Japan has long produced world and Olympic medalists, male and female, in singles figure skating , but its pairs and ice dancers have rarely attracted international attention. That will change with the gold medal Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara just won in Saitama for pairs. For almost a decade, ice dance in Japan was dominated by the brother-and-sister team Cathy and Chris Reed (whose sister Allison Reed, now skating with Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania, placed seventh in the discipline on Saturday). Cathy retired from competition after the 2014–15 season to concentrate on coaching and choreography. Chris teamed up with Kana Muramoto, with whom he skated for three seasons; in 2018 she announced that the partnership had been dissolved and she was searching for a new partner. (Chris Reed, who announced his retirement the following year, died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2020, aged 30.)

Daisuke Takahashi, now 37, has been a star in singles skating for 20 years. In 2010 he became the first Japanese man to medal in figure skating at the Olympics, winning bronze in Vancouver; the following month he became the first Asian man to win gold at Worlds. He retired from competitive skating in 2014 but announced his return in 2018, winning silver at Japanese Nationals. The following year he announced that he was switching to ice dance and would skate with Kana Muramoto. To make that change, Takahashi would have to reshape himself, developing the upper-body strength needed for dance lifts and twizzles. He had often expressed his admiration for ice dancers, especially the American Olympic and world gold medalist Meryl Davis. Now he and Muramoto train with Marina Zueva, who coached her and Charlie White, among other ice-dance champions. In their second Worlds, Takahashi and Muramoto were in 11th place after the rhythm dance and finished in that spot, although their free dance, to “The Phantom of the Opera,” was scored in 10th place.

After the pandemic, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the US changed coaches, joining  Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon’s new team in Ontario to work with Scott Moir, Madison Hubbell, and Adrián Díaz, retired champions now coaching. At the end of last season, Ponomarenko had ankle surgery and required three months’ rehabilitation, while Carreira kept working with Moir, strengthening her partnering skills. This January Carreira and Ponomarenko won bronze at US Nationals but were not named to the world team; Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, who had withdrawn from Nationals because of health issues, were given a bye. But Hawayek and Baker also had to withdraw from Saitama, giving Carreira and Ponomarenko their first trip to Worlds, where they finished 10th.

This was also the first Worlds for US silver medalists Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, who finished sixth. They train at the new Michigan Ice Dance Academy, run by Charlie White, his wife, Tanith (née Belbin), and Greg Zuerlein (Madison Chock’s former partner). Canton, Michigan, was a hot spot of US champions in the last decade, with Davis and White, Belbin and Ben Agosto, Maia and Alex Shibutani, Chock and Bates, and Tessa Virtue and Moir all training there with Marina Zueva and/or her former partner, Igor Shpilband. The Whites and Zuerlein hope to restore its former glory and break the hegemony of the Gadbois coaches.

When Jackie Dorage and her husband, Corey Ellis, first tried to have a baby in mid-2019, the couple’s state of affairs looked vastly different than it does today. Dorage, who is currently unemployed, had just earned her teaching certificate, and Ellis, who is freelance, had plans to get full-time work with benefits. They left their Brooklyn apartment, where they lived with roommates, to buy a house in Atlanta and be closer to family. Four years later, the pandemic has caused them to rethink whether having a baby is still affordable, or even safe. 

“Having a baby just seems a lot riskier now, especially with the abortion limitations,” says Dorage, now 35, the age after which a pregnancy is considered “geriatric” in the United States. Dorage, who lives in Georgia, where abortion is banned at around six weeks, has witnessed the effect of those stringent restrictions. A close friend bled excessively in a bathtub during a miscarriage because a hospital would not admit her. Another friend, she tells me, died during childbirth. Dorage’s concerns align with recent American maternal mortality rates—the highest of any industrialized nation. In 2021, deaths of pregnant women increased by 40% in the United States. While COVID-related complications played a part, rates had been steadily on the rise since 2000.

