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Jacket from Nihilism

Nihilism (Spring/Summer 1994) is the third collection by the British designer Alexander McQueen for his fashion house. An eclectic collection with no straightforward theme, it pushed back against dominant womenswear trends with its hard tailoring and aggressive, sexualised styling. It was created in collaboration with McQueen's associates Simon Ungless and Fleet Bigwood. McQueen's first professional runway show, Nihilism included experimental techniques, silhouettes and materials, such as dresses made from cellophane, stained with clay or adorned with dead locusts. The styling was intended to be provocative and disturbing. The clothing was highly sexualised: thin fabric that exposed the skin underneath or garments cut to expose breasts and vulvas. The collection received mixed reviews. Journalists had a difficult time deciding what to make of it. McQueen returned to many of the ideas he explored in Nihilism throughout his lifetime, especially the interplay of sexuality and violence. (Full article...)

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Johnson Wax Headquarters

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In the news

Hōshōryū Tomokatsu

In sumo, Hōshōryū Tomokatsu (pictured) becomes the 74th yokozuna.
In an ongoing offensive, the Rwandan-supported March 23 Movement captures Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Alexander Lukashenko is re-elected as the president of Belarus, after banning opposition candidates.
Several artefacts, including the Helmet of Coțofenești, are stolen from the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands.
Micheál Martin becomes Taoiseach of Ireland as the leader of a coalition government.

On this day

January 30: Martyrs' Day in India (1948); Fred Korematsu Day in parts of the United States

Launch of USS Monitor

1018 – Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Bolesław I, the Piast ruler of Poland, signed the Peace of Bautzen to end the German–Polish War.
1607 – Low-lying areas flooded around the coasts of the Bristol Channel in southwest England and south Wales, resulting in around 2,000 deaths.
1862 – The United States Navy launched USS Monitor (pictured), the first American ironclad warship.
1964 – In a bloodless coup, Nguyễn Khánh overthrew Dương Văn Minh's military junta in South Vietnam, less than three months after Minh's own coup.
2005 – Forty-six years to the day after the sinking of the Danish ocean liner MS Hans Hedtoft, Queen Margrethe II unveiled a memorial in Copenhagen to the 95 passengers and crew who perished.

Lady Anne Clifford (b. 1590)
Barbara La Marr (d. 1926)
Professor Longhair (d. 1980)
Tyla (b. 2002)

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Today's featured picture

Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945) was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death. He was the longest-serving U.S. president and the only one to serve more than two terms in office. His first two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth saw him shift his focus to America's involvement in World War II. This official photographic portrait of Roosevelt was taken in Hyde Park, New York, for his 1944 presidential election campaign.

Photograph credit: Leon A. Perskie

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