If you were to dream up "the most 2018" film possible, it probably wouldn't be too dissimilar to Assassination Nation, an upcoming revenge fantasy that has sparked a huge buzz at Sundance Film Festival. So much so that the rights to the film, in which teen girls murder sexists, were bought for more than $10 million (about £7m), making it the biggest acquisition deal at the festival so far, Deadline reported.
The film, written and directed by Sam Levinson, is about a group of suburban, social media-obsessed high-school girls who seek revenge on an anonymous hacker who leaks people's phone and computer data on 4chan.
When the data dump reveals one of the girls' illicit relationship with an older neighbour, her life is ruined – but the group don't take it lying down and they try to get their own back on the man responsible.
Cast member Colman Domingo described it as "a war on toxic masculinity" during a recent Q&A session, while Levinson said the story's real villain wasn't social media but a "lack of empathy", according to The Verge. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo, it couldn't be more timely.
The cool and predominantly young cast includes Bella Thorne, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, Odessa Young, Abra and Bill Skårsgard, who will no doubt ensure the film gets even more global attention and media coverage.
The global distribution rights to the film were snapped up in a joint acquisition deal between Neon (the company which released I, Tonya and Ingrid Goes West) and new production company AGBO, which is headed up by Joe and Anthony Russo, the director brothers behind the last two instalments of Captain America. It's already on our to-watch list.
Everyone reacts differently to being cheated on. Some people channel their pain into game-changing, platinum-selling visual albums, while others prefer to stay in bed with a pint of ice cream in front of Eat Pray Love. But some people take a different, altogether more vengeful approach.
One such victim is Bella Thorne. She may be among the cast of an upcoming film about getting revenge on a sexist hacker who exposes people's secrets and illicit relationships, but she has no qualms about publicly getting her own back on her real-life boyfriend for (potentially) cheating.
This week, the actor publicly shamed her partner Mod Sun after she noticed notifications for the dating app Badoo on his phone. She took to Instagram Stories to document the occasion, using the super zoom filter and captioning the image: "When your boyfriend still has a dating app on his phone... [thinking face emoji]." The pair have been oversharing their relationship on social media since it began via social media last October, so perhaps this was always the way it was going to go...
Thorne's retribution isn't the only such case of public shaming via Instagram Stories in recent weeks, however. The Chainsmokers DJ Alex Pall was outed as a two-timing snake by his long-term (now ex) girlfriend Tori Woodward, who posted CCTV footage of him kissing another woman. Pall has since grovelled to the press about how Woodward "deserves a better guy than [him]," and how he's going to be a "better person" henceforth, so it's a tactic that clearly works – at least sometimes.
Screenshots from the instagram account of Tori Woodward, girlfriend of #Chainsmokers' Alex Pall
"‘I’m moving on with my life now with the satisfaction that I’m liberated from a horrible person and encourage anyone else in a similar position to know your worth and do the same" 👀 pic.twitter.com/366GStY28W
It's been a less successful technique for other scorned parties. Perhaps the most infamous case of celebrity social-media shaming, of course, was Rob Kardashian's vicious and very public feud with his ex and baby mama Blac Chyna last year. The reality star and sock mogul posted a stream of allegations and explicit photos of Chyna via Instagram, which, once people eventually came up for air after the scandal, was widely condemned as slut-shaming, cyber bullying and revenge porn. Chyna took out a restraining order against him and she's been in a savage legal battle with the Kardashians ever since. Poor baby Dream.
A stream of other celebrities and public figures have also aired their dirty laundry online, to the delight of busybodies and gossip sites around the world. Back in 2016, Iggy Azalea used Twitter to tell the world about her ex fiancé Nick Young. "I broke up with Nick because I found he had brought other women into our home while I was away and caught them on the security footage," she tweeted. "I feel like I don't even know who the hell it is I've been loving all this time."
Closer to home, the boxer Amir Khan publicly accused his wife Faryal Makhdoom of cheating on him with Anthony Joshua on Twitter after he received "fake" screenshots of a Snapchat conversation between the pair. He later admitted to being "embarrassed" by the whole feud, which may have made others think twice before seeking similar revenge.
It's not just those with millions of followers who employ this form of retaliation, though. Barely a week goes by without a tabloid or viral news sites delving into the bitter public feuds between ex partners on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which often overstep the line between funny-and-forgiveable to straight-up revenge porn. One man recently posted a photo of his girlfriend in bed with her roommate. The comments below the post were polarised, to say the least.
The tactic can be utilised for good, however. Just last month, a woman started a hunt for a cheating man named Ben after she heard him bragging about his betrayal on a train. Emily Shepherd, 23, urged Ben's girlfriend to "dump his ass" in a tweet that became a viral sensation, garnering 27k retweets and 70k likes – although it's unclear if the adulterer was ever found.
Being a working mum is hard, and it can often feel like "a day late and a pound short" is the best case scenario: missed deadlines, forgotten dry cleaning, and never, ever seeing friends. But we don't have to reinvent the wheel to figure out a better way through. Just look around at all the super successful mums kicking ass on a daily basis.
This Is How I Do It is our day-in-the-life series featuring some of these impressive women who juggle big careers and families with grace and humour. Their stories won't literally do your laundry and pack your kids' lunches while you answer email, but they offer an honest peek at how someone else gets her life together every day.
Photo: Courtesy of Guerin Blask.
Laura Allison Wasser, 49, is a family law attorney (who's represented some big talent) and the founder of It's Over Easy, a new site dedicated to all things divorce. She's a single mum to two excellent sons, Luke, 12, and Jack, 8.
My day to day:
5:30 a.m. – Alarm goes off (groan, it’s dark). Check and return emails. Text boyfriend, Matt.
5:45 a.m. – Feed Jethro, the dog. Set out for a run. This is the meditation portion of my day. If I do not have to be in court, I am able to get in a solid hour of fresh-air, cardiovascular head-clearing alone time.
6:45 a.m. – Get home, hydrate, do some sit-ups, and wake up the kids with kisses, good morning sunshines, and curtain/shutter-opening.
7 a.m. – Shower, check and return emails.
7:05 a.m. – Wake up kids again – this time for real and with far less sweetness. Make breakfast, blow-dry hair, dress, apply some makeup, encourage kids to eat breakfast, pack snacks, backpacks, and briefcase.
7:45 a.m. – Leave for school. On days when I have to go to court this is where I part way with my kids as I have to leave to head downtown. If I don’t have to go to court, and it is not a school-drive day, I am able to go to Pilates from 8-9 a.m.
8:15 a.m. – Drop off Luke, honk and wave embarrassingly as we pull away.
8:30 a.m. – Drop off Jack, this includes parking and walking him in (no embarrassment here — yet — he even holds my hand), seeing new classroom projects, getting awesome goodbye hugs, and checking in with teachers and other parents. I love our school. It goes from kindergarten to 12th grade on an upper and lower school campus (hence the double drop off as Luke began upper school in September). I am proud to be on our board of trustees, which keeps me informed and involved even though I cannot be on campus or in the classroom as much as some of the other parents.
8:30-9:30 a.m. – Brave the brutal drive back over the hill to my office. Try to check and return emails and calls while driving. This is difficult as reception is terrible through the canyon. Text boyfriend at red lights.
9:30 a.m. – Arrive at office, eat a yogurt, and return some more emails and calls. Text boyfriend back. I try to leave some time for traffic, morning organisation, and completion of anything that has been left the night before by my assistant before my first morning meeting, which is usually at 10:30 or 11.
10:30 a.m. – Generally I will have client meetings, voluntary settlement conferences, strategy reviews, and conference calls between 10:30 and 1. If we have a hearing coming up, I will read and edit the pleading we have prepared or get familiar with the briefs filed by the opposing counsel.
