Read: Bluets by Maggie Nelson
Maggie Nelson collected the 240 short pieces that compose Bluets over three years. What became of those fragments and inquiries is the numbered arrangement of beautiful prose that uses the color blue to explore love, suffering, and human emotion.
Nelson sets the reader up for a philosophical lyric essay that is only 95 pages long, but packed with inquiries of memory and loneliness. She begins, “1. Suppose I were to begin by saying that I had fallen in love with a color”.
Calling on a past relationship and quoting famous writers and icons (Gertrude Stein, John Berger, Warhol to name a few), Nelson gives us a unique exploration of pain, desire, and longing.
Watch: Grace Jones Bloodlight and Bami (2017) on Hulu
This isn’t your average music documentary, but nothing Grace Jones has ever done is average, so it is only fitting. Don’t expect to see sit down interviews, but free flowing conversations, almost like you are a fly on the wall. Director Sophie Fiennes brings us behind the scenes of the life of Grace Jones: home in Jamaica, in the recording studio, and backstage of performances.
Seeing Jones beyond her live performances–while footage of those are weaved throughout too–breaks down the glam of her image and gives the viewer an intimate connection to the star.
We can’t talk about the supermodel without bringing up the fact she has been a true style icon throughout her career. The ‘androgynous glam-pop diva’s’ decades of iconic looks wouldn’t be able to fit in the 2 hour film, but the documentary still offers a variety of outfits, from bold onstage costumes to her colorful clothes for church in Jamaica.
Watch Here: Hulu
LISTEN: The REALREAL x CFDA Present: Circle of Influence
The REALREAL has teamed up with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and created a 9-episode podcast series called Circle of Influence, hosted by Julie Gilhart, the president of Tomorrow Projects and Chief Development Officer of Tomorrow Ltd., and Sara Kozlowski, the VP of Education + Sustainability Initiatives of CFDA.
The episodes focus on discussions of sustainability in the fashion industry and the future of fashion, while integrating topics like the importance of social justice, creating more inclusivity, and the impacts of COVID-19. Guests include a range of designers, founders, innovators, and educators who together have rich discussions sharing and comparing their own experiences and navigating a future of change.
Our favorite out of all is the two part episode on Race & Sustainability, guest-hosted and edited by Marjon Carlos, in conversation with Abrima Erwiah of Studio 189, and Rachael Wang and Tracy Reese of Hope for Flowers. They talk about the issues of race and environmentalism, discussing in order to achieve a transformed future for all, we need to expand efforts of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Listen Now:
–Leah Flannery
