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W E L S P U N
S I G H T S
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S O U N D S
WHAT ’S OUT THERE IN THE WORLD OF COOL
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a her itage brand
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Embracers of the everyday. Established in 1850, we're proud of our heritage, experience and expertise - so we've updated our branding to truly reflect our dynamic personality. Whether it's the soft embrace of your cosy bedsheets or the invigorating feel of your post-shower-towel-down, we're with you for all the moments that matter.
www.christy.co.uk Christy_home
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Christy_home
ChristyHomeOfficial
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WELCOME
A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS OF WELSPOTTED, A WELSPUN SIGHTS & SOUNDS MONTHLY
In these turbulent times, we’ve been craving stability, consistency, and definition. In other words, we are seeking out the proverbial black and white, and likewise, are exhausted by nuance or “staying in the gray.” You might have noticed that the WelSpotted team loves words (in addition to our deep appreciation for all things Beauty and Grace) and one of our “pet peeves” as it were, is “right!” as a response, when really, the right response to a question in the affirmative is “correct!” Not to be grammar police, we just enjoy the idea that there may be a left, and a right, but there is ONLY one “correct” – and this led us to think about the phrase, “Sometimes, it IS just black and white.” Having a strong POV is what made so many now deeply mourned magazines, newspapers, and periodicals so compelling, in what was the fabled age of print publishing. It’s been said that S.I. Newhouse, the publishing titan whose portfolio included Condé Nast (Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, et al), regularly instructed his editors to not shy away from big opinions, saying “this is what sells magazines.” We agree; Newhouse was correct, and, in that vein, we present our Black & White issue, which contains not only some of our favorite takes on this classic palette but also our own deeply held POV on why sometimes, there is only one (correct) road to travel, whether it leads to social commentary or a design trend to be applauded. Black, after all, contains every color in it and with that in mind, we’re sure that many of you art buffs will agree, black and white is not for the faint of heart so we’re going big and bold in these pages. So, let's a take a look at 'black & white', in all its permutations and translations, shall we?
A W E L S P U N S I G H T S & S O U N D S M O N T H LY CHRISTOPHER MOONEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ABBE ARONSON CONTENT CREATOR GREGORY MONFRIES CREATIVE DIRECTOR SHARLENE BREAKEY EDITOR HEATHER HACKETT, STEPHANIE DILLON, DEVENDRA JAMSANDEKAR, LUCY ACKROYD, GEMMA HAILSTONE WELSPUN UK CREATIVE TEAM WELSPUN UK LTD, PARK SQUARE, BIRD HALL LANE, CHEADLE SK3 0XF
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INSIDE HASHTAG ICON
PATTERN TREND
RETAIL
LUXURY
INNOVATION
OFF THE WALL
SOCIAL MEDIA CELEBRATION AMPERSAND
FOR MORE, GO TO:
W E L S P OT T E D. CO M
Photo by CoffeeAndMilk
ON THE COVER
Dear Readers, hot off the press! We’re honoring the 2024 Pantone color of the year, Peach Fuzz, with our descript of the magazine you now hold in your hand. Photo credit: zhobla91
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EDEL RODRIGUEZ
Named “America’s illustrator in chief ” by Fast Company magazine and lauded for his iconic art on the cover of TIME Magazine and jumbotrons around the world, Edel Rodriguez is a Cuban American artist who has exhibited internationally with shows in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Spain. Inspired by personal history, religious rituals, politics, memory, and nostalgia, his bold, figurative works are an examination of identity, cultural displacement, and mortality. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1971, Edel and his family boarded a boat and left for America during the Mariel boatlift in 1980, settling in Miami where Rodriguez was introduced to and influenced by American pop culture for the first time. Socialist propaganda and western advertising, island culture and contemporary city life, are all aspects of his life that continue to inform Edel’s work, and he has received commissions to create artwork for numerous clients, including The New York Times, the New Yorker, and many other publications and book publishers. Political junkies will no doubt remember Edel’s mostly black and white with orange pieces that were widely shared during the last campaign cycle, including his covers for aforementioned TIME. We were deeply honored that prior to publication, Edel shared a SNEAK PEAK of “Worm,” Edel’s just-published graphic memoir of his childhood in Cuba, his family’s boatlift odyssey, and a defense of democracy, here and there (sneak peek! look at the perks that “award-winning can get ya, huh?). The synopsis: When Edel was nine, Fidel Castro announced his surprising decision to let 125,000 traitors of the revolution, or “worms,” leave the country. The faltering economy and Edel’s family’s vocal discomfort with government surveillance had made their daily lives on a farm outside Havana precarious, and they secretly planned to leave. But before that happened, a dozen soldiers confiscated their home and property and imprisoned them in a detention center near the port of Mariel, where they were held with dissidents and criminals before being marched to a flotilla that miraculously deposited them, overnight, in Florida. The astonishing illustrations in color as well as black and white already have “Worm” drawing comparisons to another CORRECT tome, “Maus.”
