#sean conway

[garadinervi]

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Islands of Decolonial Love. Stories and Songs, ARP Books, Winnipeg, 2013 [AK Press, Chico, CA]

Plus: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson & Nick Ferrio, Islands of Decolonial Love, (Digital album), ARP Books, 2013

Nick Ferrio: dobro Tara Williamson: piano and vocals Sarah Decarlo: keyboard Melody Mckiver: viola A Tribe Called Red: instrumental from “woodcarver” Sean Conway: guitar Leanne Simpson: vocals Cris Derksen: 'War Cry', movement I and II

[vintagewarhol]

[cc-tinslebee]

biblically accurate college banksway

[scenesandscreens]

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Director - Neil Marshal, Cinematography - Sam McCurdy

"We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch."

[rodgermalcolmmitchell]

Why people become MAGAs and why they leave.

MAGA is a cult.  Like all cults, it is authoritarian and believes in authoritarianism. Cults are the antithesis of democracy. A democratic cult would be an oxymoron. Cults are led by psychopaths. See the Robert Hare Checklist of Psychopathy Symptoms — the 20 criteria for psychopathy — here. MAGAs don’t really believe the Biden/Trump election was stolen because they don’t believe in elections.…

[filosofablogger]

Put Your Helmets On -- Snark Is Falling Everywhere!

My mind is bouncing tonight, as if so often does these days, and I couldn’t settle in to write on a single topic, so I decided to give the mind a bid of leeway to rid itself of some built-up angst and snark. U.S. Senator Ron Johnson: “Inside the bubble, Republicans say, ‘we need to get a result, we need to effectively govern.’ To me, that’s almost code words for we got to do Democrat-lite. I…

[rwrbmovie]

Taylor has 2 upcoming interviews this week that will most likely be released later this month:

1. With Jeff Conway for Forbes tomorrow

2. With Sean Abrams (I don't know from which medium)

YAAAAY.

I wanted to let you just in case people were not aware! 🥰

Thanks for sharing! 😊

[jamiebamberdaily]

The Wives : What We Know So Far (UPDATED - 6th September 2024)

The first casting announcement of 2024 has finally been announced with the news of Channel 5's The Wives.

About

Written and created by Helen Black, The Wives is a domestic thriller that centres on 3 sister-in-laws, Sylvie, Natasha and Beth who, just as they have done for the last 15 years, embark on their usual family holiday to Malta. However, this year is different.

The official synopsis reads:

Last year, four sisters-in-law and their families escaped to their Maltese holiday apartments, as they’ve done every summer for fifteen years. Sylvie Morgan, was happily married, Natasha, was swimming in wealth, and Beth and Annabelle Morgan, were thick as thieves. But this year, as they come together again, everything is different. Sylvie’s now single and loving life, Natasha’s hiding a desperate financial situation, Beth is barely keeping her life together and Annabelle is, well… dead. When Annabelle’s widower Charlie, arrives with a new woman in tow, Beth tries to be happy for them, but something doesn’t sit right. Charlie’s new girlfriend Jade, looks exactly like Annabelle. Beth’s plans to have a great summer are quickly scuppered by Charlie’s odd behaviour, and her suspicion that there is more to Annabelle’s death is heightened. With lies coming to light and evidence building, the women work together and against each other to unravel the mystery and bring the culprit to justice. But with corrupt officials, drug cartels and career criminals closer to home than ever expected, have they bitten off more than they can chew?

The Wives has been ordered for Channel 5 by Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, Paramount UK and Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 5 and Paramount+. Executive producers for Gaumont are Jess Connell and Alison Jackson. Produced by Margot Gavan Duffy, The Wives was written and created by Helen Black (Time S2, Life and Death in the Warehouse), with episodes by Ciara Conway (Screw, Holby City) and Jamie Jackson. The series will be directed by Claire Tailyour (Phoenix Rise, Deceit) and Paulette Randall (Waterloo Road, Tin Star).

The Cast

Jamie will star as Annabelle's widower, Charlie Morgan.

