T LOunge for February 15th, 2023

Argo Cocktail Bar – Hong Kong

It’s WEDNESDAY and we need a soaring, glittering, fabulous LOunge to keep us stimulated all day long. Come join us! The view is free and the bar is open!

Hollywood actress Salma Hayek Pinault is a woman who refuses to be put in a box. As she hits screens in the latest instalment of Magic Mike, she talks strippers, family and the politics of female sexuality with Sophie Goddard
Now 56, with a staggering amount of blockbusters under her belt, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and still in demand for leading roles, Hayek Pinault is in her prime. Formerly a Mexican soap star (she was born in Mexico to parents of Lebanese and Spanish-Mexican descent) Hayek’s big break came in the form of Desperado (1995) opposite Antonio Banderas. A flurry of Hollywood hits followed, including Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Wild Wild West (1999) and the critically-acclaimed Frida (2002), which won her an Oscar nomination for her powerful portrayal of Frida Kahlo.

Tomorrowland: How Seoul Became Pop Culture’s New Frontier
What is it about Seoul that has the world in its thrall? I have fielded this question so often of late, tossed it back and forth, particularly with Koreans, as puzzled as I am by the sudden fervor. The Seoul of the ’90s that I knew as a child—as an American girl growing up in the Midwest, my mother taking me twice a year to the country of her birth—was rooted in smallness. Seoul was the pack of yogurt drink left swinging on my grandmother’s front door, the windowless market where we’d buy sticky rice cakes, the underground hall where fake Chanel wallets tumbled from black garbage bags like stone fruit from trees. It felt like a stunted city yearning for sophistication. My American classmates could not place it on a map. “Is it like Beijing? Tokyo?” they would ask. “North or South Korea?”

Pharrell Williams Is the New Men’s Creative Director of Louis Vuitton
Virgil Abloh’s vacant role has finally been filled.
The position of men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton has remained empty since the death of Virgil Abloh in 2021. Today, the house announced that his successor will be celebrity producer Pharrell Williams. His first collection will show this June during the Men’s Fashion week in Paris.
The highly awaited appointment comes as a surprise to many, given that the names of designers like Grace Wales Bonner, Martine Rose, and Telfar Clemens have been swirling for months. It’s one of Pietro Beccari’s first big moves as the new Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO, a position he took just two weeks ago.

A Brief History of the Cullinan Diamonds, Queen Elizabeth’s Most Valuable Jewels
T&C takes a look at the 9 magnificent gems that were cut from the largest diamond ever found.
Update, February 14, 2023: Buckingham Palace announced this morning that Queen Consort Camilla will wear Queen Mary’s crown for her upcoming coronation in May. It’s a departure from a longstanding tradition that began with Queen Charlotte in 1761, who commissioned her own tiara for her accession rather than don Mary of Modena’s 1685 crown, as her predecessors had done. In a sign of these times—and “in the interests of sustainability and efficiency,” per the palace statement—the queen consort is reverting back to the old ways of recycling crowns.
She has Burmese Rubies and Brazilian Aquamarines; Cambridge Emeralds and Kent Amethysts; George VI Sapphires and Jordanian Turquoise. Since her accession to the throne in 1952, nearly 70 years ago, Queen Elizabeth has inherited, received, and commissioned a veritable treasure chest of magnificent jewels. But few, if any, of the gems in the Windsor vaults can quite compare to the Cullinan Diamonds.

Prabal Gurung and JCPenney Partner for a Powerful New Collection
In the luxury fashion space, Prabal Gurung has become known not only as a masterful designer of colorful, glamorous ready-to-wear, but also for his philanthropy and politics, especially when it comes to matters of inclusion and the empowerment of women. Gurung’s most memorable—and perhaps meaningful—creative display of this was his spring 2020 runway show, which featured a deeply diverse cast and, in the early days of the doomsday presidency of that time and the erosion of human rights, posed the question “Who gets to be an American?” Now, Gurung is once again using his craft to extend open arms to all, only this time it’s with a surprising partner.

All the Cool Kids Are Wearing Balaclavas
I remember the first time I took note of the balaclava. It was a little over a year ago, at a crowded house party in deep Brooklyn. A lanky, twenty-something man wore a bright orange balaclava—despite the tropical microclimate created by all the packed, dancing bodies. He took nonchalant sips from a red Solo cup, mesmerizingly comfortable in his anonymity.
At that time, I viewed the moment as eccentric and kooky. Who wears a balaclava if they’re not in the arctic or planning a heist? Though balaclavas—also known as ski masks—have been popular for a long time in frigid locales such as Eastern and Northern Europe, they weren’t as common in a city like New York. But perhaps their relative out-of-placeness is what made them a great candidate for trend-forward New York style. Colorful, striped balaclavas like the ones sold by Marni and Ella Emhoff catches your eye, but also obscures the identity of the wearer. It places all your attention on the clothes, not the person.

