Tap painter Judith Bernstein’s rage for your Election 2020 anxiety

Nothing channels the vibe of our political moment quite like large canvases of toxic masculinity. (Just like cable news!) Except in this version, phalluses rendered in bright, comic book colors have met their match: toothy vaginas that appear to devour them. Plus, it’s all visible under blacklight, making this viewing experience less Fox News and more vertiginous funhouse of pesky dongs.

Welcome to “Hot Hands,” Judith Bernstein’s bawdy, funny, righteously exasperated solo exhibition at the Box gallery in downtown Los Angeles. It’s all the steroid madness of our political system, but captured through a lens of acidic lady rage.

And in the middle of an election that has left me despondent (seriously, how much cash should I be stockpiling for the downfall of democracy?), it feels like a call to arms — one that involves plenty of angrily scrawled genitals and buckets of bathroom humor. When our looming conflict erupts, I will fight in the Army of Judith Bernstein.

As Bernstein told the New York Times Style Magazine during a studio visit in 2017: “My work is sexual. My work is political. And my work is feminist. It has visual impact. It’s fun. But it’s dead serious.”

Dead serious about calling the powerful to the mat for their abuses.

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Virgil Abloh Shares How He Copes in Coronavirus Quarantine

Virgil Abloh, for one, has taken the time to spruce up his work space. “I’m hanging up art and building a new work space, a recording studio. Under Construction is kind of the title of the image,” he said.

“I’m inspired by the fact that fashion can mean something different out of the end of this,” he went on to add. “It doesn’t feel like it did a year ago. Today it seems useless, in a way: a new handbag, a pair of shoes. Getting groceries seems more important than buying a new garment that I already have 30 of in a closet. I don’t think of that as a bad thing.”

“I’m also trying to find some solitude. You hear about these things: wellness, well-being. Meditating—that’s something I need to learn. I’m relishing the idea of not having to do something all the time, but that’s a trait I have to learn. I’m not wired that way.”

While Abloh has been working inside his home, Kim Kardashian West and family have found a safe haven in their theater room.

“That’s the place that has gotten the most use lately,” she told Vogue. “The whole family has spent the last few nights in there after the kids made it into a fort, with, like, different beds all over the floor. My daughter is the fort police. If you move out of your bed that she designated for you, it’s a problem.”

Conversely, renowned photographer Juergen Teller is learning to appreciate nature. “Observing nature feels important to me in these slow times: studying the birds, feeling the air get crisper and cleaner,” he said.

As with many others, Alessandro Michele is using the extra time to reconnect with old hobbies. “I’ve rediscovered knitting and the sacredness of manual work: Knitting is my way of praying,” said the Gucci creative director. “I’m also learning how to play my classical guitar, feeling the connection with my dad’s love for music.

“I’m aware of the privilege I have—I can slow down, while lots of other people are working tirelessly to help each and every one of us make it through these agonizing times,” he continued. “We would not be here, thinking about what this pandemic is teaching us, without their priceless effort. From my windows, I can hear the birds singing as I’ve never heard before; seawater in Venice is clear once again. These are the little signs we need to look at once we go back to inhabiting this fragile world.”

In addition to these select few, Vogue has spoken with other celebrities and creatives to find out what they’ve been up to in recent weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. Visit the publication’s website to learn more.

Hublot Introduces Yohji Yamamoto’s All-Black Big Bang Watch

Hublot has teamed up with Yohji Yamamoto for a stealthy all-black edition of the Big Bang GMT watch. The collaboration serves to celebrate the grand opening of Hublot’s new flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo.

“We are honored to celebrate the opening of our new flagship boutique in Tokyo with fashion designer super star Yohji Yamamoto,” said Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. “This All Black limited edition we created together expresses a simple beauty through the fusion of Yohji Yamamoto’s black design signature and the complicated GMT manufacture movement.”

Officially referred to as the Big Bang GMT All Black, the watch makes use of the Hublot Unico manufacture movement HUB1251. The GMT feature allows for two different timezones to be displayed, as the local timezone can be updated instantly with the push of a button.

Completely black, the Big Bang GMT incorporates a black case constructed from micro-blasted black ceramic, black hands, a black dial, and a black rubber strap, while the sapphire crystal is made of smoked sapphire. Yohji Yamamoto’s signature is displayed in black at six o’clock, adhering to the monochromatic theme.

“This watch can easily display the time zones of the two cities where I’m based, Tokyo and Paris. Moreover, the hours are invisible,” said Yamamoto. “As a person who isn’t always forthcoming, I find that highly amusing. I’m pleased to have taken part in the creation of this model to celebrate the opening of Hublot Boutique in Ginza, a unique, famous and iconic neighborhood of Japan.”

The Big Bang GMT All Black Yohji Yamamoto will be available in a limited number of 50, exclusively at Hublot’s new Ginza boutique.

Bianca Saunders’ Menswear Takes Strength From Its Fluidity

London‘s menswear rising star Bianca Saunders’ designs act as a counterpoint to traditional representations of gender and masculinity, with menswear staples including shirting and trousers reworked with details normally associated with womenswear. The challenges to classic stories of black masculinity are essential to Saunders’ work, extending far beyond the clothing itself. Saunders’ presentation for Fall/Winter 2019 was set in a bedroom, while her Fall/Winter 2020 presentation was inspired by peep shows in London’s Soho. “The idea of secret intimacy has been a massive thread,” Saunders adds. “How do you expose intimacy publicly?”

Your clothes are twists on classic masculinity, bringing in feminine influences. Why is that the approach you went for?

Just as myself, I would like to be able to wear the clothes, but I don’t want it to look like womenswear on men. I want it to look completely different on a man than a woman. I want it to surprise people in terms of what way it can go. I think a lot more now, men are looking for something different.

How does your work try to challenge masculinity?

I think when I try to challenge it, it’s with guys who are slightly feminine who are almost missed out in the conversation around gender. I think it’s through trying to be more subtle, giving it subtle twists and changes.

Read The Full Interview On HYPEBEAST.