1:00 p.m. – If possible, I have lunch with the awesome women at my firm. My best friend, Melissa (since second grade at El Rodeo Elementary School in Beverly Hills), is our firm’s office administrator. She and my partners and associates usually head somewhere for lunch. If I can make it, I join. Over the past year, I usually spend lunch at my desk attending to my new online divorce platform, It’s Over Easy.
3:30 p.m – Check in with kids, who are on their way home from school and to various activities. Ask about tests, homework, reptiles (Luke has several pets), dinner plan, etc. Luke now has a smart phone and we Facetime, which may be the one good thing I can say about the fact that Luke has a phone.
6:30 p.m – Try to leave office.
6:45 p.m – Actually leave office.
7:00 p.m – Arrive home. Change into jeans (immediately!). Review homework, supervise reptile feeding, read with Jack, and figure out dinner. We will generally either eat something Laney, our nanny, has cooked (we are currently experimenting with slow-cooker recipes), order in, or go for sushi. During the summer months, when it stays light later, I will ask Laney to prep for me, and I will cook one of my three-to-five go-to dishes. This makes my boys happy. It usually makes my hands smell like garlic for the next several days. In the summer, dinner is followed by a night swim which cuts the garlic with a chlorine smell, but that's another article.
8:00 p.m – Review and return emails. Text boyfriend.
8:30 p.m – Jack to bed.
9:00 p.m – Luke to bed.
9:30 p.m – Luke really to bed (at least the lights better be out and phone removed from room).
10:00 p.m – Wash face, brush teeth, moisturise, take vitamins. Review and return emails, prep for whatever is happening tomorrow — court, settlement conferences, meetings, etc. Get into bed with my Kindle. I am a voracious reader and a few pages, or chapters, before bed helps me quiet my mind and get a good night of sleep.
10:30 p.m – Text boyfriend. Go to sleep.
(By the way, all of this may seem quite boring, but on Tuesdays and alternate weekends when my kids are at their dads’ homes, I have a date night with Matt, and it is far more glamorous and exciting. Actually the schedule is pretty much the same, but there is wine, flirting, and adult conversation as opposed to second-grade reading materials. I still climb into bed about 10, but it is with Matt not my Kindle.)
My current passion project: My current passion project is It's Over Easy, the online divorce website that I founded and officially launched on January 25. It is a platform that enables divorcing couples to go through the divorce process online quickly and simply, thanks to artificial intelligence, education about the laws in each state via pop-up videos, and mediation. Additionally, the site offers a ton of content regarding dissolution-related issues, custody calendars, and tips on structuring a parenting plan, our own support calculators, and much more.
There is a referral wall with recommendations on everything from co-parenting counsellors to financial planners to post-divorce makeover specialists. We hope to become the go-to online divorce resource to assist families transitioning from one household structure to their next chapter in an amicable and cost-effective way. It is a project I’ve envisioned for many years now — a resource that allows couples and families to be the masters of their own destiny — and it has been so gratifying to work so hard on it and finally launch it.
The best part of my day: When I get home from my run. It is super quiet in our house and Jethro the dog greets me. We head upstairs for the first kid wake-up call, and they are both so sweet and sleepy and yummy. It is everything I love about being a parent.
The one thing I wish I didn't have to do: I wish I didn’t have to drive so much. The traffic in L.A. is horrific and getting anywhere is a total time suck.
The one thing I always worry about: I always worry about TIME. It seems there is never enough of it.
The secret to being a successful working mom is: Wow, I have no idea. If someone discovers it, please let me know.
The one thing I would tell other working moms: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
In other words, Keep up the good work, you got this!
Becoming a mother changed this about me: When I had Luke, it felt as if another chamber had grown on my heart. This happened again with Jack. You feel as though you cannot imagine loving or caring or feeling anymore and then, just like that, there is more. Every priority shifted. Things that used to be crucial, no longer were as important. My reason for being became and remains these two little people. Participating in their evolution is the most joyful, wondrous, compelling experience every single day of my life. As they grow and mature, they become more independent and life shifts slightly back to other activities and projects, but they remain the underlying raison d'etre.
Who helps raise your kids? Tell us about your village: I am totally blessed to have two amazing co-parents; one dad for each of my sons. They are absolutely integral to our children’s lives and between the three of us (and the others who will be applauded below) we are raising kind, intelligent, happy, conscious, curious, funny, well-adjusted humans.
Our nanny, Laney; weekend babysitter, Samantha (and her awesome boyfriend Mansai); my dear friend and assistant, Erica; and our housekeeper, Irma, are also queens in our village. My mother drives in from Malibu each Monday to pick the boys up and spend the afternoon with them (we call it Gramma Bunny Monday). I also have some amazing friends — some of whom I have known since childhood and some of whom I met through my own children. Through work, our neighbourhood, and our fantastic school community, our village is quite complete and generally functional.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Like many Americans, I saw Lady Bird more than once (it's been out in the US a while; UK release date February 16). I even wrote an article with my mum about it. It's a good movie! It deserves all the awards! But don't come for me when I say that it was not my favourite movie of 2017. By the time I sat down to watch the Greta Gerwig-directed drama, my heart had already been won by another story about mothers and daughters and family, but that didn't get any recognition from award shows at all: Landline.
I'll admit that Landline 's genetic makeup feels tailored specifically to me, with Obvious Child creator Gillian Robespierre as both the writer and director, Jenny Slate as the star, and a Duplass brother as a love interest (Jay, specifically). When sisters Dana (Slate) and Ali (Abby Quinn) discover that their father (John Turturro) is cheating on their mother (Edie Falco), they must mend their dysfunctional relationship in an effort to get to the bottom of it. Set in the '90s, the movie is just so pleasant to watch, hurts in all the right ways, and ends with the three main characters sitting on the floor of the bathroom smoking cigarettes. The stories of the three women intersect perfectly — not in a ham-fisted, Love Actually kind of way, but in a way that rounds out the narrative to be not about one person in particular, but instead how the push and pull of each of their lives forms a family you'll definitely recognise.
In my dreams, directors Robespierre and Gerwig get coffee on the regular, and cook up their next ideas for female-focused dramedies that get to the heart of simple but powerful issues. But also in my dreams, Robespierre gets proper recognition for it. Lady Bird and its cast has already won thirteen awards, with more certainly to come at this year's Oscars. Aside from its nomination for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Landline is up for none.
Following its release, publications like The Atlantic, the Boston Globe, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone were underwhelmed. What do we look for when we look for a movie about mothers and daughters? What made Lady Bird soar with the critics, but Landline fall flat? This certainly isn't intended to pit the two against each other — actually, it's the opposite. In an ideal world, both movies would be welcomed to the stage, the way two movies about the battle of Dunkirk ( Darkest Hour and, uh, Dunkirk) are competing for Oscars Best Picture.
After I saw Landline, I left the cinema glowing, but I started to question my own sense of self and taste when critics weren't seeing what I saw: a smart, neatly-packaged movie with performances from Slate and Falco that steal the show. The kind of movie you can (as I do) put on in your living room while you putter around making dinner, later sitting down to eat and catching the end of the movie, just in time for you to be inspired to call your mum before bed. There's an Oscar category for that, right?
A new report from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, called “Inclusion in the Recording Studio? " shows that drought wasn't an anomaly. It is indicative of how women are underrepresented in music.
The study, which looked at the 600 songs on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 chart between 2012 and 2017, contains some harrowing numbers starting with this statistic: women were attached to only 22.4% of those 600 songs. Put another way: if you put all 600 songs in a playlist, you would have a list of the most popular songs over the last six years, and you'll hear a woman on less than 1 out of every 4 songs as it plays.
Here's another startling finding: the most prolific nine male songwriters in that time wrote nearly one-fifth of the songs on the charts. Go back to your 600-song playlist and hit play, and 1 in 5 will have been written by one of the same nine men. While it may feel like you hear Sia's name bandied about as a songwriter people want to work with all the time, the reality is she only has eight songs on this list of 600. That is less than half the number of songs her male counterpart in popularity, Savan Kotecha has, without also being an artist or having even remotely the same public profile. The study's findings: men are given more opportunities in songwriting and production than women.