GEOMETRY
OF
PASTA
When it was published about ten years ago, “The Geometry of Pasta” was heralded as a one-ofa-kind cookbook, unlike anything the culinary world had ever seen. It trumpeted the fact that, over the centuries, Italians have pioneered more than 300 shapes of pasta, each with a history, a story to tell, and perfect food pairings (note: many chefs maintain that there is a “correct” shape for every sauce). This is at least partly because shapes evolved along with the flavors of local ingredients, and a “correct” combination can turn an ordinary dish into something sublime. The book features 100+ authentic recipes from critically acclaimed chef Jacob Kenedy, along with stunning black-and-white designs from award-winning designer Caz Hildebrand, and reveals the science, history, and philosophy behind spectacular pasta dishes from all over Italy. The dust jacket unfolds into a poster of pasta shapes and patterns for even more eye dazzle. We love this cookbook, not least of which because as more and more recipes migrate to digital, it gives us one more gorgeous reason to buy print. G of P does it in flying B and W (get it?).
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In a piece titled “The Twisted History of Licorice, the Candy We Love to Hate: Why this dud candy keeps on keeping on, despite a distinct lack of redeeming qualities,” Bon Appetit writer Rebecca Douglas declares that, for her as a child in Australia, black jellybeans and “stuck-together clumps of foul, fennel-y licorice” were the candies at the bottom of the barrel. Aussies came to eat this confection via their English roots; the candy’s birthplace is reportedly Pontefract, a town in West Yorkshire, where, circa 1760, a pharmacist supposedly added sugar to cough medicine that contained licorice root to make it more palatable. From there, manufacturers began cranking it out in the mid-1800s, and licorice went viral. In Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands—countries that consume the most licorice per capita in the world—salmiakki, a black, salted, diamond-shaped, and deeply astringent version, is beloved by superfans. In the U.S. Twizzlers and Red Vines both make black licorice twists. The French are all about Cachou Lajaunie pastels, which are intended to freshen your breath after a meal. In Sweden they’re so keen on the stuff, they kicked off Lakritsfestivalen in 2009, a licorice festival that features tastings, contests, entertainment, and even sculptures made from the substance. It might be as polarizing as cilantro, but licorice, with its natural sweetness, was forecasted by a recent global study to take over as the treat of choice by those who abandon sugary “junk food” for better health. With a whopping 10.4 percent of the world population expected to be diabetic by 2030, this treat is poised to hit the sweet spot.
NEXT!
We know that some think it’s lost its luster, but we don’t care. We LOVE Harvey Nichols; when in London, The Fifth Floor for lunch is our idea of CORRECT in every way!
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#everyone’sdoingit
BLACK LICORICE. YAY O R N AY ?
