WOMEN OF THE FUTURE
DECEMBER 2017
RIHANNA THE ROLE MODEL IN 2018 DAMZEL 1
DAMZEL 2
DAMZEL 3
DAMZEL 4
BY P O P U LAR DE M AN D
RO LE CALL: BAD G AL RI RI
411_ W I N DOW S I N TO T H E S U RRE AL
411_ T H E U LT I M AT E S E X M I N E RAL
411_ S K E TCH
LE T T E R FRO M T H E E DI TO R
DAMZEL 5
26 18 12 10 09 07
editor in chief
joshuah miranda chief creative officer
jessica koay head of content
wenting xie
executive editor
randy dunbar managing editor
reisa traboulay caroline barrera editorial
beatriz lugtu courtney cunningham art
james moreno raffi kevorkian photography
DAMZEL
melissa nerie production
there ’ s nothing distressed about us . damzel is a magazine for the sophisticated , street chic , independent , contemporary woman . damzel brings the l atest trends in street and runway fashion , culture , and travel , to make your life truly on the edge .
leon chu rochelle samilin public relations
follow us _
DAMZEL 6
from
Dear Damzels, It is near the end of 2017 and we as women are stronger than ever. This issue was created to empower you, to inspire you, and to ignite your fierce fire within. There’s no better way than to have Bad Gal RiRi show us how it’s done. In this issue you will also find information on the slayest trends, the best highlighters to make you “shine bright like a diamond,” and more on how to be the bold, beautiful, woman you are. Thank you so much for picking up this issue and supporting the lady army. We hope everything you find in this issue, from the content to the design will remind you to be brave in everything you do, don’t be afraid to go out of the box, and always stay true to yourself, because honey, no one can do it better than you!
ED ITOR
much power & love,
DAMZEL 7
DAMZEL 8
see. taste.feel.
MOST INSTAGRAMMED RESTAURANT IN LONDON
T
he time-honored British tradition of afternoon tea gets a dose of modern quirk at Sketch London in David Shrigley’s The Gallery. One step inside the India Mahdavi-designed space, fitted out with perfectly plump, millennial pink tulip seats, a rose gold plated bar, pretty-inpink velvet banquettes and brass table lamps and you’ll no doubt feel as if you’ve been plucked off of Oxford Street and thrown down a rabbit hole. Do your best to arrive earlier than your guest, giving you plenty of time to admire the 300+ David Shrigley sketches adorning the pink walls as you chuckle to yourself over Shrigley’s dark wit and humor. In The Gallery’s previous incarnation, Turner Prize winning artist Martin Creed had been invited to transform the restaurant as part of the establishment’s longterm collaborative program of artist commissions. Once you’ve seen a sufficient am inullescia dus quasinc iissum qui tessitium audant. number of artworks, sit down and let the boozy tea wash over you. We recommend the unique Sketch Exotic Tea, where you’ll Caviar, delicious finger sandwiches and as many petits find your serving staff expertly straining Sketch’s own brand gateaux as you can possibly indulge in. of Champagne over chai, vanilla or Earl Grey tea leaves over At Sketch London, afternoon tea not only surrounds itself ice. Pair this with the impressive selection of over 30 teas from around the world, egg soldiers with Russian Oscietra with art, it becomes an art form in itself.
DAMZEL 9
411
taste.
E
dible aphrodisiacs have been used since ancient times, believed to help amp up libido, lust and even fertility. Well-known supposed aphrodisiacs like oysters, champagne, chili peppers and chocolate are offered year after year on celebratory Valentine’s Day menus across the world. But do they really work? The answer is complicated. “To be a true aphrodisiac, the substance has to elicit sexual desire,” sexologist Megan Stubbs explained via email. Many foods believed to be aphrodisiacs indeed have anecdotal or subjective evidence attached to them, which makes the effects of consuming known aphrodisiacs difficult to prove scientifically.
help support a healthy drive,” Stubbs explained.
For example, oysters are high in zinc (which has been proven to up “sexual competence” in male rats and has also been dubbed the “ultimate sex mineral”) and have a reputation for boosting fertility. They also, as Stubbs pointed out, can be suggestive of vaginas. Other foods, like strawberries, may look like little hearts and be romantic to eat, and Stubbs threw in that bananas, cucumbers and avocados may also be aphrodisiacs to some due to the way they look. Insert eggplant emoji here. Steve McGough, who holds a doctorate in human sexuality and works as an associate professor at the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, isn’t convinced that aphrodisiacs are real. He notes that there’s no clinical evidence from the Food and Drug Administration to prove that aphrodisiacs work, but there’s also no clinical evidence to prove they don’t. While there’s no cold hard proof that foods like strawberries and oysters actually increase the libido, McGough noted in an email that the thought of these types of sexy foods can increase libido, thanks to the placebo effect.
