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The important reason why this New York Fashion Week collection made history.

This is Anniesa Hasibuan, an Indonesia-based fashion designer who just made history for a very cool reason.

Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

On Sept. 12, 2016, Hasibuan's collection rocked the runway at New York Fashion Week, and every single model was wearing a hijab.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.


Yep, that's a first.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

The hijab, which is worn by many Muslim women, is a reflection of their faith.

As you can see, the designs were stunning.

Boasting 48 different looks inspired by Hasibuan's hometown of Jakarta, the collection included suits, trousers, gowns, and more, presented in various textures and colors.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

Judging by the audience's reaction, I'm not the only one who's loving Hasibuan's aesthetic either.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

As Elle reported, the show ended with Hasibuan receiving a standing ovation — a rarity at a New York Fashion Week event.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

"I want to bring the Indonesian name to the fashion world and use my clothes to introduce people to the different and diverse parts of Indonesia," Hasibuan explained to The Jakarta Post.

Her brand, by the way, is just one year old.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

Fashion may be a frivolous topic to some, but its impact on our culture goes far beyond the clothes on our backs.

Inclusivity in fashion has become more of a priority in recent years, as brands see the value in promoting body-positivity and diversity to a mass audience hungry for change. It's what customers want, so it's not just the right thing to do, it's good for business too.

It's why the fashion industry has started tracking the data on — and is generally getting better at — the diversification of models in terms of race, body size, age, and LGBTQ representation. This year, for instance, designer Christian Siriano sent several plus-size models down his runway, while brand Chromat was praised for its inclusive show, which featured people of all colors, transgender models, and Lauren Wasser, who lost a leg to toxic shock syndrome four years ago.

To be sure, a lot more improvement is needed before the fashion world truly reflects all types of people. But we're on the right track.

In recent years, we've seen brands like Melissa McCarthy's Seven7 — aimed at women sizes 4-28 — praised for promoting body positivity.

“Women come in all sizes," McCarthy said. "Seventy percent of women in the United States are a size 14 or above, and that’s technically ‘plus-size,’ so you’re taking your biggest category of people and telling them, ‘you’re not really worthy.’”

Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for HSN.

We've also seen models challenge our tired definitions of beauty, like Winnie Harlow.

“If God wanted me to be black, I’d be black, if God wanted me to be white, I’d be white," Harlow said. "But he chose for me to be both and original. So I guess that’s the way I’m supposed to be."

Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Swarovski.

And we've seen models like Danielle Sheypuk, who's taken the runway rulebook and tossed it out the window.

"I have taken it on as my job to change the negative way that society views people with disabilities, both in the areas of dating and fashion," Sheypuk told The Guardian.

Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Runway of Dreams.

She makes a great point. Because fashion can change how society sees certain groups of people.

That's why seeing hijab-wearing women rock a runway in New York City to thunderous applause is so incredible.

It's about so much more than the clothes.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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Joy

44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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@SopheAlice/TikTok

Best way to travel, really.

As they say, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

This old adage was brought to life in a whole new way after two friends who thought they booked tickets to Budapest, Hungary, instead found themselves heading to Bucharest, Romania.

Just a minor 500-mile difference, but who’s counting?

TikToker @SophAlice posted a video of the pair realizing their mix-up, which went viral and set them off on an impromptu adventure based entirely on the comments they received.
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