The disparity translates into awards as well. The study analysed Grammy nominees from 2013 to 2018 and found that only 9.3% were female, with zero women earning Producer of the Year, Non Classical nods in this period. The most inclusive of the top four Grammy categories was Best New Artist, where 36.4% of the nominees have been female. Ironically, this award is commonly referred to as cursed — a career-killer that can relegate you to one-hit-wonder status, or worse.
Ask any woman in the music industry and she will tell you that she has had many experiences where she was the only woman in the room. Based on the numbers in this study, if you ask a woman who is an artist, songwriter, or producer, you are likely to hear that nearly all of her experiences are as the only woman in the recording studio. Among those same 600 songs, only 12.3% had a female songwriter attached. Across a list of 300 songs from the same Billboard chart for 2012, 2016, and 2017, the study found the ratio of male to female producers to be 49 to 1. That is a mere 2%.
The producer (or executive producer) usually have songwriting teams and audio engineering crews with whom they regularly work. The producer's input influences not only how an album or song by an artist will sound, but often which people they work with, though some singers do bring in songwriters and vocal producers they like. What these numbers tell us is that the vast majority of artists of all genders are choosing to work with male producers, and those male producers, in turn, choose to hire male songwriters in equally overwhelming numbers.
Grammy nominee K.Flay told Refinery29 that part of solving the problem is encouraging young women to enter STEM fields, a key part of audio production. She says, "I think that young women who love music are directed, in many ways, to perform and not often encouraged into the technical production side while young boys are. I have a nomination for Best Engineered Album this year, and I am, unfortunately, one of only two women in the category. I would love for there to be more, and I would love to be able to interact with younger women making music. I want to talk to them about the opportunities and tell them, you can be a lighting designer, you can be a mixing engineer. Now that I’ve had a chance to exist in this industry, I know the opportunities are quite vast."
Liz Hart, principal at Miss Management and the former first female A&R executive for XL Records (Adele, M.I.A.) told Refinery29 about working on an Oscar campaign for her client, Mica Levi, who was nominated in 2017 for an Oscar for Music (Original Score) for the movie Jackie. Levi was the first female nominee for the prize in 20 years and Hart says she did all she could to impress upon everyone, from Fox Searchlight Pictures to the head of the Motion Picture Academy, that it was their personal responsibility to improve representation (alas, Levi did not win in 2017, and no women earned an Oscar nomination in this category in 2018). "Because I was the executive producer on that score, I was able to effect change behind the scenes. In addition to a female composer, we had a female mastering engineer, head of orchestration, music supervisor — all of the top positions were women,” Hart says. “When I control the hiring machine, I effect change."
The idea that visibility, opportunity, and lifting female voices helps to lift all women is one that many artists could take to heart. In the previous two years, the Album of the Year award has gone to two powerhouse female artists, Adele and Taylor Swift, along with their all-male production teams. This, against all statistical odds, as this survey shows that women only earned 6.1% of the nominations in this category, which recognises the artist, featured artists, the producer, songwriters, recording engineers, mixers, and mastering engineers. Remarkably, both women had won the award previously for work with all-male production teams, though Swift did work with some female songwriters. Both could take a cue from Beyoncé, who has inexplicably never won a Grammy for Album of the Year. Her company, Parkwood Entertainment, cultivates a team of in-house songwriters, with an emphasis on women, who produce material for her consideration. She has also created a record label that is about developing female artists — and only female artists. "The music industry is dominated by men," Beyoncé told Elle. "And these labels go out and try to make carbon copies of whoever is successful at that moment. I'm over that." Same.
Correction: K.Flay is not the only woman nominated for Best Engineered Album at the 60th annual Grammy awards, she is one of two.
The plot of the so-bad-it's-good dystopian thriller The Purge envisions a dismal alternate-reality future wherein once a year, every year, as sanctioned by a totalitarian government, all crime is completely legal for 12 hours. And why? Because, the theory goes, it gives people the opportunity to "get it all out," so to speak. All the bad shit rises to the surface; bring the darkness of the underworld to light, and it loses some of its power.
You'll also find this same concept in the world of skin care, though Ethan Hawke is not involved this time around. (No murder, either.) Purging refers to what happens to your skin when you first start using certain exfoliating products that encourage cell turnover — namely, retinoids. Not unlike a society quietly bubbling with rage, the bad stuff lurking in your pores needs to come out at some point. As your skin starts getting accustomed to the retinol, in the first two to four weeks of use, your cell turnover will increase and your pores will... well, purge, and all breakout hell will break loose.
The clearing-out of your pores is ultimately a good thing, and it means the retinol is working; it's only uphill from here. "Think of this as the skin clearing the pipes," says dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD. But even though we know that the purging phenomenon is real, there's always that moment of questioning: Is your skin reacting normally to a retinoid you've just started using, or did your acne just get real bad real fast?
"A purge and a breakout are essentially similar," Dr. Zeichner explains. "However, the purge is part of the therapeutic process and improves with continued use of the topical retinoid, then goes away." You can tell the difference because a proper purge generally occurs all over the face at once, whereas the usual breakout usually shows up randomly and individually, and breakouts usually develop when you're not treating your skin. A bad reaction might come in the form of a rash or irritation, but if you just started using a retinoid and suddenly sprouted a colony of zits, chances are it's a harmless part of the purging process.
That said, there are ways to keep purging to a minimum — all you have to do is start your topical retinoids slowly and intermittently rather than all at once, so your skin has a chance to adjust at its own pace. Dr. Zeichner says he doesn't recommend using a retinoid more frequently than every other day, especially in the beginning. And that doesn't mean you won't see results: "It's fine to start using a topical retinoid once a week and advance as tolerated if your skin is sensitive or you want to avoid a purge," he says. As for avoiding Purge Night, good luck with that — you saw what happened to the Sandin family, didn't you?
JonBoy is a celebrity tattoo artist at Bang Bang Tattoo in New York City. He has worked in the industry for 18 years, and specialises in minimal designs and delicate script that he's inked on Hailey Baldwin, Kendall Jenner, Justin Bieber, and more. The following story was told to Kelsey Castañon and edited for length and clarity.
I got my first tattoo when I was 19, in the late '90s when tribal armbands were cool. I was like, "I wanna get an armband like Pamela Anderson's — with barbwire and a crown of thorns for Jesus!" The more I got, the more interested I became in the field. I ended up pursuing a career in youth ministry in Decorah, Iowa — mainly because I'm passionate about and genuinely interested in people — and started hanging out at the local tattoo parlour. An old biker guy named Kevin Fitzgerald, who was a recovering drug addict starting his journey of becoming a Christian, worked there, and we just became friends. He asked if I'd like to learn how to tattoo, so I did an apprenticeship with him for a year and a half. Eighteen years later, and I'm doing the same thing.
When I first moved to New York, I tattooed Madonna 's ex, Carlos Leon. At the time I was like, Oh man, this is so cool!I remember watching you on stage dancing with Madonna. I thought he was just the coolest, and I couldn't believe I was getting to tattoo him. I've done a few on him since, like the NYC token on his finger and a couple of saints. Then six or seven years ago, I found Hillsong church, and that's how I’ve gotten to meet some of these celebrities.
Before I became a "celebrity tattooer," 90% of my clientele was from Hillsong — the worship leaders, the people attending, the staff. Since then, my life hasn't been the same.
JonBoy giving Halsey a wrist tattoo last year.Photo via @jonboytattoo.
On Maintaining A Celeb's Privacy One time G-Eazy and Halsey were coming in to the shop, and before they even pulled up, fans were already sitting out there asking for them. You have to wonder how they know who is coming, and when. No one says anything to anyone, but I don't know, people are so obsessed that they idolise them. I do get it in a way — you've got talented people that you look up to and admire, and getting to meet them can feel really good.