Hiring a birth doula, an individual who assists with labor and delivery, is one way of attempting to ensure a level of care during childbirth. But it’s hardly an affordable option: costs range between $1,600 to $2,000. Factor in the expense of delivering a baby in a hospital, without insurance, and new mothers can expect, on average, to leave with a $18,865 bill. (The median cost for a vaginal childbirth is $14,768 and $26,280 for a C-section.) “If you want to be safe and healthy, you can spend your way out of this broken healthcare system, but it takes a lot of money to do that,” says Philip N. Cohen, a sociologist at University of Maryland. Under her private health insurance plan, it would cost Dorage around $8,000 to give birth in a hospital. (The average out-of-pocket cost for childbirth with health insurance is $2,854, but that varies by plan.)

Some clinics, advertised as luxury retreats, are working to address the maternal mortality health crisis by offering postnatal care geared toward reducing readmission and providing pain management immediately after birth. Boram Postnatal Retreat in New York City, for example, offers its guests a 24/7 care team, recovery support, nutritious meals, therapeutic services, and a plethora of other resources—but for a hefty fee. Guests pay up to $1,400 a night, with the average stay lasting five days, according to the company’s website. It’s a luxury that the typical expecting mother cannot afford, especially many Black and Indigenous women—those most at risk of pregnancy complications. Then there’s pricey postnatal services like massages and acupuncture, specifically designed to aid in recovery after childbirth. At Sparrow’s Nest Massage in Pasadena, postpartum massages range from $185 to $365. 

Swarm is a show about obsession on the internet that is itself now an internet obsession. It’s little wonder that the feeling is mutual: Created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, the buzzy show explores toxic fandom inside a doxxing hive community—referencing a familiar-feeling power couple’s world tour, elevator fights, and a mystery bite at a party—with roles for Paris Jackson and Billie Eilish, plus Malia Obama in the writers’ room. It follows Dre, a withdrawn, unpopular stan of a pop superstar called Ni’Jah. Ni’Jah is what she bonds over with her other great love, her sister Marissa (played by Chloë Bailey). But when Dre loses Marissa, broken by guilt and grief, she sets out to protect her favorite singer at any, increasingly bloody, cost.

“My team told me that Donald Glover had a show with me in mind,” explains its breakout star Dominique Fishback. “They don’t have the script. They don’t have a synopsis. He just said, watch this movie called The Piano Teacher.” Fishback was sucked in by Isabelle Huppert’s unsettling performance in the erotic 2001 film. “I was like, I don’t know if I’m that brave of an actor… But it really made me consider, what kind of actor do I want to be?” Just as she geared herself up to take a leap, the New Yorker was offered the role of Marissa, instead of Dre. “I’m used to playing characters that are ‘easier to love’; I want to stretch myself,” she told them. “I want to play Dre.” Her wish was their command. “[Glover] said, if that’s the role you want, that’s what you get.”

Still, imagining the public reaction to her performance as a violent killer gave her pause: “We all want to be loved,” she explains. In the end, the response was overwhelmingly positive because of, not in spite of, Dre’s proclivities. “There’s so much excitement from Black women and Black people—and people of all different races—because we’re just excited to see something different to shake us up.”

Speaking to Vogue the day after her 32nd birthday, Dominique says: “It’s wild, because I think of that quote, ‘as above, so below, as within, so without.’ It has been resonating with me for the last two and a half years. I was trying to figure out how to manifest love or appreciation and being seen. You really can’t do that, or get it at that greater scale, until you have it for yourself. I’m learning how to really love myself from the inside out, so to watch it manifest on my birthday with such a outpouring of love for Swarm was amazing.” 

