Author: studiobypines

To conclude Ti West’s bloody “X” saga, fans will see the first installment’s final girl — the kitsch and psychotic Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) — make her way to the City of Angels at long last in the trilogy’s murderous finale, “MaXXXine.” The A24 monolith ditches the western countryside, resurrecting Maxine’s killer instincts as she inches closer to her long-awaited shot at Hollywood stardom. With a star-studded cast including Kevin Bacon, Lily Collins, Michelle Monaghan, Sophie Thatcher, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney and Halsey, West enlisted the work of costume designer Mari-An Ceo, who notably led the Amazon Prime series “Them” (for which West directed some episodes), and currently helms Peacock’s “Based on a True Story.”

West’s interwoven tales of bygone eras of horror, spiced with the camp factor á la Death The Adamms Family (1991) and Becomes Her (1992), sit in a full-realized echelon of modern contemporary art, since praised by the likes of Stephen King and Martin Scorsese. Now, the final “X” entry takes place years after the fame-seeking lead’s countryside carnage, who finally arrived in Hollywood on the heels of a major film. Though amid the starlet-slaying killer, nicknamed the Night Stalker, a private investigator is forced to unravel Maxine’s sinister past.

Ceo initially admired West’s interpretation of Wizard of Oz in “Pearl”, which led her to the director’s email inbox, pitching the costume direction for his next installment. “I have a lot of film history in my soul, and ‘MaXXXine’ just fell into place for me,” Ceo told Beyond The Pines on a Zoom call from the Universal Studios office in Los Angeles. “For this movie, I was inspired by the Giali filmmaking from the seventies. And it turns out that’s what Ti [West] was into. I had the movie from there and immediately went into it hardcore.”

Bonding over the importance of atmosphere and film literature in filmmaking, the duo agreed to ditch the cliches, avoiding the ’80s denim-on-denim crisis, the leg warmers, and shoulder pads (as much as possible) this time around. Instead, Ceo opted for the more reflective fabrics of ‘80s glam rock, which better compliments the neon lights of Los Angeles streets, with a Blondie-inspired wardrobe specifically for “Maxine ‘freaking’ Minx”, as the deranged character self-proclaimed in the film’s gory trailer.

Ahead, Ceo shares her insight behind the under-represented ‘80s aesthetic for “MaXXXine”, one where she caved to a one-time homage to Reebok shoes, which Goth begged to wear, and found costume inspiration for new characters, especially Kevin Bacon’s Labatt character after several recastings, aesthetic changes, and, most importantly, much-needed size adjustments.

The “Bombshell” Look: Avoiding ‘80s Cliches The Right Way

From the two-minute teaser alone, fans are introduced to a non-leg-warmed ‘80s experience, a rare and smart decision from Ceo. Ceo isn’t anti-cliche, styling Maxine in a double-jean outfit for one scene and sprinkling some shoulder-pad love for Debicki’s character, but ultimately noted that LA still cherished old Hollywood glamor and bombshells as much as they did Aqua-Net. Instead of resurrecting a “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun-ified” Sarah Jessica Parker, the movie took the remnants of late ‘70s punk rock. Its offspring being “glam rock”– a flashy yet smoky undercurrent of the subsequent decade– in the fishnet-and-leather realm of debut Madonna and Cher’s “Turn Back Time.”

The costume designer coined Debby Harry, the lead singer of late-century rock band Blondie, as the main muse for Maxine’s wardrobe, specifically pinpointing her black “revenge” dress as her favorite “MaXXXine” outfit– even though the Michelle Pfeiffer-esque garment is best captured on the movie poster.

“You don’t see the scene much, but the dress was a mature, idyllic version of Maxine. It was something very typical of a 1930s movie premiere,” Ceo tells Beyond The Pines. “That’s one dress that Blondie pretty much wore. It was made from this really beautiful Belgium silk, light as a feather, and beautifully floated around Mia [Goth]. Especially with that red makeup, she looked like Michelle Pfeiffer from ‘Scarface.’” Ceo even pointed out the crossing dress straps formed an “X” along Goth’s back, referencing the namesake trilogy.

New Faces Call For New Inspiration

Ceo has a hard time choosing a favorite character she brought to life, but she did admit the character John Labat was a continuous toss-up until actor Kevin Bacon came along. “They hadn’t cast [the actor to play Labat] yet, so I thought it was a big guy, like Orson Welles in ‘Touch of Evil.’ I kind of went with this guy [for Labat] that doesn’t shower and sleeps in his car wearing a suit.”

Much like West, Ceo is a visual artist. Her character costuming is a mixture of “feeling out” the script, her extensive film literature knowledge, departmental collaboration, and pure soul instincts. Otherwise, West tasks Ceo with a clear-cut vision to execute, as per Sumney’s character Leon. Regardless of the inspiration avenue, all roads lead to famed LA costumes for sample pulls. “I’ll read about Labat [in the script], and say ‘This reminds me of a Jim Thompson novel [from his 1950s detective series]. Then, I went to Western Costume Co. and found this amazing vintage tobacco-stained suit with nicotine smeared all over it. I was going to use it as a sample to make for [a much bigger] Labat. But when they cast Kevin Bacon, the suit fit him perfectly.”

