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USA Today
05-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Breaking down Eagles' 2025 NFL draft class: Best pick, head-scratching pick, best value
Breaking down Eagles' 2025 NFL draft class: Best pick, head-scratching pick, best value We're taking a closer look at the Philadelphia Eagles' 2025 NFL draft class with the best pick, sleeper, head-scratching pick, and more. The Philadelphia Eagles added ten draft picks to their roster in this year's NFL draft, landing Jihaad Campbell near the end of Round 1 to cap things off. Overall, the consensus for Howie Roseman centered on draft value and landing prospects who can develop into starters regardless of the round in which they were selected. Of course, we won't know the actual impact of this year's class until these players hit the field and have time to develop, but on paper, it does look like Roseman maintained and created another Super Bowl window. With the rookie minicamp having concluded, we're looking at this 2025 class, where we highlight the best pick, sleeper, head-scratching pick, and more. Best pick-Andrew Mukuba A player who can emulate C.J. Gardner-Johnson's production, Mukuba has the coverage skills to play in the slot and the athleticism to control the deep center field as a "robber" and use his instincts, burst,, and ball skills to make plays. Best Value-Jihaad Campbell Campbell had a top 15 ranking on most big boards, yet he slipped to No. 31 overall because of a torn Labrum. Sleeper pick - Antwaun Powell-Ryland The Eagles selected outside linebacker Virginia Tech's Antwaun Powell-Ryland with their 10th and final pick. No. 209 overall, in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. A talented pass rusher who slipped in the draft due to concerns about his arm length, Powell-Ryland has spent the last two seasons with the Hokies after transferring from Florida before the 2023 season. In 2024, the 6-foot-2, 258-pounder started all 12 games he played, accumulating 43 total tackles and 16 sacks, which ranked third in FBS. Powell-Ryland earned first-team All-ACC and Associated Press All-American third-team honors during his redshirt senior season with the Hokies. Head-scratching pick - Kyle McCord Roseman values the quarterback position, and since taking over as GM, he has drafted signal-callers once a year, or at least every other year. Roseman drafted Mike Kafka in 2010, Nick Foles in 20212, and Matt Barkley in 2013, but then he lost power to Chip Kelly. Upon getting that power back, Roseman drafted Carson Wentz in 2016, Clayton Thorson in 2019, Jalen Hurts in 2020, Tanner McKee in 2023, and now McCord two weeks ago. The Eagles always do their due diligence on quarterback prospects and have added far less talented signal callers to the factory since Howie Roseman became general manager. Hurts is the franchise and face of the NFL, while McKee is a talented backup and a potential lucrative asset in his own right. Still, talent is talent, and Philadelphia does a better job than every team in the NFL in addressing talent and adding it to the roster. Position group to watch: Linebacker Philadelphia drafted Campbell, who'll play multiple positions. Then it doubled back and added former Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. to a group that already includes Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
The Guardian
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
New designers to look out for in 2025 – from 3D printed buildings to fuzzy chairs made from agave
I feel hopeful about the impact of design on the world,' says fashion designer Foday Dumbuya, 'It has the power to drive change by addressing social issues, promoting sustainability, and enhancing quality of life.' In September this year, the UK hosts the World Design Congress (WDC), where the best minds from business, education and research get together to discuss how design can do just this. Dumbuya, cofounder of the menswear label Labrum and designer of the black Arsenal strip, is one of five world-class creatives acting as ambassadors for British design at this biannual international event. While previous congresses have had such intriguing themes as 'From Spoon to City' and 'Towards an Aesthetic of the Invisible Design of Tradition', for 2025 the UK's Design Council has gone for the stark but urgent 'Design for Planet'. Dumbuya with his fellow ambassadors – award-winning furniture designer Tom Dixon, architect Lesley Lokko who curated the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2023, Suhair Khan, who is a tech entrepreneur and expert on AI, and designer and artist Es Devlin – have put together a list of the designers they think are trailblazers in changing the way our furniture, clothes and buildings can be made. 'The idea of good design has shifted from a focus on functionality and aesthetics to encompass experience, sustainability, and inclusivity,' says Dumbuya. 