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These are the 12 best beach clubs in Bali

July 6, 2019 | News | No Comments

Omnia Dayclub Bali. Image credit: Supplied

What is it about the Island of the Gods that makes Baliphiles out of the hardest-to-please travellers? Is it the soul searching retreats? The picturesque scenery that’s tailor made to make one stop and smell the salty air? Or the hand-painted sunsets accompanied by the year-round balmy climate? All of the above sounds just about right. If you’re headed to this tropical paradise to escape the bustle of city life, you’ll find a ready companion in Bali’s many beach bars and clifftop clubs. Whether you’re searching for a Bloody Mary to jump start your day, or a spot to guzzle espresso martinis and vodka-infused coolers until closing time; we guarantee good times ahead.

Image credit: Instagram.com/van_taylan

Sundays Beach Club, Uluwatu
Leave the world behind and take a funicular ride down Bukit Peninsula’s lush cliffs to reach this secluded slice of heaven. Get there early to beat the queues and snag a top spot on the beach. Sip, swim and repeat until the sun sets, and then station yourself next to a bonfire and enjoy some cool tunes.

Image credit: Instagram.com/elviraawang

Tropicola, Seminyak
Throwing it back to the ’80s, this colour-festooned new kid on the block (launched in August last year) by the folks behind Motel Mexicola is parked on Seminyak Beach’s golden mile, make it your playground for some beachfront hedonism with a retro splash.

Omnia Dayclub Bali, Uluwatu
If it’s a glamorous time you’re after, choose Bali’s first adults-only club, perched 100 metres atop the limestone cliffs of Uluwatu, as your mise en scène. The real MVP of this all-day party destination bursting with VIP cabanas, infinity pools and an on-site modern Japanese restaurant (London’s Sake no Hana)? The silver sparkling Cube — the gravity defying bar magically floating above the Indian Ocean.

Ulu Cliffhouse, Uluwatu
Adding to the charm of this clifftop oasis (fronted by the splendour of the Bukit Peninsula) is its 25-metre infinity pool and direct beach access. The clincher? The ocean deck which promises the best seats in the house to take in the sophisticated ambience.

Image credit: Instagram.com/finnsbeachclub

Finns Beach Club, Canggu
If its oceanfront location on Berawa Beach’s surf break (10 minutes from Seminyak) doesn’t lure you in, then the nine bars (including two swim-up pool bars) will. The perfect spot to hit with friends, we suggest a low-key start on the white sand beach’s day beds, and then moving the action to the lagoon pool’s party beds.

Image credit: Instagram.com/kudetabali

Ku De Ta, Seminyak
Though almost a decade old, this beachfront hotspot in Seminyak continues to reign supreme as Bali’s original #SunsetWithAView destination. Head over for its sultry sundowners, and stay on for (multiple rounds of) their signature berry bellini, pink sangria and sugarcane mojito.

Image credit: Instagram.com/mkaraya

La Brisa, Canggu
For a more easygoing vibe, make a beeline for this trendy and sustainable beach club on the shore of Echo Beach, centred around a private pool. Built using reclaimed wood from over 500 fisherman boats, La Brisa wins extra props for its eco-friendly mindset.

Potato Head Beach Club, Seminyak
This Seminyak icon’s famous façade of colourful antique shutters is already the backdrop of many an Instagram post. The open air amphitheatre-style beach club houses four restaurants and bars, an infinity pool and a sprawling lawn overlooking the Indian Ocean — perfect to drink in the setting sun, with a pitcher of Bali Pimm’s for company.

Image credit: Instagram.com/thewhiskychow

Rock Bar Bali, Jimbaran
A dramatic cliffside setting in Jimbaran’s Ayana Resort & Spa with is-this-for-real views, Rock Bar is a ’gram-worthy cocktail haunt that needs to top your must-visit list… worth the long wait for the elevator ride to get in and out!