“Look Closely At The Costumes But Pay Attention To The Acting”

From letting Goth break her high-shoe-only memo for a brief Reebok sprint scene, snagging vintage Sergio Valente jeans for Monaghan’s character, to Maxine’s reflective monogrammed bomber jacket that balances out Hollywood’s neon lights, somehow the spot-on research just missed the camera lens.” We don’t see enough of their clothes,” Ceo says in a sarcastic tone. “I’m just going to tell Ti that when I see him in-person again.” [Halsey’s character] Tabby had this tiger dress underneath a fur coat. [Chloe Farnworth’s character] Amber had simple little, amazing clothes like this silk parachute jumper you barely see.” However, Ceo refrained from describing certain characters in detail, afraid of spoiling the killer and eliminating suspects, yet left a two-part clue: the killer is a new character that’s “in the shadows “ for most of the movie. “Look closely at the costumes, but pay attention to the acting. We used the wallpaper a lot,” she adds as a sleuthing antidote.

In her quest for costume appreciation, Ceo found something more: a worthwhile filmmaking experience.“I really wanted ‘MaXXXine’ to feel like it was a period movie from the eighties that wasn’t cliche,” Ceo wrapped up her final thoughts. “When you have the talented Ti, [cinematographer] Eliot Rockett, and top-notch actors[…] I’m just very proud of the movie we ended up doing. Sometimes it doesn’t always pan out that way, but it’s spot on with what Ti intended.”

Megan Thee Stallion has been on a mission to move on since last year. November’s single, “COBRA”, was a novel opportunity to exorcize the gunshot wound, legal battles, online ridicule, and other personal tragedies that clouded the better part of her mainstream domination. Alongside its release, the H-Town Hottie foreshadowed her upcoming era with an elusive statement: “Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past, over and over again.” However, the rapper’s February Billboard chart-topper, “HISS,” a lucrative attempt to silence Megan’s “one flow” naysayers and industry opps, was ultimately slammed by other rap and hip-hop rivals, leaving her still in what seemed to be an unexpected stillness instead of celebrating a career first. Megan then quietly pushed the subsequent single “BOA,” and announced the inaugural Hot Girl Summer tour without anyone suspecting she had sunk her teeth into some much-needed studio time.

During a performance in Atlanta last month, the Texas native and self-proclaimed Hot Girl Coach announced her self-titled third album and debuted its cover art, which showcases the rap connoisseur’s metamorphosis by way of beautifully cascading from a cocoon (which was promptly substituted for an icky emergence from a snake egg following artwork backlash). On “MEGAN”, the Houston rapper is, indeed, born anew and, unexpectedly out for blood. She wastes no time striking first with album opener “HISS,” but this time backed with 17 additional tracks, including “COBRA” and “BOA,” the venom feels like less of a threat, and more of a promise. The record is a full-fledged takedown, backed by the flirty fun of alter-ego Hot Girl Meg on “Where Them Girls At” and “B.A.S.” (feat. Kyle Richh), girl boss collaborators GloRilla and Victoria Monet, and Shonen Jump anime references on “Otaku Hot Girl.”

It could be it’s her independent label’s innovative licensing agreement with Warner Music Group that gave the “WAP” rapper a much-needed second wind following the lukewarm reception of 2022’s “Traumatize” album. Or perhaps Megan remembered how a Hot Girl handles business, the premier sucker punch being “Rattle,” where she embargos the emblematic one-liner: “Ain’t got no tea on me, this h** think she TMZ.” Where haters fueled her lethal double — even triple entendre — “MEGAN” leaves haters in its rearview mirror, leaving more wordplay for braggadocious self-hype. And as “Mamushi” collaborator, Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba, proves, you can be a star and get to the bag, no matter the amount of “hater-ade.”

It’s a rare sign of rap mercy — One that doesn’t always make the smoothest transitions to sophisticated show-offs like “Figueroa” and “Spin” (feat. Victoria Monet), but Megan’s alter-ego Tina Snow – kin to the gritty resilience of female MC Eve — make it stomachable, especially concerning UKG’s underwhelming verse on “Paper Together.” Instead, Megan shines brightest when matching her own freak with idol Lil Kim-esque soirees on “Moody Girl,” the more Charli XCX “Brat”-coded track “Break His Heart,” and, most importantly, “Down Stairs DJ”.

At a glance, Megan’s junior full-length effort is undeniably certified Hot Girl Summer material — the aggressive delivery of boisterous, sexually liberating lyrics are bound to, in some part, rub off on the listener. In the best (read “booty-shaking promoting”) moments of the project, Megan’s self-confidence is infectious, tangible, and, as most often is the case, has its way of transcending speakers. Sure, a self-titled album is an artist’s white flag, announcing, “This is me!” But, in Hottie world, it’s another day in the sun.

There are no thematic storylines hiding beneath the layers of “MEGAN,” à la Billie Eilish’s newly-released “HIT ME SOFT AND HARD,” yet still, it carries a bit of everything. What’s more, in learning from “Traumatize,” Megan’s latest musical contributions bring back the Southern heat and head-to-toe explicitness, courtesy of fan-favorite alter-egos and real-life angst.

Perhaps the features softened the blow of a 52-minute album listen, but besides Yuki Chiba’s naturally zesty foreign flare, the guest features surprisingly made “MEGAN” less The Stallion, and that may be among the project’s only flaws. Then again — how many can outshine Megan?

The star of the new movie “Latency”, Alexis Ren, recently visited BeyondThePines in Italy where we sat down with her to ask her a few questions about her new movie and upcoming projects.

How did you prepare for the role and what did you learn about yourself during the process?

Every character is different, it’s why I like acting as it feels like a new “me” on every set, but then when I read Jen I realized how similar we are — the best friend in the whole world, the comedic relief in this psychological thriller and she’s super caring and the more she loves you the more she bullies you so this was my first role where I brought all of me to it and it was very satisfying.

Any favorite scene the audience should pay special attention to? (No spoilers!)