'It prioritises environmental responsibility, embraces technology, fosters collaboration and promotes circularity, reflecting a broader understanding of design's impact on society and individuals.' This idea is at the heart of a list the ambassadors have created of new trailblazing designers. These creatives are not just using innovative materials or new methods of production, but rethinking the systems and wisdom about the products we use and how we make them. Parametric architect Life as an architect was the obvious choice for Arthur Mamou-Mani. What else was a young Parisian raised by ecologist parents and who has an equal love for maths, science and art to do? So after training at London's Architectural Association, he established his design studio in Hackney. From that point on, everything about Mamou-Mani's work ceases to be obvious. His firm has become famous for building fantasy: the world's largest 3D-printed sand pavilion; a temporary temple for the Burning Man festival in Nevada; a test site for airships in France; a viewing platform constructed from reclaimed ironwood and rattan in Bali. All from design with circularity at its heart. Mamou-Mani creates biological shape – spirals, waves, repetitive patterns – from 3D-printed and recycled materials using parametric design. The computer-based process uses algorithms derived from the properties of a material to produce buildings and interiors that are a little bit Le Corbusier, a little bit Escher. 'It's not our vision imposed on a material,' he explains, with the example of using a single tree cut to create complex wood waves designed with algorithms using information about wood's malleability. 'You need science to measure your impact and architects can be reluctant with science because they worry it prevents creativity.' Mamou-Mani believes science can prevent waste. He talks with delight about an airship hangar his studio is creating in Nouvelle Aquitaine, France, using biomimicry to make the best design for the site. 'We put in ripples on the exterior which means we use 50% less steel,' he beams. 'That's a massive carbon saving. And the building is meaningful: if we replace airplanes with helium balloons it could have a massive impact.' He believes that UK has a lot to bring to the world of circular design. 'I come from France and we have a tendency to turn to the government when there is a problem. I love the entrepreneurial spirit of the UK – the idea that an individual or a company can have impact can be fantastic.' Regenerative furniture designer When Fernando Laposse arrived in London from Mexico to study product design in 2007, it was the dawn of the 'smart' era – smartphones, smartwatches. 'My university, in a spot-on way, tried to prepare us for that. For me, that was soul crushing – I think my heritage was always on my mind, and Mexico has a tradition of craft and agriculture more than industry, so I've worked on how I can merge these two worlds for my own sanity.' On a residency at a cultural institute in Oaxaca, Laposse was galvanised by meeting activists fighting for a ban on genetically modified corn in Mexico. 'I decided I wanted to do something to help indigenous farmers make a living out of ancient grain.' His plan has taken shape in Tonahuixtla, an area he'd known since childhood, where Laposse has worked with the local Mixtec tribe, first to grow agave to reverse soil erosion, then to cultivate corn. The fibres and husks of these plants are the materials for his furniture designs. Laposse also teaches locals the techniques to turn crops into materials, increasing their role in production. 'I've known these communities since I was a child, I have a sense of duty to do them. And they've given me a career so this helps everyone.' Luckily, the Totomoxtle furniture range is not only clever but beautiful, from the exquisite marquetry formed from corn husks to the cute faux-fur affect of the knotted agave fibres. It looks pop and luxe, but as Laposse points out: 'My materials talk to you about Mexico and biodiversity.' As the world starts to experience the fallout of human impact on the environment, Laposse thinks Latin America could come to the fore. 'Radical ideas are going to come from this part of the world – we still have a traditional understanding of the interconnections between humans and nature which are long gone from Europe. We are in position where we can change course and maybe create new systems. This is what I try to do with my design.' Sustainable furniture designer One of Kusheda Mensah's first formative design memories was her local library in Peckham. Created by architect Will Alsop as part of the 1990s regeneration initiative for the area, it was the first library to win the Stirling Prize. It's colourful and inclusive a community meeting place and it's easy to imagine Mensah's own furniture would work well in this prestigious building. The British-Ghanaian designer's brand Modular by Mensah specialises in padded seating and curved and comfortable tables designed to interlock, bringing people physically together, and all made from recycled foam and textiles. 'The fabrics I choose are not only sustainable but a source of inspiration,' Mensah says. 'They allow me to creatively explore ways to give new life to what would otherwise be discarded. I want to ensure my design ideas don't come at the cost of tomorrow.' Mensah has also made a valuable contribution to the industry by talking openly about the challenges she's faced in an industry which is often all about image. Mensah was working in retail when she took a gamble and applied to present at the Milan Furniture Fair, she used a bank loan to start up her business and then had to juggle work and parenting two young children. 'Cost of living is a real crisis, and, unless you have financial backing, it's hard to manifest your designs. A challenge I face is finding financial support from councils or institutions for my passion for social design – specifically creating interactive spaces that are engaging but built with a deep commitment to sustainability.' Currently Mensah is working on her next collection – to be sold with Swedish furniture brand Hem – but she's delighted that her work has been highlighted by the WDC ambassadors. 