Author: Natalie Bannerman

West meets west: D’ART Shtajio

Born the brainchild of twin brothers Arthell and Darnell Isom, D’ART Shtajio is touted as the first major black-owned anime studio in Tokyo, Japan. Partnering with animator Henry Thurlow D’ART Shtajio is a 2-D animation studio that focuses on creating work at the crossroads between East and West. So in addition to its majority black ownership… Continue reading West meets west: D’ART Shtajio

MonoNeon – The luminous one

Hot Cheetos. Not the spicy corn-based snack that was once described by The Washington Post as “something of a cultural phenomenon”. No, instead I’m referring to the alternative funk-inspired song by artist and bassist MonoNeon or as we call him, the Luminous One. It was this track that sent me down the rabbit hole and… Continue reading MonoNeon – The luminous one

The new name in emerging London luxury

Another one for your bookmarks, meet Luxury by London, an online retail platform dedicated to London based independent and emerging luxury brands. Launched earlier this month, the new platform connects shoppers who are on the lookout for something new, different and unexpected with style, beauty and lifestyle creations by London’s best emerging luxury brands and artisans.… Continue reading The new name in emerging London luxury

Anik Khan – curry chicken meets collard greens

I went down the rabbit hole, last week. You know, the one where you start off looking for/reading/watching one thing, and then 12 clicks later you’re somewhere completely different and unrelated. This time, the deep dive had me watching The Cosign by Genius on YouTube. It a series of music webisodes where industry veterans watch… Continue reading Anik Khan – curry chicken meets collard greens

Happy Birthday to The Sims

So, the Sims turns 20 this year, marking the birth of the game that made PC games fun again. With 60% female gamers, the classic life simulation game allowed us to create our own fictional worlds through the lives of our Sims, from birth, to career, marriage, children and death, not to mention all the… Continue reading Happy Birthday to The Sims

Meet Hilary MacMillan: The cruelty-free, body-positive brand for women

Introducing Hilary MacMillan (HMM), a contemporary cruelty-free luxury brand based in Canada. We happened across our new-found discovery as one normally does, that’s right, on our Twitter feed. Founded in 2013, HMM has become synonymous with creating versatile pieces with timeless silhouettes. In other words, they create classics not trends! High-quality fabrics, attention grabbing colours… Continue reading Meet Hilary MacMillan: The cruelty-free, body-positive brand for women

VAULT Festival: Champion of the arts

If you haven’t already heard, VAULT Festival is the latest in a long line of arts and entertainment festivals rapidly growing in popularity here in the UK. Kicking off on January 28th, this eight-week event is taking place at 18 different venues across the Waterloo area. Now in its eighth year, VAULT Festival brings together… Continue reading VAULT Festival: Champion of the arts

Good News: Changing the world one step at a time

In the spirit of all things underrepresented, emerging and ‘other’, we kick off 2020 with a new London-based footwear designer called Good News. This niche urban brand champions sustainability with trainers (or sneakers as they are described on their site) featuring: recycled rubber soles, organic cotton and weave uppers, and recycled eco-lite footbed. Aesthetically their… Continue reading Good News: Changing the world one step at a time

Black Orchard

The duality of the female form is celebrated in all of its glory as part of our first fashion editorial. The strength, power, and determination of Regal Culture, offset against the sensuality, tenderness and allure of Luxe Comfort come together to form what we call Black Orchard. But look at us now, Proud. We unbound… Continue reading Black Orchard

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see – #Inktober

#Inktober marks an entire month of art and illustrations: its thirty-one days of thirty-one ink drawings taking place throughout October. It was started back in 2009 by Jay Parker an Illustrator based in Utah as a “challenge to improve my inking skills and develop positive drawing habits.” Since then it has grown into a global… Continue reading Art is not what you see, but what you make others see – #Inktober

Patricia Araújo: AFW editorial

Some finds are a little too good not to share. This past Tuesday I found myself once again, in the middle of one of my epic internet wanders. You know the ones when you start out looking for one thing but twenty clicks later you find yourself completely lost and looking at something no where near… Continue reading Patricia Araújo: AFW editorial

We buy black dot com

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The truth of the matter is that the world knows our culture, but they are puzzled as to why they can’t buy from our people directly. We recently received an email from an Asian-American that said ” It’s unbelievable, and the products are so awesome. I never realized how much I didn’t see black people… Continue reading We buy black dot com

The fall of the nineties supermodel

What happened to the Supermodel!? Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Iman, Elle MacPherson & Alek Wek these names don’t count because they gained their notoriety before & during the 90’s but for whatever reason we don’t produce models that are blessed with such a title anymore. Arguably models such as Cara Delevingne, Kendall Jenner or… Continue reading The fall of the nineties supermodel

Remembering the fallen – the curse of the child star

I used to be a little envious of child stars when I was younger. Yes I admit it, during maths class and science lessons I would often dream of the bright lights of fame and fortune. I would look at the Lil Bow Wow’s, Haley Joel Osment’s & Raven-Symoné’s of the world and think ‘I… Continue reading Remembering the fallen – the curse of the child star

Strangers in the night – privacy in public

I myself have witnessed the rather typical and gross nature of groups of pre pubescent boys on public transport, not all boys of course but sadly the majority rules. Somehow the crowded buses & trains coupled with tired/sleepy strangers is cue for them to act as obnoxious as possible. Usually exclamations of the words ‘bruv’,… Continue reading Strangers in the night – privacy in public

For those who like to bare all …

Picture this …. The tranquil beaches of an island far away. Forget the pebbles of Brighton instead only white powdery soft sand sticking to your toes. A gorgeous sunset throwing every hue of orange and purple, crystal clear water that looks good enough to drink, that mixture smell of sea breeze and sea water that… Continue reading For those who like to bare all …

Connection and consciousness – what is tantric sex?

As I skim through the numerous women’s magazines during my lunch break, everything from the latest fashion trends to the newest celebrity gossip crosses my path but more than ever I see more and more features on this new sexual trend called Tantric Sex. According to these numerous sources Tantric Sex has been growing in… Continue reading Connection and consciousness – what is tantric sex?

Are you afraid of the dark? – witches debunked

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“Double double toil and trouble fire burn and cauldron bubble…” Before long comes that time of the year again, when children dress as ghouls and creatures of the night, in search of confectionary delights and general mischief. The time of the year, we are lead to believe centres around the undead and by association the dark… Continue reading Are you afraid of the dark? – witches debunked

Voila – À La Disposition

New York husband and wife design duo Daniel and Lynda Kinne are the founders and brain child behind the cutting edge clothing brand À La Disposition. Known for their excellent tailoring, bespoke silhouettes & avant-garde designs, À La Disposition is fast becoming a recognised name in its own right. I managed to speak to these two… Continue reading Voila – À La Disposition

Hayden Williams a rising star

There are two types of people on Instagram ‘posers’ and ‘nosers’, I myself am a noser. Basically all this means is I nose around through other peoples photos and have not a single one up myself. Sounds bad I know but my life really isn’t really interesting enough to post any of my own photos… Continue reading Hayden Williams a rising star

Sonar – the modern way to festival

Sónar is the culmination of over 20 years work, the end result is as you’d expect; A festival that defies convention and stands entirely on its own as much more of an experience than just an event. The team are quite fussy when it comes to events we won’t be found frequenting the typical mud… Continue reading Sonar – the modern way to festival