There’s two — a beautiful heartfelt scene with me and Sasha, it was a very beautiful moment on set, everyone was quiet and you could feel everyone’s presence when we were having that moment. At the end of this scene, I really felt like the character Jen in that moment.

And there’s also a few jokes that I said and I was so proud of myself for nailing as I went to see the movie with a couple of friends and they were all giggling at the jokes I cracked!

Mental health is a big theme for you in this movie and with WeAreWarriors, what lessons do you want audiences to take away from this?

I want the audience to take away some big questions that I think we as a society need to ask — am I utilizing this technology because it’s convenient or because it aligns with my values? The movie speaks to unhealed trauma coming up through technology and I think that’s so relevant right now as it’s happening with social media and now Neuralink is coming along so it’s more important than ever to really become aware of our patterns and take the proper path forward.

You’ve achieved so much and now a lot of people, especially young women, look up to you, what’s one big life lesson you have for them?

To give people around you the grace of change because when you give others the grace of change, you give yourself the grace of change and I think that’s what the world is asking for right now. For example, when I wanted to get into acting, it was taken very negatively which I expected, but I don’t think anyone should be held to the past versions of ourselves, we should be free to evolve. And we should all help our friends grow and push others to achieve their dreams!

Are there any upcoming projects in the pipeline and how do you see these projects challenging traditional narratives?

I need a “why” with everything I do so for acting it’s all about waiting for the right project to come along, but in my entrepreneurial journey, we’re going to try some new things with WeAreWarriors, more in-person events and schools.

And for me personally, I’m excited to keep learning new things, doing things that scare me — for example, surfing feels like it should’ve been in my life so long ago because it’s scary, fun and it’s simply the most spiritual thing I’ve ever done.

I’m also working on a podcast, which I felt nervous to do as the weight of doing a podcast on your own felt very overwhelming and perhaps not something I could sustain, but then my God-sister Allie, who is also co founder of WeAreWarriors, suggested we do it together and that felt right as we can lean on each other for interviews.

And it’s exciting for me to share my personal friends with the world, although I might have a vulnerability hangover when it releases, as I’d rather give myself in that way instead of the fragmented social media version that doesn’t feel good anymore.

The time arrived, yet again, again for the fashion collective to make its trek across Milan and Paris for the reveal of the latest menswear collections, as it does annually a few days out of the month of June, and the week is never without its slew of notable events. On one hand, there were a few first-time debuts (among them, womenswear designer David Koma’s foray into menswear, and A$AP Rocky’s Rihanna-attended show for the first-ever ready-to-wear collection under the rapper’s AWGE) while on the other, there were goodbyes — Notably, a farewell affair as the esteemed Mr. Dries Van Noten looks toward retirement on the heels of what will now be remembered as the designer’s final show.

This season, the usual spring palette dominated colorway moodboards, dotting runways with pale sages, chartreuses, pistachios and neutral tans. In the mix also were poppier elements — Hed Mayner’s orange gore tex tracksuit and Louis Vuitton’s football jerseys offered up a sporty touch for customers, while Doublet’s K-Pop themes alongside Walter Van Beirendonck’s usual quirk and tire-spoke shoes added a welcomed element of playfulness among the grime, glitz, and minimalism.

Leather jackets were totally rampant, with Louis Vuitton and Martine Rose favoring motocross-inspired zipper flies, while the trend of female models and looks walking the menswear catwalks continued throughout this season (a result of cruis and resort seasons being added to the womenswear commerce cycle, and coinciding with the menswear calendar, a practice slowly becoming adapted as an industry standard that is also androgenizing the horizon as a delightful side-effect). As for other trends spotted just before the likes of Doja Cat and Kylie Jenner touched down for couture week — Long shorts, exposed boxers, and wide pant legs: pants layered under wide shorts at Feng Chen Wen, Sean Suen, Kolor, Paradis, and LU’U Dan; stacked belts and pant-tops at Paradis, ACNE Studios, and AWGE; pant legs bisected but still attached at Namesake and Études; mercilessly patched at Junya Watanabe and KIDILL; and strapped, with belts lining the wide bottom edge of J. W. Anderson and KIDILL shorts.

Ahead, here’s a further rundown of the shows during men’s Milan and Paris Fashion week.

DAVID KOMA

Delicate print, sheer plaid, leather, knits, and leather again— london based DAVID KOMA extends his universe for the dynamic and graceful with his first menswear offering. Intended for his personal peerage and inspired by contemporary ballet (Jiří Kylián’s Sarabande), Koma meditates on vulnerability, physicality, and clean basics. Familiar feathers and oversized crystal cabochons (women’s Autumn/Winter 2024) slash, and dot down singular shoulders, across left knees, cover hand-held bags, and hug the backs of wonderful black leather square-toe, half-calf boots.

VOWELS

Vowels are vital building blocks of language, closing seams between hard edges to clarify and inform creative director Yuki Yagi, and this motif is reflected in his design approach this season: “making products that can go well with any outfit you own.” In the historic Musée des Arts et Métiers, Shunkashuutou (changing of seasons) begins with a high energy instrumentals. Models wear streetwear classics with ease as their colors, floral-patterns, and comforting patchwork echo and converse with the surrounding tree, rock, and flower set pieces.

KIDILL

Pushing back against the “death of subculture,” Kidill’s unwavering continuous dedication to the punk spirit shines through as Hiroaki Sueyasu collaborates with American punk duo Ho99o9 for the 999 collection. Vintage patches lay the groundwork and audacious zips, spikes, pins, and locks rain embellishments on tattooed figures, swaggering in eerie pastels, mismatched knits, and traditional plaids; shrouded in crowns of threatening roses, venus flytraps, and black tendril locks, they stomp to soundcheck wailing, summoning a metallic rebellion both nostalgic and new.

