognise humanity’s

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Many aspects of culture contrast when comparing elements such as religion, politics and gender issues, which is what makes up the different values and attitudes attributed to each. For instance, the religion that an individual identifies themselves with will have a huge impact on their ultimate nature of identity. With most religions comes a sense of belonging and community, which in turn influences the production of one’s cultural identity and environment. The role of gender in a society will similarly differ and of gender in a society

culture as a whole and the individual’s place within it. The understanding of humanity’s holistic identity fundamentally creates universal coalition through this recognition and further appreciation.

UNESCO, Learning : The Treasure Within, 1996

“Understanding others makes possible a better knowledge of oneself: any form of identity is complex, for individuals are defined in relation to other people - both individually and collectively and the various groups to which they owe allegiance, in a constantly shifting pattern.”

will similarly differ and contrast depending on the country’s own culture and set of values. Gender hierarchy plays a significant part in the development of one’s identity as such a system either encourages or discourages a role as part of a functioning society. All over the world these key values and attitudes are observed to be dissimilar or conflicting; the modern Western world may perceive the holistic role of religion very differently to the Middle East, or both may have contrasting views on the appearance of women in society. However, the common theme between both is the influence of said key values (religion, politics and gender) on the individual and the growth of one’s own culture from that impact. Therefore connecting all cultures under the umbrella of humanity as a whole and embracing the fundamental resemblance as opposed to focusing on the disparity.

Elsa Hornery

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IDENTITY

The surrounding environment of one’s culture influences identity as a whole and constitutes who a person is or may become. The differences between individuals lead back to the manipulation of culture to formulate societal constructs.

These social constructs vary from country to country and civilisation to civilisation, therefore creating a range of diverse personalities across the globe. Without these diversities the world would not be the ever-changing landscape that it is and we would not have the multitude of varying ideas, expressions and normalities. By exploring what makes us different from others opens the door to the possibility of cultivating a holistic understanding of the diverging aspects of humanity and how this

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By exposing individuals to a variation of cultures and social norms allows the growth of cognisance to develop, therefore creating

itself makes us one. Recognising humankind’s flaws and patterns of difference, both in society and culture, allows one to acknowledge that we all individually have flaws and patterns of difference within ourselves, and that is what unites us. The cultivation of an individual’s personality relies on the influence of culture on humanity and the difference in customs that come together to ultimately create diversity.

This diversity that ranges from place to place and people to people will determine one’s ability to accept differing identities and recognise the similarity as opposed to the contrasts.

The perception of the diversity of others ultimately allows individuals to develop a better understanding of themselves as a result.

Identity is complex and constantly shifting,

empathy and awareness within the identity.

This awareness is key when experiencing differing opinions, customs or people and without it the ability to understand what one hasn’t previously experienced cannot be achieved. Recognising what makes you different from others, and others different from you, is what leads to the realisation that everyone, underneath these exterior differences, are internally the same. That recognition brings empathy, understanding and the ability to exchange values and attitudes from contrasting identities.

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IDENTITY

the recognition of this, and of other’s complex and shifting identity, results in a greater knowledge of oneself and oneself in relation to other influences. Without this interaction with others the individual’s identity is lacking the insight to detect differences and similarities and learn from them. Individuals are fundamentally defined by the relation to others and grow from this relationship to include others in their personal definition of identity. Society as a whole acknowledging each other’s differences and learning from them collectively allows individuals to become intertwined in each others lives. Coexisting in harmony relies on this understanding and awareness to take place before a relationship can develop between person and person; identity and identity.

The definition of culture interlinks with what

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creates each individual identity, and the relationship between the language, history and beliefs that influence society. The diverse nature of culture is what ultimately brings about the varying institutions of identity. Whilst constantly shifting and developing, cultures are constantly changing to accommodate members or understand collective individuals. However without that constant growth, humanity wouldn’t have the capacity to begin to acknowledge others and the diverging nature of identity as a whole. By fundamentally embracing the disparity between each society, as opposed to focusing on the negative, allows humanity as a whole to become more aware of the difference and variety embedded in identity. X F

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jasmine Craciun

At the end of the day, we are all one. // As a renowned astrophysicist famously said, “We are all connected to each other biologically, to the Earth chemically, to the rest of the Universe automatically.”

