The Complicated Rise and Fall of Udoli, an Unsung Subculture of Black Fashion History

Black women have been at the forefront of many cultural trends throughout the centuries, from hoop earrings worn by ancient Nubian civilisations and 80s disco divas alike, to streetwear trends pioneered by R&B and Hip Hop artists of the 90s. There is one unsung fashion subculture however, which never quite took off with mainstream consumers…

She Lives at The Last Stop to The North Pole

For the adventurous of spirit, and those who yearn to pack a bag and disappear to somewhere as remote as possible, arguably nowhere quite captures the imagination as Svalbard. The far flung Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ice lies just six hundred and fifty miles from the North Pole. It may be a place where…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DLIV)

1. Aerial photographs of 1960s communal dining areas in Singapore’s social housing A series by local creative Jonathan Tan found on Creative Boom. 2. For 2,000 years, the waters of the Euphrates have washed over these Roman mosaics in Zeugma, Turkey When plans for new dams on the Euphrates meant that much of Zeugma would be…

The Curious Youtubers Building Fantasy Pools and Secret Temples By Hand

Youtube can be a weird and wonderful place. Let’s see, there’s the Oposom lady (the undisputed queen of Youtube in our opinion), the folk singing Kardashians of Eastern Europe and a guy who takes us around dead malls and motels on our lunch break – although perhaps you’d be more into watching Italian grandmothers making…

Madame Mori, Haute Couture’s Real Madame Butterfly

European fashion designers have been inspired by Japan since it open its borders for trade in 1853. But while the art coming out of Japan was often appreciated and admired, the asian artists themselves have not always been welcomed with such open arms. One example of this admiration of Japanese aesthetics without a true understanding…

The Ruins Of A Swinging Seventies Spa That Kept A Siberian Tiger Behind The Bar

About a half hour north of Manhattan is a curious ruin: a giant, circular concrete drum resting on a narrow concrete plinth, and wrapped with floor to ceiling windows, most of them broken. More concrete can be found in the futuristic looking ramps that swirl around the peculiar structure, giving the abandoned building a Brutalist feel…

It Took an African Princess to become the First Black Flight Attendant, but Diversity in Aviation Has Yet to Take Flight

In HBO’s hit series, The Flight Attendant, actress Kaley Cuoco does a sterling job of portraying how many of us would typically draw a flight attendant if we were asked to. Slim build, check. Perfectly highlighted blonde hair swept immaculately into a chignon, check. Carefully applied makeup, check. Caucasian woman, check. As we catapult through…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DLIII)

1. Bill Gates’ Mugshot In 1977 Bill Gates was arrested for driving without a license and not stopping at a stop sign. Found on Reddit. 2. This Perfect Little Cottage for Rent in the French Alps Found on Airbnb. 3. Documenting the toilets of the Alps A new book by Marco Volken. Found via Present…

Before Pantone, there was a 19th Century Colour Dictionary for Nature’s Poetry

“Streak from the eye of the kingfisher” for a buff orange. “Flower of deadly nightshade” for a brownish purple red. “Decayed leaves of none-so-pretty” for cochineal red. “Beauty spot on wing of Mallard Drake” for a Prussian blue. These were the poetic descriptions inspired by nature to describe colour in a book used by Charles…

Donna Summer is the Overlooked Style Icon that We Need to Get our Sparkle Back

The late, great Donna Summer was so much more than a disco queen. Did you know she was a painter too? But we’ll get to that in a moment. Donna began her musical career in high school in the late 1960s when she became the lead singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow. At the…