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A Valentine’s Day ode to love, longing, and nostalgic glamour, from production duo Fyodor Shiryaev and Louisa Fulkerson. Photographer: Fyodor Shiryaev (@fy_d_r) Set Design: Louisa Fulkerson (@louisafulkerson) Stylist: Kayla Innes (@kaylainnes) Garments: Sourced from (@cherirvintage) Makeup: Isze Cohen (@frostiedelite) Hair: Teresa Boggs (@killerheads) Model: Isabel Jeremias (@izzymay16)

Join us on a walk down Orchard Street. Want me to let you in on a little secret? The best fashion spots in New York are the ones you find yourself. At the risk of sounding like a cliché Carrie Bradshaw, the magic of New York City is that fashion is everywhere. You kind of just have to walk around and find your corner of stylish preference. Most recently, Orchard Street has become my go-to walk. It’s full of history, vintage shops, chic boutiques, and it even has Sweet Pickle Books. However, over my years of living in New York, I’ve managed to pin down some dream locations scattered around the city where I go to either see beautiful clothes on display, interact with people wearing beautiful clothes, or buy beautiful clothes. Here’s a roundup of my favorite spots. Kiki’s It’s Greek food with incredible personal style. Everyone who works there or dines there is hot. A great spot to bring out-of-towners or for date night. Employees Only Speakeasies are the most popular trend for bars in New York City, but while most of them will feel touristy and gimmicky, this one makes me want to dress like a flapper. Say Scott three times in front of the mirror and Fitzgerald himself will rip your gin martini out of your ring-stacked fingers. Fig. 19 Another non-gimmick speakeasy, with an art gallery as a front. Chandeliers hang from the ceilings and the ambiance is decadent yet modern. Great dancing music. Bibliotheque A beautiful new café, wine bar, and bookstore in Soho where everyone will have a book, laptop, or notebook out on their table. Dress your best and release your inner literary ambitions. A book is always a great accessory. Ralph’s Coffee Shop Hear me out: yes, it’s touristy, but the drinks are genuinely delicious and the merch with the Ralph Lauren bear is classy and adorable. Great spot to find gifts and rejoice in all-American opulence. Rogue A cool vintage shop with great curation and an A+ online presence. Dress to impress and hope they ask you for a fit breakdown. They also recently had an open casting call for a blind dating video for Valentine’s Day (if I were single and 24 I might have applied). I’d give them a follow on Instagram because they might do another one soon! The Niche Shop Originally a spot for the Upper East Side vintage-loving girlies, they have expanded to the other side of the park. Their curation feels more girly-pop than Rogue, leaning heavily on romantic aesthetics and pink. It’s a great spot to find unique secondhand pieces. Bergdorf Goodman A trip to Bergdorf’s is always inspirational and educational. Walk around the evening dress floor for a bit. Consider trying on the Versace pants. It’s literally luxury at your fingertips and an experience in itself. If you’re looking to buy luxury, there’s something about the Upper East Side grandmother energy of the place that makes it more welcoming than other luxury shops. The Museum at FIT FIT is the Mecca for fashion learning and their museum, open to the public, features rotating exhibits deeply exploring a fashion-related topic. Its collection includes over 50,000 pieces of clothing from a wide range of historic periods and its curation is always impeccable. Love Thy Neighbor’Hood and Statement Sleeves are currently on view. The MET Costume Institute The Costume Institute houses 33,000 items that date from the 15th century to today. While the biggest exhibitions shown by the Costume Institute open with the Met Gala each year, they hold other smaller exhibitions throughout the calendar. Women Dressing Women is currently on view. The Costume Institute is also accessible to designers, students, and scholars by appointment. 🌀 Laura Rocha-Rueda is a Colombian fashion and fiction writer based in Brooklyn who holds a Creative Writing MFA from The New School. She is your local Swiftie and will gladly chat about anything glittery and soft, and about why dismissing pop culture as frivolous is misguided and sad.

Is the fashion good enough to ignore a checkered past? Fashion has been missing fantasy for far too long. Viewers are tired of “interesting” clothes worn by dour models stomping down a stark, white runway. That is precisely why Maison Margiela’s Spring 2024 Couture collection made such a big splash. It was a return to theatrics. It was gorgeous clothes in a gorgeous setting worn by gorgeous models with gorgeous makeup. It was extravagance, it was excellence, it was what we want in our fashion shows. There is, however, a thorn in this rose: the creative director of Maison Margiela, John Galliano. Galliano is a controversial figure and has long been a mainstay in the fashion industry. His career started in 1984 after he graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in Fashion Design. Since then, he has worked at his own eponymous label, Givenchy, Dior, Oscar de la Renta, and, since 2014, Maison Margiela. Caroline Kloster writes for CR Fashion Book, “Under Galliano, each [of] Dior[‘s] ... shows weren’t presentations of clothing, but rather elaborate and theatrical experiences similar to seeing a live play or going to the movies… He equated high fashion with the spectacular in a way that the industry had never seen before.” To this day, images from John Galliano for Christian Dior Fall/Winter 1998 and John Galliano Fall/Winter 2007 remain some of the most reposted fashion editorials on the Internet. They show a level of romantic set design, technical precision, and theatrical environmentalism that is all but lost in today’s runways. He is a creative genius — no doubt about that. Unfortunately, like a lot of artists, he has a more prurient side to him that can be hateful and disgusting. The largest controversy surrounding John Galliano stems from three instances that occurred between 2010 and 2011. During the first incident in September 2011, the BBC reported that he “harangued museum curator Geraldine Bloch about being Jewish… He also hurled racist insults at her friend, who is of South Asian origin, for 45 minutes before police came to break up the argument.” Galliano blamed drug and alcohol addiction for his outburst. During the second incident in October 2011, he accosted an anonymous 40-year-old woman with anti-Semitic insults — again at the La Perle café in Paris, Galliano’s local watering hole The third incident refers to an earlier video that resurfaced around the time of the arrest, in February of 2011, wherein Galliano proclaims his love for Hitler. In the video, Galliano tells a woman at the table next to him: “I love Hitler. People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be fucking gassed.” Following these incidents, Galliano was brought to court and convicted of hate crimes in Paris. Now, whether or not justice was served is up for debate. He was fired from his position at Christian Dior and ordered by the Parisian courts to pay a €6,000 fine — although People Magazine reports that the “fine [was] suspended on a conditional term, according to legal sources, that Galliano not be found guilty of any crime in France for five years.” I was unable to find any arrest records for Galliano during that time, so I think it is safe to assume those fines were eventually waived. I feel a great deal of trepidation mentioning his name. But I think it is important, in these times of intense praise for his work, that both these sides of him live in the conversation. Yes, he has a sharp eye for design and a deft ability to realize a fantasy in his head — but he can also be deeply troubled. He can, and has, very publicly, spewed rhetoric that is harmful and alienating to a large population of fashion enjoyers. Archival fashion, like many prisms of history, can be a difficult thing to appreciate through the lens of our current cultural climate. Oftentimes, the appreciation of work made by figures who do not represent the moral ideals of today can be seen as an approval of their immoral behavior. The clothes are pretty, so let’s just sweep all this other nasty stuff under the rug. Usually, this predicament can be easily dismissed, because the offending figure in question is long dead. It feels more comfortable to appreciate their art because you know there is no way your participation in their practice would be supporting them; your clicks aren’t building them a platform or giving them ad dollars. But John Galliano is very much alive. The support we give him and his work directly translates into supporting his lifestyle. I don’t believe that humans are entitled to a life in the public eye. After Louis C.K.’s controversy during the Me Too movement, a common sentiment among those in the comedy scene was: “He served his time, he apologized, and now he can get back to his career.” No — now he can go get a job at Best Buy like the rest of us. If you abuse and exploit the power you are entrusted with in your industry, especially one so deeply connected to public opinion, you have forfeited the right to participate. No one is entitled to a “dream job.” The fashion industry is famously a world mired by exploitation, ladder-stepping, and a willingness to throw colleagues under the bus for even the slightest chance of getting ahead. Chico Felitti, writing for Buzzfeed News about the working conditions in Vogue Brazil, states: “Nearly all described witnessing their colleagues being berated or insulted … sometimes while being asked to work 24 hours or more without leaving the office, and being obliged to take on responsibilities and tasks outside their job description for which they were not compensated. One producer was so afraid of being accused of slacking off that she snuck out at lunchtime to get cancer treatments rather than tell her boss she was sick. This points to a culture wherein workers are so terrified of losing their jobs (read: losing their chance at “living the dream”) that they won’t speak up for themselves — let alone speak out about the poor behavior of a major figurehead in the industry. This causes a chilling effect whenever scandals involving high-powered individuals occur. You don’t know who knows who, who feels what, and how your statement will be received by those in charge. Following Galliano’s controversy in 2011, Natalie Portman was one of the only celebrities who directly condemned the designer’s behavior. She released a statement denouncing her affiliation with Galliano and made a last-minute swap from a Dior gown to a Rodarte dress for the Oscars that year. On the other end of the spectrum, supermodel Kate Moss was one of the only public figures to stand by Galliano’s side, commissioning her wedding dress from the designer only a couple of months following the incident. