Denials Say Anna Wintour Is Going Nowhere As AOC Reflects On Edward Enninful's May 2018 New Fashion Army

These rumors are not true, a Vogue representative told the Cut. "There's zero truth to the story." Condé Nast also denied that Anna Wintour will be leaving the company.

I read the Page Six story before the denials. The source of this stunning rumor about a fashion industry executive, the grand high priestess whose influence cannot be overstated, is a report published on “Page Six” titled, “Is Anna Wintour Out at Vogue?”  The publication reportedly spoke to a number of sources who said Wintour is going to exit her role this summer after her daughter’s Bee Schaffer's wedding Francesco Carrozzini, son of former Italian Vogue Editor Franca Sozzani, in July. The report also speculated who would replace Wintour were she to leave Vogue, who might be encouraging her to exit, as well as what other opportunities might the 68 year old want to pursue.

Longtime Condé chairman Si Newhouse, who died in October 2017, was Anna Wintour's biggest cheerleader. In the Anna is leaving narrative, his presumed successor is Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of  Condé Nast International, currently living in London running the company's international media. According to Page Six, Jonathan "doesn't like (the amount of power) Anna has" and favors Enninful." This assertion comes from a single source.

Under Wintour’s watch as artistic director, Condé has closed the print editions of Teen Vogue, Self and Details and it has fought to compete online after closing down Style.com. Sources told The Post that the company is about $100 million a year in red ink.

So 'informed' is the Page Six story that it says there's even buzz that Wintour's exit interview has already been arranged and granted to the New York Times. 

Edward Enninful: Ghanaian Immigrant

Besides being as stunned as everyone else with this Page Six Story about Anna Wintour leaving Condé Nast, I couldn't help thinking about a short piece from yesterday about Edward Enninful's May 2018 British Vogue cover.

For additional context, Enningful is originally from Ghana and I had just watched the superb Netflix documentary 'Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise."  There is a scene in the film featuring Maya Angelou living in Ghana for a time immediately after independence. Of course I was captivated as Angelou was surrounded by global activists and intelligentsia including Malcolm X.

I made a joke to myself that any moment Queen Elizabeth II would appear, dancing a foxtrot with Ghana's new president Kwame Nkrumah. This episode from 'The Crown' and my commentary on it has become a tried and true daily read on AOC. With that Queen EIizabeth appeared with Nkrumah, leaving me smiling and wanting to know more about Edward Enninful's parents. Were they activists? Because Enninful has spoken truth to power on the need for diversity in fashion his entire life. 

This was the backdrop of my own Sunday thoughts on Enninful's May 2018 Vogue UK cover. We have a long way to go here before Edward Enninful replaces Anna Wintour at American Vogue. 

Edward Enninful's New Day Fashion Army

As We 'March for Our Lives' Edward Enninful Covers British Vogue May 2018 With A Different Fashion Army

Arizona Muse Joins Julianne Moore In Celebrating Chopard's Move To 100% Ethical Gold

Arizona Muse Joins Julianne Moore In Celebrating Chopard's Move To 100% Ethical Gold

Chopard made a landmark announcement on March 22 that by July 22, the Swiss maison will only use ethical gold in all its jewelry and watch creations. Long-time friends of Chopard including Colin and Livia Firth, Julianne Moore and Arizona Muse joined Chopard's Caroline Scheufele and Karl Friedrich Scheufele in making the announcement. 

The commitment to sustainability is a long one. More than 30 years ago Chopard brought all its jewelry-making processes in-house in order to guarantee control of every aspect of their relationship with miners as well as promises made to Chopard clients. 

In 2013 the Maison made the decision to invest directly in artisanal gold, to increase its availability to the larger market. The company has a long-standing relationship with Olivia and Colin Firth, who champion sustainability through their Green Carpet Collections. Chopard defines “ethical gold” as gold acquired from responsible sources that have been verified to meet international best practices. From July 2018 Chopard gold will be responsibly sourced from either artisanal small-scale mines in the Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA), Fairmined and Fairtrade schemes, or from the RJC Chain of Custody gold through Chopard’s partnership with RJC-certified refineries.

