AVESSA Magazine - On Virtues and Vices | Winter 2022/2023 - Year IV - Vol 22-A

The world is becoming more selfish and extremist - much of the emotions get amplified by the freedom and limitless reach allowed by social media.

I am not against our liberties of speech, but I wish many of us would understand that society needs a standard set of rules, etiquette, or ethics (whatever we want to call it) that guide our conversations. We must acknowledge that our words can have negative impacts on each other. But it’s just not in the digital world; I see much less politeness and kindness for others nowadays - we live in our solitary shells and forget how to live together in a respectful society. So speaking to our editors, I’ve tasked them to discuss about virtues that we believe are becoming increasingly rare (or more common, in case of vices) and discuss them at this year-end because this is the time we look back at what we have done, and set targets for the following year. Accountability, courage, teamwork, freedom, ambition, deeper questioning, endless love... What are you seeking in this upcoming year?

ON THE COVER

PHOTOGRAPHER: IRINA DYACHENKO MODEL: DARIA LIVSHITS

The same creativity that sets you apart can make you part of our creative community. And if you are passionate about Fashion, Miami International University of Art & Design is the place to be. We'll help you turn your love of Fashion into the pursuit of a career that loves you back. We offer a range of associate and bachelor's degree programs including Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising & Accessory Design. You'll learn by doing-applying the same talent, tools, and techniques used in the industry

THE EDUCATION IS HANDS-ON. THE FUTURE IS WIDE OPEN. Where will your passion take you? Find out. WWW.MYMIU.EDU AIMIUinternational@aii.edu 1.305.428.5903

Miami International University of Art & Design is one of The Art Institutes, a system of schools throughout the United States. Programs, credential levels, technology, and scheduling options vary by school and are subject to change. Not all programs are available to residents of all U.S. states. 1501 Biscayne Blvd., Ste. 100, Miami, FL 33132. © 2021. The Arts Institutes International LLC. All rights reserved.

OUR TEAM OF

MENA LOMBARD

@menalombard

Fashion Designer and Professor, Mena believes that fashion completely transcends the surface and the most important is how one feels rather than anything else. Fashion is really about how empowered one becomes by it. She channels vibrant flares of vintage fashion and dreams of contemporary twists, inspired by her own life and travels.

ALFONSO DE HOYOS @dehoyosa

Recovering from an obsession with Italiandesigned menswear, Alfonso decided to take a deeper look into women’s fashion to see how our relationship among clothing, society, and business has changed. Educated as an economist with an MBA, he travels between Chicago, Miami, and Mexico on a search to see what happens next to fashion.

JUANITA CRARY

@juaniavi

Fashion Stylist, Journalist, and fashion Professor with 15 years of experience. Juanita has worked for Rolling Stone South America, GQ Mexico, and multiple Colombian magazines. Her current soundtrack plays The Sisters of Mercy and her go-to garment will always be a motorcycle jacket even if it’s impossible to wear one all year round in Miami.

@karodelgobbo

A true fashion passionate, Karo is a fashion runway coordinator, fashion buyer, fashion producer, magazine editor and entrepreneur. She approaches fashion in an innovative manner, where luxury brands are mixed with everyday basic pieces, transforming into a fresh, bold and powerful statement, fulfilling one’s heart and soul.

CARLOS MARRERO

@camarrero

Widely recognized for his tongue-in-cheek and informed critiques of the fashion, beauty and entertainment industry, Carlos is a seasoned fashion illustrator, host of TRENDENCIAS and fashion designer of Marrero Collection - a compilation of alluring statement pieces designed for the fashionista looking for unique fashion items.

DANA YURGLICH

@danayurglich

With a fashion buyer grandmother and Mack Sennett Studios producer as a great grandfather, Dana’s love for Old Hollywood and fashion ignited. Sparking wonder, accentuating one’s being, helping them reach their potential and knowing how valuable they are is always central to everything she does.

contributors

LIUBOV LAVRENIUK

@lyubalavrenyuk

Dedicated entrepreneur from Ukraine. Experienced tutor and successful business wwner emphasizing up-to-date methods, the importance of high quality and targeted content. Motivated professional bringing a 12-year career in small business ownership. Business development and education worker who quickly masters new concepts and technologies. A happy mother.

VIRGINIA MAYER

@doloritassufrida

Virginia decided to be a writer because nothing else gives her such joy. She then became an author by publishing ‘Polaroids’ (her first novel) plus opinion pieces and literary journalism in Colombia. These days, she’s living in Bogotá, writing her second novel, and working as a script writer & investigator.

ERIKA ISHIBASHI @erika_opie

After graduating with honors, she moved permanently to Tokyo. Not only is Erika a finalist for Miss Earth Tokyo 2020 but she is also one of the founders for Women of the Earth, a group of women who tackle environmental and social issues in Japan. Erika has also a strong passion for the environment, animal rights and skin positivity.

Acclaimed producer who continuously chases creativity, empowerment and innovation with the perfect blend of fashion, art and advertising. He carefully positions himself close to those three pillars in a more strategic manner to promote and deliver fashion shows, TV shows, concerts and brand/product campaigns.

MICHAEL ACIERNO

@acierno____

Who is Michael Acierno, or rather what is Michael Acierno? My identity is somewhere to be found in the work I produce. It’s not that I intend on hiding behind my work, rather I become so absorbed in these worlds we create, that there’s no difference between I and them.

IBTISSAM EL AZAMI

@thetargetidea

Ibtissam, aka Azami or The Burn Out Brand in make-up artistry, is a fashion make-up artist, content and copywriter, and a social media manager. Her attention for detail allows for unique works of art, focused on finesse and graphic shapes. After the conquest of Paris and London, she is now in Rome, where she lets the sun inspire her day in and day out.

#WeAreThoseGirls

SEPTEMBER 8-9, 2023 | NEW YORK CITY WALK IN NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

www.MissAmericanTeenInternational.com six divisions for young ladies 4 to 22

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Flávio Iryoda

EDITORS

Fashion & Culture Mena Lombard

Alfonso de Hoyos-Acosta Ibtissam El Azami

Virginia Mayer Dana Yurglich

Fashion Styling Juanita Crary Karo Delgobbo Erika Ishibashi

Product Carlos Marrero Travel Tamara Almeida Zodiac Manish Arora

DIGITAL

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CONTACT US

Questions or comments? info@avessa.com

Associate Producers Natasha Tabunova Karo Delgobbo Carlos Pardo

Quality Assurance Alfonso de Hoyos-Acosta

Art Director Luiz Camargo Sales Flávio Iryoda Giu Brandão

CONSUMER SERVICES

AVESSA Magazine is a digital and print on-demand publication focused on fashion, lifestyle and empowerment for the independent and contemporary woman. Founded in early 2019 with main operations in Miami, FL (Brickell) and a wide network of collaborators distributed across the globe.

PUBLISHER

AVESSA Media Group LLC Brickell - Miami, FL 33130 United States of America

A PROUD MEMBER OF

© 2022 AVESSA Media Group LLC, a Florida limited liability corporation. All rights reserved.

The information contained herein is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavor to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice after a through examination of the particular situation.

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COLOR YOUR WORLD

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BY CARLOS MARRERO

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BACCARAT PINK BUTTERFLY

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GUCCI FLORA

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SPICEWALLA

3 pack Golden Milk Collection. Packed with the warm flavours of turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, and roasted coriander, luxurious Guittard Cocoa, and cardamom chai spices, remix the Golden Milk you know and love into a truly special collection. $19.99 / spicewallabrand.com

THE BLONDS

Glamour, Fashion, Fantasy.

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LANCÔME

Absolue Revitalizing & Brightening Rich Cream Facial Moisturizer. A rich and moisturizing, anti-aging face cream with a unique, transforming texture that visibly reduces wrinkles and fine lines. $260 / nordstrom.com

FEATURING ISTITUTO MARANGONI MIAMI

STORY BY ALFONSO DE HOYOS-ACOSTA & MENA LOMBARD

“Are they ready?” a masculine voice asks me. I look up from the shoe I am adjusting, and a guy wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard is looking at me. I smile at him while nodding, and he smiles back and says loudly, “let’s rock this!”. He turns around and starts walking at a fast and steady pace while I make sure we are all following him. Going through the impressive backstage at the Antigua Aduana in the city of San José de Costa Rica is mesmerizing, as dozens of people are getting ready for the other shows that will follow this one. The rush and excitement that invades the air are not only palpable but also something

ARE THEY READY?

extraordinary to witness. We go past the makeup section, behind the video cameras, past the lights and sound controls, and finish at the tent where the setup for what is about to take place is shown in pretty polaroids, neatly organized and presented on a black-colored board that is as large as a window. Next to it is a woman talking into her headset and looking at a flat-screen TV. She holds her hand up and starts a countdown with her fingers. The show will begin in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

The students from Istituto Marangoni Miami are opening the second day of Costa Rica Fashion Week, a runway that showcases designs from various Latin American fashion brands. Costa Rica is the fourth of seven different destinations of the “Miami Fashion Movement Tour,” where six current students from Istituto Marangoni Miami are traveling, as the rockstars they are, to different runways showcasing their creations on the best and most beautiful catwalks of the region. This tour kicked off in Miami dur-

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT CAMILA BALLESTI JUANITA GUTIERREZ PALOMA BALVIN MICHAEL ACIERNO AMANDA PRIDA MORALES

ing Swim Week and will finish in the summer of 2023 at Buenos Aires Fashion Week. Amanda, Camila, Juanita, Mariana, Michael, and Paloma average 24 in age and 100 in quality and creativity. They are sharp and accomplished, fun to be around, and are yet to graduate.

It is impressive to see the level of professionalism of these future designers. Even during the last seconds before the show begins, students make sure their models look spotless, checking every garment, every accessory, and every detail. They all have been shaped and modeled by the Marangoni name and its long

and impeccable history. The mix of quality, creativity, and Italianness is evident in every garment in the lineup. Every design’s fit, attention to detail, and craftsmanship are truly remarkable.

Away from the tent and along the sides of this beautiful runway, the audience is sitting where they are supposed to be, regardless of their self-importance. There is a palpable buzz in the closed warm air as the dozens of bodies press together and lean forward, eager to be amazed or delightfully criticized. Then the music starts, and the models start flowing out like a river with occasional slashes of surprise and awe.

The students wait, hearts in their throats, for a reaction. Any reaction. As their last model returned, the backstage crew quickly pushed them away and instructed them to leave for the next designer to move in place. For all the soul-searching and organized terror, they described a euphoria when their show was over. They felt fulfilled and tingling with relief and pride.

Presenting at one runway show is stressful enough, with a multisensory experience of models, last-minute adjustments,

and operational staff scrambling to keep to the schedule. So why would anyone sign up for a multi-country fashion tour? Same reason people climb the Everest, take a train across Europe, or cruise around the world. For the experience and the adventure.

And with the goals of experience and adventure in mind, Istituto Marangoni Miami put together this tour as another way to onboard its students into the real fashion designer’s life. This commitment begins at the very Istituto’s DNA, trickling down

MARIANA HERNANDEZ ESTRADA

through every person holding a Marangoni badge. I have witnessed it firsthand from two of the school’s design instructors; Mario Braghieri and Mena Lombard. Watching them teach their students and being able to interact with them is to understand how deep these values run for everyone that holds, practices, and passes the Marangoni philosophy.

Fashion designers are an interesting breed; almost all describe that from the womb they were fascinated by sewing, cut-

ting, or color coordinating. At the same time, others describe a more twisted and winding path that ultimately led them to fashion design. But there is a common thread that links them all. Fashion designers share an incandescent passion for art, design, and construction. One has only to glance at the reverential joy on their faces as they describe their creative process or aesthetic to understand that these people are different; they have a unique talent that sets them apart. They constantly look

for ways to improve their work while their brains seem to stick to problems until they dream up a solution. Successful designers have a natural skill for pushing behavioral buttons to elicit desire and longing. They know how to delve into the infinitely complex, messy, and diverse layers that make up a human’s desire for beauty. And they work hard to present what they create on long, respected catwalks. Such catwalks, a goal for every fashion designer out there, are glamorous, slow-paced, and beautifully choreographed. Behind the curtains, they are loud, fast, and unnerving; with an army of people working frantically to ensure the designs are presented exactly as the designer imagined. Behind the curtains, the glamor dims, and you see what is happening: You see the work.

I look away from the notes I am taking on my laptop and rest my eyes on the breathtaking views of this city’s skyline. I am currently on the 6th level of what is known as the “Miami School of Fashion,” the impressive building located at the heart of the Design District that is home to Istituto Marangoni Miami. This beautiful construction stands proud and elegant among the air of luxury and sophistication surrounding the area. The entire 6th floor is an impressive workshop where teachers and students are hard at work. Sewing machines in the back, a computer

PRIDA AMANDA MORALES

area next to it, and several white cutting tables are surrounded by beautifully dressed mannequins and carefully created mood boards. Since we are all back home from the last tour stop, I came to pay a visit to the students to talk about the learnings from the first half of this incredible experience.

When asked about it, the students reminisced funny anecdotes of frantic organization, last-minute changes, and heart-thumping confusion. Models trying on garments, peers and teachers making adjustments, hair stylists working fast with their brushes and curlers... They remember the moments before each show as a flurry of last-minute activity and madness—organized madness, but madness nonetheless.

Organization, keeping calm, and thinking ahead were the lessons that the students stated they learned best. At times the shows progressed as expected, even with the last-minute horrors. But other times, there were hitches of some sort. Sometimes models were late. Other times accessories would grow legs and get misplaced. Or a hem got ripped right before the runway. After this experience, these three lessons are now an inherent part of these students’ characters, and they show so much appreciation for them.

But more than that, what stuck with me the most was the mutual admiration and respect between

JUANITA GUTIERREZ

instructors and students. In every iteration with all these future designers, at some point or another, they would express their gratitude for their teachers’ guidance, patience, and support. And those teachers were very keen to share not only the new goals they have in mind for every student but also their pride in their achievements. I can see how learning at Istituto Marangoni Miami is an experience unlike any other.