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ICON Since its inaugural issue in 1925, the New Yorker has understood that visual humor in the form of cartoons doesn’t just “break up the page.” It’s a very real way to poke our society and our culture with reminders to “lighten up” and have a laugh, even when it’s at humankind’s expense. Whole class agendas have been centered around the history of the New Yorker cartoon, including at prestigious centers like the 92nd Street Y in New York City, although creator and founding editor Harold Ross jokingly said of the genre: “Everybody talks of New Yorker’s art—that is, its illustration—and it has been described as the best magazine in the world for someone who cannot read.” Recently, curatedcartoons.com organized the New Yorker cartoon phenom into four “eras” which track the POVs of the principal art or cartoon editors at the magazine. The Garaghty Era is the period from 1925 to 1972, Iconic for sure...launched with the birth of the mag, the New Yorker cartoon exemplifies all things wry, snarky, and urban cheeky.
when noted illustrators Peter Arno, James Thurber (who also served as editor), and Charles Addams published in the magazine, mostly under the eye of art editor James Geraghty. During this time, editor Wallace Shawn also brought to public attention the now-celebrated cartoonists who not only drew but also captioned their work, including Ed Koren and George Booth. The Lorenz Era, from 1973 to 1997, is named for Lee Lorenz, himself a noted cartoonist-turned-art editor, who tapped the incredible Roz Chast for publication. Since 1977, she’s contributed more than 800 cartoons to the magazine. The Mankoff Era, named for cartoon editor Bob Mankoff, was noted for the enormously important contributions of Michael Maslin, today known as the premier authority on New Yorker cartoon history. Mankoff also is credited with launching the weekly Caption Contest for the magazine in 2005. The Allen Era, from 2017 to present day, is named for cartoon editor Emma Allen, who was anointed at the tender age of 29, and is correctly known for adding nearly one hundred new cartoonists to the mix, about half of whom are women, along with artists of color and those that speak to the LGBT perspective.
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Marimekko takes its iconic black-and-white logo inspo (above) from Olivetti typewriter letters. While most of the offerings in its retail stores focus on bold colors, some of the company’s most iconic prints, like the Kaivo pattern on the swaths of fabric below, stand out in stark raving chicness in simple black and white. Opposite page: The Ramona Dress
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PATTERN
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For a brand like Marimekko, which is so strongly associated with iconic colorways, purposefully selecting black and white as the foundation for its logo was a bold move. But Armi Ratia, the creative vision behind the Finnish company, wanted her logo, which was designed in 1954, to be “simple and timeless,” and asked graphic designer Helge Mether-Mether-Borgström to use a modified version of classic Olivetti typewriter letters to create it. Black and white is equally show stopping used in some of Marimekko’s signature patterns, including Unikko, the huge splashy poppy motif we all know and love. Fun fact: Unikko only exists because a designer dared to defy her boss. Armi was determined that there be no floral designs under the brand, because she said the beauty of flowers were best enjoyed in nature. Maija Isola, one of her lead designers, poo-pooed that request and created florals galore. Her instinct was correct. Unikko has never been out of production since its intro in 1964.
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TREND
Clockwise from top: Ivry-Cité du Parc and the Albert Einstein School, 1982-’83; A car park in Noisy-le-Grand, also built in the early ’80s; The Headquarters of the French Communist Party, by famed Oscar Niemeyer.
