Film
Halston Gets the Kind of Over-the-Top Biopic He'd Appreciate
The new Netflix miniseries about the influential fashion designer would benefit from a closer look at the work that made his name.
Abbey Bender
Abbey Bender is a New York-based journalist.
Art
Ruth Carter’s Radical, Afrofuturist Fashion
From Do the Right Thing to Selma to Black Panther, Carter’s costume designs have long been defined by their ability to elevate characters too often marginalized.
Film
A Classic Film Reminds Us That Modeling Is Labor
The perfect movie for New York Fashion Week is 1981's Model, Frederick Wiseman behind-the-scenes documentary on the industry.
Opinion
Judy Chicago’s Collaboration With Dior Is Beautiful, but Its Feminist Ambitions Are Questionable
Judy Chicago’s collaboration with the fashion house, a runway-installation called The Female Divine, includes a woven catwalk carpet and 21 banners embroidered with questions including “What if Women Ruled the World?”
Books
Merce Cunningham Takes the Book Out of the Box
More of an art- or archival collection than a typical book, Cunnigham's recently reissued Changes gathers sketches, notes, photographs, programs, and all other manner of ephemera in a creative package.
Film
Twisting the Familiar Into Uncanny Cinematic Forms
Surface Knowledge, the latest Flaherty NYC screening series, presents enthralling experimental documentary shorts which play with ways of seeing and experiencing the world.
Film
Confronting Questions We'd Rather Avoid About Old Age and Dying
The documentary América is a tender look at three brothers caring for their grandmother in her last days.
Film
A Cozy Inside View of New York's Rare Books Scene
The documentary The Booksellers argues that independent bookstores are more vital than ever in the digital age.
Art
The Women Photojournalists Who Blazed Trails in the 1940s and '50s
An exhibition at the New-York Historical Society presents the work of six female photographers who worked for LIFE magazine during its golden age.
Film
The Woman Who Recorded Decades of TV News on 70,000 VHS Tapes
The documentary Recorder explores the life and work of Marion Stokes, who amassed the world's largest independent TV archive without anyone noticing.