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The British label S.S. Daley wins this year’s LVMH Prize and a year of mentorship.
“Emerging British label S.S. Daley won the LVMH Prize for 2022, securing a cash prize of €300,000 ($321,500) for founder Steven Stokey-Daley as well as a year of mentorship by executives at luxury’s biggest conglomerate. Stokey-Daley has become a breakout fashion star as his romantic, contemporary twist on British dress codes gained traction, with Harry Styles sporting his super-wide-legged canvas trousers and a dried-flower headress from the designer in a 2020 music video. Since then his label has been picked up by Ssense and Matchesfashion, and staged fashion shows incorporating socially engaged performances that explored class and coming-of-age in British society.” [H/T Business of Fashion]
New York may sign a bill to ban bitcoin mining that runs on carbon-based power.
“Following an early morning vote in Albany on Friday, lawmakers in New York passed a bill to ban certain bitcoin mining operations that run on carbon-based power sources. The measure heads to the desk of Governor Kathy Hochul, who could sign it into law or veto it. If Hochul signs the bill, it would make New York the first state in the country to ban blockchain technology infrastructure, according to Perianne Boring, founder and president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. Industry insiders say it could have a domino effect across the U.S., which is currently at the forefront of the global bitcoin mining industry, accounting for 38 percent of the world’s miners.” [H/T CNBC]
Prosecutors accuse former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain of insider trading.
“Manhattan prosecutors on Wednesday accused a former employee of OpenSea, an auction site for the digital goods known as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, of insider trading. It is believed to be the first such case filed related to a cryptocurrency company. Nathaniel Chastain, a 31-year-old former product manager at OpenSea, is accused of using his knowledge of which NFTs would be featured on the site’s home page to secretly purchase from those collections in advance and then profit when auctions increased their value, according to a report in the DealBook newsletter.” [H/T The New York Times]
Alibaba’s Taobao launches a “metaverse mall” ahead of the 618 Shopping Festival.
“To prepare for the country’s annual 618 Shopping Festival, Alibaba’s Taobao has appointed the help of a specialist metaversal project team to create a fully-optimized virtual shopping venue open to its customers. Using their phones, shoppers will be able to guide their avatars through 3D stores and engage in a number of interactive activities. The project, according to the company, is a chance to undergo a technical exploration of the immersive shopping scenarios Web3 has to offer.” [H/T Jing Daily]
Harvard GSD names nine mid-career talents as 2023 Loeb Fellowship winners.
“The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has announced the 2023 class of Loeb Fellowship winners. A total of nine mid-career individuals working in fields of activism, horticulture, visual arts, real estate development, architecture, and others were selected out of a field of 131 to form the fellowship’s 52nd cohort, which will see an extension of the collaboration begun last year between the program and Harvard’s ArtLab. As fellows, the group will have access to a host of intellectual activities during a year-long residency on the GSD campus with the overarching aims of increasing community revitalization and improving social conditions in the U.S. and abroad. The nine incoming Loeb Fellows are: Mariana Alegre, Dario Calmese, Pamela Conrad, Claudia Dobles Camargo, Nataia Dopazo, Badruun Gardi, Shamichael Hallman, Rebecca McMackin, and Derwin Sisnett.” [H/T Archinect]
A trespasser smashes $5 million worth of ancient artifacts at the Dallas Museum of Art.
“A man broke into the Dallas Museum of Art and caused more than $5m in damage, including smashing three ancient Greek artifacts before he was arrested, police said. Brian Hernandez, 21, is charged with criminal mischief of more than or equal to $300,000, which is punishable by five years to life in prison. He broke into a display case and smashed a 6th century BC Greek amphora and a Greek pot dating to 450 BC. Police say those two items alone were worth about $5m. Also smashed were a bowl from 6th century BC, worth about $100,000, and a ceramic Caddo effigy bottle valued at about $10,000.” [H/T The Guardian]
Today’s attractive distractions:
Chipotle lovers can now buy burritos with 98 different types of cryptocurrency.
Kim Kardashian would “eat poop” every single day if it made her look younger.
An extinct headbutting relative of the giraffe may explain the animal’s long neck.
From dentures to pounds of hamburger meat, people left strange things in Ubers.