But tattoos can be so personal for some people. They don't want anyone to know. I've had celebrities ask me not to put it up on my Instagram, and I get that. You want to protect them from paparazzi, because that can also get really crazy. I was working with Bella Hadid at my old parlour and people were outside waiting; we had to put screens on the window so no one could get a photo. Bang Bang built a separate room strictly for that reason, since the big windows at the shop make it easy for someone to get a quick shot. Otherwise, I'll do house calls to make sure there's no chance that they'll be photographed.
Hailey Baldwin and JonBoy hanging out at Bang Bang Tattoo.Photo via @jonboytattoo.
Building Real, Meaningful Friendships I would say I'm closest to Hailey [Baldwin]. I don’t know how many tattoos she has at this point — maybe 17 or 18, I’ve lost count — but I always try and make myself available for her. I'll get a call and it's like, "Hey, are you around?" And I'm like, "For you, of course." Because if it weren't for her, I wouldn’t have been tattooing Kendall and Kylie [Jenner], Justin [Bieber], or anyone else. All these celebrities have come to me because Hailey said, "Yeah, he's chill — go for it."
I met her and her father four years ago, when she was 17. He was showing me all his tattoos that Kat Von D did and Hailey was like, "Hey dad, can I get a tattoo?" And he said, "When you're 18." So when she turned 18, she came to me and got her parents' wedding dates in roman numerals on her wrist — from then on, she was hooked.
Learning The Downsides Of Fame I do admire a lot of the celebrities I work with and understand why they're being celebrated, but I don't do what I do to become famous. I'm going to treat anyone who walks through the door like gold — whether people know your name or not.
Sometimes, hanging out with a celebrity outside of the shop can feel like, Holy crap, how do they do this every day? I remember going out to the bar with Kendall and as I was sitting there, I looked out to the crowd and everyone's eyes were on her. People were just staring and trying to sneak pics. She can't even live her life or have a drink without people taking pictures! Now I get why a lot of the time, people just stay home. That's why they keep such a tight circle.
Remembering Your Purpose I never used to give people a chance, but I do now, and you can learn a lot. It's part of the reason why I am where I am right now, because of the people I've had in my tattoo chair. When I got to tattoo a cross on Justin Bieber's face, I could sense that he was dealing with such heaviness, and then we got to pray together. It was one of those moments I'll never forget, because it really reminded me why I do what I do, why I’m a tattooer and not a youth pastor.
You're sitting there and you’re still being a light to people. I get to hear their stories, and I get to share my love. I'm challenged every day to love on those people, you know? And that's exactly what this world needs more of right now.
This month, it's more important than ever that you resist the temptation to spend all your cash on payday, because PUMA has collaborated with British artist Shantell Martin on a new collection. Now working out of New York, Shantell is kind of a big deal; her portfolio includes work with Kendrick Lamar (Kendrick is "awesome ") and Refinery29’s very own 29 Rooms as well as several seriously impressive solo exhibitions and residencies.
Martin’s creativity was shaped over her childhood in southeast London. Her work represents a playful freedom that is in stark contrast to the traditional art scene but in fact, she says it wasn't something she considered growing up. "I always thought [being an artist] was reserved for very lucky people or rich kids," she told R29. "Growing up mixed-race in a very racist, homophobic area was an initiation out into the world."
Over the years, she has become known for her whimsical black and white squiggles, stick men and faces. She says she uses her work as a vehicle to bridge a connection between fine art, performance art and everyday life. The most common reaction she has to her work is a smile. "I think my work brings positive stuff into a space," she said.
This ethos is immediately apparent in this new collab, which features classic PUMA styles adorned with Martin’s signature monochromatic illustrations. The 20-piece collection is a lighthearted mix of athleisure and sartorial tailoring (with added stick figures). Think graphic tees paired with tapered trousers layered under crisp, semi-opaque raincoats and flatform trainers. Taglines of "Do Less, Be More" and "Find Your Way" run across the pieces.
“It was cool being able to apply my artistic DNA to iconic PUMA silhouettes," she says. "But what I particularly loved about the project was hiding little messages throughout the product offering to make something truly unique.”
The collection launches on 10th February. Check out Shantell on Instagram here.
Multi-masking in skincare is nothing new – we've been using detoxing clay on our T-zone and soothing lavender on our cheeks for some time now. But for our hair? We wish we'd started sooner. With bespoke beauty gaining momentum, it makes complete sense to approach our hair and scalp in the same way we do our skin.
Sustainable hair salon Ralph & Rice has partnered with ethical haircare brand Davines to offer in-salon multi-masking. "Damaged, bleached ends, mid-length mysteries, virgin roots and don’t forget your scalp – multi-masking will help make these a thing of the past," the salon's cofounder Anita explains. "With a treatment-based system, we'll analyse and prescribe the appropriate mask required for the different levels of damage."
You can head to the salon for a 20-minute treatment and diagnosis of your haircare troubles, or you can take the masks home and apply in the bathroom. "As far as application, roots can be done with a tint brush and bowl, whereas the ends can be liberally applied by hand," Anita explains. "Processing time is typically 10 minutes, but there wouldn't be an issue if left for longer as these are clay-based masks, so won't leave hair lank and greasy."
So next time we apply a mask, we'll be attending to our hair's various needs, from frazzled ends to oily roots. Click through to find the other hair masks we'll be using to get our locks in fighting shape.
Inspired by the sandy beaches of Bali, the world's largest coconut producer, Coco & Eve harnessed it's benefits to create a hair masque to combat parched and damaged tresses.
As 100% vegan and cruelty free, it's a 5-in-1 treatment to use weekly in place of your conditioner. Blending together raw coconut to add shine and strengthen locks, argon oil to tame frizz, and fig and shea butter to to detangle, this deep conditioner hydrates and leave hair much more manageable. Plus, it comes with a handbag-friendly Tangle Tamer.
Coco & Eve Like A Virgin Super Nourishing Coconut & Fig Hair Masque Plus Free Tangle Tamer, £34.90, available at Coco & Eve
Phyto's mask contains a blend of baobab oil and sapote butter, rich in twice as many essential fatty acids as shea butter. This is perfect for the driest, most parched hair – dedicated bleachers, take note.
Phyto Phytokeratine Extrême Mask, £36, available at Selfridges
Rosehip and argan oils, algae, biotin and B-vitamins bring brittle hair back to life. This one is an intense treatment, so only needs applying once a week, to over-coloured or grown-out ends.
Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask, £30, available at Cult Beauty
Ouai's individual masks are a cocktail of nourishing ingredients for fried locks: amino acids, keratin, hibiscus, and tamarind seed all work to repair damaged hair. Perfect for taking on holiday, when the pool and sunshine cause havoc.
Ouai Haircare Treatment Masque, £25, available at Cult Beauty
Suitable for all hair types, Philip Kingsley's mask is an intensive anti-dandruff treatment for those with a dry, itchy or irritated scalp. This one's ideal for scalp build-up, too.
Philip Kingsley Exfoliating Scalp Mask, £17, available at Selfridges
Not only does Davines' mask bring a hit of hydration to neglected scalps, but it fights the fallout from everyday pollution – like dust and heavy metals – thus purifying the hair. You can use it pre- or post-shampoo, too.
Davines The Purity Circle Hair Mask, £8, available at Liberty
Aloe vera, pineapple, olive and rosemary relieve itchy, flaky or psoriasis-prone scalps. Every ingredient is naturally derived so there's no risk of further aggravation.
Green People Irritated Scalp Shampoo for Psoriasis & Dry Skin, £13, available at Hello Skin Shop
The whole of Lee Stafford's sea salt line is brilliant and although it works well for fine hair in need of a boost, it's particularly great for those with an oily scalp. The Dead Sea mud and chunky sea salt absorb the scalp's excess oil, leaving hair feeling neutralised and weightless, rather than weighed down.
