The Lexington Line - Spring 2021 by LIMCollege

THE LEXINGTON LINE S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2

Masthead Editors’ Letter Color Pages Beauty Buys Editors’ Picks Student Style

THE USUALS 14 21 24 26 30 32 68

All Out War Your Soundtrack 2.0 ESSENTIAL but Forgotten The Metamorphosis of Manga She’s All That Bridging the Gap Respecting Purple

CULTURE 34 40 36 84

Time to Rewind Fashion Emerging Fashion Forever Runway Report

FASHION 10 70

Lockdown Love Devil in Disguise

LIFESTYLE 74 76

BEAUTY

Skin Deep The Eyes Have It

TABLE of contents

03 05 08 18 86 90

The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2 1

The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2

Jenesis Grullon Evelyn Peralta SuhaniDevang Shah Graphic Designers

Tessa Aldridge Managing Editor

Sophie Baek Mala Desai Jennifer Felder Sohl Garibaldo Julia (Lolo) Herrera Sian Jackson Abigail Johnson Stylists

Kally Compton Editorial Director Khayla Biscoe CREATIVE DIRECTOR Francesca Gonzalez ART DIRECTOR

Milena Bennett Photography Director

Juliana Jimenez Marketing Director Sofia Naranjo FASHION Director

Evelyn Mazza Jennifer Blain Photography ASSISTANTS

Rebecca Riggio beauty Director

Sam Morim Web Director

Jenna Filingeri Styling Director

Victoria Villano Web Editor

Elizabeth Corso Clay Lute Scout O’Donnell Ashanty Rivera Sabrina Stott Kanika Talwar Emily White Editors

Beauty News Music Accessories Culture Fashion Lifestyle

Ian Grafvonluxburg Elysse Rivera Jennifer Wensel Assistant EditorS

Fashion Beauty Accessories

Ellen Gasper Sian Jackson Assistant creative DIRECTORs Katlen Guzman Garrett Scott ASSISTANT STYLING DIRECTORS Michael Londrigan, Associate Professor & Advisor to the Provost Elizabeth Marcuse, President of LIM College Lisa Springer, Provost SPECIAL THANKS

Angelika Cwiklewski Sarah Abdelaziz Kash Khemlani Coleen Mckenzie Maria Gaynor Marketing

Tommaso Marasa Sheaylia Nickens Zoe Velasquez Jennifer Wensel Nya Williams Trinity Wingo

masthead

Samantha James Editor in Chief

Assistant Marketing Director Brand Manager Social Media Manager Social Media Manager Event Planner

Professor John Deming Professor Joseph P. Sgambati III Faculty Advisors Dr. Daniel Chaskes Arts & sciences Department Chair Sarah Albert • Caitlyn Mae Araña • Christopher Barto Amie Blumberg • Morgan Boerum • Dani Brand • Laura Cioffi Michael Donohue • Will Emery • Meredith Finnin Professor Timothy Foran • Erica Fouts • Tiffany Fuentes Cara Giannini • Sarah Golder • Lauree James • Maranda Janky Dr. Kenneth Kambara • Melissa Krantz • Load Laundromat Eric Martin • Professor Ata Moharreri • Maurice Morency Gail Nardin • Kristina Ortiz • Pheanny Phen • Professor Donna Pulese-Murphy • Olga Raganelli • Travis Stephens • Professor Liz Sweibel Dr. Alex Symons • Sabrina Talbert • Tannat Market & Tavern MT Teloki • The LIM College Bookstore • All LIM College Faculty All contributors to The Lexington Line MANY THANKS

The Lexington Line is a registered trademark of LIM College The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2 3

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The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2

Guess what? We made it out of 2020, and it’s also our sixth year in print. Starting 2021 as a new team in the midst of a pandemic seemed extremely difficult. Most of us had never met before, but we developed a strong team bond through Zoom. We were scattered throughout the country, working from different time zones, but our team worked tirelessly to produce this magazine. With a year of struggles seemingly behind us, we are hopeful for new and brighter moments in history. We wanted our 14th issue to be a beacon of hope, symbolizing how, in troubling times, people come together and inspire one another. Women’s empowerment, COVID frontline workers, and the enduring importance of representation are all areas of focus for this issue. These highlights foster the sense of hope we want to embody. Throughout the pandemic, a majority of people lived in their sweatpants and loungewear. It’s us—we’re the majority. In this issue, fashion is used to portray how people are eager to finally go out into the world. The world isn’t equipped for society to return to normal quite yet, so we’re all dressed up with nowhere to go. Yours Truly, The Editors

Samantha James

Editor in Chief

Tessa Aldridge

MANAGING EDITOR

editors’ Letter

Dear Readers,

Kally Compton

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

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The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2

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Lockdown Love The Many Shades of Pandemic Dating By Tessa Aldridge Is a pandemic a good enough excuse to stop looking for love? Even The Bachelor has pressed on, with some adjustments for safety. Dating apps have led to some success stories, as will be shared later on, but how else are people finding “the one?”

*Some names have been changed at the source’s request 10

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CHAT ROOM LOVERS

Molly met her boyfriend, Kyle, in a Tumblr chatroom. This might sound kinda odd, but it’s worked out for the both of them. Their connection grew from chatroom messages to movie dates on Zoom to sending each other Christmas gifts—but they have yet to meet in person. Even if there were no pandemic, they would still have a long distance relationship, as Molly is located in NYC and Kyle is in Calgary. He’s hoping to visit her as soon as he can get vaccinated. Nevertheless, even without meeting in person, Molly says, “it’s been weird but really nice because I had someone to hang out with during this entire thing.” Even virtually, romantic connections are still possible. We’ll be anxiously awaiting the day these virtual lovebirds meet!

STAYING HOT IN THE COLD

Valerie had been dating her boyfriend, Liam, for about four months before the COVID-19 shutdown. They met at an 18+ club party, which of course are long gone now. While the pandemic has made it hard to meet new people, it has also complicated established relationships—when most businesses are shuttered, it isn’t easy to keep things fun and fresh. Valerie’s solution? Outdoor dining. Liam is from Ghana and has been in the U.S. since he was a young teen. He had already been taking great strides to introduce her to his culture, so Valerie used this opportunity to introduce Liam to her Italian culture by taking him to outdoor Italian spots all over the city. “Before indoor dining reopened, we had to go on dates outside, and I had to explain the difference between pastas like spaghetti and penne and explain different sauces like alfredo and vodka,” she says. Doing so while sitting outside in the freezing cold added a whole new level of difficulty, she says. It may not be the hottest type of date, but it kept them connected.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

dating, we would hang out,” she tells me. Sounds like a perfect arrangement to me!

TIKTOK FAME LEADS TO TIKTOK DAME

Dara has dramatically grown her TikTok following over the past six months. Beforehand, she had no idea how many love interests would come her way as a result. “Oklahoma Girl” made her way up the rankings, and for a while, it seemed that she might even travel to New York to stay with Dara. Eventually, she pulled a Melanie (see above) and tried to get back with her ex. But the two have remained friends. Dara says, “Well, she’s still going to visit I think, but it’ll just be platonic. Realistically, I was still actively pursuing other people, so it wasn’t that much of a letdown, and we’ve actually developed a really solid friendship along the way. So maybe one day I’ll have another chance. If not, I’m happy that she’s happy.” Perhaps the “happy ending” in this scenario is just a good friendship.

TINDER FOR THE WIN

Tinder is known for hookups, but that’s not the only possible outcome. Kary met Ben on Tinder during Summer 2020. At the time, she didn’t have high expectations for the dating app. She tells me that when it came to meeting people, she would “always just tell people it would go where it would go” and didn’t feel pressured to find a relationship. With Ben, things just seemed to come naturally. “We just got close and acted like a couple,” she says. They talked via social media for a while before deciding to meet in person. They began with casual and safe dates, such as masked dates at the movies or meeting at a restaurant. As the couple became more comfortable with one another and knew it was safe, they began hanging at each other’s houses and meeting the family members they lived with. On Christmas day, they made it official. Maybe love is possible on Tinder after all.

Who said a bomb-ass single mom can’t find love in the pandemic? It certainly wasn’t Melanie. Melanie re-entered the dating world last May when it seemed (briefly) like things were easing up. She made sure to have small “background checks’’ on each person she met up with, just to make sure they were taking safety precautions seriously. As the summer started to die down, she switched to “nature dates” like hiking and kayaking because she felt safer outside. She erred on the side of caution by taking things slowly, but eventually found it difficult to find a soulmate online. Melanie found a designated “COVID buddy” in her ex-boyfriend Chris. “When the days got too lonely, and we were both frustrated with

THANK YOU NEXT, STRANGERS

For a lot of people, pandemic dating has been almost non-existent. That’s how it started for Hilary. The pandemic required more and more effort in order to find love, as there were fewer accessible and easy options. Most dating is done via Tinder. Hilary wasn’t interested in that, but she found the old-fashioned “setup” to be a viable alternative. It works, she says, because “we had a little more in common, and if potentially it ever became anything more, we would have those mutual friends to hang out with.” Maybe our friends can just start running our dating apps for us?

