At six feet tall, with long brown hair and impressively direct eye contact, Lillian House is a commanding presence—even on a Zoom call. She recently spoke to The Daily Beast from the home she shares in Denver with her partner, Ryan. Her rescue dog, Hermie, lay on a small bed right behind her. House is one of a group of socialist organizers in Colorado gearing up […]
Alaina Demopoulos
51 posts
In Twilight, the young adult fantasy series written by Stephenie Meyer and later turned into a blockbuster film franchise starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, the main character—a tortured, mysterious vampire named Edward Cullen—was transformed into a monster while suffering from Spanish Influenza in 1918. So begins the saga of Edward (played by Pattinson). Ever since the first film came out in 2008, Twilight has been […]
After days of staying silent amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, fashion designer Alexander Wang has released a statement, denying all the allegations made against him. “Over the last few days, I have been on the receiving end of baseless and grotesquely false accusations,” Wang said. “These claims have been wrongfully amplified by social media accounts infamous for posting defamatory material from undisclosed and/or anonymous sources […]
Alexander Wang is declining to comment on accusations of sexual misconduct from multiple anonymous victims, WWD reports. Stories of the New York designer drugging and sexually harassing or assaulting male and trans models were first posted by the industry watchdog Instagram account @ShitModelMgmt. “Instead of letting these occurrences be swept under the rug, it is time to do something about this,” @ShitModelMgmt wrote in a caption. […]
All quarantine, I’ve been playing a fun game called, “Do I Want Bangs, or Is Nicole Kidman Gaslighting Me?” The swoopy, straight-from-the-roller disco 1970s curtain fringe is certainly having a moment on screens (see: The Flight Attendant). Microbangs that leave half the forehead exposed work to evoke a certain period (Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit) or attitude (every girl on my Instagram feed who pulls […]
MAGA world has gone into total meltdown after the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a bizarre Trump-endorsed lawsuit on Friday seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election. Many of the president’s staunchest supporters believed that the Supreme Court, with its Trump-appointed justices, would eventually come to the president’s rescue in his failing election fraud crusade. But, with their hopes crushed on Friday, “Stop the Steal” […]
Nothing bolsters the gender binary quite like holiday gift guide season. Since the dawn of consumer capitalism, department stores and designers have offered up ideas for “Him” (wallets, whiskey stones), and “Her” (purses, perfume samplers) with little room for fluidity. This year, Gucci shoppers were treated to a departure from the norm. When it comes to this year’s capsule, another category is offered: Them. New York-based […]
Two white women lip sync side-by-side on Tik Tok. Nearly everything in the shot is blue: their t-shirts, their coffee tumblers, their eyes, and the color of the text they have written over a TikTok video. The a capella opening of the pop song “Kings & Queens” by Ava Max plays, promising, “To all of the queens who are fighting alone, babe you’re not dancin’ on […]
In four years, the white pantsuit has become a wearable form of resistance against the Trump administration. Hillary Clinton wore one during a presidential debate. The Democratic women of Congress coordinated theirs for last year’s State of the Union. When Melania Trump put on hers in 2018, a spark ignited: had she chosen the Suffragette-aligning color to troll her husband? (Now, as she staunchly defends him […]
Ivanka Trump lives her life on Instagram; this year, her 7.2 million followers were privy to photos of her campaigning for her father. . .and also, for attention. In the lead-up to November 3, Ivanka(’s assistants) breathlessly posted pictures from barns in North Carolina, fields in Pennsylvania, and packed stages in Wisconsin. In her overcoats and pantsuits, she fashioned herself an avatar of inoffensive feminism, a […]
Vicki Fichter works as a dispatcher for Chicago Board Up Services, but lately she has also been asked to moonlight as a crystal ball. This week, around fifty businesses in the city have called requesting quotes for a disturbing scenario: they want to shutter storefronts ahead of election day. “Everyone asks me, what will the next couple of weeks bring? Will the unrest come next week?’” […]
Hours after Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows said the president is “not going to control” the coronavirus pandemic, Melania gave us a vision of Halloween that is equally unhinged. Let’s start with the good news, or what passes for it these days: Unlike last year’s White House Halloween party, it does not look as though there was any “Build the Wall” decor. So, the bare […]
Anna Wintour, the inimitable editor-in-chief of Vogue and ultimate fashion maven, might not be a bastion of relatability for the average person. But she has one thing in common with the rest of us: if recent reports are true, she’s a big Bill Nighy fan. According to the New York Post, Wintour split with her partner of over 20 years, the “telecom millionaire” Shelby Bryan (this […]
What is the color of ambition? Pink, if you ask Instagram. Specifically, ask the dozens of female celebrities and activists who have repped a shocking fuchsia suit by the clothing line Argent and they will let you know: “loud and proud” is the hue of this moment. Last week Argent launched its Election collection, which includes a $250 top and $150 trousers. (Both are currently backordered.) […]
Queen Elizabeth is no slouch at the whole keeping calm and carrying on thing, and that decidedly British spirit shines through her clothes. In her first public engagement since COVID isolation, the Queen stepped out in a positively delightful all-pink ensemble that has Fixed Everything. No, seriously. People really loved this look. “With a knack for picking just the right lipstick to lift the nation, Her […]
Amy Coney Barrett’s beet pink dress spoke before she did: it looked sensible, practical, and stoically feminine, an image she aims to project. It was a pretty dress, maybe even stylish by DC’s standards. A flat bow rested on her right shoulder, just underneath a string of pearls. The justice picked a very nice outfit for her first confirmation hearing. Too bad it was curated for […]