Malala Yousafzai Makes Emotional 4-Day Return To Pakistan, Will Travel To Swat Valley→

Malala Yousafzai Makes Emotional 4-Day Return To Pakistan, Will Travel To Swat Valley

My heart just dropped a bit, reading that Malala Yousafzai is in Pakistan. In her Netflix David Letterman interview, the world's youngest Nobel Laureate talks about how she misses "the rivers and mountains" of her home in Swat Valley and all she wanted was for her "feet to touch the ground of home."

Malala is now home for the first time since she was attacked on her school bus, shot at close range with a bullet to her head. Now 20 and studying at Oxford, Malala is expected to stay primarily in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, during her four-day visit. 

“I still can’t believe that it is actually happening,” the global activist for girls education said in a visibly emotional speech at the office of Pakistan's Prime Minister Shadid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday. “In the last five years, I have always dreamed of coming back to my country.”

As the audience erupted into moved and emotional applause, Malala broke into tears and for a moment cupped her hands to cover her face.

“I am just 20 years old, but I have seen a lot in life,” she continued with a choked voice, recalling how she grew up in the picturesque Swat region only to watch it slide into extremism and terrorism. “I never wanted to leave my country.”

Malala wil be traveling to the Swat Valley in her four-day visit, Earlier this month, a new girls’ school built with her Nobel prize money opened in Shangla, near her home district of Swat. Malala will inaugurate the official opening of the school.

Ascia AKF Talks Modest Fashion, Navigating Islam As A Top Influencer In Global World

Ascia AKF Talks Modest Fashion, Navigating Islam As A Top Influencer In Global World

Ascia Al Faraj,  also known as Ascia AKF, is a leader of the pack of influencers promoting modest fashion with a streetwear edge. Writing for Fashionista, Whitney Bauck talks frankly with Ascia about redefining Muslim fashion, how K-beauty changed her life and what the West doesn't understand about Arab women.

With 2.3 million followers on Instagram, Faraj strikes "the coveted perfect balance between aspirational and relatable" writes Bauck. She is a true global citizen, raised by a Kuwaiti father and American mother. Signing on to her original blog 'The Hybrids', we meet the message 'Let's talk eating disorders', confirming that Faraj is willing to deal with complex topics head-on.

In what is an excellent interview and not a hits-generating puff piece, Bauck and Faraj explore serious questions, including a common one about covering your head as a Muslim woman.  AOC has written about modest fashion, hijabs and burqas for years, and we learned some new facts in their exchange.

How did you start covering your head, and when? I noticed your mom doesn't cover hers.

Lena Waithe Covers Vanity Fair April 2018, Expanding White Culture's Exposure To Black Brilliance

Lena Waithe Covers Vanity Fair April 2018, Expanding White Culture's Exposure To Black Brilliance

Emmy Award-winner Lena Waithe takes the cover of  American Vanity Fair‘s April 2018 edition captured by fashion and celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, with styling from Jessica Diehl. Waithe is the first black woman to win a Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for 'Master of None'.

After garnering accolades for her work on 'The Chi' as well, and appearing in Steven Spielberg's new film 'Ready Player One', Lena Waithe talks to Jacqueline Woodson about her influences from the Harlem Renaissance to 'Time's Up'. Talking in the world of current 'Black Panther' and 'A Wrinkle In Time's' success, Lena Waithe is anchored in the world of Black Brilliance. Not only has this moment arrived in Hollywood, writes Woodson, it "has not come to play."

Meeting her at the Four Seasons restaurant in Beverly Hills, Woodson begins to see Lena "as a woman coming at the world from many different places, quick-moving and fast-talking yet soft-spoken and thoughtful, cursing a mile a minute while bringing a new vibrancy to language. . . . On the butch side of queer but with delicate edges. Star power with kindness. "

An Open Letter to Student Marchers At 'March For Our Lives': 'You Are Revolutionaries

An Open Letter to Student Marchers At 'March For Our Lives': 'You Are Revolutionaries

To the students marching in Washington D.C, and across the country tomorrow: an open letter from Reshma Saujani, CEO and founder of Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization that aims to boost the number of women in computer science fields. 