ISABEL MARANT

With a “sexier attitude,” Isabel Marant’s cool grunge campaign poses against a softly dark nightclub background. Gentle ikat geometrics and western embroidery decorate shearling jackets with round stand-up collars, mohair knits and silky sweatshirts, jeans and long sleeve folk shirts; low-slung tank tops with tiny stripes, flannels, and black leather trousers round out an image of a traveled, quiet rockstar. Buckled belts, thin bead necklaces, big sunglasses and bare chests are the accessories of choice.

KIDSUPER

Kidsuper’s Colm Dillane collaborated with Cirque du Soleil for a fantastical production in It’s All Up In the Air— a runway followed by a full production show. Models are marionettes down the runway with bright white strings stretching from their wrists up to the ceiling, strutting impossibly vibrant graphics trompe-l’œil printed, applique-painted, and embroidered championing the “circus arts” theme. The Elizabethan clown collars, berets, and occasional pair of gloves complete the styling.

DRIES VAN NOTEN

For his 129th and final show as Creative Director, Dries Van Noten inspires a celebration. With a heavily star-studded attendance, the 69-look show was a summation of the brand’s most-beloved aspects as a breath of fresh air. Dreamy gauze and metallic lamé accompany opening neutral tones, bleeding into purple velvets and maroon leathers, finally blooming into candy-wrapper-pastel organza and reflective PVC across a glistening silver river. Japanese suminagashi– water-surface ink printing– features across the collection in leaves and flowers. Contemporary Belgian artist Edith Dekyndt was the listed muse.

RICK OWENS

Rick Owens galvanized a 200-strong “army of love” for his Hollywood show at the Palais de Tokyo, inviting students and fanatics to join models for ten total looks. A phalanx of five-by-four human grids uniformly wear each bone-white ensemble as they march down the equally pallid steps, backdropped by smoke for full cinematic effect. These organic Owenisms— mountainous shoulders, deflated boots, leather articulation— seem to only grow in strength and evolve in power with each repetition.

LOUIS VUITTON

Pharrell William’s second ever LOUIS VUITTON mens showing was decidedly more refined than his first, with a streamlined neutral-leaning color palette and subtler utilization of house codes, as well as pared-down continuations of the pixelation riff on the traditional LV checkerboard. An especially varied array of bags was offered in several leathers, as well as the expected jackets and trunks. Diplomacy, travel, motocross, and football were the standout influences. Sunglasses and earrings were also part of the uniform.

AWGE

Through AWGE collective, A$AP Rocky makes his paris debut with American Sabotage, his very personal take on a politicized state of affairs. To start off, two impeccably tailored suits— establishing a baseline “perfection” on which an excess of protesting energy can rage permutations. Slogan tees, police uniforms, and multi-layered exposed boxers are collaged atop and against one another to weave a Jackson Pollock-esque tapestry of economic, racial, and political disparity in the contemporary American diaspora.

SEAN SUEN

Sean Suen looks to Peking Opera legend Mei LanFang for reference this season. Chinese cloud collars, sash belts, paper thin caps edged with white spheres, and select tassels adorn the silhouettes, elegant lines drawing soothing flat expanses of silk. Historical Chinese staples like the buttoned jacket, mandarin tunics, and the Zhongshan suit are deftly translated to accompany western formalwear vests and coats in a style allegedly favored by Mr. Mei— a labor of love for icon and for culture, Suen pays tribute to a carrying on of brilliant traditions.

ZIGGY CHEN

Ziggy Chen’s runway was awash with his signature old-shanghai silhouettes and vintage film vignettes. Interspersed throughout are several striped patterns as well as a tree branch motif. Skirts and tunics are long, as well as the trousers which are fluid and flowing, tops have matching undershirt linings, and extended cuffs peek out under mellow silken blazers. The distinct double-breasted collars make for unique interplay when layered, which Chen utilizes generously and with success.

On the heels of Charli XCX’s recently released “Brat” album, which on one hand has found instant internet popularity, there remains a handful of people who view the singer pop-obsessed underground protégé who drools over the commercial success of Britney Spears’ “good-girl-gone-bad” catalog, and the late SOPHIE’s slippery-slick production. However, the major-label artist has been materializing an unprecedented soundscape since the release of her 2016 crossover project, aptly titled “Vroom Vroom,” and through the course of her 10-year journey down the hyperpop rabbit hole, has all but transformed from cookie-cutter chart-toppers (think 2014’s “Boom Clap”) to predicting the next music phenomenon on 2017’s “Pop 2” LP.

Still, no matter the Coachella gigs, Times Square billboards, or Marc Jacobs ambassadorships, pop radio has, until now, neglected to legitimize Charli’s PC Music co-creations. Paired with uptight interviews that fail to capture the 31-year-old’s bubbalicious-flavored fantasy, the media substituted brimming geniusness for disordered club music — as if the mere cohesion, her long-admitted MO, is a downright shame. “Labels are desperate for artists to be liked, otherwise you’re bad, evil and wrong,” Charli recently told The Guardian. When the subversive self-titled 2019 LP “Charli” and the pandemic release of “how i’m feeling now” also failed to accumulate any mainstream relevance, the English pop star caved, yet again, to palatability (or at least an attempt at it) with the 2022 LP “Crash.” While the singer regretted the project’s inauthenticity in an interview with The Face, it’s ultimately what unearthed Charli’s potential to become a “main” pop girl, with the only the only hurdle being achieving superstardom while maximizing both her It-girl essence and candy-lacquered, heavy-handed club anthems.