Lee Stafford Sea Salt Mud Mask, £10.99, available at Boots
Sure, you've tried salicylic acid for your visage, but for your hair? Get masking, because this Paul Mitchell formula rids oily scalps of acne and other impurities. Peppermint and lavender mean it smells divine, too.
Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Hair And Scalp Treatment, £18.25, available at Feel Unique
This mineral-rich mask is a treat for Sunday evenings. Red clay stops scalps over-oiling while apricot kernel oil hydrates, without a lank lock in sight.
Espa Pink Hair & Scalp Mud, £34, available at Mankind
This is like a shot of energy to your mid-lengths. Rahua's rejuvenating mask contains omega 9, sunflower oil and quinoa seed to kickstart shine and softness.
Rahua Omega 9 Hair Mask, £48, available at Cult Beauty
This nifty – and great-smelling – mask from hair maestro Christophe Robin not only penetrates dull ends with prickly pear seed oil but prevents further breakages with inula flower extract. A little goes a long way.
Christophe Robin Regenerating Mask With Rare Prickly Pear Seed Oil, £57.50, available at Look Fantastic
These Redken self-heating mask sachets are fun to use and give 'meh'-looking mid-lengths a bit of life with soy protein and argan oil.
Redken Heatcure At Home Self-Heating Mask, £16.75, available at Look Fantastic
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Holiday shopping can be frustrating and uninspiring; often last minute, there's only so many kaftans or beaded bikinis you can search through until you call it a day and pack your trusty regulars instead. United in an aim to create a range of resort wear that is timeless, elegant and wearable once you're back home too, sisters Hannah and Melissa Collett have launched Worme, a capsule of sophisticated silk separates that will transform your summer wardrobe.
Inspired by holidays spent in Cadaqués, Spain, the brand encapsulates the freedom of vacation with elegant designs, priced from £270-£600, that work just as well in the city as on the beach. Using the finest crêpe de chine silk and made in London, the sisters' love of quality design and fabrics was realised during their stints working at cult concept store Dover Street Market in London. While working at DSM, Hannah began studying at London College of Fashion before embarking on a 10-year career as a makeup artist for film and TV. During Melissa's time at DSM, she worked at POP magazine and Dazed & Confused, then moved to Paris and New York to focus on her work as a photography agent and producer.
Photo: Celine Kreis Courtesy Of Worme
Drawing on their combined experience in photography, hair, makeup and styling, Worme's first look book is produced solely by the sibling duo, empowering both Hannah and Melissa to express their passion and creativity. Alongside the look book, a project called “The Life Of Worme” features a selection of inspiring and creative women, including DJ Siobhan Bell, model Kim Turnbull, photographer Skye Jones and jeweller Amaya Jones, and ballerina Keenan Kampa, wearing the collection in various destinations around the globe.
We caught up with the sisters to discuss what it's actually like working with your sibling, carving out a unique brand in a saturated market and how they brought their dream to fruition.
How and why did you decide to launch Worme? When buying clothes for our holidays we could never find classic, easy pieces. The only resort wear available was in synthetic materials embellished with jewels, fringes and tassels. We have always loved silk and the effortless elegance it holds so we found a silk supplier and tailor and started to design our own. We made simple, fuss-free pieces that allowed us to transition freely from day to night. This was always a fun, summer project for us and it wasn't until December 2016, during a trip to Miami, that we decided to leave our careers and take our passion seriously.
Who is the Worme woman? Worme is for every woman! Our silk designs are so classic they can be moulded to suit any age or occasion. Hannah wears her Shore Kimono slung over a bikini to the beach and Melissa pairs hers with the Standard Flare and sneakers; our mother goes for luncheons in hers. Women of all ages can wear Worme, however and wherever they want.
Photo: Skye and Amaya Courtesy Of Worme
How do the women featuring in "The Life of Worme" embody the brand? Our aim is to build a Worme community of women all over the world, who inspire not only us but other women to take risks and follow their dreams. All the women featured are wonderful examples of strength and determination and proof that if you work hard your goals will be achieved. From a DJ to a ballerina, each one of them has a unique style and character and have inspired us in different ways. Their positive outlooks, energy and exciting lifestyles encapsulate the brand.
Photo: Kim Turnbull Courtesy Of Worme
What's it like working with your sister? It is like working with a best friend but having no boundaries so as you can imagine it can be challenging and lead to some explosions in the office. Although there are fiery times there is trust and respect for each other that is invaluable.
We can just look at one another and know what the other is thinking and this really helps when making decisions. We have defined our roles instinctively throughout the year establishing Worme, and really celebrate each other's strengths – Hannah is design and production, Melissa is creative direction and marketing. We are incredibly grateful to be on this journey together.
It’s never been easier to keep up with what’s going on in the world. The news is everywhere – in our Facebook feeds, on the morning commute, during that lazy half hour before you switch off the TV and go to bed. But the tide of global affairs is often more upsetting than uplifting and it can be tempting to bury our heads in the sand. As the saying goes: a picture is worth a thousand words, so to offer a different perspective we've rounded up some of the most memorable images of the week's events, captured by the best photojournalists on the planet.
A demonstrator holds his fist in the air as members of the Communist Party of India (CPI) along with trade unions demonstrate during a nationwide protest demanding a standardisation of minimum monthly wages of 18000 INR (US$283) for working labour in Chennai on 25th January 2018.
Photo by ARUN SANKAR/AFP/Getty Images
The Captain Cook statue in Catani Gardens in St Kilda is seen vandalised on 25th January 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. The vandalism comes as debate continues about changing Australia Day from January 26th with many indigenous Australians believing it to be Invasion Day. Australia Day, formerly known as Foundation Day, is the official national day of Australia and is celebrated annually on January 26th to commemorate the arrival of the First Fleet to Sydney in 1788.
Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
Women from the Michigan-based victim advocacy groups End Violent Encounters and Firecracker Foundation cheer for women as they leave the courthouse after the sentencing of the disgraced doctor Larry Nassar in Ingham County Circuit Court on 24th January 2018 in Lansing, Michigan. The former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting dozens of girls and women.
Photo by Anthony Lanzilote/Getty Images
A woman covers the face of a child as Mount Mayon spews a huge column of ash in Camalig, Albay province, Philippines, on 24th January 2018. Mount Mayon, the Philippines' most active volcano located in eastern Philippines, has been spewing fresh lava and ash for almost two weeks. More than 74,000 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters as authorities warn of a potentially hazardous eruption that could take place in just days.
Photo by Ezra Acayan/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The coffin of Dolores O'Riordan is carried out of St Ailbe's parish church in Ballybricken after her funeral on 23rd January 2018 in Limerick, Ireland. The Cranberries singer, aged 46, was found unresponsive in a London hotel last week. Police are not treating her death as suspicious. An inquest into O'Riordan's death was opened and adjourned until April while the coroner awaits test results. The Cranberries' debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? sold 40 million records in the early 1990s.
Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
A picture taken on 22nd January 2018 shows a murmuration of starlings performing their traditional dance before landing to sleep near the southern Israeli city of Rahat, in the Negev desert.
Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images
A Nepalese kid writes on the temple wall of the Goddess of Wisdom Saraswati during Basant Panchami, or Shree Panchami Festival celebrated on Monday 22nd January 2018 at Kathmandu, Nepal.
Photo by Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A woman poses with a message as hundreds of mostly female activists marched to protest repeated failures to apply laws that women must hold at least a third of government seats in Nairobi, Kenya, on 22nd January 2018. According to Kenya's 2010 constitution, women must have at least a third of seats in parliament and a third of appointed positions. The National Assembly has 349 MPs; there are only 76 women.
Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinian schoolgirls pose for a group picture outside their classrooms at a school belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza City on 22nd January 2018, during a visit by the UNRWA Commissioner General.
Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images
A group of shamans led by Tayta (father) 'Chonta Negra' initiate the ritual of prosperity and gratitude to the 'Pacha Mama' (mother earth) with which they receive the new year, in Molinuco, Ecuador, on 22nd January 2018. A seven-months' pregnant woman is cleansed of bad energies with a guinea pig by a shaman, and the foetus is placed in position to have a normal delivery.
Photo by Franklin Jácome/Press South/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A supporter of the presidential candidate for the Honduran Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship for the past election, Salvador Nasralla, lies on the street in front of police officers during a demonstration against the contested re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernández, in Tegucigalpa on 21st January 2018. The opposition called for a 'national strike' on Saturday to focus on blocking the country's main roads ahead of the start of the president's new term in office on 27th January. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds jailed since Hernández was declared the winner of the 26th November run-off election – but only after a three-week stretch of often-interrupted ballot counting that stoked tensions and sparked accusations of fraud in the Central American country.
Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images
Orla Dean, 5, holds a placard during the Time's Up rally at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street on 21st January 2018 in London, England. The Time's Up Women's March marks the one-year anniversary of the first Women's March in London and in 2018 it is inspired by the Time's Up movement against sexual abuse. The Time's Up initiative was launched at the start of January 2018 as a response to the #MeToo movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
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Many of us are still mourning the end of Blue Planet II – the most-watched TV show of 2017 – but good news, BBC One is about to air a brand new nature show – written and directed entirely by women.
Animals With Cameras starts on Thursday 1st February and the concept is as cute (and potentially hilarious) as the name suggests.
Creatures including meerkats, chimps, cheetahs and penguins had cameras attached to them during filming in a bid to provide viewers and scientists with a new insight into how these animals live.
The show is the BBC's first big nature show written and directed solely by women, the Guardian reported.
Photo: Courtesy Of BBC Pictures.
Speaking about the all-female team of writers and directors on Animals With Cameras, Anne Sommerfield, one of the directors, said she and her fellow directors were “just the best candidates for the job available at the time," although she admitted it was a momentous occasion.
“The fact it was an all-female-directed series is a really encouraging sign,” she told the Guardian. “I hope it inspires younger female film-makers to pursue their dreams.”
The first episode will see three animals take centre stage: meerkats burrowing underground in the Kalahari Desert, a 4-year-old orphan chimp named Kimbang, and penguins in Argentina, whose tiny cameras will accompany them on a 300km journey out to sea.
Photo: Courtesy Of BBC Pictures.
The idea to attach cameras onto the animals was sparked by scientists, who wanted to get a glimpse into their lives for their research. The technology the team used sounds remarkably sophisticated.
“We had to have cameras that were under 5% of meerkats’ bodyweight, and that had lights and recording devices that were less than one-fifth the size of an iPhone,” Sommerfield told theGuardian. “They had to be 100% comfortable. I was director of casting; like people they are all individual characters. The animals were treated far better than the humans!” We're glad to hear it.
Zara has today opened its first click-and-collect concept store in London's Westfield shopping centre, WWDreports. The Inditex-owned high street giant has opened the doors to its purpose-built space to accommodate shoppers while its flagship store, which is also located on the popular east London site, is being refurbished to double in size. The concept store will be open until May, when the brand's newer, bigger flagship opens once again.
The new location, measuring 2,152 square foot, has a dedicated space for collecting online purchases, while also stocking a selection of pieces from both menswear and womenswear. The biggest draw? Customers will be given the choice of receiving their items the same day if ordered before 2pm.
Not only does the concept store cater to your online shopping habits, but the features in store also get techy. Sales assistants will don mobile devices to help customers with sizes, stock and collections, and you can pay by card via Bluetooth thanks to a nifty device at the till.
Alongside this, you can avoid queues altogether by paying for your vinyl trench coat or sock boots through an app. The Zara and Inditex Group apps both allow this, plus InWallet. There's also a self-service checkout, although we hope the user experience is less frustrating than at the supermarket.
A kind of virtual styling tool is available in-store, too. Information screens will be embedded into mirrors, with customers able to scan barcodes of items using sci-fi-sounding radio frequency identification technology. Once the item is recognised, the internal system brings up "multiple choices for coordinating and combining the piece with other garments and accessories."
According to WWD, this futuristic shopping experience comes as part of Inditex's wider plan to slow down its growth in physical retail and instead focus its efforts on 'omnichannels'. Chairman and CEO of Inditex, Pablo Isla, said in a brand statement that this marks “another milestone in our strategy of integrating our stores with the online world, which represents an important part of our identity.”
So is this the future of the high street? According to Statista, online retail sales have grown from £33.24 billion in 2012 to approximately £60.43 billion in 2016, perhaps proving that we all want to get our high street fix from the comfort of our desk or sofa. At the opposite end of the spectrum, independent and boutique brands are thriving, with pop-ups and smaller stores that offer personable and relaxing retail experiences. Perhaps the success (or shortcomings) of Zara's innovative new spot in Westfield will decide the physical future of Inditex's other high street brands.
Spending time, money and effort on a bad date is pretty dispiriting. We know that many women struggle to excavate themselves from sticky situations – and this lack of assertiveness can manifest in wasted hours and a lot of cash blown on overpriced drinks, which you probably didn't even want in the first place. If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. New research suggests that single people in the UK will squander 96 million hours and £2 billion on bad dates in 2018 – that's about six hours hours and £239 per person. (Valuable resources we already know we're going to hate ourselves for frittering away – even as we're doing it.)
The poll of more than 2,000 British adults, commissioned by the dating site eHarmony, found that single people go on an average of eight dates in a typical year, of which four are considered "bad".
The average bad date lasts 1.4 hours and requires an average spend of £29. In a city like London, this only equates to about three cocktails at a decent bar.
It's no surprise that our morale takes a hit after a disastrous date. More than one in six people (16%) report feeling disheartened, while many others claim to leave feeling self-conscious (12%) and even depressed (13%). This might explain why more than half of singles (51%) won't be dating at all this year, the research found.
To reduce the likelihood of ending up on a bad date, eHarmony recommend being honest in your dating profile, going for people who share your "core values and personality traits" (easier said than done though, right?), exchanging messages for at least a week before meeting IRL, talking on the phone first (eek!), and even arranging a coffee date rather than drinks/dinner to take the pressure off.
Such advice makes sense in theory, but it can be far more difficult to enact in reality. One 32-year-old woman, based in London, said she'd been on 15-20 dates in the last year. "This doesn’t sound like many, but none of them developed into anything more than a casual hook-up, so I’d definitely call it a waste of time," she told Refinery29.
"Probably the worst date was a guy that looked about 10 years older and two stone heavier than his profile picture and wittered on about how spiritual he was all night. For some reason I couldn’t work up the courage to leave," she added. Even worse, he insisted on walking her home before lunging in for a "gross, sloppy snog" and barging into her flat to “use the bathroom” – and then refused to leave. "I had to text a male friend to come round and kick him out!"
On a more positive note, another woman said that despite having been on several "bad, blah and boring" dates in the past 12 months, she had "learned something valuable from each one – either about myself, or humans in general" and said it hadn't put her off dating in the future one bit. So if you need a glass-half-full outlook on bad dates, maybe that's it.
Good news regularly gets lost in our 24-hour media cycle, but it's often worth sifting through the clickbait to find the positive stories – and one such story coming out of Liberia has the potential to change millions of women's lives.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian president (until last week) and also Africa's first ever female president, used her last day in office to sign an executive order banning female genital mutilation (FGM) for a year.
The news was overshadowed by the inauguration of Johnson Sirleaf's successor, the former international football star George Weah, on Tuesday.
Around half of all women among Liberia's population of 4.6 million have undergone FGM and it is considered a rite of passage. The practice was removed from the country's domestic violence bill in 2016 because parliamentarians claimed it was a cultural issue.
Johnson Sirleaf's executive order makes it an offence to carry out FGM on anyone under 18, but adults who consent can still undergo the procedure. However, campaigners said FGM should be banned completely and for good, because even women who give their consent have are often pressured to do so.
