Dark academia: Illuminating the luxe library fashion trend

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SPOTLIGHT / The acheronian arts

The acheronian academia aesthetic, seen present connected the Ralph Lauren runway successful 2016, is back.

Spend immoderate clip going down the #darkacademia rabbit spread connected Instagram oregon TikTok and you mightiness find yourself yearning for rain, a fellow with Byronesque hair, a wardrobe of argyle knits and tweed pants, a leather chesterfield and an antique woody bookcase lined with slim tomes by Poe, Wilde and the Brontës.

Such is the charm of the acheronian academia subculture, which combines the literate and the preppy with a dash of the gothic … think the emotion kid of Evelyn Waugh and Mary Shelley via Donna Tartt, whose 1992 The Secret History – acceptable successful a wide New England assemblage – is the DA bible.

And present legions of superior young things are eschewing exertion (but not their TikTok accounts!) successful favour of brooding poetry, handwritten letters, classical architecture, a batch of candles, the occasional skull and Debussy.

Fashion is integral to the DA aesthetic and nary of it would look retired of spot successful the hallowed halls of 1930s Oxford oregon Princeton. Vintage and op-shopped pieces are de rigueur, arsenic are brown, burgundy, grey and acheronian green, aged leather satchels, berets, oversized jackets, brogues and cardigans. (Styling tips aplenty unrecorded astatine @myfairesttreasure, tally by 22-year-old Sydney Decker.)

There’s a sex fluidity and androgyny present, too, which has attracted a important LGBTQI+ fanbase, according to The New York Times. As 1 adherent said: “It’s a precise unfastened community, adjacent though it’s astir classics … It’s besides astir breaking stereotypes careless of sex oregon sexuality.” Deborah Cooke

LISTEN / True fake

Maya Lin Sugarman’s podcast discusses her uncle’s hidden beingness arsenic a gangster alongside the contented of racism successful Hollywood.

After her grandma died, writer Maya Lin Sugarman discovered a container of screenplays written by her precocious uncle Galen, including 1 for a movie astir Chinese-American gangsters successful California. Lin Sugarman dug deeper and, overmuch to her surprise, uncovered 2 things: the communicative was inspired by her uncle’s hidden beingness arsenic a gangster, pimp and cause addict; and had been adapted into a film, 1998’s schlocky Crazy Six, which had been whitewashed of Asian characters, acceptable successful Eastern Europe and starred the improbable trio of Rob Lowe, Burt Reynolds and Ice-T. Her podcast, Magnificent Jerk, lives up to its billing arsenic “a existent communicative astir a fake communicative astir a existent life” and portion highly idiosyncratic for Lin Sugarman, it besides investigates the wider contented of racism successful Hollywood and whose stories get told. Barry Divola

WEAR / Knit wit

Anya Hindmarch and Uniqlo merchandise a winter-wear collab.

Cheeky motifs, opposition stitching and exposed seams characterise the attack of British manner decorator Anya Hindmarch. Now she’s bringing her playful sensibility and impeccable craftsmanship
to a peculiar winter-wear collab with high-street marque Uniqlo to make a postulation of cosy sweaters, stoles, beanies and gloves that volition “make pulling connected your knitwear the favourite portion of your day” (from $19.90). Here’s looking astatine you, kid. Frances Mocnik

A compilation of letters from Aussie men serving successful North Africa.

READ / Out of Africa

Hitler astir apt wasn’t reasoning overmuch astir the deserts of North Africa arsenic a theatre of war, nor of the tenacity of Australian soldiers, erstwhile his troops overran Poland successful 1939. But it was successful Africa helium aboriginal suffered immoderate of his astir stunning defeats, contempt the efforts of German wide Erwin Rommel, arsenic a garrison including 14,000 Australian soldiers held steadfast successful the besieged Libyan larboard metropolis of Tobruk. A caller book, Desert Diggers, told done the letters location of the Aussie men serving successful North Africa, makes for a compelling and moving read. “Bolstering morale, letters from location were arsenic indispensable to a worker arsenic his firearm and bayonet,” writes writer David Mitchelhill-Green. Greg Callaghan

HELP / Cover girls

Give the acquisition of warmth. With each purchase, a broad is donated to a pistillate successful need.

This heart-warming, special-edition quilted broad collection is simply a collaboration betwixt Australian manner marque Jac+ Jack and Two Good Co, an Australian societal endeavor empowering women with lived experiences of homelessness, home unit and analyzable trauma. With each acquisition ($380), an identical broad – inspired by the accepted Indian razai quilt and made utilizing layers of soft, fine-count fabric – is donated to a pistillate who’s accessing a shelter. Individually numbered and paired with their acquisition companions, the blankets are portion of a unsocial story, spreading warmth, anticipation and assistance this winter. Frances Mocnik

PLAY / Yesterday erstwhile more

Four artists articulation an all-female set to contiguous the euphony of The Carpenters.

As a precocious teen, I loved the Carpenters. I’d play a cassette of their top hits non-stop; what angst-ridden teen doesn’t emotion to wallow successful songs astir sadness? Their poignancy felt adjacent stronger erstwhile I heard them sung by a quartet of fabulous voices astatine the Sydney Opera House, portion of the nationalist tour (A Kind of Hush, from $75) that ends this day with a 2nd performance there. Led by Katie Noonan with Abby Dobson, Melinda Schneider and Layla Havana, a 15-year-old Indigenous vocalist being mentored by Noonan, the singers instrumentality the assemblage done hits specified arsenic Close to You, Rainy Days and Mondays and We’ve Only Just Begun. Why much poignant? Because knowing that Karen Carpenter died astatine lone 32, of bosom nonaccomplishment related to her anorexia, seems truthful overmuch sadder erstwhile you’re that overmuch older. And the lyrics written by her brother, Richard, that overmuch much telling. Katrina Strickland

To work much from Good Weekend magazine, sojourn our leafage at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.