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that John Galliano is a Haute Couture designer. Most people will never be able to afford his garments. Galliano designs for celebrities and the 1%, not the general public. As a result, he doesn’t rely on global sales in the same way that, say, De Sarno does at Gucci. This further insulates him from criticism and offers a veil of protection in the fashion world. As long as he operates in a culture that is too afraid to speak out about unacceptable behavior, he will have a long and prosperous career. Of course, there are layers to this shit. Humans are inherently flawed creatures. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone says a weird thing at the wrong time, everyone tends to be selfish — add substance abuse, fame, unchecked power, and an extreme amount of wealth to the situation, and you have a recipe for disaster. But there is a distinct difference between typical human foibles and hate speech, rape, and abuse. So, the question we have to ask ourselves is: what exactly is the tipping point where a career is destroyed? Should Aziz Ansari receive the same level of vitriol as Louis C.K.? Should Galliano be placed on the same level as Alexander Wang? This is the big problem we’re currently grappling with in a post—cancel culture society. As members of a creative culture, we have a responsibility to hold people accountable —to set standards for behavior and uphold them. But it can be tough to enforce these standards when we have to negotiate with the reality that people, especially artists, aren’t paragons of morality. They are often sad, desperate, lonely people prone to destruction, addiction, and greed. Judith Thurman writes for the New Yorker, “Fashion is big business, but it is also an art… Galliano’s story raises the old question of how one should regard the work of artists who have espoused vile or murderous views.” So, at what point can we separate the art from the artist? And who are we harming by doing so? Is the appreciation of that art worth the harm we cause? Ultimately, I hope the Margiela Spring 2024 Couture show sparks a revolution in the aesthetics of Fashion — that it inspires other designers to be bold with the world they create in their collections. I hope this reveals the desperate hunger capital-FL Fashion Lovers have for fantasy. I want to be enveloped in the worlds of J.W. Anderson or Christopher John Rogers or Dilara Findikoglu in the same way that I was with Galliano. We want to buy the dream — we just want to be discerning about who we’re buying it from. 🌀 Kaitlin Owens is a vintage fashion writer, movie buff, lover of good eats, and a women’s size 7.5 (if any shoe brands are reading). She is the Editor-in-Chief of Dilettante Magazine. You can find her on socials @magdilettante.

Why are modern twists on ye-old silhouettes so fascinating to young women? In recent years, we have not only witnessed the establishment of ultra-feminine, romantic corsets off the runway and into mainstream fashion — but also the rebranding and revival of bows and other traditionally feminine accessories. Media such as Bridgerton, adaptations of classic period pieces such as Jane Austen’s Persuasion or Emma, Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Suki Waterhouse’s “Nostalgia” music video… the list could go on forever. Even media pieces that are not as recent, like the 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice, are experiencing a renaissance thanks to our current corset fascination and bow fever. As I watched Apple TV’s The Buccaneers, I could not stop asking myself: Why are we actively choosing historical pieces as a mirror in which to reflect our much more modern ideology? Of course, with corsets’ long history as a symbol of women’s oppression, it makes perfect sense to take these types of stories and turn them into feminist retellings of women’s liberation. But what do these ye-old time periods have that would not allow the story to work in a modern context? In The Buccaneers, we are presented with a group of five free-spirited best friends living during the 1870s. And, much as in Bridgerton, we are presented with a more modern approach to storytelling: 21st-century girls trapped in a gilded cage. They share a certain disdain towards the idea of marriage, a desire for sexual liberation, and a rejection of their contemporary ideals. Twirls of colorful pieces of cloth, wonderful interiors, and stunning costume design are usually the main selling points of this type of modern adaptation, all of them wrapped up in a perfectly curated modern girl playlist. It is precisely aesthetics — costume design in particular — that seem to be the most obvious reason why creators are choosing earlier time periods to set their stories in; heavily accessorized dresses, extravagant balls, and stunning manors are a type of eye candy that very few can resist. But above that, the 19th century seems to be experiencing a process of fairytale-zation, led mostly by our unexamined enjoyment of the quaintness of the past and its consequential romanticization. Much as with the Medieval period—which lives in the general imagination through a mixture of fantasy and history — the Regency and Victorian times have been experiencing their share of fantasy and idealism, most notably through the combination of color and glamour formulated in Bridgerton, that unfailingly leads to a generally inaccurate perception of the society of the time. There is no desire to examine past ideals; instead, there is an exploration of their preconception, as well as the impressions that past works make on modern sensibilities and minds. As for what placing modern convictions in past times does to a narrative, the tighter restrictions and harsher social punishments of the 19th century indeed allow the modern spectator to perceive social mistakes more clearly. After all, contemporary times do have the blessings of modernity, and many of the lessons implied in these types of media would get lost in the context of a modern setting. Additionally, the popularization of trends such as cottagecore and its multiple spin-offs have sparked a 19th-century interest in youth; from its fashion to its ways of living, this type of media piece has become rather attractive and marketable to both a young and a not-so-young audience. The massive interest in fashion’s microaesthetics — which has become a signature aspect of our time — has also allowed us to look at the past and see a place of fantasy and dreams, which inevitably turns it into some kind of fairytale from which we can learn and grow. Driven by the daintiness and apparent fun of the times — traits wholly embodied by rising brands such as Selkie or Miss Sohee — and at a point in time in which being just a girl implies a certain degree of powerlessness, one cannot think of this return as anything but fated. As such, instead of rejecting traditional femininity, we have now embraced all of it — including some of its negative traits. Why deal with modern, seemingly unsolvable problems when we can revel in the ones that have already been tackled? This dismissal of the crushing weight of expectations that cannot be met and responsibilities that cannot be fulfilled are dealt with in the easier-to-control aesthetic realm, in which young women can idly glide around in a Selkie dress instead of girlbossing their way to the top in tight office wear. Then, at the very core of it all, we find the element of romance. Times change, paradigms break, romance dies. The relentless degradation that traditional romance has suffered through time has made women yearn for it: looking back at Medieval ladies, modern girls know better than to envy them, but at the same time, they wish for the kind of love that would lead a knight to challenge someone to a duel over the ownership of their used handkerchief. The type of love that leads a Bridgerton boy to defy every social norm and member of their family, to act against every single one of their principles, just to marry the girl of his dreams. Lords, Dukes, and knights are portrayed to have a solidity and firmness to their feelings and persona that modern men simply lack. We yearn, long, ache for a fairytale romance, which is more and more often taking the shape of a storybook tale instead of one filled with dragons and knights in shining armor. Sir Lancelot was replaced by Mr. Darcy long ago; the Round Table is no more, as we now more than ever march to Jane Austen’s eternal drums. Only time will tell if Medievalism, with its rigid hennins and dreams of honor, can conquer popular media again. In the meantime, let’s enjoy bows, corsets, empire waistlines, and the romantic blur that the 19th-century era has come out to be, but with the dutiful pinch of salt we ought to take when approaching the past in that spirit. 🌀 Paula Luengo is a freelance writer based in Madrid. Her interests draw from music to fashion and media analysis, with special emphasis on all that’s old and battered. You can find her on Instagram at @0030300.

