It’s peak summer. Ok, it’s record-breaking peak summer. Find shade, grab a cold beverage and enjoy this half-dozen music videos that made me go wow-now on fashion styling. Who should I be checking next?! Tell me 🙂

Sansara – We will become better

This video is a milestone for the Russian LGBTQ community. It is a bold subversion of the “anti-propaganda laws” that criminalize positive mentions or depictions of queer individuals, couples and families. It is also a poignant story of love, loss, longing, the (im)possibilities of maintaining a connection against all odds. What if the odds are too high?! “We will become better, but not together” is the song’s bittersweet verdict. Stylist Oxana Markina made sure the clothes held their own in busy backdrops and intricate movements to communicate the characters’ complex emotional state(s).

Alamat – Kasmala

Filipino rivals to BTS heartthrob throne, this boyband sings in seven (!) languages of the Philippines. Costumes for their latest video were designed by Kenneth Barlis, shining bright on Post-Paris radar since 2016. Each look represents group members’ hometown. Additional designs/styling by Victor Baguilat Jr. and Mark dela Peña make this a wow-now affair.

Zere – Drama Queens

I stan Kyrgyzstan… This video provided me some of the best feel-good/fuck-off vibes of 2021. Costumes and styling by Zaman Tursunbekov blur the line between Disney cosplay, Burning Man antics, and Sex & the City Hamptons getaway… set against stunning Kyrgyz vistas. As a welcome surprise, it features Biykech who Post-Paris deemed must-see last year.

Sanah – etc. (na disco)

This could be a viral brand video or an honorable mention entry at a fashion film festival. This could be a tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe or Pierre et Gilles, what with all the boys and the flowers. This could also be a great pop music video. ETC. Menswear styling by Ola Kul is complemented by the looks styled for the singer by Katarzyna Sokołowska.

Patoranking – Celebrate Me

One of Nigeria’s biggest acts brings his message of unequivocal self-affirmation to the world: one stadium, market, street corner and precious moment at a time. Stylist John J. Angel keeps the star’s looks stellar-sharp while cast stylist Betiku Uduak outfits the people in a mix of traditional and contemporary garments, a mosaic vérité of Lagos itself.

Anton Wellboy – Geese (Гуси)

I wonder how those fittings went. More geese, please! Stylist Myroslava Kovalenko achieved the impossible: turn the parade of obscure references into a fun runway show. Joker meets Hans Christian Andersen’s Ugly Duckling who meets Nils, the boy who flew on a goose in a tale by Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. Is there a Nobel Prize in fashion styling? There should be. If there was one, I’d nominate Myroslava for this delight!

Meanwhile … get your summer on while it lasts, stay tuned, stay styled!

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Check out previous installments of my Style the Beat series here.