It is worldwide known that Istituto Marangoni’s mission

is to shape the excellence of the future of fashion and design. The school is fully committed to giving its students the best education and the most opportunities, and this tour is a perfect example of that. Istituto Marangoni Miami produces professionals with experience and exposure as an important and impressive element of their resumes. The pledge to education and excellence that characterizes this fashion school goes beyond the runway. The fact that the students travel with their design

MICHAEL ACIERNO

teachers, who have mentored the development of these collections since their inception, illustrates it best. These instructors fully participate in the events, working backstage with their students, giving industry talks during the educational portions of each Fashion Week, and providing mentoring sessions to current designers. That is true passion, involvement, and commitment to the evolution of the fashion industry.

Amanda, Camila, Juanita, Mariana, Michael, and Paloma

are now lucky enough to have experienced multiple runway shows filled with excitement and anxiety about what would unfold. They got the opportunity, denied to so many others, to see the lights go down, hear the music start beating, and their bodies shake with anticipation while asking themselves, “Will they like my clothes? Will they applaud?”. They have gone to gorgeous cities and created lasting friendships born because of this tour. They met people they would never have had the

pleasure to meet had it not been for these trips. They had deep conversations leading them to question themselves and find new answers to what they represent as designers. Not bad for a fashion tour.

The next stop of the Miami Fashion Movement Tour is Guatemala Fashion Week. All six students have already started working on the additional looks they plan to showcase for the tour’s second half. And they are making them on top of the classes they are currently taking. These students are used to pushing the envelope because that is how Istituto Marangoni has shaped them. They want to keep themselves on top of the fashion game and know very well that Mario and Mena would not have it any other way. Amanda, Camila, Juanita, Mariana, Michael, and Paloma are very much aware of the fact that they are not only representing themselves but also the school that has given them the knowledge, tools, and opportunities to develop their ability and creativity. It is touching to see how proud they are to hold high the Marangoni name. And it is exciting to see how much they want this.

ARE THEY READY?

They are the stars of the Miami Fashion Movement Tour. They are Marangoni students. Of course they are.

PHOTO COURTESY & SPECIAL THANKS

MARANGONI MIAMI

ISTITUTO

MARIO BRAGHIERI

COSTA RICA FASHION WEEK

MIAMI SWIM WEEK

PANAMA FASHION WEEK

REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA FASHION WEEK

PHOTO

UNNATURALLY NATURAL

BY ERIKA ISHIBASHI

The story behind the name is that not all natural ingredients are good for the skin. Just because something says natural does not mean we should be putting it on our bodies. By combining natural ingredients with unnatural ones that are also good for the skin, we end up with a product that utilizes the best of both, and that is how the name Unnaturally Natural came to be.

As a vegan skincare brand, there is no animal testing and no animal derived ingredients in the skincare itself. Gemma herself is also vegan so she does her best to incorporate these values into her products. Unnaturally Natural is the first skincare in Japan to have the vegan certification mark on their products.

The environment is also something Gemma is passionate about so she makes sure that all her products are as sustainable as possible. Unnaturally Natural’s packaging is made up of recycled materials and they use water ink when printing labels. All the paper they use is certified wood free and they are constantly looking for new ways to improve and be kinder to the environment.

I absolutely love the Unnaturally Natural Instagram page @unnaturallynatural_official. They post so much about not only their products but information about veganism and the environment as well. It’s really amazing to see them use their platform to spread helpful information and to help keep people informed about what’s going on in the world and how we can help just by simply choosing a different skincare brand. Unnaturally Natural is also very open about what ingredients are in their products and list out the reasons for why they chose that ingredient, and that kind of transparency is also something I really respect about this brand.

Gemma’s goal with this brand is to break the stereotype that clean, ethical, sustainable, vegan skincare is expensive. She says that the definition of luxury isn’t the price, it’s the quality. She also hopes her brand will become a catalyst in spreading more vegan skincare in Japan. Her future goal is to open up a store in the United States and for Unnaturally Natural to become a well known skincare brand. Her parents have supported

PHOTOGRAPHER

SAYO MIYAMOTO

HAIR & MAKE-UP NOZOMI MIKAMI

STYLING MIYUKI KUDO

MODELS

ERIKA ISHIBASHI SAYO MIYAMOTO MIYUKI KUDO NANAMI KANEKO WAKAKO YAMANA NANA OTA ULALA MIKAMI

her a lot during her journey and she hopes to be able to repay them for all the encouragement they’ve given her. Gemma also wishes to support young girls here in Japan. Gemma herself was told once by a teacher that she wouldn’t have many opportunities because she’s a woman. Clearly she is proving them wrong.

I was graciously gifted three of the Unnaturally Natural’s products: The Treatment Lotion, a cream skin toner, The Vitamin C Oil Essence, a glow serum, and The Hydrate Rescue Cream Moisturizer, a face moisturizer. These are the same three products we, Women of the Earth, were gifted to use for this photoshoot. I have nothing but good things to say about these

products. They all smell absolutely amazing and they look so cute next to each other! Just seeing them on the counter makes me excited to use them! My personal favorite is the toner, it feels so good and absorbs quickly without leaving any residue which is something that’s important to me as my eczema tends to flare up when a product is too thick.

We as Women of the Earth we’re honored to be able to shoot with Unnaturally Natural’s products. Unnaturally Natural’s philosophy and values lined up with ours and we were happy to collaborate with them. I’m happy to report that vegan skincare is starting to rise in Japan thanks to Unnaturally Natural.

LOVE LIES BLEEDING

Is desire simply a precursor or an inextricable part of loving and dreaming? Desire can be ephemeral with as short a ruinous lifespan as lust, or it can be the foundation of everlasting love. After all, how can you love or dream without first desiring? Yet, so much pain can result from misplaced desire and passion. This is a tale as old as humanity. We are born with many desires, perhaps too many to pursue with conviction or dedication. Most desires concern the superficial aspects of life, such as appearance or possessions. People with too many desires can be the poorest as they seldom fully achieve what they crave. Their lives can be the saddest since they are dominated by their unfulfilled desires and the search for what is missing. What does it mean to desire something so much that it transforms into physical pain in its absence? This almost euphoric need generates such intense emotions that it could end up being addictive and ultimately transforms itself into despair and anguish.

STORY ALFONSO DE HOYOS-ACOSTA CREATIVE DIRECTOR MAILE CASTANEDA FASHION & ACCESSORIES BĀRZAGA

MODELS ALLEYA SLAGTER, ANAELY RIVERO, LISSANDRA BURGOIS, FRANCO DE LA MORTE

HAIR & MAKE-UP ARACELI BRAVO SET & PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ISMAEL MORENO LOCATION SOYA & POMODORO

CATTERY MIAMI EXOTIC SPHYNX PHOTOGRAPHY FLÁVIO IRYODA RETOUCHING LUIZ CAMARGO

SPECIAL THANKS ROSARIO MAGRELLI, CRISTIAN D’ORIA, POSCHE MODELS, TYLER MOLINARI

Despair can be a strange and sly emotion as well. At times it will suddenly appear in a surge of panic, or perhaps it hides as a niggling itch in the back of your mind. These emotions are not opposites; despair and desire circle and reinforce each other. We may have petty or soul-changing desires, but one thing is guaranteed, with few hesitations, we will run like screaming flying monkeys to achieve them.

Yet we don’t always understand the cost of achieving what we want, and we certainly do not always get what we desire. If we are fortunate, we smash through whatever barriers exist between ourselves and our dreams. But far more often, we bounce right off a barricade to our desires and land flat on our backs, shocked and unsure of what to do next or how to feel. For many of us, failure and despair set in. Despair is a cluster of emotions that are difficult to manage. It is an emotionally charged state of mind that destroys clarity and can lead to even more selfdestructive behavior.

But what about those rare individuals that can limit themselves to one or two grand dreams? They can dedicate all their efforts and ambition to achieving their singular goal. They can progress from attraction to desire to devotion and end up with one flaming passion that sears the heart. But what happens when these same people achieve and then lose their desires? Isn’t their pain all that more intense and endless?

Think of a man who has found love, that desperately sought-after emotion that so few of us see or keep. The feelings of completeness and joy must be incomparable. Unfortunately, death, disinterest, or change can eliminate love for some. Then what happens?

I once had a friend named Pedro Jose. He was an inspiring figure, heroic in stature, and a steadfast supporter of the weak and the weary. From the outside, Pedro Jose was considered by all who met him as a man to emulate, and the populace would swear he could be seen bathed in a rosy golden light of wonder. Yet, as in all reality, there was more to Pedro Jose. I can remember my shock as his deeply hidden neurosis came out when I saw him lose what he called his “eternal love.” He was left behind by this lovely woman who wanted to travel onto an azure sea and uncover more of her individuality in faraway lands under silver stars. She explained it to Pedro Jose not as a rebuke but as a journey she needed to make for herself. But Pedro Jose’s inner self-worth and insecurities buried under the hard-shelled veneer of his popularity started to be exposed. He was appalled and, without much justification, at least in my eyes, began to dangerously pursue his other emotions of lust, hate, despair, and wrath. I

could see him spiraling out of control, and although I wanted to support him, I was consistently rebuffed. Without surprise, Pedro Jose initiated a cosmic-sized bender that included alcohol-driven misbehavior and an orgiastic line of meaningless relationships that left everyone involved sullied. This sad tale went on for years, then after a particularly brutal fall to rock bottom, Pedro Jose started to recover his balance. The ending is still to be determined, but I could see that this was not a story about Pedro Jose’s obsession or fear, but instead the tragedy of how one man let himself fall and then later regretted the life he had led. He chose to change because of the monster he had become and because, at heart, Pedro Jose was a decent man. From my observations, all of us are capable of intensely wild reactions to lost love. Losing what you desire and love is a multi-dimensional experience laden with dark inner motifs that can make us despair and act in ways that are eventually shameful. So, in the end, I keep considering the alternatives to Pedro Jose’s situation. Who would I rather be? A pure pragmatist, ice cold with logic and convinced there are always answers if only enough bright light is thrown onto the dark of lost love. Or the tragic hero who is

almost exploding with wildly contrasting emotions and personifying mystery and intensity. Who would not shiver in delight and sexual frisson to be a savior to such a tragic figure?

Reflecting on these images, I kept returning to the idea of lost desires, love, and regret. I can remember the overwhelming feelings that erupt after losing an intense love. We may cry inconsolably, become rageful or despondent, lose interest in things that used to bring us joy, and replay moments of the relationship on endless closed loops in our minds, often while blaming ourselves for something we did or failed to do along the way. Our pain manifests itself throughout our bodies.

Why does this emotional storm overtake us? Why can’t we grieve the loss, learn from the experience, and move on without subjecting ourselves to torturous anxiety for weeks, months, or even years? While every situation is unique, our intimate relationships engender an interplay between our past, present, and envisioned future. And this affects how we act and, in some cases, how we start to destroy ourselves. There is another story that keeps coming to mind, but this one is more of a fairy tale: Desire, Love, and the Loss of Oneself.

Once upon a time, a man named Allegro was born into an infamous family of illusionists. They were in demand, but only as secondary or filler acts since they all suffered from an

unfortunate lack of talent. The only reason they had any success was that they were as beautiful as angels. And one son, Allegro, was rumored to be the most handsome of all. Like all great—and terrible—stories, his story started with love. Love for the elegant Mariana. With rich chocolate brown hair and words made of spun sugar. She bewitched Allegro as he’d done to so many girls before her: with compliments, kisses, and promises he should have known better than to believe.

Allegro wasn’t wealthy, he mostly lived on charm and stolen hearts, and Mariana claimed it was enough for her but that her father, a wealthy merchant, would never allow her to wed a pauper. Allegro had a plan; there was to be a grand birthday party for one the most affluent, most venal children in the town where he lived. Allegro believed it would bring him the notoriety and money he needed to marry Mariana if he could be the main attraction at the birthday celebration. Only Allegro was turned away in shame because of his lack of talent.

Allegro didn’t really have magic, just various tenuous illusions and his beauty to distract the audience from the obvious. But he desired Mariana so much and believed there was magic, just lurking beyond normal senses if he could only tap into it. He’d heard every person gets one impossible wish—just one—if they want something more than anything and can find a bit of magic to help them along. So, Allegro went in search of a woman who had studied enchantments. A witch. He ended up in the center of a dimly lit room with mysterious jars full of liquid and blobs of what seemed to be misshapen flesh. A woman with hair as red as fury sat across from a boy made of lean lines, his head shaded by a dark top hat, the obvious prop for a magician.

The woman asked what he wanted most, and Allegro told her he wished to perform the most enchanting and alluring magic the world had ever seen so that he could win his true love, Mariana. But the woman warned he could not have both things. He must pick only one. Allegro was as prideful as he was handsome and

believed she was wrong. He told himself that being famous would allow him to marry Mariana. So he wished for that. He said he wanted his performances to be celebrated. Magical. A breeze cut through the room, blowing out every candle but the one illuminating Allegro. The transformation began right away; its magic was fueled by Allegro’s true desires, which were powerful indeed. The witch told him his performances would be transcendent, blending fantasy with reality in a way the world had never witnessed. But she also warned that wishes come with costs, and the more he performed, the more he would transform into whatever roles he played. If he acted the part of a villain in his pantomimes, he’d become one in truth. The witch had not lied when she said Legend could not have fame and Mariana. After fame and fortune, Allegro was no longer the same boy she fell in love with. He was now cynical, jaded, and, at times, ruinously mean. So, Mariana married another and broke Allegro’s heart, whatever was left of it.

As you can imagine, self-destruction and despair most likely would play a role in the finale of this tale. But it helps illustrate what is both dangerous and vital as we yearn for our heart’s desire. Belief in yourself and your virtues are essential foundations if we wish to avoid despair and regret.