If there’s any generation that sets us free, it will be yours. If there’s any generation that achieves real lasting change for our country, it will be yours. You are change-makers. You are revolutionaries. You are patriots.

You are the most diverse generation in American history–and that diversity is reflected in your movements, in your insistence that they include the experiences of all people no matter their race, sexuality, gender, ability, or economic status. You are also the most digitally savvy generation in American history. To you, tech is not just about convenience or distraction–it’s a tool to complement community and create change (or the ultimate clapback!).

You have the ideals and you have the tactics necessary to transform our world. Combine these with your poise, endurance and anger–and you are a force to be reckoned with.

Michelle Obama Artist Amy Sherald Joins Hauser & Wirth Global Gallery

Michelle Obama Artist Amy Sherald Joins Hauser & Wirth Global Gallery

Amy Sherald, the painter behind the official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, has joined Hauser & Wirth, a mega-gallery with worldwide outposts. 

The announcement comes days after Sherald unveiled her official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. In May, Sherald will debut her first solo museum exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. 2018 has been quite a year for Amy Sherald, who had her first solo gallery show in 2016. 

To date, Sherald has rejected the tendency of star artists to overproduce. ArtNews writes that her output is only 30 portraits, 10 to 12 paintings a year. As of December 2017, the waiting list for her paintings had grown to about 50 people. 

Sara Sampaio Talks Her Nipple Showdown With Lui & Why Victoria's Secret Is A Feminist Brand

Sara Sampaio Talks Her Nipple Showdown With Lui & Why Victoria's Secret Is A Feminist Brand

Top model and Victoria's Secret Angel Sara Sampaio is fired up and ready to roll, interviewed for the March 23, 2018 issue of Porter Edit. Sampaio is well on the way to establishing herself as an activist voice for a new generation of models. 

“Models are expected to show up on set, just be pretty, do our job and not say a word,” the Portugese beauty explains. “When we do open our mouths, we’re branded as difficult, opinionated, troublemakers; we are told that we don’t know what we are talking about.” Pointing out that women out earn men in modeling, Sara insists that "we are still not respected. We are still exploited. And it’s such a disposable industry that girls feel like they can’t say anything, because there will be some other girl out there who will just do it.”

Sampaio regularly leverages her more than 10 million followers on social media to use her voice and “hold people accountable”. In 2017, the firebrand used Instagram to call out French magazine Lui after it published revealing pictures of her. AOC wrote about this situation, and we were honestly confused. Sampaio uses her Porter Edit interview to clarify her view of what happened.

Daphne Joins Donatella In Elizaveta Porodina Images & GREAT Molly Young GQ Interview April 2018

Daphne Joins Donatella In Elizaveta Porodina Images & GREAT Molly Young GQ Interview April 2018

Donatella Versace has yet another interview, appearing with Daphne Groeneveld and Alton Mason in the April 2018 issue of GQ Magazine US. Elisabetta Dal Bello styles the shoot for images by Elizaveta Porodina. / Hair by Davide Diodovich

Molly Young conducts the interview -- which is the best one I've read in this cycle. 

Adwoa Aboah Covers Allure Magazine's April 2018 Skin Issue, Lensed By Daniel Jackson

Adwoa Aboah Covers Allure Magazine's April 2018 Skin Issue, Lensed By Daniel Jackson

Model of the moment Adwoa Aboah is styled by Beth Fenton in modern minimalism lingerie for 'Age of Adwoa'. Photographer Daniel Jackson is behind the lens for Allure Magazine's April 2018 'Skin' issue./ Hair by Esther Langham; makeup by Hannah Murray

Adwoa is interviewed by Brennan Kilbane about her nonprofit, Gurls Talk, an initiative that is the product of her own story -- one of healing, trauma, crazy success, and manic nosedives. Without a doubt, Adwoa Aboah is the star of a new era type of supermodel, a beautiful womanly color mix of brains and bravura who is in high demand as a model with beauty, heart and individuality.