'It's a privilege. I hope my efforts might inspire others.' Biomaterial designer Bacteria have not traditionally been a big source of inspiration for product design, but Natsai Audrey Chieza is not one to follow tradition. Born in Zimbabwe, she moved to london at 17 and studied architecture before switching to biochemical engineering. She shifted focus to microbiology and synthetic biology and hasn't looked back. She pioneered the use of bacteria to dye fabric at her company Faber Futures, creating a chemical-free process which cuts down on pollution and water waste. Last year she started a biodesign brand called Normal Phenomena of Life which uses algae, bacteria and fungi as key components of everything from lamps to clothes. 'We develop biosolutions for industries such as fashion, textiles, and design, harnessing nature's capabilities – refined over billions of years of evolution – to create regenerative, high-performance materials.' Chieza says one of the fascinating consequences of her work is the relationship she's developed with other non-human organisms and a sense of respect for how our fate intertwines with theirs. 'I think people still only understand the value of this work being able to scale the technology so that you can replace previous technologies and become a billionaire,' she has said. 'That didn't interest me, because what I experienced was transcending that logic of capitalism to be changed by the bacteria itself. Having its lifecycle drive all of my design decisions.' She thinks that science today reveals how codependence, rather than dominance, works. 'The Cartesian notion of 'survival of the fittest' – the motif of the capitalist age – is not universal. Nature provides excellent counterexamples: from mycelial networks that share nutrients across forests to coral and algae co-evolving to sustain entire marine ecosystems. If we are serious about working with living systems, we must build business models that mirror nature – where value is generated, shared, and stewarded symbiotically.' Fashion designer with a global vision In fashion, Priya Ahluwalia is already a big deal. Her eponymous London-based clothes label, launched in 2018, has won her a cupboard full of trophies. Upcycled and repurposed fabrics have featured in her collections since research trips as a student took her to Lagos in Nigeria and Panipat in India, and she saw first-hand the mountains of discarded clothes in these cities, sent for recycling from the west. (The images can be seen in a photography book she released called Sweet Lassi.) As her label's popularity has steadily grown – she now produces menswear and womenswear – Priya has looked beyond vintage fabrics to logistics and social enterprises in the global south to keep moving forward with ethical business practice. 'We've had impact on the issue – with commercial partners who want to work with us and understand the way me and my team operate to customers having different ideas about how they want to spend their money,' she says. Her clothes designs are also growing ever more influential. Priya's British, Nigerian and Indian heritage influences each collection from reworked saris and Cleopatra-style wigs to confident, sexy dresses. There's a sense of gestalt between the fashion influences, manufacturing conventions, the meeting of west and global south that makes Ahluwalia designs feel synonymous with the way her business works. 'There was not much representation of ideas that weren't western,' she says, 'but the market for fashion is global. There was space to represent something from a different point of view. Why not have something in your wardrobe that's inspired by Nigerian pottery as well as by Renaissance Italian art?' Priya plans to add homeware to the Ahluwalia brand soon and says she can see how the aesthetic and ethos of her brand could work in many different areas. 'We care about representative and inclusive design and we aim to do things that are better for people and the planet.' Crafts maker and woodman Furniture maker Sebastian Cox has been a success ever since the collection he created for his masters in 2010 sold out. An early advocate for regenerative design – working with nature to improve the environment – he has stayed true to this desire since university. He lives in Kent where he has a furniture workshop and also manages two woodland areas. 'I think it's easy to excuse yourself when you're a craft maker,' he explains. 'You think you have low impact but as soon as you sell to market, you contribute to a material culture.' Cox subjects all of his products to an environmental lifecycle assessment to monitor carbon footprint, while simultaneously working on his woodmanship – cultivation of woodland using human interaction to have positive impact on the natural environment. Coppicing – cutting trees back to encourage new growth – is an example. 'We think of ourselves as a green and pleasant land, but the UK is only 13% forest, whereas in Europe the average is 38%. We also had an empire, so after we cut down our own wild wood, we then went and cut down everyone else's. Most antique furniture is made of someone else's wood, which is a tragedy.' Cox feels this circular and systemic approach to design is the obvious – if not the only – way forward for the industry. 