Abby Charak

Jonathan Simkhai: Boundless Female Fashion

On the first Monday of May, actress Taraji P. Henson stunned on the MET gala red carpet in an ornate custom gown created by SIMKHAI, the namesake brand of designer Jonathan Simkhai. For her third time as a guest at fashion’s most glamorous event, Henson wanted a large train, and she knew Simkhai was the right choice after seeing just a few sketches. “He made my dream come true,” Henson told Entertainment Tonight on the MET Gala red carpet. 

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Hunter Blaze Pearson: Made in California

As his name suggests, Hunter Blaze Pearson uses bright, blazing colors. The multidisciplinary visual artist depicts psychedelic American iconography on a variety of objects, ranging from shoes to canvases to whiskey bottles. This spring, Pearson’s “American Dream” was a part of the Brea Gallery’s 39th Annual “Made in California” exhibition, and it won the “Director’s Choice” award. 

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Quincy Wilson: A Teenage Running Prodigy

Less than a month ago, sixteen year-old Quincy Wilson finished his sophomore year at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland. This week, Wilson competed in the men’s 400-meter United States Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, OR, with some of the world’s fastest runners, some of whom are twice his age. 

During the trials, Wilson broke the world record in the event for under-18 runners–twice. 

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Maya Ixta: A Rising Star

There is nothing better than discovering a great song with less than a thousand Spotify listens. The primal instinct to declare “I heard it first!” takes over the mind and body: being the first of a friend group to “discover” a great artist is truly a feeling like no other. 

While listening to “Time” by Maya Ixta, a 17-year-old Latin-American artist based in Los Angeles with only sixty monthly listeners to her name, I felt the rush of that primal gate-keeping instinct. The song is steeped in the influences of Kali Uchis, PinkPantheress, and Billie Eilish. Like Uchis often does, Ixta alternates between English and Spanish lyrics on the track. The production features a fast-paced syncopated drum beat akin to those on PinkPantheress’ debut album “Heaven Knows.” The heart of the song is most aligned with Eilish: the lyrics of “Time” aptly and delicately explore the fleeting nature of time and anxiety about the future.

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Virginie Viard: Stabilizing Chanel’s Complicated Legacy

On Wednesday, June 5, Chanel announced that artistic director Virginie Viard was leaving the fashion house. Viard spent 30 years working for Chanel in various posts, working her way up to the head artistic director position in 2019 when her mentor, the legendary Karl Lagerfeld, passed away. Viard was only the third artistic director of Chanel’s 114-year history, following Lagerfeld, who was preceded by the founder, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel. 

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