Or, How We Ended Up Arguing Over Which Size Trench Coat to Put on a World That Refuses to Stand Still Trying to fit the world into one map is a bit like buttoning two trench coats onto a globe—no matter how you tug the sleeves, someone’s left out in the cold. By J. Harlan Briggs The Mercator projection, rendered in satellite imagery. Greenland and Antarctica, both stretched far past their true size.* Somewhere around fourth grade, a teacher rolled down the classroom map, tapped Greenland, tapped Africa, and told us: these are not actually the same size, and here is why the map does that. I remember being a little thrilled by it — the specific thrill of learning that the authority in the room was willing to tell you where the official version cut corners. It didn’t wound me. It taught me the map had an agenda, and that the room was willing to say so out loud. That, more than the map itself, is the thing I’ve been trying to relocate ever since: not a corrected map, but an adult willing to name the correction. I bring this up because, in a world teetering on the edge of climate crisis, war, and economic collapse, the United Nations has at last summoned the courage to vote on a map. Yes, a map. And, tellingly, everyone involved managed to navigate the discussion without once saying the quiet part out loud: that almost no one in the room actually cares how big Greenland looks, except as a matter of national pride or diplomatic grandstanding. A Vote, Rendered Without Comment (A bureaucratic interlude) On September 4, 2026, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution (164 to 1) encouraging wider use of the Equal Earth projection, a map that shows countries at their true relative size, instead of the 1569 Mercator projection (built for sailors and quietly misleading schoolchildren ever since). Six countries abstained: Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine. None explained their reasoning publicly, which is its own kind of statement. One country voted no: the United States, whose deputy representative to the UN's Economic and Social Council dismissed the resolution as mocking the institution's real purpose, calling it one of the “barnacles” attached to the UN's actual work, a sentence that manages to insult the vote while accidentally admitting the institution has other things it could be doing. France went further than a simple yes. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced his ministry would drop Mercator entirely, switching to the Eckert IV projection, a different equal-area map than the UN's recommended Equal Earth, but grounded in the same logic of showing continents at their true size. His framing matched the campaign’s: the US, Russia, and China, he said, “take on a disproportionate visual importance compared with Africa, Latin America, or South-East Asia.” The resolution’s own text, for what it’s worth, goes even further, describing the correction as “an act of cognitive justice and memorial reparation,” language doing exactly the kind of extra psychological lifting this piece is about to spend several paragraphs being suspicious of. Togo’s foreign minister, Robert Dussey, put the stakes plainly: “A map is indeed a technical tool, but is also an instrument of knowledge and representation that shapes how people and continents perceive themselves.” He went on to argue that “correcting the map” also means “correcting a perception.” It’s an evocative argument, and exactly the conviction that first pulled me into this debate. The trouble begins when an evocative argument starts being treated as an established psychological fact. UN video: Robert Dussey on the adoption of the “Correct the Map” resolution The Fine Print That Was Never Required Here’s the detail that actually stopped me: nobody has ever been obligated to disclose any of this, not in 1569, not now. When Mercator published his map, he wasn’t exactly hiding anything. The full title translates to “a new and augmented description of Earth, corrected for the use of sailors,” and the map itself is covered in dense legend text explaining the projection and its navigational purpose. He was upfront about its use. What he never wrote anywhere on it was the plainer, more useful warning: this will make everything near the poles look bigger than it is, so don’t use this to compare continents. That omission wasn’t dishonesty. It simply wasn’t required, and still isn’t. Every flat map involves the same tradeoff: no projection can preserve size, shape, and direction all at once. That’s why alternatives to Mercator keep getting proposed instead of simply being fixed. There is still no standard, then or now, requiring a published map to disclose its distortions. Every “note: this map distorts area” you’ve ever seen in a textbook margin was somebody’s choice, not an obligation. That’s what made my fourth-grade teacher’s candor feel like a rare privilege. She wasn’t following a rule; there isn’t one. A Word from Constance Ashworth on the Vexing Matter of Ones Continent [A brief interruption, in a register the reader did not ask for.] One is given to understand that a Continent has, for some four hundred and fifty-seven years, been wearing the wrong size, and that the fashionable among us are now correcting this at last. The garment in question is called the Equal Earth projection, first tailored in 2018 by cartographers who found the previous alternative — the Gall-Peters projection, a garment briefly favored by the Boston public schools — to be structurally a bit much. For those wishing to see the alteration firsthand, visit thetruesize.com and drag Greenland onto Africa, watching it shrink to the approximate size of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which, one gathers, is the entire point. We now return you to Briggs, who has Feelings About Evidence. The Part Where I Stop Being Funny For A Minute Here’s where the map story usually shifts, and I think the pivot is worth catching in the act. Fara Ndiaye, co-founder of the advocacy group Speak Up Africa — one of the two organizations, alongside Africa No Filter, that led the “Correct the Map” push — has said that the Mercator distortion affects African identity and pride, and that this lands hardest on children who meet the map early in school. It’s a claim made with total institutional confidence, repeated in coverage of the campaign without much pushback, and it is, as far as I can find, completely untested. Not weakly supported. Untested. Here is what actually exists: A 2020 study surveying more than 130,000 people worldwide found that map projection does measurably shift how accurately people estimate country sizes — but the researchers were careful to note this wasn’t strong enough to say a person’s mental map is simply a copy of whichever projection they grew up with. Two years later, a separate study by cartography researchers Daniel Montello and Sarah Battersby went further, reporting no evidence at all for what’s sometimes called the “Mercator effect” on people’s recalled sense of area — the specific mechanism everyone assumes is happening. They did find effects on people’s sense of direction, just not on the size-judgment claim that gets repeated the most. Neither study is about children. Neither is about pride, identity, or self-esteem. Nobody has run that study on African schoolchildren or anyone else, in either direction. What exists is a body of research on whether maps distort spatial memory (contested), and a completely separate body of research on how children develop national pride (real, but unconnected to cartography), and an advocacy claim sitting in the gap between them, borrowing the authority of both while being tested by neither. The frustrating thing is that none of this was necessary. The map is wrong: Africa is roughly fourteen times larger than Greenland, yet Mercator shrinks that gulf until they seem like peers. That is a measurable error, reason enough to fix a wall map. Reaching past a solid factual case for an untested psychological claim doesn’t strengthen the argument; it just gives critics a softer target than the map itself. Returning To The Classroom What shaped me wasn’t the claim that “the map hurt you