Mrs Sippy, Seminyak
It’s always a party at this saltwater pool haven (also Bali’s largest) in the heart of Seminyak. The lagoon-inspired pool is a winner all by itself but the international DJ sets, pool swings, dive boards and signature cocktails (think Litchi Tiki, Sippy Frosé and free-flowing Aperol Spritz) don’t hurt either.

Image credit: Instagram.com/kapuchina

El Kabron, Uluwatu
Another stylish gem tucked away on the cliffs of Uluwatu, El Kabron is slated to reopen its doors again after a complete overhaul. Blessed with chic and unassuming white interiors, the bar and restaurant owes a lot to its Spanish owner. Spend the day aimlessly floating around in the infinity pool that stands tall 50 metres above sea level and nibble on delicious tapas.

Café Del Mar Bali, Canggu
If you’ve ‘been there, done that’, consider this: come August, Café Del Mar Bali will transport a taste of Ibiza’s seductive sundowner scenes to Canggu’s beachscape. Expect inventive cocktails, a farm-to-table menu and world-class music acts.

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Sophie Turner and Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière share first photos of her wedding dress

July 6, 2019 | News | No Comments

4th Jul 2019

Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner married her musician husband, Joe Jonas, for the second time this past weekend in a stunning celebration in France. The couple first tied the knot in a surprise ceremony in Las Vegas in May this year, in a small ceremony with just a very small handful of family and friends.

To their first Las Vegas wedding Turner chose an affordable white Bevza jumpsuit, and while the couple had reportedly always planned to have a second larger wedding celebration with all their friends and family, fans assumed the 23-year-old would wear a similar, non-traditional look for her second wedding party.

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However, as the first pictures of the couple’s second wedding weekend started to surface after the weekend it looked as though the bride had opted for the full traditional princess bride gown. But, with only a couple of distant images to go on, it was impossible to confirm.

Finally, we can now confirm Sophie Turner opted for a romantic, traditional bridal dress with both Turner and Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière posting images of the wedding dress to their respective Instagram accounts.

Ghesquière posted a stunning image of the bride from the back showing the exquisite lace detailing on the gown. Turner’s dress has a modern, exposed back with full lace sleeves and a train. The Louis Vuitton creative director captioned the image: “Absolute beauty @sophiet”.

Almost simultaneously, Turner posted a dreamy image of herself and Jonas walking down the aisle, holding holds and beaming. The image reveals the front of the dress is a traditional princess style with a V-neck and full skirt. Turner captioned her image: “Mr and Mrs Jonas”.

We have more details of the couple’s wedding celebration including all the A-list guests who attended their nuptials in France, here.

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“Drop Dead Gorgeous,” Which Is Finally Streaming, Is Possibly My Favorite Movie of All Time

July 6, 2019 | News | No Comments

“Drop Dead Gorgeous,” the mockumentary about a teen-age beauty pageant in the fictional town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, was released in 1999. Made for somewhere between ten and fifteen million dollars, it earned just ten and a half million in theatres. In the Times, Janet Maslin wrote that the movie contained “what may be a record number of miserably unfunny jokes.” In L.A. Weekly, Manohla Dargis declared that it had “no metaphoric resonance, no ostensible target, and finally, no purpose outside of its own existence.” In the San Francisco Examiner, Wesley Morris called it “relentlessly defective,” and suggested that, given the dearth of mainstream movies about the poor white underclass, it “should be renamed ‘Drop Dead Ghetto’ and hauled off to the ‘Jerry Springer’ hall of shame.”

They weren’t entirely wrong. The movie is full of stereotypes, actively offensive toward nearly every American subgroup, and occasionally disgusting—at one point, pageant hopefuls, hanging over hotel balconies, vomit pink globs of shellfish en masse. And, yet, for two decades, whenever I’ve said “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” it’s invariably been followed by the words “is possibly my favorite movie of all time.” For twenty years, it’s existed only as a physical artifact, mostly lost in the no man’s land of VHS and DVD cabinets. But it has recently become available on YouTube for rental or purchase, and, on Friday, just ahead of its twentieth anniversary, it will come to a streaming network (Hulu) for the first time. I am one of many, many people who have been anticipating this development with deep gratitude and relief.