Enter Charli’s new album, “Brat”: a blunt, neon green snapshot that first lit up an abandoned Brooklyn warehouse, where PARTYGIRL, Charli’s DJ persona, unleashed a full-scale pop assault of inescapable synths – supported by producers A.G. Cook and EASYFUN – and celeb-riddled shoutouts for her debut Boiler Room set. Since her December single, “Von Dutch,” the first taste of “Brat” was the opposite of ear candy; it was unapologetically abrasive. As subsequent singles followed, including the Vroom Vroom-ification of “Club Classics” and the It-girl-studded music video for “360,” the world finally caught up to Charli, packaging “Brat” as the antithesis of Hot Girl Summer — an ode to raver kids who swear their music taste is obscure when it’s really Björk.

“Brat” is a loud record just from its bold-colored artwork alone. Stylized in all lowercase, “Brat” has grit, flaking at its edges until the noisy green covers the imperfect bezels. Color-filled in protest of the misogynistic demand for access to women’s bodies on album artwork, the team transformed the unveiling’s initial outrage into a meme generator that iconized the minimal green-colored artwork, which effectively broadened the project’s multimedia reach. Despite guest remixes from internet pop connoisseurs Addison Rae, Robyn, and The Dare, they were just the beginning of the “Brat” lore, an endeavor that’s pure XCX, with no extra features interrupting the tracklist.

Charli traded TODAY Show specials with Hoda Kotb and “this is my most personal record” anecdotes for digital nostalgia mixed with TikTok-verified guerilla marketing tactics. The mood board consists of Britney Spears’s impromptu outings with Paris Hilton during 2007’s “Blackout” era, crunchy MySpace producer tags, controversial subway takes with Kareem Rahma and obnoxious paparazzi flash photography. The latter became reality as Brooklyn natives flooded the streets upon her surprise performance at The Lot Radio in Greenpoint, with goers dubbing her “The Michael Jackson of Bushwick.”

Now, with “Brat” having bested Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” for the most critically acclaimed album of 2024 and debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200, it’s safe to say Charli is her own favorite reference. The standard edition album’s 43 minutes stumbles fiercely through neoteric melodic structures, texting short-handed lyrics and self-adoring exclamations, and falls down throbbing bass notes with intoxicating reverb. Though even the highest highs sober into an existential comparison game, showcased in tracks “Sympathy Is A Knife, ”I Might Say Something Stupid” and “Girl, So Confusing,” it perfectly juxtaposes insecure pop-star ruminations with the five-star production.

While the deluxe additions of ‘Guess” and “Spring Breakers” remain essential listens, “Brat” is more than cool dance music with genius marketing. It’s a forced-to-be underground artist finally getting her mainstream flowers. A chick known for her unruly party habits, cherry topped with her exclusive LA house parties, making a record dedicated to nightlife glamor, sweating on Paul’s Casablanca dance floor, and crying over bygone times after one too many vodka cranberries? It’s a vibe that Camila Cabello and Katy Perry are already adopting for their new eras. But Charli has been living that life.

All things considered, Billie Eilish is the superstar of a generation — one that trades the bodacious Britney Spears dance performance for poised, Lana Del Rey-esque songwriting, and the edgy undertone of Avril Lavigne. Since the 22-year-old’s hot shot moment with 2016’s demur single, “Ocean Eyes,” Eilish’s brother and longtime producer Finneas has built a sonic universe for the singer that is both delicate and haunting (as perfectly captured in her controversial, but Grammy-sweeping debut album, “Where We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”), and even found a radio-friendly edge with her sophomore venture, “Happier Than Ever.” After a sold-out arena tour, about a dozen headlining festival gigs, and a well-deserved vacation, Eilish quietly announced her third studio album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” in April, ditching the usual music marketing tropes, including the sacred art of promotional singles.

Yet, the “Bad Guy” singer made a splash nonetheless with a mention of the album’s sexually-charged track “Lunch” in a recent Rolling Stone interview. The Oscar-winner also opted for a not-so-subtle surprise set during Coachella following a guest appearance for Del Rey’s headlining set, a surrealist advertisement at The Louvre, and offered fans sneak peeks of the album via Instagram to a “Close Friends’’ list of over 100 million people, all to debut an audacious sound that doesn’t quite fit the pouty blueprint.

Sure, Eilish is no stranger to songs that come with a metallic punch, “Happier Than Ever’s” “NDA” being a primary example. However, where the sophomore album lenses the problematic side of fame with hyperbolic declarations of maturity, “HMHAS” is an intentional step backward — a brooding retrospective of Eilish’s personal and relational failures in an attempt at a self-referential epic (or as Eilish told it to Rolling Stone, an “album-ass album”). It’s ultimately an attempt that falls short, and in the end, “HMHAS” is an album that reads more like a Finneas project performed by his kid sister. More often than not throughout the 10-track record, we bear witness to a duel between Eilish’s wafty vocals and Finneas’ giddy madhouse production, and at its conclusion, are left with no clear victor, and an even poorer sense of unison.

