For Lovers

Lamar is a muse for the ages, a lens through which we can explore the love within both our hearts and others'.

Check out the video and photos below.

Culture

Amores Aparte Pero Siempre Juntos

This led to his new zine, Amores Aparte Pero Siempre Juntos (Spanish for "lovers apart but always together"). The work includes portraits of Velastegui's loved ones, friends, and snapshots of New York City nightlife and the underground club scene—as well as tangible objects of significance spanning from early 2018 to early 2020.

The book is a visual coming-of-age story, but it's also an artifact of the city viewed through the lens of a young creative. "My fondest memories from this time period are from when I had just turned 21," he says. "I had a lot of responsibility at that time, but a lot of independence as well. Life definitely felt like one big party back then." Oh, the thrill of just turning 21 in New York City—is there anything else like it?

Check out some of the photos below.

Culture

Family of Man 2020

May 11, 2020

From January to May in 1955, New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) hosted The Family of Man photography exhibition. It showcased images from hundreds of different photographers from around the globe in a demonstration of unity and solidarity in the aftermath of World War II.

Fast-forwarding 65 years later, students from the University of Salford’s Fashion Image Making and Styling course have created a series of documentary photographs, inspired and named after the original Family of Man exhibition. Titled Family of Man 2020, the collection of images commemorates the love and humanity depicted within the original series.

"Families can be created through communities, through education, through friends," says one Salford student who took part in creating the latest exhibition. "I don’t discredit blood family and the importance of them, but it’s unfair to expect everyone have a strong blood family network and have that seen as the only important family network.”

Text by Vivian Cheng

Check out images from the exhibition below.

Culture

Behind Beija Flor

May 10, 2020

Photographer Tasmin Meyer Ersahin recently shot one of the biggest samba schools in Rio called Beija Flor. Samba schools aren’t actually schools—they don’t provide formal instruction per se. Instead, the schools are better described as local dancing and drumming clubs devoted to practicing the Afro-Brazilian art of samba. Each year, the schools create showcases for the Carnival of Brazil, an annual festival held between the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday and Ash Wednesday at noon, marking the beginning of Lent. "This is where they build their floats, sew the costumes and rehearse every year during the months leading up to Carnaval," says Ersahin.

A friend of Ersahin’s, former Calvin Klein creative director Francisco Costa designed the elaborate and extravagant costumes this year for Beija Flor. Meanwhile, Erashin was able to capture BTS and final products of this year's festivities. While every “favela,” or slum, in Rio has their own samba school, Beija Flor’s people are photographed volunteering their time to make the costumes alongside Costa, as well as making the music that becomes their soundtrack during the Carnaval. This year's theme? Apocalyptic.

Text by Logan Brown
Photos by Tasmin Meyer Ersahin
Costumes by Francisco Costa for Beija-Flor

"Though I am half Brazilian, it is still difficult for me to understand the deep dedication I saw first hand to the tradition and ritual of Carnaval," say Ersahin regarding the series. "I had always thought of it as a big party, but I came to understand that among many things, it’s a time for Brazilians to celebrate their connection to each other through their shared culture and heritage. It’s also a time where communities—most of them extremely poor—rejoice and take pride in the work they put in during the rest of the year with their samba school."

Check out the photos below for an in-depth exclusive on Beija Flor.