Brothers Roger and Mauricio Padilha keep a list of people they want to do books about. Having completed volumes on the designer Stephen Sprouse, the illustrator Antonio Lopez, and the photographer Chris von Wangenheim over the last decade, Richard Bernstein, the artist responsible for 189 covers of InterviewMagazine between 1972 and 1989 was near the top of it. Late last year, Bernstein’s nephew Rory Trifon reached out via Instagram to ask if they were interested.

Of course they were. But before they committed they wanted to know what Bernstein’s family had access to. The nephew said “not much.” The Padilhas, who live in New York City, made a pilgrimage to Connecticut anyway, and what they discovered was a basement packed floor to ceiling: crates of original artwork for Interview; little seen paintings Bernstein completed in the ’60s, including canvases of abstracted pills that look like they could’ve inspired Damien Hirst; and loads of ephemera—the highlight of which, for the Padilhas at least, was the Candy Darling fold-out poster Bernstein created for Newspaper, a short-lived, much-hyped periodical published in the late 1960s by Steve Lawrence. None of it had been touched since Bernstein’s 2002 death, when it was shipped from the Chelsea Hotel ballroom—kitchenless and bathroomless, but huge—where he lived for decades.

“There was enough there for two books,” says Roger. Mauricio agrees: “You can’t just do Interview, because he was so much more than that.” In the end, RICHARD BERNSTEIN: STARMAKER Andy Warhol’s Cover Artist (Rizzoli, September 4), wound up being about 40 percent Interview covers. And even those will be a revelation to many readers. It’s popularly thought that Warhol did them. “At that point you couldn’t be a commercial artist and a fine artist,” Mauricio explains of Warhol’s apparent reluctance to do the covers. “There was a huge stigma. But Andy loved Richard’s work. He’s even quoted a few times saying that Richard was his favorite artist.”

Sometimes Bernstein took the photo of the cover star himself, other times it was his close friend Bill King or Berry Berenson, to whom he was engaged for a time (and who later died tragically on Flight 11 on 9/11), but Bernstein was always on set and styling. “Because they were camera-ready art but not work that needed to last for a long time, he kind of used everything,” says Roger. “There’s some that have tape and Wite-Out, markers.” He also used an airbrush and pencils. “They’re collage-y. But the effect that they have is so polished once they’re printed.” They’re also iconic. Bernstein’s subjects were a who’s who of mid- and late-20th century superstars: Diana Ross, Cher, Mick Jagger, Debbie Harry, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and on and on. “He would take gorgeous people and make them even more gorgeous,” Roger says.

Bernstein had the looks and the charisma to match his glamorous subjects, but when Warhol died, his gig at the magazine more or less ended. In the ’90s, Bernstein moved away from celebrity portraiture, yet failed to find the success of his Interview years. He died in 2002, a victim of AIDS, a heart condition, or depression, it has never been determined.

Garbo, 1965

Photo: Richard Bernstein / Courtesy of The Richard Bernstein Estate Archive

The Padilhas did their research over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays last year. During his interviews, Roger discovered that Bernstein wasn’t just a terrific artist, he was a prolific connector, with friends in every creative strata. One of his early gallery appearances was a two-man show with John Loring, who would go on to become the design director of Tiffany & Co. for 30 years. Bernstein collaborated with Diana Vreeland when she was the Special Consultant of the Met’s Costume Institute. He worked with Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager on their first nightclub in Queens, The Enchanted Garden, and naturally became a regular at Studio 54. According to Chelsea Hotel lore, Bernstein organized orgies for Salvador and Gala Dali when they passed through town. And he did Grace Jones’s album covers before he introduced her to Jean Paul Goude, who would take Bernstein’s place as Jones’s fashion whisperer.

The cover of Jones’s single, 1977’s I Need a Man, is the cover of this book, and Jones wrote the foreword and Goude the epilogue. But it is Loring who captures Bernstein’s legacy best. He tells the Padilhas: Richard’s work was “a terrific social document of the times, of the celebrity worship of the times, of the look of the times, what celebrity was and wasn’t. He brings it all into very sharp focus. It’s a social document and an important one. And it’s extraordinarily graphically pleasing to look at and totally remarkable work.”