As a teenager, Adwoa experimented heavily with drugs. Her addictions intensified as her career hit high-gear with her Italian Vogue cover. A few months earlier, the 'it girl' had attempted suicide.

Kilbane describes her subject as an "engaged, thoughtful, powerful woman" who makes her understand that solidarity is the antidote for the world we live in today. Adoah points to a tattoo on her wrists, a line from the poet Nayyirah Waheed’s book Nejma: “All the women. in me. are tired.” “I’m made up of many different women — my mum, sister, friends — who have all made me who I am. It reminds me that whatever I’m going through, there are lots of other women going through the same thing.”

Holt Renfrew Supports Doutzen Kroes' Knot On My Planet Campaign, Lensed By Chris Colls

Holt Renfrew Supports Doutzen Kroes' Knot On My Planet Campaign, Lensed By Chris Colls

The beautiful, inspiring supermodel Doutzen Kroes teams up with Canada's Holt Renfrew to support Doutzen's 'Knot On My Planet' activism. Chris Colls is behind the lens, capturing the Holt Renfrew x Knot On My Planet‘s Spring 2018 campaign to support the Elephant Crisis Fund./ Makeup by Sil Bruinsma; hair by Panos Papandrianos

“If we educate people about the crisis, if we share more stories and make this bigger, I feel positive that African elephants will be here for our children to see in the wild. We have to stay hopeful for the future, always.” – Doutzen Kroes

US Supreme Court: Does Regulating 'Fake' Women's Health Centers Confine Religious Freedom?

US Supreme Court: Does Regulating 'Fake' Women's Health Centers Confine Religious Freedom?

Given all the regulations that Republican state governments have put on Planned Parenthood -- including the width of their hallways and the size of closets (restrictions that render existing facilities not qualifying to operate) -- it's mind-boggling to see them go before the Supreme Court and argue that fake pregnancy counseling centers are legit and cannot be subject to state laws because they are run by Christians. Any attempt to govern them by laws is an illegal attack on their religious freedoms. 

The test of these perceived freedoms is now before the US Supreme Court, in the first abortion-related case of the Trump administration. 

Any Woman Can is part of a nationwide network of over 3,000 “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) established by evangelical Christians to dissuade women from having abortions.  Presenting themselves as women's health centers that support women when Planned Parenthood closes down, unable to meet state laws, these so-called clients typically have no licensed medical professionals on staff. 

The Any Woman Can website says it offers a comprehensive overview of health care options open to women. This is a blatant lie. Other members of this network are Pregnancy Care Clinics and Informed Choices, also arguing before the Supreme Court On Tuesday.

Kendall Jenner & Cockatoo Sit Pretty For Vogue US April 2018, Lensed By Mert & Marcus

Kendall Jenner & Cockatoo Sit Pretty For Vogue US April 2018, Lensed By Mert & Marcus

Kendall Jenner covers the April 2018 edition of Vogue US. Tonne Goodman chooses flower power looks from Maison Margiela, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Rodarte. and more for images by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott. / Hair by Paul Hanlon; makeup by Lauren Parsons

Jenner shares the covers with a yellow-crested cockatoo, which sits pretty with her pink Chanel tulle gown with a silver octopus cocktail ring. The Jakarta Post reported in April 2017 that populations of the yellowcrested cockatoo on several islands are critically endangered due to massive exploitation. Anna Relueaux from Manchester Metropolitan University is a lead researcher on the critically endangered species native to Indonesia and Timor Leste.  Learn more about protecting cockatoos. 

Kendall takes readers to her horse barn in the gated community of Bell Canyon, Ca. to meet Belle and Dylan. Returning in her Range Rover, Jonathan van Meter asks Kendall why the internet think she's gay. 