Queen Mary’s Most Iconic Tiara Moments
A brief history of the legendary jewelry collector’s famous diadems.
Queen Mary was a formidable woman in many respects. As consort to King George V, she helped him lead Britain through World War I and its aftermath, and was an invaluable aide and adviser to her husband throughout his 26-year reign. When he died in 1936, Mary remained a loyal protector of the monarchy for the rest of her life, serving as Queen Mother to King George VI until his own untimely death in 1952, and living long enough to witness her granddaughter Elizabeth’s accession to the throne (Mary died in March 1953, just ten weeks before the coronation).

How Traditional Chinese Medicine Combines Health and Culinary Traditions
Zoey Xinyi Gong creates healing recipes that are also utterly delicious.
Gong is a chef, a consultant, and a teacher whose methods are rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. TCM is a holistic, intuitive way of caring for oneself, of bringing the body into equilibrium through evaluating qi (the body’s vital energy) and how it circulates through meridians (channels in the body that are typically associated with organs). It is practiced through a wide range of applications: Herbal remedies, acupuncture, and exercise are a few. While TCM has been a part of mainstream medicine in Asia, including China, Japan, and Korea, for thousands of years, it has more recently received increased attention outside of Asia. In 2015, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discovering a new antimalarial remedy based in TCM. And in 2018, the World Health Organization added a chapter on TCM to its global health compendium, the International Classification of Diseases.

Penn Badgley Goes Deeper on Swearing Off Racy ‘You’ Sex Scenes: ‘That Aspect of Hollywood Has Been Very Disturbing’
Penn Badgley has been in the headlines recently, and not only because Part 1 of the fourth season of “You” dropped on Feb. 9: On his podcast “Podcrushed” last week, Badgley talked about his strong dislike of filming intimate scenes — and the internet exploded with thoughts about his remarks. He also said that he’d shared his feelings with Sera Gamble, the “You” showrunner, ahead of the season. In turn, he said, Gamble had a “really positive response and they came back with a phenomenal reduction” for Season 4.
In two wide-ranging interviews for this week’s Variety cover story, which will be released on Feb. 15, Badgley spoke expansively on the subject. In our story, Badgley details how the number of sex scenes he knew he’d have to do for “You” had been a major factor in 2017 in him not wanting to play the role of serial killer/love addict Joe Goldberg. The whole series, after all, revolves around Joe’s romantic fixations, and how he gets the women he’s fallen for to submit to his charms. By design, “You” has a ton of sex.

Here’s Your First Look At Lady Gaga And Joaquin Phoenix In The Upcoming Musical Sequel To Joker
Todd Phillips’s Joker made over $1 billion when it was released in 2019 and earned its formidable lead, Joaquin Phoenix, a Best Actor Oscar. So, it was, of course, only a matter of time before we heard that the twisted psychological thriller centred on the green-haired super villain and Batman adversary would be getting a sequel. What is startling, however, is that the new project is slated to be a musical, and Lady Gaga is taking on one of its starring roles.

Jamie Bell And Margaret Qualley Will Be Cheek To Cheek In A New Fred Astaire And Ginger Rogers Biopic
As the lithe, ethereal Broadway legend Ann Reinking in Fosse/Verdon, Margaret Qualley was a revelation, earning both rave reviews and her first Emmy nomination. Now, the 28-year-old actor will be putting on her dancing shoes once again for a splashy new biopic: Fred & Ginger, in which she’ll play Ginger Rogers alongside Jamie Bell’s Fred Astaire.
Deadline confirmed the news on 13 February, noting that the upcoming musical would depict “the passionate and explosive relationship between [the] Hollywood dance legends” who co-starred in 10 iconic films – including The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat and Swing Time – over a 16-year period. I Am Not Okay With This and The End of the Fucking World’s Jonathan Entwistle is set to direct, while Arash Amel (A Private War) has penned the script. The log line adds that the plot will focus on “a defining point in their early careers when their contrasting dance styles and competitive rivalry threatened to destroy their legendary partnership”.

Sumptuous Costumes, Elaborate Dance Sequences And Sexual Tension Abound In The First Teaser For Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Ever since the second season of Bridgerton landed on screens last spring – replete with secret assignations, lavish balls and bees – fans of Shonda Rhimes’s record-breaking Regency romp have been counting down to its third, Penelope-and-Colin-centric instalment. But, they also have another candy-coloured period drama series to look forward to in 2023: Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the show’s upcoming spin-off which will centre on the titular monarch. Though the formidable, extravagantly dressed ruler, believed by many to be Britain’s first Black queen, is played by Golda Rosheuvel in Bridgerton, it was revealed back in March 2022 that newcomer India Amarteifio would portray her as a teenager in the prequel.

