Rihanna
The ultimate queen, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Rihanna for short, drastically revolutionized 2017 with her fierce work ethic and ambition. Rihanna transcended across numerous industries, enticing fans to disregard their current financial obligations and purchase everything Rihanna. From her edgy clothing line to her game-changing makeup products, Rihanna deservingly earned her place as my person of the year.
Dominating New York Fashion Week ‘17 earlier this spring, Rihanna galvanized the public with her X games inspired attire, in addition to some classic summer wear. She was able to successfully integrate the two in order to present an aggressive hued fashion ensemble. Though, we can already depict the bland, yet unique experience that is N.Y.F.W, Rihanna disregards the prehistoric image of conformity and establishes a new age of fashion – one with risk. Take bright colors, v-lined bathing suits, oversized bottoms, and pink mountains of sand with dirt bikes riding over them, as confirmation that she is no plain jane.
After bathing in exceptional remarks towards her ravishing fashion show, Rihanna discreetly released a picture on August 1 captioned “ @fentybeauty is coming!!!! Countdown to September. 8. 2017 starts now. #FENTYBEAUTY will be available globally at @Sephora and @harveynichols. Link us at FentyBeauty.com.” Announcing a mysterious makeup line was so unexpected, but highly-anticipated amongst fans, doubters, and beauty gurus, leaving everyone to wonder what was Rihanna planning next.
Another influential women, often times controversial herself, Kylie Jenner, was already dominating the makeup industry with Kylie Cosmetics, so Rihanna implementing herself within the game was an obscure clapback to the entire Kardashian empire.
Eagerly waiting for Rihanna to drop Fenty Beauty left followers with numerous assumptions as to what this line would entail. People didn’t just want various shades of cheap lipstick or a low stocked, overhyped brand that sold out in minutes.
The day of release, she eradicated those idiotic acquisitions and transformed the makeup industry into a truly diverse and accepting market.
Fenty Beauty advocated for women of color, showcasing their 40 shades of foundation, ranging from those with albinism to dark skinned women. She implemented products that complimented every skin tone, ensuring the ideal that makeup should be inclusive. Without the aid of Rihanna and her contribution to the industry, other high-end makeup lines, along with Kylie Cosmetics, wouldn’t have imagined advertising their own darker skin toned foundations. It seems that, yet again, it took a persistent, mindful, black woman to provoke innovation.
Beijing Silvermine
Beijing Silvermine (@Beijing_Silvermine) has to be one of the most interesting Instagram accounts out there. The account is a project by the French collector and artist Thomas Sauvin who has created an archive of half a million photo negatives salvaged over the last seven years from a recycling plant on the edge of Beijing.
Beijing Silvermine offers a glimpse into the life of Chinese families decades after the Cultural Revolution. The photographs depict architecture, technology, people–anything that can have a photo taken of it is featured on Beijing Silvermine. However, what makes this project so interesting is the sheer raw exhibition of family life. While all of the photographs are of Chinese families, they clearly tell narratives that are reflective of families across the world: pain, happiness, worry–anything and everything a family has felt and experienced before. The Instagram account provides a sense of familiarity that is truly honest.
Aside from families, the photographs also depict pretty interesting situations; some of the photographs are extremely provocative and personal, while others are truly comical. My personal favorite is of a little boy standing on top of an alligator, unaware that the alligator is about to open its mouth and take a bite. Another notable photograph is of a beautiful young couple in a hospital room holding a child. The photographs truly do make you wonder: “Who was this?”, “why were they here?”, and “what happened next?”.
Beijing Silvermine is an account that does not depend on instant gratification like most social media celebrities often do. It is a truly eye-opening project that pushes individuals to further their knowledge and understanding of different parts of the world. Hopefully in 2018 Beijing Silvermine will expand to find film negatives lost across the world as a way of educating followers of family life, structure, and society across the world. Hopefully viewers will see some similarities, too.