and you didn’t know it.” It was: “the map is imperfect, here’s specifically how, and here’s who’s still deciding what goes up on the wall next.” One is a disclosure; the other is a diagnosis nobody asked for, and nobody has actually tested. Fix the map. It’s overdue by about four and a half centuries. But don’t tell the kids it was quietly shaping them all along; tell them it was wrong, as my teacher did, and let them discover the charge of that candor themselves. Further reading, for anyone who wants to keep pulling the thread: UN General Assembly resolution coverage — CNN France's switch to Eckert IV, the abstaining countries, Barrot's statement — Euronews The resolution's actual text — UN document (French) Full vote coverage and Dussey's remarks — NPR The US objection, in full — The Hill The "Correct the Map" campaign and its critics — The Peninsula Qatar (AFP) Equal Earth projection, background — Wikipedia The map-perception study — Lapon, Ooms & De Maeyer, 2020 (DOI) The "no Mercator effect" rebuttal study — Montello & Battersby, 2022 Drag Greenland onto Africa yourself — thetruesize.com The 14x figure, explained — Visual Capitalist Robert Dussey — UN Media Stakeout: Cleaned Transcript, September 4, 2026 — Readable transcript, prepared from the UN Web TV recording and checked against the available automated transcript. *Map Image Attribution : "Mercator projection SW," Strebe, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

by Trudy Giordano. Illustration by Marcel van de Kraats. We lost her this week. Dolly Parton died Tuesday, August 25, 2026, in Nashville, at eighty. Even after having watched her build an empire out of a joke for six decades, outlast every trend that was supposed to make her irrelevant, and somehow turn a rhinestone-heavy approximation of a human exclamation point into one of America’s most trusted institutions, the finality of it still doesn’t sit right. The wig wasn’t hiding the woman. The wig was part of the woman.” You didn’t discover Dolly Parton. That’s the first thing people forget when they write about her now as though she were a cultural artifact waiting to be decoded. If you were a kid in the ’70s, she was just on. She was on the radio in the car; she was on Hee Haw; she was on The Porter Wagoner Show reruns your grandmother had on in the afternoon. Nobody sat you down and explained the semiotics of the wig. Thankfully. Early Memories For me, Dolly first entered my life through my mother. She was the real fan in the house. My earliest memory of Dolly isn’t American at all. It’s Dutch television. Dolly on Dutch TV In 1978, Dolly appeared on the Sonja Barend Show in Holland. I don’t remember the show itself vividly. What I remember is my mother watching it: how drawn she was to Dolly’s music, and the attention she gave her on television. Dolly came into my life through her first, my mother. I was too young to understand who Dolly Parton was in America, or why this woman with the enormous hair and impossible clothes mattered. I just knew that my mother cared about her, and that was enough to make me pay attention. And I remember the Playboy. Sonja held up the October 1978 issue of Playboy, with Dolly on the cover, and asked her about the Dolly Parton look-alike contests that were apparently popular in America. I probably thought it had something to do with Easter, because of the bunny ears. In my defense, I was a child and the only other adults in costumes I'd ever seen were handing out chocolate eggs. Dolly laughed. She said she was the easiest person in the world to imitate: all you needed was a wig and a flashy outfit. Honestly, this was an unusually efficient brand strategy. Dolly said she enjoyed the image and wasn’t as serious about it as people might think. Then she told Sonja that she had once almost entered a Dolly Parton look-alike contest herself, in a small town where nobody would recognize her, because she thought it would be funny if she entered and lost. That may be the most Dolly thing imaginable. She had essentially reverse-engineered the Dolly Parton costume and then handed the instructions to the public. I was too young to understand why that was funny. Dolly knew exactly what she was doing, though. She understood the joke, and she was in on it. Another detail seems almost absurd to me now. Dolly hated flying. She later said plainly, “I don’t like to fly,” and explained that she traveled by bus whenever she didn’t have to fly. Yet here she was in Holland, on Dutch television, laughing about people dressing up as her. The significance of it was completely lost on me at the time. What stayed with me wasn’t really the interview itself. It was my mother watching Dolly. From Family to Pop Culture By the time I was old enough to have an opinion about Dolly, she was already part of the cultural furniture. I didn’t really fall for her myself until I was a teenager. And when I did, it wasn’t the rhinestones or the persona that got me first. It was the guitar playing and that voice, the way she could make an instrument and a set of vocal cords do something that unmistakably belonged to her and no one else. That’s a different kind of falling in love with an artist than the wig or the punchlines. That’s craft, recognized young and never really shaken. Then 9 to 5 hit theaters in 1980 and something shifted, even if you were too young to clock what. Suddenly she wasn’t just a country voice on the radio. She was a movie star standing between Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, holding her own, writing the theme song herself, and turning the sound of her acrylic nails against a hard surface into one of the most recognizable rhythms in American pop culture. Her audience widened again. Dolly was no longer just somebody my mother listened to. She was becoming somebody everybody knew. Every kid I knew could do the “tinkle tinkle tinkle” line from memory, whether they’d seen the movie or not. That’s culture penetration you can’t manufacture. That’s just what it was to be alive and paying attention in that decade. And the audience kept widening. When "9 to 5" became a chart-topping pop hit in early 1981, Dolly was no longer neatly contained within country music. Islands in the Stream came out in '83 and it was inescapable, playing at every backyard barbecue, every wedding reception, every gas station radio. Nobody was thinking about Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton as a media strategy. They were just the sound of a summer. And here’s the part that’s hard to explain to anyone who met her only through the internet’s later, tidier version: there was an edge to how adults talked about her back then that kids picked up on without understanding. The jokes about her chest. The “dumb blonde” cracks. The way certain men would say her name with a smirk before saying anything else. It was casual, unremarked, the wallpaper of the era. She heard it too. She heard it more than anyone. And what’s remarkable in hindsight is that she never seemed to let it become an insult she had to defend herself against. She got there first. She made the joke herself. The people trying to diminish her never seemed actually to win. By the time Dollywood opened in 1986, she’d become something bigger than a singer to people my age. She was proof that a kid from a one-room cabin in East Tennessee could build an empire and owe no one an apology for how she chose to look while doing it. Nobody in my house called it feminism. Nobody called it anything. She was just Dolly. And Dolly was one of the good ones. This was not a political endorsement. There was no yard sign. Nobody had to register with the Dolly Party. She was filed under GOOD, and the filing system seemed remarkably efficient. Everybody agreed that the way you agree kindness matters, or dogs are good, or Tennessee summers are too hot. It wasn’t an opinion. It was just true. What gets lost in the wig jokes, and what deserves to be said plainly now, is how consistently she extended that generosity beyond the people who looked like her or agreed with her. In 2016, after North Carolina passed its controversial HB2 law, Dolly spoke out against it while still going ahead with her scheduled performance