1. Vogue Italia Statement in White: Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Emanuele Farneti said he had three goals for the issue: to imagine life after the pandemic without self-pity, to gather a community of artists stuck at home to create a snapshot of living in this new world, and to print a completely white cover for the first time in the magazine’s history.
“White is, first and foremost, respect. White is rebirth, light after the darkness, the sum of all the colors. White is the uniforms of those who have saved lives while risking their own. It’s time and space for thinking. And for staying silent too. White is for people who are filling this time and space with ideas, thoughts, stories, verses, music and kindness to others,” said Farneti.
“It’s a reminder that after the crisis in 1929, clothes turned white, a color chosen to express purity in the present and hope for the future. And above all, white is not surrender; it’s a blank page to be filled, the frontispiece of a new story about to begin.”
2. Lean on Art: I stumbled upon artist Sabrina Siegel through a post on Cool Hunting. Siegel is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Chicago with a degree in advertising and psychology, and her work meshes realistic depictions and cartoon characterizations of people and everyday situations. With some time on her hands after being furloughed, she started accepting portrait commissions for $10 via Instagram.
Siegle said, “It just kind of felt like everybody was a little rocked. I saw the world needed to lean on art, and that I could sell portraits for $10, keep them digital to support the idea of social distancing, and do my small part to spread some art and help people feel a little more seen. It’s eventually become a way for me to earn some money while I’m furloughed, but was initially an effort to share positivity and spark some excitement in a time of social isolation.”
3. Pop-Up Positive News Feed: According to Nielsen, there have been historic highs in US media consumption in March 2020, most of it negative. UK-based Futures consultant and design researcher Amy Sellers has created an antidote to the persistent streams of negative news we are all consuming on a daily basis. She will be sharing a curation of positive things to read, listen to, or watch for the next three months on her pop-up newsfeed.
4. Individuality Is the New Beauty: Fester News is a new beauty publication created by second-year fashion journalism students from Central Saint Martins as a reaction to the onslaught of toxic advertising images, product placement, and Kardashian-type ubiquity. The project is overseen by their course leader, fashion historian Judith Watt, and creative director Robin Derrick (i-D, The Face, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and his recent launch of MyBeautyBrand).
5. Resurrecting the Sublime: Sissel Tolaas, the self-professed scientist of smell, treads where others wouldn’t think to explore. “People don’t use their noses, because marketing took over and science stood back,” she told Wallpaper. “Relearning to smell is difficult, you have to work hard at it, but the moment I learned what the nose can do it gave me great joy and freedom.”
Photo: @bysabs via Instagram
