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5 Albums Out Today to Listen To: Kesha, Kae Tempest, Dropkick Murphys, and More

In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on July 4, 2025:


Kesha, . (PERIOD)

Kesha PERIODKesha has released a new album, . (PERIOD), via her own independent label, Kesha Records. Bombastic and frequently funny, the Gag Order follow-up features the promotional singles ‘THE ONE’, ATTENTION!’, ‘BOY CRAZY.’, ‘YIPPEE-KI-YAY.’, ‘JOYRIDE’, and ‘DELUSIONAL’. “The muse for my other albums has been a lot of external factors or things I’ve been going through, things that were unavoidable to create art about,” Kesha told Paper. “And to be honest with you, this is my first album where I’m truly free in every way. And not only in all the legal ways, but also I’m really working on healing and feeling free from any residual emotional turmoil that’s left in my body.”


Kae Tempest, Self Titled

Kae Tempest, Self TitledKae Tempest’s Self Titled has arrived via Island Records. The musician and poet co-produced the record with Fraser T Smith, who encouraged him to write in the first person, resulting in some of Tempest’s most intimate and illuminating work to date. Neil Tennant, Young Fathers, Connie Constance, and Tawiah guest on the LP. “I was trying to make this other album and I played a couple of demos to Fraser and he said, ‘I don’t think this is what’s meant to be coming out of you right now,” Tempest told NME. “Let’s start again and see what happens’. So we got together and it felt like being caught in a strong current. It’s like something wanted to happen, this album wanted us to make it. That’s the only way I can put it.”


Dropkick Murphys, For the People

Celtic punk legends Dropkick Murphys have dropped a new album, their 13th, called For the People. Billy Bragg, the Scratch, the Mary Wallopers, and original Murphys singer Al Barr appear on the fiery LP, which ends with a tribute to Shane MacGowan who died in 2023. “We’ve always had the same message and haven’t been afraid to speak out about what’s important to us,” singer Ken Casey reflected in press materials. “But for me now, I think about my kids’ future, and the next generation. That could be anything from speaking out against injustices, or just simply making sure you take the time to tell the people close to you how important they are to you.”


Motherfuckers JMB & Co, Music Excitement Action Beauty

Motherfuckers JMB & Co, Music Excitement Action BeautyBrian Weitz, the Animal Collective member also known as Geologist, plays hurdy gurdy in Motherfuckers JMB & Co. Accompanying him are Jim Thomson, who helped found the cartoonish art-metal band GWAR, on drums, and Marc Minsker on bass, guitar, harmonium. Connecting via the DC/Maryland/Virginia experimental scenes, they named themselves after the German psych band Xhol Caravan’s 1972 album Motherfuckers GmbH & Co, and their new album, Music Excitement Action Beauty, rides out on textured, vibey, exploratory grooves. “Every group I’ve played with was usually organically formed and informed by the community and friendships in some ways,” Thomson remarked. “I was very attracted to playing with Marc and Brian because of the promise of repetition, drone, and psychedelia, and it delivered in spades.”


Rival Consoles, Landscape From Memory

Rival Consoles, Landscape From MemoryRival Consoles, the moniker of UK producer Ryan Lee West, has released his ninth album, Landscape From Memory. “There is a kind of strange beauty to it because it involves the past, present and future in a very strong way,” West said of the record, which follows 2023’s Now Is. It’s warm and diaristic, like the lead single lead single ‘Catherine’, which is dedicated to his partner. “It’s extremely open, just a naked melody on drums, so exposed as an idea…” West commented. “I think because she was so excited by it, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m excited too, actually, I just didn’t realise.”


Other albums out today: 

Merpire, Milk Pool; The Brains, Crazy Monster; The Brains, Crazy Monster; Dmitry Evgrafov, Research Center; Marc Neys, Sanctuary; Xu, Murmurs of the Machine.

