If you aren’t familiar with SSENSE, it’s the online epicenter for buying luxury brands and high-end streetwear. Founded by the three Atallah brothers, the goal was to take away the obstacles and headaches that could arise from purchasing high-end fashion and democratize the latest, coolest brands.
More than any other platform right now, SSENSE does curation right. They’re painfully aware of which pieces from new collections are a fit for their audience. They show you what’s relevant and hot right now — prioritizing pieces you’ll genuinely like rather than what’s just being pushed by the brand. Now, SSENSE carries brands of all price points from Adidas to Versace.
Another highlight: SSENSE is known for its brand diversity. They often highlight Black-owned brands and showcase collections from people of color and lesser-known designers. To close out Black History Month 2024, SSENSE is teaming up with none other than ESSENCE: a pairing that makes perfect sense.
ESSENCE, the lifestyle publication geared towards Black women, is helping feature three designers and artists: Bianca Saunders, Mowalola, and Stanley Raffington. The series will showcase their designs and tell their story.
According to SSENSE’s site,
“The two brands are turning ESSENCE’s “In The Studio” print franchise into a video series hosted by Lynette Nylander. The series will spotlight the achievements and creativity of Black designers who have significantly impacted the menswear realm. With three episodes, each featuring a distinguished designer, the series offers exclusive insights into their creative processes and journey,”
Meet The SSENSE X ESSENCE Feature Designers
Bianca Saunders
Bianca Saunders
British GQ
Bianca Saunders’ clothing embraces masculinity in womenswear. Her jackets will always be a bit oversized, or the style will mimic a classic streetwear bomber that could have been borrowed from boys like Jeremy Allen-White and Jacob Elordi — a girl can dream.
“The essence of Saunders' clothing lives in the details, which point to how she subverts ideals often associated with menswear.”
Finding the intersectionality between workwear and streetwear, Saunders clothing is genderless and trendy. Some of her signatures include layered shirts, tucked waists, and somewhat minimalist designs.
@babyboyflame Buying Black: @Bianca Saunders #streetwear #menswear #blackownedbusiness #fashion #fashiontok #fashiontiktok ♬ Oldschool - Cookin Soul
Mowalola
Mowalola
Joyce NG
Mowalola, a highly sought after designer whose pieces have been worn by the likes of Rihanna and Naomi Campbell, is a bit of an icon in the fashion world. Her mantra for fashion is “do what you want to do” and that’s exactly the kind of energy Mowalola’s clothes give off.
Much like Bianca Saunders, Mowalola is known for her gender bending designs. Inspired by cinema, many of her collections revolve around movies. And this is on full display at her cinematic runway shows.
She brings an edge to her designs through textures like leather and intentionally placed cutouts. She’s not afraid to make public commentary on race and gender, making her runway shows incredibly popular.
“The British designer has shifted the cultural zeitgeist with her boundary-pushing collections inspired by the world around her.”
@i_d Replying to @JAC So are we! #ferragamo #maximiliandavis #tiktokfashion #mfw #mowalola ♬ original sound - i-D
Stanley Raffington
Stanley Raffington
ESSENCE
In a world where the Chanel black-and-white aesthetic hails ever-popular, especially amongst those emulating Old Money Style and Sofia Richie’s closet, it’s hard to find designers who aren’t afraid of a bit of color…enter Stanley Raffington.
Often incorporating Rastafarian colors of red, yellow, and black as an ode to his Jamaican roots, Raffington isn’t going to shy away from any hue. He quickly rose into fashion prominency when Madonna and FKA Twigs attended his show, which included 3D printed accessories.
Constantly inspired by his Jamaican roots and the nostalgia of past trends, you will see lots of Y2K nods in Stanley Raffington’s clothing. He’s embraced tech in the fashion world by utilizing 3D printing in many of his designs and runway shows, and he’s not slowing down now.
@yungstanz Process behind my 3d printed curve bag. Taking inspiration from the architecture of Zaha Hadid, mixing new technology with natural materials and craft. Available now exclusively at @SSENSE ♬ Never Lose Me - Flo Milli
Aliens Are Real, Says Israeli Space Official
The signs are everywhere, and we just keep on missing them.
An 87-year-old former space security chief has come forward with a statement about aliens being real. Professor Haim Eshed isn't just any aspiring prophet — he served as the head of the Israeli space security program for over 30 years, and thrice received Israel's Security Award.
According to Eshed, there is a coalition of aliens known as the Galactic Federation, who have traveled to our solar system to conduct experiments and to understand the "fabric of the universe," in his words. Eshed also said that the aliens worked with the United States of America to establish an underground base on Mars.
"They, too, are exploring and trying to understand the entire structure of the universe, and they want us to be their helpers. In the bowels of Mars, there is an underground base where their representatives, as well as American astronauts, are located," said Eshed.
Apparently, the aliens don't think we humans on Earth are ready for them quite yet, and so have asked to be kept a secret. "Those who fly on UFOs have asked not to disclose that they are here because humanity is not ready yet," said Eshed in an interview with Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
Of course, one particular world leader nearly ruined it all. "Trump was on the verge of revealing their existence, but aliens from the Galactic Federation persuaded him to wait until people calm down," he continued. "They don't want to create mass hysteria. They first want us to become reasonable and understanding."
It's a little late to avoid mass hysteria on Earth, and we as a species seem as far away from any semblance of reasonableness and understanding as we have ever been. If Trump had actually announced that aliens are real, his supporters—many of whom believe that Trump won the election, QAnon is real, and COVID-19 is fake — might be some of the most likely people on Earth to believe in extraterrestrials.
It's easy to see how his announcing that aliens exist might trigger some sort of mass hysteria; though on the other hand, Americans are so overwhelmed right now that perhaps we would have just brushed it off.
Apparently, America is very much involved with aliens — which makes sense, because the USA is continuously the site of the most alien encounters in the world. "There is an agreement between the US government and aliens. They signed a contract with aliens to conduct experiments here," said Eshed.
It seems like we all have to get a bit better at understanding science before the aliens grace us with their presence. "They are waiting for humanity to develop and reach the stage where we fully understand what space and spaceships are," said Eshed. Perhaps he could add understanding how disease, climate change, and politics work.
Regardless, Eshed knows that his claims will be met with doubt. "If I had told what I am saying today, five years ago, I would have been hospitalized," said Eshed. "Wherever I went with this in academia, they would tell me: This man has lost his mind. Today they speak differently. I have nothing to lose. I have received degrees and awards, I am respected in foreign universities, where the trend is also changing."
Eshed is far from the first person to claim that aliens are real and that he's encountered them. But his statements have something in common with many other stories about aliens: There's no proof to back up anything that he's said.
Either the Galactic Federation is really good at covering its tracks, or a whole lot of people are willing to believe in things they cannot see — and after this year, we know the second part is true.
In this year of shared delusions, invisible viruses, and ever-more-apocalyptic weather, the increasing number of headlines we're seeing about aliens is unsurprising. People have always been drawn to conspiracy theories (and to, dare I say, religions) in times of stress and darkness; when the road ahead disappears and we're left falling into nothingness and uncertainty, that's when we start seeing little lights and reading signals from beyond.
Whether or not these signals are real is always a matter of debate. But perhaps the Galactic Federation is simply waiting until we reach the next stage of our collective evolution to reveal its existence to us all. It's likely that, given the state of humanity today, this will take a long time.
Eshed's claims have sparked several social media parodies, including several accounts pretending to be the Galactic Federation.
Read More:
On TikTok's Whitewashed Aliens: Confessions of a Starseed