First Things First…

It’s a great week to be Jamaican-American director Nia DaCosta. Not only did her new horror film Candyman have an exceptional opening weekend, she made history in the process, becoming the first black female director to debut at No 1 at the US box office.

Before DaCosta, Ava DuVernay had come the closest to nabbing the top spot, opening at No 2 in 2018 with A Wrinkle In Time. Candyman, an update of the classic 1992 movie of the same name, was co-written by DaCosta and Get Out director Jordan Peele, opening in theatres last Friday. The film’s box office success is especially impressive given the current climate, as movie theatres are still recovering from a pandemic that is dragging on.

DaCosta is the daughter of Charmaine DaCosta, an Ardenne High school alum who migrated to New York and became lead vocalist for R&Blues/reggae group Worl-A-Girl.

And…

Model, mother, and mogul Naomi Campbell gets candid about balancing her personal life with work as she graces a new special issue of The Cut, a stand-alone website published by New York Magazine that covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, and politics from a primarily female perspective. The Rock-blooded, British supermodel discusses sacrificing her love life for the fast-paced, jet-set lifestyle of a fashion icon and speaks about the black community within the fashion industry, as well as making family visits a priority. “I may have Jamaican roots, but my Jamaican roots essentially come from Africa. I feel rooted when I’m in Africa, no matter what part of Africa I go to…I am grateful to God that my culture embraces me and protects me,” Campbell shares in an interview with African-American writer Michaela Angela Davis. The model also dons haute couture pieces from Valentino, Dior, Fendi and Alexandre Vauthier for the spread.

CREDITS

Photography: Campbell Addy

Stylist: Jessica Willis

Hairstylist: Lorenzo Barcel

Make-up: Angloma

Nails: Audrey My Nails

Also…

Greta Constantine stays trending! The womenswear label fronted by Jamaican-Canadian designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong is shaping up to be the new favourite for celebs. Grammy- and Emmy-winning comedian Tiffany Haddish aims high in Greta Constantine for fashion-industry trade journal Women’s Wear Daily (WWD).

Meanwhile…

Nigerian-American actress Yvonne Orji bet on blue in a figure-hugging number from the brand for a rooftop screening of Vacation Friends which she is currently starring in on Hulu. The event was held at The Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles, California. Her look was completed with Le Silla heels.

CREDITS

Photography: Jesse Grant

Stylist: Apuje Kalu

Hairstylist: Reign Mari Hair

Make-up: Moriah Mierre

Then…

British-Jamaican model Jourdan Dunn is the ultimate cover girl, fronting Vogue Greece’s September issue in Balenciaga and donning Fendi for 10 Magazine‘s Issue 67 Autumn/Winter 2021 ‘Bold & Beautiful’.

CREDITS

Jourdan Dunn for Vogue Greece

Photographer: Alvaro Beamud

Make-up: Athina Karakitsou

Hairstylist: Marco Minunno

Fashion director: Nicholas Georgiou

Jourdan Dunn for 10 Magazine

Photographer: Jonathan Vincent Baron

Stylist: Vincent Levy

Hair: Hair By Jordan Jay Brumant/@hbjbofficial

Make-up: Alex Babsky

Model: Jourdan Dunn

Nails: Kate Williamson

Set designer: Paul/@paul_sonofsimon

Producers: Bella Hollamby and Nancy Studholme

Plus…

The ‘Albert’ cushion, a limited-edition quilted cushion by international avant-garde textile & fashion designer Jessica Ogden, snagged a spot on ELLE Decoration UK’s ’18 Of The Most Stylish New-Season Cushions’ list. Ogden is also a long-time collaborator with French lifestyle brand APC, and the multicoloured cotton cushion was assembled by hand from leftover material from previous APC collections, landing at number seven. ELLE Decoration UK is the authority on style and design, and showcases the world’s most beautiful homes, while offering style and decoration advice.

Etc…

Rock-born, New York-based Saint International model Jamie Melbourne — who at 58 years old launched an international modelling career with a booking for Opening Ceremony Men’s Fall/Winter 2020 collection — currently appears in the Buffalo Zine for Burberry editorial. Burberry’s classic trench coat is at the core of the roll-out centrepiece and the models wearing the trench that never stops were lensed by Boston-based artist and photographer Pelle Cass in the city that never sleeps. Cass is renowned for his ability to create composite photographs that elaborately distil a period of several hours in a single, mind-blowing image.

CREDITS

Photographed and time lapsed by: Pelle Cass

Stylist: Mitch McGuire

Hairstylist: Kiyonori Sudo

Make-up artist: Maria Ortega

Prop stylist: Andy Harman

Casting: Kate Antognini

Models: Jamie Melbourne and Charlotte