Thinkific vs Kajabi: Full Feature Comparison & Platform Breakdown

For many e-learning entrepreneurs, selecting the best platform for designing and selling courses online is a momentous decision. Comparing Thinkific vs Kajabi is something many entrepreneurs and educators find themselves doing, due to their popularity in this space. 

Users should understand where these platforms differ and where they are similar. With that said, here is a detailed breakdown of Thinkific vs Kajabi features to help potential users decide which platform is right for them.

Course Creation And Customization

Both Thinkific and Kajabi provide comprehensive tools to create courses and develop content through engaging lessons for learners. Thinkific features a super user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that makes course creation a breeze, with no technical knowledge necessary. It also provides several templates to customize and enrich the learning process.

By contrast, Kajabi encompasses a myriad of tools, from custom themes to advanced course-building options. Thanks to its ability to create multi-layered courses with assessments, quizzes, and feedback forms, users ensure that every student experiences complete learning. The response for both is yes, but Kajabi is more inclined to showcase more exceptional customization to its users.

Marketing And Sales Tools

Effective marketing tools for attracting and retaining students are necessary for any LMS platform. Thinkific has key marketing tools for your online courses, including email marketing, affiliate programs, and building landing pages. The tools allow course creators to reach a larger market and increase sales.

Kajabi does more than just marketing; it has highly complementary tools for digital marketing in general. For automation, it lets users build in-depth marketing campaigns. Plus, Kajabi also has some built-in analytics that can make tracking user behavior a lot easier, and it can inform your marketing decisions better as well. Although Thinkific is sufficient with the mere essentials, Kajabi steps it up a notch with an all-in-one marketing solution.

Pricing And Affordability

For many, cost plays an important role in choosing a platform. This includes a free version with limited features and several pricing plans. It makes this option perfect for beginners who want to give the platform a shot without spending a dime. More features are available on paid plans, including plans and budgets for everyone.

Kajabi is not priced the same way as Thinkific—It is premium all the way, so you can expect premium prices. There is no free plan, but the business does offer a trial period for customers to try out what it has to offer. For many people, the Kajabi price may appear to be on the high side, but due to having so many integrated features, it might be a worthwhile purchase if you want an all-in-one platform.

Community And Support

Considerations include community building, with features like discussion forums and integration with third-party community platforms offered by Thinkific. The service also has great customer support, complete with tutorials and a help center available.

Kajabi stands a step higher when it comes to great community support. The platform includes discussion functionality, where users can host discussions. Regarding support, Kajabi has comprehensive tutorials, live chat, and a customer success team. While both platforms provide great options for support and community-building, Kajabi has a more streamlined approach that incorporates integrated platform capabilities.

Ability To Integrate And Scale

As your business scales, a platform that integrates with other tools is a must. There are many Thinkific integrations available with many of the most popular tools, including email marketing services and learning management systems. So, your scalability also gets more horsepower through its API, which enables developers to build custom integrations.

Kajabi supports many integrations, payment processors, email marketing apps, and even CRMs. Its integration with various tools means that businesses can grow without having to change the platform. Although both platforms provide integration functionalities, Kajabi’s wide array of integration options makes it a more scalable choice.

Conclusion

Ultimately, comparing Thinkific and Kajabi comes down to understanding what is best for the user and their needs for the business. Thinkific stands out for its low-cost, beginner-friendly platform that caters well to those just starting or those with simple requirements. Kajabi, on the other hand, is a great choice for those looking for a robust, all-in-one solution with powerful marketing and community features. Every platform has its merit, and the right one is what the business needs at the right budget. From a cost standpoint, Kajabi vs. Thinkific offers affordable solutions for developing and marketing online courses.

Film Collectors and the Rise of Niche Distribution: Shipping Rare Cinema Globally

At a time when blockbusters and other types of films instantly become available on streaming platforms, a completely different deep cultural trend is developing in parallel. Namely, the world of rare film collectors. These passionate connoisseurs are not looking for the next mainstream release, but for genuine cultural artifacts. Cult films and limited edition Blu-rays. Vintage films and unique releases that are not available in digital format. They are the ones who stimulate global demand for rare and classic films. It is therefore not surprising that they require smart logistics solutions to ensure that this valuable heritage can safely cross continents.