t
W
When we think about Paris, our isn’t-it-romantic minds tend to first conjure its patisseries and markets, that distinctive golden light, and the effortless chic of city residents. Less front-of-mind is the city’s Brutalist architecture—and that makes sense, because with so many gorgeous scapes, wide boulevards, and elaborate balconies to admire, who spends their time searching for great graphic blocks of rugged concrete and angular forms? But these buildings are, as is the case of Brutalism the world over, an important and uniquely charming part of its history. Maintaining that the city’s Brutalist buildings have an important role to play in the trajectory of architecture, artist/critic Robin Wilson and artist/photographer Nigel Green of Photolanguage have created a “Brutalist Paris” book and map, a plotted guide to structures all around the City of Lights, that also plays an important role in this, our guide to all things black and white. Many of the Parisian Brutalists experimented with the structural and aesthetic properties of plain ol’ concrete—the most affordable material available during post war reconstruction—and the book delves into more than forty buildings and includes stunning black-and-white photos taken by Green. Printed by a U.K.-based B Corp-certified printer on recycled paper, the guide is also the first of its kind to be published in English—a costly endeavor that was funded by a Kickstarter campaign. An accompanying map pinpoints examples by architects from Le Corbusier to Marcel Breuer and includes the Maison du Brésil and Communist Party and UNESCO Headquarters. While the decades since these Brutalist buildings were first erected have seen impassioned debate about whether they are better classified as icons or eyesores, a new school of thought seems to be leaning towards the former and celebrates the diverse signatures of Brutalism on their own merit. A welcome bellelaide counterpoint, surely, to the city’s otherwise achingly lovely skylines. Polarizing? Sure. Call us brutes, we love this!
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Les Chops de Créteil (The Cabbages of Créteil) housing towers, built by Gérard Grandval, were completed in 1974 and remain fully occupied. Below, The Orgues de Flandre (Organs of Flanders) built by Martin van Trek, completed in 1980. Images from the chic Brutalist Paris, out from Blue Crow Media.
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RETAIL KADEWE We staunchly and resolutely LOVE department stores, so we are sheepishly wondering how this beautiful giant managed to allude us for so long – and only a train ride away from Frankfurt if you want to sneak in a little bit of recon of your own. Berlin’s Kaufhaus des Westens, or KaDeWe (German for “Department Store of the West), has over 650,000 square feet of retail space, making it the second-largest department store in Europe after Harrods in London, attracting 40,000 to 50,000 visitors daily. Built to specific design specifications by architect Emil Schaudt, KaDeWe opened in 1907, the seventh store from businessman Adolf Jandorf. Jandorf ’s previous six other department stores catered to basic retail needs; this new store was set to “satisfy the spoiled demands” of the monied elite, with constantly changing window designs and the very latest in fashion, interiors/ home goods and specialty food items. The venerable store was nearly gutted in WWII, when Allied bombing ruined most of it (Jandorf and his successor Hermann Tietz were both Jewish, and KaDeWe was seized by the
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Like recognizes like, so we want to give KaDeWe a shout out for its online magazine, accessible via its website. Even if you don’t read German, flipping through it is like dream, much like A LOT of the gorgeousness in this heavenly department store. Above: shoppers photo by Carsten Koall.
Nazis in the 1930s; a shot-down American bomber actually crashed into the store in 1943 during the war). The 1950s saw the reconstruction and reopening of all seven floors of the store, with an additional floor added after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Ground floor highlights beauty accessories, luxury goods, and beauty salons and spas, among “Luxury Boulevard.” First floor is devoted to men’s apparel, while the second floor is centered around women’s fashion. The third floor, “the loft,” is Germany’s biggest luxury shoe department, and also showcases leather goods and lingerie. The fourth floor is home to interior and design items, as well as wedding and gift registry services. Floor five houses books, electronics, toys, office and art supplies and souvenirs; and the sixth and seventh floors are entirely devoted to two football fields of gourmet food items, including a winter garden, 1000-seat, all-windowed restaurant. Is your mouth agape? Yup, ours too. Raise your hand if any of this was not a surprise – if that’s a yes, we want your intel on hot retail concepts for next issue!