in the state. Her response was characteristically plainspoken: “I think everybody should be treated with respect. I don’t judge people.” She hoped everybody would get the chance to be who and what they are. She didn’t need to turn herself into a political brand. She could say what she believed without making the belief itself the brand. That distinction mattered. She could be deeply rooted in the culture that produced her without being trapped by its assumptions. She could be unmistakably Southern without becoming a caricature of Southern politics. She could be religious without making exclusion the price of admission. She could be sexually provocative without seeming particularly interested in scandal. And somehow she could make people across those divides feel that she belonged to them. I didn’t fully understand how unusual that was until much later. A Late Reintroduction In 2024, I stumbled onto Dolly for President, a four-part Omroep MAX series in which Dutch singer Ilse DeLange and television presenter Frank Evenblij travel through Tennessee trying to answer a question that sounds simple and isn’t: why does everybody love Dolly Parton? The question immediately struck me as both obvious and strange. Watching two Dutch broadcasters investigate Dolly through Sevierville, Dollywood, and the wider Tennessee world she came from, I found myself looking at a woman I had known since childhood as though I were seeing her for the first time. Sometimes it takes someone else’s outsider curiosity to make you actually look at what was always just wallpaper. They could see something I had stopped seeing. They could see the construction. Because almost everything about Dolly Parton was constructed. The hair, the eyelashes, the clothes—even her famously exaggerated look and her persona—were all part of it. And yet I don’t remember ever experiencing her as fake. That’s the part that finally became interesting to me. Maybe the mistake is thinking that the artificial and the sincere are opposites. Dolly never pretended she was natural. She understood the performance and never seemed embarrassed by it. She chose the hair. She chose the clothes. She chose the jokes. She exaggerated the very things people had used to reduce her to a punchline, turning the exaggeration into her signature. It may have made her feel more authentic. America is obsessed with authenticity, which is an interesting national hobby for a country that has spent two centuries manufacturing identities at industrial scale. We like our people “real,” preferably self-made, preferably from a small town, preferably with a hardship story, preferably photographed in denim while standing in front of something made of wood. Dolly understood the assignment. She just added rhinestones. She didn’t pretend the construction wasn’t there. She practically put it under stage lighting. And perhaps that is why she could cross so many of the lines that seemed impossible to cross. Country and pop. Poor and rich. Southern and cosmopolitan. Religious and accepting. Sex symbol and grandmother. Businesswoman and fool. Biblical and rhinestone. Artificial and sincere at the same time. She never seemed particularly interested in resolving those contradictions for us. She just lived in them. And maybe that’s why the Dutch question stayed with me. Why does everybody love Dolly Parton? I don’t think the answer is that she fooled everyone into thinking she was something she wasn’t. It’s almost the opposite. Maybe that was part of the trust. She never asked us to believe she hadn’t made herself. The hair was real in the sense that it belonged to her, even when it wasn’t growing out of her head. The persona was real because she chose it. The joke was real because she understood it. The woman felt real because, underneath all that construction, there was never much mystery about what she valued: work, family, generosity, independence, humor, and the freedom to make a life on your own terms. Maybe that’s why you trusted her. She’s gone now, and the wig, the voice, the guitar, the rhinestones, the jokes, the whole six-decade performance that turned out never really to have been a performance in the way we usually mean it—all of it stays exactly as true as it always was. I didn’t have to discover Dolly. I had to learn how to see her. Full Circle And I keep coming back to that television screen in Holland in 1978. Not the program. My mother, watching. I didn't know yet that the woman singing “Heartbreaker” and “Baby I'm Burnin'” would become one of the most recognizable people in the world, or that it would take two Dutch strangers on television, decades later, to make me actually look at her again. I just remember Dolly. I didn't have to discover her. I had to learn how to see her.

THE DAILY ENGINE AUGUST 24, 2026 So here’s what Formula 1 wants you and me to believe happened this week: Max Verstappen, four-time world champion, gazed at the endless buffet of team offers before him and, drumroll, chose Red Bull. And everyone is treating this like a wedding, minus the open bar and the hope. From Open Doors to No Doors But let’s walk through what actually happened to us as F1 fans. Verstappen’s old contract had an exit clause, the sport’s version of a prenup: if he went into the summer break outside the top two in the championship, he was free to leave. He entered the break sixth, driving a car he had personally and repeatedly called “undriveable.” The door wasn’t just open. It was swinging in the wind. And then he walked through it, looked around, and signed a new deal keeping him at Red Bull until 2030. The Choice: Three offers tied up neatly. One contract left open. Romantic Narratives, Real Options Here’s the part everyone keeps missing, maybe because the confetti from the “loyalty” parade is clogging their ears. When a reporter asked him, gently, if he’d ever come close to actually leaving for someone else, Verstappen didn’t say Mercedes tried to seduce him, or that McLaren was whispering sweet nothings in his ear. He said: “I think I was closer to retiring than changing team!” That’s not a love story. That’s a “fine, I’ll stay until they turn the lights off.” He even told Mekies not to ask about the future. Commitment, folks! That is the man who “chose loyalty” this week. By his own words, he was somewhere between “maybe I quit” and “please, no more questions.” And to be fair, the retirement question was not theoretical. Verstappen has said his dissatisfaction with the 2026 regulations had made him seriously question whether he wanted to continue in Formula 1 at all. (Reuters) All the Good Seats Are Gone Now, in fairness to Max, it’s not as though he had a stack of other offers sitting on a table waiting for him. By the time any of this needed to be decided, Ferrari had already locked up Leclerc and Hamilton, and McLaren had Norris and Piastri signed. Mercedes, it turns out, had settled its own lineup long before anyone let Verstappen in on it. Toto Wolff confirmed as much after the fact, with the specific warmth of a man closing a door he’d already nailed shut. Mercedes had had its pairing sorted for a long time, Verstappen re-signing was just a logical consequence, and, as he put it, “silly season is officially cancelled.” Lovely thing to say about a man you were supposedly courting. But if you looked at the headlines, you’d think the silly season was just heating up. The media kept the hype machine running at full throttle, spinning every rumor into a dramatic cliffhanger, even after the actual doors had quietly closed. Back in June, when people were really trying to figure out where he might go if he left, the honest answer being talked about was Aston Martin or Audi, an outcome the reporting at the time called a “bitter pill to swallow” for a four-time world champion, since neither looked particularly good to him. So: the good seats were gone, the backup seats were the F1 version of a folding chair, and the third option was “just go home.” Against those choices, Verstappen’s line about not needing to “drive in another colour” sounds less like poetry and more like us picking the only thing left on the menu. Red Bull’s Musical Chairs Meanwhile, as Verstappen weighed