The World of Cinema Beyond Streaming

Despite the scale of the film industry market size, which is only growing in the age of digitalization, not everything revolves around digital film distribution. More and more enthusiasts are turning to physical media of:

  • Carefully restored films,
  • Limited edition Blu-rays,
  • Box sets complete with books, postcards, and director’s commentary.

For these enthusiasts, cinema is not just content, but a true cultural treasure. A treasure that has a physical form and demands respectful treatment.

Independent publishers and niche platforms such as Our Culture Mag play a significant role in this movement. Together, they support a global community of film lovers. They help to find lost gems of world cinema and collect archives of films that did not reach the mainstream. They create an alternative map of the global film industry. Thus, in addition to film and TV production, a whole new direction is emerging. Namely, the development of the collectible film market, or development in film in its material, almost museum-like sense.

Сultural treasures and delivery

Film reels are fragile and can be damaged in transit. At the same time, collector’s editions have aesthetic and financial value. This is where new logistics solutions that can combine culture and technology come to the fore.

An important role in this segment plays a Packy service. This innovative platform helps optimize and improve control over the delivery of valuable and fragile goods. Using https://packyapp.com/, users can easily manage shipments, namely, track the movement of parcels. Thanks to PackyApp, collectors of rare films, vintage publications, and other unique materials get a transparent and convenient service for tracking international deliveries. All this greatly facilitates the exchange of cultural values between different countries. Thus, Packy not only helps monitor the path of a parcel and clearly understand where it is at a given moment, but also becomes an important technological partner for communities seeking to preserve and disseminate film heritage around the world.

Film Culture. Its Impact on Rethinking Logistics

Traditional logistics is mostly focused on serial deliveries of mass-produced goods. But film is not just a commodity. It is an artifact that requires an individual approach. Film reels require:

  • Climate control, 
  • Anti-vibration packaging,
  • Sometimes — Legal support due to copyright or museum status.

This is where innovative services such as SpeedX tracking or SpeedX shipping come into play. They:

  • Offer detailed tracking of each stage of delivery,
  • Guarantee the safety of the cargo.

They can be integrated with apps such as parcels app, allowing the recipient to know the following in real time:

  • See where their package is,
  • Understand its condition,
  • Know when to expect arrival.

This is critically important for exhibits that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and are irreplaceable.

Cultural globalism and niche distribution

In the past, rare films often remained within national borders. But today, thanks to platforms such as eBay, Discogs, and private exchange communities, films are migrating around the world. An American can buy a Japanese arthouse film from the 1970s. A French person can get a Bollywood film from the 1950s in its original edition. 

All of this contributes to:

  • The spread of film literacy,
  • Breaking out of the Hollywood narrative,
  • Ultimately, the globalization of taste.

The rise of niche distribution is not based on large corporations, but on micro-communities. People who participate in this movement often shoot, restore, and translate subtitles themselves. They can also create their own covers for publications. It is a culture of interaction, where logistics plays the role of connective tissue. In other words, it allows one passionate person from one country to share a film with another passionate person from another country on another continent.

A New Type of Distribution

Interestingly, the role of distributor today is often played not by a studio or official company, but by a private individual. Fans can now build a collection and digitize it. They can also create a physical edition and send it around the world.

These are the kinds of projects we see on platforms that are alternatives to film and TV production aimed at a mass audience.

Such initiatives are changing the very nature of the film market. Instead of a single global market, we now have tens of thousands of local markets united by interests and delivery technologies. At the same time, logistics services have to adapt. In particular,

  • Offer flexible rates,
  • Provide packaging, 
  • Take customs specifics into account.

