Latest news with #culturalreclamation
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Why Asian women are reclaiming tradition with teeth blackening
When Vietnamese-American singer Sailorr's first live performances resurfaced online in late 2024, it attracted a lot of attention: not just for her hypnotic music, but for her distinctive black teeth. 'So I'm not the only one distracted by her mouth?' read a comment liked nearly 2,700 times under a video of one of her performances. Against Instagram's sea of bright-white veneers , Sailorr's dark smile isn't just a fashion statement: publicly practising teeth blackening is a homecoming, a cultural reclamation that she and other artists of Asian descent, including Molly Santana and Qui Yasuka, have been reviving in recent years. A new take on a centuries-old practice Teeth aren't a new canvas for self-expression. We've become used to seeing grills and gems everywhere since about the 1980s – the trend owes much to hip-hop culture's rich influence on fashion and music. Advertisement While less known globally, Asia's traditions of dental adornment are no less culturally profound. Teeth blackening, in particular, has been practised for centuries and was regarded as a rite of passage, a marker of beauty, adulthood and refinement across the region, especially in Vietnam and Japan. In Japan, aristocrats stained their teeth with iron filings and vinegar in a practice called ohaguro from the 11th to 19th centuries. In Vietnam, nhuộm răng dates back to the Hùng King era (2879-258 BC) and made use of betel, charcoal and beeswax. In both cases, the imposition of Western beauty standards during colonial times nearly erased the practice throughout the region, explains Dr Aida Yuen Wong, professor of art history at Brandeis University. 'In Vietnam, French colonial rule engendered new beauty standards. And though Japan was never colonised, authorities banned the practice in alignment with Western ideals, driven by a desire to avoid appearing as uncivilised.' Shunned into near extinction, teeth blackening was mostly preserved by the elders – until artists like Sailorr, and Japanese-American creatives Sukii Baby and Molly Santana, reclaimed the practice and inspired a new generation of women. Beauty trend and identity politics 'I'm Vietnamese-American, so I knew of teeth blackening,' says aspiring fashion designer Mou Isabel Phung. 'But when I saw Sailorr and Sukii Baby mixing such an old traditional practice into modern fashion, I knew I wanted to do it as well.'
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Beyoncé Dominates London: COWBOY CARTER Tour Shatters Records and Serves Fashion, Power, and History at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Beyoncé did not come to play. She came to obliterate. And obliterate, she did, in heels, on a horse, draped in couture, and with receipts that scream global domination. Last night, Her Royal Highness of Cultural Supremacy wrapped up an earth-shattering six-night residency at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as part of her genre-defying, boundary-obliterating COWBOY CARTER TOUR, and the numbers are as disrespectfully iconic as the woman herself. Over the course of six sold-out, seismic, and soul-snatching nights (June 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, and 16), Beyoncé welcomed over 275,000 fans through the stadium gates and walked away with £45 million (that's over $61.5 million USD if you're nasty). In doing so, she didn't just break the stadium's records. She broke her own. Let that sink in. This woman outdid herself, and you know you're That Girl when your only real competition is you. In simpler terms, no one is touching this. Not in a decade. Not in a generation. Not in this lifetime. Maybe in the next dimension. Maybe. The COWBOY CARTER TOUR is more than just a music tour. It's a thunderclap of cultural reclamation, fashion warfare, and untamed Black Southern excellence. Each three-hour performance is a choreographed fever dream of Americana reimagined through Beyoncé's kaleidoscopic lens. Country, gospel, soul, rock, and R&B swirl like a sonic hurricane while visuals worthy of an Oscar ceremony elevate every note. The London stretch brought the looks, darling. And I do mean the looks. Beyoncé debuted jaw-dropping custom creations from British fashion juggernauts Stella McCartney, Burberry, and Vivienne Westwood. She served futuristic cowgirls from emerging UK darlings like Poster Girl and Off-White under Ibrahim Kamara. She still found time to flaunt Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, and a glittering set of Shola Branson jewelry like it was light work. It wasn't just a performance. It was an intergalactic rodeo of couture chaos and historic showmanship. Now that Beyoncé has transformed Tottenham Hotspur into her personal runway, church, and throne room, she's headed for Paris for a divine three-night engagement at Stade de France (June 19, 21, and 22). After that? She gallops back to the United States to serve celestial chaos in Houston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and Las Vegas. Oh yes, she's taking this sparkling rhinestone revolution globally, and nobody is safe. Let's not forget the empire behind the glamour. The COWBOY CARTER TOUR is produced by Parkwood Entertainment and promoted by Live Nation, with curated experiences provided by Vibee. Premium whiskey is poured courtesy of SirDavis, and unforgettable glam is delivered through Cécred, Beyoncé's own haircare brand. The Cécred Roadshow, a chrome-wrapped temple of follicular glory, will be making pit stops across America, featuring exclusive merch, samples, fan cams, and more. Naturally, Ulta Beauty, the nation's largest beauty retailer, is backing it all as the official beauty retail partner. Because when Beyoncé does beauty, she doesn't just drop products. She builds an entire universe of texture, fragrance, and follicles blessed by God herself. And in case you were wondering if the Queen does anything without purpose, no, darling. The BeyGOOD Foundation is riding alongside the tour with over $3 million in direct community investments, supporting scholarships, entrepreneurship programs, and disaster relief initiatives, including aid for wildfire survivors in Los Angeles. She's changing lives in a stadium, on a horse, and from the heart. There are tours. And then there's whatever COWBOY CARTER is. It's not just about selling out stadiums. It's about redefining genre, challenging whitewashed country narratives, and planting the Black feminine flag right at the center of America's musical mythology. Beyoncé's giving you Dolly, Tina, Aretha, and a lil' sci-fi cyborg showgirl all in one body and doing it in couture and custom boots. She's not just riding into town. She owns the damn town. The post Beyoncé Dominates London: COWBOY CARTER Tour Shatters Records and Serves Fashion, Power, and History at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium appeared first on Where Is The Buzz | Breaking News, Entertainment, Exclusive Interviews & More.