A debriefing on Bode Fall 2024 Ready-To-Wear. In a fashion world where Quiet and Loud Luxury have been at odds, Emily Adams Bode Aujla’s Bode blooms in neither binary: the designer has created a grounded, rich, and nostalgic island of American luxury. She makes us not yearn for the designer decadence of Paris, but rather, for Grey Gardens, your grandfather’s boarding school in the fall, or an antique library. Bode has certainly fallen into the mainstream radar of fashion fanatics and received the recognition she deserves (2022 and 2021 CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year and the 2020 and 2019 CFDA Emerging Designer of the Year, to name only 2). The brand breaks away, however, from the trap of mainstream mechanics through its diversity and integrity of vintage-inspired designs. So many hot brands depend upon a label, accessory, or motif to cultivate their cult — Bode makes clothes for people who love style, and who are more interested in the stories that clothes tell than the affluence they represent. (Bode, if anything, conveys a cultural, intellectual affluence.) The Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear collection is a new line called Bode Recreation, inspired by American athletic wear from the 1770s through the 1970s, as told to Vogue. A complete collection of menswear and womenswear, the pieces could easily fill a wardrobe for any occasion. One could bundle up in a ski lodge or prance around a monied dinner party in these clothes. This is a collection fit for Jordan Baker; many of the pieces look like what the rich would have worn during playtime in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The sportswear influence was at times cheeky and delightfully obvious: a dazzling gold sweater set with tennis player embroidery, a delicate men’s cardigan festooned in a baseball print, or a monogrammed football uniform silhouette. Other pieces relied more subtly and brilliantly on America’s past: naval tailoring indicative of a sailor’s uniform, embroidered 1920s slip dresses, and a chunky pearl necklace paired with a rouge cardigan. A bright and deep color palette, rich reds star alongside kelly greens and royal blues, to name a few. Outerwear certainly defines lots of the looks (jackets are an item Bode has mastered). Throw on a loud fringe American flag coat if you’re visiting a ranch out west, or reach into your uncle’s closet and grab an oversized black quilted jacket for a brisk walk on Thanksgiving Day. And where there is the function of outerwear there is also the frivolity of undergarments. Many of the women’s looks shine with the chic sleekness of upscale underpinnings, almost undetectable as lingerie and more like underwear as outerwear for stellar parties. There is, for instance, a three-piece, slinky black short and bra top set, finished with a bedazzled top coat. Stockings worn with ballet pink silk sleeping shorts and a nipple-revealing lace top are a study in vintage femininity, renewed and reimagined, and made fun. At Bode Recreation’s core is the suggestion of play, leisure, and putting one’s body to good use (for the sake of activity and to also maybe just show off one’s long legs and great taste). There is nothing more fabulous and indicative of a well-rounded, indulgent — American! — life than to have time for sport. We all just want to summer and to winter on America’s coasts, and to do so dressed in Bode. 🌀 Maren Beverly works in the beauty industry in NYC and loves to spend her free time reading, writing (for Haloscope!), vintage shopping, and seeking out cool cocktail bars in Brooklyn.

On Altuzarra, show notes, and getting lost in translation. I thought that working at an independent bookstore in Soho would at least prove to be some idyllic, intellectual pursuit that would allow me to talk about the literature I loved with customers — but, in reality, in the winter I worked there, most days the building had no heat, my manager rightly said I talked too much, and the customers were extremely varied. One was delayed picking up her online order because she got shot while on vacation and another told me he was too much of an empath to read Toni Morrison. Not all were bad. A certain celebrity mother-daughter duo would come in and pick out their next book to read together and I once helped a well-known actress find a beginner’s acting manual (“for a friend”). And a handful of times, Joseph Altuzarra’s mother, Karen, would come in. On the last occasion I saw her, I rang up her purchases and kindly said that I didn’t mean to bother her but I used to work in the fashion industry. I had attended her son’s SS20 show in Paris before and recognized her from the audience. We began talking, albeit briefly, as she stood in the checkout line (I had already been given my warning about talking) about literature and different forms of communication. All of this to say, she recommended to me her favorite novel: A Heart So White by Javier Marías. I took the book home that night and, upon first read, found the prose surprisingly complex and difficult in a way that I had not struggled to encounter since the classroom. The novel places two professional language translators shortly after their wedding but flashes forward and backward throughout the narrator’s life. In order to come to terms with his family, old and new, the narrator must grapple with the intricacies and limitations of human language while his expressive revelations remain bound by the alphabets and dialects that the world communally understands. After I finished the novel I couldn’t put it down. I found myself still digesting these sentences I had read months prior and began applying these intricacies to the language of fashion. Marías’ narrator observes that his greatest translation tensions were not from an imminent crisis, or in our case a runway stunt, they were from a lack of receptiveness or available language on the part of the communicator. Over the course of the novel, the narrator must come to grips with the blending of families and generational differences in communication — as his wife and father begin to establish a secret language between the two of them that allows him to learn more about his father, and family writ large, via second-hand language than he ever could have by miscommunicating head-on. Every time Altuzarra’s videos pop up on my feed, I see him beaming about his daughters and the pieces that he sets aside for them from each collection as a wordless time capsule of affection, and once again I am drawn back to the confines of language that lies beside limitless other forms of expression. In fashion, we critique and we complain and we praise and we comment. We observe a runway show and hope that the artistry has not gotten lost in our own translations. As a writer, I constantly attempt to digest a designer’s intention long after the show, much like I still think about Marías’s prose today. As a brand, designers must ask themselves: how do we tell a story, and tell it well enough to sell? Over the past year, fashion’s storytelling has become increasingly habitual, and styling gestures transform from awe on the runway to residual ideas and images in our minds. It’s not too dissimilar from the slow-turning, ballet-like walks we see during couture, albeit a little more commercial. Whether we identify with Bottega Veneta’s woven baskets filled with newspapers and button-downs from seasons past or Miu Miu’s model’s Band-Aid-laden toes after a long day in heels, designers are using their clothing to communicate the language of lived experience. A mannequin represents ambiguity but the runway’s movement allows us to recognize these gestures as ideas that already live inside of us, even if the idea is as simply relatable as sore feet. Prada’s generally the master of this, inviting us into an organic yet incredibly informed runway of experience — such as this season, which blended corporate austerity with organic matter that thrives in the absence of human interaction. Models in swim caps and skinny suits walked down and around the corporate setting as nature peered into humanity’s terrarium — and, as I thought, Will we ever set them free? Loewe folded layer upon layer of communication through the point of view of different digital diasporas. While Anderson canonized his it-boy ambassadors, I unintentionally saw my memories reflected back at me witnessing button-downs tucked into trackies tucked into mid-calf socks. The runway launched me ten years backward into my prep-school dining hall where I watched boys shuffle around the dinner line in — what I thought of then as — the most ridiculous styling pairing I had ever seen. Sweaters; polos; jeans; flannels sewn intentionally amuck under large overcoats zig-zagged our eyes from look to look as if we were darting from phone to computer screen to TV. It’s chaos and yet extremely communicative — each undone belt buckle or tucked trouser leg reveals another layer until we finally reach the bare-chested commentator sitting behind the screen. Martine Rose used quickness and deft design to accelerate her own dialogue. The show was a surprise, announced only the night before, and its wrapped coats and knotted leather trenches somehow looked like the way that listening to “Blue Monday” by New Order feels. But in a flash, as quick as the runway came, it’s gone and the stage goes dark. As the screen sizzles, I blink and am left with the dizzying imprints of the models’ turns. The outlines of camouflage button-downs paired with mohair striped suits, and the lingering orange from crushed velvet pants stick on the back of my eyelids to be reinterpreted in my wardrobe for another day. Sometimes the best we can bear is witness as the story unfolds on the runway before us — before we begin to create our own second-hand interpretations that we nurture closely within ourselves. Eventually, we come to understand something similar to the narrator’s conclusion. Listening to his wife’s feminine hum, he knows, it “...isn’t sung in order to be heard, still less interpreted or translated, that insignificant song, with neither aim nor audience, which one hears and learns and never forgets,” is sung despite everything else. 🌀 Alexandra Hildreth is a 26-year-old freelance fashion writer, brand consultant, and fiction enthusiast based in NYC. Hildreth, who previously worked as a producer, is particularly interested in fashion’s intersection with the “real world” and in her free time remains a competitive Goodreads user. You can find her on Instagram at @Alexandra.Hildreth and TikTok @guyfieri.superfan.

