1. Hari Nef Tells Troye Sivan How She Schemed Her Way Into Her First New York Fashion Week
When they meet on Zoom, Hari Nef and Troye Sivan are in different worlds—Nef bronzed and bright-eyed from a month-long retreat to Fire Island, and Sivan perched by the radiator, cranked full blast, in his Melbourne home. The pair became friends amid the political tumult of 2016, when they attended a string of protests together. As Sivan prepared for the release of his third album, Something to Give Each Other, and Nef readied for a busy fall, the pair connected for CULTURED's September issue cover story to reflect on the strength of their friendship, the eras—personal and stylistic—that they’ve seen each other through, and the art of saying less.
2. Fashion Writer Rachel Tashjian on the Cultural Diet That Will Vastly Improve Your Outfits
In 10th grade, Rachel Tashjian wrote a short story about a woman going on a blind date. When her protagonist showed up, the guy was wearing Tevas, so she left. Looking back, the New York-based writer and fashion critic stands by her work, but concedes that there are people out there who can pull off just about anything. The voice behind the beloved—and exclusive—"Opulent Tips" newsletter joined the Washington Post as a fashion writer in April, and five months later, the paper announced the relaunch and expansion of its Style section. Here, she shares the style, and lifestyle, advice she picked up along the way.
3. Meet the 5 Women Artists Who Own New York This September
September officially kicks off la rentrée for the art world. With the opening of the 2023 Armory Show (the reason for the season) and the meticulously curated Independent 20th Century—in its second edition, but already an insider favorite—alongside Photofairs, Art on Paper, and the Spring Break Art Show, this month in New York felt like a head-spinning throng of the very best contemporary art on offer. “Back to school” for galleries also brings an embarrassment of riches, particularly when it comes to meaningful presentations of work by female artists. This special Armory edition of Duly Noted cut through the noise to bring you the five shows to pay attention to this early fall.
At home in New York, Bernard Lumpkin and Carmine Boccuzzi are surrounded by works from Rashid Johnson, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Kerry James Marshall, and Derrick Adams, to name a few. When decorating their child’s room, the couple chose to mount a Christina Quarles painting above the crib. Their collection, built around a core of rising Black artists, is currently on tour in the “Young, Gifted, and Black” exhibition, most recently touching down at the Rhodes College Clough-Hanson Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee. Here, Lumpkin offers insight into living and working in the arts, and defines what it means to be a patron in the field.
5. J. Smith-Cameron Explains Why Being Rude to Kieran Culkin Is Totally Warranted
J. Smith-Cameron has carried a sense of sartorial play throughout her career, sporting styles as austere as her Succession character’s powersuits and as sumptuous as the cobalt Carolina Herrera dress she was captured in for Vogue earlier this year. Off-camera, she’s tapped into the old school glamor of icons like Audrey Hepburn and Barbara Stanwyck, with nudging from her stylist Cat Pope. “I would never have had the balls to do that without her,” confesses Smith-Cameron, but as her onscreen personas already know well, you don’t need balls to assert yourself in this world. Pope convinced the actor of this, telling her, “You’re a glamorpuss. Va va voom is your way.”
6. Designer Willy Chavarria Finds This Dumpster More Inspiring Than Any Runway Show He’s Ever Seen
“I’m much more inspired by people than environments,” says Willy Chavarria. The Fresno-born designer has built his eponymous brand on this sentiment—it is an homage to Chicano masculinity and tenderness. Chavarria designs clothes to make the people in his life feel regal. The designer’s eye for trendproof elegance has won him a number of the industry’s highest accolades, including a place in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2021 exhibition “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” But it’s his community, in all its complexity, that remains his raison d’être. In the midst of preparing his new collection, Chavarria gave CULTURED a tour of his essential New York haunts.
7. 5 Art Exhibitions You Can't Miss in Los Angeles This September
Los Angeles’s gallery ecosystem seems to be in a permanent state of efflorescence (perhaps because new transplants attract more notice than decaying deadwood). But over the past year, many big names have entered the fray: Lisson, Sean Kelly, David Zwirner, James Fuentes, Shrine, Sargent’s Daughters, and, later this month, Marian Goodman. (Not to mention Hauser & Wirth, which opened a second space in West Hollywood in February.) September is “back to school” month for galleries everywhere, making this the first opening season for LA’s shiny new, (even) big(ger) league art world.
8. Peek Inside Fashion Designer Veronica de Piante's Art-Filled West Village Townhouse
When CULTURED spoke with Veronica de Piante in June, she was sipping tea from a Snoopy mug in her sprawling West Village home. The designer of her eponymous ready-to-wear line is no stranger to a suitcase. Born in Milan to an Argentinian mother and Italian father, she moved to Bahrain with her family as a child. Later, a career in media sales brought her to Lebanon, Nigeria, Egypt, and the Dominican Republic. This global fluency has made de Piante a deft translator—though she chooses to work with textiles over text.
Have you seen Grey Gardens? The 1975 documentary tells the story of Big and Little Edie, two reclusive, eccentric relatives of Jackie Onassis who lived together in an increasingly cluttered, unkempt East Hampton home. Against all odds, the pair’s eclectic mix of furs, scarves, and midcentury accessories cemented them in fashion history, bringing forth Grey Gardens-inspired photo shoots, dramatizations, and mockumentaries. Now, Figue CEO and Creative Director Liz Lange lives there, and has transformed the home into a modern, art-covered oasis. Here, the designer gives CULTURED insight into the development of her keen eye and distinctive art collection, which sprawls across her multiple residences.
10. Caroline Monnet Grew Up Flipping Houses. Now, She Explores Home and Architecture in Her Art
Most artists use paint, plaster, or canvas. Montreal-based artist and filmmaker Caroline Monnet's tools of choice are insulation, plexiglass, and mold. She grew up lending a helping hand to her parents, who flipped houses. When Monnet ventured into the visual arts after a career in filmmaking, the self-taught artist picked up familiar materials she knew how to manipulate. At her first U.S. solo exhibition, “WORKSITE” at New York’s Arsenal Contemporary, Monnet moves past the exploration of home and into the tricky matter of building cities. Here, the artist delves into her myriad inspirations and her work’s relationship with her Indigenous Canadian roots.