Observe the world through a better lens.

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By Paul Ford

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Across the globe, few people have difficulty recognizing someone who is considered beautiful. Beauty is often sought after, revered, and sometimes interprewted as a personal virtue. Standards of beauty are usually social markers determining cultural status, social acceptance and suitability as a mate. However, beauty remains an elusive notion.

A physical aesthetic has remained constant over time throughout the diverse cultures of the world.

advance in social status.

Some of these advantages are simply a result of human beings’ desire for the simplicity found in symmetry. A symmetrical face suggests an overall healthiness of mind and body. People are attracted to that which is uniform and conventional.

Although the face is just one signal of physical beauty, it is often the foundation of judgment when assessing one’s appearance.

Beauty remains an elusive notion across different cultures. What are the factors behind attractiveness?

In this sense, beauty has been regarded as a reflection of health, vitality, sexual allure and social appeal. Although the specifics of what makes someone beautiful can differ across countries, cultures and communities, the concept of beauty has existed for as long as there have been people.

Along with an appealing face, a proportionate, pleasing body frame is a necessary feature of beauty as it demonstrates physical fitness and defines one’s lifestyle. A thin woman with a toned, tanned body and blonde highlights in her golden hair can reflect a lifestyle of leisure. A trim body demonstrates her self-control and discipline in a lifestyle that can afford much leisure time. However, not all cultures find the trim blonde a perfect representation of beauty. In Nigeria, women are encouraged to be more full-figured as it demonstrates fertility and the ability to carry and birth many babies.

Securing a mate, procreating and receiving support from a life partner were some of humanity’s earliest benefits of being beautiful. In contemporary times, beauty has become a prized and helpful physical quality. Those who are beautiful, studies have shown, receive better pay for their work and more easily

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CULTURE

In some Southeast Asian cultures, a more full-figured woman demonstrates a higher social status. Being thicker in frame can boast of being well fed and healthy. Standards of beauty depend upon the social conditions of the times in which one lives. The blonde with bronze skin would not be appealing to her Victorian ancestors, who saw tanned skin as a sign of the lower classes toiling in the hot sun. Although times change, the power of beauty and what it symbolizes remains.

Around the globe, diverse ideals of beauty often come with their own unique hazards. Some tribal women in Burma are known for their seemingly elongated necks fitted with multiple rings. Many rings signify social status, gracefulness and make women more appealing to potential husbands. The rings do not stretch the neck, but slowly weigh down on the collarbone, pressing it downward, and creating a sense of a long, graceful neck. Though creating deformities in the shoulders and weakening their neck muscles, sometimes to point of fatality if the rings were ever removed, the rings are still a reflection of beauty. Similar is foot binding in China. In an effort to seem diminutive and subservient to men, women’s feet were bound tightly to impede the growth.

In contemporary times, having large eyes is seen as a mark of beauty by some Asian cultures, in which eyes tend to be smaller in shape than European’s. In addition, many Asian women have undergone surgery to

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create European-looking eyelids.

Many people go under the surgeon’s knife to alter their appearances, sometimes for the worse. However, not all cultures view beauty as something difficult to achieve. The Maasai people approach beauty as an attainable quality that people can control. These east African tribal people focus on a tidy appearance and jewelry as adornment. Bright white teeth, a clean appearance, and short cropped hair are easily attained with brushing, washing, and cutting. Beaded jewelry is easy to find, make and wear. Proper grooming demonstrates personal pride, a healthful outlook and adherence to cultural norms. In contrast, the Suri people of Ethiopia find beauty represented in women’s lip plates.

When a girl reaches puberty, her bottom teeth are removed to make way for a piercing in the lower lip.

Once the piercing is in place, the lip is stretched around a clay plate.

When it is time to find a husband, this lip plate guides the dowry process.