And how Mirror Palais became the sweet dessert of mass sensationalism. Surely, you've ever been scrolling through your Twitter or TikTok feed and found yourself immersed in the beauty of a dress and the femininity in its composition. Scrolling through your Twitter or TikTok feed, something stops you in your tracks: a dress. You are immersed in the beauty of a dress and the femininity in its composition. You excitedly search for its name, finding an elegant set of words hard to forget: Mirror Palais. Founded in 2019 by Marcelo Gaia, a New York-based designer who started by distributing ’80s-inspired swimsuits and revealing tops — and now dresses celebrities like Lana Del Rey and Kylie Jenner — the brand is described, according to Gaia, as "a mix of Edwardian and Victorian fashion, but also with the minimalism and clean lines of the nineties." Captivating millions through social media, he has successfully sold out his collections within hours. His coveted Fairy Dress, for instance, sold out in minutes after it dropped for preorder. But, if we look beyond the success of Mirror Palais, we scratch our heads wondering: where does this irremediable attraction to Gaia's designs come from, seemingly overnight? And why have we all longed to be a Palais Girl? GENESIS Let's start at the Via Crucis: the year 2020. The personal crisis and the desire to reinvent oneself during lockdown increased impulse purchases by 46.3%, causing microtrends to boom through mass sales platforms such as AliExpress or SHEIN. However, cow prints and saturated filters — which now feel passé — were no match for Mirror Palais’ enduring staying power. Amidst the one-note trends, Gaia stayed true to his vision: pulling back on bright colors, sporty outfits, and irregular tops, and instead playing with neutral colors, interesting textures, and streamlined silhouettes. He found a new approach to selling feminine clothing without stepping outside the classical canons. Gaia’s vision — revolutionarily simple, memorable, enlivening our more romantic fashion fantasies — brought back the use of fashion as a hedonistic and illusory movement. REVELATIONS It's no surprise that Gaia's garments have been a hit, and even less so when you take into account what he always kept hidden in his hat: Mirror Palais’ visual direction. There’s a good chance you've already come across a Mirror Palais garment on social media — but the brand’s social strategy took years to develop. In early Instagram posts, we only see pictures of bikinis, tops, and a few other products that were scarcely offered. These images didn't urge us to add them to wishlists or add them to our moodboards. They were just... bikinis and cute tops. After expanding his catalog with silks and lace, and hiring models that look like the fruit of a Mediterranean dream — like Daniela Garza and ThreeMillion — Gaia began imagining his garments differently, taking both photos and videos in which the models seem to be the protagonists of a summer movie. From hanging up clothes to walking through interesting cobblestone streets, Gaia captured the essence of his designs and the covetable contexts in which they could be worn. In this way, the consumer can imagine going out for a glass of wine in a Ballet dress or strolling along the beach in a Maria dress. Suddenly, models were not the main character — the consumers were. Naturally, a beautiful vision always incites its consumption: you see a dress, you fall in love with it, you imagine yourself being a beautiful girl who would attract the eyes of everyone who passes by, and then, you see the price and the questionable quality of the garments. But that doesn't stop some from dreaming of being a Palais Girl and playing with reality and attitude through fashion — even if the use of polyester and rayon has raised some skeptical looks on social media. JUDGMENT Picture this: stylists run from one side to the other spilling their steps on the parquet floor. Influencers and models prepare to be photographed in a corner — delicately decorated with a piano, flowers, broken chandeliers — to capture Gaia's new collection. The smell of hot hair and hairspray obstructs any sense of smell. That particular week is unlike any other: it is New York Fashion Week SS24. Five years after its creation and countless controversies over plagiarism and product pricing, Mirror Palais manages to join the most anticipated event of the year. The tension is perceptible even to the designer himself. Guests, mostly influencers, eagerly watch the re-interpretations of traditional garments that point to different eras of Western history, such as the silhouettes of the 17th century, or the simplicity and chic of the 21st. Beautiful, translucent fabrics, veils, corsets, and ruffles attract the eyes of those present. However, the star look was the white Victorian-style dress worn by influencer Cindy Kimberly. Everyone in the room just had to lay their eyes on that garment. Graceful, fresh, classic — and with bare arms — the dress teaches us that the key to being acclaimed is to not mess with the classics. However, this collection also received criticism — mainly about the lack of inclusivity in Gaia’s designs. The detonator was a look that consisted of a bow-printed baby tee and a simple pink skirt, a gesture of bad taste considering that the outfit broke with the theme of the collection and was featured on one of the few plus-size models hired. People did not hesitate to express their opinions on the internet, pointing out the lack of work he had put into creating garments for bigger sizes. Gaia commented in an interview with Hypebae the previous year, after his SS23 collection: "It never occurred to me to not include any type of person from being able to enjoy Mirror Palais. As a person in my life, I've always connected with all types of people, especially when I felt like an outcast." Will the future collections captivate us with a new size-inclusive era for Mirror Palais or is his statement — seemingly forgotten ahead of his SS24 collection —just mere verbiage? Despite the bitter touches of his controversies, Marcelo Gaia has managed to sweeten the palates of the public with his new — and size-inclusive — Valentine's Day collection Forever Yours, an appetizing feast of reds and pale pinks that brings us back to that attraction we experienced in our first contact with the brand. Today, small brands like Moorea Vintage now design or promote following Gaia's modus operandi, birthing a new movement I like to call “Palaisan hedonism.” With other designers following the new rules Gaia has birthed, it’s a sign of something new — an augury that tells us that there is still a long way to go before Mirror Palais becomes another obsolete brand. 🌀 Alejandra Rubio is a 23-year-old writer, programmer, and ancient soul who often analyzes and embellishes her surroundings through opalescent forms of self-expression. You can find her curating her visions everywhere online @glitched__girl.

