Lifestyle
A Boston teen is going viral for crocheting her own Zendaya-inspired prom dress
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade… or on this case, a custom prom dress. This week, highschool student Sarah Akinbuwa went viral for making her own crocheted version of the custom pink Valentino Haute Couture gown seen on Zendaya – for just $60.
Inspired by the pink dress Zendaya wore on the red carpet on the 2023 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, Akinbuwa decided to make use of her crocheting talent to create her own prom dress. In an interview with People Magazine, she explained that the project began when she was invited to another person’s prom with only 4 days’ notice.
“I had to sew the dress by hand,” Akinbuwa told the newspaper.
Documenting all the process on TikTokThe 18-year-old crocheted 100 roses by hand in two days. The next day she crocheted a floor-length strapless gown, and it wasn’t until prom day that the entire look got here together, when she added roses to the train and crystals to the bodice. In addition to crocheting a Zendaya-inspired dress, Akinbuwa did as well handmade matching pink handbag.
Just as Akinbuwa was “obsessed” with her prom look, viewers were fascinated by the crochet gown. IN video taken in the ladies’s bathroom, random people showered the teenager with compliments.
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“Oh my God… wonderful,” one in all the ladies might be heard saying within the background after learning that she had made the dress herself. “You’re incredible! You better get an award for this or something.”
“I was overwhelmed by the compliments,” she wrote under the photo Post on TikTok“It’s the best part of crochet (really).”
There was an outpouring of affection on social media, with tens of millions of users praising Akinbuwa for her talent and dedication.
“You did an amazing job. (You are) a very talented young woman and I hope your talent will take you far,” one user commented.
Another commenter added: “Wow…absolutely amazing work. You are looking so beautiful. I pray that one day this will turn into… a successful business. A fashion line in your future.”
While this is the teen’s first viral moment, it’s miles from her first crochet project. Akinbuwa’s social media pages (@that_crochet_gurl00) on Instagram and TikTok present various crochet works made by the teenager.
“I’ve been crocheting since I was 12,” she said, explaining how she has made custom orders for her family and friends through the years. Understanding that there aren’t any limits, the 18-year-old says she desires to turn out to be a dressmaker in the longer term.
As the teenager wrote in her Instagram caption, “(oh) being young, talented and black.”
Lifestyle
Why Denzel Washington quit drinking at 60
Denzel Washington has been sober for nearly a decade, but he had one particular vice: wine.(*60*)
In a brand new profile, the 69-year-old actor talks about his history with wine, drugs like LSD and growing up in New York within the Seventies. Esquire magazine..(*60*)
“Wine is very difficult,” he warned. “It’s very slow… It’s not like boom.”(*60*)
He explained that, unlike harder substances, he had “the perfect idea for wine tasting and so on – and that’s how it was in the beginning.”(*60*)
“And this is a very subtle thing,” he added.(*60*)
Washington said his habit really took off in 1999, when he built a house with a ten-thousand-bottle wine cellar and “learned to drink the best of it.”(*60*)
He added: “My passion was wine, and now I was pouring $4,000 bottles just because it was left.”(*60*)
The “Gladiator II” star eventually developed an intake management system; he frequently ordered the 2 best bottles of wine available at his favorite liquor store.(*60*)
“And my wife says, ‘Why do you only order two?’ I said, “Because if I order more, I’ll drink more.” So I limited it to 2 bottles and drank each in the course of the day,” he told the publication.(*60*)
Even though she drinks wine day by day, the “Equalizer 3” star said she never drank alcohol while working or preparing for a task, even while filming “Flight,” which tells the story of an alcoholic pilot.(*60*)
“I would clean up and go back to work – I could do both,” he said. “Regardless of the months of shooting, bang, it is time to wrap up. And then boom. Three months of wine and time to get back to work.(*60*)
The actor admitted that when he was younger, it was easier to take care of this pattern.(*60*)
“Two months off and we’re going. But the drinking was a fifteen-year pattern. And truth be told, it didn’t start in 1999. It began earlier,” he explained.(*60*)
Washington, who was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, described what it was like growing up there within the late Seventies. Spending time on projects with individuals who exposed him to heroin, cocaine, hard alcohol and more, he admits that he experimented but personally “never got hooked on it.” (*60*)
In fact, much of those formative years experiences were passed on to a few of Washington’s best and most complex figures. Still, he said, “I am unable to consider a single role where I said, ‘Man, that is me.’ Completely me? No, no.(*60*)
Since he quit drinking, he appears like “everything is opening up to him.”(*60*)
“It’s like you’re seventy,” he said. “This is real. And it’s okay. This is the last chapter – if I get one other thirty, what do I would like to do? My mother lived to be ninety-seven.(*60*)
The husband and father of 4 also pays more attention to fitness today, due to Lenny Kravitz, who introduced him to his trainer.(*60*)
“I’m doing everything I can,” he said.(*60*)
As he noted in the course of the “Gladiator II” press session, he’s also enthusiastic about upcoming projects which will become his last – and yes, they include two more “Equalizer” movies.(*60*)
“People love these daggone ‘Equalizers,'” he said. (*60*)
Lifestyle
Steph Curry is using the NBA Tunnel to showcase Black and Brown designers this season
This NBA season, Steph Curry is bringing latest talent to his team with the help of a friend and stylist, Jason Bolden. As a part of the duo’s ongoing collaboration with Rakuten, Bolden styles the Golden State Warriors point guard and two-time league MVP in an array of black and brown designers for his walks through the NBA tunnels during the 2024-25 season.
