First Things First…

Brandon Blackwood’s Medium Kuei Forest Green Lizard Print was spotted on the set of the HBO Max Sex and The City reboot, And Just Like That, Blackwood — a Jamaican handbag designer to the stars — says he “can’t wait to see the Kuei onscreen”.

And…

American actress Sarah Paulson completed a fiery Carolina Herrera look with Mateo New York earrings at the 2021 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards last Sunday. The earrings were designed by Jamaican-born fine jewellery designer Matthew “Mateo” Harris in collaboration with the RAD x De Beers Group. They feature ethically and sustainably sourced natural diamonds from Botswana and are part of the group’s #BlackIsBrilliant campaign.

“The statement earrings were inspired by the works of painter Wassily Kandinsky. I particularly adore the piece entitled ‘Floating.’ Brilliant ovals and round Botswana diamonds were set in 18kt gold to appear to be floating on one’s ear. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Harris said.

Then…

What’s better than one stunning multi-award-winning actress? Two! Madame Tussauds Hollywood has immortalised iconic actress Angela Bassett in a life-size wax figure. The figure is dressed in a Greta Constantine sequinned pant suit. Madame Tussauds Hollywood allows fans and visitors to get up close and personal with their favourite celebs. For more than 200 years, Madame Tussauds has been creating wax figures of celebs and heroes that are as accurate as a photograph. Angela Bassett stopped by Madame Tussauds to greet her Greta Constantine-attired doppelgänger.

Next…

The St Elizabeth Card Holder is the first item from Maison Bent’s line of vegan leather accessories. Maison Bent — a conscious clothing brand championing diversity — is fronted by Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion alum Shanna Bent. The brand draws inspiration from Bent’s Jamaican heritage and her grandparents’ journey to the United Kingdom, effortlessly combining vintage Caribbean aesthetics with modern glamour. Bent delivered the news in a video interview for London Fashion Week as she described the vision behind her Autumn/Winter collection.

Plus…

Fashion designer Bianca Saunders covers Perfect Magazine‘s Issue 1. Saunders, who has established herself as a noted menswear designer since graduating from the Royal College of Art (RCA) four years ago, opens up to writer Trey Gaskin about, among other things, being the only black student in her programme at school. “When I started at the RCA, I had a tutor say to me, ‘You know you are going to be the only black student, right?’ I said, ‘Yes, and I don’t give a heck.’ I remember there was one other black girl in my BA, and she didn’t graduate, so I had it in my mind that if I’m the only black girl I want to represent my people well. It’s a bad way of thinking, but a lot of people of colour think like that. It’s probably what made me work so hard, and I guess that’s what a lot of people [of colour] who went to the big unis thought. You want to stand out not just because of your colour, but you want to be the strongest in the room.”

CREDITS

Photographer: Amber Pinkerton

Designer: Bianca Saunders

Writer: Trey Gaskin/@heyheytreytrey

Etc…

We’re not sure how Zerina Akers’ Emmy flew under the radar, but since it’s never too late to celebrate, we’re spotlighting the Jamaican-blooded stylist. Akers — the designer behind Beyoncé’s Black Is King visual album — earned a 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Non-fiction or Reality Programme.

Akers, though American-born, is of Panamanian and Jamaican descent. SO is delighted to have spotlighted her on Sunday, April 04, 2021.

Etc, Etc…

Marci Ien has won the riding of Toronto Centre for the Liberals! Ien held the riding she first won in a by-election last year after former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau resigned. After decades as a broadcast journalist at CTV, Ien — who was born in St James Town, Canada, and is of Trinidadian descent — says she was inspired to run for office after George Floyd’s murder among other related events of 2020.

Her main competitor in this race was Green leader Annamie Paul.

Let’s Wrap With…

…more from Rock-born, Milan-based multi-media artist Hugh “Flowerheadz” Findletar. Venice Glass Week — an international festival that the city of Venice dedicates to the art of glass — recently awarded special recognition to Findletar for his From My Little Pond Side to the Grand Canal exhibition. SO shares Italian gallerist, curator, journalist and artist Jean Blanchaert’s brief on the exhibition.

A man who came from afar.

After 18 months of COVID-19, fish never previously seen are arriving in the lagoon. They come from far away, having travelled across seas that are finally pure. People have spotted Atlantic and Caribbean species in our own little Mediterranean. The first to identify them was Hugh Findletar, a Jamaican from the Greater Antilles who grew up with these fish as a child, swimming with them, catching them, eating them. The artist, now an honorary Muranese, came across the green moray (Gymnothorax funebris) in Mazzorbo, the honeycomb moray (Muraena melanotis) in Torcello, the lookdown (Selene vomer) in Burano, the queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) in San Francesco del Deserto, the doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus) in Mazzorbetto, and finally, in Murano, the Caribbean batfish (Chaetodipterus faber), which fortunately does not cause as much havoc as the Wuhan bat. The absence of large ships in the lagoon has encouraged a renaissance of almost forgotten marine flora and fauna.

Hugh Findletar has immortalised this historic event with his glass sculptures.

Soon the waters will be polluted again and the fish will return to Saint Vincent, Aruba, and Cuba. So enjoy these glassy creatures, displayed on an eight-metre-long table at Palazzo Polignac, in Venice. You will also find the splendid shells of the Strombus family, an anarchic family; and there is no shortage of Cowry shells, which until ninety years ago were also used as hard currency.

Anyone who walks among these sculptures will feel at sea, a sea with a distant scent. Here and there, like compass points, are Findletar’s now famous FLOWERheadZ, where glass and nature irresistibly draw the viewer in.

— Jean Blanchaert