Also starring will be:

Angela Griffin as Natasha Morgan

Tamzin Outhwaite as Sylvie Morgan

Jo Joyner is Beth Morgan

Katie Clarkson-Hill is Charlie's new girlfriend, Jade Glover

Christine Bottomley is Annabelle Morgan

Catriona Chandler will be playing Annabelle and Charlie's daughter, Sky Morgan

Ben Willbond is Beth's husband, Frankie Morgan

Jonathan Forbes as Natasha's husband, Sean Morgan

Louis Boyer as charming local businessman, Luca Vella

Ajay Chhabra as consulate official Vinay Taneja

Jamie, Jonathan and Ben will be playing wealthy brothers, Charlie, Sean and Frankie Morgan.

Trailer

The trailer can be viewed here!

Filming Locations

The series began filming in Malta in February 2024.

Episodes

There will be 6 episodes.

Air Date

It will air on Channel 5 (in the UK) during two weeks in September. The first three episodes will air on Monday 16th, Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th. With the final three airing Monday 23rd, Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th.

[brokehorrorfan]

Doomsday will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on September 17 via Scream Factroy. The 2008 post-apocalyptic sci-fi action film pays homage to Mad Max and Escape from New York.

Neil Marshall (The Descent, Game of Thrones) writes and directs. Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, David O'Hara, and Malcolm McDowell star.

The theatrical cut is presented on 4K from the original digital intermediate, presented in Dolby Vision. The unrated version is also included on Blu-ray. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Theatrical version (109 minutes)

Audio commentary by World Gone Wild: A Survivor's Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies author David J. Moore (new)

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Theatrical version (109 minutes)

Audio commentary by World Gone Wild: A Survivor's Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies author David J. Moore (new)

Interview with writer-director Neil Marshall (new)

Interview with producer Benedict Carver (new)

Interview with actor Craig Conway (new)

Interview with production designer Simon Bowles (new)

Interview with special effects makeup designer Paul Hyett (new)

Interview with composer Tyler Bates (new)

Disc 3 - Blu-ray:

Unrated version (113 minutes)

Audio commentary by writer-director Neil Marshall and actors Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Rick Warden, and Les Simpson

Interview with actor Adrian Lester (new)

Anatomy of Catastrophe: Civilization on the Brink

The Visual Effects and Wizardry of Doomsday

Devices Of Death: Guns, Gadgets, and Vehicles of Destruction

Image gallery

Trailer

To save humanity from a viral epidemic, an elite fighting unit must battle to find a cure in a post-apocalyptic zone controlled by a society of murderous renegades.

Pre-order Doomsday.

[samcampbellfans]

Sam Campbell's 2016 show 'Zanzoop'.

"Kind of like Dr. Phil but hosted by a funny naked party-alien."

'Zanzoop' was a comedy show in (April-May) 2016 performed around Australia (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney). Created by Sam Campbell, Aaron Chen and Tom Walker in the collective 'Feeble Minds', Tom Walker directed and won Director's Choice Award at Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2016.

Sam plays an alien called Zanzoop, a "semi-naked space alien, hosting a sort of chat show in an attempt to fix humanity’s problems and prove himself a worthy heir to the throne of Zymbalnation. And this is one of the more sober premises of the hour." (Steve Bennett, Chortle).

Craig Anderson, Sean Conway and Cameron Whiteford also made appearances on Zanzoop (the latter two appearing in Perth shows).

The show received 4 and 1/2 stars from Herald Sun. Here are some quotes from the Herald Sun article to get a sense of the show:

'Campbell began the show by saying "there’s a lot of reviewer c--ts in tonight. Oh, Steve from Chortle is here, it’s not as funny as a picture I once saw of Stewart Lee’s elbow!!"'

'“Youth culture baby” (Campbell does the Shaka sign)'

'Autism joke, well handled.'

'King Baby (actually played by a sunscreen-smeared Tom Walker who got a Best Newcomer nomination yesterday for his Beep Bop show, 6pm each night at Tuxedo Cat).' See picture below for King Baby on the far right.

'“I didn’t pay my rent because I bought too many props.” - Campbell breaking the fourth wall for the umpteenth time, he’s the John Conway of this year.'