Conclusion

Collectors of rare films and the growth of niche distribution channels are a vivid example of how culture and technology interact in today’s globalized world. Despite the dominance of digital platforms, physical media retain their value as cultural artifacts. They require special treatment and high-tech logistics solutions. This is where the importance of services that make international shipments transparent and convenient for collectors around the world comes into play. Niche distribution transforms cinema into a language of global cultural dialogue. The latter brings together passionate fans and preserves the heritage of world cinema for future generations. 

In this new ecosystem, cinema becomes a bridge between continents, and modern logistics is a key element in ensuring the preservation of these priceless cultural treasures.

Sofiia Segalla, Art Review of ‘Birch Roses – Rosa Beresa’ series

By Maria Bregman, writer, art-critic, curator, and cultural producer. She has authored critical articles for publications such as Cosmopolitan, Glamour, ELLE and Esquire, and curated art exhibitions, including Zurab Tsereteli’s solo exhibitions. As a presenter for CultFM and creator of a cultural project for Culture TV, she has broadened public engagement with the arts. Maria’s achievements include organising international art festivals in the UK, Tunisia, Israel, serving on the jury for the Vasily Kandinsky Art Award

In an age that screams for attention, the most profound art is often found in the quietest gestures. It resides not in the bombast of the monumental, but in the fragile, determined sprouting of a leaf from a crack in a common kitchen pot. I will tell you about the startling, deeply moving work of Sofia Segalla, whose latest artistic project, Birch Roses – Rosa Beresa, is a silent but extraordinarily eloquent meditation on the private war between anxiety and resilience. This is not gentle art. It is an act of quiet defiance, a transformation of domestic mundanity into a series of potent talismans against the chaos of the inner world.

Segalla’s collection is a landscape of profound contradictions. It is rooted in the home, the supposed sanctuary of comfort and safety, yet it speaks a universal language of displacement and emotional turbulence. Through a delicate alchemy of clay, botanical life, and personal symbolism, she explores the architecture of a troubled mind and the almost impossibly stubborn nature of hope. Her work is a dialogue between the will to live and the fractures that threaten to undo us, a visual poem that finds its power not in perfection, but in the tenacious beauty of broken things.

Birch Roses – Rosa Beresa collection (2023) Child

The kitchen is the heart of Segalla’s world. But this is not the sanitised, aspirational kitchen of lifestyle magazines. It is a psychological space, a laboratory for the soul. Her primary objects are cooking pots-humble, utilitarian vessels that she fills with thriving, vibrant plants. She calls this her “impossible hope.” For an artist grappling with a sense of detachment and mental fragility, the simple, radical act of nurturing another living thing becomes both a literal and metaphorical anchor. To sustain life in a pot, to encourage roots to take hold and stems to reach for the light, is a direct contradiction to the entropy of despair.

These are not mere decorations. They are what Segalla refers to as her domestic talismans. In psychology, a defence mechanism is a strategy to protect the self from anxiety. Segalla’s art externalises this process. She elevates these everyday objects into psychic shields, their solid, earthy presence a grounding force against emotional tempests. She transforms the site of domestic labour into a place of profound personal agency, where the act of tending a plant becomes a ritual of self-preservation. It is a quiet, powerful reclamation of the home as a place where one can actively fight back against the unravelling.

Birch Roses – Rosa Beresa collection (2023) Hope

Botany is the primary syntax of Birch Roses – Rosa Beresa. Roots, sprouts, and flourishing leaves are deployed with deep symbolic weight. Of course, plants have always symbolised life and vitality, but Segalla complicates this easy reading. Her hope is a “fragile, but stubborn” thing, and her plants reflect this. They are not perfect specimens in pristine containers. They erupt from cracked vessels, their roots navigating fissures in the clay, their leaves sometimes delicate to the point of transparency. This juxtaposition is the emotional engine of the work. It is a visual representation of life persisting, even flourishing, in imperfect, damaged environments.