Another sign of personal value is demonstrated in the elaborate facial tattoos of the Māori people, an indigenous group in New Zealand. wwIn modern times, the Tā moko, this face-covering tattoo, is worn as a demonstration of cultural pride and beauty among the group.

Scarification of the body is another practice, specifically among populations with dark skin too dark to show tattoos.

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CULTURE

The Karo tribe of Ethiopia scar men and women’s torsos and chests to assert social status. Today, many people of African descent in the Western world wear their hair in dreadlocks, coils of hair fused together, resembling matted braids.

This hairstyle often symbolizes a cultural pride and beauty in their black identity and a rejection of the white beauty standard of straight, silky hair.

Although differing across the globe, beauty standards are an important part of the cultural landscape.

Demonstrating status, social acceptance and suitability as a mate, physical aesthetics affect how people view themselves and those around them. Health, fitness and social expectations are consistent in standards of beauty across cultures, although different cultures all have their own ideas about what makes one beautiful.

... the notion of beauty is unchanging and In Southwestern Asia, the area often known as the Middle East, the rejection of Western culture and beauty standards, along with the insurgence of Islamic traditions, has seen the rise in more traditional, Arabic clothing. This clothing tends to cover more of the body and gives only an alluring glimpse at the feminine figure within as a clear denunciation of the revealing outfits worn by many in the Western world. These outfits display the humble, demure and secret beauty of the wearer, whose husband is the only one with access to the body hidden within the folds of fabric.

While time and social conditions can alter these standards, what remains is that the notion of beauty is unchanging and powerful. X F

By Paul Ford

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d powerful.

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GIRLS This photo series is a dedication to womanhood, youth and our beautiful friendships with one another that will forever be our first love.

The words chosen throughout represent aspects of growing up female, learning about who we are, sharing strength with our sisters, nostalgia, and appreciating our first bestfriends. //some words sourced, some words personal.\\

That’s when you know you’ve found somebody really special, when you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably share a silence.

-Miss Mia Wallace, Pulp fiction/Quentin Tarrantino

Laugh at the men who tell you you’re pretty. You are more than that.

You are a woman. Skin and bones, veins and nerves, hair and sweat. You are not made of metaphors. Not apologies, not excuses.

-Sarah Kay, excerpt from “The Type”

I love when you become so close with someone that you can see parts of each other in one another and you begin to say the same things and steal lines from one another and have a similar sense of humor and can exchange an inside joke with just a glance you don’t even have to talk because you have such a strong connection with them and you can sit in comfortable silence but also talk for hours it’s really hard to find that kind of compatibility -Daniel Tiskevics

“It’s not my responsibility to be beautiful.

I’m not alive for that purpose. My existence is not about how desirable you find me.”

-Warsan Shire

All I can say to describe you is - god spent atleast 3O mins on you

People need to be encouraged. People need to b need to be believed in—told that they are brave dreams they dream and more — Stacey Je

I love you for being the sweetest, kindest bravest, gentlest, most passionate soul to ever walk this dirty fucking rock.

be reminded of how wonderful they are. People and smart and capable of accomplishing all the e. Remind each other of this. — ean Speer

I have so much of you in my heart.

-John Keats, from a letter

Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.

I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’

-Kurt Vonnegut

I remember you, from when there was a spring When the seasons were ripe, with verdant green Our nimble feet danced in the wind and on the brink of everything -Carrie Richards

As I dive into the waves I am stripped of all weight. I am nothing but now.

The only way life comes into this world is through the female body. That is as close to the Gods as you can get.

There is nothing more beautiful than nature early in the morning.

- Vincent Van Gogh

The people who are meant to be in your life will always gravitate back towards you, no matter how far they wander.

- Jelly wong

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jasmine Craciun

They wait in long lines in the bitter cold.

They squeal with delight over the stitch on the shoes or the faux snakeskin upper. Colors more likely to be seen during Carnival in Rio than on any self-conscious American are hits.

Catty quips about style choices are met with irrational exuberance over over-hyped new designs.