Some also said the ban may not be enforceable and are now urging the new president Weah to enact a permanent law. Grace Uwizeye, a consultant with international rights group Equality Now, said it was, "too early to celebrate as there is still a long way to go before there is zero tolerance to FGM in Liberia,” Reuters reported.
Campaigners lobbying for FGM to be banned regularly receive death threats and the procedure is usually carried out in secret during initiation ceremonies, in which girls are threatened with death if they speak out.
Most of the 30 countries around the world in which FGM has been documented are in Africa, according to the UN, despite the fact that is has been outlawed in most of them.
On first glance, Carcel - a newly established Danish fashion brand - you may assume it's just another minimalist essentials label with that lust-worthy Scandinavian design sensibility. And while that's all great, you'll be even more on-board with the clothing company once you read a bit more into it: Carcel, which means "jail" in Spanish, empowers women in prison through work, new skills, and fair wages. And all of the cozy knitwear you're eyeing on its website, made from the finest 100% baby alpaca wool, are produced by 15 women at a female prison in Cusco, Peru.
The idea came to its CEO and founder Veronica d’Souza after she visited a women’s prison in Kenya; there, she saw how its inmates were working all day with low-quality materials and without any market access. This kickstarted a greater business idea: to train women in prison to work with high-quality materials native to the production country — and thus offer a true fashion alternative to the conscious consumer. In 2016, she went to Peru and visited multiple prisons before deciding on the one just outside Cusco in the middle of the Andes.
Carcel has since formed a relationship with INPE (the National Penitentiary Institute), the local prison authority in Cusco, which shares the brand's vision of better opportunities for the incarcerated women, many of whom have been sentenced for drug-trafficking because they are used as 'drug mules.' Around the world, poverty is the main cause of female incarceration, and in Peru in particular, the drug cartels typically target girls from poor backgrounds —young, beautiful, and often pregnant girls have better chances of getting through customs.
Through working with Carcel, these women are offered the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and gain new skills ("Stories from the Inside" about each woman employed by the initiative can be read on the brand's blog). The initiative focuses on building a healthy work environment and ensuring good jobs and fair wages for the women to support their family and to save up for their future. Plus, each of the final styles carries the name of the woman who made it.
Soon, Carcel plans to expand to a women's prison in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and will launch a new range of products using silk (as a local natural material) later this year. "The vision is to employ more women and create a bigger impact — and within the next five years our goal is to have established production in three to five different countries," d’Souza explains. "We wish to convince consumers that ethical fashion can be sexy." Louise van Hauen, Carcel's partner and creative director, adds: "Our different approach to fashion challenges our design process in a wonderful way. Working with responsible production and against traditional fashion seasons forces us to focus on texture, shape, and fit." And we can attest that the product is just as good as its mission.
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2017 was the year that bullies tried to belittle activists because on many levels they knew that we had stepped up our game, we had said "enough is enough"; trans people and women across the board refusing to be silenced, intimidated and pushed into darkened corners, to be abused by bullies, be they Harvey Weinstein or the transphobic voices who have hounded us across the internet with vicious accusations: "You had a dick once, you'll always be a danger to us." Cruel bullies seeking to destroy the brilliant, often pure energy of activism. Look at the wondrousness of 19-year-old Lily Madigan, moving into politics only to face vile attacks from bullies determined to squash youthful activist intent with cries of "She's not a real woman".
This year, we won't fight back using your structures or your debased language of insult and accusation; no, this year we will simply call you out and name your behaviour – bullying and lies – and we will look after each other. We will self-care and remain resolute while you lower your bar and collude with the Daily Mail and try to raise money to ban us from all-women shortlists – a deplorable measure by a minority of Labour party members who feel that such shortlists should be reserved for women given the gender marker "female" at birth, and that to include trans women is an act of misogyny. A small group of people spitefully seeking to define half the population on their own terms.
Activism is tough, activism is tiring, activism isn't a thing you do during work hours, or a thing you put down at weekends, or a polite thing you can leave out of dinner conversation. Activism isn't fashion; activists tend, on the whole, to create movement behind the scenes. Social media has blurred the edges – often brilliantly, increasing platform and reach, but also negatively as it can reduce activism to battling semantics and endless streams of petitions. I am not looking back through rosy glasses, but I do think that in order to shift parameters, we need to think less about arguing in echo chambers and more about enacting real change on the ground. Stand up and stand in.
My activism kicked in at two points in my life. The first in the very late 1980s when, as part of a small queer collective, I helped to establish the first LGBT housing cooperative in London, called X-Rayz, in honour of the now departed, beautiful Poly Styrene from the punk group X-Ray Spex. At the time none of us had secure housing.
We started small – really small – offering decent (reclaimed) short-term housing to young LGBT people who were homeless; at the time, many were kicked out of their family homes or couldn't find safe housing options. Lesbians, gay men and trans folk in the '80s still lived in fear of being found out; we were taught to hide by the constant use of bullying phrases like "I don't care what they do behind closed doors as long as they don't shove it in our faces. It was the age of Section 28 – young queers hounded by the structures of society.
Growing as an organisation, we applied for government and local funding, took on more properties, did them up and after a few years, had housing options right across east London. We fought hard to create what was most definitely a radical and political safe space. We didn't feel that then but we did know that we were at times a lifeline for people like us. One of our houses was occupied by some of the women who dreamed up and ran the dyke S&M club Chain Reaction; we housed Buddhists, artists, professional dominatrices, actors, dancers and those struggling on the dole, all of whom believed in the same fight for a collective and cooperative safe queer space. In a rather brilliant stroke a few years later, we managed to strike deals locally to exchange short-term housing for permanent new council flats; although this partially dispersed our community, our aim was always to provide safe space and we did. X-Rayz became part of the system but in doing so we won real, secure housing rights for young queers. Many people from those days – 30 years ago now – still have those flats and still have decent housing.
It was radical but it was also incredibly pragmatic, which formed the backbone of my activism and campaigning work: Always ensure that you understand your aims and make them quantifiable, even when the outcomes are not measurable – they may be conceptual or person-centred but they can still be concrete.
My second route into activism came immediately after my HIV diagnosis.
It was the early '90s and I had almost finished year one at university. I was full of joy that my working-class, drug-addicted arse had finally made it all the way to the mythical land of BA Honours, to the grandness of a university. I made art installations about California, Hollywood and gender, and I built very tiny sheds that I painted with rainbows and hi-top trainers. Barbara Kruger and Karen Kilimnik were my inspirations.
I felt alive so naturally I did drugs and had lots of sex, safe and unsafe. I was diagnosed towards the end of the summer term, after my then-partner was rushed into hospital barely able to breathe. I knew at that precise moment that California had lost its sheen. I knew that everything would change. I started writing.
The university suggested that I leave, the doctors told me I'd die, the dentists slammed their doors and everyone told me basically to fuck off because the insurance wouldn't cover me. Hardly anyone ever wanted to kiss me.
I fought every day after that for my rights and the rights of queer HIV positive people.
That fight is the same today – lessened, yes, but still essentially the same fight to be respected, recognised and not stigmatised. The only difference over the past 10 or so years is that now I fight as an out trans woman living with HIV, and that fight is currently as visceral and tough as any I have ever encountered. The fight against Section 28, the fight for the right for queers to engage in consensual S&M sex, the fight for queers to be out and safe at work.
This year is the year that I aim to build my campaigns around self-care, around loving ourselves and our bodies, around creating better aftercare for gender surgery, around our relationships and sex lives. I will remind myself that activism means that, even after 30 years, queers can be in safe housing because of the actions of a few people who had a punk hero and built secure housing in her name, and I will remind myself that I went on fighting all the way to the end of my degree and achieved an upper second, even when doors were being slammed in my face.