“The power of suggestion is a strong motivator for sexual desire” “It is all subjective,” Stubbs said. “The power of suggestion is a strong motivator for sexual desire and the placebo effect can come into play as well.” However, many foods can “benefit your sexual wellness,” and many foods thought to be aphrodisiacs “come with their own health benefits that can
sex
DAMZEL 10
DAMZEL 11
411
feel.
INTO THE
fidm’s
5 th
floor windows celebrate the surreal work of elsa schiaparelli
BY HAMISH BOWLES
“Madder and more original than most of her contemporaries, Elsa Schiaparelli is the one to whom the word ‘genius’ is applied most often,” Time magazine wrote of its
cover subject in 1934.[1] Coco Chanel once dismissed her rival as “that Italian artist who makes clothes.” (To Schiaparelli, Chanel was simply “that milliner.”)[2] Indeed, Schiaparelli—“Schiap” to friends—stood out among her peers as a true nonconformist, using clothing as a medium to express her unique ideas. In the thirties, her peak creative period, her salon overflowed with the wild, the whimsical, and even the ridiculous. Many of her madcap designs could be pulled off only by a woman of great substance and style: Gold ruffles sprouted from the fingers of chameleon-green suede gloves; a pale-blue satin evening gown—modeled by Madame Crespi in Vogue— had a stiff overskirt of Rhodophane (a transparent, glasslike modern material); a smart black suit jacket had red
lips for pockets. Handbags, in the form of music boxes, tinkled tunes like “Rose Marie, I Love You”; others fastened with padlocks. Monkey fur and zippers (newfangled in the thirties) were everywhere. Love of trompe l’oeil can be traced to the faux-bow sweater that kick-started Schiaparelli’s career and brought her quirky style to the masses. “Dare to be different,”[7] is the advice she offered to women. Pace-setters and rule-breakers waved that flag through the sixties, the seventies, and beyond.
PHOTOCREDIT | PORTRAIT: IRVING PENN / WINDOWS: PHOTOGRAPHED BY CARLOS DIAZ
DAMZEL 12
DAMZEL 13
FROM AFFORDABLE DRUG STORE TO HIGH-END, THESE BEST-SELLING HIGHLIGHTERS WILL LET MAKE YOU GLOW TO THE GODS
WET N WILD MEGAGLO HIGHLIGHTING POWDER
MAYBELLINE FACESTUDIO MASTER CHROME METALLIC HIGHLIGHTER
MAKEUP REVOLUTION VIVID BAKED HIGHLIGHTERS
MILANI HYPNOTIC LIGHTS POWDER HIGHLIGHTER
$5
$10
$6
$13
DAMZEL 14
FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA KILLAWATT FREESTYLE HIGHLIGH TER
MARC JACOBS DEW DROPS COCONUT GEL HIGHLIGHTER
BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR PRESSED POWDER
$34
$44
$38
DAMZEL 15
HOURGLASS AMBIENT LIGHTING POWDER $46
DAMZEL 16
DAMZEL 17
ROLE CALL
DAMZEL 18
playing follow the leader
with bad gal riri in 2018
DAMZEL 19
DAMZEL 20
Robyn ‘Rihanna’ Fenty is one of the most successful pop stars of our time. But unlike her peers at the top of the music game – Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Adele – she’s never labelled a role model. It’s something she addressed this weekend at Black Girls Rock awards show when she admitted to the young female audience: “Role model is not the title they like to give me.” Well Rihanna that’s about to change because I think you’re the best damn role model I’ve ever had, and it’s about time other young women did too. When I look at the most famous feminist women in 2017, I can see an inspiring bunch: Emma Watson with her work for the UN, Taylor Swift’s ever-changing girl squad, Queen B’s inimitable status and power… the list is endless. But what these women lack is the ability not to give a stuff. They all follow an unofficial feminist party line. They do it well of course. Watson has reached millions with her feminist HeforShe campaign and she’s not alone – but these women often don't come across as real, relatable people with messy, imperfect lives. They don’t stick two fingers up to the world and the media. They don’t seem to fight expectations of what a woman should look like – they actively play into them. These women talk about feminism, but I feel Rihanna lives it. She doesn’t tend to speak up about gender equality and other major issues, but she embodies one of the most important acts of feminist: to be yourself and not feel you have to apologise for it.
DAMZEL 21
DAMZEL 22
DAMZEL 23
“THE THING THAT ’S KEP T ME SUCCE THE MINUTE YOU LEARN TO LOVE YO WANT TO BE ANYBODY ELSE.”
DAMZEL 24
She’s criticised whenever she walks out half-naked (pretty much all the time) and for grinding on stage. To conservatives and many feminists alike, she is an ‘awful role model’.
herself: “I think I can inspire a lot of young women to be themselves and that is half the battle.