In Pedro Jose’s case, he looked upon his recent past. A history filled with shame and regret for failing to live the way he would have wanted before losing his “eternal love.” He faced a future that would be spent taking everything from anyone he wanted, robbing women’s emotions for his vanity. And yet, towards the end of his bender, Pedro believed there was still hope; perhaps he could be forgiven and have a chance to be reunited with his lost love. There were no guarantees or promises but nonetheless, he had hope, and he started to return to the man he was. And that is the lesson we should take from love, desire and despair; we need to believe that no matter what terrible or petty deeds we have committed, there is hope that we are still capable of love and a little magic.

WE NEED TO BELIEVE THAT NO MATTER WHAT TERRIBLE OR PETTY DEEDS WE HAVE COMMITTED, THERE IS HOPE THAT WE ARE STILL CAPABLE OF LOVE

when so-calledyour virtue becomes your greatest vice

STORY BY VIRGINIA MAYER

MODEL LACEY JANE PHOTOGRAPHER SARAH BLACHER MODELING AGENCY NASS TALENT MANAGEMENT

I MET JUAN THE THIRD TIME I MOVED TO BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA. WE HAD FRIENDS IN COMMON, AND WE LIKELY MET AT A PARTY. I DON’T REMEMBER. WE WERE NEVER CLOSE, BUT WE KEPT RUNNING INTO EACH OTHER. I ALWAYS KNEW JUAN WAS A HARDCORE PARTY ANIMAL. HE’S ALWAYS HAD A REPUTATION BECAUSE HE’S AN ALCOHOLIC AND WILL TAKE WHATEVER DRUGS HE GETS HIS HANDS ON.

I remember going out with him and my friends, questioning how I could handle him. But I’ve dealt with hardcore party animals before, and I’ve never gone down the hole with them because I always know which drink is one-too-many, and I stop right there. Plus, hard drugs don’t really attract me. We used to have a lot of fun dancing, talking to people, laughing, and taking silly photos. The usual. He’s gay, so no flirting was involved, which made things easier.

Over a year ago, I returned to Bogotá from Miami, and after a couple of months, I was living at my parent’s house in the countryside, 45 minutes to an hour away from the capital, depending on traffic. I needed a cheap place to rent in the city, so I contacted my friends who could host me for a few days, him among them. It so happened that his father, an old and scary military man, had died very recently, and Juan was living alone in the city in this vast house. He wasn’t sleeping or eating, only

drinking alcohol and wanting to die. He needed the company, and I needed the space, so we agreed on a price, we calculated I’d stay there for around a year, and I rented a room.

I moved on January 1st with my cat and my clothes. A couple of months later, I brought my books and the little furniture I had left. At first, his sister was around, and things were peaceful. I thought myself lucky. Eventually, his sister left, and Juan’s party pattern became clear: From Wednesday to Sunday, all day long, non-stop. But I put on earplugs and turned on a fan in my room so I wouldn’t hear a thing. Not a single thing. That was during the night. During the day, I’d play my music and work without a problem.

Then his kitchen habits became clear: Used to being served, he’d prepare these very elaborate and sophisticated dishes, the kitchen would end up looking as though the dog had taken cooking lessons, but he wouldn’t clean or even or-

ganize a thing, and didn’t seem to understand the concept of a trashcan. If I wanted to use the kitchen, I had to organize and somewhat clean up, or else it would have been impossible.

Then he started eating my groceries. He’d come home absolutely inebriated; he’d open the fridge and eat whatever he found. The following day, he wouldn’t remember doing so and never replaced what he took. When I told him I wasn’t making enough money to feed him, he accused me of being selfish. When I started hiding my food in my room, he became offended.

Still, up to this point, things were manageable. We spent a significant amount of time together, where he’d tell me about his most profound, most personal, and painful memories. He opened up to me, and we became friends. He started to drink the moment he opened his eyes and ended up going to bed at night, sometimes unable to speak. I would fix him a sandwich and convince him to go to bed.

His sister kept thanking me for taking care of him; I tried to. I thought I could help because I had so much love for him. I thought love was my superpower. I thought I could make a difference with Juan. I understood his pain, still do. I knew his demons; he showed them to me. He would let me hug him and would cry. I thought I was strong enough to deal with him. I thought I could do something good for him.

One morning I woke up and found a man in my room. Juan had come home with some guys; it was around midday, and they were drinking, snorting cocaine, and listening to music. I got out of bed and started screaming, GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! My room had a glass door that opened out to a patio on the inside of the house. This patio was also linked to Juan’s room. The guy had exited Juan’s room, walked through the patio, and entered mine. He was too drunk to understand what was happening, so he went out and

sat down on the patio while I kept screaming; I wanted him to leave. I knocked at Juan’s room, told him what had happened, and he replied: “If you don’t like it, you know where the door is.”

A few months later, Juan’s close friend moved into the house, and it was the three of us. People kept telling me they didn’t understand how I could live with these party animals. Still, his friend’s arrival made it easier because although Juan became very unpleasant with me, his friend was very friendly, so I didn’t feel so lonely.

I couldn’t move out because I didn’t have a job contract, so that no one would rent me a room. Plus, I wasn’t making enough money. I had to stay there until something better came along. I started spending all my time in my room and only left to heat-up food or do my laundry, and every time I ran into him, he’d make me feel as though he didn’t want me there. Then he’d turn around and smile at his friend. The message was clear.

His emotional abuse became so hard to deal with that one day, and I decided to give him back all the gorgeous gifts he had given me. He learned to show love through gifts, but I wasn’t willing to keep his stuff if he couldn’t treat me with love and respect. I told him so, but he kept blaming me for everything. It was the beginning of August, and I had agreed to leave on November 1st. The following ten weeks were hell. He became a full-blown bully. He wanted me out of there.

Then, around October 13th, he lost complete control of himself. At the time, I didn’t know it, but he had been taking psychiatric drugs, and as he hadn’t stopped drinking alcohol, he started having psychotic episodes where he directed all his rage against me. He started banging on my room’s glass door, saying he would break it. He was yelling at me, telling me to leave. He then started repeatedly calling me “Fat shit” and “Jew,” among other harrowing and humiliating words. This happened for two days, and on the second day, I became so scared for my well-being that I ran out of the house. My friends helped me; I took all my stuff out and left.

I cried for 5 to 6 days straight. I felt as though I had lost my powers and wondered how he had harmed me with the almost 10-month emotional abuse he subjected me to. And then I understood how wrong I had been. It became clear that I never had the power to do anything for Juan. I understood he took advantage of me because I was a woman and was vulnerable in his house. I spent years fighting with Colombia’s feminists, denying a man would abuse a woman just because she’s a woman. I was wrong. I judged women because they allowed men to abuse them. I was wrong. And I owe feminism an apology. I have no superpowers, and having thought so was my most dangerous and greatest vice. I am a feminist; yes, I am. And I am roaring.

THE WORLD? who runs

BY JUANITA CRARY

Women come in every shape, size, and color, and we celebrate them through this selection of powerful characters styled by Styling students from The Miami International University of Art and Design, with some of the best designs from the school’s latest Spring Fashion Show. Dangerous goths in furs, modern-day princesses that don’t need knights to save them in the urban jungle, Studio 54 glam girls, the rich woman that knows how to spend shopping, and a cyberpunk that can surf the deep web like no one.

PHOTOGRAPHER LARRY BARNARD ART DIRECTION JUANITA CRARY STYLISTS STUDENTS FROM THE MIAMI INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ART AND DESIGN

PRINCESS

PRETTY

THE HACKER by Maria Antonia Mazza

DOWNTOWN

by Mabella Gonzalo

GINGER DISCO by Sofia Saldarriaga

THE PASSENGER by Ximena Castillo

WOMAN by Madeline Mandarino

“SOCIETY

WHILE STILL LEADING HER NEW CONCRETE KINGDOM WITH GRACE. THE HEARTS IN HER POWER SUIT SYMBOLIZE THE LOVE SHE HAS FOR HERSELF, AND HOW SHE HAS FOCUSED ON HER PERSONAL GROWTH TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IN THE MODERN WORLD. MORE THAN SURVIVING, AURORA IS THRIVING AS A PRINCESS BY LEADING SEVERAL CHARITIES AROUND THE CITY AND MAKING SURE THAT SHE BRINGS OTHERS UP WITH HER. SHE USES ROSY, ROMANTIC MAKE-UP THAT HAS JUST ENOUGH SHINE TO MATCH THE METAL LICS IN HER SUIT, WHICH SHE USES INSTEAD OF A CROWN THAT SHE CONSIDERS TO BE PATRONIZING TO OTHERS. AURORA HAS ADAPTED TO THE SKYSCRAPERS AROUND HER BY BEING HER UNAPOLOGETIC TRUE SELF.” - MABELLA GONZALO

STYLING: MABELLA GONZALO

PANTSUIT: LAURA GÓMEZ

MODEL: LINA

DOWNTOWN PRINCESS

HAS EVOLVED, AND SO HAVE TODAY’S PRINCESSES. THIS IS THE STORY OF AURORA AND HOW SHE HAS GROWN UP TO BE HER OWN SAVIOR INSTEAD OF RELYING ON MEN. SHE EMBRACES HER FEMININITY

MODELING AGENCY: NICOLE SHELLEY

DURING THE DAY AND SURF THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT NIGHT. USING THE INTERNET IN THE 90S WAS UNIMAGINABLE FOR MOST PEOPLE. TEENAGERS, LIKE MANY OTHERS IN OUR CULTURE, ARE CURIOUS. NAVIGATING THE WEB WAS A METHOD OF ESCAPE FOR MANY OF THEM, PROVIDING A SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE. NOT ONLY WERE THEY ABLE TO HANDLE AND SEARCH FOR ANYTHING THEY WANT, BUT ALSO TO DEVELOP THE CAPACITY TO UNCOVER SOMETHING EXCITING AND INNOVATIVE. CYBERPUNK IS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, CLASS MOVEMENTS, AND POLITICAL AND CORPORATE CORRUPTION. OFTEN DEFINED AS HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE, IT IS ESSENTIALLY A SOCIETY OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY INHABITED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO CANNOT AFFORD THE LUXURIES.”

- MARIA ANTONIA MAZZA

THE HACKER

“SHADOW ROVER, ALSO KNOWN AS NEW YORK CITY’S FINEST

YOUNG FEMALE HACKER, IS A 20-YEAR-OLD WHO LIVES ALONE WITH HER YOUNGER SISTER, WHO IS 14. ROVER AND HER GROUP OF ELITE YOUNG ADULT COMPUTER HACKERS LIVE A REGULAR, BORING LIFE

STYLING: MARIA ANTONIA MAZZA PANTS AND JACKET: PEDRO MELENDEZ MODEL: DEANNA MAY MODELING AGENCY: POSCHE MODELS

THE FASHION INDUSTRY INCLUDES TRULY DIVERSE ENTITIES, FROM INDIVIDUALS TO GLOBAL COMPANIES AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. GETTING THESE PARTICIPANTS TO AGREE ON ALMOST ANY TOPIC OR TREND HAS BEEN HILARIOUSLY TRICKY. NONETHELESS, THE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN FORCEFULLY COMMUNICATING ITS SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS. AND IT’S CLEAR FROM JOURNALISTIC REPORTING THAT MANY COMMITTED, THOUGHTFUL FASHIONISTAS AND COMPANIES ARE INNOVATING TO REDUCE THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OUR ENVIRONMENT. BUT THE SAD TRUTH IS THAT DESPITE HIGHPROFILE ATTEMPTS AT IMPROVING THE FASHION INDUSTRY’S IMPACT TO GLOBAL WARMING, THERE IS MORE AND MORE WASTE IS BEING PRODUCED EVERY DAY.

Products ranging from luxurious evening gowns to small-batch cotton tshirts are marketed as carbon-positive, organic, or vegan, while businesses tout their focus on recycling, resale, and reuse to address climate change and the overall generation of waste. But to be transparent, there has only been a slight improvement. For example, the production of shirts and shoes has more than doubled in the last 25 years, and still, the vast majority of these products end up burned or buried in landfills.

The reasons for the fashion industry’s sustainability disappointments are complicated. Consumers, led by social media obsessed fashionistas, continue to increase their voracious demand for cheap, fast fashion. AVESSA reflected on this situation in the article “The UltraFast Killing Hand” in our September

2021 edition. In the meantime, Wallstreet continues its incessant pressure on fashion businesses to show consistent, profitable growth. These two factors significantly contribute to the lack of progress in achieving fashion’s environmental goals. However, a lack of clear legislation and an unorganized effort from the industry also inhibit any significant advancement.

The impact of the fashion industry’s practices on the environment remains unknown, but it is sizeable. The industry’s boundaries spread globally, and its multitiered supply chain remains complex and opaque. Thanks to trade liberalization, globalization, and cost pressures, very few brands own the assets of their upstream factories, and most companies outsource final production. This complexity and lack of transparency mean

estimates of the industry’s carbon impact range from 4% (McKinsey and the Global Fashion Agenda) to 10% (U.N.) of overall global carbon emissions. Put simply? Fashion is a huge factor in pollution and for as much as companies send out communiques and press releases on their positive intentions, they do not do enough to reduce the waste choking our world.

Nonetheless, AVESSA does not believe that all is gloom and doom. Amazing designers, educational institutions, stylists, and other individuals refuse to give up the fight. We spoke with a few people who sincerely believe that any step, regardless of size, is essential to the overall cause and is worth the effort. The following points of view demonstrate that there are still heroes in our industry who refuse to give up.