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DON’T BRING A BOYFRIEND HOME FROM Vacation

A month before the pandemic hit, Skye was traveling to Israel from Florida. At the airport, she met Joe, who was traveling there as well. The two bonded during the trip and ended up falling for each other. However, as is often the case with vacay romances, when they returned, Joe did not seem like the same person. Skye went back to Indiana, where she was attending college. Joe booked a trip to visit her at the end of February. His plan was to stay for nearly all of March. At Skye’s apartment, he was messy, kept her awake with his snoring, and even ended up clogging the toilet. “When boys are babied by their mothers,” Skye says, “they seem to expect all women to act that way. My ex expected me to cook and clean for him and not be upset about it. It was like being a maid, and not a sexy French one.” When lockdown started, Skye felt like there was going to be no escape from him. Her solution was to break up with him and move back to Florida.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Morgan met Mark about four years ago at a Memorial Day party hosted by Shannon, a family friend. Shannon’s nephew Tyler was friends with Mark and brought him to the party. But the two didn’t speak at all that evening. “Mark actually was the only person who didn’t talk to me the entire night,” she says. “He later told me it was because he was nervous.” Mark and Morgan spent that whole summer getting to know each other. In July, they officially became a couple. They survived long distance for years while Morgan completed her Bachelor’s degree at LIM College (and worked as Lex Line’s sixth Editor in Chief). They lived together solely on summer and winter breaks until the end of Morgan’s senior year, when she moved home full time. Even before the pandemic, Mark and Morgan were both very introverted

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people. Both preferred a night in over a night out, so it didn’t affect their social activities immensely. They did enjoy outdoor events in the early pandemic, as those were (and continue to be) the safest options. It was hard at first, since they were both working from home, but when Mark went back to work, it created a healthy distance. “In the beginning, when we were both working from home, it was a little rough because neither of us were used to working from home and would typically use one another as a constant distraction,” she recalls. “Once Mark went back to work—he is considered an essential worker—working from home for me got much better and easier.” The pandemic has pushed them closer together, but in the best possible way: they are now engaged! In Early 2021, they went on a skiing trip in Colorado. They were hiking on Mark’s favorite trail when he decided to pop the question. Morgan was surprised and ecstatic. The two had discussed getting engaged, but she assumed she would have been able to detect the surprise before it happened. “We had been talking about getting engaged for a while, but we are both horrible at keeping secrets, so I was certain that whenever he would do it, I would know about it,” she says. “But he managed to keep it all a secret, and I never caught on.” The end of the pandemic seems within reach, and we can’t wait to see the happy couple wed! Maybe some of these relationships last, maybe some of them don’t, but Morgan’s story shows how beautiful things can happen in horrible times. It’s impossible to tell whether pandemic love can last because none of us have been through this before. Maybe the fact that it’s harder to find love now makes it all the more rewarding if and when we find “the one.”

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The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2

A L L A L L A L L O U T O U T O U T W A R W A R W A R The increase in new streaming platforms threatens to saturate the market–and swindle consumers in the process. by Samantha James

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treaming services seem to be popping up left and right. Every day it feels like a new company has its own platform and wants us to add another $14.99 to our monthly budget lines. In other words, we keep having to discover new ways to watch the same content. However, it makes you think: is it all bad? It is highly convenient to access any TV show or movie you want at any time. If you can’t find something to watch on one platform, you can go to a different one. But is it always going to be convenient? Consumers are constantly paying more by adding all these streaming services, and the more popular a service becomes, the more likely it is to raise its monthly fee. At what point will the market be saturated? We can only handle so many platforms.

For consumers in the 2020s, streaming will not be optional.

To untangle the web of streaming offerings, and to get a sense of where this is all headed, it is worth reviewing the many battles that have comprised the streaming wars so far. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max are constantly buying each other out of contracts to acquire TV and film rights. Netflix seems to be the target of all these companies, but that’s because it was there first. When Netflix launched in 1997, it offered a subscription-based service for DVDs and an online recommendation page based on the user’s past rentals. It wasn't until 2007 that Netflix introduced its streaming platform; by 2012, it had amassed more than 25 million subscribers.

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Being first to the table put Netflix in a unique position. It was able to license a multitude of television shows and films. But because of the company’s massive success, it wasn’t long until rival services started to appear and buy Netflix out of its contracts— effectively allowing them to “steal” Netflix’s content. Amazon launched its DVD Prime subscription in 2007. This service lasted until 2011, when Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, announced “unlimited, commercial-free instant streaming of more than 5,000 movies and TV shows” for Amazon Prime members. Hulu was introduced in 2007, and in 2009, it began offering streaming for TV shows and movies from NBCUniversal, Fox, ABC-Disney, and various other cable channels. In January 2017, Hulu announced its live TV service would be streamed through Amazon’s server. This partnership offers 50 live streaming channels, which has helped Hulu compete with Netflix. By the end of the year, Disney owned a majority of Hulu. Initially, Netflix held most Disney and Marvel content. But in 2016, Disney announced it wouldn't be renewing its contract with Netflix. In 2019, we found out why. Disney—which already owned Hulu—would launch a new platform, Disney+, in late 2019. Disney+ features content from Walt Disney Studios, Marvel Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, Pixar, National Geographic, and more. Movies that left Netflix included Moana, Beauty and the Beast, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Star Wars: Rogue One. Disney+ has already substantially impacted the streaming community, accumulating 94.9 million subscribers after only a year and a half. HBO Max, yet another streaming service, launched in May 2020 and has already reached 41.5 million subscribers. In 2019, Netflix announced that the sitcom Friends would leave the platform and go to HBO Max. AT&T WarnerMedia houses HBO Max, the Warner Bros. film studio, and Turner cable networks such as CNN, TNT, TBS, and Cartoon Network. Friends is a

company, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and Sony Pictures, which owns 44% of Castle Rock, have distribution rights. They decide where the show will be available for streaming. It will soon be making the move from Hulu to Netflix with a five-year, $500 million deal. The constant turnover of content at Netflix isn’t as detrimental as one might think. With its new deals and an increasing arsenal of original content, the platform appears to be making up for any lost revenue—it is still the most popular streaming platform, boasting more than 200 million users at the end of 2020. Its original show Bridgerton launched in December 2020 and has already amassed 82 million views, making it the most-watched show in the platform’s history. With other shows and films such as The Queen's Gambit, which won multiple Golden Globes earlier this year, Netflix continues to establish itself as one of the world's most venerated streaming services and platforms. In 2021, Netflix earned 35 Oscar nominations, beating its own previous record of 24.

Warner Brothers-owned production, so the WarnerMedia conglomerate spent $425 million to buy out its contract with Netflix and reacquire the show. Along with acquiring the rights to Friends, HBO Max also bought Gossip Girl's rights from Netflix. The platform is also rebooting this iconic New York-based teen melodrama about socialites from the Upper East Side. The reboot premiere date hasn't yet been announced. NBCUniversal decided to enter the fray in 2020 when it announced the launch of its streaming service Peacock. Its previous licensing deal with Netflix, which brought in $90 million annually, wasn’t renewed when it expired in January 2021. NBCU now had all their TV shows and movies, one of the

biggest shows being the American version of The Office. They also acquired the rights to the hit sitcom The Nanny. If you live anywhere but the U.S., you can still watch Jim and Pam live out their love story on Netflix. But those of us in the U.S. have to pay to subscribe to another platform—yay. Peacock's claim to fame is definitely with The Office. They offer exclusive, behind-thescenes content, as well as bonus scenes. In case you weren’t confused enough, neither Friends nor Seinfeld, which both aired on NBC, will appear on NBC’s Peacock. Friends, which WarnerMedia owns, lives on HBO Max. Seinfeld is owned by Castle Rock Entertainment and the show’s creators, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. Although Castle Rock considers WarnerMedia its parent

Netflix has avoided becoming a victim in the war that is licensing deals and buyouts, so it seems the only apparent loser threatens to be the consumer, who is now destined to pay over and over for the same content. As the deals get bigger and bigger, so will subscription prices, and more than likely, so will the number of streaming platforms we will have to choose from. For consumers in the 2020s, streaming will not be optional; the age of the personal collection of shows and movies may be finished for good. TV shows and films are continually jumping from service to service, so we have to pay for multiple platforms to watch a few TV shows or movies we like. With the success of Netflix, other companies saw how much money could be made, forcing the consumer to add more monthly payments to their budgets and enrich the same handful of companies again and again. While these companies continue to send hundreds of millions of dollars back and forth between each other, the consumer has no choice but to buy in.

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The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2

u o Y

n d u t o r a S ck r

l iz e ita ev lists ay

Time To Yo u R rP l

2. 0

By Scout O’Donnell icture this. It’s almost summer, you’re newly vaccinated, businesses are reopening, and you’re about to embark on your first road trip since the pandemic began. You get in your car and are left sitting in the driveway completely lost while choosing music to listen to.

