T Lo’s Weekend Pop Culture Reading List

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From alien Barbies to rich people fighting over their preschool, these are all the posts, articles and essays that caught our eyes this week. Get zeitgeisty this weekend, kittens!

Mattel’s rendition of Bowie iconic alter ego Ziggy Stardust includes a metallic “space suit” and a fiery-red hairdo.

David Bowie-Inspired Barbie Celebrates “Space Oddity” 50th Anniversary by Taylor Weatherby at The Hollywood Reporter

Perhaps nowhere was this shift more visually apparent than drop-off at Grace Church School, where Preppy Moms in tennis whites and Power Moms on their way to their jobs at white-shoe law firms increasingly found themselves jostled out of the way by Fashion Moms taking Mommy and Me pictures against the backdrop of brownstone Brooklyn. In the age of Instagram, Brooklyn Heights’ Wes Anderson aesthetic had new appeal, and Grace Church in particular had been discovered by Fashion. By the time Morgano signed on as director, the school was lousy with the children of stylists, editors, and designers. Of these, the unequivocal belles of the ball were two former Vogue staffers: stylist Jessica Sailer Van Lith and Sylvana Ward Durrett, the special-projects director in charge of the Met Gala, whose company, Maisonette, a sort of Net-a-Porter for children, elevated the entire Brooklyn Lifestyle to new, well, heights. The site, which was co-founded by Ward Durrett “at her kitchen island” in 2016, had taken to featuring models and “muses” from the Grace Church community in sun-dappled photo shoots. They’d lounge on statement couches while spouting très Brooklyn quotes like this one from Glenna Neece, a former model and the wife of Rag & Bone founder Marcus Wainwright: “A few days ago, Henry cut up an old pair of my jeans and put together a Viking ensemble!”

The Battle of Grace Church by Jessica Pressler at the New Yorker

For these musicians, transitioning can mean risking their careers — and their art.

Transgender Opera Singers Find Their Voices by Michael Cooper at The New York Times

It’s not folk art, or fiber art. It’s finger-aching ingenuity by Mrinalini Mukherjee.

Sculpture, Both Botanical and Bestial, Awe at the Met Breuer by Holland Cotter at The New York Times

“I talk about everything in the hope that it stops someone else from feeling as bad as I felt when I was younger, and if I can do that, it means that I suffered for a reason,” she says.

How Jameela Jamil Became One of the Loudest — And Strongest — Voices in Hollywood by Samantha Simon at InStyle

“I never thought I would have lived this long, number one. Number two, I didn’t think I was pretty at the time. So I certainly didn’t think I’d be pretty enough to be on the cover [of British Vogue] at 81 years old. Basically those two things—and I never thought I’d be famous. So between non-fame, non-beauty, and not being alive, it certainly ruled against my being on the cover.”

60 Years After Her First Vogue Cover, Jane Fonda on Acting, Activism, and Having No Regrets by Bridget Read at Vogue

Bernard Rudofsky’s 1947 essay “Are Clothes Modern?” ponders the passing of fads, the ideology of luxury goods, the changeability of body taboos, and the psychic satisfaction of a chic self-portrait.

The Essay to Read If You Even Think About Wearing Clothes by Troy Patterson at The New Yorker

Her soft-spoken yet blistering interrogations–”How did you get that bruise on your arm?” or “Are you an addict, Celeste? Is Perry your drug?”–are as resplendent as the hazy golden hour light that seems to permanently drench her office. They’re posed more as statements than actual questions, as if she already knows the answer and is just waiting for the self-defensive lie.

The “Big Little Lies” Therapist is the Delphine Oracle of Monterey by Mark Burger at Interview magazine

Along with news of her joining American Horror Story: 1984, Ross tweeted, “I am ELATED to make history as the first trans actor to secure 2 series regular roles, leaping from #PoseFX to #AHS1984. Thank you @MrRPMurphy for the gift of playing Candy & creating my newest role on American Horror Story! I’m so honored & excited to join the @AHSFX family!!!”

Angelica Ross Makes History With ‘American Horror Story’ Role by Sydney Scott at Essence

The project, which is in early development, is described as a primetime animated adult comedy series based on an original idea featuring characters from “The Flintstones.” The series will be produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

New ‘Flintstones’ Series in the Works From Warner Bros. Animation, Elizabeth Banks’ Brownstone Productions by Joe Otterson at Variety

The animation is so photorealistic that it’s disconcerting to see these lifelike animals walking (and singing) through the familiar drama. Simba (J.D. McCrary voices the cub version) is born to Mufasa (Jones), king of the pride, and his queen Sarabi (Alfre Woodard); during a ceremony held before the entire savannah, Rafiki (John Kani) announces Simba as their next king. Within a few years, Simba is romping around and learning life lessons, watched over by the frenetic bird Zazu (John Oliver) and accompanied by his pal Nala (Shahadi Wright Joseph).

Disney’s Lion King remake is just like the original, but without the magic by Alissa Wilkinson at Vox

[Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mattel, Inc]

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