Latest news with #womanhood
News24
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
Relebogile Mabotja talks hosting Showmax's new TV show on divorce called Untied
The new Showmax show Untied features eight South African celebrities who have experienced divorce. Hosted by Relebogile Mabotja, the series takes a deeply personal look into each of their journeys. With each episode featuring a different South African celebrity - including Dawn Thandeka King, Zandi Nhlapo and others - Relebogile reflects on the honour and challenge of guiding conversations on such an intimate and emotional subject. 'For me, there was no tension in the storytelling and the public perception. It was more of me creating a space where women felt that they were able to share parts of themselves in an environment that was free of judgment,' she tells TRUELOVE. Ethical considerations Her duty as a host includes being able to ask questions that viewers have in mind. 'I always had to keep in mind that in all of these stories, there are children involved - and the children involved, some are minors - but even those who are adults, still need to be protected and guarded in some way prior to having the sit-down interview. We were able to quickly have a chat about both feeling nervous about if they have any concerns.' Relebogile shares that she approaches 'no-go areas' in a way that is 'considerate of the sensitivities'. With the massive team behind her, they also help her stay in check as a host and as a facilitator of these sensitive conversations. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Showmax (@showmaxonline) Narratives around womanhood and marriage With the women laying bare all the layers and realities that come with committing to a person legally, Relebogile shares how the show aims to challenge traditional South African narratives around womanhood, marriage and self-worth, which are also global. 'South Africans will be able to see themselves in at least one of these stories because it isn't just about divorce and marriage, it is also about the human experience. We are in an era of prioritising happiness, safety, security and being healthy over and above being married.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sheila Afari PR (@sapr_africa) Her takeaway from the show Despite how, for some people, the show might just be content, she shares how for the guests, it is their lives and their children's lives. 'Some of these stories are will be extremely triggering for viewers that may have experienced a similar thing and the responsibility on the show is to find the balance between allowing a person to share their experience their way with their own voice, sharing their narrative while also offering things like a right of reply to the other parties involved in their stories.' 'I used to think that resilience is something that shows itself when you're in the midst of going through it and going through the most but I realise resilience is also in the moments of things going well and continuing on a path of healing because you know where you've been and you understand that you may not be fully healed because the healing journey is a lonely and difficult one. 'Resilience does not always show itself in the ways we imagine. They also show themselves when you are now successful, have found love, all happy, and you are able to accept it, receive it and believe that you truly deserve it.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Talk Radio Station, 702 (@talkradio702)
Harpers Bazaar Arabia
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Harpers Bazaar Arabia
How RAYE and Audemars Piguet Are Rewriting the Rules of Legacy – One Song at a Time
In honour of Audemars Piguet's 150th anniversary, RAYE lends her voice to a story about womanhood, intuition, and the beauty of creative legacy There's something powerful about a woman in full control of her voice. Not just the sound of it, but its purpose. And RAYE, in every sense, is that woman. This summer, the British singer-songwriter – fresh off a record-breaking sweep at the BRIT Awards – joins forces with Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson to release Suzanne, a track created in celebration of Audemars Piguet 's 150th anniversary. But instead of commemorating the occasion with a product or campaign, the Swiss watchmaker chose to honour the moment with music. And at the heart of that decision? A woman's voice. More than just a collaboration, Suzanne is a love letter to heritage and intuition, rooted in serendipity. The name was first floated during early writing sessions between RAYE and Ronson – without knowing that Suzanne Audemars, a key figure in the brand's founding story, had once existed. The coincidence soon became the song's soul. And what began as a melody evolved into a tribute. 'I love this song and I'm so proud of it,' RAYE shared. 'It feels like everything was meant to be.' In many ways, her journey mirrors that of the Maison she now represents: independent, uncompromising, and shaped by generations of craft. Her artistry is grounded in classical training, but fearless in genre, and is all about telling the truth. On her own terms and in her own voice. Audemars Piguet's choice to centre a woman like RAYE isn't incidental but intentional. Through its APxMusic initiative, the brand continues to explore the creative intersections between sound and watchmaking, supporting artists not for their fame, but for their authenticity. The accompanying short film Syncing Sounds 150, directed by Theodor Guelat, offers an intimate look into the duo's studio process, revealing how two seemingly different creative minds can come together and build something lasting. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Audemars Piguet (@audemarspiguet) The track was unveiled during an immersive evening at 180 Studios in London, where the brand's Le Brassus home was reimagined for the night. RAYE performed live to an intimate crowd, followed by a DJ set from Ronson that kept the night spinning. Their latest offering is a reminder that legacy doesn't have to follow a formula. Sometimes, it can start with a feeling, a name, and a woman brave enough to sing it. Imagery Supplied