All the songs in your music library suddenly feel old and trite, and all you really want is a playlist of new music that you enjoy just as much as the old stuff. Here are five different platforms you can utilize to soundtrack the new era. The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2 21

KEXP.ORG KEXP is a radio station based out of Seattle that hosts up-and-coming artists of all genres for exclusive mini-live sessions. Ten years ago, KEXP hosted artists such as Of Monsters and Men, Macklemore, and Florence and the Machine before they exploded and established themselves—just these three performances together generated almost 100 million views in total. KEXP has continued to put out live sets with its new series KEXP at Home, and it is constantly releasing new live sessions recorded in the artist’s own space. Not too sure where to begin? Check out Alt-J’s performance from back in 2012, and don’t forget to look out for the lead guitarist who uses scotch tape in lieu of a guitar pick. Whatever your preference, you can find incredible performances in every genre on KEXP’s YouTube channel. Scroll through, have fun, and don’t be afraid to try something new!

Spotify’s Discover Weekly & Apple Music’s Listen Now

Both Spotify and Apple Music utilize features that take all the music you’ve been listening to recently and compile similar songs into a playlist specifically tailored for you. Apple Music has a constantly rotating selection of new music unique to you on the “Listen Now” page at the bottom of your screen when you open the app. Spotify, on the other hand, utilizes “Discover Weekly,” which is a playlist that gets refreshed every Monday with 30 songs based on what you’ve been listening to most recently. As a Spotify user, I check my “Discover Weekly” religiously and have made some amazing finds. In the beginning of this year, I found and fell in love with the song “Best for You” by Blood Cultures. My second most played artist of 2020 was Dayglow, another favorite band of mine that I discovered thanks to the on-point Spotify algorithm. What I like the most about Spotify’s platform is that it doesn’t just recommend music that has already been recognized; artists have shown up on my “Discover Weekly” with only a couple hundred followers, and I’ve also seen artists with over a billion listeners. Without the music recommendation algorithm, I would never have found so many artists to cherish.

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“Radio” Feature on Streaming Platforms

Similar to the music recommendation algorithms on streaming platforms, you can also generate stations based on your favorite artists, albums, or songs. If you’re falling in love with a new song or artist and want to hear something similar, streaming platforms allow you to generate a radio station tailored around one specific song or artist. My current station of choice is “Alabama Shakes Radio,” which can be accessed on Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora. Although “Discover Weekly” and “Listen Now” can give you recommendations based on your listening overall, radio features allow you to get an even more personalized experience by further refining what kind of music you want to hear. Added bonus? When it’s safe to have parties again, the radio feature is perfect if you want to play a certain kind of music but don’t have the time to build a playlist of your own.

Pitchfork’s Best New Music If you really want to impress your friends and family with your newly refined music taste, keep tabs on the infamous music publication Pitchfork. It has been around since the late ‘90s and is known for having expert opinion on the best new music of our time. Pitchfork’s website is filled with album reviews, music news, and artist features, but I specifically want to highlight the “Best New Music” section. This page changes frequently and lists the “Best New Album,” “Best New Track,” and “Best New Reissue” of the current moment. This feature was launched in 2003 and is an excellent way to refine your music palette without having to do extensive research and listening. Turns out, just by frequently checking Pitchfork’s “Best New Music” page, you can have a newand-improved music library in no time.

NPR Tiny Desk Concerts

NPR started its series Tiny Desk Concerts back in 2008 to focus on both up-and-coming and established artists, hand-picked by the NPR team. This platform is special because you never know what kind of artist is going to be featured. Just a month ago, Tiny Desk highlighted Italian singer Rachele Andrioli, who delivered a powerhouse performance incorporating Italian, Lebanese, Indian, and Albanian culture into her music. One week later, it was pop icon Miley Cyrus. In other words, when you watch the Tiny Desk concert series on YouTube, you really never know what you will find.

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Bu E t F SS or EN go TIA tte L n Sanitation Workers Sacrifice as the Pandemic Rages On By Clay Lute

1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech where he discussed the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan and how it should influence the actions of the modern-day American. The speech was directed in support of striking sanitation workers. Dr. King concluded his speech by asking his audience, “If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?” 53 years later, it’s time that we ask that question again.

COVID-19 decimated the way of life for all of humanity, and as America rushed to throw out all of the possibly infectious transmitters of the virus, one occupation was tasked with picking up the waste. Sanitation workers have faced indirect and direct contact with the virus every day of the pandemic, 24

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from hospital equipment to affected household trash. If that waste is not properly disposed of, infection rates soar as more people become exposed to the virus. But what can be said for the middleman, tasked with keeping everyone safe by containing the consequences of our consumption? Sanitation workers are the unsung heroes of American society, but hidden in the piles of our detritus are strenuous working conditions, labor inequalities, and a great debate on how we treat the collectors of our consumption. The disenfranchisement of sanitation workers stems from the stigma of “dirty work” that foments the American workplace culture, in which

we compare occupations based on what we’ve deemed “respectable,” which has opened the door for private sanitation companies to take advantage of their workforce. Amidst the pandemic, private sanitation companies failed their workforce by jeopardizing their health and safety, all the while making sure profits kept steady. In 2016, 82 percent of waste-worker deaths in the U.S. occurred in the private sector. Data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration shows thousands of waste and recycling companies and organizations applied for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, receiving between $583.7 million and more than $1.2 billion in subsequent payments. The surface-level agreement of the Paycheck Protection Program was that it would help businesses avoid laying off their workforce or cutting back hours, but according to the sanitation workers that make up these private companies, that never happened. In August of 2020, sanitation workers from Virginia Beach’s Waste Management department staged a one-day strike to demand hazard pay. Nationwide, workers for private sanitation companies pleaded for proper pandemic protection but were instead met with cut hours and layoffs. Royal Waste, a private waste collection company in New York City, received over $5 million from the program, but workers say they faced drastic hour cutbacks and saw their coworkers laid off around them. One Royal Waste employee told The City in October of 2020 that he saw his paychecks decrease by $400, forcing him into financial struggle despite being an essential hero in the pandemic. Greed from private companies is just one of the concerns of sanitation workers amidst a global pandemic. In 2019, more sanitation workers were killed on the job than police officers, firefighters, or construction workers due to hazardous materials, truck mechanics, and traffic incidents. Adding in the daily exposure to a life-threatening disease, the jobs of sanitation workers in 2020 and 2021

have proven to be one of the top five most dangerous jobs in America, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The New York City Department of Sanitation picks up over 12,000 tons of trash each day, and the collectors of that trash represent all ages, health conditions, and communities. While the world shuttered for the COVID-19 pandemic, trash collection powered on. That left high-risk workers vulnerable, resulting in hundreds of sanitation workers testing positive in the city alone—and over a dozen deaths in the sanitation workforce.

But what can be said for the middleman, tasked with keeping everyone safe by containing the consequences of our consumption?

In Pittsburgh, “Freddie,” a beloved sanitation worker who worked the neighborhood for over a decade, passed from COVID in April of 2020. Raymond Copeland, a sanitation worker from Queens, hailed as a star by his coworkers, died in March of 2020 after contracting the virus. Lives are being lost on the front lines of this pandemic, yet they have gone without recognition from their employers, and they have been skipped over in the race to end this virus. In New York, sanitation workers were not included in the groups of essential workers eligible to get vaccinated. In California, sanitation workers fell short on the list of qualified individuals for vaccinations. They were never given the option to work from home, and they weren’t given the privilege of a quarantine. It is inexcusable that government leaders failed to prioritize the safety of sanitation by denying lobbyist requests to have sanitation workers included in the first rounds of vaccine distribution.

Above all, the resounding message is a request for respect. One worker in New York City told me, “we stress to people to not put out their trash like savages and to show some respect for the people picking it up for you.” That respect can be found in little actions like tying up loose cardboard for recycling and following the basic rules of getting rid of waste. While these actions seem trivial, showing decency to the workers that keep us safe is the least we can do after they have been neglected by their government and their own management. Even through the most execrable times, sanitation workers have stayed strong. One worker told Business Insider that he felt “like it’s a duty to come and help out the rest of the city, we’re first responders, we’re essential workers, and we have to be out here to help out everybody else.” Sanitation workers deserve the same level of respect that has been given to the rest of the essential workforce over the past year. This nation has failed to recognize that the public defenders amidst this pandemic include the ones tasked with dealing with the relentlessness of waste. Consumption was compromised during COVID, and the workers who risked their safety to keep our streets clean were left out of the conversation. It’s time to empower the vital workforce that is sanitation. Commercial sanitation workers are organizing for better labor along with environmental and safety standards, focusing on building worker power. Local officials and politicians should focus on creating better access to labor unions, creating sanitation-specific labor laws, and providing essential support for sanitation workers who were laid off or affected by the pandemic. At the most basic level, appreciating the sanitation workers in your local area should be a new constant. We can not let the workers who are fundamental to our communities go un d and be taken advantage of. The maintenance of our waste is indispensable, and it’s time that we lend a hand to the hands that pick up after us.

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The metamorphosis of manga Mold-Breaking Mangaka from sweden, nigeria, & t h e u. s . d i s c u s s t h e ir c r a f t by Sam MOrim When I was growing up, watching anime and reading manga gave me a connection to a worldwide, multicultural community of people. (It also got me my first boyfriend, but that’s beside the point.) I’m definitely guilty of favoring anime over manga, because I can use my Netflix subscription to stream for free, but I also adore reading manga and seeing its intricate artwork. The originally Japanese medium has spread in recent decades, attracting new mangaka (manga authors) from all around the world. Here are three up-and-comers.

