Formal

Without the demanding structure of an in-person New York Fashion Week schedule, designers were free to debut digital shows, consider events in locations outside NYC or opt out in favor of different, independent presentations. Plenty of big name labels did just that—with several noticeably absent. That left room for emerging and mid-level designers to show some riskier, off-kilter, playful productions. This fashion week, we found ourselves drawn to the vibrant collections that encourage joy, nostalgia and a little joy. Here are our highlights from the virtual New York FW21 presentations. Christian Cowan Designer Christian Cowan‘s three-and-a-half minute narrative fashion film was as eclectic as it was celebratory. Starring Bowen Yang and Chloe Fineman, directed by Matthew Frost and titl...

Community isn’t a single Slack group or event or newsletter. It’s an aggregation of all of these touch points, and includes both customers, eventual customers and one-time users. Despite this nebulous, disconnected reality, companies are paying more attention to various channels as remote work and digital communication powers our days. My recent tweet underscored the chord community strikes even in sectors such as edtech, which often have to sell to fragmented customer bases. who is building the best community in edtech right now? — natasha (@nmasc_) February 16, 2021 A conversation that I’ve been having over the last week is that startups are finally investing in community in a meaningful way, dedicating actual budgets to community instead of simply stealing a few dollars away fr...

Looks from the Prabal Gurung Fall 2021 collection. Photo: ImaxtreeFebruary's collection debuts have a habit of sneaking up on us, sometimes disrupting whatever quiet, cozy winter scene we've created for ourselves. This was definitely the case when New York Fashion Week officially kicked off Sunday evening, the aggressive winter weather hitting so much of the country making it harder than usual to focus on the Fall 2021 offerings from American designers, most of which were shown digitally.But the week was not forgettable: The brands that chose to present Fall 2021 collections on a calendar that makes no sense, during a global pandemic that has threatened their businesses, showed up. They proved chaos breeds creativity and that there's hope for a dressed-up future: Gone were the luxe pajama ...

Queenly, a marketplace for formalwear, launched into a world where its core product of dresses and gowns had a massive competitor, bigger and more elusive than Poshmark: quarantine. The coronavirus pandemic has caused the fancy in-person events that one might attend, such as award shows, pageants, proms and weddings to be canceled to limit spread. But despite the fact that you might be rocking sweats over slacks, Queenly co-founders Trisha Bantigue and Kathy Zhou say that they had half a million in sales last year, and over 100,000 people visit their website everyday. “So many women bought dresses to just dress up and feel normal at home, when everything else around the world was not,” Bantigue said. “It helped them feel grounded and stabilize themselves in this crazy chaotic pandemic...

Named “That’s Life,” FACCIES‘ Spring/Summer 2021 collection goes beyond its glib moniker with another sharp selection of stylized Westernwear. The Japanese label’s fascination with Americana and cowpoke clothing is expanded with extra-loose silhouettes and bold patterns, perfect for dressing up when there’s nowhere to go. Retaining the raw-hemmed tailoring that’s become its signature, FACCIES takes the flipped formalwear to the extreme, extending the ragged lining of its double-breasted blazers and slacks beyond the outermost layer to undermine proportions. The deconstructed accents also grace slit-hem over...

Virgil Abloh has presented his latest collection for Louis Vuitton, showcasing the men’s Fall/Winter 2021 offering in what he calls “Ebonics / Snake Oil / The Black Box / Mirror, Mirror.” Following a controversial SS21 collection that industry critics and Walter Van Beirendonck himself blasted as the work of “COPYCATS,” FW21 feels fresh, revived, inspired, and reflective of a world we live in today, all while examing the “unconscious biases instilled in our collective psyche by the archaic norms of society.” The show begins on a snowy hillside in Switzerland, capturing Saul Williams donning Louis Vuitton’s l...

I remember the precise moment I fully fell in love with Long Shot. Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) has just learned that in order to get the outgoing president’s support for her own presidential bid, she’ll have to compromise a major element of her progressive environmental platform. She slowly collapses onto the floor in frustration, then sends everyone but her schlubby speechwriter-turned-improbable-boyfriend Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) out of the room. Charlotte vents that all she wants is to be a normal person who doesn’t give a fuck about what happens to the world. Instead of delivering a big pep talk or trying to solve her problem for her, Fred just gently responds, “I don’t know how to give that to you.”What Long Shot acutely understands is that when you’re a hype...

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A lot of books are becoming TV shows lately, but the 2020 adaptation of A Suitable Boy is nothing short of momentous. Based on Vikram Seth's 1993 novel of the same name, BBC's six-episode adaptation took years to bring to the screen with director Mira Nair and at the helm.  And the result is nothing short of mesmerizing. A Suitable Boy makes its way to the U.S. on the heels of high praise in international markets, telling the story of Lata (Tanya Maniktala) as she and her family search for — you guessed it — a suitable boy for her to marry. It has been touted as one of BBC's most expensive productions to date and the first-ever with an entirely South Asian cast (actual actors from India, not bad accents from across various ponds). But the show's aura comes in large part from its stunning...

In March, with its doors closed, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, let its Rockhopper penguins explore the place. Nature media maestro Tom Houghton (who illuminates the Nature Briefing) was inspired to enrich your day by hiding a Rockhopper in a scientifically fascinating location. Thus was born the legend that is Leif Penguinson and the very first “Can you spot the penguin?”.Since that day, our penguin protagonist has travelled to an incredible 38 scientifically interesting (and eye-poppingly beautiful) locations around the world. Many readers have asked how a penguin — even one this exceptional — can achieve Leif's feats, including climbing trees and clinging to sheer cliff faces. The credit goes to the h...