'I look at the past where you sketched a chair and then produced thousands of them and became a celebrity. We have to be a more useful profession with more impact.' Jayden Ali, architectCo-curator of the 2023 British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Ali runs a London-based architecture and design studio focused on decarbonisation and decolonisation. Victor Xavier and Søren Hallberg Søndergaard of Assimply StudioThis Brazil-based creative agency makes household products with reused terrazzo. Michael Bennett, architect and furniture designerAn American football star turned designer, Michael Bennett makes sustainable furniture that draws on his African and southern American roots and is inspired by the African diaspora. Nzinga Biegueng-Mboup, architect Based in Dakar, this architect uses bioclimatic design and local materials to preserve Senegalese tradition. Shajay Bhooshan, architect Shajay Bhooshan specialises in programming and computational design and works at Zaha Hadid Architects. Phoebe English, fashion designerPhoebe English creates sustainable, handcrafted designs emphasising zero-waste and circular practices. Arthur Huang, structural engineer This structural engineer started his company Miniwiz in Taiwan in 2005, using waste and upcycling to make building materials. Insiya Jafferjee, product designer As founder of Shellworks, Insiya Jafferjee's focus is creating new generation of materials, that perform like plastic, but are petroleum and microplastic free. Kieron Lewis, graphic designer and writerAs well as working as designer on books about race, Londoner Kieron Lewis has become a valuable public speaker about diversity and inclusion. Emmanuel Lawal, designerWith a career that started in music and broadcasting, Emmanuel Lawal has now founded a design studio that focuses on global communication projects. Sara Martinsen, designerDanish artist and designer Sara Martinsen uses unusual natural materials such as gelatin to create beautiful furniture. Charlotte McCurdy, interdisciplinary designerDesigner Charlotte McCurdy is an academic looking at future materials such as using algae to supersede plastics Marjan van Aubel, solar designer This Dutch designer creates products such as chargers and solar panels that use light as a power source but also as decoration Dr Sophia Wang, artist and researcherSophie Wang is the co-founder of MycoWorks, a biotechnology company, and an experimental dance company. She also makes art about the climate crisis.
The Guardian
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Abbey Road, aliens and Withnail: London fashion week autumn/winter 2025
Steven Stokey-Daley's AW25 outing was a celebration of all things British, from his take on the donkey jacket, duffle coat and trench through to British milled heritage checks. Daley's hallmarks, such as a dog motif on a T-shirt, played against a burgundy cardigan embroidered with salt and spice shakers interspersed with 'Marianne Faithfull' jumper. Bursts of colour were inspired by the work of Scottish colourists, Francis Cadell and John Duncan Fergusson, whose influence was seen in the felted image of a woman on a smock dress and a watercolour-infused men's trench coat Daniel Lee turned in a vintage Burberry collection for AW25, with a casting of actors from iconic British films and TV: Richard E Grant, Leslie Manville and Ṣopé Dìrísù, alongside catwalk legends Naomi Campbell and Erin O'Connor. Focus was on outerwear, from versions of the house trench in heavy tartan and check, with scarves attached, to embossed leather creations belted at the waist to oversized patchwork shearling bombers. Women's trenches that spliced into fringing and swayed from the hips were interspersed with devore smock dresses. This was Lee at his best Every season, Labrum's creative director Foday Dumbaya celebrates immigration and its cultural importance. This time, he looked to London's rich music history for inspiration – showing at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. He worked with the Mercury award winning jazz quintet, Ezra Collective, who played the backing music for some of the UK's pioneering grime artists, including Akala and Ghetts. In between their sets, models walked on stage in the brand's signature pieces, such as boxy tailoring and denim shirting, as well as the latest accessories designed in collaboration with Adidas In just two years, Paolo Carzana has established himself as a LFW hot ticket. Following last season's showcase in his back garden, Carzana showed the final part of his Trilogy of Hope in a tiny Clerkenwell pub to an intimate audience of 60, including Sir Paul Smith (whose foundation provides free studio space in nearby Smithfields to young designers, including Carzana). The 14 handmade looks took Toulouse Lautrec as a reference point on silhouette and the delicacy of line and colour. Natural dyes were applied by Carzana using paint brushes and spraying and rolling techniques For AW25, Jawara Alleyne explored the principals of construction in both architecture and clothing. Construction is Alleyne's jam; his held-together-with-safety-pins déshabillé signature look was still evident in the shredded jersey looks, but the production levels were slicker. A triple-layered men's polo and T-shirt look cleverly spliced stripes to appear as checks when the model moved. While the womenswear evolved to include red carpet-worthy draped gowns in heavier fabrications that Alleyne's fanbase, which includes Rihanna, Charli XCX and Shakira, will no doubt adore Gemma Collins front row in a ruffled coat at 9am on a rainy Monday morning wasn't on our London fashion week bingo card, but it was a welcome addition. The TV star was up early for sequin king Ashish's show. Ashish always brings the sparkle underscored with a wry commentary on the state of the world. Tops emblazoned with the slogan 'It's a shit show' and a stripy jumper declaring 'Up Yours' put two fingers up at the state of the world with some much needed light relief through sequins and dressing up. 