Brandon Chen I hadn’t noticed that the creators of my favorite anime and manga were almost all Japanese men until I met American mangaka Brandon Chen. A chance meeting via TikTok last year opened up a whole new world for me. Chen, who is Chinese-American, started out selling homemade comics on the playground for a quarter and is now an internationally-known author. His new series, Somnia—which is about a teenager named Ren who receives a mystic lantern that can make his dreams into reality—has gotten him a lot of buzz. Chen is also a novelist, and he doesn’t illustrate his own manga; he works with outside artists to make his stories come to life. He is dedicated to his craft and finds that everyday, he continues to improve as a writer. Sometimes, he says, “the stories write themselves,” and in the end, “the product is much different from the original plan.” His influences range from the manga series Nanatsu no Taizai (“The Seven Deadly Sins”) to one of my personal favorites, Dante’s Inferno. He also has a vibrant social media presence, and with it, he is inspiring a whole new generation of manga readers. When we met, he had already built up a following of around 573,000 TikTok users. That number has nearly doubled since. “It’s quite interesting how having a following really makes you stand out,” he tells me. “Now 26

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people are offering to hire me for manga projects or sponsor their products. Without TikTok, I don’t think I’d be at the same level of recognition.” In the future, Chen hopes to see animated adaptations of his stories—or simply to collaborate on an anime project as a writer. He finds it encouraging that the manga industry is starting to spread around the world. “I believe that we’ll start to see a disruption in the mangaka space where many more international folks start breaking into the industry,” he says. “Manga can always be professionally translated, so I don’t believe it will hinder any publication opportunities.”

sometimes, certain people can be a little condescending towards me,” he says. “However, I’ve never let that stop me.” Oguguo has two publications that he writes and illustrates, Apple Black and Bacassi, which are serialized in the popular indie manga magazines Saturday AM and Saturday PM, respectively. Apple Black is his current project, with Volume 3 set to drop this year. The series follows Sano, a young sorcerer blessed with Arodihs, “the arm of a god,” as he struggles to fulfill his prophesied destiny to become “the Trinity” and save the world.

Odunze Whyte Oguguo Like Brandon Chen, Odunze Whyte Oguguo uses social media to spread his work. “My journey as a manga artist began after I saw potential benefits to artists and all kinds of content creators online,” he says. “It became easier to ‘break into the comic industry’ and carve your path.”

“With my manga, and with the manga published within Saturday AM, Saturday PM, Saturday Brunch, and more, we hope to expand the diversity of anime and manga in every sense of the word— not just with global characters and creators, but also with ‘diverse’ [ideas about] what manga can be,” he says.

Oguguo started making YouTube videos and now has quite a respectable following, if I do say so myself, of fans who watch his videos to learn how to draw and make comics. Oguguo has also documented his journey as a creator on his YouTube channel, and it shows that hard work and ambition can really pay off. Being a Nigerian creator sets him apart from the typical mangaka, he says. “I’m a Nigerian drawing comics influenced by the Japanese approach to making comics, so

Natalia Batista Natalia Batista has been working at breaking into the manga scene since the early 2000s. She says Sailor Moon was one of her community’s earliest introductions to anime and manga. (We absolutely bonded over this, because the same is true for me.) The first two seasons were released in Sweden in the late ‘90s, and the remaining three became available in 2002, when Batista was a young teenager. “Every morning, you would get up, eat your breakfast, and watch Sailor Moon,” she says.

“It opened up a new world to many young people like me.” Sailor Moon, written by female mangaka Naoko Takeuchi, and Inuyasha, written by female mangaka Rumiko Takahashi, were the first works that inspired Batista to write her own manga. The strong female leads that Takeuchi created gave Batista and many other emerging manga artists a blueprint to follow and helped spread the idea of the “strong female lead.” One of Batista’s more recent series, Sword Princess Amaltea, breaks the

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rules and has women doing all of the “saving.” Batista has the unique experience dealing mostly with American and European manga readers. She says the European manga community seems to be much more accepting of their peers’ original works than the American manga community. In countries like Germany, France, and Italy, local artists were already being professionally published as early as the mid-2000s. Batista told me that the European manga industry has grown considerably due to both the willingness of publishers and the work put into making the local scene thrive. “When I compare the European manga industry to the American manga industry, something I have noticed is the lack of manga artists that go ‘professional’ with their own original works in America,” she says. American anime conventions have a severe lack of representation among creators who show original work, according to Batista.

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“In 2018, I went to AnimeExpo [in Santa Ana, CA]. I was invited there by Tokyopop because they published my manga Sword Princess Amaltea. I went to Artist Alley to try and network, and it was 97% fanart.” She says Tokyopop is very involved in the international manga scene and has published works that originate from places like Austria, Egypt, and Iraq. All of these works, she mentions, were written by women. Batista is a huge advocate for female and international mangaka and makes it a point to stay updated on new original works from all over the world. “I am always looking for comics, especially manga, made by local artists to bring to Europe and show to publishers in Europe so they can publish it.” Not to sound like a cheesy shounen character, but I truly believe these mangaka and their international peers will change the manga world.

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She’s all that By Khayla biscoe Last February, 60 female recruits arrived at the Marine Corps’ all-male training site in San Diego, where they attended co-ed boot camp for the first time in the base’s 100-year history. The Corps had been hesitant to embrace the idea of co-ed training, even after combat positions opened for women in 2013. Paving the way for aspiring women marines, they are transforming the process of making new recruits into leaders, combat fighters, logistical supporters and Marine Corps Reserves by learning side by side with men. This news caught the attention of the public and sparked controversy around the women earning a known “masculine” role. The principle that women can’t be successful in a “man’s” setting is as old as human society. The Women’s Rights movement has made meaningful progress, but there is still plenty to change. Whether in sports, technology, entertainment, law enforcement, or any number of other professions, it can seem almost foreign for a woman to be an authority. Let’s hear firsthand from two women who have redefined what it means to work in a “masculine” position.

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A Jack Of All Trades Katrina Klein knows all about what it takes to push your physical and mental mindset to be successful in an unconventional role. She currently works as a delivery specialist with Next Level Logistics, Amazon’s new delivery service, where she is proving to be a jack of all trades. Next Level launched in November of 2020, and Klein has already become a proficient leader, efficient multi-tasker, and reliable problem solver. “I was hired in October of 2020. My job consists of delivering packages, dispatching drivers, conducting interviews, and dealing with human relations type duties,” Katrina explains. While driving and delivering packages herself as well, she has to have the physical capacity to load and unload weighted packages to ensure the stay intact. But not all strength is physical. “The men I manage come from all walks of life, and from many hard places,” she states. “Having said that,

it was important for me to hold my own, or they will walk all over you. Gaining knowledge in my field, and

and supervisor. She worked in a fastmoving environment with male police, firefighters and ambulance workers and had to give direction while lives were at stake. She had to think quickly and be assertive, she says. At Next Level, she works with a diverse group of men that show mutual respect and teamwork. “I am very proud that I was entrusted to work side by side with such an intelligent boss,” Katrina says. “He's allowing me to help mold his business into a successful little empire. He supports my decisions and never undermines me.”

possessing wisdom from years of experience in management, helped me hold a position of authority with minimum friction or pushback from employees.” Before joining Next Level, she retired from a 3-year career as a 911 dispatcher

Katrina values having a diverse team at her side and doesn’t fear any perceptions people might have about the abilities of women in leadership roles. She feels comfortable in her workspace and has the freedom to fulfill her duties without facing setbacks. Something that all women should feel.

Taking Over The Badge Nearly 13% of U.S. police officers are women, but when Patricia Diaz joined the City of Phoenix Police Department in 1986, that number was closer to 5%. She worked as an officer for eight years before becoming a 911 dispatcher. Diaz says she initially joined because she had become a mother at a young age and was attracted to the salary. Before applying, she faced resistance inside her own home.

The discouragement didn’t stop there. Close family and friends told her that it would be too demanding and would require a lot of physical power. Patricia never fully understood why she faced so much resistance, but she knew there would be more men who would doubt

“I never saw it as an issue for a woman to be working in what’s seen as a ‘masculine role,’” Patricia explains. “I ended up graduating at the top of my class with the highest score.”

“I remember when I first told my husband that I wanted to be a police officer. He was very upset and often discouraged me,” Patricia remembers. “I didn’t feel like I initially had the support. But when someone tells me I can’t do something, I only want to show them I can.” Her husband was so reluctant because he knew that it was a tough environment. Having to be in a position that required so much physical and emotional strength didn’t seem to match her character.

For the next six months, Patricia indulged in training that consisted of learning state law, criminal investigation, patrol procedure, firearms training, traffic control, defensive driving, self-defense, first aid, computer skills, and more. As the only woman in her class, she endured stereotypical gendered insults about being bossy and mean. She never fed into it.

her ability to perform and question whether she could succeed in such a commanding, rough and assertive field.

She felt empowered that she was able to say “I told you so.” After her 6-month training, she successfully transitioned from citizen to police officer. She learned what it really meant to be a person of authority and grew used to working with men fairly quickly, she says.