This show also included the dip and vegetables gag, which Sam has done before: you can watch it in this video: Live at Comedy Central's 'A Night of Stand Up' at the 2016 Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum Now Festival and and on this Instagram post via thecomedyloungesydney.

Reviews of the show, I recommend reading if you want to know what the show was like (there's no videos of the show as far as I know):

The Plus Ones

Steve Bennett, Chortle

Herald Sun (4 and 1/2 stars)

Squirrel Comedy

Photo sources:

1) Herald Sun

2) pappy90 on TWT

3) Sean Conway on FaceBook (this one was at Fringe World)

4) guy_mont on TWT

5) Aaron Chen's tattoo of Zanzoop the alien

6) tomwalkerisgood on TWT, promotional poster.

Additional bits:

The strange promotion video Sam, Tom and Aaron did for Feeble Minds (thank you cowboyacaster on TWT)

Below: Aaron Chen reading the Herald Sun 4 and a 1/2 star review of Zanzoop to Sam Campbell (photo via tomwalkerisgood on TWT).

[leonardcohenofficial]

i watched 120 new-to-me films this year; here are the posters from a few of my favorites in no particular order!!

faults (riley stearns, 2014) out of the blue (dennis hopper, 1980) wake in fright (ted kotcheff, 1971) entergalactic (fletcher moules, 2022) histoires d'amérique: food, family and philosophy (chantal akerman, 1989) the woman king (gina prince-bythewood, 2022) waking life (richard linklater, 2001) on the count of three (jerrod carmichael, 2021)  thank you and good night (jan oxenberg, 1991)

i’ll tag @lesbiancolumbo / @draftdodgerag / @localpubliclibrary / @calicoskiesacoustic / @jerrylandis / @columbosunday / @harrierdoobie  / @sightofsea and anyone else who’d like to do this!! 🌟

entire watchlist from 2022 is below the cut:

the world to come (mona fastvold, 2020)

nancy (christina choe, 2018)

la bouche de jean-pierre (lucile hadžihalilović, 1996)

run (aneesh chaganty, 2020)

the mosquito coast (peter weir, 1986)

mass (fran kanz, 2021) 

a field in england (ben wheatley, 2014) 

angels wear white (vivian qu, 2017)

a cape cod christmas (john stimpson, 2021) 

shook (jennifer harrington, 2021)

outing riley (pete jones, 2004)

love & mercy (bill pohlad, 2014) 

small engine repair (john pollono, 2021) 

the fallout (megan park, 2021) 

clemency (chinonye chukwu, 2019)

red elvis (thomas latter, 2022) 

calendar girls (nigel cole, 2003) 

the little hours (jeff baena, 2017)

out of the blue (dennis hopper, 1980) 

aya of yop city (marguerite abouet and clement oubrerie, 2013) 

fresh (mimi cave, 2022)

jesus camp (rachel grady, 2006) 

bamboozled (spike lee, 2000)

master (mariama diallo, 2022)

the world of us (yoon ga-eun, 2016) 

jezebel (numa perrier, 2019)

the cat, the reverend and the slave (alain della negra and kaori kinoshita, 2009)

cohabitation (lauren barker, 2022)

the queen of versailles (lauren greenfield, 2012)

secret ceremony (joseph losey, 1968)

the northman (robert eggers, 2022)

the silent partner (daryl duke, 1978)

in secret (charlie stratton, 2013)

the ground beneath my feet (marie kreutzer, 2019)

the man who haunted himself (basil dearden, 1970)

woodlands dark and days bewitched: a history of folk horror (kier-la janisse, 2021)

the miseducation of cameron post (desiree akhavan, 2018)

roadrunner: a film about anthony bourdain (morgan neville, 2021) 

karen dalton: in my own time (richard peete and robert yapkowitz, 2020) 

fire music (tom surgal, 2018)

histoires d'amérique: food, family and philosophy (chantal akerman, 1989)

fruit of paradise (věra chytilová, 1969)

a different image (alile sharon larkin, 1982)

preparations to be together for an unknown period of time (lili horvát, 2020) 

candyman (nia dacosta, 2021)

fan girl (antoinette jadaone, 2020)

chicago 10 (brett morgen, 2007)

pray away (kristine stolakis, 2021)

mavis! (jessica edwards, 2015)