The album’s opening track, “Skinny,” is but one of a few moments of clarity untouched by repetitive and slick uptempo synths, and it’s just long enough to introduce a thematic journey before monster tracks “Chihiro” and “Bittersuite” seep in. It’s not that there’s inherent error in exploring shape-shifting darkness, but “Wildflower,” a treat halfway through the album, proves “HMHAS” doesn’t need in-your-face production to generate a wow factor, as the extended release of “L’Amour de Ma Vie [Over Now Extended Edit]” would have you believe (though it arguably trumps the original). “Wildflower,” on the other hand, forgoes lukewarm second-half switch-ups, and instead brims with drawn-out guitars, vocal layering, and spiced drums while remaining wholly saturated in electrifying bluesy lyrics. This small win aside, Billie Eilish’s third studio album is ultimately weighed down by synth-heavy production, with tracks that read much more like a demo by The Weeknd than an evolution of Eilish’s signature sound, an oversight repeatedly made by Finneas (and perhaps even Eilish, who spoke to having a hand in production this go ‘round during an interview with Apple Music) throughout the project’s duration.

Perhaps the only instance when the perfect balance is struck between Finneas’s top-tier sonic patchwork and Eilish’s heartfelt storytelling is “Chihiro.” Where “HMHAS” documents falling out of love (allegedly with 32-year-old The Neighbourhood frontman Jesse Rutherford, thought to have been tied to Eilish for approximately seven months), the Hayao Miyazaki-inspired track pinpoints the hurt á la a crescendoing buzz and airy falsettos. Though the production morphs into multiple sonic aphrodisiacs before the almost five-minute mark, Eilish’s soul-crushing lyrics “Did you take my love away for me?” and “Can you open up the door?” are consistent throughlines activating the listener to entertain Finneas’ adventurous production. Another standout moment comes from “Birds of a Feather,” “HMHAS’s” flirty, acoustic sister track to Happier Than Ever’s “My Future.” In it, instead of finding herself, Eilish sings about finding something even better: a new forever love.

“HMHAS” isn’t devoid of hits, but there certainly aren’t any “girts” either. Yet still, it’s an album that will undoubtedly win at least one Grammy next year. There’s no denying the ambitious project accomplished its presumably intended juxtaposition of “hard” production and “soft” lyrics — and Eilish demonstrates an impressive delivery of vocals — but was it otherwise successful? Perhaps the record is the tell-tale sign of a stalemate, an indication the duo may have reached their maximum collaboration potential. Still, there’s no denying that Finneas, like his sister, is changing the music landscape one song at a time. The music siblings didn’t outright fail at crafting another seamless record, but perhaps setting creative tent poles around “Chihiro” and “Birds of a Feather’’ could have saved the dystonic outburst in places where simple lyrics were misunderstood. If “HMHAS” were sold as a joint album between Finneas and Eilish, its jarring presentation may have then been palatable, but posing as a pure extension of the “What Was I Made For” singer is a disservice the highly-decorated catalog that brought her to this point.

The 77th Annual Cannes Film Festival is one of the most coveted events in the entertainment industry, inviting rising stars and big-screen veterans to celebrate the art of filmmaking. A long-standing tradition that goes hand-in-hand with the Cannes Film Festival is the amfAR Gala which raises money for the American Foundation for AIDS Research – initiated in 1993 by Dane Elizabeth Taylor. For 30 years this event has gained popularity from its prestigious attendees and philanthropic impacts. The event raises awareness and funds to support the education and research surrounding the devastating disease.

This year, the event is being hosted at the stunning Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, sponsored by Chopard and the Red Sea International Film Festival – and hosted by actress Demi Moore. The night will include performances by huge stars like Cher – a previous co-chair of the event alongside founder Elizabeth Taylor, DJ Diplo and Nick Jonas. The Gala features a red carpet portion where celebrities are seen wearing their best and an auction in which luxury items, experiences, artwork, and other unique goods are sold to support the charity. The fashion show at this year’s event is being curated by fashion editor Carine Roitfeld, featuring top designers who support the cause.

Ahead, Beyond the Pine’s Mat Abad captured the biggest celebrities to walk the red carpet.

Kelly Rowland

Olivia Cuplo

Colman Domingo

Heidi Klum, Leni Klum

Elsa Hosk

Robin Thicke

Diplo

Tyga

Demi Moore

Magic Johnson

Cher & AJ

Tim

Barbara Plavin

Bella Thorne

Carolina Mendes

Coco Rocha

Debra Shaw

Ellen Von Unwerth

Eva Komuves

Jess Glynne

Jordan Barrett

Michelle Rodriguez

This year, the Cannes Film Festival, which wraps up Saturday, is beholden to 38 movie-theater-ready films sparkling with Hollywood’s brightest. Much like Berlinale 2024, politics was all the buzz — director Caroline Fargeat’s dark feminist tale “The Substance” is serendipitously timed with France’s rise of their own #MeToo movement. Then, the social commentary on transgender identity within Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” is just as fragrant in the United States as the movie set in Mexico.

In true Cannes tradition, standing ovations dared to outlast one another. Tied in first, the teary-eyed Barry Keoghan and cast stood for the Andrea Arnold-directed film “Bird” for over seven minutes while Anya Joy-Taylor had to redirect the camera to director George Miller during a standing ovation for “Furiosa: A Max Max Saga.” What could have been a “Saltburn” reunion for Keoghan and Jacob Elordi (starring in “Oh Canada,” which premiered at the festival last Friday) ended in a no-show from the latter, while on the other hand, a “Poor Things” reunion did ensue at the premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest film, “Kinds of Kindness,” which sees stars Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Margaret Qualley together on screen again for another weird masterpiece.

As the Cannes Film Festival comes to its close (but not before the annual AmFAR Gala and the premiere of more films still to come, such as The “Seed of The Sacred Fig” and “She’s Got No Game”), these are the eight films that remain the most memorable thus far.

