CNN style Fashion | Met Gala 2021: Best fashion from the red carpet

Pop culture’s most famous faces descended on the The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday evening to celebrate the fashion industry’s party of the year: the Met Gala.

Postponed last time around due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the star-studded annual fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute returned to mark the opening of its banner fashion exhibition, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” A-list actors, supermodels,TV drag queens, musicians and athletes all walked the red carpet — or cream carpet, to be precise — offering their own unique take on the all-American theme.  —read more— 

CNN BUSINESS | Moody’s is spending $250 million to measure the risk of America’s biggest companies getting hacked

(CNN Business) – Moody’s is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to better evaluate the cybersecurity risks that face America’s largest corporations.

The announcement from the company — whose credit ratings can influence global markets — comes as Biden administration officials are urging major firms to be more transparent about the security of their software. Several high-profile supply-chain hacks and ransomware attacks have rattled businesses and other organizations over the past year, costing companies millions of dollars and compromising their operations.

To better assess the risks that ransomware and other digital threats pose to Fortune 500 firms and government agencies, Moody’s is investing $250 million in BitSight, which uses an algorithm to assess the likelihood that an organization will be breached. Moody’s shared the news first with CNN Business.  —read more— 

F1 | Hamilton says halo ‘saved my neck’ in Monza, and gives his take on Verstappen’s penalty

Lewis Hamilton has said he’s “proud” of the stewards for handing Max Verstappen a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming Russian Grand Prix, following the pair’s dramatic crash at the Italian Grand Prix that saw Verstappen’s Red Bull launched over Hamilton’s Mercedes – and praised the halo device for keeping him safe in the accident.

Hamilton had just exited the pits after his stop on Lap 26 of 53 when Verstappen came alongside him and tried to go around the outside of the Mercedes through Turn 1 to then claim the inside into Turn 2, leading to the pair making contact – with Verstappen’s Red Bull then thrown into the air and over the Mercedes, coming to a rest on top of the W12, with images showing Verstappen’s right-rear tyre hitting Hamilton’s helmet.

And speaking to the media after the incident, Hamilton praised the job that the halo had done in protecting him – while revealing that he would seek specialist medical help for pain in his neck as a result of the crash.  –read more and watch (once the page loads, scroll down mid page to view video clip of incident)— 

CNN style Fashion | What does American fashion mean in 2021?

Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and unprecedented political, social and environmental crises, culture in the United States has been swayed by extraordinary forces in recent years.

As a result, the fashion industry — one of the country’s largest creative sectors (apparel and footwear was valued at $1.9 trillion in the US in 2019) and among its most powerful mediums of expression — has been forced to take stock.

The industry has, of course, grappled with Covid-19’s impact on its ability to make, present and sell clothing. But designers and labels are also attuning themselves to less tangible complexities.  —read more— 

CNN style Fashion | Fashion designer called out for cultural appropriation over its $1,190 pants

A prominent fashion designer behind a $1,190 pair of sweatpants has been lambasted by some fashion and Black history experts for what they say is cultural appropriation.

The gray Balenciaga sweatpants, which feature what looks like the top of a pair of boxers peeking out from the waistband, sparked controversy after a TikTok user posted a brief video on September 2 of the pants at what appeared to be a store.”This feels racist,” one individual said on the video posted by Tiktok user @mr200m__ as they grabbed the Trompe-L’Oeil pants. “They’ve woven the boxers inside the trouser.”  —read more— 

F1 | Ricciardo leads stunning McLaren 1-2 after Verstappen and Hamilton collide at Monza

A dramatic crash between title protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen that took both drivers out of the race cleared the way for Daniel Ricciardo to claim a sensational victory in the Italian Grand Prix, giving McLaren their first race win since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix – and a one-two to boot, as he led home team mate Lando Norris, with Valtteri Bottas taking third, in a thrilling race at Monza.

Hamilton was exiting the pits on Lap 26 of 53 when he arrived alongside Verstappen, the pair going side by side through the Variante del Rettifilo, but making contact, with Verstappen flying through the air and coming to rest on top of the Mercedes. Both drivers were unhurt, but out of the race, with the stewards set to investigate after the Grand Prix.Ricciardo was a deserving winner, however, having passed Verstappen for the lead at the race start from P2 on the grid, before Verstappen and Hamilton’s clash cleared the way for him to control the race to sweep home to an eighth career victory. Lando Norris secured his best ever race finish with P2, having been told to hold station behind his team mate in the final moments of the Grand Prix.  —read more—

watch: Race Highlights | 2021 Italian Grand Prix

CNN BUSINESS | America to Wells Fargo: This is unacceptable

New York (CNN Business) – Federal regulators slapped Wells Fargo with yet another fine for failing to move fast enough to compensate customers who were victims of the bank’s “unsafe or unsound” practices.`

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the banking regulator within the Treasury Department, told the scandal-plagued bank it must pay $250 million because it couldn’t -— or wouldn’t — make good on its promises. The punishment stems from a 2018 order that found problems with the bank’s auto and home lending operations, including insufficient risk-management practices and improper fines imposed on customers.  —read more— 

CNN style Fashion | New York Fashion Week: Highlights from the Spring-Summer 2022 shows

New York Fashion Week is back, with designers Christian Siriano, Brandon Maxwell and Gabriela Hearst among those showcasing their Spring-Summer 2022 collections.

Covid-19 restrictions forced recent editions online, but the majority of this season’s shows will take place in-person. Attendees will, however, be required to show proof of vaccination, according to organizers.

Although several labels have nonetheless stuck with virtual showcases, others are opting for the grandest of real-world locations: Ulla Johnson is taking over the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and LaQuan Smith is hosting his show at an American landmark, the Empire State Building.  —read more— 

CNN style Arts | Vermeer’s ‘hidden’ Cupid is the enigmatic artist’s latest mystery

For around three centuries, the girl reading a letter in the dimly-lit solitude of a Johannes Vermeer painting gave no indication of what the message contained.

Facing an open window, her figure gently curved as she scanned the note in her hands, her body appeared slight against the vacant wall behind her. But last week, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany, where she’s been housed for most of her long life, has finally unveiled an amorous secret, hidden long ago beneath layers of paint.  —read more—