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LE GO × A.I. LUXURY
Over on our WelSpotted IG account, we almost fainted when we, like other scroll-happy Grammers, discovered what we assumed was the MUST HAVE lux item for the holiday season – Hermès, Chanel, Burberry LEGO kits featuring iconic designs from the fashion houses. Spearheaded by the IG account @glam.tol, we were further amused when we, like thousands of others, discovered these kits were AI-generated. A quick click through @glam.tol’s account revealed followers asking, no, begging, for information on how to buy the (yes, imaginary) sets. The idea, after all isn’t so farfetched. LEGO has been steadily selling its $300+ per kit Icons sets, which includes replicas of architectural gems like New York’s Natural History Museum or the Eiffel tower, and standalone symbols of status like Land Rover or the Concorde. It made us ask ourselves – surely, you’re asking yourself now – if these fashionista-centric LEGO kits were real, would they sell? We think this is a resounding YES. After all, Hermès Birkin bags are known for being exorbitantly priced and notoriously exclusive, as they are subject to an annual quota – would a LEGO kit version scratch a similar itch for some? Afterall, the toy brand has already partnered with streetwear brands like Adidas and Levi’s but never a luxury fashion brand – this imagined collab with Hermès and others clearly shows there’s an appetite for it. In summary, we think this is another reason to not fear but embrace AI technology as it pushes the boundaries of creativity, sparks the imagination, and definitely ignites the conversation. Full disclaimer: Like some of you, we’re also a bit scared by it as well. What do YOU think?
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E O .
AI-generated luxury LEGO kits from the brilliant mind of @glam.tol on IG. Clockwise, from top: Cum facitae. Nam et que ad quam doles ventisqui atinctior aspitae et volupta tionseq uibusti debit et fugia accabo. Ad quat ut la consernam quia plaborporunt dolupti ssequis dernatur aut quam reperunt, volenient aliqu
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INNOVATION
Opposite, Grand Staircase, WE_ARE_CONTENT. Above, Rivoli façade by Jared Chulski. Below (left to right), the Maison de Parfums and another look at the grand staircase by Jared Chulski.
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Fifteen years and 280 French companies have taken part in the reconstruction, reshaping, and renovation of historic La Samaritaine in Paris, the almost mystical department store founded in 1870 by Ernest Cognacq and Marie-Louise Jay, making it accessible for visitors and end-users of all means – talk about a living, breathing innovation! Overlooking the Seine on one side and the Rue de Rivoli on the other, the building marries the classic Art Nouveau and Art Déco styles of the late 19th century with modern updates that reflect its current mixed-use status. A new Japanese-designed futuristic facade of rippling Smart Glass marks the entrance to the department store, part of the Samaritaine “community” that includes the Cheval Blanc luxury hotel AND affordable housing units, offices, and a day care/nursery. The Samaritaine story is a deeply fascinating one. The department store’s heydays were in mid 1920s, when the latest fashions, interior décor, flowers and plants, musical instruments and more were offered to its sophisticated clientele with fat bank accounts. Luxury brand LVMH bought a majority stake in the company in 2001; shortly thereafter, Samaritaine closed for safety reasons after the building no longer passed code in 2005. Extensive renovations began, with LVMH acquiring the business in full in 2010 and Samaritaine reopening to the public in time for its 151st anniversary in 2021. The highlights: a creation of a passageway that crosses the urban block linking three courtyards and establishing a connection between the historic facade towards the Seine and a new wavy one towards Rue de Rivoli. Attention to detail is an understatement: The Jourdain building was completed in 1910, the Sauvage one in 1928, and the interiors of the store underwent several transformations over the years, so 1932 was set as date of reference for the restoration of existing heritage elements. The enormous glass roof of 1907 has been restored to show the original design by Frantz Jourdain. The aforementioned smart glass changes color when light passes through. The Art Nouveau ornamental elements of the facades – the glazed lava rock surfaces or the cast iron signs – and of the interior spaces – the stately staircase, paintings, and railings – have been restored to their original design. Retailtouchpoints.com calls this new Samaritaine “a study in dichotomy – rich and poor, old and new, unattainable and accessible sit alongside and atop one another in this nostalgic yet contemporary complex.”
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OFF THE WALL
All images provided by the Denver Art Museum, which, we should also add, is housed in a show-stopper of a Daniel Libeskind designed building. We can’t get enough of these primarily fingerpainted portraits of Black Folk!