Long before she inspired women everywhere to embrace c-c-c-curly hair as her alter ego Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker’s frothy, scrunchie-cinched eighties mane launched a million perms, marking the first of many trendsetting looks during her on-screen career, which has spanned four decades. With characteristic flair, she transitioned from air-dried flaxen waves and glossy auburn ringlets in the nineties to a prescient Sex and the City bob and a series of poker-straight styles in the aughts—popularizing blowouts as much as she did Manolo Blahniks along the way. These days, SJP has made a long, honey-dipped ombré with natural silver roots her signature, stoking refreshing conversations about aging and cementing her status as what just might be fashion’s best head of hair. In honor of her 58th birthday and the Sex and the City sequel series And Just Like That returning for a second season, here’s a look back at her most style-defining beauty moments.

1987

This past week, celebrities were all about prim and proper style. Kendall Jenner was clearly inspired by Audrey Hepburn when she donned a shawl, sunglasses, and a low-neck little black dress. Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion visited the Vice President’s Mansion for a Women’s History Brunch, co-hosted by Glamour magazine and Vice President Kamala Harris. For the occasion, Megan wore a sophisticated blue and black dress that featured a plunging neckline and a voluminous bottom. Both looks showed how classic style can have many iterations.

 There were, of course, more casual moments on the ‘gram this week. Kim Kardashian and Khloé Kardashian shared a poolside photo, showing off their Skims bathing suits. While former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams rocked a mean and lean catsuit. Another week of great fashion in the books! 

Below, check out the best fashion Instagrams of the week.

Mahmood

Diotima 

Kendall Jenner

Megan Thee Stallion

Kim Kardashian 

@Artofastylist 

Porsha Williams

Ella Emhoff

Bad bridesmaid dresses are something of a cultural cliché, with fluffy embellishment and saccharin-sweet color palettes cementing the stereotype. But for brides eager to step away from this commonplace approach and pivot toward more modern styles, there’s a world of choice. Having your bridesmaids wear dresses that complement both their personalities and your own wedding gown is a win-win situation, with everyone feeling their most confident and the portraits will turn out far chicer. 

Whether your bridal party is on the smaller or larger side, finding bridesmaid dresses that punctuate this momentous occasion shouldn’t be a chore. Begin with a color scheme and decide whether you want to uniformly dress your bridesmaids in coordinating designs or have each person wear an individual style. The latter can be an especially nice choice for ensuring they’ll wear the dress again for years to come. 

Ahead, discover some of our favorite designs from brands like Markarian, Jonathan Simkhai, and Ulla Johnson ahead to kickstart your search, with nary a fluffy tulle gown in sight.

Floral Bridesmaid Dresses

Those walking the streets of Lower Manhattan on Saturday may have noticed a small commotion taking place at City Hall, as hundreds of people swarmed around police officers escorting a mysterious figure down the steps. On closer inspection, this apparent criminal mastermind appeared somewhat familiar. 

No, it wasn’t Donald Trump—even though, ironically, there has been a media circus all week in the exact same spot, as the public awaits the possible indictment of Trump in the ongoing “hush money” case. Turns out it involved another saga of (alleged) treachery and deceit. The heckling crowds were all hired extras for Joker: Folie à Deux, and the figure at the center was Lady Gaga, offering the first full-length look at her take on the character of Harley Quinn.

Starring opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the sequel to Todd Phillips’s Oscar-nominated box office smash Joker, which told the origin story of one of Batman’s greatest foes, Gaga appeared to be fully in the zone as Phoenix’s henchwoman and love interest. (As anyone who’s followed Gaga’s acting career knows, when it comes to diving into a new role, she’s nothing if not committed.) NBC News reported that the film crew had enlisted around 700 extras to play protestors and that explosions were also planned; in pictures of the filming, the crowd booed and shouted as Gaga appeared to be escorted into a courthouse, turning around to furiously raise a fist at them. 

Street stylers are roaming around Dongdaemun Plaza in a casual-cool uniform of simple basics like baseball caps, blazers, jeans, and sneakers that mix elements of streetwear and academia. Using the  Street Style Trend Tracker to look back, we found that stylish Tokyoites have been into this look for a few seasons now; further proof that these cities are making fashion trends that travel well.