The artist’s own confession-that she was once incapable of keeping a plant alive-infuses this journey with a rich, triumphant pathos. The power of art for her is an acquired skill, a victory over the past self. She describes this process as “the miracle of birth,” and through this lens, her artistic ideas are simple aesthetics. It becomes a profound meditation on healing, patience, and the slow, deliberate work of recovery. Every new leaf  for an artist is a small victory, evidence of the possibility of growth.

Segalla’s work finds its most vivid expression in the idea of ​​brokenness. The cracked pots and fractured clay forms are not flaws to be repaired or disguised. They are essential. They are the truth of the condition she explores. This aesthetic choice resonates with the Japanese art of kintsugi, where broken pottery is mended with gold lacquer, celebrating the object’s history and imperfections. But Segalla takes this philosophy a step further. She does not mend the breaks; she allows life to emerge from them. The crack is not an endpoint, but a beginning-an opening through which hope can find purchase.

This duality defines her artistic ethos. She accepts brokenness as a necessary state, a precondition for the emergence of something new and beautiful. By layering organic materials with deeply personal symbolism, her work achieves an ethereal yet profoundly earthed quality. The earthy tones, the rough textures of the clay, the delicate fragility of the plants-they invite a tactile, sensory exploration of her emotional landscape. We are not just looking at symbols of a feeling; we are feeling the texture of the struggle itself.

Segalla’s art enters into a rich dialogue with the history of women’s domestic art, a tradition that has long explored themes of labour, memory, and identity through the materials of the everyday. She powerfully reframes this tradition, infusing it with a contemporary urgency that speaks directly to modern experiences of mental health and emotional disconnection. Her focus is less on a political critique of domesticity and more on a psychological reclamation of it. The kitchen is not a prison; it is a studio, a sanctuary, a place of power.

Birch Roses – Rosa Beresa collection (2023) Child

By transforming humble objects into symbols of endurance, she pays tribute to the quiet, often invisible, strength inherent in the domestic sphere. The slow, deliberate processes she employs-nurturing plants, shaping clay, layering textures-stand as a direct counterpoint to the frenetic, overwhelming pace of contemporary life. Her art is a meditation on patience. It is a celebration of the small, incremental victories that constitute a life. It is a call to be present, to find the miraculous in the mundane.

Birch Roses – Rosa Beresa is an invitation to sit with the choice between anxiety and hope. Sofia Segalla has achieved something extraordinary. She has transformed a deeply personal struggle into a universal narrative of endurance and renewal. The fragility of her objects reflects the vulnerability of hope itself. Yet in this very fragility we find an unyielding strength. Through her sensitive and intelligent use of symbolism, materials, and botanical motifs, she has orchestrated a compelling, silent dialogue between brokenness and growth – a dialogue that resonates long after you have left her quiet, beautiful, and deeply moving world.

The Velvet Sundown “Spokesman” Admits He Is Not Affiliated With the AI Band

The Velvet Sundown, a psychedelic rock band that has amassed over 850,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, has been making headlines this week because it doesn’t actually exist. None of the group’s four named musicians have given any interviews, and all photos posted on their social media accounts appear to have been made with AI, prompting accusations that their totally boilerplate music, too, is the product of generative AI.

On Wednesday, Rolling Stone published an interview with Andrew Frelon, who presented himself as a spokesperson and “adjunct” member of the band and claimed that the whole project was a deliberate hoax. “It’s trolling. People before, they didn’t care about what we did, and now suddenly, we’re talking to Rolling Stone, so it’s like, ‘Is that wrong?’” he explained. Turns out Frelon isn’t affiliated with the Velvet Sundown at all, according to the band’s Spotify bio.

In a message to Rolling Stone, the X account that’s linked to the “real” Velvet Sundown’s Spotify wrote: “We understand the intrigue our project inspires — and we’re not here to dispel mystery. But we are here to correct the record….The Velvet Sundown is a multidisciplinary artistic project blending music, analog aesthetics, and speculative storytelling. While we embrace ambiguity as part of our narrative design, we ask that reporting on us be based on verifiable sources — not fabricated accounts or synthetic media.”