PHOTO CREDITS

FASHION DESIGNER: RAQUEL ZERBIB FOR THE UPCYCLE PROJECT BY GABRIELLA SMITH FABRICS BY VITAMIN A - ECORIB LYCRA RECYCLED PLASTIC FROM THE OCEAN MODEL: KATE KREUGER; PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON SOONG

TAMMY APOSTLE – HAUTE COUTRE DESIGNER

Sustainability is a subject I am passionate about because I care about the well-being of our beautiful planet and because it is the home of our children and future generations. We know that the fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters; everyone knows this. The status quo cannot be changed overnight because it is a global and complex system deeply ingrained in our society for over a century. However, we are already changing our behavior, and how fashion is created is just… not fast or soon enough. The new generation is paving the way. These shifts occur from harvesting crops used for textiles that use less water and chemicals, new biodegradable materials made from pineapple or apple, or vegan leather created from cactus by a company in Mexico. New international organizations have been established to enforce transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain and implement social compliance. Also, different strategies for reducing pre-consumer waste, like zero-waste fashion design, closed-loop recycling systems, and new economies, have been developed to help solve the outrageous postconsumer waste by upcycling and repurposing into new products or reselling garments.

As a fashion designer, I am optimistic because we have more options for a sustainable path. More eco-friendly textiles are available for us to use, just as design technologies like CLO3D reduce the prototype development process stage and resources of mass-produced garments. Also, fashion universities have taken this subject seriously and implemented it into their educational programs. As a professor of “Sustainability in Fashion” at Miami International University, the interest and passion students have towards the subject signals that this positive transformation is imperative and will continue.

JORDAN RAFN – FASHION STUDENT

There are many ways that brands can move towards sustainability. They could use deadstock, upcycled, recycled, and organic fabrics rather than producing more synthetic waste, take part in the circular economy, implement zero waste cutting, and even recommend how their consumers care for the garment to extend its life cycle.

Re/Done initially focused on upcycling old Levis and now has ready-to-wear. They conserve water throughout their processes and avoid chemicals. They are made of either upcycled or sustainably sourced fabrics. They work in limited drops as well, so there’s less excess. The brand Zero Waste Daniel takes waste from the NYC garment industry and creates garments with collages of scrap work fabric pieces. A few other brands that carry a part in zero waste include Tonle, Recrafted by Patagonia, OhSevenDays, and ARO.

Other brands participating in the circular economy, allowing customers to send back garments for either repair or to be upcycled. This makes customers think about the entire life cycle of the garment. A few brands that participate in the circular economy include The North Face, Levi Strauss & Co, MUD Jeans, and Patagonia.

Many brands advertise that they are sustainable when they aren’t. Greenwashing is a widespread marketing tactic. Using environmental terms that don’t mean anything and aren’t supported by evidence or drawing attention to a tiny aspect of a product and letting customers assume that it represents the entire product is sustainable. Examples are companies advertising their use of recyclable packaging or vegan products when the rest of the product is awful for the environment. Fast fashion company Shein appointed a head of ESG in 2021, ESG being a system for managing the degree of sustainability a brand is by specific criteria. It stands for environmental, social, and governance. This upset many people as Shien is known for throwaway fashion.

While many fast fashion brands will offer eco-friendly or sustainable parts of their packaging or manufacturing process, they don’t disclose the bulk of the product is not, and they still fail to pay their workers a livable wage. The same workers have to live in a destroyed environment. Urban Outfitters has a section of reworked, sustainably sourced vintage items for sale. Brands have also come out with sustainable collections.

Many people donate their clothes to thrift stores thinking they will be reused by someone else, sometimes only wearing these garments once after a fast fashion “big haul”- a cheap shopping spree. Some of these donated items aren’t sellable and are directly sent to a landfill. Others that don’t sell are sent to outlet stores, textile recycling, or shipped overseas. About 700,000 tons of clothing are transmitted to other countries each year in hopes of creating a larger market and sparking job growth. Not everyone sees it as a positive thing; they see it as a growing reliance on these other countries and taking jobs away from local textile industries. In 2018, The East African Community (EAC) tried to implement a ban on the importation of used clothing stating they want people to stop relying on secondhand clothing and instead manufacture and buy locally by 2019. The Trump administration claimed that this would take jobs away

from Americans, and a few countries a part of the EAC couldn’t follow through with the ban’s deadline due to a shortage of workers and equipment to produce enough textiles and clothing for exportation. There are landfills around the world filled with donated goods, like The Korle Lagoon in Ghana, with an estimated 60% of unwanted clothing.

There’s research that shows the neurological effects of buying fast fashion, it makes us happy. People enjoy new things, instant gratification, and being trendy. We are also creatures of habit, so we continue to buy from places we previously had. Although it’s not directly the consumer’s fault that companies don’t switch completely to sustainability, the company wouldn’t exist without the customer. Given the choice, people would rather buy a cheaper, $5 version of a garment than another made sustainably, with workers being paid a livable wage. Companies have the resources to educate their consumers, so they have the responsibility to do so. In general, society as well needs to be educated on basic facts about sustainability so we can take more conscious actions. There are so many hands that a garment goes through before its fully produced, each person creating more or less waste throughout each step. From the chemicals, the water used, the fabric waste, to miscellaneous garbage like poly bags to pack garments in.

I think it’s important to be straightforward and transparent about my clothes - the more people know the better choices they can make. I try very hard to use deadstock fabric so I’m not creating any more waste and use the scraps for smaller projects. If they are big enough, I’ll find pieces that will work together and have the same weight to make a patchwork garment. If the scraps are small, they can be sewn into smaller pieces like headbands or scrunchies, used as filling or sewn together to create a new fabric. There is so much room for innovation in fashion. There is no time left to turn a blind eye to climate change or partake in greenwashing.

RAQUEL ZERBIB – FASHION DESIGNER & WINNER OF THE UPCYCLE CHALLENGE AT PARAISO MIAMI BEACH

As a designer, I believe I have a responsibility and a mission to communicate and educate not only my future customers but also my teams on what it means (to me) to design consciously: to create a product aesthetically appealing, that fulfills my demand needs, made with high-quality materials, and technology, in a fair environment. It is a vision that will allow me to give back to our planet and society for what it has provided me.

This sounds like the ideal sustainable brand, but… the truth is that for an emerging designer, I would dare say that it is quite a utopian ideal. In my short experience with my career, I had the opportunity to encounter exciting projects where the primary purpose was to create awareness of upcycling, reusing dead-stock fabrics, and researching ecological fabric dyeing techniques.

Having had these experiences and now starting to research

entrepreneurship, I have concluded that wanting to achieve the goal of building a completely sustainable brand is still nowadays a challenging dream. Why? Firstly, being a sustainable designer requires commitment, investment, teamwork, education, and much honesty. Many brands promote themselves as sustainable ones for marketing reasons. Instead, I believe in an honest and humble language. I think you can create a better relationship with your consumer when you engage in a real conversation.

Second, building a fashion brand with a supply chain that is dedicated to sustainability is very expensive. It is not always easy for a small business or an entrepreneur to manage the costs. On the other hand, I have realized that even though younger generations clamor for social and environmental causes and changes, by the time they buy clothes, they usually follow fast trends and tend to go for the cheapest option. There is still work to do in terms of consumer education. But, on the other hand, I have also noticed that, as consumer gets older and has better salaries, they invest their money in quality more than in quantity. Another thought that I also wanted to bring attention to is the cultural differences that we face.

Being born and raised in Latin America has also given me another perspective on consumption patterns and how we value human labor and the cost of things. Because of our countries’ constant political and socio-economic struggles, Latin American people have a culture of not taking anything for granted. We do not waste resources, we take care of material things, and we appreciate an investment… because they don’t always have it available. I feel that we grew with a sustainable mindset without even knowing it.

When I came to the US, it was inevitable for me to notice and compare the pattern of overconsumption. It caught my attention the amount of sales/promotions that stores have, the “buy more, save more,” and it was almost inevitable not to fall into it.

This brings me to my last point of view: there are many takes on sustainability, and this is why I wouldn’t say I like to take this topic to the extremes: if, as a designer building a new brand, I want to tackle every single aspect of the chain that probably needs a change, I could get frustrated in the middle of the road.

I prefer to look at things more straightforwardly: Every effort counts, and every approach is respectable. Maybe, producing a collection with new fabrics from natural fibers from a certified mill is excessively expensive. But perhaps you could have a collection from upcycling garments and old materials. Maybe you could produce new garments but unique pieces at a very low price, with a “pre-order” business model. This way you don’t have to fill up an excessive inventory anticipating demand. Or you could produce with a local manufacturer or a family-owned business. Or even support local artisans. Depending on your brand, there are plenty of socially, ecologically, and ethically responsible ways to produce your vision. Therefore, I believe that the sum of small actions can make great changes.

“THERE IS SO MUCH ROOM FOR INNOVATION IN FASHION. THERE IS NO TIME LEFT TO TURN A BLIND EYE TO CLIMATE CHANGE OR PARTAKE IN GREENWASHING.”

Jordan Rafn

WHAT NEXT?

Using our contributor’s input, what is next for the environment and Fashion Industry Projections from most economists and educational institutes forecast that the fashion industry will continue to grow over the next decade. The same trends that have powered its growth will continue to overwhelm gains associated with bio-based materials and new business models. Companies will continue to concentrate on lowercost, synthetic fiber products, exacerbating other environmental challenges, including water scarcity and the development of microplastics.

WHAT, THEN, CAN BE DONE?

Perhaps, the industry needs to stop focusing on the word “Sustainability.” Being less unsustainable is not sustainable. At the same time, fashion companies need to be called out when they simultaneously profess their commitment to sustainability while opposing regulatory proposals supporting the environment. We think businesses should disclose their lobbying efforts and use their influence to effect positive change while engineering a regenerative business system. To demonstrate progress, stewardship reports should become mandatory, more quantitative, thinner, more attuned to planetary thresholds, and subject to annual external audits. We need to redefine progress and success for fashion businesses. Today Wall Street looks to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the most important measure of market value. Unfortunately, the GDP significantly limits what companies should consider as being important. For example, GDP counts the number of dresses we produce but ignores the emissions we generate in this production. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, is experimenting with a different success marker focused on “well-being” that includes social, natural, economic, and human capital. India is also considering an “Ease of Living.” Index. The bottom line is that we as an industry need a new goal to measure the financial success of our companies—a measure to balance societal progress better than what we have today.

Governments should also adopt extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation (as has been done in California for several categories, including carpets, mattresses, and paint). Such laws require manufacturers to pay upfront for their goods’ disposal costs. Additional legislation should force fashion brands to share and abide by supply-chain commitments. New York is developing a law that would mandate supply-chain mapping, carbon emissions reductions in line with a 1.5-degree Celsius scenario, and reporting wages compared to living wage payment. Brands with more than $100 million in revenue that cannot live up to these standards would be fined 2% of revenue.

Fashion is often said to reflect and lead culture — our industry has an opportunity to demonstrate that creativity and respect for boundaries can lead to authentic sustainability. We must listen to our heroes, such as our contributors, and push for legislative and financial industry changes.

PUSHING THROUGH

STORY IBTISSAM EL AZAMI

ACCOUNTABILITY PHOTOGRAPHY IRINA DYACHENKO MODELS DARIA SHUNINA, TATIANA STESHOVA, KRISTINA KALININA

IF SOMEONE TOLD

to give them half of your hard-earned money, just like that, for no discernible reason, you would probably decline politely. You wouldn’t give away your money just like that. But in fact, you do give away your time just like that. Every single year. It’s funny how during the last months of the year, we give up on ourselves and the goals we have set at the beginning of January under the golden name of ‘resolutions.’’

And yet again, by December, almost each and every one of us will sing to ourselves the same old songs: “I need to lose weight,” “I need to read more,” “I need to start working out and be stronger.” And the classic “I need to talk to more people - do some networking.” Society says networking is the key to success; next year, if there’s one thing you want to be, it’s successful. And you’re going to do everything it takes, right? Right?

Would you take advice from someone who never follows through on their own advice? Would you listen to a close friend telling you to be patient when they are one of the most impatient people you’ve ever met? Probably not. When observing how humans act and react amongst themselves, we can see that many misunderstandings stem from one thing: we do not know ourselves. I would always wonder what ‘knowing myself’ meant in the past. Since I was a young woman, I was told that if I didn’t know myself, I would not meet the right people and not be able to build the kinds of relationships that would make me a better person for those around me.

As time passes, I understand that knowing oneself is an effort to return to your roots, no matter how painful, all the while trying to create hope for the future. Whatever our childhood was like, and no matter how much we may strive to differ from our parents, we seem to be apples that never fall far from the trees that bore us. That’s probably why we take advice from podcasts and YouTube videos with much less arrogance than that of our close ones. It is less painful for our ego to hear advice from people who do not see our weaknesses daily.

In the past, I have recommended to many of my loved ones that they should try self-hypnosis since it is the one thing that has helped me turn my life around. More powerful than meditation in my case, I have found self-hypnosis to be a solution that would help me suggest to myself positive thoughts, in addition to helping me understand my feelings. As a teenager and young adult, I was a terribly negative person, wondering why I was burdened with the gift of life. As I approach my thirties, I understand that I am growing accustomed to life on Earth, and instead of rejecting it, I am actually starting to enjoy it. How did that change happen?

WOULD YOU TAKE ADVICE FROM SOMEONE WHO NEVER FOLLOWS THROUGH ON THEIR OWN ADVICE? WOULD YOU LISTEN TO A CLOSE FRIEND TELLING YOU TO BE PATIENT WHEN THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST IMPATIENT PEOPLE YOU’VE EVER MET? PROBABLY NOT.

YOU

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acceptance.

TIME LINES UP

We’ve been conditioned to consider the second part of the year, or at least the beginning of fall, the year’s drop. The moment when it’s okay to relax because the cold times are coming, after all. At this time, we almost forget that life goes on whether you try to erase those last few months of the year or not. It’s a modern mistake and a societal sickness to believe that each year’s end is like a death. It’s not. Time is one straight line, no matter how much of a pre-determined concept we want to make it. It engulfs us without letting any space to escape - and no possibility of getting it back.

Next year, how about you not make promises that you’re not going to keep? You don’t believe in them, truly. Otherwise, you would make them happen. How can you really believe in promises you make to yourself when you are setting a time limit for the progress you’re trying to see? You are creating an implied rule that if you don’t succeed within a specific time frame, then it’s not worth putting in the effort. But each year, you still promise yourself that you’ll network, that you’ll read more, or maybe the biggest lie of the beginning of the year, that you’ll go to the gym.