The transformation of “Drop Dead Gorgeous” from a flop to a venerated artifact of Y2K-era camp began with bored teen-agers, most of them female and/or queer, who flocked to Blockbusters around the country and rented the movie over and over, as my friends and I did for years. The movie centers on a lopsided rivalry between Amber Atkins, a working-class sweetheart with corn-silk hair and an after-school job doing makeup on embalmed corpses, and Becky, a stone-cold rich girl who carries her breasts around like a warning and looks at the camera as if she wants to leave it penniless in a divorce. Amber has been raised in a trailer park by her mother, Annette, a nicotine-crazed beautician. Becky’s mother, Gladys, is a homicidal queen bee who racks up a body count in her quest to secure her daughter the Mount Rose American Teen Princess crown. The movie was directed by Michael Patrick Jann, who was then still in his twenties but had gained a following for his work on the beloved MTV sketch-comedy show “The State.” But the obvious draw is the cast. Amber is played by a seventeen-year-old Kirsten Dunst; Becky is played by Denise Richards, then twenty-eight. Annette is Ellen Barkin; her best friend is Allison Janney (in a warmer, and more mischievous, version of her role in “I, Tonya,” which won her an Oscar, in 2018). Becky’s mother is played by Kirstie Alley. Brittany Murphy plays an artless, dorky pageant contestant named Lisa, and Amy Adams is Leslie, a contestant who occupies the obligatory role of slutty cheerleader. (It was Adams’s movie début.) In one of the movie’s most off-color casting decisions, Will Sasso, from “MADtv,” plays the mentally disabled brother of one of the judges. Lona Williams, a Minnesota-raised former teen beauty queen who wrote the screenplay, plays another judge, a strained, silent, harassed woman named Jean.

The world of the movie is all kitsch and gimmick, a non-stop gag of yah-you-betcha Midwest provincialism interrupted by violent flares of criminal disorder. The Minnesota farmland rolls endlessly into the distance, as if Mount Rose existed inside a box of Land O’Lakes butter. One of Becky’s classmates dies in a mysterious tractor accident, leaving Becky to succeed her as the new president of the Lutheran Sisterhood Gun Club, the logo of which is a cross with a shotgun where a Savior might hang. “Jesus loves winners,” Becky says, firing a pistol at a shooting range. We see Amber tap-dancing around an embalming room with a Discman—tap-dancing is her talent for the pageant—while dusting blush on the cheeks of someone who died in a hunting accident, in order to recreate an outdoorsy, post-hunt glow. On the night of the pageant, the previous year’s winner, who has been hospitalized for anorexia, is wheeled onstage in a dark wig and an I.V. drip to lip-synch, arms flapping, to “Don’t Cry Out Loud.”

I had no idea, when I watched the movie for the first or the tenth time, that many respectable adults would find all of this not just hollow but irritating and even reprehensible. The black comedy of “Drop Dead Gorgeous” is guided by a deranged value system that’s particular to the world of teen-age girls. Nearly every review of the movie compares it unfavorably to “Smile,” a beauty-pageant satire from 1975, which was directed by Michael Ritchie. “Smile” deploys similar tropes—a creep-shot story line, a flubbed dance routine, a contestant performing uncomfortable ethnic schtick—but it does so with more subtlety, and without appearing to dehumanize its characters. If the two movies had to compete in a beauty pageant, of course the judges would favor the contestant that was softer, nicer, more empathetic, less calculating, and radiant like the sun. But what “Drop Dead Gorgeous” understands so well is that being a teen-age girl is, in fact, deranged and dehumanizing and frequently unsubtle. It certainly felt that way at the turn of the twenty-first century, when visible G-strings and virginity pledges were in vogue simultaneously, and young female pop stars were flagrantly doing exactly what is expected of contestants in a teen beauty pageant—performing desirability while projecting naïveté.