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off the wall
Denver, CO is widely known as the street art capital of the world and its culture scene is thriving in eight neighborhood art districts, but we were stopped in our tracks but a current special exhibit at the Denver Art Museum in the Golden Triangle Creative District, a deeply economically diverse slice of the city that also includes the truly fabulous Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art and newish-tothe-scene boutique art hotel, The Acoma House, where every room’s décor is centered around a different local artist’s beautifully executed wall mural. Back to Denver Art Museum: now on view through February 19th, 2024, is Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks, the debut museum solo exhibition tour for Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo (born 1984). One of the most acclaimed artists of his generation, Boafo’s works focus the viewers’ gaze on his subjects’ presence through his portraits representing Black life. The result is staggering. More than 30 works created between 2016 and 2022 are featured, displaying Boafo’s vibrant use of color and thick gestures shaped by improvisational techniques such as finger-painting. The works actively center around Black subjectivity, Black joy, and the Black gaze as the foundation of the artist’s practice and inspiration. (The exhibition’s title was inspired by civil rights activist, sociologist, and Pan-Africanist W.E.B. Du Bois and his study, “The Souls of Black Folk,” published in 1903.) The portrait and studies stand out on boldly colored walls and a lounge area has been set up within the exhibit with books and music celebrating the Black experience which are available for anyone who wants to sit and enjoy. Likewise, an interactive project encourages visitors to fill out and post their own answers to the question “How do you want to be seen by the world?” using words or drawn images. We were particularly moved by the answer of a young person who wrote “brave and soft” and added a hand drawn portrait. Book those tickets to Denver! And the airport’s amazing too.
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S O CI
ME DIA
A study in contrasts. Clockwise from top left: Some of the guys and dolls of the silent screen era, captured by @silenceisplatinum on IG; three of the 250 tract homes designed in the mid 40s by architect Paul R. Williams, when Black real estate agent Velma Grant acquired land to house Black veterans returning from WWII (per @hoodmidcenturymodern on IG)
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IA L SOCIAL
MEDIA
Two very different IG accounts captured our attention for this, our Black & White issue: @hoodmidcenturymodern and @silenceisplatinum. Let’s start with Jerald Cooper, who lives in Cincinnati, and wants to recognize and help preserve modern architecture and interior design that has added to the aesthetic and culture of Black communities. His IG, @hoodmidcenturymodern, with almost 90K followers, highlights “modernism in the hood” and aims to filter modernism through a different cultural lens, using layman’s language to break down barriers typically set up by white academics with advanced degrees. A creative consultant who rose through the hip-hop industry, Jerald has developed three definitions of “Black modernism”: modernism designed for Black people, modernism that has been “handed down” to Black people, and modernism that has taken on cultural significance in Black popular culture. Next up, with 77K followers, @silenceisplatinum is dedicated to the “lovely ladies and dashing gents of the silent movie era, along with a smattering of stage actresses and Ziegfeld girls.” During the silent film era (1894-1929), most movies featured live music or other sound accompaniment to add to the mood, but the thrust of conveying emotion in these black and white flicks fell to the actors themselves. The feed is filled with examples of how they over-emphasized body language and facial expressions so that the audiences could better understand what was being portrayed on screen.
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Above, Katherine Graham and Truman Capote at Capote’s famous black-and-white; below, people dressed in white gather for the 29th “Diner En Blanc” (Dinner in White) event in front of the Paris city hall on June 8, 2017. Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images. Opposite, a Dan McKeon capture a White Party in Provincetown, MA.