No, these aren’t the insufferable Carrie wannabes taking up New York’s sidewalks— they are teenage boys and grown men all over the world going on about basketball sneakers.

In terms of American contributions to global style and comfort, the basketball sneaker has to rank up there with the T-shirt and riveted jeans.

And as can be seen in any mall or casual glance around the subway, the sneakers left the court long ago.

you can look GOOD in them.

Today, sneakers are a hugely lucrative juggernaut. In 2012, for instance, Nike’s line of LeBron James sneakers generated $300 million—in the U.S alone. Apparently everybody still wants to be like Mike—so much so that kids get shot over pairs of his namesake sneakers. And the footwear’s infiltration of the fashion world is pretty much complete.

With the All Stars, Osborne also introduces the two significant themes that underpin not only his book, but the wearing of basketball sneakers to the present day.

The first is the move to assign the naming of shoes to a specific, recognizable person. In this earliest case it was Chuck Taylor in 1921, four years after the shoes were released, who played for the brand’s semi-pro All Star team. Taylor offered his two cents for some changes to the shoe, and in turn Converse named the shoes for him, and placed his now iconic signature on the side.

In his new book Slam Kicks: Basketball Sneakers that Changed the Game, published

by Rizzoli this week, Slam Magazine editor Ben Osborne sketches the vivid and passionfilled history of the sneaker. Osborne takes us back to 1917 and the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Massachusetts, and the company’s iconic hi-top All Stars.

This trend may seem unsurprising to us today, accustomed as we are to celebrity branding for everything from perfumes, to impotence medication, to food. But more than almost any other consumer durable, the success of a basketball shoe is commensurate to the star wattage of who is wearing the kicks. Part of this is unique to basketball. Soccer may be the biggest sport in the world, but even if you idolize Ronaldo, you can’t exactly wear his cleats to class or the club. On the other hand, in basketball you can not only wear what your idol is wearing—you can look good in them.

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“The reason why I get the shoes is because I loved the player. The reason most SLAM readers get the shoes is because they love the players,” explains Osborne.

There is also a direct relationship between the star wattage of the player and the success of the shoe. Upstart brands like AND 1 or Pony hitched their fates to athletes from their launches. In the case of AND 1 and its Thai Chi model, it was Vince Carter, who would wow teenage boys everywhere in the 2000 NBA All-Star Dunk Contest.

In 1975, that upstart brand was Pony and its new product, the TOPSTAR, which became popular after the company snagged the league’s hot newcomers David Thompson and Darryl Dawkins in their first season.

Now, points out Osborne, “Under Armour is getting the first buzz it’s ever gotten because Stephen Curry is wearing them now.” Curry, who first came to national attention as a college star at Davidson College, is now a star in the NBA who set the single-season record for threepointers in the 2012-2013 season.

So, with a few exceptions, most notably the 1949 Pro-Keds Royal which hasn’t been seen on a court in a while, the biggest shoes in the book were tied to the game’s biggest stars. That goes for 1971’s Adidas AbdulJabbar’s, which featured the player’s face as he went on to set records in almost every facet of the game. The same goes for the Puma Clyde, which featured Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s signature and brought suede into the game.

I still remember how cool I thought I was when I got my first pair of Allen Iversonbranded Reebok The Question’s (even though I was a couple years late). Iverson, a former standout at Georgetown University, was at the peak of his game. Just a few years earlier he had crossed up Michael Jordan of all people. And this was before his infamous “We’re talking ‘bout practice?” rant that marked his downward career spiral. I would later go on to buy the equally cool at the time, and incredibly loud, T-Mac 1’s from Adidas thanks to Tracy McGrady—the top player on the Orlando Magic.

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In one sense the players and the line associated with them are like fashion houses. Just as there was only one Coco Chanel, there was and is only one Michael Jordan. Her combination of skill and public persona left an indelible mark on the fashion world. It was no different for Jordan. He was not just the best player of his time—he was a showman of epic proportions.

When the first Air Jordan’s came out, not only had he averaged 28.2 points per game, but NBA Commissioner David Stern’s attempted in 1985 to ban the star from wearing the “loud” black-and-red sneakers, which only added to the frenzy.