But part of what makes teen girls so good at projecting faux ingenuousness is the fact that, sometimes, their ingenuousness is completely real. With the necessary exceptions delivered by Richards and Alley as the movie’s out-and-out villains, there is a profound and unlikely sweetness to the performances in “Drop Dead Gorgeous” that transforms the material of the script into something resembling the performance of femininity itself. It is offensive, for sure—completely awful, really, and possibly deadly. It is also irreplaceable, hilarious, surprisingly tender, and lavishly, magnificently absurd.

After the movie bombed, Lona Williams tried to tap a similar vein in her next screenplay, writing a cheerleader bank-robbery movie, “Sugar & Spice,” but she was so bothered by changes that were made during production that she took her name off of it. (The movie came out in 2001, with a script credited to Mandy Nelson, who doesn’t exist; like “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” it bombed.) Michael Patrick Jann, meanwhile, has not directed another feature film. But, five years ago, Allison Janney told BuzzFeed that she’s approached by fans about “Drop Dead Gorgeous” more than about any other project she’s worked on, despite winning four Emmys for her part on “The West Wing.” The movie continues to inspire drag shows and viewing parties and indie-music videos. I have personally purchased the DVD three different times.

Now that the movie is once again widely available, I hope that another generation of loving, sadistic, ridiculous teen-agers comes to know it. Young people today seem to have a native understanding of the tension between calculation and naturalness that has always defined beauty pageants and that now defines much of identity performance in general. They’ve grown up steeped in the absurd darkness that this tension produces. They already know what “Drop Dead Gorgeous” showed me when I was a ninth-grader: that the smile of a beauty queen, the glinting crown and the heaps of flowers, always holds the faint scent of bloodlust, and a whisper of the grave.

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Peter Parker: A Superhero, but Also a Teen, Just Like You!

July 6, 2019 | News | No Comments

Behold, true believers! The Amazing Spider-Man!

By night, he’s a crime-fighting superhero on the streets of New York. But by day he’s Peter Parker, a regular teen, just like you!

As Spider-Man, he saves Mary Jane, the girl next door, from the Green Goblin. But, as Peter Parker, he’s like any other gentle-eyed teen-age boy, with the other guys at school telling him he’s a fugly dork, like, ten to twelve times a week. He may rescue innocents from the many-armed clutches of the devious Dr. Octopus, but can he pass his scoliosis exam, or is he stuck with scoliosis?

The hero in Peter Parker hides his costumed crusading from Aunt May, while the teen-ager in Peter Parker hides the smell of the cigarettes that he smokes in his room with Jason by stuffing a towel under the door.

Yes, young Peter adopted the mask of Spider-Man to protect the ones he loves, and he made a Facebook profile under a fake name because Aunt May told him that the Internet was just for kidnapping children.

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Face front, true believers! By night our hero does vicious battle with the villainous Venom, and also by night he’s getting a hand job that by day somehow everyone already knows about?

Spider-Man may swing past skyscrapers with superhuman agility and speed, but Aunt May will still insist on driving him to and from the movies at 3 P.M. on a Sunday. He’s the legendary wall-crawler who also pronounced “corps” as “corpse” in English class—and everyone snickered, even though he was ninety per cent sure he had heard other people pronounce it that way, too. Like, eighty-five per cent sure.

And, though the Daily Bugle paints Spider-Man as a menace to the city, he’s throwing up after pounding three cups of white rum and Sprite at Todd DeDario’s birthday, even though Peter’s on the improv team that does skits at school assemblies about the dangers of binge drinking.

This is the life of your friendly neighborhood vigilante. His Spidey sense will tingle to warn him of danger but it cannot warn him that he will be constantly sad and horny.

In the meantime, true believers, he’ll perform daring acts of heroism while also performing daring acts of admitting to his primary-care physician that he hasn’t really grown pubes yet. For with great power comes great responsibility. And with great fluctuations in your hormones come unexpected boners. At inconvenient times. In gym shorts. Excelsior!