Loring and the Padilhas aren’t the only ones to think so. “Richard Bernstein: FAME,” an exhibition of the artist’s work that gathers 60 of the Interview covers as well as some of his large canvases, will open at Jeffrey Deitch’s Deitch Projects on September 7th.

In Paris this past winter, Lee Oliveira took his seat at the Fall 2018 Rochas show next to two overzealous women. They’d squeezed themselves into the front row, pushing well-known editors and buyers to the side so that they could snap selfies. As the lights dimmed and the models started walking, the women began talking to each other. Loudly. Oliveira overheard one ask, “Who is this designer?” To which the other replied, “I don’t know; who cares?” As a street style photographer for the past seven years, Oliveira has seen it all. Including wealthy, aspiring influencers who approach him to take their picture in a head-to-toe Céline or Gucci look they’d just purchased. They’d ask once, twice, three times, until it became a recurring theme nearly every day of Fashion Week. And he wasn’t the only street style photographer they targeted. Oliveira saw an opportunity and decided to pursue a side career in coaching up-and-coming fashion bloggers.

It started when a PR friend from Brazil, where Oliveira was born and raised, asked him why there were so few Brazilian girls being photographed on the streets during fashion month. “I told this publicist it’s more interesting to photograph an editor with a distinct personality and personal style, or someone who has great relationships with the brands already. I thought, maybe I can use everything I’ve learned from just observing people and help some of these girls with their style and knowledge, and also help them understand how to sustain their influence over the next five or 10 years.” Oliveira took on five clients to start, including Helena Bordon, the daughter of Vogue Brazil style director Donata Meirelles; Brazilian actress Marina Ruy Barbosa; and Camila Coutinho. Not only did he help curate their wardrobes, but he also taught them about proper etiquette for attending shows, how to carry themselves on the street, and the importance of relationships. “Know who the editors are and the designers. Don’t just sit on top of a press release at a show—read it,” he says.

Knowledge for Oliveira has come in the form of years spent dutifully observing the body language and conversations between stylists, publicists, buyers, and editors. “I don’t have very much of a fashion background,” he admits. “When I first came to New York in 2011, I was the second generation of street style photographers after The Sartorialist, Jak & Jil aka Tommy Ton, and Phil Oh. I knew I needed to step back and really observe everything and analyze how everyone acted, and I began shooting people based on my instincts. I watched carefully the new editors going to the shows, how they carried their bags, how they walked, and I learned so much about how to give people a story to talk about or a trend to discuss through one image.”

As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and in the age of the influencer as cash cow, it can help push a business forward. Oliveira also helps his clients with entrepreneurial pursuits. He gave Bordon the guidance and contacts she needed to translate her growing popularity into a sunglasses brand in Brazil. Her label, By Helena Bordon, currently boasts 40.7k followers on Instagram, while her personal account has a following of 1 million. “What’s next after those pictures fade away on Facebook or Instagram?” Oliveira asks. “What if people forget about Instagram entirely in the next few years? Are you going to be able to channel your influence into something sustainable? Can you turn one of your signature style pieces into a business or collaborate with a like-minded brand? These are the questions I ask the girls when we first meet and continue to ask as we work together on reshaping their image.” According to one influencer outside of the fashion space, Josh Ostrovsky aka The Fat Jewish, the era of making money off of an Instagram picture and all of its subsequent likes may be coming to an end. He told CNN last week: “Everybody’s just like, ‘Wait. I could go out and hold those hair enhancement gummies’ or ‘I can go out and hold a product, and I can make money.’ I just think people need to learn how to actually build things from the ground up. That will take you farther than the Internet.”

To get ahead in an oversaturated world of fashion influencers, says Oliveira, it takes not just sharp style but an entrepreneurial drive. And, of course, knowing when to step back and not stand front and center at a runway show (or squeeze into a seat that isn’t yours).

Today, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez would be given the MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her visual achievements in the music industry. (It is quite the award, boasting recipients like Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, and Rihanna.) Lopez debuted a look that couldn’t have been more celebratory of the news. En route to MTV studios in New York City, the entertainer stepped out in a crisp white shirt-meets-dress by Poiret. Her saucy choice? Instead of pants, she sported slouchy denim Versace over-the-knee boots.