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bridging the gap By Sabrina stott

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Disabled actors have always struggled to find jobs, but that’s slowly changing

eing an actor is notoriously difficult. It means rejection, lack of steady work, and having to be away from family and friends. For disabled actors, it’s worse, especially if they want to play characters whose struggles and stories reach beyond their disabilities. These actors face challenges that able-bodied actors do not. According to the Ruderman Family Foundation (RFF), an advocacy organization, disabled people make up 20% of our population but represent less than 1% of TV characters. And when they are hired, they are often typecast as bitter characters whose only focus is their disability. Writers portray these characters by directly correlating having a disability with having an unpleasant and cruel demeanor, which is stereotypical and offensive. George Robinson, a C4/C5 tetraplegic who plays Isaac on Sex Education, told me in an e-mail interview that “it’s very important that not every story featuring a person with a disability needs to be centered on an existential angst about their life as someone with a disability.” People with disabilities have complex, in-depth feelings, struggles, and experiences that don’t relate to their disability, and they should be portrayed as such on screen. And actors with disabilities are not asking for special treatment.

One example of this is the 2016 film Me Before You, where a quirky girl named Louisa Clark, played by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, becomes a caregiver for a wealthy young man. The man is portrayed as bitter and rude due to his paralysis. They not only hired an able-bodied actor to play a paralyzed man, but also glorified the idea that another ablebodied person has to save the day in order for him to see a purpose in life. These sorts of TV shows and movies aren’t new by any means. The protagonist in the police show Ironside, which ran from 1967 to 1975, was a paralyzed police inspector named Robert T. Ironside who was played by able-bodied actor Raymond Burr. This has been happening in the industry for so long that it’s become a regularity. In her 2021 directorial debut Music, the musician Sia cast Maddie Ziegler as a young woman on the autism spectrum. She faced backlash from many autistic actors and activists. But signs of change include Robinson’s Sex Education character, Isaac, a mischievous, yet kind teenager whose struggles center on his blossoming feelings for his new neighbor Maeve. “Using the example of Isaac, the writers and producers were really keen to involve me and create the character along with me to make sure they were portraying a proper character with a disability that felt real,” he says.

“People with disabilities are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, wives and husbands,” he said. “They go through financial hardship, marital troubles, and everything else that people in the able-bodied community go through. I see absolutely no reason why, because of someone’s disability, they couldn’t play any sort of role.”

By writing the character of Isaac as a generally happy, funny person who happens to have a disability and allowing Robinson to help with the character, Sex Education has helped to pave the way for other shows.

The RFF found that 95% of characters with disabilities are portrayed by able-bodied actors. This frustrates disabled actors because writers often don’t even consult people who actually suffer from the disability being portrayed. “I suppose for me, personally, as I’m someone with a less wellknown disability, such as tetraplegia, rather than paraplegia, many of the roles about disability require the ability to perform intricate tasks with my hands—something that I struggle with,” Robinson said. “This is not necessarily the fault of the writers, but there seems to be a rather limited perception of what a disability is.”

Although Hollywood has a long way to go, popular studios are attempting to bridge the gap. Both CBS Entertainment and NBCUniversal have pledged to have disabled actors audition for all of their future productions. By doing this, they are leading the way for other studios to follow. “There not only seems to be a movement towards casting people with disabilities,” Robinson says, “but also, that we are beginning to become more included in the conversations about the types of stories being told.”

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Time to Rewind

By Sofia Naranjo

What is Cottagecore? How did it evolve? A modern style guide.

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icture yourself in a long, white cotton dress, making homemade bread in your quaint cottage. You go outside and walk up to your garden in the hills, where you grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers. It’s all so peaceful, an opportunity to tune in with yourself and everything around you. Cottagecore is like a peaceful fairytale escape; it is a movement where you set yourself back in time to an agricultural, rural, and slow-paced lifestyle. But how did this refreshing and harmonious trend surface during one of the most chaotic times in American history? Even before COVID-19 erupted, the world was becoming increasingly anxious and fearful. When lockdown began, nearly half of Americans struggled with mental health issues like anxiety, depression, trauma- and stressor-related disorder, and substance abuse, according to the Center for Disease Control. Naturally, people started to find ways to cope. Lockdown activities were often meditative and let people escape any anxieties in their minds: gardening, cooking, baking from scratch, painting, journaling, knitting, and connecting with nature like never before. These activities equal what the life of Cottagecore is all about: finding joy and peace from the simple things in life. The topic of COVID-19 and Cottagecore came up in my socially-distanced fashion forecasting class. The

class consisted of six students, a professor, and masks; it definitely set the scene. The discussion led to the suggestion that Cottagecore is all psychological. The fear of COVID-19 caused people to seek relief in a slow-paced lifestyle that brings comfort and escape. As stated by The Huffington Post, “Cottagecore offers a chance to take your mind off everything going on. You can distract yourself by getting knee-deep in dirt to plant a garden or checking on the sourdough starter in your closet.” Still curious about the psychology behind the trend, I decided to reach out to my therapist, Dr. Victoria Beech Lublin. She explained that since the start of the lockdown, people have become more comfortable with looking natural and dressing cozily. Dr. Lublin said that the increased popularity of Cottagecore during lockdown made sense considering what the trend stood for: becoming more mindful with simple activities, taking the time to be with ourselves, and enjoying what we never made time for. When it comes to fashion, the Cottagecore aesthetic also connects to the idea of feeling comfortable and safe. Cottagecore fashion requires little effort, which is why so many people at home gravitate towards this style. Cottagecore is heavily connected to farm life and sustainable living, so common traits you will find in this style are cotton, gingham, and vintage clothing.

Settle into the Look

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fashion forever creating, preserving, and documenting fashion By Kanika Talwar

shirts

pants

jacket

shoes

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hile history stops for no one, and 2020 almost came to a standstill, COVID-19, the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests, and the January 6th Capitol riot have proven this past year to be as historic as any. If the past is any guide, then historic times mean further proof that fashion stretches beyond what is seen on the runway or red carpet events. The fashion industry represents more than just an outfit for work or picking out a pretty dress—it evokes the history and culture of who we are as a people. Fashion curation has proven itself to be important for this very reason: to document and illustrate the times in which we live. Fashion curation is the process by which museums and galleries save, catalogue and record meaningful fashion from a given era. It is critical for documenting and preserving fashion of importance culturally, economically, politically, and socially. The field is on the rise, as many students from diverse backgrounds have started to get degrees in museum curation and fashion history. Fashion is a fine art—albeit one that we all live our lives in, so in some ways, it is more connected to the story of humanity than traditional fine art ever could be. Photographer Bill Cunningham once said, “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” The job of a fashion curator is unlike any other. It requires many talents: historian, garment preserver, and storyteller all wrapped in one. If fashion curation had one spokesperson, it would most likely be Andrew Bolton, curator of criticallyacclaimed exhibitions such as

“Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” “China: Through the Looking Glass” and “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Bolton once said, “I tend to approach themes through an anthropological lens first and foremost, then I use the garments to tell my story.” In essence, the job of a fashion curator is to look at and isolate fashion moments past, present, and future. Furthermore, they must connect the dots in a compelling and timely context easily digestible for the public. “People have a powerful relationship with clothing, and the pieces tell stories about their lived experience,” notes Dr. Sara Hume, Curator and Associate Professor at the Kent State University Museum. “Clothing is very evocative for people of their lived experience, and other people’s clothing triggers powerful memories. I am interested in the stories that clothes tell about the people who owned them and the ways that people draw connections between clothing and memories of the people they love.” Hume focuses her work on dressmaking of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the political, socio-economic, and cultural conditions that create fashion aesthetics. Currently, she is writing a book that looks at the evolution and preservation of traditional folk dresses in Alsace, France, in the wake of pressure from political discord and mainstream fashion. While the Met Museum is renowned for its work in the preservation and documentation of fashion garments (from the beginnings of civilization to the present day), many other museums around the world preserve fashion’s legacies. The Victoria and Albert Museum, Musée de la Mode de la Ville

de Paris, the Kyoto Costume Institute, and the MoMu Antwerp are among the most prolific museums specializing in the preservation of fashion for generations to come. While one might conclude that in a digital age, the need for such institutions is dying down, this certainly is not the case. Now more than ever, people are getting degrees in the fields of fashion history and museum curation. Fashion Historian and Independent Curator Darnell-Jamal Lisby earned his Master’s in Fashion & Textiles: History, Theory & Museum Practices at the Fashion Institute of Technology. As one of the curators for the “Willi Smith: Street Couture” exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt, Lisby has made it his mission to heavily emphasize the impact Black culture has had on fashion history and fashion in the 20th and 21st centuries. Lisby observes, “I see my role as a storyteller meant to connect and contextualize unsung sects within the total history of fashion. We’re trained to glorify Eurocentrism while neglecting the discovery and uplifting of knowledge from non-Eurocentric communities; thus, I want to rectify that in my work, creating a balance of how we educate audiences.” Curators find inspiration anywhere and everywhere. In August 2020, the SCAD FASH museum in Atlanta opened “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design” about the Academy Award-winning costume designer. The exhibit featured Carter’s costumes from modern films like Black Panther, Selma, and Do the Right Thing, highlighting her impact on movies within culture, race, and politics, through her visually stunning and nuanced designs.