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Win a $500 online shopping voucher for Nasty Gal

July 5, 2019 | News | No Comments

Ends

17th Jul 2019

COMPETITION

Millennial online shopping destination, Nasty Gal, has collaborated with model and actress Emily Ratajkowski on a collection inspired by the model’s own style and wardrobe.

In a press statement, Nasty Gal revealed that the pieces in the collection channel the cool-girl, body positive, confident style Ratajkowski is known for. “Nasty Gal has always been a brand that has never shied away from pushing the envelope,” Ratajkowski said in the press release, adding, “I love the whole idea of a Nasty Gal — it’s a woman who stands up for herself and what she believes in. I’m very excited to partner with them for this campaign.”

The Nasty Gal x Emily Ratajkowski collection includes fashion-forward pieces like oversized jackets, graphic tees, midriff tops and denim in colour ways such as camel, black, mint green and even ‘90s favourite, tie-dye.

To tie in with the exciting launch, Nasty Gal and Vogue are giving you the chance to win an item or two from the Nasty Gal x Emily Ratajkowski collection or, indeed, any item on their website by way of a $500 voucher to shop NastyGal.com.

Time to update your wardrobe? Read on.

Four (4) winners will receive:

One (1) x AU$500 gift voucher to www.nastygal.com/au/.

Enter by telling us in 25 words or less:

You can read the full T&Cs below.

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What the front row are wearing at the Paris haute couture autumn/winter '19/'20 shows

July 5, 2019 | News | No Comments

This week, the famous haute couture shows have been unfolding in Paris and the likes of Chanel, Dior and Valentino have been showing off their upcoming couture collections for autumn/winter ‘19/‘20.

The haute couture shows are a fashion highlight on the sartorial calendar and attract a host of A-list celebrities to sit front and centre to enjoy the haute drama of these exquisite collections. This year, show-stopping front row sightings include Margot Robbie (see above) at Chanel and Céline Dion every time she hits the Paris pavements at the shows.

Australian actress and Chanel ambassador Margot Robbie not only stole the spotlight in her gorgeous head-to-toe Chanel outfit, but the star also celebrated her 29th birthday on the same day as the Chanel haute couture show. Wearing a tweed navy blazer, form-fitting tartan tights and black booties, the I, Tonya star flew the Australian flag at haute couture week joining fellow Australian actress, Phoebe Tonkin (see above) at the show. As a Chanel ambassador, Robbie has previously worn a number of memorable looks from the storied French fashion house.

51-year-old pop music icon Céline Dion has also been a standout at the haute couture shows this week with her traffic-stopping style, evidence perhaps, that the singer lives and breathes fashion. This season, Dion has been working with stylists Pepe Muñoz and Sydney Lopez and has entered every show as a complete fashion icon. One notable look this week was her dramatic black halter-neck dress with matching headpiece at the Schiaparelli show.

Many famous faces also were out in force to attend the annual 2019 Vogue Paris Foundation dinner at haute couture week. The event brought together a crowd of familiar faces and personalities from the world of fashion and celebrity. The likes of Gigi and Anwar Hadid, along with actresses Mandy Moore and Shailene Woodley were seen attending the dinner.

Scroll on to see a selection of show-stopping looks from the front row at Paris haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20 week.

Margot Robbie, Chanel haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Sara Sampaio, Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Céline Dion, Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Anna Wintour, Dundas haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Elisabeth Moss, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Chiara Ferragni, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Nicole Kidman, Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Keith Urban, Roberta Armani and Nicole Kidman, Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Hamish Bowles and Anna Wintour, Chanel haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Zendaya, Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Mandy Moore, Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Anwar Hadid and Gigi Hadid, Paris Foundation dinner

Coco Rocha, Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Kitty Spencer, Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Camila Coelho, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Christina Aguilera, Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Coco Rocha, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Gal Gadot, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Romee Strijd, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Gigi Hadid, Paris Foundation dinner