If you start going to the gym on January 2nd based on an illconceived resolution, I can promise you that you’ll have already abandoned your new routine after two weeks. Why? Because you did not honestly believe in it. You made these resolutions because society (such as friends, family, social media, and the TV) said that on January 1st, we must make these uptight, supposedly beneficial promises and hold ourselves accountable. Thank you very much.

You don’t believe in losing weight and won’t lose weight because you’re leading a life you don’t want to live. As a result, when the end of the day comes, and you’re overworked, all you want to do is be left alone in front of Netflix. Another episode of Friends, of You, of Game of Thrones, of something that allows you to escape just for a little bit. And that’s how you lose track of the fact that you promised yourself things. Because if you’re overworked and trapped in a life that owns you more than you own it, you can stand it for some time, but that is not a human life we are designed to endure.

Do you want to know another reason why you’re not keeping the promises you’re making to yourself? Because you think you have time. You procrastinate. You can “do it tomorrow”. Tomorrow becomes the day after, which becomes next week, next month, and finally, again, next year. Let’s take the example of cigarettes. When you smoke cigarettes, you don’t see the health issues that ensue straight away. But we all know what happens after years of smoking; sometimes, only months.

Time acts silently, yet with a compound strength that I believe is one of the most frightening effects given to witness by humans because it is rarely seen happening openly in front of you. And it’s not just every year. The waste of time starts every single day. When you’ve had a bad moment, and that bad moment defines the rest of the day. One more day to waste. The good thing is that there are ways to stop this vicious circle and hold yourself accountable for the promises you’ve made to yourself. But first…

Well, I firmly believe that experience combined with knowledge can make you the most powerful version of yourself. Beyond amassing riches, I have come to find that the mindset is

thing. Oh, how many books and

have I read to become a more positive person without understanding that acceptance is at the core of it all, not resignation, instead

Because you cannot be a positive person without accepting that life is sometimes negative, can you? That’s why I do not believe in creating new resolutions each year, which, in my mind, means that you are forfeiting a considerable part of your life to a lost cause. Instead, I believe in improving a little bit every day, whether by meditation, reading, or connecting with new souls.

DON’T TRY TO CUT TO THE CHASE

In life, some things are made to be difficult; that’s the way it is. The processes of learning and expanding your knowledge and morals are challenging, but no one can just cut to the chase. As I feel my mindset becoming stronger, and more adult, I understand that some paths are rough and that rather than being a drawback, it is a strength. Some experiences must be earned.

If you want to become a human being, in the true sense of ‘being,’ then you must be aware that some chases cannot be cut. You will have to endure pain to improve the quality of life you can provide other people. I do think that while we are each gifted with one life on Earth, our presence here is not a mistake, and we are created to alleviate the pain of other people around us and offer them as many moments of joy as possible. As human beings trapped in a society that forces us to wake up almost every morning to be able to put bread on the table, we have slightly lost track of that. Everything around us is so fastpaced that we have forgotten to listen to ourselves. What do you think you were brought on Earth to do? In my case, I think it is sharing words with people; that is why, after years of wondering what the heck I was supposed to do with my life, I finally understood.

How did I know what I wanted to do in life? I wondered what made me happiest and chose the perfect verb to describe it. My verb is ‘share.’ Then, I tried to understand what format my sharing would take if I wanted to live in the ultra-modern world or do a classic old-school job. I also wondered what I liked doing as a child and understood that from the age of 10, I was already writing, writing all the time. Then life caught up with me, and like everyone else, I had to make money to eat and pay rent.

One day, I woke up, and the opportunity for a life change was there, in front of my eyes, unexpected. I had

been working over fifty hours a week and was longing for a change. Becoming a full-time writer was the most difficult and exciting thing I have ever done in my life. It took more work than I had ever put into anything else because it is my passion. Don’t wait until next year to ask yourself what your verb is and what you would like to do with your life. Talk to friends and family and ask them what used to ignite sparks when you were younger. Help yourself to a good serving of self-hypnosis and another cup of meditation: they will help you turn your life around. And most importantly, feel grateful for your life. As long as you are alive, there are immense amounts of possibilities waiting for you to grab them.

…AND PUSHING THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE

So, what do we do to push through to the other side? By another side, I mean the following year, that almost dreaded first of January that triggers awe and hope. For starters, you won’t want to make ‘good’ new resolutions for next year. Instead, try to short-circuit this closed, herd mindset. You don’t want to make good resolutions to fit in society. You want to make good resolutions that help your higher self and make you happy. Every little action count, every little bit helps, and every little moment of gratitude is crucial to improving your quality of life and those around you.

You’ll need to stop for a minute and wonder who you genuinely want to be. Because compound effect works, and it is an effect that you can choose to turn to your advantage right this instant. Every little bit you do defines who you are. Before acting, you thought, and your thoughts designed that action. Take a few moments. Breathe. Time flows freely, and it takes you away with it. Nothing is as important as it seems, and everything will have passed in a few years - you probably will not even remember it.

YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE GOOD RESOLUTIONS TO FIT IN SOCIETY. YOU WANT TO MAKE GOOD RESOLUTIONS THAT HELP YOUR HIGHER SELF AND MAKE YOU HAPPY. EVERY LITTLE ACTION COUNT, EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS, AND EVERY LITTLE MOMENT OF GRATITUDE IS CRUCIAL TO IMPROVING YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE AND THOSE AROUND YOU.

AMBITION

LOST WITHIN HIMSELF

WHY DO I YIELD TO THAT SUGGESTION? WHOSE HORRID IMAGES DOTH UNFIX MY HAIR, AND MAKE MY SEATED HEART KNOCK AT MY RIBS? STORY BY AGATHE DAMAS-HOTTINGUER

SO WHY DID MACBETH HAVE HIS HAIR ALL JACKED UP?

YIELD TO THAT “HORRID SUGGESTION” AND INITIATE AN AVALANCHE OF TERRIBLE DECISIONS THAT RESULTED IN DESPAIR, SELFHATE, AND REJECTION FROM HIS FRIENDS?

Many years ago, as an innocent, well perhaps calling myself innocent is taking it too far. But as a callow youth, I pondered my future when I finished my MBA at Kellogg in the windswept streets of Chicago. I had just spent years of self-flagellation and self-promotion to earn a degree and receive multiple job offers. The delights of graduation night were all around me that evening, as students giggled with relief and the overzealous drank themselves insensate.

Yet I remember feeling as if the night had been knocked askew. The air was damper than usual. And the light felt unnatural as well. The moon was only a sliver, but it cast a silver glow over the usually colorful school grounds and turned the water of Lake Michigan into liquid metal. And I thought, so what comes next? I have just spent the last three years being told in a vague yet confident manner how sunshine-bright my future will be.

I was sitting there alone, and instead of basking in my achievements and gurgling down some hootch, I was anxious about my next successful step. I looked across time, and I imagined a metaphorical oasis. It was glorious, with lush palms and emerald-green fronds lapping at turquoise waters. It was an oasis of success. An oasis that I felt I richly deserved and would attain, given my education and genuine belief in my worthiness. Since childhood, I was taught that excellence was mine by right and gift. Nothing less was even thinkable.

But even then, I understood that to reach my oasis; a trial would need to be endured and won. Nothing in this life is for free. My baroque Catholicism surged in delight at the thought of hot-blooded sacrifice and the pain that would have to be endured. My great Aunt Señorita Maria Antonia Librada de Todos Los Santos Delgadillo y Herrera would have roared at me to endure whatever stood between me and my oasis of success. I could see her in my mind’s eye, veiled in transparent black silk to hide her sinful tresses from the Holy Father and wearing an ebony embroidered dress down to her ankles; my aunt would have demanded that my success be gained through virtuous hard work.

On the other hand, I looked at that potentially painful trip to success and thought ..,. How do I get out of this?

But Ambition called, and I answered. In my opinion, without ambition, you don’t have direction. If you desire to achieve something extraordinary or unique, history shows us that one must have focus, determination, and be willing to work hard. Is it contemptible to work longer hours to achieve your goals? To focus on productivity and not guzzling down champagne with scantily clad escorts? The problem is that most people do not want to sacrifice; they only desire glory. Thus, ambition is readily looked at as negative by those who are lazy or jealous, which is simply not the case.

WHY DID HE

When I first started my career as a management consultant, the oasis was represented by a coveted appointment as a firm partner. I was willing to endure the whispered pain and open humiliation to bask in the shade of a palm frond one day. As time progressed and the years went by, I began to suspect that the original oasis I had seen might be a mirage. Like a virgin defiled, I could not possibly rid myself of the scourge to which I knowingly submitted. My ambition strengthened me, and it toughened me. That was both good and bad. Nonetheless, today I wish there was a pumice stone for the soul; I would scrub myself raw. There isn’t.

My work was deceptively simple; I was part of a larger team whose job was to advise companies on their growth and operational strategies. In plain English, I helped ruthless capitalists figure out how to make more money or, barring that, how to cut costs. The management consultant was, in many ways, a companion to the company’s highest executives, and the relationship between business leaders and a consultant could span an entire career. At the start, it was a cozy little world with sumptuous food, opulent hotels, and travel spanning across the globe. Almost weekly, consulting partners guided their clients to private rooms at Michelin-star restaurants conversing about their hopes and dreams, which usually included the crushing of their enemies, seeing them driven before them in a panic, and hearing the lamentation of their families. This civilized conversation was conducted all while sipping a lovely 1989 Petrus, munching on truffled olives, and sitting in deeply cushioned leather club chairs under a soft golden light.

The earlier version of me from business school would have been horrified at the perceived greed and exclusivity of such a scene. But as I continued to intertwine myself into consulting, the slithery, thorny tentacles of desire and avarice grabbed me and started to embed themselves. I can see myself back then; there was a clear point of delineation in time before which I was a somewhat normal, functioning member of civilized society and after which some might have considered me grotesque.

It was a hellish late evening, and after twenty straight hours of consolidating financial savings forecasts from other teams, I heard a squeak. Although by this point, I should have known better and continued on with my tasks, still, I slowly turned. A fellow consultant was standing in total terror as the managing partner stood in front of him, turning redder and redder. “How stupid are

you?!? How fucking dare you show me this crap.

What school did you graduate from?!?” The hair upon my neck rose in total horror, and instead of coming to the aid of my friend, I turned and sighed in relief that I was not in the crosshairs. Even worse later, I quickly reviewed the analysis that caused the hysteria and fixed it, taking full credit, of course. This was a competition, and at that moment, I thought no one, no one, would get in my way to promotion.

Much to my shame, much of my work was as accurate as the prophecies of Delphi, which were mysterious, vague, and utilized to enact great harm. I believed that I would create the Magna Carta, the masterpiece that would bring in the big deal, and that my work would move mountains, convert heathens, and generate enormous fees. I now realize that my work was an unholy creation, a mixture of three-week-old, tinned meat and smelly cottage cheese with just enough curry powder added to cover the latent rottenness. Consulting advice is rarely original.

It’s three sections from one of five other reports mashed together with a new overview in the front.

As the years went by, I yielded to that Macbethian suggestion more and more. I wanted to win and lead. And I was good at it, but it became harder and harder as I moved up. And eventually, with ambition urging me on, I made deeper plunges into shameful acts. I started to break the rules, lie, and manipulate. My inner voice sibilantly said, “Do it. No one will ever know! You will be admired!” Granted, my success was usually at some other poor idiot’s expense. In retrospect, it is clear to me now that once you take that misbegotten step, life will start to warp. The blindly ambitious are some of the loneliest people on the planet. It’s the curse of paranoia and fear – a fugitive from the truth driven to hide their misdeeds from place to place. I parted company with the rest of polite society the moment I sold my ethics and good sense to the highest bidder, and the man standing in the mirror staring at me was no longer my friend or colleague. He was empty.

THE BLINDLY AMBITIOUS ARE SOME OF THE LONELIEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET. IT’S THE CURSE OF PARANOIA AND FEAR – A FUGITIVE FROM THE TRUTH DRIVEN TO HIDE THEIR MISDEEDS FROM PLACE TO PLACE.

The dream. Was it worth it? Was prestige the goal, or should I have been faithful to myself? Couldn’t I have had both and still be a success? You can be prosperous at thirty, forty, or fifty, but you can’t recapture your virtue. You can’t buy time, and you can’t buy happiness. Time marches on. My leaders kept telling me to have fun, succeed, and prosper. Yet, I never achieved all three at the same time. During most of my career, I still dreamt of that oasis, and I didn’t stop at any time and take notice of the sorry state of my existence. I didn’t realize that I no longer had a life at or outside work. All had become one. At some point, though, as the numbing years of toil rolled on, my views began to change. The change was gradual for me—a nagging periodic sense that I was missing something, something wasn’t right. My life had deteriorated, which became apparent through my increasing nervous ticks, lousy humor, and loneliness.

My negative feelings, only occasional at first, began recurring with increasing frequency until the dull buzz couldn’t be ignored any longer. I still had a high opinion of myself, but as the years wore on, the slavish devotion to success was starting to dim. I was everything that I didn’t want to be. I had lost the one thing that I needed most. I had lost my pride.

It took a final broken rule and looks of disgust from my coworkers to break through my shield. I remember sitting alone in the dim light of another lost evening and glancing at a photo of my mother, Marina, who had passed away from a vicious form of cancer two years earlier. She was a brilliant soul who was selfless and kind. Marina never judged me, although she guessed at the compromises I had made and the trust I had broken, all in the name of ambition. She would have been deeply saddened for me and grieved for the person I should have been. It was a breathless, painful thought to know I wasn’t the man I wanted to be. I only had one thought: “Fuck this. No more.”

So I changed? Yes, but it was not fast nor straightforward. It took almost two years to smooth out the years of abuse to my psyche. Slowly and with minor relapses, I returned to the person I was. That tentative return journey is another tale. But to my benefit, I realized the beauty and ugliness of ambition.

