Sophie Lee

2 months ago | culturedmag.com | Sophie Lee

Portrait of Ada Calhoun by Jena Cumbo. Image courtesy of Calhoun. “I started trying to write a memoir, but it made no sense,” Ada Calhoun tells me across the screen. The best-selling author and prolific ghostwriter began to chronicle a “grueling few years” of hers before realizing the characters were too messy, and storylines too scattered. The move into fiction was liberating: She could write about the chaos of life and marriage, rather than perpetuate it.

2 months ago | culturedmag.com | Sophie Lee

Aidy Bryant and Nick Kroll at the Hudson Theatre in New York. At most awards shows, hosts have earned a reputation for being thinly veiled roast emcees. Cameras pan to A-listers hiding behind their co-stars or opera gloves, and all manner of jabs are fired off liberally. But the Film Independent Spirit Awards demand a different touch. The annual event has cemented itself over the past four decades as a highly anticipated and refreshingly light-hearted celebration of rising and indie filmmakers.

2 months ago | culturedmag.com | Sophie Lee

Al Morán, Mills Morán, and Dean Valentine at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Image courtesy of Felix Art Fair. "It'll be fun to see everybody," says Mills Morán, when asked about the upcoming edition of Felix Art Fair, which he founded in 2019 alongside TV exec Dean Valentine and his brother and fellow gallerist Al Morán. The fair is returning to its home at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel for its seventh edition following the recent outbreak of wildfires across Los Angeles.

2 months ago | culturedmag.com | Sophie Lee

Alex Consani for Converse’s Valentine’s Day campaign, Love Me, Love Me Not. All photography courtesy of Converse. Alex Consani isn’t just fashion’s latest obsession—she is the moment. Look in any direction, and see her face: walking the runway, taking the Grammys stage with Charli XCX, dancing in the streets on TikTok, or celebrating a history-making win as the first trans woman to be named “Model of the Year” at the 2024 British Fashion Awards.

2 months ago | culturedmag.com | Sophie Lee

“This costs a lot of money,” a dog handler tells me on the floor of the Javits Center. Nearly 3,000 four-legged competitors, and thousands more spectators, have gathered at the Hell's Kitchen hub for preliminary judging, obedience, and agility competitions at this year’s Westminster Dog Show.