BEAUTY: Mixed Media--Glen Martin Taylor

These wonderfully whimsical recycled/upcycled art pieces by painter-artist Glen Martin Taylor speak to mental health issues and challenges...with a leap toward resiliency.

It is easy to see that the artist has a gentle, thoughtful soul from the work but his current project from his website offers even more proof:
"Current Project: I am currently creating works with broken pottery recovered from the destroyed homes and schools of Ukraine for a traveling exhibition (2024-2026) that will begin in the USA and then Europe, ending in Kiev, Ukraine. The purpose of the project involves awareness, fundraising for relief, and international engagement about the human tragedy of the Ukrainian War."

To purchase one of his pieces, visit his website!
https://glenmartintaylor.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Bethany Williams

After winning the prestigious BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund last year, Bethany Williams (previously here) is doing even more of what she has always done: not only make responsibly sourced clothing, but contribute to the greater good of humanity. This Spring Summer 2022 collection shown during Digital London Fashion Week called "All Our Stories" continues Williams’ work with The Magpie Project. Inspired directly by the artist Melissa Kitty Jarram’s storytelling workshops with the Magpie families--women and children receiving help from the East London grassroots organization are homeless or at risk of homelessness--Williams wove intergenerational narratives and their values into the clothing, and used book cover waste from book publishers Hachette reworked into joy-giving prints through a textile collaboration with San Patrignano, an education and rehabilitation program in Italy. And as with her previous collections, Williams used Making for Change, a clothing manufacturing hub started in a women’s prison. The project aimed to increase well-being and reduce reoffending rates by equipping participants with professional skills and qualifications within a supportive environment. Through a new collaboration with Mending For Good and a social manufacturing scheme called Manusa, Williams has also pieced together old industry waste swatch samples and turned them into knitwear. Six of the "All Our Stories" looks – which also use merino wool deadstock from Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna – formed Williams’ submission for the 2021 International Woolmark Prize.

“From now on, social enterprise is integrated in every part of our production process,” says the designer of why this season is a turning point for her brand. “I want to show people that you can do things differently and you can make it work.” Her plans to “provide a nurturing environment for people to train in fashion and encourage employment in the UK” are already well in motion.

And to top it all off, twenty per cent of the profits from Bethany Williams' "All Our Stories" will be donated to The Magpie Project via The Bethany Williams Benevolent Fund. To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/magpieproject. That is a beautiful thing.

https://www.bethany-williams.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Maison Margiela Co-Ed Collection Spring-Summer 2021 | S.W.A.L.K. II

This incredible film explores in-depth the creation of Maison Martin Margiela's co-ed collection for Spring-Summer 2021 called Sealed With A Loving Kiss. It is a treat to see Creative Director John Galliano at work on every aspect of the collection including the tango theme of the presentation. It is also a treat to see pieces being made, and to peek into the concept of "recicla," the recycle and upcycle approach the house has adopted. Galliano and team discover vintage pieces which they disassemble and use to create new, hybrid creations.

https://www.maisonmargiela.com/us

BEAUTY: Clothing--Emporio Armani

It's hard to exaggerate the contribution of Giorgio Armani to fashion history. Along with names who changed silhouettes and shapes and ushered in new cuts and styles and materials, Armani takes his place in the pantheon. It is also hard to think that Giorgio Armani is 85 years old. And while he claims he has little to do with the day to day running of his empire, I find that hard to believe as well. I have a soft spot for Armani designs...it has a bit to do with my age, when I grew up, the film "American Gigolo" for which Armani made the clothing, but also the fact that Armani has managed to stay relevant and creative over such a long span. His designs rely on classic tailoring but also a vague sense of historical--and sometimes ethnic--clothing. Each season I approach an Armani collection thinking, "Well, this will be the same ol' same ol'" and you'd think I would have learned by now that there is usually some spark in an Armani collection, some something, an elan, that hooks me and makes me study each piece, each detail. Armani is simply a master.

This 2020-2021 Fall Winter collection from Emporio Armani (the casual sportier line next to the actual Giorgio Armani label) shown at Milano Moda Uomo was a subtle yet sumptuous delight...a neutral color palette (something expected from Armani but unexpected in the combination of black and red), deft pattern pairings, gorgeous use of contrasting fabrics like silk with wool, a smattering of eased eveningwear, a section of fascinating piumino (a puffer coat to those of us in the English speaking world) including a puffer shrug (!), and a last section of clothing from all upcycled material. This kind of environmentally forward thinking is needed in the fashion industry (in the last few years, much has come to light about how phenomenally wasteful clothing manufacturers can be) and of course Armani would be among those leading the way. It is not surprising since the house went entirely fur-free in 2016. Thank you, Giorgio!

https://www.armani.com/us/armanicom/unisex/emporio-armani/cross_section