Martha’s Quick Tip for Removing a Fresh Oil Stain From Clothing Is Genius
The next time a bite of food leaves its mark on your favorite top, give this clever method, which involves cornstarch, a try.
As you’d expect, Martha has a tried-and-true trick for one of the most frustrating mealtime experiences: a blob of oil landing on a favorite blouse or pair of pants. Luckily, you don’t have to part ways with a beloved piece of clothing due to this seemingly tough-to-tackle stain.
Believe it or not, Martha shared this genius tip in the clip above years ago while on the air. Together with stain removal expert Jonathan Scheer of J. Scheer & Co., she taught her audience—and now, us!—how to banish one of the trickiest stains without a trace.

Can You Leave Wet Laundry in the Washer Overnight? This Is What Martha Says
Leaving wet clothes in the washer overnight can cause them to smell mildewy in the morning—but this doesn’t always happen (and you might not have to run the load through another cycle).
We’ve all been through it: You put a load of laundry into your washer only to forget about it until the next morning. When this happens, it’s common for your clothes to develop a mildewy odor due to the growth of bacteria overnight. But if you left wet clothes in the washer and find they still smell fresh and clean, do you really need to run it through a second cycle? Martha says this isn’t always necessary.

Sandra Oh’s Sense of Purpose
The actor discusses Hollywood survival skills, winning the lottery, and her interest in telling “messy” Asian American stories.
Oh is still revered by fans for her decade-long stint as Cristina Yang, the unapologetically ambitious cardiothoracic surgeon and devoted best friend on “Grey’s Anatomy.” More recently, her portrayal of the world-weary British intelligence agent Eve Polastri, in BBC America’s breakout hit “Killing Eve,” earned her a raft of awards and critical plaudits. It was during the pandemic, however, as violence against Asians surged, that Oh’s artistic choices seemed to coalesce into a sense of purpose. She was at her farcical best as Ji-Yoon Kim, the pathbreaking English-department chair at Pembroke University, in the Netflix series “The Chair,” released in 2021. Last summer, she began production of an original Hulu comedy movie with the comedian and actress Nora Lum, otherwise known as Awkwafina. Oh is now filming a miniseries adaptation of “The Sympathizer,” Viet Thanh Nguyen’s tragicomic novel on the Vietnamese refugee experience, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. The project is slated for HBO, and one of its creative visionaries is the South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook.

The 25 Most Stylish Musicians of 2023
Doja Cat flexed her wicked sense of fashion alchemy, Beyoncé brought disco trends back, and Blackpink applied for a full-time gig as “coolest band on the planet” — here are artists who have taken sartorial genius to a new level
TO QUOTE HIP-HOP legend and fashion trendsetter Slick Rick, “When it comes to style, either you have it or you don’t.” These days, “having it” matters more than ever; style and music have never been so inextricably linked. So, we’ve decided to rank the 25 most stylish musicians in the world — from Beyoncé reinstating looks from the Seventies and Eighties in her Renaissance era, to rapper Dawn continuing to evolve classic hip-hop silhouettes in his single “Stupid Cool,” to Rosalía balancing soft and hard (or as she describes it, “toma y daca, give and take”) in her Motomami tour wardrobe. These musicians epitomized style with distinction and personality, telling stories with clothing while intertwining their own identities into every look.
For Rolling Stone’s second annual Most Stylish Musicians list, we selected a panel of voters from throughout the worlds of fashion, music, and culture. They were asked to pick and rank 20 musicians, with the definition of “stylish” being up to each individual voter.

The Right Way to Clean Every Part of Your Oven, From the Racks to the Door Glass
This workhorse kitchen appliance will look good as new if you follow these expert-approved steps.
If you’re a regular cook or baker, you know that consistently cleaning your oven is important. Spills and splatters on the appliance’s walls, racks, and door can build up over time, leading to unpleasant odors when your oven is hot or—worse—longer cook times. This is why routine cleaning is a must. To help, we tapped two experts, who shared their tips for making every element of your oven sparkle again.

Rihanna is the pregnancy role model America needs right now
Fans’ demands that she get back to work show us how our narratives around motherhood and work have to change.
The immediate clamoring to know how much Rihanna’s work would suffer, and how long her clients (fans) were going to have to wait for the deliverables (new music and a new tour), echoes what countless ordinary pregnant people deal with every day. American work culture and our lack of a social safety net force pregnant people and parents to run themselves ragged proving their kids won’t affect their work lives — only to get fired or demoted anyway. Rihanna’s refusal, at least so far, to entertain any questions is refreshing: She’s upending social expectations around pregnancy, motherhood, and work. By enjoying both family and work on her own terms, and her own timetable, Rihanna has just shown us a different way is possible — even if it’s not attainable for ordinary people just yet.

[Photo Credit: abconcept.net]

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