She laughs. “I think it’s because I’m not like all my other sisters, who are like, ‘Here’s me and my boyfriend!’ So it was a thing for a minute because no one ever saw me with a guy. I would always go that extra mile to be low-key with guys, sneaking around all the time. You don’t want to, like, look crazy.”

She pulls onto the freeway, and within seconds we’re going 90 mph. Kendall goes on: “I don’t think I have a bisexual or gay bone in my body, but I don’t know! Who knows?! I’m all down for experience—not against it whatsoever—but I’ve never been there before.” She ponders it for a moment. “Also, I know I have kind of a . . . male energy? But I don’t want to say that wrong, because I’m not transgender or anything. But I have a tough energy. I move differently. But to answer your question: I’m not gay. I have literally nothing to hide.” She lets out a mordant chuckle. “I would never hide something like that.”

The interview does touch on all Jenner's bad publicity on her Pepsi ad and Vogue India cover. No word yet, if she's getting roasted over the cockatoo. 

Kim Kardashian West At Home With Boo George In ELLE US April 2018 Cover Interview

Kim Kardashian West At Home With Boo George In ELLE US April 2018 Cover Interview

The knives are already out again for Kim Kardashian, with her Elle US April US cover story.  Forget Kim's jaw-dropping, photographer Boo George cover image that leaves any fashionista worth her reputation in awe. Come on, now!!!  Either give the woman a nod for one great photo above, or send me your resume, so we can review your own credentials for ALWAYS shredding any image of Kim Kardashian, styled here by Anna Trevelyan.

I'm not even a Kardashian fan, although I do admire her talent, focus, self-discipline, business, family and body results. But reading the ruthless shredding of every action Kardashian takes is getting me downright empathetic towards the woman. 

Embroiled in controversy around The Women's March this week -- triggered by Tamika Mallory's strong embrace of Rev. Louis Farrakhan -- (this article seems fair and balanced) I've been doing more reading than usual, noting that Kim Khardashian is considered to be a 'Beckeisha'. Writing for The Root, Michael Harriot breaks down The 5 Types of 'Becky': a white woman who uses her privilege as a weapon, a ladder or an excuse. Ex: “A random Becky hit me up on Twitter to explain why not all white women are racist.”

Beckeisha

Part of the privilege of Beckydom rests in its members’ unflagging belief that everything belongs to them. For this subset of Beckys, culture, history and black penis are all disposable commodities for them to use and discard at their whim. In their belief system, you can’t be offended when they appropriate a culture or call something “ghetto,” because they don’t have a racist bone in their body. Plus, they once had a black boner inside their body, so how can they be racist?

Beckeishas slip on the temporary camouflage of black culture like a loose-fitting, swap-meet dashiki. They don’t consider themselves thieves; they are more like culture vultures—digesting dead black things until their bellies are filled, and then vomiting up the unwanted oppression and pain as they spread their wings and fly away. But you know what they say: Once you go black, you’ll never go back ...

... unless you’re a Beckeisha. Because they always go back. Because they can.

Identifying call: “I dated a black guy in college.”

Famous Beckeishas: Anyone with the last name “Kardashian”; Miley Cyrus; Rachel Dolezal; white girls who twerk.

Read the ELLE interview by Molly Young, one considerably more respectful toward KK than The Root. What's that movie -- 'What A Wonderful World?' We're livin' it! ~ Anne

Ondria Hardin Fronts Sustainable Wool Fashion Lensed By Saskia Wilson For Woolmark S/S 2018 Campaign

Ondria Hardin Fronts Sustainable Wool Fashion Lensed By Saskia Wilson For Woolmark S/S 2018 Campaign

Photographer Saskia Wilson captures model Ondria Hardin for 'Into the Wild', Woolmark's Spring 2018 campaign styled by Jolyon Mason./ Hair by Sophie Roberts

The Woolmark Company is a supporter of the new Commonwealth Fashion Exchange, writing: 

"As a company that markets a premium natural fibre, The Woolmark Company is very proud to be supporting this important project," said The Woolmark Company Managing Director Stuart McCullough. "Australian wool has been cultivated by generations of Australian woolgrowers who care for their sheep and work tirelessly to protect and conserve the extensive pastures on which their flocks graze.