I think that ambition should be spoken of in the same breath as hope. Hope is the desire for something better to happen, and ambition is the desire to achieve that hope combined with the willingness to work towards it. In many people’s eyes, ambition is seen as an evil that, by tying us down to worldly pursuits, keeps us away from the spiritual life and its fruits of virtue, wisdom, and tranquility.

Aristotle had a more nuanced take on ambition; he defines virtue as a disposition to aim at the intermediate between excess and deficiency. Achieving that balance is a form of success. After all, please think of the person who runs headlong into every danger; it is a dangerous and rash existence. At the same time, those who flee from every danger are cowards. Instead, courage which is a balance between recklessness and cowardice, should be our goal. And thus, ambition is absolutely something we should strive for but never in excess; otherwise, like Lucifer, we fall from grace.

In reflection, once not so long ago, I thought my life had achieved a sullied, grimy sunset. It was a roller coaster of promise, avarice, shame, and, yes, success. Nonetheless, I have realized there is still time to enjoy this renewed view of myself. I can still have ambition, but the goals are different, more rational, and infinitely more enjoyable.

I PARTED COMPANY WITH THE REST OF POLITE SOCIETY THE MOMENT I SOLD MY ETHICS AND GOOD SENSE TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, AND THE MAN STANDING IN THE MIRROR STARING AT ME WAS NO LONGER MY FRIEND OR COLLEAGUE. HE WAS EMPTY.

BY LIUBOV LAVRENIUK

The trigger may not depend on you or the circumstances. It will seem like just another moment for another goal to be achieved, another step to be made. It never happens at a time that you choose. After all, “time and tide wait for no man,” as you’ve probably heard. Our life is a vast tree with thousands or millions of branches or tiny tender twigs. We decide which way we will follow, which branch will blossom, and which will go dry. You never know if you’ve made the right choice or missed the opportunity to give birth to something meaningful and remarkable. There’s one thing for sure - when one door closes, another one opens. And the one who chooses the way is YOU.

Nothing accidentally happens to us. Our experiences lead us to take the correct step or walk to the cliff’s edge.

So, I once traveled worldwide, visiting so many incredible countries and places, admiring beautiful views of picturesque harbors of Italian coasts, or wandering along the mystic cobblestoned hilly streets of Georgian towns. Did I ever think of why I needed to travel that much? I guess I didn’t realize the reason, but there were moments when I listened to my heart and nature. And it made each of those days ever since my happiest. Should we question why we sometimes need to hide somewhere in the mountains hiking for a few days or in a crowd of people in a cramped nightclub with the beat of the music, which is so much louder than our mind’s voice? Or should we follow nature’s call to gain the skills and knowledge we will need one day not to miss a new door opening?

I still have that innocent, childish curiosity that makes me hold my breath while getting on a plane to a new unknown destination. At a moment like that, starting a new journey is when I feel like I came across something I thought I had lost years ago.

We get accustomed to so many ordinary things, and I noticed that I needed more and more moments of anticipation and discovery. It made me feel addicted to all my travels, and the only thing that could make me feel free was getting on a plane and going far away. It gave me the feeling of living a short new life utterly different from the one I had had before—the previous life of a slave of your walls, material possession, and daily routine. Every time I needed a fix, it would take me a few weeks and the new trip to come up with a solution to all the troubles I had to overcome before recovering completely.

I spent weeks in every country I visited, observing how the locals lived and trying to feel their spirit and nature. And I realized I was a stranger every time and asked myself what I was doing there. Whatever country I visited, I wondered if that was where I could stay and lead my life happily. As if I was trying to choose a new home. Could I ever imagine I would have to do that one day? And like a student caught in the act of cheating by the examiner, I stopped my travels and rushed back home again and again.

Wherever I went, I was never alone. There was always someone I loved nearby as I needed someone to keep an eye on me. And I always kept in mind one thing “It doesn’t matter where you are; the only thing matters is who you are with.” Probably that’s why now when I am alone in a faraway country, I feel so uneasy about getting on.

After going to nearly every corner of my native land, I started exploring the world and searching for landmarks that inspired the most outstanding representatives of humanity to create their bestsellers and masterpieces to find my inspiration.

I’ve got the wings. I stood there in Terminal F and could not take my eyes off the plane’s wings. I felt like they were my wings! A moment and I will be in heaven; a moment and here I am above the stout rocks of Austria. They look like giant pieces of chocolate that flew apart from a powerful blow and between which stretched long strands of roads. In the hollows, there are many blue water ponds with tiny huts nearby, which seem to have been accidentally spilled by someone. It’s like small settlements of trolls in green valleys between huge mountains. Gosh, people. We choose the most beautiful places on this planet to live!

How I missed this feeling! You fly. You live. In a moment, under the wing, the red roofs of the houses form neat, dense squares, and the small ones form larger and even larger ones. Then the courts become less dense and eventually dissolve into endless valleys. This is Italy!

I remember those narrow streets of Italian towns with smiling and emotional people, talking loudly, gesticulating actively, and not in a hurry. Tiny cozy Pisa, beauty - the royal Venice, so ancient and young at the same time Bologna, which has become a refuge for young people and free thinkers, noisy obsessively arrogant Rome, my favorite beautiful marble pearl - Florence and many ancient small towns surrounded by high marble mountains like Ameglia, with incredible trees, similar to baobabs, where there’s the kingdom of exclusively Italians with here and there lost tourists. When in Italy, I constantly thought

about the difference in mentality. Their careful attitude to their family estates with hectares of well-kept land, grandiose construction of roads and bridges, stubborn manner of speaking exclusively in their native language, and immense love for their country. Passing long tunnels and small villages on the rocks, you understand that they have bitten into this land and are firmly holding on to those mountains, making their way through the solid rock similarly to those moles. Here you will not see another country’s ferns, except those in hotels, but only hundreds and hundreds of tourists who come to taste this country.

And here, at the exit from another such long tunnel, I could see the incredible sight of the town of Como, spread out in the gorge of rocky mountains, and then Lake Como itself, about which I had heard so much. It was the first time when I just had tears due to the majesty of the moment and the understanding that, at that moment, I was contemplating a unique miracle of nature! I had similar tears while watching the paintings by Titian in Uffizi Gallery. It was an epic moment in my life. An excellent narrow road stretched along the lake, where sometimes we barely missed oncoming traffic, almost scratching the facades of houses with the car. In the towns, looking at expensive vehicles and estates of the 19th century, plastered with cute houses of later construction and costly hotels. And bats at night on the shore.

Next was the ancient university city of Bologna. This is a city of towers and galleries, pizza, and wine. This is a city of people free from conventions, where ancient architecture coexists with modern art and an incredible number of young people and elderly locals who seem to enjoy the strange mix as if they are not part of it. The galleries stretching along all the streets of the historical part of the city amaze the imagination of even an experienced tourist!

Locals, passing by each other on bicycles, must stop and chat as if no one is around. Noisy students, perfectly dressed, come out of the classrooms, chat lively with their teachers, holding stacks of books in their hands. And others, sitting in cafes or simply on the stairs, smoke cigarettes of unknown origin, and this persistent smell fills the whole space literally.

An Italian man must think he is God! He must have a suit, shoes, sockless, and a lovely car. He is polite on the road - he gives way at the first need! An Italian woman behaves like a queen, no matter how old! Good posture, hairstyle, elegant clothes, and a glass of wine are all accompanied by joyful gestures; even while driving, she doesn’t have enough space in the car, so she opens the window and continues the conversa-

THERE COMES A DAY WHEN YOU MUST DECIDE WHICH WAY YOU ARE GOING.

tion, already gesturing outside! All of this is Bologna! Another moment and I reach the edge of the coast, Marseilles, and the blue sea.

I have been to France only once, and I dream of driving through the dusty roads of Provence and enjoying the romance of the vineyard slopes and a glass of red wine on the terrace of some ancient estate. Meanwhile, France for me is such a different Paris, on the border between luxury and beggary, ideal and slums. The grandeur of this city cannot be overstated.

However, no matter how beautiful this county is, I always felt I was a stranger there and in Italy.

Ahead there was the rebellious Barcelona and Madrid. Spain remained unexplored for me, but I looked a bit at the edge of Seville city while traveling in Portugal. I was impressed. This is a kind of mix of an Arab fairy tale, orange gardens with an incredible number of giant parrots. Seville is a city where you feel the Spanish flavor with every cell of your body, the elegance of the architecture, and the coziness of narrow romantic

streets with blue and white patterns on the facades of old houses, Gothic monograms on the Cathedral or the majestic walls of the Royal Alcazar Castle. Madrid was ahead! Madrid is the sun, and the sun is Madrid. “Blue sky.” my gadget lit up as soon as I tried to take a picture, and so on, every time. Even the phone couldn’t believe it was real! I had never seen such a sky anywhere! Madrid is truly a city blessed by the Sun itself. Everything breathes with empire spirit, and every step gives a sense of the majesty of the moment. It is confident and calm, and freedom is in the air. It is the “Source of water” and sunlight. Every square or street is a work of art. Friendly and smiling people. The aroma of seafood and, of course, paella! For the first time in my life, I was sure it was my place. Parks here is a separate story. You fall into the plot of some postwar film, either in France or Spain. The feeling of the country is lost here. Nature reigns here. It is an exciting mix where you feel love and respect for the native land and its inhabitants!

I can’t help mentioning Toledo. The ancient capital of Spain. The city is a fortress, a world where three powerful cultures, such as Arab, Jewish, and Christian, are mixed. You feel it when you see the ancient cobblestones under your feet and when you look up at the old carved balconies where a lady

once admired the sunrise. Arab bazaars buzzed here, and stout blacksmiths forged weapons for knights. Everything here is imbued with the spirit of the Middle Ages. Or Barcelona, a wonderful city with its Gothic quarter, narrow streets, an impressive port, and long avenues with palm trees stretching along and into the sky. But not my home.

I am not an islander, and I would definitely not stay there forever, but the islands of Spain are a world like no other, lost in the ocean’s waters, and it is fantastic! It’s always summer here. The west coast is very green, its picturesque slopes descend majestically into the sea, and the waves hit so hard that every blow takes your breath away! The Teide volcano is a majestic

handsome creature! About three thousand meters above sea level and more than seven thousand from the bottom of the sea. The third largest in the world, it seems. What you feel here is challenging to convey in words. You are on Mars, the red planet, confidently stepping on the lava that has frozen and formed whole valleys .. Impressive!

Small towns like on the west coast Icod De Los Vinos, located on steep slopes, are famous for one of the few dragon trees left on this planet from the time of the dinosaurs and which scientists believe to be the oldest plant on Earth. It is very picturesque and green here, in contrast to the southern and eastern coasts, where there are only rocks, stones, sand, and harsh landscapes. There are banana palm gardens and a few beaches with black volcanic sand.

Maska Gorge. This is a small village lost in the mountains. To get here by probably the steepest serpentine I have seen and surpassed even the serpentines in Romania is already an incredible attraction! Two cars barely pass by. There is everything here as it used to be; only souvenir shops and a couple of cafes have appeared, where you can taste cactus ice cream.

Portugal - my love and passion!

BOLOGNA, ITALY

SEVILLE, SPAIN

TOLEDO, SPAIN

CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN

The small cozy towns that stretch along the Atlantic coast with the romantic names of Vilamoura, Armação de Pêra, and Portimão go deep into your soul and stay there forever with the quiet motif of fado and the sound of the ocean!

I managed to travel through Lisbon to Porto from the country’s south to the very north. It felt like the scenery was different, changing palm trees, sun, and yellow sand to a landscape more similar to my native. Less and less English and more French. Luxurious Viviendas and cozy white houses turned into gray multi-apartment blocks. And I already thought I shouldn’t have expected anything from Porto! But I was wrong! Porto - once a majestic port, where, probably, their nobles had a good walk. Palaces and estates impress with their former grandeur, and cathedrals make you, raising your eyes to their vaults, silently enjoy the mystery of the moment! And the most significant impressions came from the bookstore where Joanne Rowling was inspired, and I bought such a desirable book, Oliver Twist, although not by her authorship. We will get back to you, my dear Portugal! I’ve been to so many fabu-

lous places on Earth that my life is not enough to share. Choosing a route on land, I had the choice of going through some neighboring countries and further. Slovenia became a wholly new and unexplored culture for me! The spectacular beauty of mountains, tunnels, and the pearl of Slovenia is the magical Lake Bled, which I had dreamed of visiting for a long time! The picturesque views of the Alps were sometimes so impressive that emotions went over the edge! It is a country with friendly people, especially in the mountains. We felt it for ourselves when we stood in front of the destroyed road to the hotel late at night and stopped a random car of a local who dropped all his business and led us to the hotel along the forest road. We would never have found it ourselves! It is a spotless country, which especially caught the eye. Clear language completed the perfect picture!

Then was Switzerland. Switzerland is a kind of Jurassic Park! It

feels like you are in the scenery of a science fiction film and a giant dinosaur or some other creature is about to come out from behind the mountain. It seemed that all this was not real. And sometimes, it seemed like a prehistoric era when giants still walked the planet. The mountains were so high and strange that sometimes they resembled elf hats. And from time to time, thin strands of waterfalls appeared on both sides of the road, falling from the very top. The houses were scattered on the slopes sparsely, and nothing special attracted attention, and the cities were distinguished by their urban style. I felt it immediately as soon as I arrived in Switzerland! And even the tunnels were no longer round but square and had open galleries on one side, which allowed us to contemplate all the beauty of the Swiss Alps! Through this country, I could not take my eyes off that beauty and think about how carefully the Swiss treat this treasure, trying not to disturb the pristine beauty of nature!

Liechtenstein remained to the right of the road we were traveling on and did not leave a mark on my heart. Austria met with cheap fuel prices and neat roadsides planted with corn, probably four meters high. Ahead was Germany. Bavarian cities are similar in their tidiness and the amount of beer that pours over the weekend for the hastily organized Fest. In the center, many

tables were set up, where the locals relax! On weekdays, everything calmed down and entered its measured rhythm. In general, everything was very predictable. They lead a life when “no news is good news.” They work hard and drive good cars. Germans have very high taxes. They are proud of the family and develop the family business.