But Rihanna is the exact opposite. What her critics are missing is that her actions are brave. Like Madonna in the 80s, she’s defying the status quo. She is showing women that they don’t have to conform to society’s idea of femininitywearing pretty dresses and fitting a narrow standard of beauty.
This is the important message that Rihanna can give young women, and it’s one that takes her beyond the ‘perfect, do-good celebs’ around her to the next level – the one where real women such as Jenny Bevan, Malala Yousafzai and the late, great Dame Zaha Hadid all hang out.
They can get ‘unladylike’ tattoos and piercings, they can show off their body or cover it all up in sweatpants and trainers. That ultimately, their bodies are theirs and they have the right to do what they want with them.
Rihanna can wear lingerie out in public, troll you on Instagram, and date whoever she wants to, all while being a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist at the same time. Her personal life shouldn’t dictate whether she can be successful or not. Rihanna should be an inspiration to all.
ESSFUL IS BEING MYSELF... OURSELF YOU WOULD NOT It’s something Rihanna knows herself. When she got up on stage and accepted her Rock Star Award at Black Girls Rock, she recognised how people don’t view her as a role model and went on to defend
“The thing that’s kept me successful is being myself. I only know how to do that. And the minute you learn to love yourself you would not want to be anybody else.”
Like Rihanna, all these women have been true to themselves regardless of the consequences – some far more severe than others – and that’s why they’ve inspired generations of women between them and continue to do so each day.
This goes to all women who feel like they should only show one side of themselves to be accepted or get the respect they deserve. No one ever tells an artist like Drake that if he keeps on dating multiple women that his career will be negatively impacted. Or that his shirtless photos are gravitating the wrong attention and that he should keep them more “manly” otherwise he’ll be called a hoe. To all the women, you don’t have to close yourself up anymore. Genius was right about one thing; “Unladylike” women are winning in 2017 and they’re going to keep winning. We need to keep showing off women like Rihanna. We need to let young girls know that they don’t have to be perfect all the time. We need to be more accepting of “unladylike” women and not put them in a box.
DAMZEL 25
BY POPULAR DEMAND POP CULTURE IS ALWAYS SELLING YOU SOMETHING BY ASHLEY CROSSMAN ART BY TONY FUTURA
DAMZEL 26
P
opular culture is the accumulation of cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyber culture, television and radio that are consumed the majority of a society’s population. Popular culture has mass accessibility and appeal. The term “popular culture” was coined in the 19th century or earlier. Traditionally, it was associated with lower classes and poor education as opposed to the “official culture” of the upper class.
Rise of Popular Culture After the end of World War II, innovations in mass media led to significant cultural and social changes. Scholars trace the origins of rise of popular culture to the creation of the middle class generated by the Industrial Revolution. The meaning of popular culture then began to merge with that of mass culture, consumer culture, image culture, media culture and culture for mass consumption.
John Storey and Popular Culture There are two opposing sociological arguments in relation to popular culture. One argument is that popular culture is used by the elites (who tend to control the mass media and popular culture outlets) to control those below them because it dulls people’s minds, making them passive and easy to control. A second argument is just the opposite, that popular culture is a vehicle for rebellion against the culture of dominant groups. In his book, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, John Storey offers six different definitions of popular culture.
that popular culture is “formulaic [and] manipulative,” not unlike how he views the process of advertising. A product or brand has to be “sold” to an audience before it can be entrenched in mass or popular culture; by bombarding society with it, it then finds its place in popular culture. Britney Spears is a good example of this definition; her road to stardom and place in popular culture were based on marketing strategies to build look along with her fan base. As a result, she generated millions of fans, her songs were played frequently on numerous radio stations, and she went on to sell out concerts and garner the public’s fascination through her meltdown. Like the creation of Britney Spears, pop culture almost always depends on mass production for mass consumption because we rely on mass media to get our information and shape our interests.
Pop Culture Vs. High Culture
“Pop culture is the culture of the people and it is accessible to the masses. High culture, on the other hand, isn’t meant for mass consumption nor is it readily available to everyone.” In one definition, Storey describes mass or popular culture as “a hopelessly commercial culture [that is] mass-produced for mass consumption [by] a mass of non-discriminating consumers.” He further states
Pop culture is the culture of the people and it is accessible to the masses. High culture, on the other hand, isn’t meant for mass consumption nor is it readily available to everyone. It belongs to the social elite. The fine arts, theater, opera, intellectual pursuits--these are associated with the upper socioeconomic strata and require more a high brow approach, training or reflection to be appreciated. Elements from this realm rarely cross over into pop culture. As such, high culture is considered sophisticated while popular culture is often looked down upon as being superficial.
DAMZEL 27
DAMZEL 28