Yasmin Bahrami, founder of Moonkissed Collective, sits down with HALOSCOPE Editor-in-Chief Savannah Eden Bradley to talk t-shirts, trendsetting, and taking young women seriously. THIS IS ME YOU'RE HURTING. Last year, a crinkly .png of a baby deer glossed on the front of a T-shirt became one of the most liked, bookmarked, reposted, and even reblogged pieces of clothing across my social feeds. While thousands of young women flocked to the rest of the brand's offerings — from the equally viral It's no use, Jo! top to the Addison Rae-approved Romantic Material shorts — there seemed to be a different growth imperative hidden under the success. Based between California and New York, Moonkissed Collective — led by 23-year-old founder and Creative Director Yasmin Bahrami — knows that imperative well. Unlike other apparel brands, Moonkissed places a genuine premium on community-building, and markets itself as both a brand and a multi-media platform that "...mirrors & highlights the perspectives of young women as they come of age." Collaborating with female designers and female-led non-profits, Moonkissed has had unprecedented growth across the past few years — including a 4700% sales boost from 2021 to 2022 — after exploding in popularity on Instagram. Young women tag UGC with #kissedmedia; they luxuriate in the comments, talking with the brand like any other friend; they moodboard Moonkissed's offerings and tuck them away for digital safekeeping. It's the kind of success many brand owners dream of, and Bahrami and her team were able to accomplish it posthaste — because they intuitively understand what it means to be a girl. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. SAVANNAH BRADLEY: Give me an abbreviated history of the brand. What drew you to starting Moonkissed, in this present moment? YASMIN BAHRAMI: Even when I was a little girl, I always knew I wanted to have my own thing — I never saw [myself] working for anyone. Like, every few years I’d have a new thing that I’d boast about pursuing. I wanted to own hotels, I wanted to make movies, I wanted to be Taylor Swift. As I got older and social media became a part of all our lives, I quickly realized I had a vehicle of communication and self-expression at my fingertips and I didn’t have to wait. I had a Wattpad. A Tumblr blog. A WeHeartIt. A Twitter. Afanpage Instagram. Which all weirdly grew to have a presence online... I think it created sort of a reward system in my brain that when I shared my ideas, people responded, and people listened. [...] And working different creative jobs, I grew an affinity for working with creative women. What you see at that end of that equation is Moonkissed today. In my opinion, I think beauty is the ultimate medium for communication. At the forefront is our clothing brand — what catches the eye, carries the messaging, and financially supports the brand so we can keep doing what we do. The collaborative line has been my route to seek out and work with other women who are visual artists. We also have a charity line, with items going up to 100% profit donated to female-led and female-driven nonprofits. But day-to-day, I find my sense of purpose in working with the girls that I do. SB: And who's all on the team? YB: We have five girls on the team, split between Operations and Social. I have Kristen, who I’ve known since pre-school, who does everything Operations for the company. The best way to describe the dynamic is that I’m often stuck in reading between the lines, getting lost in subjectivity. Kristen is the lines and the bones behind everything. Joanna, who is Kristen’s roommate, has experience working with independent artists and creative enterprises, so she’s helped create systems, brainstorm ideas, and overall lend a helping hand when things get too crazy. Our beautiful website is all because of our beautiful graphic designer, Elsa. As far as socials, we recently hired Emma Rocherolle, who you might recognize for her stunning photography and styling platform on TikTok and Instagram. This past quarter, we brought on Sumner as an intern for graphic design and loved her work so much that we offered her a formal position to continue with us in the future. [...] It’s one big brain of women, all with different perspectives and an affinity for the brand’s voice of romanticization, which innately makes the experience positive and bleeds into life outside of work. SB: You’ve spoken about Moonkissed Collective’s clothing serving as an “aesthetic vehicle for communication” — and that two-way, symbiotic relationship between your brand and your audience online is very evident. Can you elaborate on that? How do you think social media has impacted your brand growth? YB: I think beauty is the ultimate medium for communication. I mean — think of it as literally as watching a Vogue Beauty Secrets video. If a beautiful girl tells me to buy a beautiful thing, I’m going to do it. But, you know, it stretches so much further than that, if you think about it. Watching a beautiful film — we all know what it feels like to have that rush of inspiration after finishing a movie. Or reading a beautiful book or poem, what a dressed-up word can do to you. You might’ve not heard it right otherwise. So, beautiful clothes. I knew people cared about clothes. I care about clothes! Online shopping is a genuine category of how I spend time in my life. So when I had a vision of working with women and being involved with different artists, clothing was the first thing that came to mind. I went to school for marketing and they always teach you to come out with the product or service and then the mission statement. For me, it was the other way around. I was just talking with Elsa, our Interface Developer, who joked to me how she sees the most adorable usernames pop up in our Instagram notifications. Like, stuff like @bambi_princess or @sweetangelgirl111, all of that. These girls, all under this hyper-feminine archetype of expression, they all gravitate towards Moonkissed because of algorithms. Like, it’s their echo chamber. Without social media, I don’t think an actual storefront would reach the corners of this community like it has. I didn’t expect it, honestly, but it’s found its people that resonate. I love that. SB: The past three years have seen an influx of brands — Praying, Online Ceramics, Hollywood Gifts — embracing a somewhat maximalist approach to text on clothing, with a whole lot of copycats. How do you feel Moonkissed is differentiating? YB: It’s funny, because like, when you mention a brand like Praying, I think of them as bold — but I don’t think of Moonkissed as “bold.” I mean, inherently, wearing a T-shirt that says “The kind of girlfriend God gives you young, so you’ll know loss the rest of your life” is definitely a statement.. but I think the difference between Moonkissed and other brands alike is its inherent softness. I see the pieces as different character archetypes that [can] be tried on. Like, maybe today, you’re the girl who’s still in love with her ex, and you’re wearing the Lousy Tee. Or tomorrow, you’re over it and you’re wearing the All Good On My End Pants. It’s a really literal way of expressing yourself through clothing. And still, I’d say for the most part, the wearer is someone who isn’t necessarily trying to be loud in that statement. It’s like the way that I’ve used my social media platforms — always a subliminal message, something I’m referring to, but not quite clear. It’s funny how that’s translated into the designs I make. SB: What do you think is the Moonkissed Collective ethos? YB: I wanted to create a space online where people felt like something understood them. I know that’s broad, but in a way, I’m glad I let the algorithm do its thing. I just put forth the messaging I related to, honestly, and other sensitive, romantic people gathered around it. And now that we have this community — to me, it’s all about introducing projects with more voice, more to say, more to comfort, guide, or just provide a haven. We have a group of women who have a reverence for meaning and magic in between all things. I want to help people like that use that side of themselves to build a life they want and not feel alone in doing it. That’s ultimately what I needed growing up — and I really believe all of our purposes come from being what you needed at some point. SB: What or who inspires your work? YB: I would say I get most of my inspiration from characters from books and movies. You know when you read or watch something, and you kinda start meshing with whoever you’re drawn to most in the plot? That really happens to me, it’s so funny. It’s like I find an edge of myself that fits into that character’s puzzle, and it can really blend into my personality or way of thinking for [the] time being. So, as a result, what I make comes from that place. Everyone knows of course how much I love Sofia Coppola and her work — it’s a mode I get into, a lens I see through. And then, you see, I’ve started printing different flowers on the crotch of white dresses. Like, that sensual girliness that is so Coppola-coded. I don’t know how much I’m influenced until I look back, but it’s funny. SB: What’s been the most popular piece so far? YB: The Love Letter pieces, a design I made with Hetty Godmon, that actually put us on the map is still our most popular. That, and most recently, the Little Women Tee. We have a group of women who have a reverence for meaning and magic in between all things. I want to help people like that use that side of themselves to build a life they want and not feel alone in doing it. SB: What’s your thinking as far as growth? Do you want the brand to be big? Do you want it to stay small? Do you just want to ride whatever wave happens? YB: Ultimately, my goal when I start anything is to scale it to work on its own. As in — I don’t see Moonkissed being my only venture, and I actually believe that it will do better when my hands can be more off of it in an operational sense. I want the clothing brand to be self-sustaining enough so that I can focus on more complex projects — building the blog, creating a lingerie line, maybe even a podcast. My idea with anything I start is to grow it enough to sustain without micro-management, because I really am better at being a big-picture person. SB: Now… for the lightning round. I’m going to give you some of Moonkissed’s iconic designs, and you tell me your dream It Girl you’d love to see it on: the Love Letter Tank, Lousy Tee, Romantic Material Unitard, All Good On My End, Suffer Better Tank, and World’s Most Esoteric Girl mug. YB: For the Love Letter Tank — Phoebe Tonkin. I love her style and I feel like she’s such a girl’s girl on the internet. And whenever I see a picture of her she has the perfect red lip. For the Lousy Tee... Lana Rhoades! I’m obsessed with her vibe. The Romantic Material Unitard — pretty sure we gifted Addison Rae this piece, so I’d love to see her wearing it around someday. Suffer Better, Chloë Sevigny would look cute in that. The All Good On My End Pants — Julia Fox, please. And the World’s Most Esoteric Girl Mug — when I think of mugs, I think of that look of like, Taylor Swift and Zooey Deschanel with Instagram filters in 2012. So either of them would be a dream. SB: The last (and obviously most important) question I have is, as a longtime July Forever stan: give me your top three Lana songs of all time. YB: I can’t believe you’re doing this to me, but if I have to choose… Chemtrails Over the Country Club How to Disappear JFK (Unreleased). 🌀 You can connect with Moonkissed here and explore their offerings on their website. Savannah Eden Bradley a writer, fashion editor, gallerina, Gnostic scholar, reformed it girl, and future beautiful ghost from the Carolina coast. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the fashion magazine HALOSCOPE. You can stalk her everywhere online @savbrads.

