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Are We Ready to Have a Constructive Conversation About Slave Play? (Because We Saw It for Ourselves, and Have Thoughts)
In the months since Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play upended the theater world (and many of our moral and historical sensibilities), moving from a sold-out run at the New York Theatre Workshop to Broadway, much has been written about its controversial narrative—some factual, some distinctly disingenuous (and some from the playwright himself). In fact,…
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Royalty in Our DNA: A New Crop of Magazine Covers Make Us Majestic
A pair of ruffed pages; three queens; a member of modeling royalty…as the October and November magazine covers made their debut, we were delighted to see blackness front, center and regal, as we should be. Vogue placed Jaden and Willow Smith and supermodel Jourdan Dunn atop its Italian and British covers, respectively, while Essence paid…
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Christmas Is Coming Early! Rihanna's Releasing a 500+ Page Coffee Table Book
What do you get the girl who has everything? Rihanna is indisputably that girl (OK, woman), having not only a ridiculously successful music career (much delayed ninth album notwithstanding) but a groundbreaking beauty empire and concurrent lingerie and luxury fashion lines. And now, she can add a book to that growing list of accomplishments. On…
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I Do…Under His Eye? Is This Handmaid’s Tale-Themed Wedding Photo How the 53 Percent Get Married?
You know, when I imagine a dream wedding, visions of female subjugation, rape, and forced childbearing don’t dance through my head (nor do barns or mason jars, but I digress). But clearly, my vision of romance is lacking a certain institutionally patriarchal touch—an element a Canadian couple known simply as “Kendra and Torsten” made sure…
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'It's Getting Better All the Time': If We Can't Have Love Like Barack and Michelle Obama After 27 Years, We Don't Want It
Soul mates. Twin flames. #CouplesGoals. All of these phrases have been used to describe the most idyllic relationships, and could be used to describe Barack and Michelle Obama, who once again flagrantly waved their seemingly perfect marriage in our faces as they celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary on Thursday. Of course, we know no one’s…
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Dear White People's Ashley Blaine Featherson Is Our Best Friend in Our Heads—but She's Nobody's Sidekick
There’s a very short list of onscreen characters we wish we were besties with, let alone actual actresses—Tracee Ellis Ross and Insecure’s Natasha Rothwell immediately come to mind. But if you’re a fan of Netflix’s Dear White People, the character “Joelle Brooks,” played by Ashley Blaine Featherson, is likely another favorite. The brilliant, always loyal…
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‘I Was Slap Boxing With My Auntie’: A$AP Rocky Explains His Babushkas—and Nail Art—as His AWGE Label Finds a Home
We know aunties hold a special place in black culture, but who knew one was the catalyst for one of the most confounding fashion trends of the last few years? But according to A$AP Rocky, it was his auntie who inspired his now well-known “Babushka Boi” image. “So basically I was slap boxing with my…
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On Brand: Gucci Mane Announces a Collaboration With—Who Else?—Gucci
So, what took so long? Trap originator Gucci Mane borrowed part of his famous moniker from the Italian fashion house of the same name and has frequently sported the brand in public (and likely, private) appearances. But despite the obvious and natural affiliation—and a recent front-row seat at Gucci’s Spring/Summer 2020 show in Milan—no formal…
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When 'Diversity & Inclusion' Is Disrespectful and Insulting: Kerby Jean-Raymond Calls Out Business of Fashion for Tokenizing and Appropriation
Sometimes, “a seat at the table” just means “sit there and make us look good while we pick your brain, exploit your culture and give you little to no credit.” At least, that’s what Kerby Jean-Raymond, designer and founder of Pyer Moss and a creative director at Reebok is alleging of fashion analysis and news…