Bianca Jagger, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Olivia Palermo, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Giovanna Battaglia, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Shailene Woodley, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Natalia Vodianova, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Nikki Reed, Elie Saab haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Melissa George, Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Susie Lau, Christian Dior haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Meg Ryan, Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Olivia Palermo, Dundas haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Pixie Lott, Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Zoey Deutch attends the Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Caroline Daur, Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Alexander Skarsgård, Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

Alice Dellal, Giorgio Armani Privé haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20

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Get to know Ancuta Sarca, the London-based Romanian designer upcycling old shoes

July 5, 2019 | News | No Comments

5th Jul 2019

In matters of high fashion, high performance sneakers don’t immediately spring to mind. But then again, fashion’s bedrock is built on oxymoron: clothes deemed classics become old with the dawn of a new season, trends quickly become tired, and fashion faux pas (think bike shorts and bum bags) regain popularity.

Even today, in an era where showcasing recycled wares on the runways is finally being accepted, ushering in a necessary paradigm shift in how we produce our clothes, embrace has been slow and many calls to action have gone unanswered. And, hard as it may be for fledgling designers to find their feet in such an unsteady time, a new wave of conscious up-and-comers is not giving up yet, promising that the future of fashion is in good hands.

Enter 27-year-old designer Ancuta Sarca. The Romanian-born, London-based designer is resisting fast fashion and proposing her upcycled kitten heels as an eco-friendly alternative instead. A master’s graduate with a degree in fashion, with work experience at Meadham Kirchhoff and hours clocked as assistant designer at Ashish, Sarca is now venturing out on her own, foraying into ready-to-wear and shoes that have quickly garnered a following. By fusing old and new, luxury and athleisure, masculine and feminine, Sarca is giving old shoes new life, and inflecting each pair with a dose of humour for good measure.

“The idea came when I was moving house and realised I have so many shoes, especially trainers and kitten heels,” Sarca recounts of how her shoes were conceived, “some of them broken or too old to be worn again.” She continues: “I felt bad for discarding them, so I decided to find a solution to re-use them and also make something that I would like to wear.”

Originally from Romania—“where tradition is a big part of the culture and has remained unchanged for decades”—Sarca’s approach to design is out of pace with today’s see-now-buy-now retail models. In her hometown, an expectation that “people still wear traditional clothing for celebrations, weddings, funerals” has instilled a contrary understanding within the young designer that clothing should have an extensive shelf life, not footprint. As she explains: “It’s really important that we, the consumers, become more conscious of the vulnerability of our planet and the consequences of our actions on the wellness of the next generation.”

In the same vein, Sarca is aware that this reality can be hard to digest, which is why she approaches upcycling in a light-hearted way, heavy only on personality. Her collection of heels—hybrid shoes that combine parts of old Nike sneakers, updated with kitten heels—is unfettered with neat categories that pigeonhole shoes as practical or delicate, masculine or feminine. Sarca melds these on purpose to “create an odd atmosphere for both the trainers and the heels… My work speaks for all genders and sizes.”

She further explains: “What was so appealing to me was this idea of reclaiming the trainers by feminising them and ‘making them fashion’, so it’s sportswear but not really. I wanted to place the trainers in a different landscape than sportswear [or] elegant and feminine, pushing the boundaries of what they can become and being worn in a different context.”

The result is a playful pair of sneaker-heels that toy with ideas of what is original in fashion and what is not—a difficult tightrope to tread which Sarca embraces completely. “Of course, it might seem confusing from the first look, seeing the Nike logo, but that’s why we have to have a deeper look into it. I believe that reinterpreting already-made items can be original too.”

This attitude also informs Sarca’s perspective on collaboration (she recently worked with Sports Banger on their first fashion show). “I find it really exciting collaborating with other brands and I don’t think you have to restrict yourself to working only on your own brand nowadays. Combining visions is so much fun and you also get the chance to present your ideas to a different audience.”

As for what’s next for the budding designer, the mission underpinning her wares is clear: “finding more sustainable solutions for a more sustainable future.”