his options, Red Bull HQ was having its own meltdown. The real story isn’t a hero returning to the castle. It’s a team that’s lost its boss, its top designer, and its longtime advisor in record time, and its longtime race engineer is leaving too. Thursday wasn’t a transfer win. It was a game of musical chairs where everyone else had already left the room. They kept the person around whom the whole operation is built, and the alternatives for Verstappen were hardly lining up around the block. Even the “until 2030” part might not mean quite what it sounds like. When a reporter asked Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies, straight out, whether the new deal has an exit clause, he didn’t say no. He just said, “It’s our business.” Which is what you say when you’re not interested in discussing whether the door has a back entrance. The one part of this that isn’t spin: Verstappen has spent all year furious about the 2026 regulations, and he’s reportedly had real conversations with F1 boss Stefano Domenicali about the sport’s direction, including the possibility of a return to V8 engines by 2030. That’s not sentiment. That’s an actual policy issue, quietly buried under all the spin. And then there’s this: he showed up to his last home race, the last Dutch Grand Prix Zandvoort is going to get, at least for now, a little sick, enough to change his Thursday schedule because of it. By Saturday, he was telling Viaplay pit reporter Chiel van Koldenhoven that he still felt sick and mostly wanted his bed. Honestly, who wouldn’t be sick if this was your outlook in F1? You’d have to trust, no, believe, that Red Bull can climb back to the top, even if right now it feels about as likely as finding a unicorn in the Energy Station. The Honeymoon Lasts One Lap So here’s where this epic romance lands: Max Verstappen is staying at Red Bull because, by his own account, he was closer to retiring than changing teams, and the alternatives on the table weren’t exactly irresistible. And when a Zandvoort reporter pointed out that fifteen years together is longer than a lot of real marriages, Max leaned into the metaphor like a best man with a microphone and half a bottle of champagne. “Practising for my own marriage!” he said, joking that when the real one happens, he’ll try to make it last three times as long, forty-five years or so, if he’s counting. Picture it: the man who almost quit is now using his racing contract as relationship goals. He’s not engaged this week. But he’s already picked his forever team. And then, on Sunday, the universe took a swing. Verstappen’s last home race, the one Zandvoort isn’t scheduled to hold again, ended for him at the end of the opening lap. Heavy rain half an hour before the start left the final corner wet; he thought a wet patch was dry, got back on the gas, and lost the back of the car into the wall. Hard enough to bring out the red flag. He got out fine and, by his own words, went to wait out the rest of the race in Red Bull’s Energy Station, the team’s own hospitality area. Which is, honestly, a gift: the man backed by an energy drink company, sick all weekend and running on empty, spent the rest of the race in a building called Energy Station. He looked it, too. Not crushed by the result, just clearly still fighting off whatever bug had been going around all weekend, voice rough, answering questions instead of running on adrenaline. Asked about the crash itself, he didn’t blame anything else. It was just his mistake. Lando Norris went on to win, his second in a row, ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, in a race that only got messier as everyone struggled with tyre choices. The Red Bull that actually got a good result wasn’t Verstappen’s. Liam Lawson brought the other car home seventh. Verstappen still hasn’t won this season. The crash wasn’t even the worst part, he told Van Koldenhoven. “We just had no speed all weekend,” he said, adding that he would much rather have been fighting at the front. That’s a strange thing to say the same weekend he signed through 2030, based on a season in which Red Bull has struggled for pace and Verstappen has yet to win. If Red Bull needed a highlight reel for why they just signed him for fifteen years, Sunday didn’t give them one. If they needed a reminder of why they might need all fifteen of those years, there it is. Fifteen years, and the honeymoon didn’t survive the first lap. Credit where it’s due: asked how it felt watching his last home race end that way, he skipped the spin too, saying only that he’d have preferred a better final race, and that overall it had been “a lot of positive and beautiful moments.” Not the worst note to end a marriage metaphor on. Slick Pitch, Questionable Delivery Quick confession before the end: somewhere between Verstappen’s “loyalty” and the crash, you and I got hit with an ad for a Red Bull car with bread slots. I commented “fan.” Of course, the link took me straight to a pre-order shop selling “F1 Benz,” “La Rarri,” and, for absolutely no reason, Star Wars. The site itself warned that the photos were “AI-enhanced for presentation purposes and may differ slightly from the final product received.” Pretty much sums up our weekend: Slick pitch. Questionable delivery. Synthetic image concept generated with Kling AI.

by Cyrene Renée @cyrenerenee Black Dandyism, a term that has been around for centuries, but in recent months, has been given a more mainstream rebirth. With the 2025 Met Gala “Superfine, Tailoring Black Style,” taking center stage on a much-needed topic. Black fashion has been given its flowers. This was the first time the Met Gala dedicated the event to Black designers, Black stylists, and Black creatives. Celebrities Zandaya, Janelle Monae, Diana Ross, Angela Bassett, Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, Alton Mason, and many others graced the blue speckled carpet in their finest tailored ensembles. Cloaked in exceptional fabrics. Adorned with creative details of pearls, metallics, clocks, and feathers. Their hats cocked to the side embracing the finest of attitudes. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the latest to capture the historic account of culture and pristine handsome beauty. For those of us who know, the Gala may have been for one night, but Dandyism is a mindset. It is a tribute to ancestral tenacity and class. It is more than a suit. It is who we are as people. “I laid out above eight pounds of my money for a suit of superfine clothes to dance with at my freedom.” ~ OLUADAH EQUANO, 1789 DANDYISMDEFINED According to the Oxford University Press, the term Dandy is defined as “1. A person unduly devoted to style, neatness, and fashion in dress and appearance. 2. An excellent thing of its kind.” The Met states, “A Dandy is defined as someone who “studies above everything else to dress elegantly and fashionably.” In a nutshell, Dandyism is dope! It is art. It is pristine and captivating. It can be as simple or elaborate as the person would like it to be. To be a Dandy is to be bold, and confident. Always confident. The rule of Dandyism is to be uniquely you. It is far less about the price tag of the garment and more about how it is presented. Regardless of if the piece is couture, thrifted, or trending, the individual breathes life and dignified character of boundless greatness. “Dandy to me means being unabashedly yourself. A person of substance and standards who takes risks and shrugs off naysayers. A descriptive term for some who shakes and moves by their own rules, with immaculate tailoring to boot!” RAMÓN LUIS (DANDY ROYALE GUEST) “I know society can learn from the history of the Dandy and Black culture. Black people will always be resourceful and rooted in self-love which is a shared experience through expression.” ~ ELISHA GLASS (DANDY ROYALE GUEST) HISTORY AT HIS FINEST Since the 18th century, Black people have embraced our beauty, accentuated our personal archetype, conquered devious stereotypes, and persevered while looking good through it all. Beyond mere appearances, we have created the societal norms and status quo of fashion with talent, innovation, and determination as well as through music, theater, television, film, and