M (yolande zauberman, 2018)

wake in fright (ted kotcheff, 1971)

thomasine & bushrod (gordon parks, 1974)

desire me (released uncredited; jack conway, george cukor, mervyn le roy, and victor saville, 1947)

faults (riley stearns, 2014)

premature (rashaad ernesto green, 2019) 

mother joan of the angels (jerzy kawalerowicz, 1961) 

the loft (erik van looy, 2014)

the black phone (scott derrickson, 2022) 

no exit (damien power, 2022)

nope (jordan peele, 2022)

paprika (satoshi kon, 2006)

our eternal summer (émilie aussel, 2021)

playground (laura wandel, 2021) 

not okay (quinn shephard, 2022) 

everything everywhere all at once (daniel kwan and daniel scheinert, 2022)

pressure point (hubert cornfield, 1962)

sharp stick (lena dunham, 2022) 

on the count of three (jerrod carmichael, 2021) 

martha marcy may marlene (sean durkin, 2011)

waking life (richard linklater, 2001)

sicaro (denis villeneuve, 2015)

arrival (denis villeneuve, 2016)

this magnificent cake! (emma de swaef and marc james roels, 2018) 

chevalier (athina rachel tsangari, 2015)

young and wild (marialy rivas, 2012)

alice (krystin ver linden, 2022)

shame (steve mcqueen, 2011)

good madam (jenna cato bass, 2022) 

black bear (lawrence michael levine, 2020)

speak no evil (christian tafdrup, 2022)

wet sand (elene naveriani, 2021)

the catholic school (stefano mordini, 2021)

poly styrene: i am a cliché (celeste bell and paul sng, 2021)

the violators (helen walsh, 2015)

the woman king (gina prince-bythewood, 2022)

the killing kind (curtis harrington, 1973)

oleanna (david mamet, 1994)

entergalactic (fletcher moules, 2022)

the more the merrier (george stevens, 1943)

primrose path (gregory la cava, 1940)

watcher (chloe okuno, 2022)

enemy (dennis villenueve, 2013)

darlin' (pollyanna mcintosh, 2019)

sissy (kane senes and hannah barlow, 2022)

till (chinonye chukwu, 2022)

black panther: wakanda forever (ryan coogler, 2022)

the hunt (thomas vinterberg, 2012)

the other side of the underneath (jane arden, 1972)

barbarian (zach cregger, 2022) 

the intervention (clea duvall, 2016)

sorry to bother you (boots riley, 2018)

the silent twins (agnieszka smoczyńska, 2022)

tahara (olivia peace, 2020)

arranged (diane crespo and stefan schaefer, 2007)

swimming (luzie loose, 2018)

#like (sarah pirozek, 2019)

babysitter (monia chokri, 2022)

chico and rita (tono errando, fernando trueba, and javier mariscal, 2010)

pleasure (ninja thyberg, 2021)

john the violent (tonia marketaki, 1967)

fat girl (catherine breillat, 2001)

lemon (janicza bravo, 2017)

thank you and good night (jan oxenberg, 1991)

what about me (rachel amodeo, 1993)

the KKK boutique ain’t just rednecks (camille billops and james hatch, 1994)

sun don’t shine (amy seimetz, 2012)

zero fucks given (emmanuel marre and julie lecoustre, 2021)

piggy (carlota pereda, 2022)

ladyworld (amanda kramer, 2018)

wolf's hole (věra chytilová, 1987)

[simpsforscience]

Meet Hallucigenia, the Cambrian critter that will bend your brain! 😮🧠 Decades of head-scratching ensued during its discovery. 🔍 Was it upside down? Inside out? 🤔 A figment of Walcott's overactive imagination? 💭 Swipe through this post to dive 🥽 into the fascinating story of its discovery!

📸Image credits:

Charles Walcott - Wikimedia Commons

Simon Conway - Sean Carroll's Mindscape

Hallucigenia - Matteo De Stefano/MUSE , Wikimedia commons

Hallucigenia fossil - Han Zeng, Wikimedia commons

Hallucigenia at each stage of discovery - nixilliustration

Tardigrade - Eye of Science, Science Source

[rugaru]

REQUESTS ARE MORE THAN WELCOME!