Emilia Pérez

What singer-turned-beauty-mogul Selena Gomez felt was a “subpar performance” earned the star a standing ovation at the “Emilia Pérez” premiere screening. The Spanish-language movie centers three women – Jessi (Gomez), Rita (Zoe Saldaña), and the film’s title character; Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) – in an ambitious musical that both unravels a Mexico City cartel plot, and highlights the country’s trans issues in what can be easily agreed to be a “jack of all trades” film by “Rust and Bone” (2012) director Jacques Audiard.

Oh, Canada

Despite Jacob Elordi’s absence on the red carpet, director Paul Schrader’s second book-to-film adaptation of Russell Banks’ literary work – succeeding “Affliction” (1997) – rocked Friday’s screening of “Oh, Canada” with an outstanding performance from lead actor Richard Gere, who plays the war draft deserter, Leonard Fife. Alongside Uma Thurman and Elordi (who plays a younger Fife), “Oh Canada” is an all-revealing interview of the now cancer-ridden Fife as he demystifies his exodus to The Great White North to evade the Vietnam War draft, among other jarring lies of his lifetime.

Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point

Michael Cera in a comedy is a no-brainer, but “Miller’s Point” is a Christmas return-to-form film that is soaked in a certain suburban tradition that twinkles in every Norman Rockwell painting. However, the dysfunctional Italian-American Balsano family isn’t picture perfect, especially as generational tensions rise on Christmas Eve in what could be the last gathering in their ancestral home. Bejeweled with a jazzy Sinatra soundtrack and some truly detestable cranberry jam, director Tyler Taormina seals “Miller’s Point” in a feel-good nostalgia that drunken in-laws can’t even ruin.

The Substance

Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley star in Coraline Fargeat’s latest body horror, “The Substance,” which centers on a cell-replicating black market drug fading celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) uses to temporarily create a younger, better version of herself. In the the somewhat same vein of her debut feature film, “Revenge” (2017), Fargeat’s gore powers her latest feminist statement through horror pioneer David Cronenberg-isms and subliminal #MeToo messages.

Megalopolis

Acclaimed “Godfather” trilogy director Francis Ford Coppola more or less delivers his 50-years-worth of fantastical film ideas into his latest watch, which stars Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Aubrey Plaza, and tells the fable of an architect (Driver) on a mission to rebuild a utopic New York City following a devastating disaster.

Bird

Fresh off his “Saltburn” (2023) success, Barry Keoghan ditches teenage debauchery for deadbeat parenting as he plays a single dad of two named Bug in Andrea Arnold’s “Bird.” The film explores the glum coming-of-age for the all-too-small, 12-year-old film heroine Bailey (Nykiya Adams), who’s just as enduring and lost as the insufferable summer heat in northern Kent.

Kinds of Kindness

For Emma Stone’s fourth time on set with Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (following last year’s “Poor Things”), the two-time Academy Award winning actress is joined again on screen by Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley for “Kinds of Kindness.” Alongside them are Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie and Hunter Schafer, together, the ensemble cast of yet another signature Lanthimos “Greek weird” film that — this time — leans more “bizart-house,” shuffling through multiple point-of-views in a “triptych fable” that follows a troubled man, a policeman faced with his once-missing wife, and a woman set on tracking down a prodigious spiritual leader.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

In the exalting prequel to the “Mad Max” saga, Hollywood It-girl Anya Taylor-Joy takes on the deserted Wasteland as the renegade warrior Furiosia in director George Miller’s newest installment, supported alongside another villainous (and heavily-bearded) Chris Hemsworth, who plays Dr. Demuntus.

Photos: Desire Lines

Desire Lines is one of the rare films that wants you to leave it thinking transgender men are hot. Its director, Jules Rosskam, invites the audience to be curious, perhaps Google why the bathhouse functions as the film’s nucleus, and subsequently understand cisgender and trans men cite bathhouses as a place of bodily acceptance and sexual transformation.

Like most of Rosskam’s filmography, Desire Lines, the hybrid docufilm that doesn’t yet have a wide release date, was a fruition of curiosity, one Rosskam says grew singularly 20 years ago after witnessing the number of trans men who develop an attraction for other men. That question organically manifested in both an immersive and enlightening story about a particular queer experience that history continuously denies, consisting of one-on-one interviews, erotic encounters, observational footage, and performed scenarios. Upon premiering the film at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the trans director scored the NEXT Special Jury Award, presented by Adobe.

“I was honestly just waiting for someone else to make the film,” director Rosskam told Beyond The Pines. “I don’t totally know why I didn’t want to dive in and be the one to make it. But in 2019, I finally got to a tipping point where I was like, ‘Okay, clearly, no one else is making this film.’”

Functioning as an abbreviated history retelling, Desire Lines centers around a 60-year-old Iranian-American named Ahmad (Aden Hakimi) who has long-suppressed desires for other men and turns to the LGBTQ archives to understand his sexual and gender identity. There, he meets the dashing, young trans archivist Kieran (Theo Germaine), who quite literally witnesses Ahmad getting sucked into the records, becoming a time-traveler who participates in the queer cruising history he reads about. There, Ahmad rediscovers oral history paved by the undersung trans male activist and “trancestor” Lou Sullivan.

“I mean, Lou was kind of always part of it just because he had to,” Rosskam said. “In my mind, if he hadn’t done everything he had done, I don’t know that gay trans men would be able to be out and access all sorts of things and transition, like we can now.”

For as much as both Ahmad and Kieran shuffle through mountains of documents to uncover Lou’s legacy, Rosskam builds a moving thesis through a misremembered 20th-century trans trailblazer using Lou’s years-spanning interviews with Dr. Ira B. Pauly and personal letters.