poetry, and in all levels of visual artistry. Either as freedmen or enslaved ancestors working as tradesmen, in indentured servitude or held captive in bondage in the 18th and 19th centuries, the flappers and dapper gentlemen of the roaring 20s during the Harlem Renaissance, rock and roll and the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, disco in the 1970s, street style and hip-hop in the 1980s to present day, and the blues since the beginning of time, we remain a classic. Throughout history and modern day, Black people have shown unique growth despite the ongoing wrongdoings against the community. Through art and specifically through fashion, we have been able to dispel the myths used to attempt to stunt our progression. The Dandy is a direct result of such a dilemma. The art of dressing impeccably allows for a different tale beyond comparison to a primate. As the elders may say, “there must be a fly in the buttermilk,” or in today’s terms, “the math isn’t matching.” SUPERFINE The exhibition is free with museum entry. We traveled to the rear of the museum. Coasting through with one space in mind. While other showcases are bright and airy, the exhibition itself is dim. The lighting sets the mood for a theatrical and smokey journey. The strategically placed lighting illuminates each figure, allowing for silence and in some cases an uproar. It is grouped into 12 sections to include cool, jook, presence, disguise, distinction, champion, beauty, respectability, freedom, cosmopolitanism, ownership, and heritage. With these sub-sections, museum-goers are introduced to different styling of Dandyism and its progress. Shifting the climate of each station with each outfit at a time. From track pants, to silk lined blazers, ruffled shirts, kaftans, sneakers, and shined hard-sole shoes, all are on display for the world to see. Coupled together in a common yet grandiose space, attendees can connect with the displayed garments, fabrics, encased accessories, and photos and videos of Dandies past and present. Placing names and dates pinpointing the who and the where brings a sense of humanity and relatability to the exposition. It goes far beyond mannequins draped in fine threads. The rooms are filled with carefully chosen artifacts of distinct taste. A living art gallery of various time periods of fashion seamlessly held together by one common theme: admiration for style. It is a sight to behold. “The Costume Institute’s Spring 2025 exhibition presents a cultural and historical examination of Black style over three hundred years through the concept of dandyism. In the 18th-century Atlantic world, a new culture of consumption, fueled by the slave trade, colonialism, and imperialism, enabled access to clothing and goods that indicated wealth, distinction, and taste. Black dandyism sprung from the intersection of African and European style traditions.” ~THE ~ METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, 2025, SUPERFINE: TAILORING BLACK STYLE THE ROYALE This all leads me to The Dandy Royale. I came up with the idea when I heard about the showcase. I knew I wanted to see it. I knew I had to see it, but I didn’t want to attend common wares. I wanted to show up as my own version of Dandy. I had two months to plan and prepare. It needed to be done well. I wanted to create something memorable and tangible. This needed to be documented. The invitations doubled as a custom Power Point website with detailed information for all attendees. It was a must for the execution to be as close to perfect as possible. Thankfully, I have some marvelous friends who all accepted the invitation and the challenge to show up and show out graciously and unapologetically. Beyond just seeing the exhibition, I curated an editorial photoshoot held in Central Park. Steps away from the historical Seneca Village community, which is located on the West Side. It was only right since we were already adorned in our Dandy best, and near where original Black settlers lived before the park was established from the 1820s to the 1850s. They were ultimately forcibly removed and displaced by eminent domain in mid-1850, due to the city’s aspirations to expand the plans during the creation of the park. From there, we attended my birthday dinner at the Café d’Alsace. The décor of the restaurant fit the theme of our fashions just right. From the checkered tiled floors to the printed wallpaper and illustrious bar. We sat in the private dining space in the rear of the restaurant. The tablescape was just as important as the trip to the museum. Black and white with hints of plum for a splash of color not to clash with the pine green chairs. Custom favors of Himalayan rose bath salts and selenite crystals were given to all guests. Personalized menus and thank you postcards, along with the official Superfine postcards from The Met gift shop were at each setting. White chargers and black table runners placed vertically to create a bold stripe along the dinner table. Fresh purple flowers in vintage glass bud vases nestled between the stark black and white. The main centerpiece, a large, white, two-tiered, naked cake with white edible pearls, silver candles, and a black-and-white Polaroid-style photo of myself. The flavors were bold and fun, based off pies, key lime and peach cobbler. White linen napkins with lucite and feather place cards for assigned seating. Black-and-white spiraled candles with vintage metallic holders used to continue the vision. Decorated bottles of wine and apple cider with white pearls and etched flowers were placed on either side. Small cream velvet pockets of tic tac toe game filled with pearled bows and circles for a guest activity. The Dandy theme further played out on the dinner table with framed accessories featuring a pearl necklace, a mini polka dot bow tie, silver tie clips, silver applique, and a pewter pocket watch. Simple touches to remind us of what makes a lady a lady, and a gentleman a gentleman, and everyone in between. It was a brilliant extension of the museum. In a nutshell, it was Dandy. “I admire Rihanna because her style is more than just her clothes—it’s her attitude, confidence, and vibe. She wears authentic, unapologetic clothes, despite what others think. She walks with confidence and poise, turning heads wherever she goes, ignoring what others think. She’s done edgy, glam, sporty, and chic. She’s multifaceted. She’s inspiring, and I try to incorporate bad gyal energy into every outfit.” ~AMANDA UDAKA (DANDY ROYALE GUEST) “My personal style would be described as streetstyle chic. I like simplicity and comfort with a little something extra to elevate my looks. For instance, a matching set is simple, but your jewelry, shades, handbag, other accessories, or even hairstyle can turn something simple into something dynamic." ~MARCUS EARLY (DANDY ROYALE GUEST) This event was to ultimately celebrate my birthday with my loves, but it was also a beautiful moment to celebrate Black excellence with the very people who go above and beyond in their own fields of expertise and talents. Individuals whom I admire and have the blessing to call family and friends. We uplift and support each other in real time and for all the right reasons. It wasn’t just about me; it was about us. It was about the resilience and the magic that makes society what it is today, by honoring those who have come before us. “I not only had a great time at Cyrene’s Dandy Royale, I received a hands-on masterclass in Dandyism itself. Watching Cyrene, her friends, and contemporaries bring this art form to life was truly remarkable. As someone outside of the model world, I was honored to witness such an artful celebration of life, style, and fashion history. I am humbled to be a part of it.” ~ANDREW MARSH (DANDY ROYALE GUEST) Ancestors are not “was,” but “are.” If we speak their names, tell their stories, read their books, watch their movies, and listen to their music, they are very much relevant and present even beyond their transition. I made the day personal and wore an icon photo pendant of my grandmother. I wanted her to be present and honored. On any given day you will find me with an icon brooch of Dorothy Dandridge, who