I passed cities like Bamberg, a city with a thousand-year-old history, and the streets bishops walked along. Let’s omit the history. This is a city with a thousand-year-old church and cute Bavarian houses. Frankfurt is a huge hub, a financial capital with high-rise office blocks!

Frankfurt left the impression of a city where Germans once lived! Düsseldorf - a city on the banks of the Rhine, impressed me with its cleanliness, toy houses, and, of course, a fantastic atmosphere, which is a mix of German, French, and, for some reason, English style. The northern location is indicated. Five o’clock in the morning - dark. Six o’clock - dark. Seven o’clockdark. Eight o’clock - where is the sun? Nine o’clock - barely dawning!

SWISS ALPS

LAKE BLED, SLOVENIA

SWISS ALPS

SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY

PORTO, PORTUGAL

Given all the difficulties, circumstances, and sometimes terrible periods of history, I wonder how they rose twice as much after two grueling wars. I love Germany and am convinced it is the most comfortable country to live in but not my home!

There were many other countries and stories, like mystic Georgia with cobblestoned hilly streets and misty small towns with local women wearing black and baking bread. Romania with its deserted sandy beaches and unbelievably gorgeous mountains and Dracula Castle. Poland impressed me with its cozy historic squares of Wroclaw and amazing port cities like Gdansk. I even crossed the Atlantic Ocean and appeared on a fairy tale island of the Dominican Republic and the beautiful deserted islands of the Caribbean Sea. There was unforgettable Cairo with its giant Pyramids and Luxor with outstanding temples. I was sitting there admiring the view of the pre-historic sight and couldn’t believe my eyes as I had only seen it on the pages of school books and couldn’t even imagine then I would be able to travel through time like that. But life changed completely when the war broke out in my native land.

When it happens, it hurts so much and so long that you start getting used to it. And it scares more than the war itself. Then there came the day when I had to take a step to the edge.

So, here I am, alone, walking along the waterfront of the Atlantic Ocean. I am in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, the one that takes your heart and never lets it go. My dear Portugal became my temporary home and treated my soul with its sunny days, soft fado tune, and the ocean’s light breeze, unique colors of the sea and the sky similar to my native ones. It slowed me down, and I needed that so much. To live at the pace of fado. To exist.

So, what was the purpose? And is it the edge? I am not sure I want to know the answer. I know only one thing. Our life is a vast tree with thousands or millions of branches or tiny tender twigs. We decide which way we will follow, which branch will blossom, and which will go dry. You never know if you’ve made the right choice or if you haven’t given birth to something meaningful and remarkable. We need all that experience we get to take the right step or the step to the edge one day.

ELIE SAAB RED SILK SKIRT; BODYSUIT, HARNESS AND SHOES, STYLIST’S OWN

STORY BY DANA YURGLICH PHOTOGRAPHER:

– my favorite time of year is here. The sound of bells and carols that ring announcement and joy; the delicious aromas of evergreen, cinnamon, and freshly baked delights; the bedazzling warmth of lights glistening everywhere you go; the excitement and love lighting up my daughter’s eyes as we share these precious moments together; the laughter and bonds of friends; the helping hands and kindness of people. That sweet moment when the all the world is dark and asleep, and I get to sit beside the glowing tree full of wonder and gratitude, to remember, reflect and cherish the greatest gift that has been given to us by the Creator – to be at peace and walk into our real and authentic selves.

This time of year, our values shine through and are beautifully heightened – our faith, family, friends, joy, generosity, home, peace and the plethora other wonderful parts of life. We get to realign our priorities and focus more on what really matters. We get to share love freely, and we get to see the good in the world in action and thriving. It’s a time of giving, when we get to bless those around us and receive the fruit from it.

And what if this continued beyond just the holiday season? What if this was your everyday reality going forth? How would that change your life? Your spouse’s life? Your kids’ lives? Your friends’ lives? Your employees’ lives? The people that you have just the one second connection with? The ripple effect that reaches everyone that’s within your vicinity of influence. How would you see the difference in your life and that around you, if we all continued to do this throughout the year?

Yet while we have these tremendous values that come to the forefront this season, there can also be a flip side, which can affect people drastically. This season can be an extremely lonely one for some and full of pain, or completely stressful. Someone may have just moved to a new city, state or country by choice or force and have no one to connect with and share these beautiful moments with. They may have lost a parent, a spouse or child and are engulfed in grief and depression; or the holiday may bring up terrible memories of their childhood and their past that they haven’t been healed from. It could be the mountains of debt we’ve buried ourselves in, the financial burdens that can weigh heavy upon us from so many expenses and not enough money to pay for them, or the feelings that we have to “perform” or do everything to be accepted, to belong, to be liked or to succeed. Whatever the situation we can find ourselves in, often we turn to vices as the solution.

Yes, the vices feel good, bring pleasure, and bring

ROSSI TUXEDO GOLD COAT, THE CONFESSIONAL SHOWROOM; CARI CAPRI BLACK CROP LONG SLEEVE, THE CONFESSIONAL SHOWROOM; BLACK LEATHER SKIRT, THE CONFESSIONAL SHOWROOM EXCLUSIVE

momentary satisfaction. But that euphoric moment lasts only for a moment. We all hope that the feeling will keep going on, that we can stay in that high. But before long, we come downand the thing that we’ve been trying to avoid, to disappear from just stares us right back in the face. And then we start looking for that next fix, that next high to make it all go away and put us in that euphoric state again. But as Graham Cooke explains it, “it’s like getting on a plane and moving somewhere to start fresh and leave it all behind, but we soon find out, our baggage is there waiting for us at the baggage claim”.

As one who wrestled with drugs in my youth, I am all too familiar will that unrelenting roller coaster. The highs, the utter lows that just keep going lower into the pit, and the craving to have the high again - to stick our head in the sand, to escape reality and the traumatic and unbearable circumstances we endure, to numb ourself, to cover up the shame from words spoken over us and things done to us. But as much as you try, you can never reach that high again. You only find yourself going lower and lower. And even though you hate yourself for doing it, it’s not long before the clawing and nagging call of “just one more time” or “I have to have it” takes over and you grab for the next hit, the next drink, the next one-night stand, the next screen, the next pastry. Our world

is soon filled with various levels of darkness - despair, debilitating anxiety, deep depression, paralysis, suicide and death. Utter hopelessness and inability to live and enjoy life.

But… there is always hope. There is a way out. You can be free of the vices and live a flourishing life. In the dark the lies and vices just fester, trap you more, take you deeper into the pit. Bring them out of hiding and into the Light, so that you can be healed and be set free, be victorious in your fight and find peace within yourself. When one walks in their true authentic self, they can live above the vices. Values far outweigh the vices. Vices only bring death – physical, spiritual, emotional, and relational death. It’s the deceiver at work. To trick us into thinking, “oh this is so amazing”, while in actuality our life begins to be destroyed instantly, yet we don’t see it until we are sucked in and in so deep. We get put in bondage, chained up to these horrific ball and chains, where we have to drag them along with us everywhere we go, weighing us down, stealing from us, killing us, and destroying us.

BUT AS MUCH AS YOU TRY, YOU CAN NEVER REACH THAT HIGH AGAIN. YOU ONLY FIND YOURSELF GOING LOWER AND LOWER. AND EVEN THOUGH YOU HATE YOURSELF FOR DOING IT, IT’S NOT LONG BEFORE THE CLAWING AND NAGGING CALL OF “JUST ONE MORE TIME” OR “I HAVE TO HAVE IT” TAKES OVER AND YOU GRAB FOR THE NEXT HIT.

You may think the vices are your identity. The vices don’t make you. They’re not who you are and were created to be. When you take off the vices, you don’t lose yourself or your identity. It doesn’t make you nonexistent, but instead you’ll find the real you and it will be ashes to beauty. It will be like a beautifully wrapped gift that you open up to experience the new you, that will be delightful and fulfilling. Living without these vices, you’ll find the real you that is absolutely amazing, exquisite, valuable, remarkable and a masterpiece. Just waiting to be discovered. Facet by facet.

Your radiance will shine.

Values bring life, help us stay on the right path, help us stay connected. Life is a gift, full of adventure and there for us to explore and be immersed in. Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the things, habits, behaviors and strongholds that so easily trip us up. We can be free from these shackles that hold us hostage. In the Light, we are loved. We’re transparent, open, no longer hiding. You don’t have to carry the shame and the guilt. The Light isn’t here to condemn us, but rather to lavish love on us and revive us from the vices that we get ourselves into.

So, where do you stand when it comes to values and vices? Do you want to be free from your vices that keep you enslaved? To have peace and be happy in your own skin, enjoying life as your authentic self? It all goes back to the root. We have to find the root – the trauma, the situation, the feelings, the lies, the wrong belief systems – and we have to face where we’re missing the mark. What are we trying to bury? To escape from? To numb ourselves from? To pull ourselves through? And then to know that despite all our weaknesses, our faults, our mistakes, our addictions, we are still incredibly loved. We can be free from the things that pull us down into the pit. We can be cleansed, redeemed and made whole. Those shackles can be broken forever. The world can become more vibrant than you’ve ever known, more ecstatic

than any drug or any vice you’ve experienced or could ever experience.

While sitting in the darkness and death within the shadowy corners of your life, allow the Light to shine brilliantly on you and guide you to the path of peace. When we keep our thoughts focused on things that are true, honorable, lovely, pure, admirable and excellent, our mindset shifts. When we fix our mind on things that are good, we attract the good. We deal with the pain and circumstances we’ve experienced, and don’t brush them under the rug. We validate what we’ve gone through and we validate our being. Be open, seek out help with a counselor, a coach, a pastor or a mentor. And be willing to be teachable. I have learned and experienced the value of having others who fight for me. One who walks beside you, believes in you, encourages you, builds you us, validates you and your pain and experiences, and who speak out the truth of your authentic self even if you can’t yet see it.

This time of year, we are reminded of light, of wonder, of hope, of peace, of joy. And a new year is just around the corner. The clock of time turns, and we feel the shift. It’s a new day. And not just at the beginning of the year. But every day. Every day is a new day – new opportunities, new chances, new choices, new discoveries. So, what do we want it to look like? What do we want to change in our life? What new things are you going to put in place? Are you ready for a breakthrough? Are you ready to receive new life and victory? Open your heart to possibilities. Take the risk, step out and receive Love that is waiting to be lavished on you. Let it fill you with warmth and envelope your soul. Open your heart and receive the greatest gift the Creator has given you to walk in peace and in your true self. My friend, I leave it up to you, and I’m cheering you on. And I cannot wait to see you discover yourself and let your beautiful facets burst forth, full of vibrancy and color.

I HAVE LEARNED AND EXPERIENCED THE VALUE OF HAVING OTHERS WHO FIGHT FOR ME. ONE WHO WALKS BESIDE YOU, BELIEVES IN YOU, ENCOURAGES YOU, BUILDS YOU US, VALIDATES YOU AND YOUR PAIN AND EXPERIENCES, AND WHO SPEAK OUT THE TRUTH OF YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF EVEN IF YOU CAN’T YET SEE IT.

ONE SUIT AND THREE MISFITS

What happens when a group of five talented undergraduates with a quench to create in their own style , get together with the task to outfit the same piece of apparel? Prepare yourself to experience the different and exciting views on how to bring life to a black and white suit in three different languages.

by JUANITA CRARY

THE HEARTTHROB IDOL GLAM ROCK EMBRACES FEMININE ELEMENTS BY PLAYING WITH ANDROGYNY AND SELF-EXPRESSION. THE MAIN FOCUS OF OUR PHOTOSHOOT WILL BE ON THE STYLES OF PRINCE, FREDDIE MERCURY, AND DAVID BOWIE AND THE INFLUENCES FROM THE 60S AND 70S ROCK STARS. THEY REACHED A PINNACLE OF FAME THAT VERY FEW CAN MATCH, WHERE EVERY ELEMENT OF THEIR CHARACTER AND AESTHETIC BECAME UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED AND FREQUENTLY COPIED, USING FASHION AND DESIGN AS A MEANS FOR CONSTANT REINVENTION.

- MOLLY QUAVE & AMY ALVAREZ

A PATH TO TOLERANCE

In 2017, Mirko Ilić was inspired to launch the Tolerance Project following the “House of Tolerance” film festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He asked 28 artists to create a poster about tolerance, the only requirement being that they write “tolerance” in their native language. After a successful 10-day show in Ljubljana, Mirko decided to tour the posters globally. The Tolerance Project is dedicated to reach people that usually do not visit galleries or musems, and since 2017, it has brought a message of inclusion and acceptance to over 400,000 people in over 40 countries. Now visual arts and fashion design students from Miami International University of Art and Design students join forces to convey this important message so much in need nowadays.

WITH MIAMI INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ART & DESIGN

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: NESTOR CAMACHO MODELS: ALYSSA BARTASHY, SOPHIA WHIPPLE, IHEB DERBALI @ FRONT MANAGAMENT, TAYLOR LONDRES @ THE WALK COLLECTIVE HAIR & MAKE-UP ARTISTS: LORENA ALVAREZ, SABINA KARAC

PHOTOGRAPHY: FLÁVIO IRYODA RETOUCHING: LUIZ CAMARGO

<ARTIST: JOHEL PEREIRA | FASHION DESIGNER: CAROLINA RINCHERE> THE WORD TOLERANCE COULD BE INTERPRETED IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. TO ME, TOLERANCE MEANS ACCEPTING SOMETHING AND EMBRACING IT. IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE WORD TOLERANCE HAS MOSTLY BEEN USED IN A NEGATIVE WAY. FOR EXAMPLE, IN SCHOOL, MY TEACHERS WOULD ALWAYS COMPLAIN, “I CANNOT TOLERATE THIS BEHAVIOR, JOHEL! ” AND BECAUSE OF THAT,

PERCEIVED IT AS A NEGATIVE TERM, BUT IT’S DEFINITELY NOT A NEGATIVE TERM FROM MY FRESH PERSPECTIVE. TOLERANCE MEANS STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND EXPANDING YOUR BOUNDARIES. –JOHEL PEREIRA

<ARTIST: MONICA CZUKERBERG | FASHION DESIGNER: JORDAN RAFN> TOLERANCE IS TO BE ACCEPTING OF PEOPLE THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF YOUR CIRCLE. IT IS ALLOWING OTHERS THE FREEDOM TO BE

UNAPOLOGETICALLY THEMSELVES. TO HOLD SPACE FOR EVERYONE, EVEN IF THEY AREN’T LIKE YOU. DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH AND TOLERANCE IS IMPORTANT FOR A HEALTHY COMMUNITY.