“I first learned about Lou in maybe 2006, through [the] trans historian and theorist Susan Stryker,” Rosskam clarified. “She was the one at the LGBT Historical Society who processed his entire estate. When she processed his estate, she acquired all of his [Lou’s] letters, journals, photos— everything. She was part of bringing that [awareness to Lou] into the LGBT historical society in San Francisco.

Where Lou only completed a fraction of his aspirations before succumbing to HIV in 1991, his talking points expanded into new generations, generating contemporary oral histories from a diverse group of transmen across North America, which Rosskam collected all of 2019. These participants candidly discuss the evolution of their desires and illuminate their struggles with gender (non)conformity, fetishization, transphobia, sexual racism, and safer sex.

Though the fantastical bathhouse end scene is mildly erotic, the bench-etched heart with the trans activist’s name inside felt like a more potent tale of bridging the past and present conversations of the trans male experience, as Rosskam said in a post-premiere Q&A of his film at Sundance: “Bathhouses and archives are not that different. They’re both spaces where you’re cruising: one for sex and another for knowledge. These things aren’t that different.”

Even when nudity finds its way on set, the purpose is bigger than any visual. If anything, Rosskam’s portrayal of bathhouse cruising has too many towels. However, that was still enough for one gallery to not showcase Rosskam’s film. “ I won’t name names, but someone from a big gallery had reached out [to me] about showing the film. After she watched it, she said, like, ‘I love this film, but I can’t show it because genitals are seen.’ I was like, ‘Okay, I get it.’ But it’s unfortunate and feels a little ridiculous.”

“That reaction reminded me of when I first started working on this [film] because I was originally operating from a place of wanting to ride the line between what is an actual pornographic film and what is an art film,” Rosskam continued. “Part of the drive for me was to make sure people walked away from the film thinking trans men were hot. And for trans men watching the film to be like, ‘Yeah, we’re fucking hot.’”

Desire Lines not only erotically pushes against binaries, but embraces bewilderment as a serious liberatory strategy for trans representation through interviewees such as Juju Minx, who excitedly discusses the gender euphoria of having a sex partner who calls him “daddy” while having female genitalia. And who can forget another interviewee’s utter laughter following the “Can a vagina be masculine?” question, which would have traditionally raised eyebrows in offense if viewers hadn’t stepped into the film’s bathhouse world and cruising shenanigans.

The film is equally aware and unashamed of the presentation of these conversations, going as far as to click past unused interviews, close out of windows containing primary texts used in the film, and re-tagging Juju’s interview video to more accurately fit his “dominant bottom” personality– a visual reminder that Rosskam is purposefully provoking public curiosity to know more about the trans male experience.

“I want people to walk away with questions, not answers. That’s pretty much standard for all of my films. I think questions are far more important than answers because answers are almost always singular,” Rosskam says. “Sure, I want you to walk away from this film, thinking, like, ‘Wow, I learned something,’ but not thinking, you know who and what trans men are. I want you to be like, ‘Well, that was really interesting. I have some answers, and I have a lot more questions.’”

There’s no doubt that Rosskam, scriptwriter Nate Gualtieri, long-time friend and actor Aden Hakimi, and Desire Line’s predominant LGBTQ crew bolstered immense talent, and the collective’s emotional advocacy for uplifting BIPOC and LGBTQ voices pierces the very heart of the film, staying with viewers long after watching. It covers what few have dared to, and asks more filmmakers to tell LGBTQ stories that don’t necessarily follow a straight line.

The 77th Annual Cannes Film Festival of 2024 is taking place from May 14th to 25th in the picturesque setting of Cannes, France. The 12-day festival celebrates all things film, welcoming directors, producers and actors to honor excellence within the industry while inviting changes in film and rewarding especially brilliant pieces of cinema. Above all, the festival serves as a competition for a selection of films to be viewed by distributors and critics, the jury which judges the competitions is made up of a prestigious selection of professionals in all sectors of the film industry.

The awards which are presented at the festival include the The Palme d’Or, Award for Best Actress, Award for Best Actor, Jury Prize, Award for Best Director and Award for Best Screenplay. The very prestigious Palme d’Or awards three honorees, the first award was given to Meryl Streep during the opening ceremony, the second was Studio Ghibli and the third will be George Lucas – which will be given out during the closing ceremonies of the festival. This year, Greta Gerwig served as the Jury President of the main competition, and appeared at many of the festivities – other celebrities of note which were spotted on the red carpet include Anya Joy Taylor, Emma Stone, and Kirsten Dunst.

Ahead, here is our roundup of some of the best red-carpet fashion moments from the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival.

Selena Gomez

Saint Laurent gown, Bulgari jewelry

Emma Stone

Louis Vuitton gown

Hunter Schafer

Armani Privè gown

Margaret Qualley

Chanel Couture gown

Yseult

Dior gown and jacket

Adam Driver

Burberry suit top and bottoms

Aubrey Plaza

Loewe gown

Barry Keoghan

Burberry jacket, top and bottoms

Naomi Campbell

Archival Chanel gown

Anya Taylor-Joy

Dior gown, Tiffany & Co jewelry

Meryl Streep

Dior Couture gown

Uma Thurman

Custom Burberry gown

Kirsten Dunst

Gucci gown

Law Roach

Chanel top and bottoms

Michelle Yeoh

Bottega Veneta gown

Greta Gerwig

Chanel gown and bolero

Bella Hadid

Saint Laurent dress

Coco Rocha

Robert Wun gown

Cate Blanchett

Louis Vuitton gown

Demi Moore

Armani gown