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Luxury and prominent fashion houses all over the world take preservation seriously by cataloging and saving pieces of every collection they produce. Some have even opened their own dedicated museums. The Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa in Getaria, Spain was the first great museum dedicated specifically to a grand couturier. And the famed Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech, Morocco in the Jardin Majorelle was created by his life partner Pierre Berge as a love letter to YSL’s time spent in the Red City; the museum holds 5,000 pieces of clothing and 15,000 Haute Couture accessories. Dr. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell is an independent scholar and public historian. She specializes in European and North American garments from the 17th century to the present. As a freelancer for 13 years, she has seen firsthand how the industry of curation and historical fashion has exponentially risen. “Many fashion designers have begun to recognize the value of their archives as sources of design inspiration and brand identity,” Chrisman-Campbell explains. “And designers and fashion students depend on museum exhibitions and collections to study history and construction.” Dr. Hazel Clark, Professor of Design Studies and Fashion Studies at Parsons, has written several books on the history of fashion and design. She also curated the 2017 exhibit “fashion after Fashion” at The Museum of Arts and Design. “In terms of scholarship around fashion, it’s broader now,” she says. “Our understanding of fashion is much broader now than it was years ago, when the tendency was—maybe up

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until way into the late 20th century—to study the change in styles or look at a designer. Now there’s much more scholarship on our relationship to clothes, our identity, and issues around global production.” Dr. Elizabeth Kutesko, author of Fashioning Brazil: Globalization of Brazilian Dress in National Geographic, has researched Latin American bodily practices and the convergence of fashion, cultural identity, representation, and power. Fashion Studies is undergoing a “seismic change,” Kutesko says, “as scholars are increasingly questioning Eurocentric perspectives and pushing to incorporate broader definitions of fashion whilst recognizing the imperial and colonial legacies of the industry.”

Luxury and prominent fashion houses all over the world have taken the need for preservation seriously by cataloging and saving pieces of every collection they produce. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sector of the fashion industry, and fashion museums are no exception. While many exhibitions have had to be canceled or postponed due to poor attendance or health hazards, there is a silver lining. Chrisman-Campbell, Clark, Hume, Kutesko and Lisby agree that this disruption has given fashion a breather and helped them reflect on the field moving forward. “The global pandemic has prompted a host of questions considering the

employment prospects of graduates entering the workplace, as well as the inequalities surrounding sustainability and cultural appropriation that are so rife within the industry,” Kutesko says. Social media, museum websites, exhibitions, and video tours have helped the arts during the lockdown, according to Hume. “Because the KSU Museum is small and not in a large city, social media and the web provide an opportunity to reach a larger audience than would ever enter our physical building,” she says. Clark has an optimistic view of the future of fashion. “There’s been a greater recognition of the role that fashion plays in a more social, ethical, and political way,” she says. “That will be what exhibitions will be looking at in future. I’m hoping that museums will try to expand the definitions of what fashion is and what it can do.” Lisby is hopeful as well. “There are so many museums looking at diversifying their collections and exhibition narratives, and hopefully soon, diversifying their museum staff will not be too far behind,” she says. On the authority of ChrismanCambpell, fashion curators are very attuned to the cultural moment we have experienced collectively. “Museums are actively collecting objects associated with COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter protests, or the January 6th attack on the US Capitol,” she says. “History never stops, and fashion is more than what you see on the runway or the red carpet.”

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fashion emerging Milena Bennett

Khalya Biscoe

PHOTOGRAPHY

Creative Director

Evelyn Mazza

Sofia Naranjo

photography assistant

Fashion director

Jenna Filingeri

Cara Giannini Costume Designer • CBS Studios

styling director Julia “Lolo” Herrera Tommaso Marasa

stylists Arien DeVeaux Madison Lucas Maya Malhotra Leah Wynter

Wardrobe courtesy of

Lauree James Property Master • CBS Studios

Handheld props courtesy of

Models

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MODEL ABOVE WEARS: ZARA—Sleeveless V-neck; Laura Scott—Pants; Merona—Belt MODEL LEFT WEARS: ASOS—Pant Suit; Amazon Fashion—Tank Top; Casio—Watch

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MODEL WEARS: A.L.C.—Top; J. Crew—Skirt; Steve Madden—Block Heels

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MODEL WEARS: ZARA—Top; A.L.C.—Skirt; Vince Camuto—Heels

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MODEL WEARS: ZARA—Top; Greg Peters—Pants; Merona—Belt Casio—Watch

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MODEL WEARS: Topshop—Jumpsuit; Steve Madden—Block Heels 50

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MODEL FAR LEFT WEARS: I.N.C.—Sport Coat; ZARA—Top Greg Peters—Pants MODEL ABOVE WEARS: DEARCASE—Top Syllables System—Pants

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MODEL WEARS: Jill Jill Stuart—Dress Steve Madden—Heels

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MODEL WEARS: Goen. J—Dress Topshop—Coat; Sugarbaby—Shoes

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MODEL WEARS: Jimi Roos—Top Cara Giannini—Custom Skirt; Steve Madden—Heels

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MODEL WEARS: Self-Portrait—Dress; Steve Madden—Heels 60

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MODEL WEARS: ERDEM—Cape; H&M—Dress

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MODEL ABOVE WEARS: Saint Laurent—Dress; - a • new day™— Scarf

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MODEL ABOVE WEARS: Cara Giannini—Custom Sport Coat; Laura Scott—Pants; Doc Martens—Boots MODEL FAR LEFT WEARS: Suitmeister—Jacket and Pants ZARA—Top MODEL LEFT WEARS: A-K-R-I-S- • punto—Top Greg Peters—Pants Doc Martens—Boots MODEL FAR RIGHT WEARS: ZARA—Two-piece Blazer and Shorts Steve Madden—Heels

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Respecting Purple Non-Gender Conforming Narratives & Media Represexntation By Kally Compton

Billie currently attends Elon University in Elon, NC, and majors in Film & Cinema Arts with a double minor in Philosophy and Gender Studies. “All of my time is spent studying gender in our space,” ey says while reaching for a red can of Cheerwine, then taking a big swig of the North Carolina classic. Purple is often misunderstood People confuse it with pink or blue They cannot comprehend change The synthesis of something new

Billie shares that eirs gender expression has defined and informed eirs personhood, meaning how ey interacts in a gendered society.

—Anonymous poet in the “non-binary” section of HelloPoetry.com

People try to understand transness as a word you identify as,” Billie shares. “It’s not just a label; it’s much more an experience, a relationship with the social systems around you and the people around you.”

... We sit face to face with a wall of pixels and hundreds of miles between us. This pixel wall is a window into Billie’s world. Billie, whose pronouns are ey/em, wears a dark green sweater. Behind em is a metal rack packed with mostly black jackets. Beatles, Journey, and Billy Idol album covers are fixed diagonally on the wall, and plastic leaves hang from the ceiling. “My mom wants me to look like Billy Idol,” Billie laughs. “She goes, ‘you should grow your hair out more, to look like that.’” Billie’s bleached hair blocks the camera as ey looks around.

Unfortunately, those social systems have been slow to catch up. … Farrah and I are in the same city, both sitting on our beds and preparing to communicate through our screens. Farrah, whose pronouns are they/them, wears a pink t-shirt and a thick silver chain that cradles their neck. Their brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail revealing their bare face. Farrah says “hello,” then puts on lip balm with their fingers.

“Everything revolves around gender for me. Whether it’s my art, or my literally everything creative about me, I try to relate it to gender and my fluidity,” they say, twirling their fingers in the air to illustrate.

Fluidity is like water, Farrah says. It is not a solid thing, but flowy and molding into something new. … The norms of this society are informed and pioneered by media, especially TV and film, and heteronormative aspects of gender and sexuality have always been at the forefront of the mainstream TV networks. Nevertheless, people who do not conform to societal norms often find liberation within their identity and seek out parts of themselves in the media. Billie and Farrah tend to see only fragments of a mirror when watching films and television.

“My wall space is covered with various shit,” ey admits. A small plastic pumpkin sits on the corner of the windowsill. “It’s a light-up pumpkin my dad used to keep out year-round,” Billie says. “My dad gave it to me last year, and I’ve kept it out just to remind me of home.”

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Farrah’s square world consists of dorm walls like Billie’s, but only one wall is decorated. Prints of historic fashion from the MET and ripped out notebook pages with pencil drawings of artistic pencil drawings are taped to the wall.

When Billie was young and considering transitioning, they found inspiration in an unlikely place: the Disney character Moana.

“I wanted to start T so bad that it was physically hurting me. Nausea, anxiety… I was not doing well, but I was terrified of the effects,” Billie says. “T” refers to testosterone, a part of hormone therapy used when someone transitions. Transitioning is the process of changing the physical features of one’s body to better fit one’s gender identity. Dr. Maddie Deutsch, Medical Director for University of California– San Francisco Transgender Care calls it a “second puberty.” “I am sitting there watching Moana, and she sings about knowing what she wants. Everyone around her tells her that’s not a good idea, primarily her father,” ey recalls. “They tell her, ‘be comfortable where you are.’ She goes against her father’s wishes, and when she leaves, she is where she needs to be. Later, when Moana talks to Te Fiti, she says, ‘you are not what other people made of you. You are yourself, and you have the right to reclaim your body and your sense of self for yourself.’” Ey turns around and reaches beyond the screen for something.