Agar Olfactory's eschatological fragrances, reviewed. There are at least two base impulses that set humanity apart from other living beings. The first might be called an aspiration to create: the urge to make art, construct temples, and build relationships, all in service of something greater than oneself. The second is undoubtedly the urge to burn it all down. The prevalence of humanity’s masochistic fascination with its own demise is as central to the human condition as an innate lust for life. Whether through the cosmic dance of Shiva; the Alpha and the Omega’s last judgment, or the outbreak of another global pandemic, people cannot stop themselves from foreseeing an eventual end to life as they know it. Enter the work of Chicago-based perfumer agustine zegers*. The stated nature of their project Agar Olfactory is “speculative olfaction that imagines climate disaster, apocalyptic scenarios, and the smellscapes that would exist within them.” Placed firmly at the intersection of individual creativity and collective political action, Agar Olfactory’s fragrances are unsettling, distinctive, and still somehow serene. I am reminded primarily of references to new generations of science fiction: where terms like “solarpunk” and Emily St. John Mandel’s brutal and quietly hopeful novel Station Eleven gesture towards a form of cosmic hope contained in humanity’s capability to either adapt to immediate environmental imperatives towards degrowth, or else destroy itself and rid Earth of its most damaging parasite. In many ways, the lens of climate apocalypse shifts the imperative away from humanity at large, proving our fascination with our end-all-be-all extinction reifies the very same human-centered priority system that enables corporate greed at the cost of damaging the homes and environments of many other different kinds of life. Perhaps humanity will not outlast the next few millennia, but subtly joyful work like that of Agar Olfactory reminds me that with or without us around, life – uh – finds a way. The first time the world ends is in 1999. The Y2K bug looms inside all the world’s computer systems, and as the ball drops and the year changes over, it all comes grinding to a halt. Cero, perhaps the most abstract of zegers’ creations, envisions the smell of ‘90s technological collapse. The most immediate impression when first sprayed is chemical heat, like burning yourself with hot printer ink. Perhaps you wince, but as Cero settles onto skin, it turns into a more mellow, rounded plastic accord, described in copy as “Mac carcass.” I see references here to Comme des Garçon’s 2011, but where 2011 smells like a wilting flower with a Macbook self-immolating in the next room over, Cero is the open casket funeral for the iMac G3. The elephant in the room here is that this perfume is perhaps the first-ever olfactory reference point for the vaporwave aesthetic. If I had to pick one fragrance to wear to a rep theater showing of Daniel Lopatin’s early YouTube-core video art, this would surely be it. Into the drydown, Cero quickly turns from shiny plastic to tart, almost herbal sort of mustiness. Zegers writes of a mousepad note, and this is where I smell it most prominently. Like many Agar Olfactory releases, Cero evolves at an almost blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speed, with top notes likely far outnumbering any added fixatives. That said, Cero lingers neatly on your wrist for an hour or two. That’s just enough time to make it out of a cozy movie date with a self-described xenofeminist you met on Twitter who wanted to watch Assayas’ Demonlover — and make it back home in enough time to stare slack-jawed at your computer screen, long enough that your lain-core internet femcel besties won’t grow suspicious you broke hikikomori honor code. The next time the world ends is in 2021. A little virus by the name of COVID-19 has stopped the world in its tracks, and you, dear reader, a high-rise dwelling urbanite, are forced to subscribe to a delivery service wherein semi-fresh vegetables are delivered by an underpaid contract worker to your empty lobby. You take the bag up to your criminally small kitchen, and you eat the complete antithesis of the Smiling Woman Tampon Commercial Salad, all while longing for the verdant comforts of kimchi from your currently closed local Asian Fusion open-concept restaurant-slash-microbrewery. Bitbit, perhaps tied with Cero for my favorite perfume from Agar Olfactory, is first and foremost the pungent smell of spoiled chard. Bitter, green, and somewhat powdery, this overabundance of vegetal notes is supplemented by herbal mugwort, wormwood, and astringent valerian. Often showing this perfume to my friends causes them to recoil in disbelief, and yet I truly do find this smell strangely comforting. Something about how it tickles the back of my nose, the sharpness almost replicating the camphoric nature of tiger balm, makes it feel like a harsh, ancient medicinal treatment for spiritual maladies. This is something the village elder in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind rubs onto your broken leg to give you quickness in battling airships. Wear this to fight for the ancient nobility of the Ohmu, or just to binge-watch ecopunk anime alone in your room during the next inevitable quarantine. The next time the world ends is in 2050. Large groups of insect species are at risk of extinction due to harmful policymaking and irresponsible farming practices. Enter Bicho, a tool designed to court what few pollinating bugs remain. Wearing this feels like slipping into bee lingerie. The predominant notes are those of crushed leaves and a scratchy, pollen-laden fig. Indeed the process of creating a fig, which is not a fruit but the stem of an inflorescence, necessitates the coevolutionary relationship of a wasp fertilizing the fig, sometimes at the cost of its life: clipping its wings and becoming crucial nourishment for the tree as it grows to maturity. It is a masochistic but beautiful dynamic — that most figs contain the traces of a wasp who gave its life to fulfill its evolutionary destiny. Bicho smells like what you would wear to the wasp’s wake if you were planning on liaising with a recently-widowed male wasp and wanted to appear tantalizing-yet-respectful. There is such an effect of powdery pollen into the drydown that one almost feels seasonal allergies manifest. There are undertones of jasmine and lavender here, but ultimately neither stands out above the other. This is almost exactly what I would imagine Erika Thompson, the hot girl Texan beekeeper who handles entire hives with her bare hands, would smell like after a hard day’s work. With perhaps the largest sillage of Agar Olfactory’s offerings, wear this to smell like the hottest snapdragon in the meadow. The last time the world ends is in 3030. Now, it is quiet. Humankind is long since gone, and what remains has flourished in our absence. They use our abandoned structures – houses, office complexes, theaters – as new homes. Damp, a delicate and simple soli-molecule a la molecule 01, captures the smell of soil bacteria feasting upon our ruins. This is among the quietest perfumes I have ever smelled — you will not be able to smell it at all on paper. But tested on skin, you catch traces of the reassurance that the world will end not with a bang, but with a whisper. I pick up on strong connections to Demeter’s Dirt — but where Dirt leans shovel full of potting soil, Damp feels more like an overgrown forest floor after rain. There is a unique, watery character here that might almost be described as petrichor, the distinct smell of rain falling on dry soil. Composed of the Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétra) rock, or πέτρος (pétros) stone, and ἰχώρ (ikhṓr), the ethereal fluid that flows through the veins of the Gods in Greek mythology, this smell is often sought after in perfumery. I do truly feel, however, that the blast of geosmin in Damp, unfettered by an excess of additives, hits this smell on the head. There is a quiet sort of poetry to Damp — a meditative minimalism that draws the attention inward. There is also the insistence, in all of Agar Olfactory’s work, really, that the Anthropocene is both arbiter and record of our destruction. No matter how badly we mess things up here on Earth, the marks we make on the enduring surface of the world will persist, in some way, shape, or form, long after we turn out the lights. 🌀 The perfumes of Agar Olfactory can be purchased in both full bottles and sample-sized quantities, on zegers’ website. *zegers’ name is intentionally left in lowercase. Audrey Robinovitz is a multidisciplinary artist, scholar, and self-professed perfume critic. Her work intersects with the continued traditions of fiber and olfactory arts, post-structural feminism, and media studies. At this very moment, she is most likely either smelling perfume or taking pictures of flowers.