By GETAWAYTHEBERKSHIRES

The Declaration Heard Around the World

July 5, 2019 | News | No Comments

On September 2, 1945, in a grassy field in Hanoi known as Ba Dinh Square, a fifty-five-year-old man wearing a worn khaki tunic and white rubber sandals gave the speech that launched the Vietnam War. The man, who would be long dead when that war finally ended, was Ho Chi Minh, and the speech that he gave was, essentially, the American Declaration of Independence in Vietnamese.

He did not just begin by quoting its most famous words—“All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”—his whole speech was copied from the Declaration. Ho enumerated the ways that a colonial power (France) had abused the rights of the Vietnamese, and he ended with another echo of Thomas Jefferson: “The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their independence and liberty.”

It was part of Ho’s intention, when he gave the speech, to solicit the support of the United States in driving the French out of his country. (That plan did not work out so well.) But Ho was also a student of political history, and he knew that he was not the first leader of a national liberation movement to appropriate the Declaration of Independence. In fact, according to the historian David Armitage, Vietnam was something like the fifty-fifth country to do so. The Declaration created, as Armitage puts it, “a new genre.” It provided a template for claims of national sovereignty that, in the years since 1776, has been used by more than a hundred countries, from Flanders (1790) and Haiti (1804) to Bulgaria (1908), Finland (1917), and Ireland (1919) to Abkhazia (1992) and Eritrea (1993).

The Declaration is both an appeal to reason and a justification of force. The appeal to reason rests on the “all men are created equal” part. Today, we read that as a statement about race and gender equality, but that is not what Jefferson meant. He meant that no man is above the law: governors must govern by the consent of the governed. But Jefferson’s language was broader than his intention, and it allowed Frederick Douglass to point out, in his famous Fourth of July oration, in 1852, that, though Americans had declared before the world that all men are created equal, “yet you hold securely in a bondage . . . a seventh part of the inhabitants of your country.” In the long run, and thanks in great measure to the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which mandates “equal protection of the laws,” and the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the vote, the equality ideal of the Declaration was incorporated into our Constitutional structure. But what most attracted the the countries that produced their own declarations of independence was the Declaration’s justification of force. When you have diagnosed that a boot is on your neck, Jefferson says, you have the right to throw it off by any means necessary. And that right is God-given.

And so, on December 24, 1860, the state of South Carolina passed a Declaration of Secession, which included ample reference to the Declaration of Independence, and, a little less than four months later, Rebel forces attacked Fort Sumter, a federal installation in Charleston Harbor. The legislators of South Carolina did not believe that all men are created equal. They did believe that their rights were being suppressed (including their right to suppress others) and that they therefore had the right to overthrow their oppressors.

And so, on the principle that what goes around comes around, on May 15, 1967, the Black Panthers published their manifesto, the Ten-Point Program. The tenth and final demand, bearing the title “We Want Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice, and Peace,” consists entirely of a quotation from the Declaration of Independence, ending with the words “When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.” The Panthers did believe that all men are created equal. But they also believed that, if push were to come to shove, they, too, had the right to overthrow their oppressors.

Still, it is a valuable feature of our country that we do not mark its birth by a celebrating a triumph of force. On what day did the Revolutionary War begin? When did the British surrender at Yorktown? What date was the Treaty of Paris signed? Unless you make your living teaching American history or playing “Jeopardy,” you probably don’t know the answers to these questions. But you do know when the Declaration of Independence was written.

The Declaration did not create a nation. It created only the idea of a nation, and that idea, as its scope and meaning have evolved over time, is what we annually pay our respects to. All who live here are equal. All who live here have the same rights. None who lives here is above the law. In some years, loyalty to those principles seems like something we can take for granted. This year, on the two hundred and forty-third birthday of our founding document, not so much.

