Page 32 - Flaunt 171 - Summer of Our Discontent - St-John

c c c o o o n n n t t t r r r i bi i b b u u u t t t o o o r r r s s s
From left to right: Larry Fondation, Avo Yermagyan, Katie Qian, Michelle Varinata, Adam Harvey
Larry Fondation, a Flaunt contributor of many years, is the author of six books of fiction, all set primarily in the Los Angeles innercity, where he works as a community orga- nizer. Three of his books are illustrated by London-based artist Kate Ruth. He is a recipient of a Christopher Isher- wood Fiction Fellowship. In French translation, his work was nominated for SNCF’s 2013 Prix du Polar. His work in progress is called Single Room Occupancy. It is set on the fringe of Skid Row. Larry penned a piece featuring DTLA days before the pandemic on page 212. What are you up to next summer? Going to Lisbon
Avo Yermagyan is especially known for his commitment
to styling his clients in looks the stay true to their unique personalities. He possesses a keen attention to detail and an unparalleled devotion to going above and beyond. Avo’s celebrity clients include Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Leslie Odom Jr, Diego Boneto, and Angela Sarafyan. He has also collaborated with photogra- phers Ryan McGinley, David LaChapelle, and Yu Tsai, and contributes to publications such as Vogue, Elle, and Flaunt. Avo earned recognition for his original styling for Jonas Brothers’ 2019 “Happiness Begins” Tour. His boundless creativity and distinct eye all inspire the inimitable work that he is recognized for. Avo styled Patrick Schwarzeneg- ger on page 174. What are you doing next summer? Summer 2021 will be all about kefi in Mykonos–where days are meant to be spent on beaches with spritz and nights are meant for breaking plates and dancing on tables with ouzo. I am going to be on the first flight to the island the moment summer starts and not coming back until the very last day of summer...yasou!
Katie Qian is a fashion stylist based in LA working pri- marily in editorial and the music industry. After getting her start at 16 years old, her credits now include the likes of Doja Cat, Steve Aoki, Rowan Blanchard, Tinashe, Sabri-
na Claudio, Keiynan Lonsdale, etc. In her spare time, she loves to read and cuddle with her dachshund puppy. Katie styled Channel Tres on page 70. What are you doing next
summer? Next summer we will hopefully have beaten the pandemic! I would love to go out and see stand-up comedy shows, go to the movies, have ice cream, and read a ton of new books!
Michelle Varinata was born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, but has also lived in Los Angeles and NYC. Currently, she is based in Singapore. As an aficionado for fashion and pop culture, she likes to pour her heart out through writing. Her work is published on Harper’s BA- ZAAR Singapore, Vice Asia, Elle Singapore, PAPER, The IN Mag and now, Flaunt. When she’s not writing, she’ll spend the rest of her summer sewing face mask covers, exercising to YouTube workout videos or watch beautiful birds. Mi- chelle penned a Consideration concerning the history of masks and mask-making in times of mass disease on page 220. As for Varinatas plans for next summer’s redo? Next summer, I plan to travel the world, continue writing and hopefully, launch my own mask-friendly business!
Adam Harvey is a researcher and artist based in Berlin focused on computer vision, privacy, and surveillance.
His work has been featured widely in media publications including the New York Times, BBC, Spiegel, Washington Post, Wired, The New Yorker, and The Financial Times; and shown at internationally acclaimed institutions and events. Recently, Harvey developed VFRAME, a computer vision project that helps human rights researchers use visual forensic tools for Open Source Intelligence investigations, which received and was nominated for several awards. Currently he is a research fellow at the Künstlich Intelli- genz und Medienphilosophie program at Karlsruhe Hf and a digital fellow at the Weizenbaum Institut in Berlin. Adam created CV Dazzle (anti surveillance technology) beauty portraiture for our central essay effort on page 142. As for an unchained next summer? “I think next summer will be one of the best, but I’m not booking any tickets yet.”
Jordan Firstman—writer, director, and actor—has this year created viral content on his Instagram with his “impres-
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