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CELEBRATION
A party? We love a party! Black-and-white themes have figured into some of the most sensational shindigs ever, and there’s no better place to start than Truman Capote’s black-and-white ball. It was 1966, and In Cold Blood, Truman’s sensational nonfiction novel about a murdered Kansas family, made him the best-known writer in America. A cover boy on Life, Newsweek, the New York Times Book Review, and more, what else to do but throw a huge gathering in New York for all his friends? The A+++ guest list filled the Plaza’s 540-capacity ballroom and Katharine Graham, then-owner of the Washington Post and Newsweek, was guest of honor. Much has been written about the party, thanks to the striking black-and-white photos of the famous attendees, but also because the ball’s timing—just before Vietnam and the Youthquake of the 1960s split the country into Past and Future— served as an oft-discussed tipping point on class, fame, and modern culture. Launched with just a handful of friends in Paris in 1988, Le Dîner en Blanc began as a strictly word-of-mouth event and now takes place in cities around the world. The concept remains the same throughout: guests must be a member to attend wearing white only and bring a table, two white chairs, and a picnic basket with all-white dinnerware and linens. Wine or champagne only, s’il vous plaît. A rain or shine event, there are no cancellations, unless severe weather is threatened. And if the heavens part? Raingear must also be white or transparent. And the location? Ah, Dear Reader, that is only revealed at the last minute—some public space where thousands of attendees converge for a mass, yet très chic picnic. Finally, several activism-based groups claim creative ownership of the infamous gay circuit parties known as White Parties, thrown in such venues as Palm Springs, Fire Island, and Provincetown, a.k.a. Ptown. With the latter, the annual White Party has been a constant of the Cape Cod social scene for the better part of three decades and has morphed into a highly successful fundraiser for Outer Cape Health Services. In all manifestations, the White Party has parodied the self-imposed social class moratorium on wearing white after Labor Day. Attendees celebrate the end of summer attired in “resourceful, wonderful white”—including a fabulous abundance of drag.
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"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance,” said Alan Watts, the prolific author and speaker who was one of the first to interpret Eastern wisdom for a Western audience, popularizing Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophies for the masses. We couldn’t agree more, and speaking of moving and dancing along with change, we were pretty excited when we heard that the Grammys (the annual awards bestowed by The Recording Academy of the United States) will recognize and award the biggest and best in the world of African music. In 2022, the Grammys announced that they were considering adding an "Afrobeats" award to their historical list of acknowledgments, and, nine months later, the Best African Music Performance award was born. The famed music award show announced the inclusion of the new African-focused category, as well as the inclusion of the newly introduced "Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording, all of which will be awarded on the February 4th televised show. The Grammys announcement comes on the heels of the American Music Awards and MTV’s Video Music Awards this year, who added a best Afrobeats category to their ceremonies last summer. According to media, Afrobeats cumulatively reached 13 billion streams on streaming platform Spotify in 2022. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Spotify’s Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, managing director in Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “It’s fair to say that Afrobeats is probably one of Africa’s biggest cultural exports right now, and it is definitely influencing the music being made both on the continent and elsewhere in the world. By its very nature, Afrobeats is an amalgamation of sounds, which is lending itself beautifully to fusions with other musical styles, as well as collaborations with artists from the continent and around the world.” She continued, “The African diaspora and the desire to connect with some part of home has played a part in how this genre has spread, but its popularity also has a lot to do with its feel-good nature. Most of the music classified as Afrobeats is up-beat and is associated with good times and celebrations – think weddings and clubs.” Here’s your history lesson. The name Afrobeats is a plural modernization of Afrobeat, a genre developed in Nigeria in the 1960s, led by the late, great Fela Kuti, which combined aspects of jazz, soul, and Ghanaian highlife with the polyrhythmic drumming of the Yoruba, Ewe and Ga tribes. Afrobeats, its younger cousin, acknowledges the past via samples of classics and familiar African drum patterns, reborn in hybrid electronic form, mixing them with elements of Afro-pop, Jamaican Dancehall and Afroswing. In recent years, Afrobeats has crossed over to the mainstream, its biggest stars filling stadiums and infiltrating airwaves across Europe and the US. Its global popularity has been marked by sold-out arena tours; last July, Afrobeats superstar Wizkid played London’s 62,000-seat Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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AMPERSAND
& Wizkid performs at AccorHotels Arena on September 16, 2022 in Paris. Can’t you just FEEL the energy? Photo by David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns.
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Bed & Bath
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