"It is important that The Woolmark Company is active in the sustainability arena to clearly demonstrate the eco-credentials of wool. By supporting this global initiative, The Woolmark Company is highlighting Merino wool as a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre to a cross-section of the world's most influential designers - and helping secure validity for Merino's eco-argument from respected experts and ambassadors in the field of sustainability.

Note that the fashion industry is considered to be the #2 most aggressive polluter, anti-sustainability business sector in the world, second only to oil. 

Will Sara Sampaio Also Become A Graff Muse For The 'Peace' Diamond Campaign?

Will Sara Sampaio Also Become A Graff Muse For The 'Peace' Diamond Campaign?

Portuguese model and VS Angel Sara Sampaio is the new face of Graff Diamonds.Lensed by Patrick Demarchelier for Graff's Green Lady campaign Sara shines wearing a pair of 50 carat emerald cut diamond earrings as well as a 35 carat emerald cut D Flawless diamond ring. 

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The 'Peace' Diamond From Sierre Leone

AOC hasn't written about diamonds and blood diamonds for several years, but the journey to market of the 'Peace' diamond caught our attention.

It was Laurence Graff who won the Dec. 2017 bidding in New York, acquiring the so-called 'Peace' diamond from the government of Sierra Leone. 

The stone is the third largest diamond in the country's history and the 14th biggest ever discovered worldwide, according to the Rapaport Group, the jewelry auction organization that helped bring the stone to auction. Note that the Rapaport Group is also a leader in fair trade and ethical diamond mining.

The 'Peace' diamond arrived in New York for the December 2017 auction with a cloud over its head. At an earlier auction in Sierra Leone, the diamond brought only $7.8 million at auction and did not meet the floor price.

Because the 'Peace' diamond brought even less money at $6.5 million in New York than the $7.8 million rejected in Sierra Leone, disappointment is understandable. 

“What is the value of the life of a child in Sierra Leone? What is the value of clean water? That’s the value, that’s here. And that’s what Laurence Graff is buying,” said Chairman of Rapaport Group, Martin Rapaport. Note that I'm not clear if Rapaport's comments came before or after the sale. But they appeared in a March 5, 2018 article on Africanews.com, talking about Sierra Leone's history in blood diamonds. According to World Bank data, Sierra Leone’s gross national income per capita stood at $620 in 2015.

Related. This story is unfolding in several parts, one more interesting than the next. This is the first chapter -- modified tonight based on new research. 

Related Reading

Yelena Yemchuk Eyes Lisa Bonet In 'A Life Less Ordinary' For Porter Edit March 9, 2018

Yelena Yemchuk Eyes Lisa Bonet In 'A Life Less Ordinary' For Porter Edit March 9, 2018

Female actor, singer and artist Lisa Bonet covers the March 9, 2018 issue of Porter Edit. Tracy Taylor styles Lisa for 'A Life Less Ordinary' by Yelena Yemchuk. / Hair by Johnnie Sapong; makeup by Lisa Storey

In her interview, Bonet reflects on her seven-year role playing the strong-willed Denise Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show', working with now-disgraced and back in Philadelphia court, comedian Bill Cosby. 

“There was no knowledge on my part about [Cosby’s] specific actions, but… There was just energy. And that type of sinister, shadow energy cannot be concealed," Bonet told Porter Edit,adding that there was "always" a darkness around him. Bonet is hardly alone in her inability to reconcile the stories about Cosby with her memory of his actions on set.

Unlike Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm Jamal Warner, who have openly defended the comedian, Bonet has not, although she maintains that she never observed any inappropriate behavior on the set. "If I had anything more to reveal then it would have happened a long time ago. That’s my nature. The truth will set you free,” Bonet explains, reflecting on the 60 women who have made accusations against Bill Cosby.