This year’s tedious “Is New York dead?” debate has a strong contender in Team No—Mary-Kate Olsen, fresh off her split from Olivier Sarkozy and a summer spent in the Hamptons, is back to her stomping grounds of Manhattan. Predictably, cameras have followed. According to an unnamed source quoted in Entertainment Weekly, “there is no shortage of things in [Mary-Kate’s] life that bring her joy” these days. […]
After apparently shooting his wife with a 12 gauge shotgun, Thomas Jarboe called 911 to explain what happened. “She has been abusing me, she is my caretaker, and is completely destroying me,” Jarboe said to the dispatcher, according to court documents first reported by KOMO News. “She hates all my kids, my kids all hate her.” The 75-year-old professor emeritus at the University of Washington said […]
Despite the fact that nearly everyone agrees that the first presidential debate was a disaster, Joe Biden still managed to come out of the night with a catchphrase. As Donald Trump spoke over him, Biden snapped, “Will you shut up, man?” It was both a retort and a plea. Now, it’s a t-shirt. In what felt like no time at all, the Vice President’s campaign mocked […]
After spending most of the first presidential debate shouting incoherently, Donald Trump finished it off with a crystal clear message. “I’m urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully,” he said, stoking fears of potentially violent election day interference. At home in Chicago, Kayleigh Glaza missed Trump’s comment at first. “There was so much yelling and other stuff happening,” she said. One […]
For years, executives at British retailer Fred Perry have tried to distance themselves from the Neo-fascists who love their clothes. Now, the brand has pulled one of the most recognizable Proud Boys uniforms from American stores. The same week that hundreds of Proud Boys marched in Portland, Fred Perry released a statement on its website announcing that the black and yellow-tipped polo shirt appropriated by members […]
We’re teetering on the brink of an unthinkable future. Our democracy hangs by a thread. “How are you doing?” feels like a useless greeting; everything is bad now. Americans are simultaneously fed up and burned out. We feel a fiery rage and debilitating grief. But hey: at least Katie Holmes is having a good time. The 41-year-old actress is, as the New York Post put it […]
Seven months ago, as most Americans began self-isolating to slow the spread of the coronavirus, many wondered what will this do to our mental health. Experts warned of psychological fallout; reports told of an increase in anxiety and depressive disorders. Social distancing restrictions have eased since then, or evaporated altogether. But the pandemic still rages, protesters take to the street most every night in major cities, […]
Kamala Harris did not step off of her private plane on her way to visiting the scene of a devastating California wildfire so much as she bounced. The Vice Presidential nominee did so in Timberland boots, drawing a wave of online cheers and boos, in what might be the first true sartorial scandal of the Biden/Harris campaign. On one side came the praise, heaped on by […]
When the coronavirus began ravaging New York City, Chenghui Zhang’s parents begged her to return to China. But Zhang, who is 25 and also goes by the adopted first name Helen, would not leave her adopted home of nearly seven years. “It was very scary, but I told them that it was better for me to not move for now,” Zhang told The Daily Beast on […]
I have never watched an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. I do not follow any of the five sisters on Instagram, where Kim, Kylie, Kendall, Kourtney, and Khloe have accrued over 550 million fans. I have never bought a product the sisters hawk online, not one box of Flat Tummy Tea or a tube of Kylie’s matte lipstick. Yet their influence is all around […]
The name of Joe Biden’s new designer merchandise line is “Believe in Better,” but the standard for campaign t-shirts is already abysmally low. Donald Trump’s reelection team sells “#BuildTheWall” tees and tops that quote Biden’s “You Ain’t Black” gaffe. Until recently, one could buy a “Baby Lives Matter” onesie for the low, low price of $18. (It has since been scrubbed from the site.) So Joe […]
As she was putting together her portfolio collection during her last year as a fashion student at Parsons School of Design, Najla A. Burt called her mother for help. She needed to come up with a name for her clothing line. “We had a conversation around why she should not make her label her name,” Cynthia Burt, Najla’s mother, recalled in an interview with The Daily […]
Gregory Marcinski is 43 and incarcerated at a federal prison in Otisville, New York. He has never met or touched his partner Eva, who lives nearly 4,000 miles away in Bavaria, Germany. But when Eva opens his letters and fingers the stationery she knows he’s held, too, the sensation feels “a bit like holding hands.” Marcinski has been in prison for almost 20 years, serving two […]
Sometimes, Kamala Harris wears pantsuits. Sometimes, Kamala Harris wears Converse. Sometimes, Kamala Harris wears pearls. And on Pride, Kamala Harris wears a bedazzled denim jacket. That’s not an excerpt from a sexist children’s book; it’s just an observation. Harris, the first woman of color to join a major party’s national ticket, owns a professional wardrobe fit for a longtime politician. Like most of her fellow male […]
Far-right militia, pro-Confederacy groups and anti-fascist counter-protestors faced off on Saturday in tense scenes at Stone Mountain, Georgia, home of the largest monument to the Confederacy. To prepare for the confrontation, park officials closed off entry to the giant rock carving of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson. The city suspended bus services and urged residents to avoid the city center entirely “out of […]
Since he was in elementary school summiting flagpoles, eating his lunch at the top of basketball hoops, and wriggling his way up the exposed seams of brick buildings, Kai Lightner has been a fearless climber. The 20-year-old professional from Fayetteville, North Carolina, has tackled some of the hardest routes in the world, ascending the formidable Era Vella in Margalef, Spain, when he was just 15. Still […]
For weeks I have attempted to enlist friends to come to the beach with me. Many have declined this invitation, not in the name of social distancing but for fear of another deadly threat lurking in the water: sharks. Visions of pointed grey fins cutting through waves have long been the stuff of summer nightmares, thanks to that forever-terrifying 1975 blockbuster, Jaws. This year in particular, […]