Lopez hasn’t been shy about showing her skin as of late. She recently revealed her washboard abs at her birthday celebration with Alex Rodriguez; while on the street, she showed off her six-pack in a teeny crop top. And why shouldn’t the 49-year-old show off her abs or legs? She has worked hard for her career, as well as body. Now is the perfect time for her to be proud of both.

Slipping into a skin-tight bodysuit can seem like a daunting task—now picture trying on a multicolor printed bodysuit. Such a feat may seem tricky indeed, but leave it to Dua Lipa to pull off the fashion impossible with ease. The singer just stepped out in New York City and chose to forgo her causal day wear, instead opting for a maximal ensemble by Versace that defies casual Fridays.

Wearing a hot-off-the-runway bodysuit from the Italian label’s Fall 2018 collection, Lipa hit the streets in the spandex design, which featured slightly accentuated shoulder pads and a high neck. It made the point that being completely covered can, yes, still be sexy in its own right. She styled the look with open-back mules that were finished in the same punchy print. She’s not the first celebrity to wear this ensemble, either—back at the 2018 CFDA awards, supermodel Gigi Hadid also stepped out on the red carpet in the Versace bodysuit, styling it relatively simple with classic pumps. (After all, the catsuit says it all.) As for who wore it best? It’s a strong tie.

Trying to find reasonably priced jewelry that suits your taste can sometimes feel like an endless hunt—that is, unless your go-to jewelry designer happens to be your mother. That’s the case for British singer Jorja Smith, as she revealed in an Instagram post earlier this week. Jorja thanked her mom, Jolene Smith, a jewelry designer who has been crafting rustic artisan pieces since 1984, for her new black diamond pendant, which she paired with a lilac mesh head wrap and earrings by Jiwinaia. “The black diamond necklace was to go with her black diamond ring that I made for her for Christmas,” Jolene says of the one-off piece. “Black diamonds are so underrated,” she adds, and Jorja clearly agrees—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Jolene went to jewelry school in Birmingham for three years and has been working full-time on her craft ever since (with the exception of a brief part-time period when she had children), making pieces primarily from silver. Her designs, which incorporate semiprecious stones, find a way to modernize ancient references. In addition to these handmade pieces, she takes old or broken jewelry and uses it for raw material; she also runs workshops for adults and children interested in trying their hand at the craft “to inspire people to create and immerse themselves in another world.”

Jorja is understandably a fan of her mom’s handiwork. “I love how my mom can make literally everything,” Jorja says. “She even made my friend Erin a shoe pendant because Erin makes shoes. My mom has always inspired me, as nothing seems impossible for her.” And while Jorja has made a few rings and bangles with her mom before, she claims that she doesn’t have the patience to really commit to the practice. She of course manages to don some of her mother’s pieces on tour. “I’m working on Jorja’s Lost & Found collection for Jorja’s Japan shows at the moment—hearts and keys chains,” Jolene says. Look out for more of her mom’s original work, coming soon.

Jorja Smith’s parents

Photo: Courtesy of Jorja Smith / @jorjasmith_

Céline Dion is undisputedly an icon. The Québécoise singer has sold millions of albums, extended her successful Las Vegas residency, and recently taken the fashion world by storm, where she has become a front row fixture during Paris Fashion Week and even modelled some of the best couture looks of the season for Vogue. And her dramatic new fashion look—much credited to her stylist, Law Roach—is not going anywhere anytime soon. Kicking off her new headlining tour in Sydney, Australia, this weekend, her first time performing Down Under in 10 years, Dion proved her overall fabulousness is here to stay.

For the concert, Dion wore a theatrical interpretation of a classic suit, by Schiaparelli couture: The pant and jacket combo was done in a golden foil fabric, and covered in a subtle brocade print and glitzy embellishments. For every day, it may be a tad much—but for the stage, it was perfectly on point. She wore the suit with a simple white button-up, which had sheer lace paneling. Taking it just that extra step further, she also accessorized the ensemble with matching glitter boots—because more is more when you’re a global superstar.