–JORDAN RAFN

<ARTIST: JOHEL PEREIRA | FASHION DESIGNER: ALEJANDRO BÁRZAGA> TO BE TOLERANT, TO ACCEPT PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT VIEWS FROM MINE AND RESPECT THEIR OPINIONS.

–ALEJANDRO BÁRZAGA

<ARTIST: JOHEL PEREIRA | FASHION DESIGNER: TAYLOR CROSLEY> TOLERANCE IS THE ABILITY OR WILLINGNESS TO TOLERATE SOMETHING, PARTICULARLY OPINIONS OR BEHAVIOR THAT ONE DOES NOT

BELIEVE IN TOLERANCE FOR EVERYONE. NO PERSON SHOULD BE DISRESPECTED, HARMED, OR DEGRADED FOR SIMPLY LIVING IN THEIR TRUTH, BE IT THEIR SEX, RACE, RELIGION, ETHNICITY, SEXUALITY, AND ANY OTHER ASPECTS OF THEIR LIFE THAT MAKE THEM DIFFERENT FROM ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. TOLERANCE IS SIMPLY THE MOST BASIC DECENCY WE ALL DESERVE AND STILL A LONG WAY FROM ACTUAL EQUALITY AND ACCEPTANCE. –TAYLOR CROSLEY

NECESSARILY AGREE WITH. WORKING ON THIS PROJECT WAS MEANINGFUL TO ME AS

<ARTIST: DANIELA GABAY | FASHION DESIGNER: GREGORY FLESH> TOLERANCE MEANS ACCEPTING EVERYONE THE WAY THEY ARE. WHETHER WE HAVE

DISPLACED

GABAY THE PSYCHO-DYNAMIC THEORY REVOLVES AROUND HOW INFLUENTIAL YOUR PAST IS IN RELATION TO YOUR CURRENT SELF. IT IS UNSETTLING KNOWING

LONG AS WE DON’T HARM OTHERS WITH OR FOR THEM, TOLERANCE MEANS UNDERSTANDING EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT AND TREATING THEM WITH RESPECT.

OUR GRASP, AND HAS SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACTED OUR OVERALL DEVELOPMENT. MY GARMENT AIMS TO VISUALLY DISPLAY HOW CLOSE WE WERE (AND CURRENTLY ARE)

DISSIMILAR SCENARIO AND STRUGGLING MENTAL STATE, AND TO REPRESENT HOW LITTLE INPUT WE REALLY HAVE ON THE MATTER. –GREGORY FLESH

<ARTIST: MONICA CZUKERBERG | FASHION DESIGNER: SHANIELE GORDON> IN THE WORLD WE LIVE IN NOW EVERYONE SHOULD BE MORE TOLERANT TO ONE ANOTHER; THIS PROJECT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, AND

KNOW THAT IT WILL OPEN THE EYES OF OTHERS TO SEE THAT WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT, BUT WE ALL DESERVE TO BE ACCEPTED AND TOLERATED. –SHANIELE GORDON

BREATH OF FREEDOM

The Freedom collection by fashion designer Rosita Hurtado was created especially for the second edition of Gala de Ángeles 2022 by the Latin Angels Foundation during Art Basel Miami. This year, the Latin Angels Foundation and the Tom Ransey Foundation joined forces to coordinate organizations, companies, and individuals with a big heart to raise funds for the construction of classrooms and an auditorium and supply musical instruments for the Chiquitana Baroque Music School in Bolivia. The photographs were taken in Concepción, a beautiful small town in Santa Cruz de la Sierra - Bolivia, part of the missionary circuit established by Unesco as a world heritage site.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR CARLOS PARDO FASHION DESIGNER ROSITA HURTADO PHOTOGRAPHER LIMBERGH IBAÑEZ MAKE-UP BEAUTY GLAM MODELS CAMILA RIBERA, CAMILA MANZANO, MARIANA DATZER ACCESSORIES JOYERÍA CARRASCO

SAGITTARIUS

22 NOVEMBER – 21 DECEMBER

BY MANISH ARORA

You’ll show a lot of ambition and determination, and the most appropriate thing would be to use them for initiatives requiring strength and tenacity, such as laborious, long term projects. Collective activities will favour you. You’ll be able to find the necessary resources to carry out your plans, provided that you have clearly defined objectives and you build strategies to help you reach them. You might also have to handle some confrontations or situations in which you have to persuade, insist, fight, maybe even face competition or rivalry. Favorable Dates – Dec 2, 3, 11, 12, 20, 29. Favorable Colors – Red & White.

CAPRICORN

22 DECEMBER – 19 JANUARY

You will experience some major personal changes which will benefit your way of life. Your energy levels will remain high over the next few weeks. Channel your imagination into something creative. Something in the field of music will appeal. In terms of romance you are likely to be a little flighty and reluctant to be tied down, but there’s nothing wrong with just enjoying yourself. Opportunities in career– related, may be a little unnerving. You may not be quite ready to embrace the new, but it should soon soothe many doubts. Favorable Dates – Dec 1, 3, 10, 12, 21, 28. Favorable Colors – Red & Yellow.

AQUARIUS

20 JANUARY – 18 FEBRUARY

The months ahead could start with you taking too much on, and then getting despondent because things don’t go your way. However, your impressive levels of insight and intuition will guide you through to a workable alternative, as long as you don’t give up. To your friends or loved ones, you may express a more reasonable and competent side that allows you to show those around you, that you are willing to offer solutions. If in a relationship, your ability to compromise and make concessions will keep things going smooth. Favorable Dates – Dec 3, 8, 12, 17, 21, 26. Favorable Colors – White & Yellow.

PISCES

19 FEBRUARY – 20 MARCH

You’re likely to be feeling as though you need to make your mark, perhaps someone inspires you or you feel you’re not making the most of your talents, but there are some original and creative ideas just waiting to be tapped. You are grounded in the material plane yet you can reach into higher planes of consciousness through your connection with nature. Changes in your personal relationships, which will ultimately be positive, feature heavily. Romantically, the laterpart of the month will bring plenty of chances to meet new people. Favorable Dates – Dec 1, 8, 10, 17, 19, 26. Favorable Colors – Red & Yellow.

PHOTO CREDITS

PHOTOGRAPHER: JAKUB SPECYLAK

FASHION DESIGNER: KLAUDIA PRZEWOŹNIAK

FASHION STYLIST: AMELIA KRZAPA

ARIES

21 MARCH – 19 APRIL

You are inspired creatively, artistically, or spiritually at this time. Your imagination, intuition, and psychic sensitivity are high now, and you find yourself wanting to paint or listen to music, daydream, or fantasize rather than concentrate on practical matters. Romance has strong emotional trends this month. Avoid splashy expenditures to impress as they may have just the opposite effect.Relationships with people around will be calm and friendly. Durable relationship will stand the test and prove its substantiality again.Friendship and cooperative endeavours will flourish now. Favorable Dates – Dec 4, 7, 13, 16, 22, 25.

Favorable Colors – Red & Blue.

TAURUS

20 APRIL – 20 MAY

You will attempt to significantly improve your work and career at this time. You may seek new employment, a promotion, or request an increase in your salary.Everything to the spirit of a complete freedom to move would be there. The field is ready for love, and there’ll be either a new affair, or some fresh enthusiasm towards the current relationship. You’ll feel attraction to partners that make you admire them by their cultural knowledge or spiritual potential, as well as those who belong to different places or social structures.

Favorable Dates – Dec 1, 3, 10, 13, 21, 28. Favorable Colors – White & Yellow.

GEMINI

21 MAY – 20 JUNE

You’ll probably manifest more interest in the financial area but under conditions of stress can result in restlessness or carelessness. This is the perfect time to make a wish and practise the law of attraction. Look out for someone who comes in to your life around these dates who can help you. It may be someone who’s successful in their career,

a private benefactor or some other guardian angel. This person has the power to help you more than you can imagine and you feel as if you’ve known them forever. Favorable Dates – Dec 1, 9, 10, 18, 27, 28. Favorable Colors – Red & Yellow.

CANCER 21 JUNE – 22 JULY

The career, the ambition to advance and succeed socially will consume a lot of your physical and mental energy. Connections will be one of the strengths, whether it’s about collaboration and alliances or contacts with counsellors, clients or the public. You’ll benefit from taking joint action at the material or social level. Committed relations promise to be tender, cheerful and nice. The sentimental availability will increase and, along with it, the receptivity and benevolence towards each other. You’ll use your personal charm, diplomacy and connections. Favorable Dates – Dec 2, 8, 11, 17, 20, 26. Favorable Colors – Blue & Green.

LEO 23 JULY – 22 AUGUST

You will be better able to manage your financial and money affairs than you have in the past due to easier communication and a more solid and secure foundation from which to operate. Now is the time to put your plans into action and to get things moving because contacts you make during this time will be more open to what you are wanting. Romance may require some investment, some patienceand a bit more talking than normal. Be willing to ‘do the work’ necessary to fix, foster and find. Favorable Dates – Dec 1, 3, 10, 12, 18, 28. Favorable Colors –Red & White.

VIRGO 23 AUGUST – 22 SEPTEMBER

The work atmosphere will be tense and conflicts might arise. Irritations, conflicts with the people you relate to on a daily basis, and a generalized

feeling of impatience or edginess characterize this period. Because you are not feeling very obliging or compromising, this is not a good time to try to come to an agreement with another. Errors made in haste, speaking too forcefully, sharp words spoken on impulse, or accidents occurring due to restlessness and impatience are all possible at this time. If single, this is not the time to search love. Favorable Dates – Dec 3, 5, 14, 21, 23, 30. Favorable Colors – Green & White.

LIBRA (23 SEPTEMBER – 22 OCTOBER)

If you started a project at the end of last month, keep going with it and don’t give up, especially if its work or health related. You have a few more months yet to bring your bigger goals to fruition. Anything you begin on or around this date promises financial reward. There are significant opportunities to make connections, exchange information, and to learn something through a meeting or chance encounter.Whatever’s not working in a relationship, here’s your chance to find a way forward, even if you agree or not. Favorable Dates – Dec 2, 5, 11, 14, 20, 29. Favorable Colors – Purple & White.

SCORPIO 23 OCTOBER – 21 NOVEMBER

Good cooperation, especially with co– workers and financial issues in the first week may allow you to get projects rolling or wrap them up, depending upon your current status. You’re going through a very promising period regarding creativity, expression and talents, excellent for promoting your own image and works. You will make your social relationships and personal charm will flourish. Everything will come easier now, people will be nice to you and you’ll get collaborations and advantageous contracts. Favorable Dates – Dec 2, 5, 11, 14, 23, 29. Favorable Colors – Purple & White.

TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND TIME AND

ARTWORK MICHAEL ACIERNO

Had the fig leaf never fallen, providing a canopy for the Earth below, humans would still live naked, and the body would be all there was to show. Unadorned and barbaric, burdened by the capricious whims of nature.

Here we would find the ‘Authenticity’ (a primitive sense of human nature) that the shortsighted fashion critics of our time yearn for so dearly, though I doubt their intent entirely. Individuality has become a Post-Modern marketing ploy. As it seems, everything has become a Post-Modern marketing ploy. Yet more people would instead enjoy beauty’s blissful intoxication than contemplate its subtly damaging effects. Culture is the original sin.

On the other hand, Fashion, as a mechanism for Culture, has the potential to operate as a vehicle for social change. As the aphorism goes, Aesthetics are the playgrounds for all things Social and Political. Or in other words, Beauty has an objective beyond mere infatuation (or at least it should).

The fig leaf is a metaphor that represents this intrinsic struggle between humans and nature. It lends itself fittingly to the state of fashion today, as ecological concerns permeate through the ethos of just about every brand. My mind ceaselessly drifts to a time when Nature truly overwhelmed us, conquered by her unapologetic force – The Sublime, a romantic sentiment that resonates through us today more than ever before Although, ‘Fashion,’ with a capital F, is said to have been birthed in the 18th Century. I propose that Fashion, the phenomena of an externalized identity, began much before this as the story of humans’ inherent embarrassment. In the Garden of Eden, we see the urge for fashion in its embryonic phase, revealing itself as a psychological impulse to conceal our primitive nakedness.

Under these circumstances, Nature is the original ‘Fashion Designer’; instinct and soul would clothe the body. Whereas in the Post-Modern perception of Fashion, humans are caged to the hyperreal zeitgeist, fanatically idolizing a fleeting sense of beauty; We officially exist in the Economy of Attention, yet few acknowledge their participation. As it seems today, the idea of a Fashion Designer is distasteful; I almost don’t even like to say I am one myself.

Though we may be far from Eden, it feels relevant to reminisce. The distancing between here and there, considering all that has been gained or lost in between. My purpose in deconstructing an origin to not only Fashion as an industry but also the urge for Fashion in itself is to give people a sense of agency. Material capitalism has extorted a vulnerability in the masses, giving supreme power to the already hubristic conglomerates claiming to be style purveyors. We’ve gone on for too long, being subservient sheep to those brands who insipidly dress top celebrities and spend boatloads of marketing dollars. Censorship and freedom of speech are being seriously discussed.

For me, it’s about stories, the memories which can be woven into a fabric.