To those people, those journalists, those trade union members, those pseudo-experts intent on spreading lies and hatred, know that we see you for all that you are and are not, and if we see you, then history will too.
Still, the statistics about women in film can be disheartening. In 2016, women directed only 7% of the top 250 movies of the year — a 2% decline from 2015. That's why we we're giving these up-and-coming women directors a shout-out. These are the next Ava DuVernays and Lynne Ramsays; the first and second-time directors who are poised to shake up the movie industry — and fight those statistics.
And, frankly speaking, their 2018 projects look awesome. Get ready to learn these women's names — you'll be hearing them frequently.
Elizabeth Chomko Upcoming project: What They Had, out early 2018
What They Had, Elizabeth Chomko's directorial debut, has been years in the making. She first worked on the script in a Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2014. The following year, the movie script won a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. At last, we're getting to see what all the hype was about. What They Had, which premiered at Sundance this month, is about a woman (Hilary Swank) who goes home to visit her parents – a mother (Blythe Danner) with Alzheimers, and a father (Robert Forester) who is struggling to adapt. Critics at Sundance praised Chomko's ability to deftly weave humour and lightness into a difficult story.
Kay Cannon Upcoming project: Blockers, out 30th March
Kay Cannon has built a career from being hilarious. She honed her screenwriting chops in the 30 Rock writers room. Her first produced screenplay was Pitch Perfect(she went on to write the entire trilogy). Given her track record, of course we're amped for her directorial debut, which will come this spring. Blockers is the story of a group of nosy parents who discover their teenage daughters are all planning to lose their virginity on prom night. It's as much a coming-of-age story as it is a learning-to-let-go story — and is prime to become an iconic high school movie. Blockers stars Leslie Mann, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Graham Phillips, June Diane Raphael, Hannibal Buress, and Sarayu Blue.
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Chloé Zhao Upcoming projects: The Rider, out spring 2018
Zhao's feature, Songs My Brother Taught Me, was a hit at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. While filming Songs My Brother Taught Me on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Zhao met rodeo cowboy Brady Jandreau — who would become the subject of her next movie, The Rider, which just premiered at Sundance. The movie, which blends documentary and fiction, follows Jandreau before and after he suffers a devastating accident at a competition.
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Abby Kohn Upcoming project: I Feel Pretty, out summer 2018
Abby Kohn co-wrote the movies How to Be Single and Valentine's Day with her creative partner, Marc Silverstein. I Feel Pretty is the duo's first foray into co-directing. I Feel Prettyrevolves around a unique premise: Renee, played by Amy Schumer, is an ordinary women who deals with ordinary insecurities — until she has a terrible head injury. When she wakes up, Renee is suddenly extremely self-confident, and thinks she is the best and most beautiful person in the world. Her life blooms as a result of her newfound confidence.
Krista Kennell/Variety/REX/Shutterstock
Susanna Fogel Upcoming project: The Spy Who Dumped Me, out 6th July
Susanna Fogel's first feature film, Life Partners, charmed critics and audiences during 2014's film festival circuit – after all, what's there not to like about a movie about a co-dependent friendship starring Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs? The Spy Who Dumped Me also centres on two friends, played by Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. The action begins when Kunis' character's ex-boyfriend shows up, reveals he's a spy, and drags them into a whirlwind undercover mission.
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Jennifer Yuh Nelson Upcoming project: The Darkest Minds, out 14th September
Calling all YA dystopia fanatics: Your next favourite series is coming. The Darkest Minds, based on Alexandra Bracken's novel of the same name, is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which teenagers have developed superpowers. Amandla Stenberg stars as the main character, a natural transition after playing Rue in The Hunger Games. Prior to The Darkest Minds, Jennifer Yuh Nelson directed the Kung Fu Panda series, and is the first woman to ever solely direct an animated feature (she also was nominated for an Oscar). The Darkest Minds will be her first live-action feature.
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Jennifer Kent Upcoming project: The Nightingale, out summer 2018
The director of The Babadook, Jennifer Kent was responsible for many sleepless nights in 2014. Kent's follow-up project is a tense, historical thriller set in 1825 Tasmania. In the movie, a young Irishwoman, grieving the murder of her husband and child, joins forces with an Aboriginal tracker to destroy the men who took everything from her. Kent went places in The Babadook, and given the gruesome premise of The Nightingale, we doubt she'll hold back for her second film. The movie stars Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claflin.
Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage
Marielle Heller Upcoming project: Can You Ever Forgive Me?, out autumn 2018
Marielle Heller's directorial debut, Diary of a Teenage Girl, was a haunting look at a 15-year-old discovering her own sexuality, who catches the attention of her mother's boyfriend. Her second movie's subject matter is far different, but no less compelling. Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which is based off a memoir by Lee Israel, is about a biographer who begins to forge revealing letters from famous celebrities when her books stop selling. Melissa McCarthy plays the biographer.
Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Josie Rourke Upcoming project: Mary, Queen of Scots, out late 2018
Rourke is already a trailblazer in the theatre world. She's been the Artistic Director of London's Donmar Warehouse since 2011, and is the first woman to ever be appointed the director of a major London theatre. Mary, Queen of Scots is a period drama lover's dream. Margot Robbie plays the reigning Elizabeth I, determined to keep her cousin Mary (Saoirse Ronan) off the throne, no matter what it takes. Is that a bee, or is that Oscar buzz we're hearing?
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
It's been estimated that as many as one in three women in the UK suffer from heavy periods. They can cause great pain, emotional distress, disruption to a woman's day-to-day life and in some cases, even lead to anaemia. Every year, one in 20 women will consult their GP for advice on how to manage heavy periods and ease the pain.
So it's incredibly exciting to report that scientists believe they might have identified the cause of heavy periods – and found a possible solution.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh supported by the Wellbeing of Women charity examined the endometrium, or womb lining, which is shed by a woman during her period. The shedding process leaves behind a wound which needs to heal to limit any blood loss.
The scientists discovered that the body reduces the amount of oxygen travelling to the womb lining in order to stimulate production of a protein, known as HIF-1, which then helps to repair it. Women who suffer from heavy periods have less HIF-1 repairing their womb lining than women who have more regular periods, the researchers found.
So logic would dictate that by increasing a woman's levels of HIF-1, her heavy periods could be ended for good.
Dr. Jackie Maybin, the scientist who led the study, told the charity: "Our findings reveal for the first time that HIF-1 and reduced levels of oxygen in the womb are required during a period to optimise repair of the womb lining. Excitingly, increasing levels of the HIF-1 protein in mice shows real promise as a novel, non-hormonal medical treatment."
It's early days and further research will need to be conducted, of course, but this definitely sounds promising.
A new book prize has been launched to honour thriller novels which don't feature violence against women.
The Staunch Book Prize, created by TV and movie screenwriter Bridget Lawless, will be awarded to an author whose book doesn't feature a woman being "beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered".
Lawless says on the prize's website that "we’re focusing on thriller novels because they’re a huge and important genre in their own right – and they’re frequently also source material for film and television."
"That doesn’t mean we’re just looking for thrillers that feature men in jeopardy," she adds, "but stories in which female characters don’t have to be raped before they can be empowered, or become casual collateral to pump up the plot. If your story features a woman in a strong leading role, even better!"
Lawless told The Bookseller that she was motivated to create her forward-thinking prize because she is "so fed up with the endless depictions of violence against women" in this book genre. She also said she'd been alarmed by the growing number of sexual assault allegations being made against men in powerful positions.
"In the light of the allegations emerging now, it’s finally clear that that attitude extends into real life for a lot of men and how they see and treat women," she explained.
The Staunch Book Prize is open to authors aged 18 or over, of any gender, whose book has been published either in print or electronically. Authors have from 22nd February to 15th July to enter, and the winner will be announced on 25th November to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Lawless will judge the award with Smack the Pony writer-actress Doon Mackichan. The winning author will receive a £2,000 prize which Lawless is funding herself. Find out more about the prize on its website.