Thought I’d give a (not so) little list of who all I’m planning on writing for at the moment (subject to change in the future!!!)! This is a LOT so here goes:

***Will continue updating!!!***

X Readers— I will be writing for fem!reader and gn!reader as I’m afab and unfortunately am unfamiliar with writing from a masc perspective!!

I will not be writing smut or anything further than, quote-unquote, suggestive. Just personal preference :)

-Jim Street (SWAT)

-Hondo (SWAT)

-Chris Alonso (SWAT)

-JJ Maybank (Outer Banks)

-Pope Heyward (Outer Banks)

-Cal Kestis (Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor)

-Randy Meeks (Scream)

-Sidney Prescott (Scream)

-Stu Macher (Scream)

-Ethan Landry (Scream VI)

-Evan Buckley (9-1-1)

-Eddie Diaz (9-1-1)

-Ravi Panikkar (9-1-1)

-Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds)

-Emily Prentiss (Criminal Minds)

-Derek Morgan (Criminal Minds)

-Penelope Garcia (Criminal Minds)

-Jimmy Darling (AHS: Freak Show)

-Kit Walker (ASH: Asylum)

-Tate Langdon (AHS: Murder House)

-Charlie Conway (The Mighty Ducks)

-Pacey Witter (Dawson’s Creek)

-Luke McNamara (The Skulls)

-Jesse Mills (Hudson and Rex)

-Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew and Tom versions)

-Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)

-Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games)

-Sean Anderson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island)

-Josh Futtermann (Future Man)

-Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf)

-Dylan Lenivy (The Quarry)

-Ryan Erzahler (The Quarry)

-Abigail Blyg (The Quarry)

-Kaitlyn Ka (The Quarry)

-Zack Addy (Bones)

-Lance Sweets (Bones)

-Angela Montenegro (Bones)

-Jack Hodgins (Bones)

-Vincent Nigel-Murray (Bones)

-Finn Abernathy (Bones)

-Wendell Bray (Bones)

-Alex Standall (13 Reasons Why)

-Clay Jensen (13 Reasons Why)

Planning on doing a full master list along with everything I’m comfortable writing and what I’m not soon :)

[heronstill]

Sean Kelly Conway. Tokyo. 2012

[beardedmrbean]

CONWAY, N.H. — (AP) — Bakery owner Sean Young was thrilled when high school art students covered the big blank wall over his doorway last spring with a painting of the sun shining over a mountain range made of sprinkle-covered chocolate and strawberry donuts, a blueberry muffin, a cinnamon roll and other pastries.

The display got rave reviews, and Young looked forward to collaborating with the school on more mural projects at his roadside bakery in Conway, New Hampshire.

Then the town zoning board got involved, deciding that the pastry painting was not so much art as advertising, and so could not remain as is because of its size. Faced with modifying or removing the mural, or possibly dealing with fines and criminal charges, Young sued, saying the town is violating his freedom of speech rights.

The painting could stay right where it is if it showed actual mountains, instead of pastries suggesting mountains, or if the building wasn’t a bakery.

“They said it would be art elsewhere,” Young told The Associated Press in an interview. “It’s just not art here.”

“The town should not have the right to police art,” he said.

The controversy has residents of this town of 10,000 grappling with big questions about creativity and liberty as it tries to preserve its rural character. Like other White Mountain communities that draw skiers, nature lovers and shoppers, Conway is under development pressure, making the sign dispute fraught with worries that any concession to commerce could change what they hold dear.

Many — including the zoning board members — applauded the students' colorful work, but said rules must be followed, even if they're old and outdated. At about 90 square feet (8.6 square meters), the mural is four times bigger than the sign code allows.

Following a longstanding democratic tradition of New England town meetings, residents deliberated how to define a sign before ultimately voting down changes last week. The local newspaper said the proposed wording wasn't clear. Ultimately, a judge may have to resolve what remains an open debate in town.