'It's an expression on how apocalyptic the world feels right now,' he said Showing off schedule on Thursday evening – supported by Hi-Fi, a non-profit programme run by creative agency Hidden that nurtures emerging talent – Central Saint Martin's graduate, Maximilian Raynor's fashion week debut displayed accomplished craftsmanship for a fledgling designer. Titled Welcome to the Un-United Kingdom , the collection imagined a world in 3025 run by self-serving billionaires. 'Design is an indispensable art form that allows us to escape and/or reflect our times. I hope my storytelling, has the power to incite genuine reflection.' he said in his show notes Tolu Coker is becoming one of the buzziest designers in London. For this collection, she was taken with how dress codes within the African diaspora have evolved with migration. She honoured the Aldura churches from Lagos to London and the ritual attire of Black spiritual traditions in Louisiana and Haiti as well as the ceremonial dress of communities across Brazil and Cuba, which she blended with British trademarks like white poplin shirting and tartan which draw on her London roots. A sophisticated and empowered presentation which leaves us excited for what the designer does next Roksanda took inspiration for her masterfully sculptural collection from the work of British artist Phyllida Barlow, whose pioneering approach to form and sculpture resonated with Ilinčić. Prints were created from a fusion of techniques, such as scanning objects like leftover plastic materials, mirrored surfaces and cardboard, overlaid with bold painted strokes, replicating the late artist's use of fabrications such as cardboard, tape and paint. Highlights came as enveloping oversized evening coats, vivid coloured slim satin asymmetric dresses and voluminous silhouetted tailoring Entitled Venus from Chaos, AW25 was inspired by the proverbial home of women – the planet Venus. Though we were sitting in a Bergein-coded club in Angel – which is home to one of London's most famous goth nights, Slimelight – the other-worldly models stalking the runway took us to another dimension. From Lara Stone who opened the show in head-to-toe hyper-corsetry to Hannelore Knuts in a body-skimming second-skin mesh dress, the girls were like an army of alien romantics sent to hypnotise the audience into joining their witchy feminist sect – eye contact, included A starry line-up of actors from Fiona Shaw to Andrea Riseborough walked the runway under the chandeliers of the grand Goldsmith's Hall for Simone Rocha's latest show. Aesop's fables The Tortoise and the Hare and School Days Haze were the inspiration, brimming full of signature design details including bold-shoulders, tiered volumes, pearl edging and floating ribbon. A tougher edge came with denim jackets, utilitarian trenches and oversized leather bikers, faux fur was in abundance from fluffy jackets to models carrying stuffed hares instead of handbags The peacockery and pageantry of British heraldry was the starting point of Denzil Patrick's collection. The husband-and-husband designer duo, Daniel Gayle and James Bosley, took inspiration from archaic British nobility and jousters inspired by cult classic movie Knightriders, as well as speedway racers and medieval clergymen, but gave them a soft touch – be it a feather fluttering behind a strong lapel or a sheeny duchesse satin which was transformed into an XL trench coat. Shield-shaped bags and silver breastplates worn as vests bolstered the archaic military-coded aesthetic Though it's true that Chet Lo is always one of the most exciting slots on the LFW schedule, AW25 felt like a step up for the Asian American designer. While some of his trademark tropes were present – namely mini spikes in merino wool – he introduced more tailoring and outerwear in a toned down and elevated colour palette of navy, burgundy and grey. The motifs which adorned ties, knitwear and dresses were a reinterpretation of misrepresented Western depictions of Asian culture, like tiger prints or cloud motifs, which the designer rehashed in an authentic way Erdem collaborated with artist Kaye Donachie for his AW25 collection. Whom he previously commissioned to paint his late mother's portrait; a version of which appeared on the opening look, a slashed-neck column dress. Donachie's portraits are not literal depictions but abstractions, based on research and instinct. Erdem used the ethereal paintings on organza dresses, bodices, full skirts and voluminous coats. Trousers were notably absent from the collection silhouette, giving way to archetypal feminine shapes that included skirt suits with sculpted bubble skirts and nipped waist jackets Talent incubator Fashion East's line-up kicked off with Olly Shinder, now in his fourth season. Shinder played with his interpretation of utilitarian and military with a twist on the traditional gender-coded aesthetic. Louther's designer Olympia Schiele drew on the spirit of underground London, utilising deadstock fabrics to create unusual silhouettes. Meanwhile, Nuba founders Cameron Williams and Jebi Labembika blended their jersey suiting with cleverly layered and wrapped garments, while flashes of satin blue cobalt added fluidity