is my style icon, or Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Irene Cara, or Maya Angelou. Those who have come before me and paved the way for me to be who and what I am. I would describe my personal style as chic, sexy, classic, classy, and even when casual, a touch of vintage adornment. Fashion is one thing and style is another. It is my personality draped over my being. It is the embodiment of my spirit. How I look and how I feel shown in a visual representation whether caught in a glance, a glare, or desired longing. It is me. Dare I say, I too, am a Dandy. “Being rebellious and Black, a nonconformist, being cool and hip and angry and sophisticated and ultra clean, whatever else you want to call it. I was all those things and more.” ~MILES DAVIS. (“MILES: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY,” 1989) CREDITS PHOTOGRAPHER: TRUDY GIORDANO & ELISHA GLASS CREATIVE DIRECTOR: CYRENE RENEE STYLIST: CYRENE RENEE DECORATIONS & EVENT PLANNING: CYRENE RENEE EVENT PLANNING ASSISTANT: MORGAN LEWIS LOCATIONS: THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART – 1000 5TH AVE, NEW YORK NY 10028 CENTRAL PARK – CENTRAL PARK NEW YORK, NY 100024 CAFE D’ALSACE RESTAURANT – 1703 2ND AVE NEW YORK, NY 10128 QUOTES: AMANDA UDUKA ANDREW MARSH ELISHA GLASS FREDERICK DOUGLAS MARCUS EARLY MILES DAVIS OLUADAH EQUANO * RAMÓN LUIS BOOKRECOMMENDATIONS: CARL AYERS ASPECIALTHANKSTOALLWHOATTENDED ALYSSA SENEH AMANDA UDUKA ANDREW MARSH BRANDON JERROD ELISHA GLASS MARCUS EARLY MONIQUA FLADGER MORGAN LEWIS RAMON LUIS TAYLOR WILLIAMS TRUDY GIORDANO RESOURCES:* MONICA L. MILLER WITH ANDREW BOLTON, WILLIAM DEGREGORIO AND AMANDA GARFINKEL, 2025, “SUPERFINE: TAILORING BLACK STYLE.” * OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS DICTIONARY. * SHANTRLLE P. LEWIS, 2017, “THE DANDY LION: THE BLACK DANDY AND STREET STYLE.” * THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY, 2018 JAN 18, BEFORE CENTRAL PARK: THE STORY OF SENECA VILLIAGE, HTTPS://WWW.CENTRALPARKNYC.ORG/ARTICLES/SENECA-VILLAGE * THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, 2025, SUPERFINE: TAILORING BLACK STYLE, HTTPS://WWW.METMUSEUM.ORG/EXHIBITIONS/SUPERFINE-TAILORING-BLACK-STYLE

HEY, HAVE YOU NOTICED THE EXCITING GAP IN THE FASHION SCENE? IMAGINE NONBINARY TAILORS REIMAGINING SHAPES, FEMME-PRESENTING STYLISTS GIVING DENIM A FRESH TWIST, AND DIGITAL AVATARS ROCKING GLITCH LACE AND ALGAE SILK! WE REALLY NEED THESE VIBRANT VOICES TO BRING THE MOVEMENT TO LIFE IN ALL ITS COLORFUL DIMENSIONS! The MET's portrayal of dandyism is visually rich and historically anchored, but it risks feeling like a curated relic. The exhibition *Superfine: Tailoring Black Style* nods to figures like Beau Brummell and Oscar Wilde while incorporating the vital work of Shantrelle P. Lewis and her Dandy Lion project. However, even as it gestures toward Black dandyism, it often feels like an afterthought rather than a re-centering. Black, queer, and femme dandies don't just add to the tradition; they explode it. They transform dandyism from a decorative pastime into a sharp act of rebellion. Yet the exhibit hesitates to tell that story. Dandyism isn't only about the past; it lives and resists in the present. Still, the MET's approach feels more like a portrait gallery than a living, evolving scene. It frames dandyism as an artifact rather than as an energetic movement. Even last May's MET Gala, which hinted at dandyism, missed the mark. The looks were more department-store dapper than decadent subversion. The attendees resembled dandies but forgot that being a dandy isn't a costume; it's a worldview. I visited *Superfine* with a group of neo-dandies, each of us embodying a modern interpretation, gender-fluid tailoring, maximalist detail, and theatrical confidence. We twirled when others turned and lounged while others posed. Museum-goers assumed we were part of the exhibit. Cameras flashed, and compliments flew. For a moment, we were what the show tried to contain "behind glass." But while the public embraced us, the staff seemed suspicious, viewing our gathering not as a celebration but as a disruption. It became clear that the exhibit had a blind spot: dandyism is not merely a display; it is a transformative way of life that must be felt and embraced. To further explore the vibrant world of dandyism and its dynamic evolution, check out the insightful piece "Dandy Royale" by Cyrene Renée. In this article, she delves deeper into the essence of this cultural phenomenon. René reflects on the powerful gathering of the "Dandy Royale" at the MET, capturing not only the fashion and artistry of the day but also the palpable energy and joy that defined the experience. She weaves personal anecdotes with cultural commentary, illuminating Black dandyism as a rich tapestry of identity and resilience. This article promises to offer a multifaceted perspective, featuring contributions from various writers, each bringing their unique lens to the celebration of dandyism as a contemporary movement that refuses to be contained.

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.” ~ Oscar Wilde Dandyism is often mistaken for indulgence, yet its essence is discipline, curation, and timeless elegance. (Southerton, n.d.) Imagine a dandy in a perfectly cut jacket-not from a couture house, but a vintage tailor’s shop where every stitch has a story. In a world drowning in textile waste, this philosophy feels urgent. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter after oil, producing 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually. Fast fashion, emerging in the 1980s, accelerated production, encouraged overconsumption, and ignored reuse or recycling. Clothing became disposable, with novelty valued above all else, fueling a cycle of endless desire. (UN Environment Programme, 2025) Dandyism offers a counterpoint. Rooted in 19th-century figures like Beau Brummel and Oscar Wilde, it prizes quality, simplicity, and detail. Modern “neo-dandies” reinterpret this tradition, blending elegance with individuality and a critical stance toward mass fashion. Style becomes both art and resistance. (Maciejewski & Lesznik, 2020) A shift from fast fashion’s linear model to circular fashion is essential, extending garment lifecycles, reducing waste, and favoring timeless design. (Lannilli & Spagnoli, 2024) Here, vintage fashion plays a vital role, offering individuality, authenticity, and sustainability. Neo-dandies selectively embrace vintage, creating wardrobes that are curated, maintained, and deeply personal. This approach resists fast fashion’s standardization, allowing clothing to serve as an expression of taste and identity rather than mere trend compliance. In the “waste-age,” the modern dandy’s creed-dress exquisitely, but not wastefully, offers more than style. It is a philosophy that, if widely embraced, could inspire conscious consumption and help fashion step out of the waste stream and into a more sustainable future. While dandyism may carry the visual language of luxury—crisp tailoring, sumptuous textures, and an air of refinement—it no longer demands a lavish budget. Today’s sustainable options, from second-hand boutiques to clothing swaps and upcycled tailoring, make it possible to achieve the dandy’s signature polish without excess spending or environmental cost. The allure lies not in the price tag, but in the intentionality: garments chosen for their craftsmanship, history, and character. In this way, the modern dandy proves that elegance need not be extravagant, and that true style is measured not in currency, but in creativity and care for the world we inhabit. “Neo-dandyism is not about what one spends—it is about what one saves, preserves, and wears with purpose.” Sources: 1. Southerton, D. (n.d.) Dandyism in the Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture. https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/consumerculture/chpt/dandyism# 2. UN Environment Programme (2025). Unsustainable fashion and textiles in focus for International Day of Zero Waste 2025. Press Release. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/unsustainable-fashion-and-textiles- focus-intemational-day-zero 3. Maciejewski, G., Lesznik, D. (2020). Dandyism - A New Trend on The Fashion Market Or Just A Blast from The Past? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342599653 Dandyism -A_New_Trend_on_The_Fashion_Market_Or_Just_A_Blast_from_The_Past 4. Lannilli, V. M., Spagnoli, A. (2024). Conscious Fashion Culture: Rethinking consumption in contemporary fashion https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 382413083 Conscious_Fashion_Culture_Rethinking_consumption_in_contemporary_fashion All Images are generated with KLING AI 1.5 by Trudy Giordano