Bonet does say that Cosby radiated an energy, a "sinister, shadow energy" that "cannot be concealed".  There was "always" a darkness around Cosby, Bonet maintains in her interview. 

Sara Sampaio Launches Graff's Green Lady Diamonds Campaign. Will Sara Also Take On The 'Peace' Diamond Project?

Sara Sampaio Launches Graff's Green Lady Diamonds Campaign. Will Sara Also Take On The 'Peace' Diamond Project?

Portuguese model and VS Angel Sara Sampaio is the new face of Graff Diamonds. Lensed by Patrick Demarchelier for Graff's Green Lady campaign Sara shines wearing a pair of 50 carat emerald cut diamond earrings as well as a 35 carat emerald cut D Flawless diamond ring. 

In November 2015 How To Spend It Magazine interviewed Laurence Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds, in advance of the sale of an exceptional diamond called Blue Moon, in advance of its Sotheby's sale for $48.5m. 

Vivienne Becker amplifies the impact Laurence Graff has had on the fine jewelry business with his pioneering mine-to-market business model. Graff brought together "the disparate sectors of the traditional fragmented diamond supply chain, with its total disconnect between the miners at the source, the cutters and dealers and the artistry of the finished jewels."

The 'Peace' Diamond From Sierre Leone

AOC hasn't written about diamonds and blood diamonds for several years, but the journey to market of the 'Peace' diamond caught our attention.

It was Laurence Graff who won the Dec. 2017 bidding in New York, acquiring the so-called 'Peace' diamond from the government of Sierra Leone. 

Refugee Models From Sudan Share Their Stories: Shanelle Nyasiase, Angok Mayen, George Okeny

Refugee Models From Sudan Share Their Stories: Shanelle Nyasiase, Angok Mayen, George Okeny

Model Shanelle Nyasiase walked a dizzying 42-43 shows in the past month, as the Fall 2018 runway shows launched in New York before moving to London, Milan and then Paris, weeks after the launch of her spectacular Alexander McQueen Spring 2018 ad campaign.

AOC is a different kind of fashion website, with my own roots embedded so deeply in activism on behalf of women worldwide, but especially in Africa and very deeply in Sudan and Kenya. 

I was pleasantly surprised today to see 'The Modeling World's Sudanese Refugees Share Their Stories' on Vogue.com, with Shanelle Nyasiase featured, along with peers Angok Mayen and George Okeny.

Africa's refugees are populating the pages of AOC, coming from the US, but also Australia and European countries. I like the candor of this Vogue video and am happy to see the content evolutions in the magazine. Listening to George Okeny talk about missing a Gucci ad shoot right after Trump's inauguration -- because he was caught up in the first wave of the president's immigration travel ban -- hit home. Take a listen. Oh, George says his papers are now in order, so if you know anyone at Gucci . . . That would be Alessandro Michele.

Bill and Melinda Gates Make A Big Move For Women's Global Economic Empowerment

Bill and Melinda Gates Make A Big Move For Women's Global Economic Empowerment

For over a decade, researchers have known that everything changes in almost every community and country worldwide when women have money. 

On Monday Melinda Gates published an op-ed in Quartz in which she and husband Bill Gates announced a four-year pledge of $170 million to help empower women economically worldwide.

The decision comes at a time when 1) the Gates Foundation has tried to block the damage levied at poor women worldwide by cuts In the US budget that funds global women's health initiatives -- not abortions, but 'yes' to birth control being available at women's health clinics. Generally-speaking, the Trump administration stands opposed to taxpayer-funded birth control, arguing that it diminishes religious freedoms for those Americans opposed to contraception; and 2) in response to #MeToo stories and the prevalence of sexual harassment and violence against women worldwide.

The money, from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be spent over four years “to help women exercise their economic power,” Melinda Gates wrote. She noted that research shows economic power is the “most promising entry points for gender equality.” 

“Simply put when money flows into the hands of women who have the authority to use it, everything changes,” Melinda Gates wrote.