Rachel Elspeth Gross

Florida

Contributing Writer at Forbes

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Articles

The Modern Wardrobe: Founder Gia Mezz Looks Back On Five Years Of Leau

1 week ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

The Cascade Drape Gown from The Modern Wardrobe, LEAU's latest drop. Gia MezzGia Mezz, the designer and founder of LEAU, is an impressive young woman. June 16, 2025 is the five-year anniversary of her brand, which was founded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no formal design training, relying on her internal compass and an authentic desire to connect with her clients, Mezz is entirely the architect of her own success.
Tinka Weener On The Ancient Inspiration Behind Songs Of Siren

1 week ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

Models wearing the Zodiac Dress and the two-piece Rose Blossoming Set. Photo by Dion Bal. Tinka WeenerTinka Weener, the lovely young woman behind Songs of Siren, designs happy clothing. Exquisite, hand-beaded fantasies in fabric, these are dresses designed to be worn when stories are about to happen. They call out, perhaps “sing” would be a better word, for admiration they are very much deserving of. Weener’s brand, Songs of Siren, is a very new venture; it was founded in December of 2024.
Qveen Herby On Style, Identity, And Becoming Iconic

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

Qveen Herby performs during her 'Housewife' tour. Amy NoonanQveen Herby released Frankenstein, featuring Tech N9ne, in mid-October of last year. I found out because of Google Alerts set up to notify me about new music from my favorite artists. It’s a fantastic song, which was unsurprising given the talent of both artists. It is so much fun to listen to artists you love separately collaborating. “Oh my God,” Amy Noonan, the woman behind Qveen Herby, said to me, “he is one of the very, very best.
Time To Get Real; Julie Wainwright On Rocking The Fashion Industry

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

Julie Wainwright and The RealReal team. Courtesy of Julie WainwrightTime to Get Real: How I Built a Billion-Dollar Business that ROCKED the Fashion Industry, by visionary businesswoman Julie Wainwright, was released today. The book is an autobiography focusing on the career of one of the only American women to take a company public, The RealReal, a billion dollar online marketplace for luxury goods that Wainwright founded and built before stepping back in early 2022.
Creating Costumes For Teen True Love In Netflix’s “Forever”

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) and Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) star in "Forever" on Netflix. Credit: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2024Elizabeth Morris/Netflix Tanja Caldwell designed the wonderful costumes for Mara Block Ali’s Netflix series, Forever. But before that, it feels important to mention the source material on which the series is based. The novel, which has almost the same name, was first published in 1975, by beloved American author Judy Bloom. (Are You There God?
Cordelia Cupp: Creating An Iconic Detective For The 21st Century

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

Larry Dokes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), Colin Trask (Dan Perrault), Wally Glick (Spencer Garrett), Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), Edwin Park (Randall Park), Irv Samuelson (Andrew Friedman), Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino), Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs) in episode “The Residence.” Cr. Erin Simkin/Netflix © 2024ERIN SIMKIN/NETFLIXFor ‘The Residence,’ a recent Netflix series created by Paul William Davies and produced by Shondaland, costume designer Lyn Paolo costumed an ensemble cast of excellent performers.
The Unusual Language Of Class In Netflix’s ‘Sirens’

1 month ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

“There have been a lot of movies and television series about the 1%, especially lately,” Caroline Duncan said to me. We were talking over Zoom about her work on a limited series released May 22 on Netflix, Sirens, which is an adaptation of Molly Smith Metzler’s 2011 play, Elemeno Pea. “There's obviously a big fascination with these communities.
Trinidad James: The Art And Style Of Cultural Evolution

1 month ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

“I'm really getting into the world of locking into one outfit for a project,” Trinidad James told me when we spoke last week. The artist, whose name offstage is Nicholaus Williams, had just arrived in LA on a clothing related mission. But he still made the time to talk to me about his fashion projects and the ways that clothing and costume impact his work as a writer and artist. “I got a suit we built from scratch with a Black tailor here in LA,” Williams said. “Thrash, Thrash Bespoke on Instagram.
Unbound: Becky Hutner’s Film About Women’s Footwear Liberation

1 month ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

Earlier this month documentary filmmaker Becky Hutner released a short film she’d made with barefoot shoe company Vivobarefoot, Unbound, which is now available to watch on YouTube. Unbound is many things, wears many hats, but none of them take over. Like Hutner’s other projects, the various components are deftly woven together, each portion getting equal time and attention. The main point is a question; why are we thinking so little about our feet?
Dreams That Last For Generations: Ukonwa Ojo On Ada & Edith

1 month ago | forbes.com | Rachel Elspeth Gross

“If I had to do a world word cloud,” fashion designer Ukonwa Ojo said to me, “for the emails and the texts that we receive from our customers, the number one word you would see is ‘compliments.’ I receive so many compliments.”Looking at her designs for Ada & Edith, which Ojo founded and is designer for, it is obvious why they get such consistently glowing feedback. Ukonwa designs objectively beautiful clothing.