Ey describes Steven Universe and She-Ra as TV shows directed toward a younger audience, but notes that they lack the production quality and large audiences of most mainstream shows. …

“I remember being in middle school, and this is embarrassing, but I would walk through the halls, and people would throw rosary beads at me. And pocket bibles,” Farrah says solemnly. “I’ve always been the antichrist.” … The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, creates a report each year to note the representation of trans and non-binary characters on TV. In 2020, it reported, “Across all three platforms [Hulu, Netflix & Amazon Prime], there are 29 regular and recurring transgender characters…15 trans women, 12 trans men, and two trans characters who are non-binary.” Hundreds of characters from those platforms grace our screens, and yet only two—two—identify as non-binary. …

“My ex got this for me, but it is the stone from Moana.” Billie holds up an emerald-colored stone to the camera. “So, I carry that with me.” Farrah, on the other hand, has always thought of themself as Maleficent—not the animated villain in Sleeping Beauty, but the character played thrillingly by Angelina Jolie in 2014. “You can just see in the first movie, they’re just watching her, and they’re scared of her, and even in the second movie too, they’re like…”—Farrah screams while clutching their chest to imitate the terrified townspeople in Maleficent.

In 2018, actress Scarlett Johansson was tapped to play a real-life trans man in a film called Rub & Tug. She received backlash from the transgender community, and after responding with defiance, she ultimately decided to back out of the role. The production was canceled and is being reimagined as a television series that will star a transgender man. “Imagine getting the offer to play a trans man and accepting the role when you are not. There are trans men without jobs, some homeless even, who could have played the role,” Farrah says. Farrah knows the horror stories of many non-binary and trans people who are homeless because there isn’t work for them and they have a hard time being accepted socially. They rely on dangerous sex work for money or taking drugs to cope with their mental and emotional troubles. They are nomads without a place in the current social structure.

“It’s not that I need somebody to be like me on screen, but it’s also nice to see someone like you on screen,” Billie says. Representation allows people to feel connected to the world and allows them to accept themselves. “Will networks allow them to tell their stories or even want them to tell their stories?” Billie asks. Billie thinks that mainstream media will not be open to the normalization of queerness and non-binariness for a long time. “A lot of shows have been developed that are very queer, but they aren’t very good.”

Billie, Farrah and millions of others would like to see main characters that share experiences similar to the real stories they experience—as opposed to stories designed to be indulged in by “cishet people,” Billie says, using a common term for cisgender heterosexuals. “Getting cis people to understand us is not the goal,” Billie says. “Getting cis people to just be okay with us existing is the goal.”

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TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains stories of emotional abuse

devil in disguise

How emotional abuse can take control of your life By Emily white It’s 1:30 in the morning, and I can’t put my mind to rest. Could I have done more? Was I not enough to save him? If he loved me, why did he pull me under with him? I once heard somewhere that we accept the love we think we deserve. It is so easy to become blind to someone’s flaws when they consume your every thought. It is a blessing and a curse to love. It is difficult to identify when you are in an emotionally abusive relationship when there are no physical signs, no bruises or cuts. But the psychological aspect deserves special attention, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “because victims who lose their independence, self-esteem, and dignity tend to remain in abusive situations.” It took me a while to realize it. When you care about someone, it’s natural to want to be there for them in every way possible. When I met him, he was kind, protective, and funny. But what made me want to save him was the light within him that had been dimmed. He had his fair share of demons that would come out to play. I took on those demons until they got the best of him, and when they did, it was somehow my fault. 70

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“Abusive people [often] believe they have the right to control and restrict their partners' lives,” according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, “because they believe their own feelings and needs should be the priority in the relationship.” It started small. I would offer an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. One time we were at a party with all of our friends. I asked him to put down his vodka. The alcohol seemed to dissolve his pain every time the bottle hit his lips, but it made him unbearable. He spit his food on me and called me degrading names. I felt like it was my fault. “The feelings of helplessness and worthlessness that emotional abuse causes in a victim often leaves victims feeling that they deserve any abuse that occurs,” according to the online counseling service Better Help. Eventually, I became numb. It escalated to the point where I forgot about my own mental health needs. He didn’t care either. “It must be me,” I thought. “What did I do?” It would take me many more months to realize that I was being emotionally abused. Of course, every fight or lie would upset me, but I did not understand the full scope of what was happening to my mental health. One last fight was all it took to wake me up. I was being dehumanized. I missed Emily, the bubbly girl who was obsessed with life. I didn’t see that girl when I looked in the mirror. I knew it was finally time to let go.

I missed Emily, the bubbly girl who was obsessed with life. I didn’t see that girl when I looked in the mirror. Looking him in the eyes, knowing I loved him with every single bone in my body, and telling him that I couldn’t put myself through this anymore had to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I had tearstains on my cheeks for weeks. Eating became a challenge for me. I wanted to eat, but I couldn’t stomach anything. I was making myself sick. I couldn’t sleep because I was haunted by my thoughts: “Was this the right thing to do? When will I begin to feel better? I just want to feel something again.” The weeks melted into months, and I was still stuck in this state of nothingness. Sure, I would go out with my friends and family. But those great moments were just that, moments. No matter how hard everyone around me tried to mend me, I was still broken, and it broke me even more that I couldn’t fix myself for them. “[Emotional abuse] survivors are often plagued by low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and feelings of helplessness,” according to Bridges to Recovery, a residential mental health clinic in Los Angeles. “Many experience deep shame, guilt, and self-loathing, in part because these are feelings the abuser has deliberately cultivated in you.” The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2 71

Long-term effects of emotional abuse can also include insomnia, chronic pain, social withdrawal, guilt, and eventual feelings that the abuser was “right” about the victim all along, according to Medical News Today. It can make it hard for you to trust others in the future, and in some cases, even lead to chronic conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Beneath all the pain, though, I eventually discovered there was still a fighter within me. I was willing to fight his demons for so long, why couldn’t I fight my own? I decided it was time to grapple with the pain. I continue to every day. It is much easier said than done. Every single day is a constant battle to just simply get up and start my day. Keeping my mind busy became a daily routine for me. I go for long drives, blast music, talk to friends or lose myself in the pages of a novel. Anything to keep me distracted. An amazing opportunity to move to New York City in the spring came my way, and I knew it was what I needed. My friends, family, and everyone who saw me at my worst knew it was time I tear down the walls I had built for myself. Besides, New York City has always been my dream, and not even all the pain I was in could change that. This city could mend my broken heart. I find it hard to trust anyone these days, even myself. But I had to trust myself on this one. This journey has taught me that it is okay not to be okay. I am not fully healed, and that’s alright. It is good to have compassion and what to rescue others, but you shouldn’t have to lose yourself in order to do so. But it is also crucial that you learn to identify the warning signs of emotional abuse. If your partner shows chronic jealousy, demeans you (especially in public), prevents you from making decisions about your own life, applies pressure and intimidation, or seems to be trying to isolate you, you might be in an emotionally abusive relationship. If you have been in an emotionally abusive relationship, just know that you’re not alone and you never will be. If you or someone close to you is in need of support, call the National Domestic Abuse Hotline: 1.800.799. SAFE (7233).

SIGNS THAT YOU MIGHT BE IN AN EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP • • • • • • • • • • • •

Telling you that you never do anything right. Showing extreme jealousy of your friends or time spent away from them. Preventing or discouraging you from spending time with friends, family members, or peers. Insulting, demeaning, or shaming you, especially in front of other people. Preventing you from making your own decisions, including about working or attending school Controlling finances in the household without discussion, including taking your money or refusing to provide money for necessary expenses. Pressuring you to have sex or perform sexual acts you’re not comfortable with. Pressuring you to use drugs or alcohol. Intimidating you through threatening looks or actions. Insulting your parenting or threatening to harm or take away your children or pets. Intimidating you with weapons like guns, knives, bats, or mace. Destroying your belongings or your home.