From Didion's Play It As It Lays to Carol. When you wake up on an icy morning and the last thing you want to do is get out from under the covers, it can be hard to imagine changing out of your warm nightwear and slipping into something a little less comfortable. We’ve rounded up ten winter films with classic looks to reference all throughout the snowy season to keep you warm and stylish. VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967, dir. Mark Robson) If you want to honor classic Old Hollywood silhouettes and colorways this winter, look no further than Mark Robson’s Valley of the Dolls (1967). The movie warns of grandiose glitz and glamour, apparent in the film’s fashions. Sharon Tate’s Jennifer North wears an icy blue buttoned coat and accessorizes with a buttery brown scarf, gloves, and knee-high boots during her walk through Central Park. THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964, dir. Jacques Demy) Forever a fashion icon, Catherine Deneuve’s character, Geneviève, uses fashion as a means of self-expression during wartime. Costume designer Jacqueline Moreau famously used bright colors and pastel shades to honor the beauty of Cherbourg. Geneviève’s monochromatic knee-length coats and oversized hair bows are perfect for a modern Sandy Liang girl looking to dress up this holiday season. PLAY IT AS IT LAYS (1972, dir. Frank Perry) Play It As It Lays depicts a warmer winter season, set between Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the Mojave Desert. Maria (Tuesday Weld) dresses for the weather in thick knitwear — typical California wear for the December month. Maria is a fan of a turtleneck and her ultra-60s wavy hair complements her casual Los Angeles attire. THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001, dir. Wes Anderson) We all recognize Gwyneth Paltrow’s infamous look as Margot in her oversized fur coat and smudged black eyeliner in The Royal Tenenbaums. Gucci even had a Fall 2015 show where you can see a modernized, simplified take on Margot’s ensemble. Channel Paltrow this winter by throwing on your best fur and strutting down the street to Nico’s “These Days.” BLACK SWAN (2010, dir. Darren Aronofsky) Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 film Black Swan does not stray from classic ballet aesthetics, with Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) making sure she incorporates the perfect shade of ballerina pink in her wardrobe at all times. Complete with a feathered scarf and slouchy Uggs, these looks are sure to keep you warm, fashionable, and perpetually innocent. THE SHINING (1980, dir. Stanley Kubrick) The only thing scarier than Jack Torrence is itchy wool sweaters. Shelley Duvall plays Wendy in The Shining, who keeps herself warm during the cold Colorado offseason by wearing layers. Wendy’s turtleneck-flannel-overalls combination is a cute yet rustic take on bundling up for the snow. (We recommend accessorizing with a baseball bat to achieve this look!) LITTLE WOMEN (2019, dir. Greta Gerwig) Though the March girls could not afford to care much about fashion, Oscar-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran made the outfits interesting by playing with cozy layers, full-toned colors, and diametrical patterns. I particularly like Meg’s (Emma Watson) ensemble in this scene, with contrasting shades of green and purple and clashing patterns of plaid and gingham. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990, dir. Tim Burton) Yes, this Tim Burton classic is very much a Halloween movie, but my yearly rewatch makes it a Christmas tradition in my heart. Kim’s (Winona Ryder)  all-white, off-the-shoulder outfit is reminiscent of snowfall, making her look like an angel with blonde, ringlet curls and pink-blushed cheeks. EYES WIDE SHUT (1999, dir. Stanley Kubrick) Transparent lace overlays and voluminous updos are referential of ‘60s fashion, a big trend for 2024 alongside this year’s release of Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla. If you have a glamorous holiday party to attend this month and you want to be the mysteriously sexy girl in the corner, Eyes Wide Shut is a must-watch for some dress inspo. CAROL (2015, dir. Todd Haynes) Not unlike the frigid temperatures of the winter season, Carol is a picture of fleeting moments of unexpected warmth despite the cold. Rich reds and tartan; headbands and berets; fur and Louis Vuitton: opulence and rebellion born from years of obeying traditional gendered structures all meet timid demure in a 1950s New York City department store. 🌀

Starting with Yves Saint Laurent F/W 1992 Couture, obviously. Stay warm, look chic —  that's the lemma of fur hats. As a practical winter staple, fur hats are a fun alternative for such a frosty season, useful and stylish with that hint of frivolity that all fashionistas adore. Associated by some with Audrey Hepburn's black fur hat moment in the snow and by others with '90s British funk and acid-jazz band Jamiroquai, this warm little extra has recently experienced a prominent revival. Seen on celebrities from Brazilian model Adriana Lima to actress Angelina Jolie in Phillip Noyce's film Salt, prestigious designers like the late Yves Saint Laurent have always cherished the accessory — and nowadays, things are no different. Spotted in the latest F/W collections from renowned brands like Burberry, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dsquared2, and Fendi, it’s undeniable that fur hats are more popular than ever. Captivating everyone with its nonchalance, obviously in winter there's no cooler accessory to stick to. If you're looking to incorporate a cozy and stylish fur hat into your looks, take a look at our 10 most iconic fur hat moments in fashion below. 🌀 Model Karen Mulder graces the Yves Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 1992 Couture runway with an all-black look, including a black fur hat. (1992) Model Kate Moss wears a white fur hat with black details backstage at the Anna Sui Fall/Winter 1994 show. (1994) One of the original supermodels, Christy Turlington, walks in the Chanel Fall 1994 Ready-To-Wear collection wearing a black and white fuzzy hat with a matching coat over a black dress. (1994) Actress Pamela Anderson attends the 1999 VMAs wearing a fuzzy pink hat by Ivy Supersonic. (1999) Iconic Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel walks in the 2007 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show wearing a white fur hat, white puffy coat, and baby blue lingerie — with accessories such as an ID badge and some brooches. (2007) From attending Cheltenham Races in March 2006 to Sunday services at church in 2017 and 2018, Kate Middleton has relied on fur hats for over a decade. The Princess of Wales' accessory collection, showcasing a diverse range of shapes, colors, and styles, captures the timeless appeal of the iconic fur hat. (2006) Model Bella Hadid covers W Magazine’s 50th Anniversary wearing Melitta Baumeister Fall/Winter 2022. (2022) The Jean Paul Gaultier Fall/Winter 2023 Couture collection by Julien Dossena, creative director of Paco Rabanne, features an all-animal print look with a matching leopard neck warmer and hat. (2023) Model, actress, and writer Emily Ratajkowski poses in a beige fur hat and red velvet swimsuit on the Instagram of her bikini label, Inamorata. (2021) Pop icon Rihanna walks the streets of Los Angeles wearing Alaïa with a matching brown fur bag and hat. (2023)

AKA our sartorial predictions for 2024, determined by transits and the Tarot. 2024 promises to dawn a new era, thanks to our girls Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Astrologers believe that these three planets may cause significant shifts in our society and systems, aided by Jupiter’s good graces in her path through Pisces and Gemini. With no Venus Retrograde in 2024, the year promises to bring some sweetness — if only in all things beautiful and stylish. If the stars are helping us build a new reality, what will this mean for our wardrobes? We consulted the big astrological markings of the year (and the Tarot!) to hopefully answer this question. Read on... DECEMBER 21, 2023 to JANUARY 20, 2024 CARD DRAWN: XVII — THE STAR Capricorn season will welcome us with Mercury stationing direct on January 1st, 2024. While this is bound to bring release to our communications, if you’re an astrology fan, you will know that stationing direct does not mean an immediate green-light-go situation. It takes a little while post-retrograde for things to start moving forward at the speed we want. The tarot card we drew for this season is The Star — an excellent symbol for poets, artists, and lovers of silky textures and see-through fabrics. With Mercury in its post-retrograde shadow and the good omen of The Star, Capricorn season will likely be dominated by: Slow fashion, or wearing and loving what we already own Poetic tailoring, artful layering, and deeply serious texture play Metallics styled unexpectedly JANUARY 20 to FEBRUARY 19 CARD DRAWN: XX — THE LAST JUDGEMENT Aquarius is a sign known for its