“My mission at every opportunity I have is to upskill people who deserve it and spread awareness of very talented individuals, especially in the fashion industry where Black and brown communities don’t necessarily have the same resources and opportunities,” Curry explained , per Women’s on a regular basis clothing. “Using our tunnel walks, which have become a really big part of the NBA experience with cameras everywhere behind the scenes, you have that moment when you walk in, and it’s a great opportunity to express yourself through the clothes you wear.”
In recent years, the NBA tunnel has change into something of a runway for menswear designers, as the league’s most trendy players use their entrances and exits to showcase their personal style, drawing attention that sometimes rivals the games themselves.
“In my rookie season in 2009, there was one camera following me from the car to the locker room – our Golden State Warriors PR team,” Curry recalls. “How all of it became almost a runway show, because you get out of the automobile, the bus, and go into the locker room – the funny thing is that we dress, whether you are at home or in a hotel, and you are probably wearing outfit from half-hour to an hour, depending on how long the trip is. Then you go to the locker room, take it off and put it back on after the match, but that moment is special because you wish to look good,” he added.
While Curry typically opts for traditional styles, he admits his fashion sense has evolved “dramatically” over the course of his profession. According to WWD, this season his wardrobe will feature creations by each established and emerging designers, including Áwet and Saif Ud Deen, co-founder of Pharrell Williams Billionaire Boys Club.
“My goal is not to try to stand out too much… I never dress loudly just to dress loudly, and I think I have a very classic, modern, casual style,” Curry explained, later adding: “Any brand we wear , has a unique way of coping with or attacking this problem and it can be nice to see diversity inside the different outfits I wear.”
Fans who like Curry’s look can shop online at stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Mr. Porter while also receiving money back through Rakuten.
“The saying ‘look good, feel good and have fun’ is true,” Curry said. “Have fun with what you wear in the tunnel and during the game – it helps you be present in the moment.”
Lifestyle
An AI discrimination class action lawsuit has finally been settled
Mary Louis’ excitement about moving right into a Massachusetts apartment within the spring of 2021 turned to dismay when Louis, a Black woman, received an email informing her that a “third-party service” had denied her a lease.
This third-party service included an algorithm designed to judge rental applicants, which became the topic of a class-action lawsuit led by Louis that alleged the algorithm discriminated on the premise of race and income.
On Wednesday, a federal judge approved a settlement in that lawsuit, certainly one of the primary of its kind. The company behind the algorithm has agreed to pay greater than $2.2 million and to recall some parts of its monitoring products that the lawsuit said were discriminatory.
The settlement doesn’t include an admission of wrongdoing by SafeRent Solutions, which said in a press release that while it “continues to believe that SRS Scores complies with all applicable laws, litigation is time-consuming and expensive.”
While such lawsuits could also be relatively latest, using algorithms or artificial intelligence programs to screen and rate Americans is just not. For years, artificial intelligence has been secretly helping make essential decisions for US residents.
When an individual applies for a job, applies for a house loan, and even seeks specific medical care, there may be a risk that a man-made intelligence system or algorithm will judge or evaluate them as Louis did. These AI systems, nonetheless, are largely unregulated, although some have been found to cause discrimination.
“Management companies and property owners need to know that they have been warned that systems they believe are reliable and good will face challenges,” said Todd Kaplan, certainly one of Louis’ attorneys.
The lawsuit alleged that SafeRent’s algorithm didn’t bear in mind housing voucher advantages, which it said were a very important detail affecting a tenant’s ability to pay monthly bills, and due to this fact discriminated against low-income applicants who qualified for assistance.
The lawsuit also accused the SafeRent algorithm of over-reliance on credit information. They argued that it doesn’t provide an entire picture of an applicant’s ability to pay rent on time and unfairly awards housing voucher applicants to Black and Latino applicants, partly because they’ve lower average credit scores, which will be attributed to historical inequalities.
Christine Webber, certainly one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, argued that simply because the algorithm or artificial intelligence is just not programmed to discriminate, the info the algorithm uses or weights can have “the same effect as if you told it to intentionally discriminate.”
When Louis’ application was rejected, she tried to appeal the choice by sending two landlords references confirming that she had paid her rent early or on time for 16 years, despite the fact that she didn’t have a robust credit history.
Louis, who had a housing voucher, was floundering, having already notified her previous owner that she was moving out, and was facing custody charges against her granddaughter.
The response from a management company that used SafeRent’s tenant screening service was: “We do not accept appeals and cannot overrule a tenant screening result.”
Louis felt defeated; the algorithm didn’t know her, she said.
“It’s all about numbers. You can’t get individual empathy from them,” Louis said. “You can’t beat the system. The system will always beat us.”
While state lawmakers have proposed aggressive regulation of a majority of these AI systems, these proposals have largely modified them did not obtain sufficient support. This implies that lawsuits like Louis’ are beginning to lay the groundwork for AI liability.
SafeRent’s attorneys argued within the motion to dismiss that the corporate shouldn’t be chargeable for discrimination because SafeRent didn’t make the ultimate decision on whether to simply accept or deny a tenant. This service would screen applicants, evaluate them and supply a report, but leave it to the landlords or management firms to come to a decision whether to simply accept or reject the tenant.
Louis’ lawyers, together with the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed a press release of interest within the case, argued that the SafeRent algorithm could possibly be held liable since it still plays a job in housing access. The judge denied SafeRent’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on these grounds.
The settlement stipulates that SafeRent cannot include its rating in tenant screening reports in certain cases, including if an applicant is on a housing voucher. It also requires that if SafeRent develops a distinct audit result that it plans to make use of, it have to be validated by a 3rd party, to which the plaintiffs agree.
Louis’ son found her an inexpensive apartment on Facebook Marketplace, which she moved into, even though it was $200 dearer and in a less desirable neighborhood.
“I’m not optimistic that I’ll be able to take a break, but I have to continue playing and that’s it,” Louis said. “I have too many people depending on me.”
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