By Hetheru Raatmut, August 20th 9th. 2025 We asked NU World Kulture Digital Designs’ fashion designer HetHeru Raatmut to create a concept-driven editorial exploring All-Denim Neodandyism. The brief is as radical as it is poetic: imagine a futuristic, post-binary evolution of dandy style — one that draws on denim’s working-class past yet reimagines it for a utopian tomorrow. The result is less about clothing as a commodity and more about clothing as a manifesto. These digital fashion portraits take denim out of the realm of the casual and into a space where it becomes sculptural, sensual, and unapologetically experimental. Commentary and Style Analysis by HetHeru Raatmut @nuworldkulture9 1.Urban Vanguard: All-Denim Neodandyism I was drawn to the concept of All-Denim Neodandyism due to its feminine-centric exploration and focus on the cultural expression in fashion of the working-class ethos and style. As a Womanist, Human Rights activist, and Digital Fashion Designer, I wanted to explore the idea of denim as a radical gesture, accessible, genderless, and full of unique and limitless possibilities. My vision was to create looks that were both futuristic and nostalgic, reimagining them for a utopian tomorrow. The outfits are manifestations of this vision, blending traditional denim with radical styling and a post-binary aesthetic. The use of denim as a primary material is a nod to the working-class ethos. My use of digital design tools allowed for the creation of highly detailed and realistic images, showcasing the outfits in a way that is both visually striking and thought-provoking. The images invite the viewer to consider the possibilities of fashion as a means of self-expression and cultural commentary, and how such denim designs can be used to push the boundaries of traditional fashion design. hrowing it into the ocean—technically possible, but highly unlikely to bring results. 2. Denim Ascendant: Post-Binary EleganceRebellion STYLE ANALYSIS The women in the images embody the essence of All-Denim Neodandyism, a style that reimagines denim in a futuristic, post-binary context. Their outfits are testaments to the radical reworking of traditional denim garments, blending softness with structure and embracing androgyny. In the first still, the woman wears a denim jacket with a patchwork design, featuring a mix of light and dark blue denim pieces. The jacket is oversized, with a relaxed fit and a zip-up front. The sleeves are long and billowy, adding a touch of drama to the overall look. Her denim skirt is also made from a patchwork of different denim pieces, some of which are lighter or darker than others. The skirt is knee-length, with a flowy design that adds a touch of femininity to the overall look. The skirt is also adorned with a belt made from denim, which adds a touch of practicality to the outfit. In the second still, the woman wears a denim jacket with a corset-like design, featuring a structured silhouette that cinches at the waist. The jacket is made from a patchwork of different denim pieces, some of which are distressed or frayed, adding a touch of ruggedness to the overall look. The sleeves are long and billowy, with a slight bell shape at the cuff. Her denim shorts are wide-legged and flowy, with an asymmetrical hem that adds a touch of drama to the outfit. The shorts are also made from a patchwork of different denim pieces, some of which are lighter or darker than others, creating a visually interesting contrast. The women’s boots are a striking feature of the outfit, made from a combination of denim and metallic materials. They have a chunky sole and a lace-up design, adding an edgy touch to the overall look. The boots are also adorned with metallic accents, which catch the light and add a touch of glamour to the outfits. 3. Patchwork Power: The Neo-Dandy Rebellion The women’s hairstyles and makeup are also noteworthy. The woman in the first image has a short, pixie-like cut with platinum blonde hair, while the woman in the second image has a short, spiky cut with platinum blonde hair. Both women have bold and dramatic makeup, with a focus on dark eyes and bold lips. The third image, The Neo-Dandy Rebellion, is a sharp, subversive take on neo-dandyism. This look turns denim into armor for the modern iconoclast. The ensemble is built from a meticulously constructed patchwork of light, mid, and deep indigo panels, each piece of denim sliced, angled, and rejoined into a geometric mosaic. The short-sleeved jacket, with its popped collar and precision tailoring, carries a sense of rebellious refinement — equal parts streetwear and avant-garde tailoring. The trousers mirror the top’s patchwork complexity, their relaxed silhouette offset by the exacting geometry of the seams. Layered silver chain necklaces drape across the chest, adding an industrial, almost punk-like edge, while reflective blue-tinted sunglasses lock the gaze in futuristic cool.

Brandon Jerrod is an innovative, ever-evolving stylist who views fashion as more than just clothing. To him, it’s unspoken freedom, confidence, and self-expression. Brandon incorporates history, personality, and a modern edge into every look he creates—from his deep dive into dandyism to his vintage leather jacket. In this open conversation, he discusses what inspires his style, his vision for the future of fashion, and how he balances trendsetting with environmental consciousness. He also opens up about his acting goals and his take on AI’s role in the fashion industry. He launched his first solo runway show, Dandysim, at Fashion Week Brooklyn in April. Ready to be inspired? Let’s get off the runway with Brandon Jerrod. Interview with stylist Brandon Jerrod @brandonjerrod When and why did you fall in love with fashion? Since I was a kid, my mom always had me dressed to the nines! I’m an only child, so my Christmases and birthdays are always filled with tons of new clothes.) Who is your style icon and why? My style icon is anyone who confidently wears the clothes—rather than letting the clothes wear them! For example, Rihanna has that DGAF attitude that elevates her style and demands attention and respect. Prince was like that too, and of course, Michael Jackson. What is your favorite part of fashion? Freedom! There’s something so empowering about expressing yourself without words, purely through your aesthetic. Your presence speaks before you do—why not make it fun? Fashion lets you be whoever you want to be. How would you describe your personal style? My style is ever-changing. It doesn’t fit into a box. It’s unexpected and bold, yet refined (so I’ve been told). For me, confidence always comes before trends. Where did you get your ideas for your Dandy collection? Did you do any research? I knew dandyism would be a focus this year, especially after the Met Gala and the exhibit that followed. I did a deep dive into the history of the movement—its origins and how it’s evolved today. I was surprised by how broad the definition of a dandy can be, but the feel is consistent: bold, expressive, eccentric yet refined, and very confident. It instantly clicked for me. I consider myself a modern dandy, and this collection was my way of speaking to that. Describe the future of fashion from your point of view. The future of fashion will always, in some way, pay homage to the past. As we begin to truly respect fashion’s cyclical nature and understand its roots, we’ll see innovation built on that foundation. I hope future fashion brings even more sustainable methods—making style more accessible while reducing harm to the planet. Who are your top three fashion stylists? J. Bolin @stylistjbolin Daniel Hawkins @1800Dhawk Rahel Tadesse @stylebyrahel1 How can people elevate their everyday looks into one-of-a-kind moments? Look for statement pieces—unique items that stand out. A cool leather jacket, bold sunglasses, or an incredible pair of boots you find at a thrift or consignment shop. Those kinds of pieces elevate everyday looks and help you stand out effortlessly. What’s your favorite vintage find in your closet right now? Sheesh, I have so many! But my all-time favorite is a vintage rock ’n’ roll leather racer jacket with hand-painted ‘80s rock band names, studs, and all the goodies. I found it in Atlanta at my favorite thrift shop in Little Five Points. It’s simply timeless. What’s next? I’m hoping to work with bigger brands and expand into more national and international projects. I’m also exploring acting—currently testing my chops in a few projects. Eventually, I’d love to work on the wardrobe side of film too. I’m always fascinated by the costume process on set. It looks like so much fun! What’s your favorite fashion time period and why? The 1970s, by far! Platform heels, flowy open blouses, bouncy long hair or Afros, and gender-fluid fashion. I would’ve thrived in the ’70s! What celebrity would you love to style, and for what event? I’d love to style actor Jeremy Pope. He’s a risk-taker and has the confidence to pull off anything. Plus, having a great personal style makes collaboration that much smoother. Before we finish, we’d like to delve a bit deeper into some pressing issues How do you balance style trends with sustainable styling? What are some practical ways people can do the same? Thrifting! First of all, it’s fun—the thrill of the “find” is unmatched. You often end up with pieces no one else has. There’s no need to toss perfectly good clothing when someone else could love it. Donating or selling clothes and shopping secondhand helps sustain the fashion cycle. What’s old to you is new to someone else—and vice versa. So next time you’re outfit-hunting, hit the thrift before clicking on fast fashion. How do you think AI will change the job of a stylist—from predicting trends to working with clients? If used right, AI can be a major asset in trend forecasting. Plug in prompts about your client’s needs, and AI can scan the entire internet to give you more, faster. But at the end of the day, styling is personal. People want to work with people. Fashion is emotional, and AI can’t replicate that. Do you use AI in your creative work? Or avoid it? I don’t currently use AI for styling, but I’m open to exploring it for trend forecasting. That said, I’d be careful not to let it dilute the integrity of my work—especially when it comes to imagery. We can’t let ourselves get lazy just because AI can do the heavy lifting. It should be a tool, not a replacement for creativity. Conducted by Cyrene Renée, with additional questions and photo (c) by Trudy Giordano

Fashion Week Brooklyn (FWBK): Now in its 19th year and approaching a milestone 20th anniversary, Fashion Week Brooklyn continues to champion independent designers, community, and culture across the borough and beyond. October 2025 Fashion Week Brooklyn (FWBK) is featuring a lineup that celebrates creativity, culture, and community across the borough. This season, FWBK spotlights the whole journey —from concept to runway —where ideas are transformed into unforgettable fashion moments. From Concept to Runway: The Journey of Creativity The phrase “Concept to Runway” captures the whole arc of fashion creation—where imagination meets execution. It’s more than just showcasing garments; it’s the narrative of an idea evolving into a tangible, wearable statement. Each sketch, fabric choice, and silhouette reflects the designer’s vision, influenced by culture, personal experience, and social trends. This journey celebrates experimentation, risk-taking, and collaboration—bringing together designers, artisans, models, and audiences. On the runway, these concepts are given life, turning abstract ideas into a shared, immersive experience that engages all senses. Concept to runway is not just fashion—it’s storytelling in motion. Come see it come to life — from concept to runway. The FWBK event is running from October 11th-18th, Brooklyn, NY. “Two fashion philosophies walk into a runway... here’s what happens next in Concept to Runway." Image Credits: Runway Gen-4 The Street as Runway No velvet ropes. No front row. Just the pulse of the city as the stage. Here, sidewalks replace catwalks and self-expression takes center frame. The street becomes fashion’s truest runway — raw, spontaneous, and unapologetically real — where style moves with life, not trends. The New Atelier The studio is the show. Here, creation replaces spectacle, and process becomes performance. Fabric, form, and idea unfold in real time — transforming the private act of making into a shared experience. In The New Atelier, fashion isn’t just shown; it’s revealed. For Schedule & Tickets Visit: fashionweekbrooklyn.com @fashionweekbrooklyn

In the age of infinite scroll, I see how every lie wants to be a mantra. Every headline feels like a hymn. Somewhere between outrage and entertainment, the line blurs—and I watch as the Tangerine Toddler turns that blur into a business model. The trick isn’t the lie itself; it’s the loop. I realize that if I say something enough, it hardcodes into my memory. The human brain, poor thing, loves patterns more than truth. Repetition becomes belief. The media knows this—and plays priest anyway, shaping our perceptions and convictions. They claim to be “fact-checking,” yet first, they chant falsehoods like holy verses. Headlines flash across my feed like neon confessions. By the time the correction lands, the lie has already multiplied. The network doesn’t care which side I’m on—only that I click, share, and rage, feeding its profit model. The old religion had crosses and incense. The new one has hashtags and ad revenue. Here’s the paradox: most journalists have good intentions. They’re told to be transparent, to represent both sides, to shed light on every aspect of a story. But when one side keeps inventing its own reality, that illumination turns into an unintended spotlight. Coverage becomes currency, and attention a form of endorsement. The aim was to expose the lie, but somewhere along the way, exposure gave it value. Journalism’s mission—to inform—has been reprogrammed into “engage.” And engagement doesn’t care if it’s truth or poison, as long as it’s viral. So I scroll, react, repost—worshipping outrage like it’s my civic duty. This is how the Cult of the Echo works. It doesn’t need belief; it needs attention. Misinformation doesn’t survive because it’s persuasive. It survives because it’s loud. The smarter resistance doesn’t shout “fake news.” It studies the pattern. It sees how repetition builds faith, and faith builds obedience. It asks the forbidden question: Who profits when confusion reigns? The goal isn’t to convert me—it’s to exhaust me. If I can’t tell what’s real, I stop trying to care. And in that numb space, control slips in quietly, like background noise I stopped noticing. So maybe rebellion isn’t about arguing online. Maybe it’s about cutting the feed, starving the spell. The cult runs on attention, not agreement. And truth, whatever shape it still takes, doesn’t need to trend. At this point, I’m convinced the real battle isn’t political—it’s psychological. My poor brain wasn’t built for the infinite scroll; it just wants to find patterns and feel safe. And the internet knows that. Every repetition sneaks in like a jingle I never meant to memorize, until the familiar starts feeling like truth. Outrage becomes routine. Confusion becomes comfort. The trick isn’t to make me believe—it’s to make me tired. Because once I’m exhausted, I’ll stop checking sources and start accepting slogans. That’s when control slips in—quietly, like autoplay. So maybe my rebellion isn’t about winning arguments online. Maybe it’s about logging off before my brain starts buffering—reclaiming my attention one scroll-free evening at a time. After all, if attention is the new currency, I’d rather spend mine on something that doesn’t yell back. Image Credits: Runway Gen-4