originality and its obsession with social causes — the rebel sign. At least when looking at the big picture, Aquarius season seems pretty quiet in the sky. It will likely give us space to highlight our individuality, which ironically may increase micro-trends as brands attempt to cater to as many people as possible. The tarot card we drew for this season is The Last Judgement, which sounds scary, but actually suggests forward growth: it represents an awakening, an opportunity to recognize personal triumphs, and a chance to reveal your true purpose in life. Aquarius season trends, therefore, have not come to play. We predict: An emphasis on quality over quantity Structured silhouettes, sharp lines, interesting proportions Detail-oriented styling, looking for that one unique item, individualizing something everyone owns FEBRUARY 19 to MARCH 20 CARD DRAWN: FIVE OF SWORDS Pisces season usually brings a lot of feelings — and 2024 will be no stranger to that. With Saturn, the giant of the rules, still transiting the sign of the watercolors and waterworks, things may be a bit more serious this year than in prior Pisces seasons. The Five of Swords is a card that represents unexpected defeat and unfair situations. It is a warning to stand up against adversity. In stylistic terms, we may respond to tougher circumstances by adorning ourselves and embracing our wardrobes as armor. Trends will likely include: Aggressive bows, unexpected cutouts Metallics and satins in outerwear Ginormous bags to carry our Kleenex boxes MARCH 20 to APRIL 19 CARD DRAWN: KING OF WANDS In 2024, Aries season is also Eclipse season, which means that the usually impulsive and unpredictable nature of the season will be heightened. The Lunar Eclipse in Libra will highlight relationship issues (more on that later) and the Solar Eclipse in Aries will highlight issues with ourselves. It promises to be volatile and chaotic, bringing endings to cycles that began in 2023 — and also bringing us new beginnings. Mercury will retrograde for most of April, adding to the chaos that Aries season promises. We drew the King of Wands for this season: a masculine symbol of passion, intelligence, agility, and loyalty. Some trends Aries season may bring are: An emphasis on  menswear, finding inspiration in garments traditionally designed for men but worn in unexpected ways Popped polo collars Warm tones and preference for gold over silver APRIL 19 to MAY 20 CARD DRAWN: KING OF SWORDS Taurus season will be marked by Mercury stationing direct and Venus entering Taurus. With the planet of femmes and everything beautiful in one of its home signs, opulent aesthetic pursuits will flourish. With Uranus — the planet of change and upheaval — also in Taurus, we may find ourselves finding new ways of relating to nature; new forms of production; and alternative relationships to what comes from the ground, what we eat, and what we wear. We drew the King of Swords for this season, which represents male authority, strategy, rationality, and leadership — but also holding grudges, disruptive power, and barbarity. Sartorially, we believe this will manifest in: Browns as our favorite neutrals, earthy tones '80s power suits complete with briefcases Experimentation with materials, biologically-rendered plastics, alternative leathers, the marriage between fashion and science MAY 20 to JUNE 20 CARD DRAWN: NINE OF WANDS In 2024, Gemini season will be blessed by the presence and generosity of Jupiter as it transits through the sign of communication, gossip, multitasking, and social butterflying. With the promise of expansion and exposure to new concepts and ideas, Gemini season will have us asking: what even is fashion? Why are some things considered wearable and others not? The Nine of Wands is the tarot card for this season, promising potential adversities, but also the courage and strength to overcome them. Struggles may come, but we will be ready for (figurative) battle, perhaps with joyful clothing in tow. Gemini's jubilant, bold spirit may appear in our wardrobes through: Thorny roses and the color red Tiny skirts, tiny dresses, tiny shorts, no pants — and pointy shoes Glitter! JUNE 20 to JULY 22 CARD DRAWN: TEN OF CUPS Cancer season makes us want to nurture and nest, and with Saturn stationing retrograde, we get cosmic permission to slow down, not work as hard, and focus on our relationships and health. Venus in Cancer will sextile Uranus, then enter Leo, promising boldness and maximalist self-expression — but perhaps with each of us redefining our personal definitions of maximalism. The Ten of Cups is traditionally described as a card that features “a well-dressed young couple” and two kids happily dancing beside them. It represents contentment, happiness, love, friendship, and joy. Shaking it up for Cancer season, this time the crying will be Happy Crying™. For this season, we predict: Head-to-toe, playful denim Sculptural, body-hugging garments in buttery fabrics and sweet colors Button-up shirt dresses JULY 22 to AUGUST 22 CARD DRAWN: THREE OF PENTACLES Leo season often brings out the movie stars in all of us, but this year it will be sprinkled with a bit of Mercury Retrograde. As Mercury retrogrades through Virgo and Leo, we'll want to watch what we say, as it may be misinterpreted or seen as overly dramatic. Style mishaps may happen, but in the end, this experimentation will bring us closer to how we actually want to dress. The Three of Pentacles promises craftsmanship, artistic skill, excellent DIY, and careful magical practices. We predict: The drama will be in the details: bold buttons, sleek cutouts, sheer fabrics expertly layered Mesh, fishnets, and mermaidesque textures Art-as-fashion, fashion-as-art, and the craft of personalizing our clothing at home AUGUST 22 to SEPTEMBER 22 CARD DRAWN: XIV — TEMPERANCE When Virgo season strikes, we get the urge to buy school supplies, sharpen our pencils, and get ready to say goodbye to leisurely summer days — even well into adulthood. If we fly too close to the sun in the summer of 2024, Virgo season will be a good time to apply aloe vera and practice good self-care — as Virgo season also brings the start of Eclipse Season no. 2, with a Full Moon Eclipse in Pisces on September 17. This marks the end of a fantasy-filled summer and a climax in the dissolution of structures that began in 2023. Temperance is, therefore, exactly what we will need. This card represents harmony, an internal union of our past and our present, adaptation, self-control, and moderation. This will be reflected  in our wardrobes in the form of: A closet cleanout —  circular fashion, trading clothes with friends, with a focus on practicality Utilitarianism, back-to-school preppy, unforgettable trench coats Ties, skirts layered over pants, outfits that mean business SEPTEMBER 22 to OCTOBER 22 CARD DRAWN: I — THE MAGICIAN With fairness and generosity, Libra season brings some much-needed harmony to the middle of Eclipse Season. This will be disrupted by the Solar Eclipse in Libra on October 2, which will bring out repressed emotions and act as a cleansing regarding our relationship patterns and habits. But if one thing is true about Libra season — it’s that we will crave beautiful things. The Magician brings about positivity, strength of will, decisiveness, and balance. We foresee: Lavender, hazy textures, an emphasis on softness Exaggerated pussybows, 1950s silhouettes Neutrals in fun textures, feathers, polka dots OCTOBER 22 to NOVEMBER 21 CARD DRAWN: VII — THE CHARIOT With the start of spooky season, we always crave all things Scorpio: overlined eyes, black cats, and candlelit nights. With a relatively quiet Scorpio season, we’ll have a proper chance to explore the shadowy parts of ourselves. We drew The Chariot for this season — a card that speaks to triumphant journeys and victory laps, opulence, and dominion. We think Scorpio season will be dominated by: The spirit of punk, grunge, and BDSM aesthetics Leather skirts and spiky shoulders Clothing that casts visual illusions — waist-huggers, sculptural base layers, and more NOVEMBER 21 to DECEMBER 21 CARD DRAWN: TWO OF SWORDS Sagittarius is the season of travel and adventure, but in 2024 it will be joined by (you guessed it!) the last Mercury Retrograde of the year. A good reminder to not rush through it, Mercury will force us to slow down and double-check our plans. The Two of Swords features a woman in a white robe holding two swords with her arms crossed over her chest. It’s an omen of initiation, change, and finding harmony within one’s self. This Sagittarius season we will see: LBDs with sculptural necklines and fun silhouettes Lace, velvet, and textures we want to rub between our fingers Unboring beige (seriously) Start prepping. The cards have spoken. 🔮🌀 Laura Rocha-Rueda is a Colombian fashion and fiction writer based in Brooklyn who holds a Creative Writing MFA from The New School. She is your local Swiftie and will gladly chat about anything glittery and soft, and about why dismissing pop culture as frivolous is misguided and sad.