The National
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Enter the world of the Miu Miu Literary Club
Down a quiet side street behind Milan's illustrious Teatro alla Scala sits the Circolo Filologico. As is so often the case in this city, an austere facade conceals a cultural gem. The Circolo, Milan's oldest linguistic and literary association, is devoted to the study of global languages and civilisations. Recently, it played host to a quietly remarkable gathering. For two days in April, the space became home to the Miu Miu Literary Club – an ongoing initiative by the Italian fashion house exploring womanhood, learning and literary legacy. Coinciding with the annual design event Salone del Mobile, the programme – titled A Woman's Education – drew crowds that stretched around the block. In an age of buzzy brand activations and fleeting fashion moments, the Literary Club felt like a breath of fresh air. Inside the library's book-lined rooms – a comforting throwback to another era – two panel discussions unfolded, including Simone de Beauvoir: The Power of Girlhood. The panels explored how girlhood matures into womanhood, how autonomy is shaped and how desire is expressed. The conversations were as powerful as they were intimate, featuring an eclectic line-up that included Irish novelist Naoise Dolan, American writers Sarah Manguso and Lauren Elkin, plus Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree. Co-chaired by British curator and writer Lou Stoppard and American spoken-word artist Kai-Isaiah Jamal, the discussions were accompanied by readings by Congolese-Italian model Cindy Bruna and actress Millie Brady, adding a lyrical cadence to the proceedings. Elsewhere, in a larger space where a digital ticker tape broadcast 'Miu Miu Literary Club' in an endless loop, performances by Lauren Duffus and Joy Crookes played to a standing-room-only crowd. An open-door policy stood in welcome contrast to the exclusivity typically associated with fashion and design weeks. This wasn't an event designed for the few – it felt democratic and elegantly subversive. For Miuccia Prada, the house's founder and philosophical heart, the initiative is a natural extension of a decades-long career steeped in cultural commentary. Since founding Miu Miu in 1993 – named for her childhood nickname – Prada has imbued the brand with intellectual nuance and instinctive cool, consistently weaving in references to art, literature and ideology. Her reverence for knowledge was clear in a digitally streamed conversation in 2020, marking the first co-designed collection with Raf Simons, where she urged the audience to 'study, study, study'. This year's Literary Club centred on two influential yet contrasting feminist voices: Simone de Beauvoir, the French existentialist, whose The Inseparables explores the fragile reality of female friendship, as well as Japanese author Fumiko Enchi, whose work, The Waiting Years, delves into the quiet constraints placed on women through tradition and marriage. Of the choice of authors, Prada explained they were selected for their willingness to challenge the status quo and illuminate how precious learning remains. 'We try to raise awareness on the issue of women's education today. How do we teach young girls concepts such as self-determination? How do we teach them to become the independent women of the future?' The idea of a luxury fashion house sponsoring such a discussion is not without irony, and the panel did not shy away from that. Italian author Veronica Raimo spoke candidly of her own conflicting feelings – of squatting as a student while reading Albert Camus, and now being invited to speak under the auspices of a high-fashion brand. Her inclusion – critical, authentic – spoke volumes. And perhaps that's the point. As Sarah Manguso observed, 'Miu Miu took two radical feminist novels and made them the centrepiece of a Milan Design Week party.' A feat that, in lesser hands, might have felt like a sales ploy. Here, it felt sincere. Lou Stoppard reflected on the resonance of the moment, and on how fragile societal truths can be. 'I think it's really important that brands like Miu Miu – that have such a profile and such a reach – are putting time and energy into spotlighting amazing female writers of the past, and championing interesting contemporary writers. We are definitely at a moment of certain histories repeating themselves, so I think there's something really important about this line between past and present.' Beyond the Literary Club, Miu Miu continues to invest in female creativity through its Women's Tales film series. Launched in 2011, it commissions female directors to tell their own stories with the sole caveat that characters wear the house's clothing. It's a reminder that the brand's cultural reach extends far beyond the runway. Indeed, Prada's support of the arts places her in historic company. The Medici of Renaissance Florence famously used their wealth and status to elevate artists, philosophers, and poets – patronage that enabled Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli and Michelangelo to flourish. Botticelli even immortalised them: Madonna of the Magnificat (1481) features Lucrezia de' Medici as the titular figure, with a youthful Lorenzo the Magnificent beside her. Perhaps Miuccia Prada hopes to do something similar – through fashion, literature and conversation. As Lauren Elkin, who translated de Beauvoir's The Inseparables, observed: 'You're not born a woman; you become one. That process – of becoming – is still ongoing. And that's what we're talking about.'