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By GETAWAYTHEBERKSHIRES

Phoebe Tonkin’s personal photos show what it’s really like getting ready for a Chanel haute couture show

July 4, 2019 | News | No Comments

As a Chanel ambassador, Phoebe Tonkin has at her fingertips what every girl dreams of: Chanel on speed dial. So, when it came time for Chanel’s haute couture autumn/winter ’19/’20 show in Paris, the Australian actress and model was seated front row at the world’s most exclusive book club as the Grand Palais was transformed into a circular library. For the show, Tonkin was dressed by the house in a black silk blouse and a black iridescent tweed skirt (imagine having an entire Chanel collection to choose from!) along with Chanel shoes, accessories and make-up products galore. She was also treated to a tour of the Chanel atelier to see first-hand what goes into making such an exquisite collection. While there is no such thing as an ‘ordinary’ couture show, this one was particularly extra-ordinary, as it marked Virginie Viard’s first solo Chanel haute couture show since the passing of Karl Lagerfeld. If you couldn’t make it there yourself—maybe next time!—the next best thing is having Tonkin take you there with her. Scroll on for more of her personal snaps from the day.

Brush, brush, brush!

But first…The perfect pre-show breakfast.

Morning essentials.

Let’s get started! All my favourite beauty essentials to get ready.

Pre-show glow, thanks to my favourite Chanel Baume Essentiel.

More prepping.

Finishing touches with the dream team: David Mallett and Victoria Baron.

In love with these earrings.

Show ready!

How beautiful is this show set?

Look who I found! Image credit: Getty Images

I was so honoured to have been invited into the atelier to see some of the pieces before they were shown—such incredible skill and craftsmanship behind the scenes.

Details inside the atelier.

Some of my favourite looks.

Another one.

Very grateful to be part of the Chanel family.

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Céline Dion is already the winner of Paris haute couture week

July 4, 2019 | News | No Comments

51-year-old pop music icon, Céline Dion, recently finished her long-running residency at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and while Las Vegas may have lost a bright light, the fashion world gained one.

Dion is renowned for her love of fashion and is a front-row fixture at the shows, but between the long-running Vegas residency and all her many philanthropic commitments, the singer hasn’t spent quite as much time at the shows as her fashion fans would like, until now.

With the residency coming to an end, the singer now appears to have time to completely dedicate herself to having a major style moment on the fashion stage and she has chosen the Paris haute couture autumn/winter ‘19/‘20 show week to kick this moment off.

Running from June 30 until July 4 this year, all eyes were expected to be turned towards the whimsical, dreamy, show-stopping creations being sent down the runway by the couture houses. However, Dion has stolen much of that spotlight already with a number of head-turning looks that cannot be ignored.

For a Miu Miu resort 2020 event during couture week held at Parisian horse racing track, Hippodrome d’Auteuil, the five-time Grammy-winning artist stepped out in a hot pink strapless ruffled Miu Miu gown with an oversized black bow-tie detailing that stopped traffic.

To attend the Schiaparelli haute couture show on Monday, July 1, the music star went for a classic black halter-neck dress but made it haute fashion, adding elbow-length black leather gloves, a soaring black headpiece and open-toed black leather heeled boots.

Stepping out for the Iris van Herpen autumn/winter ‘19/‘20 show the singer opted for a sculptural three-dimensional floor-length net dress from the designer that defied the conventional rules of netting-as-clothing in the most striking way (see above).

Other notable looks from the singer during couture week include a pant-less bodysuit and oversized blazer from Off-White along with a swan-like pink feathered Attico top with matching fur sandals paired with denim jeans, and a calf-length bodysuit cinched at the waist with a Chanel chain-link belt.

Scroll on for a selection of Dion’s most scene-stealing looks this couture week.

Céline Dion wears Miu Miu at the Miu Miu show at the Hippodrome d’Auteuil on June 29, 2019 in Paris, France.

Céline Dion attends the Schiaparelli haute couture autumn/winter ’19/’20 show as part of Paris couture week on July 01, 2019 in Paris, France.

Céline Dion attends the Alexandre Vauthier haute couture autumn/winter ’19/’20 show as part of Paris couture week on July 02, 2019 in Paris, France.Click Here: Sports Water Bottle Accessories

By GETAWAYTHEBERKSHIRES

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