“Those kids put their heart in it,” retiree Steve Downing said. He thinks the painting should stay.

“Everyone has to comply with the ordinance," said Charlie Birch, a former U.S. Forest Service worker. "And even though it was done by the students, which was well done, and I give them a lot of credit for it ... if you have the ordinance, ‘One for all,’ that’s where we are. You can’t really make any exceptions, otherwise everybody else will want the exception.”

Art teacher Olivia Benish, who worked with three students on the project, apologized to the board in September for not doing "due diligence" to make sure the mural would comply. She didn't respond to requests for an interview. But she told the board members that there has to be a way to give students the opportunity to create positive public works of art "without upsetting the law and the powers that be," according to the town minutes.

The lawsuit Young filed in January argues that the town is unconstitutionally discriminating against him. He asked a judge to prevent the town from enforcing its sign code.

And now other businesses have been drawn into the controversy.

Long before the pastry painting was installed, the town had allowed other murals at a local shopping center, but in December the town found that three of those artworks are, indeed, signs that violate size limits. They go before the zoning board on Wednesday.

Young, who is being represented by the Virginia-based Institute for Justice, asked for $1 in damages. Meanwhile, he’s selling T-shirts as a high school art department fundraiser, saying “This is Art” with the artwork on the front, and “This is a Sign” of a roadside “Leavitt’s Country Bakery” sign on the back.

“As Conway officials have confirmed, the town does not consider a painting to be a “sign” if it does not convey what town officials perceive to be a commercial message,” the lawsuit says. “But the town’s perception is that any mural depicting anything related to a business is a ‘sign.’ This is governmental discrimination based on the content of the speech" and the speaker's identity, it said.

The lawsuit says the town's sign definition is "incredibly broad," with no mention of murals in the code: A sign in Conway is "any device, fixture, placard, structure or attachment thereto that uses color, form, graphic, illumination, symbol, or writing to advertise, announce the purpose of, or identify the purpose of any person or entity, or to communicate information of any kind to the public, whether commercial or noncommercial."

Board member Luigi Bartolomeo said he thinks the pastry painting is art, not advertising. He read the definition out loud at the board's meeting in August, and said he agrees with a local attorney who called it "unconstitutionally vague."

“I think it’s a very badly written piece of code here,” said Bartolomeo, who recently retired. But Board Chairperson John Colbath said the board has to work with the ordinance, which was approved by voters, and that there is a process to change that.

“If they had done a seasonal mural on the wall — covered bridges and sunflowers and what have you — and it did not represent what your business is in, then it would be more likely to be a well-respected piece of art and not construed as a sign,” Colbath said at the August meeting.

He said to Young, “I understand the art thing — and you look and you see a mountain — but the general public sees donuts on the front of the bakery.”

“I think most of the people said it’s art,” Young responded.

In its denial of Young's appeals, the board concluded that the bakery won't be negatively affected without the display.

“This supposed distinction between murals and signs shouldn’t matter,” attorney Betsy Sanz of the Institute said in a news release. “After all, nothing in the First Amendment distinguishes between art and commercial signs — or commercial speech of any kind.”

The town and Young agreed in February to pause court proceedings — and any potential fines or charges — pending a vote on a revised definition that would allow the painting to stay. But it failed in last week's elections, with 805 to 750 voting against it, according to the town clerk's office. The judge now wants to hear from both sides by May 10.

“We’re ready to keep going,” Young said.

Town Manager John Eastman declined an interview, referring questions to town lawyer Jason Dennis, who said he would soon meet with town officials to discuss next steps.

The Conway Daily Sun offered its analysis in an editorial last week: "Voters smartly concluded that the proposed new definition of signs would only further complicate enforcement. That said, it is not a stretch to conjecture that most voters are fine with the murals at Leavitt's Country Bakery and Settlers Green. We suggest the town figure out a way to back off enforcement until a clearer definition can be written, one that accommodates 'art.'"

[charlotteswebbbbb]

What's the vibe? #40

News:

Ikoyi is doing a collab with Shake Shack in Covent Garden but only for one day - 13th October.

SSense is collab'ing with 20 creative collaborators as part of its 20 year celebration. "20 ways of seeing."