In the 1980s it was the introduction of Nike Air technology in the first Air Force 1’s. In addition to garish colors (looking at you, Nike Air Foamposites) the feet in the ‘90s were dressed up with advances like adidas’s Feet You Wear design. In the first decade of the 21st century, perhaps the biggest novelty was the launch of Nike Shox, which with its exposed heel bared its advances for the world to see.

Today’s sneakers feature 3-D printing and materials like Nike’s Lunarlite foam.

Since then, the brand has grown and his eponymous sneaker line has generated billions in revenue for Nike. Now, not only do new versions of his sneakers sell out, but so do releases of retro versions (never as well-made as the originals).

Win With Style

The second and less important theme of the book is the technological advances and changes in the design and production of the shoe themselves. The 1917 Chuck Taylor’s are insanely cool and the design timeless. Rick Barry, who today is probably more famous for offering to teach Shaq how to shoot free throws underhand, was involved in making updates to the 1979 adidas Top Ten’s, including its perforated toe area for breathability and more ankle support (issues now taken for granted).

Osborne also highlights the sneaker’s importance in popular culture, especially in music, notably on Run-DMC’s album Raising Hell in which one of the tracks was titled “My Adidas” and was “an unabashed ode to the joys of the Superstar.” The Superstar was the 1969 Adidas sneaker which featured the rubber toe cap and the iconic three serrated stripes along the side.

Throughout its history Converse has maintained strong ties to street culture. In the 1970s, it made the astute decision to align itself with rising star Dr. J, and saw its value rise not only on the court, but in the nascent hip-hop world.

Now the brand collaborates with designers like John Varvatos and hotspots like the Ace Hotel.

If how much we’re willing to pay for them is a measure, the future of the sneaker seems healthy.

For the sneakers yet to come,popularized by the players who stutter-step, jump, and run in them, the path forward laid out by those who came before seems pretty clear. Win, with style.

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What’s Your Shoe Personalitiy?

DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY A WEEK IN ADVANCE?

DO YOU OWN MORE THAN 10 PAIRS OF SHOES? YES

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NO

YES

DO YOU PREFER HEELS TO FLATS?

DO YOU PREFER COVERING UP IN WINTER THAN TAKING OFF IN SUMMER?

YES

When people want shoe advice, your the person to ask.

You have a shoe for every occasion. Any look you can tackle whether its classy or casual your style is to die for!

NO

GOING TO WORK ? ...

CLASSIC PUMPS!

YES

YES The Trendsetter

NO

The Bootiful Babe

The Sensible Strutter As you walk down the street people stop and stare as your simple elgant style transcends into the crowds around.

Your independant and know whats what when it comes to shoes.

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Winter is your time to shine. Whether its knee high or ankle, boots compliment that fergalicious body you maintain.

Your class lets you remain in control and makes you the natural leader.

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SHORTS AND A SINGLET, A CLASSIC COMBINATION

NO

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WOULD YOU PREFER A PAIR OF SIMPLE JOGGERS?

NO NO

YES YES

THE BEACH OVER SNOW ANYDAY!

NO

DOC MARTINS ARE MY FAVOURITE PAIR OF SHOES!

NO

NO YES

COFFEE AND A MUFFIN IS MY TYPE OF LUNCH DATE

NO

DO YOU PREFER SWEATS TO JEANS?

Thongs or bare feet whatever the case either will do. Your carefree simple style is perfect for your patient and fun attitude. If you want a laugh or a giggle your the person to search for.

YES

YES

YES The Aussie Larikin

The Casual Charmer A solid shoe adds a strength to your style. Everyone wants your effortless charm, casual, unique and simply gorgeous! Your determined to live life to the max.

The Fitness Flirt Your a natural beauty.

Exercise and healthy foods are your passion and it shows from your lean figure.

Your a foodstagramer and fitspo and loved by all.

OBSERVE | CULTURE | LIFESTYLE | FASHION | ART | OCTOBER 2016 ISSUE 1.