American ex-pat based in Germany who can write about anything from fashion to international affairs.
New York City’s Instrumental Role in the Birth of Hip-Hop Music and Fashion
Take a historical tour of the five boroughs through the pages of ‘Fresh Fly Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style.’
There’s something gigantic and statement-making about Alicia Keys’ and Jay-Z’s 2009 duet, “Empire State of Mind.” The convergence of rap and power ballad makes sweet music as an ode to the city: “Concrete jungle where dreams are made of/There’s nothing you can’t do/Now you’re in New York/These streets will make you feel brand new/The lights will inspire you.”
Stylist Extraordinaire Patricia Field Pens Her Own Rebellious Story in Pat in the City
Field continued to make waves in other wardrobe projects: she elevated the looks of the 2006 fashion behemoth, The Devil Wears Prada, and the powerhouse costume curation in Netflix’s Emily in Paris. After decades in the fashion world, Field finally decided to gift her devoted fans with an autobiography: Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules.
A rule breaker is right: She has gone against the grain of conventional dressing while embracing a combination of high d...
Intimate portraits of queer people in Colorado wearing their binders
MaryV talks about photographing the safe and sacred queer spaces of a community under attack.
In a hostile world, where it can be dangerous to just exist as yourself, queer spaces have long been havens of safety, freedom and self-expression without judgment; places where people can be who they are without limits.
Photos documenting hip hop’s love affair with bling
For decades, larger-than-life jewellery has come to define the look of a musical genre. Now, a new book is delving into its rich, underlying history.
Ellen von Unwerth's unseen polaroids capture the golden age of supermodels
PHOTOGRAPHY
"These kinds of polaroids don't exist anymore," Ellen von Unwerth tells me on the phone from Paris. While she mainly shoots digitally now, in the 90s and early 00s, Ellen used Type 100 peel-apart film as a preview. It was a quick method to see how a photoshoot would develop. Decades later, her visual archive of polaroids eventually became stolen moments: small windows into the peak of the supermodel era.
Yes, You Actually Can Experience Portofino on a Budget
In Portofino, it’s la dolce vita for everyone—not just celebrities.
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker knew what they were doing when they decided to marry in a lavish yet laid-back ceremony in Portofino, Italy, a few months ago. Like many others (Beyoncé, Jay-Z Rihanna, Steven Spielberg, and myself, for example) who found themselves equally swept away by its quaint and quiet charms, this town has seen its share of mega-watt celebrities. But don’t let the media mislead you. Portofino exist...
Jamel Shabazz’s Empathetic Portraits of 1980s New Yorkers
The born-and-bred Brooklyn photographer discusses his documentation of 1980s New York, his innate “love for humanity”, and the importance of inner-city community.
A brief journey through the Valley, Hollywood’s “real” next door neighbour
During the opening credits of the classic 1982 high-school movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, a bustling scene unfolds at a onetime landmark shopping mall (Sherman Oaks Galleria) in the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood’s next-door neighbour. The Go-Gos’ fast-paced ’80s hit ‘We Got the Beat’ punctuates the mood: a mostly young crowd hanging out and working in various retailers and restaurants.
In the background, there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of Licorice Pizza, the music store referenced by Paul Thomas Anderson in the title of his latest film...
The taxi driver-turned-photographer who shot 80s New York City
Joseph Rodriguez captured the many different corners of the city from the window of his cab.
"To drive a cab back then, you either had to have a death wish or come to the job with a biography that inured you to the danger or graced you with such intuitive empathy/curiosity that to see and hear and sometimes engage with the cavalcade of humanity sliding in and out of your backseat trumped the nightly game of Russian roulette."
How Pose’s Costume Designer Poured Blood, Sweat, and Glitz Into 3 Seasons
Analucia McGorty shares a behind-the-scenes look at the groundbreaking series before its final season premieres.
A new book on Karl Lagerfeld from the man by his side for 20 years
Looking back at a relationship that spanned two decades, Sébastien Jondeau and fashion journalist Virginie Mouzat discuss their new book, 'Ça va, cher Karl?'.
50 Questions with Claudia Schiffer (on Her 50th Birthday)
How does one stay cool when tasked to ask supermodel Claudia Schiffer 50 questions on the eve of her 50th Birthday? (The answer: it’s impossible.)
How Bridgerton’s Costume Designer Created the Show’s 7,500-Piece Wardrobe
Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick reveals what it took to create the costumes for the romance drama – and why Regency style is so timeless
A new documentary pays tribute to Helmut Newton, the King of Kink
'The Bad and the Beautiful' by Gero von Boehm unpacks the fashion photographer's provocative work.
Remembering Peter Lindbergh Through His Own Eyes
When legendary German photographer Peter Lindbergh passed away in September of last year, the fashion community mourned a monumental loss. Models like Helena Christensen took to Instagram to post tributes: “Through your lens, I was allowed to blossom, to grow up, to remain myself and to express all the different sides of the woman I was growing into. You captured all of that in the most profound and poetic way.”