We're not going to speak too much about that Sphere in Las Vegas but.....yeah.

Youth in the UK report :)

Even though it may be expensive for retailers, to be inclusive as many beauty brands have found out when expanding or starting their foundation range, it will pay off in the long run to have an image that’s more in line with reality. The average size of a woman in the UK is the size 14-16 so not being able to cater to those customers is just losing money. There’s also a case study to be made on how hard it is to find plus size second hand garments and how it becomes more of an exclusive space in luxury.

I’m also reminded of Christian Siriano, who won Project Runway in 2007 and how because he caters to a wide amount of women (and non-women) and their bodies his brand is associated with inclusivity. That doesn’t mean it’s seen as “cool” to the in group but it doesn’t have to be. Because he has his audience and clientele.

Back to the thoughts on fashion at large, in the SS24 womenswear season of Fashion Week, 1% of the models were plus size according to The Vogue Business Spring/Summer 2024 size inclusivity report. The conglomerates (LVMH and Kering) are just not representing the average young woman and these leans into quiet luxury and in the cost of living crisis where brands are going back to extreme craftsmanship or their roots, just means more 2000s sleek black pants.

This is also related to the conversation about Sean McGirr becoming the new Creative Director of Alexander McQueen which on Vogue Business was a piece titled Why are so many creative directors white men?. A few quotes from this...

“The call is coming from inside the house, and it’s from the top,” says stylist and Perfect Magazine’s creative director Jeanie Annan-Lewin. “And, the people who are at the top pay very little attention to women and pay absolutely no attention to POCs. And, if you’re a woman and a POC, it’s kind of game over.” 

and

"Fashion documentarian and writer Rian Phin believes the homogenisation of fashion is intentional. “Many of the men at the forefront of fashion aren’t unqualified for their positions — they have valid, progressive and thoughtful visions of the future of fashion. But, the active exclusion of the visions of women and creatives of colour may be in order to maintain a singular vision of fashion.” She adds: “Conglomerates may be trying to streamline customers in this way, which may make it easier to organise people into shoppers, but excludes more broad visions of fashion that reflect diverse visions of society. It may also be in their interests to exclude these voices, so that their power and singular storytelling goes unchallenged and unquestioned by people whose work could critique that kind of power.”

This article titled 'I love my midriff': why flaunting your tummy with a crop top in 2023' also goes into the appeal of seeing these very obvious body shapes in ways that we wouldn't have seen in 2010 or 2005.

"In 2023, by contrast, the theory is stomachs can come in all shapes and sizes. Ed Conway, founder of fitness studio Fit As in Leyton, east London, reports that while men feel pressure to have a six pack, many women actively avoid this look."

In the previous years mentioned, the culture, especially British culture was more fatphobic (*this was also class related) and plus size clothing was unfashionable. Now because youth culture is dominated by the internet (with America leading in the Anglosphere), it's pushed British-culture-body-conservatism back.

*I see social media as a powerful force for pushing back against certain things in fashion and in larger society. A lot of people have influence, the fact that anyone can post their body and not be ashamed is not something that could be done in 2005. They would have had had to have been on television exposing themselves to a more hostile society. Today, it can still be hostile but young people can find communities through posting :^)

My blind spots for this were male plus size models, inclusivity in male fashion and beauty. Maybe that's for another time. One of the male models in that Vogue Business SS24 sizing piece did say...

Plus-size model James Corbin says he wasn’t approached to walk any shows in London this season — where both menswear and womenswear collections were presented. "Not many shows were inclusive enough to have a plus-size male model.”

Beauty:

@deemakeupart

@charliefitzjohn

reading list:

JAMAICA TO DI WORLD: HOW JAMAICAN DESIGNERS ARE TAKING OVER (SSense)

LITERARY FRICTION - DOPPELGANGERS WITH NAOMI KLEIN (NTS Radio)

I’m Ready for My Close-up, Demna by Cathy Horyn (The Cut)

Your Internet Browser Does Not Belong to You by Suzannah Showler (Wired)

Bookmarked: Everything the Document editors watched, read, ate, bought, and listened to in September (Document)