Source: The National Domestic Abuse Hotline 72

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Makeup for Him, Her, Them, Everyone Find us @fluidebeauty ◆ www.fluide.us

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Skin deep “Fa s t b e a u t y ” p o s e s v e r y r e a l t h r e at s t o o u r e n v ir o n m e n t by Rebecca riggio

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s beauty lovers, we can’t help but think there are never too many nude lipsticks, too many eyeshadow palettes, or too many steps in our skincare routines. But this overconsumption is something that we may have to change, despite the heartbreak. As veterans of the fast-fashion era, this shouldn’t come as a shock. Stores like H&M and Forever 21 have been thriving since the early 2000s because of their affordable, in-and-out pieces, and the effects on both factory workers and the environment are well documented. Beauty and personal care products are also offered by a multitude of retailers, making it simple to purchase a lip balm while checking out at CVS, or spend $50 on a new foundation at Sephora or Ulta. The availability of beauty products—and the palpable excitement surrounding them— might make it hard to realize why we need to take a step back. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, eight million tons of plastic enter our oceans each year. At our current rate, we will soon have more plastic in our oceans than actual fish. Our coral reefs are dying as they become tangled in plastic. Tiny particles of plastic enter our food, our drinking water, and even the air, to the point that we consume a full credit card-sized amount of plastic every week, according to a report in USA Today. Yet we still watch as influencers blithely unravel layers of plastic wrap in their latest unboxing hauls. YouTube and social media specifically have fueled over-consumption within the beauty community over the last decade. The world of beauty gurus and influencers has changed the buying habits of a generation of teens. When a product is trending on social media, it is only a matter of time before that product is sold out. Nobody needed it, especially not in our drinking water, but everybody seemed to want it. Regardless of how you dispose of your finished or unfinished beauty products,

their toxins and plastics end up doing real damage to our communities, waters, rainforests, wildlife, and more. According to Botanical Trader, cosmetic product packaging takes hundreds of years to break down in landfills, leaking toxins into soil and waterways. The chemicals in the products can be destructive to wildlife; small pieces of plastic routinely kill turtles and other marine animals by blocking their digestive tracts. We might love to see what surfaces in a $1,000 Sephora beauty haul or find out our favorite makeup artists’ products of the month. At some point, this just becomes willful ignorance. But of course, the responsibility does not fall solely on the consumer. The beauty industry produces 120 billion units of packaging every year. As consumers, we can use both our wallets and voices to promote change. But the real change is up to the large corporations. This isn’t to say that all beauty practices are unethical. L’Oreal, the world’s largest beauty company, is actually recognized as one of the largest corporations to emphasize social responsibility and push for change. By 2025, The L’Oreal Group will have packaging that is one hundred percent reusable, recyclable, or compostable. The company, which is home to many of the world’s most successful beauty brands, has pledged to be entirely sustainable by the year 2030, an ambitious goal. These changes are not always easy to make, but it is important to reflect on how the industry we are so passionate about affects our planet. I myself have drawers upon drawers overflowing with so much makeup that I don’t think I will ever run out as it is. Now seems like the time to stay informed on the companies you purchase from, make an effort to find recyclable packaging, and think before you buy another dewy foundation. We must find a way to show our planet the same amount of love we show our faces.

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the eyes have it Milena Bennett

Photographer Rebecca Riggio

Beauty Director & MUA

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Jameel Basit Raquael Hines Katherine Long

models

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By Ian Grafvonluxburg, Sofia Naranjo, Kanika Talwar

runway reporT

BARE IT ALL

Last season, it was all about a bold shoulder to help us perfectly stay six feet apart from each other. But this season, the winds have changed with vaccines finally here. We’re all eager to roll up our sleeves for a shot, and designers are aware of that. Schiaparelli took it literally by showing multiple leather bodices and corsets with no sleeves. Blumarine and Marni lowered their necklines to accentuate both collarbones and shoulders. If showing your shoulders is too scandalous, you can always style something similar to looks on Balmain’s or Coperni’s runways. A strappy shoulder moment is always appropriate too. Versace and Oscar de la Renta showed delicate strappy moments, which are a light choice for a fall collection. Whether you want one shoulder, both shoulders, or something in between, as long as they are exposed, you’ll be ready for your vaccine. 84

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ALL HANDS ON FASHION Maybe it’s all the PPE that we’ve gotten used to over the past year, but gloves were a major staple this past fashion month. Prada led the way, not only with gloves, but with a glove/fanny-pack hybrid that is perfect for storing hand sanitizer and an extra face mask. Brands like Miu Miu and Altuzarra opted for a softer approach, giving us versions that were covered in fur or completely knitted. Schiaparelli could have possibly shown the best glove this season, with a version that serves as a scarf, a hood to wear over your head, and a pair of gloves. In case you want to maximize the versatility of your gloves, Daniel Roseberry has you covered.

Keeping It Cozy

Although knits are already a big fall staple, knitwear was showcased everywhere, quite literally. Knitted skirts, knitted crop tops, knitted accessories, cable knits, rib knits—you name it. There is almost no way to go wrong when trying out this trend. Fuzzy knits were the go-to choice for designers like Kim Jones at Dior Homme and Jonny Johansson from Acne Studios. Some collections, such as Louis Vuitton and Brunello Cucinelli, gave us up-to-date versions of a classic cardigan, because who doesn’t love a chic version of grandma’s favorite jacket. If you can’t decide how to incorporate knits into your closet, do what Self-Portrait did and make your entire outfit a knitted look!

A bold twist

Designers usually showcase pops of colors in their S/S collections, which is why showing them for autumn is a total game-changer. This fashion month, the runways and presentations showed a burst of color in the form of bold prints and patterns. Dries van Noten gave us his signature rich-colored prints, which are still very on-trend for chillier months. Marine Serre, who has famously branded herself with a crescent moon pattern, not only carried that over into her fall runway but also layered it over and under yards of paisley print. This season, Loewe made a striking statement with the oversized, bold prints that Creative Director, Jonathan Anderson, put on coats, pants, and even sweaters. When you’re dressing this fall, make sure you grab something that absolutely screams. The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2 85

SAMANTHA JAMES · EDITOR IN CHIEF Comet Comet is an independent film that I am absolutely in love with. This film’s cinematography is some of the best I’ve ever seen, and I just love the storyline because it’s a love story, but it isn’t typical.

EDITORs’ PICKs

The Perks of Being a Wallflower This book holds a lot of meaning for me. It has such a strong and powerful message about mental health. I think everyone should read this book at least once because there is so much to gain.

Fleetwood Mac, UPSAHL, and Billie Eilish I can’t choose between these three because they are so different. If I’m ever listening to music, I guarantee these three are on the playlist.

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J’adore eau de parfum I never leave the house without a spritz of this perfume. It smells fantastic, and the bottle is so pretty it makes for nice room decór.

Saint Laurent: James Ankle Boot These shoes are my go-to. I wear boots 95% of the time, and this pair is super sleek and so chic. It’s also a plus that these boots are the same as my name!

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Glow Moisturizer Hydrant éclat I use this every day, and it keeps my skin hydrated and smooth. I love all Kate Somerville products, but this is by far my favorite.

Canon 5D Mark III My BABY, I bring it to every photoshoot.

EDITORs’ PICKs

MILENA BENNETT · PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR

Gold Earrings Minimal gold hoops are my go-to. The Alchemist Great, insightful messages about following your dreams and finding your personal legend. If you’re feeling unmotivated, read this book.

Vintage Corsets I collect corsets from vintage shops in every major city I visit. They’re a large part of my daily style as well.

IT CC Cream Best coverage with the lightest wear.

Vibes Playlist My go-to playlist. Neo-Soul, R&B, House, and more. Just good vibes, feel-good music for any occasion. The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2 87

KANIKA TALWAR · FASHION EDITOR

EDITORs’ PICKs

Prada Patent Leather Driving Loafers As spring begins to rear its head, I recently purchased a pair of black Prada driving loafers that add a chic amount of “Prada-ness” to any and every outfit.

Peaky Blinders Birmingham, England period crime drama Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy is deliciously addicting; I binged all five seasons within a week. Like other fans, I am eagerly waiting for the show to finish filming and premiere its final season.

Bvlgari Bvlgari Bracelet I am very particular abut the jewelry I choose— always looking for something unique that few others have. My precious Bvlgari rose gold black onyx and diamonds Roman coin-inspired bracelet is one I am rarely seen without.

Alexander McQueen Spring Summer 2003 “Irene” Oyster Dress There are only two of these iconic oyster dresses in the world. One currently resides in The Met’s Costume Institute, and I would give just about anything to own it. The oyster dress is one of the most important and beautiful dresses of the 21st century, made by the late Lee Alexander McQueen.

Pride and Prejudice I could never turn down a British period piece, and Pride and Prejudice takes the cake. The love-hate dynamic between the brooding, prideful Mr. Darcy and the sarcastic, headstrong Elizabeth Bennett is quintessential Regency-era Jane Austen.

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Josh - Peach PRC My absolute anthem at the moment. It hits all the emotions.

EDITORs’ PICKs

ELYSSE RIVERA · ASSISTANT BEAUTY EDITOR

Ardell So Wispy Falsies The most natural lashes you could ever buy that still add a little drama. ‘70s Blazer Jacket The ‘70s are alive and kicking right now and this camel color is so retro Blue Light Glasses Because we have to keep those retinas protected at all times!

Heaux Cosmetics Habitue Provocateur This little bottle of pheromones is my secret weapon any time I go out. Tried and true.

Gold Hoops They can really dress up any outfit whether I’m wearing sweatpants or a little black dress.

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cyrenae tademy Class of 2021 90

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leah wynter Class of 2024 The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2 91

rozlyn melluish Class of 2022 92

The Lexington Line • S/S 21 • vol 7 • no 2

#L e xL

ineDreaming

The Lexington Line - Spring 2021

Articles inside

Editors’ Picks

Skin Deep

Runway Report

Devil in Disguise

Respecting Purple

Fashion Forever

Bridging the Gap

She’s All That

Time to Rewind

Your Soundtrack 2.0

All Out War

The Metamorphosis of Manga

Lockdown Love

ESSENTIAL but Forgotten