Five Days of Food, Part Three: Models Melt in Moving Stills from Fashion Film Duo Santiago & Mauricio
The sensuality and extravagance of cocoa is explored in “a box” of moving portraits, created in homage to this month’s Brussels Chocolate Week by NOWNESS regulars and siblings Santiago and Mauricio Sierra. The New York-based team’s rare take on the pop aesthetic has earned them collaborations with the likes of Dior and W. For this creation, they used Flemish Renaissance-inspired bonnets—a nod to the chocolate region’s equally rich artistic legacy—to festoon the models, recreating the ribbon- and garland-packaged indulgences of the season with the help of fashion’s freshest faces, captured in furtive moments of ecstasy. Yet our affair with the bittersweet delicacy isn’t all that mysterious in light of its chemical powers of seduction: the cocoa bean contains organically stimulating substances, such as the euphoric anandamide, the natural aphrodisiac arginine, and tryptophan, a proven antidepressant.
Supermodel Chanel Iman Hops Off the Runway and Onto the Stripper's Pole
Under the hypnotic spell of strobe lights and neon lasers, Chanel Iman seduces in a bold new short by husband-and-wife duo Dusan Reljin and Hilde Pettersen Reljin. Chanel Rising came about after a chance conversation with the part-Korean African-American model, who has graced the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and i-D among others, revealed that pole dancing was her favorite new hobby. Intrigued by her admission, Norwegian photographer Dusan asked if he and his wife could film her in action and capture her personal interest in the exercise craze taking over New York. Having previously shot Iman for Italian Vogue and Victoria’s Secret, the duo enlisted a special effects lighting team for the voyeuristic personal portrait. “We wanted all the colors to be very primary, saturated and strong, so that the whole thing would be very powerful,” explains Dusan. “Even though she is doing something very exotic and visual, the color schemes that we used make her part of the environment.” Recently appearing in Usher’s new “Dive” video, Iman has just launched her backpack design for the Runway to Win collection supporting President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.
Hong Kong's Roof Top Bee Keeper Michael Leung Gives Us a Tour of His Hives
High above one of the world's busiest and most congested city streets, urban apiarist Michael Leung runs his crusade for conscious local food, documented in Virgile Simon Bertrand’s inspiring photographs. Leung founded HK Honey as a way of using his background as a product designer to introduce the largely unknown concept of sustainable food to Hong Kong. Initially starting with just a few hives on the roof of his design studio in Ngau Tau Kok, Leung developed both a brand and a responsible community around his lifestyle ideology. “By putting bees in an industrial area we are showing a bit of optimism and that it's not too late to do something about environmental change,” he explains. “Our aim is to get people to know where their food comes from and to source and buy ethically, locally and seasonally.” With hives situated on a number of cafés and design stores throughout the city—including bespoke commissions for Louis Vuitton and Lane Crawford—HK Honey also creates harvestable roof gardens and promotes the development of inner city green space. Here NOWNESS reveals the environmental importance of honeybees.