Frelon, who’s using a pseudonym, went on to write a Medium post about the situation. He explained that he specializes in generative AI systems “to uncover vulnerabilities in order to fix them” and further described himself as “an artist who has gained recognition for using generative AI for creative projects, some of which included using generative AI to generate and seed fake historical artifacts online in support of multiple interlocking art hoaxes.” Seeing all the stories TVS generated, he said, “Suddenly, I had the crazy idea, what if I inserted an extra layer of weird into this story? What if I re-purposed an old Twitter account I’d barely used for another project, and made that into an ‘official’ looking account for TVS?”

Frelon turned his idea into an opportunity for trolling and harassing music writers. In his post, he concluded: “I see what I have done as a kind of red-teaming of the media & platform ecosystems at large. I write this with the intent not of shaming anyone named in it, but in the hopes of inspiring a more careful approach to prevent the publication of blatantly false information by people with worse or more dangerous agendas than my own foolish experiment.” Feeling inspired, anyone?

Best Mac Games for Couples

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Who said going to the movies and eating out is the only way for couples to have fun? That’s not true! Gaming can be a great bonding activity for couples, too. From teaming up to save the world to going on an adventure, playing together keeps the spark. Fortunately, the best Mac games for couples are always available. These games open up an experience full of laughter and maybe a little friendly bickering.

This article explores suggested games for individuals in a relationship.

Five Best Mac Games for Couples

  • Lover in a Dangerous Spacetime

Lover in a Dangerous Spacetime is a bright and adorable co-op game. Together with your partner, you will explore a neon galaxy. Similarly, you need to control a spaceship through randomized level layouts. Particularly, players will man turrets, shields, thrusters, and lasers. The game’s objective is avoiding death and rescuing space bunnies.

  • 7 Days to Die

7 Days to Die defined the survival genre. This game allows couples to experience a journey that is only seen in movies. As players, they have to smash zombies and build a base in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. At the same time, it mixes first-person shooter and tower-defense gameplays. In the game, one can scavenge while the partner fortifies the defenses.

  • Don’t Starve Together

Don’t Starve Together is also a survival game. But this time in the wilderness. Couples will have to hunt, farm, cook, build, and run from terrifying creatures. Similarly, the place is full of dangers and ancient secrets. However, the real challenge is doing all of these while trying not to starve.

  • Keep Talking, and Nobody Explodes

Keep Talking, and Nobody Explodes turns stress into fun. It’s a game where couples need to defuse a bomb quickly. As partners, one has the manual, and the other has the bomb. The twist? Each of you doesn’t see what the other holds. So, you’re going to need to talk fast. Also, this game will test your communication skills and chemistry in solving problems.

  • Moving Out

Moving Out is a physics-based simulator game. Players need to take on the role of Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician. Similarly, couples will get sofas, beds, and other furniture out of their homes and into trucks. But the problem is that you are clumsy. So, it’s going to be chaotic but fun.

The Wrap-Up

If you are looking to spend quality time with your partner, try five of the best Mac games for couples. With these recommended titles, lovers can experience saving the universe, defusing bombs, and doing anything to survive. Now that you’ve got the list — it’s game on!

Best RPG Games for Mac

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Gamers who went a different route with Apple no longer have to miss on some of the best role-playing games. There are several titles available that blend storytelling, action, and deep character development. Likewise, the best RPG games for Mac are now more immersive than ever. Players can enjoy discovering mysteries or battling through the underworld. Now, Mac delivers a variety of standout RPG experiences.

This article presents recommended RPG games for Mac devices.

Five Best RPG Games for Mac

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows allows players to explore an epic RPG that blends an action-adventure story. Set in feudal Japan, they take on the role of an assassin and a samurai. Specifically, users have to make tactical combat decisions. The game also introduces dynamic elements and character progression.

  • Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is a critically acclaimed RPG that specializes in dialogue, psychological depth, and decision-making. Players get to decide whether they want their detective character to be on the good side or the bad side. Similarly, gamers need to choose between solving cases or taking bribes as they interrogate characters.

  • Hades

Hades combines fast-paced action with rich storytelling. It’s an intense indie RPG. Particularly, users control the Prince of the Underworld — Zagreus. At the same time, the mission is to fight your way out of the underworld. Throughout the game, players will unlock new weapons and build relationships with other Olympians.

  • Divinity: Original Sin 2

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is another highly-rated RPG because of its tactical combat gameplay and rich world-building. Also, users shape the world through their choices. Similarly, they will assemble a group of unique characters with goals and powers. However, only one can become a God. The game remains a standard for modern RPGs.

  • Path of Exile

Path of Exile gives players the experience of becoming an exile. The game is an action RPG in a dark fantasy world. At the same time, they need to fight to survive in the dangerous continent of Wraeclast. The game’s objective is to gain power and take revenge against those who wronged the protagonist.

The Wrap-Up

Heavy gamers, it’s time to level up your game library with the suggested games on the list. From narrative-driven mysteries to dungeon runs, the best RPG games for Mac provide a solid gaming experience. Likewise, they offer unforgettable journeys in immersive fantasy worlds. Right now, the only thing left to do is to choose your first game!

The Return of Heritage Wear: How Quiet Luxury Is Redefining Couture

A counterpoint to the concurrent fleeting trends of fast fashion

A shift is taking place in the upper echelons of today’s fashion. Where once status was loudly declared through logos, embellishment, and brand-heavy ieces, a more considered aesthetic has taken hold – quiet luxury

Subtle, refined, and in most cases logo-free, it is the fashion world’s response to economic prudence, consumer fatigue, and the desire for meaning beyond the surface.

But quiet luxury is not simply a reaction to the trend fatigue – it’s a movement deeply rooted in values that emphasize permanence, artistry, and cultural heritage. Once viewed as traditionalist or niche, heritage fashion has now become the expression of understated elegance. It prioritizes storytelling, excellence in craft, and a connection to cultural identity. At the heart of this resurgence are ateliers like Habsburg, where refinement is not an affectation but a conviction – where every stitch signals legacy rather than novelty.

Quiet Luxury and Heritage Wear: A Natural Confluence

This shift in fashion sensibility has brought quiet luxury and heritage wear into close alignment. The emphasis is no longer on bold logos or seasonal spectacle, but on garments that express refinement through cut, fabric, and construction. Style today is increasingly measured not by visibility, but by discernment.

As fashion turns more and more toward understatement, heritage wear has stepped into the spotlight, again – but not as nostalgia, rather as a celebration of enduring design principles. With its roots in precise tailoring, noble materials, and cultural continuity, it offers a counterpoint to fleeting trends of fast fashion.

What Defines Quiet Luxury?

Quiet luxury is not the absence of style; it is the presence of intention.

It signals taste through cut, fabric, and silhouette rather than logos or spectacle.

Characteristic Description Consumer Benefit Notable Examples
Muted Color Palette Earth tones, creams, navy, and charcoal dominate Versatility and timeless appeal Lemaire, The Row
Fine Materials Cashmere, linen, silk, alpaca, virgin wool Comfort, longevity, and prestige Loro Piana, Habsburg
Tailored Silhouettes Structured coats, sharp lapels, high-waist trousers, coats Flattering, refined aesthetics Brunello Cucinelli
Absence of Branding No visible logos, monograms, or slogans Exclusive yet discreet recognition Jil Sander, Gabriela Hearst

Consumers are not only seeking value – they are signaling values. By investing in garments that prioritize materials and heritage over flash, buyers are shifting fashion’s focus from performance to authenticity.

Heritage Wear as Cultural Continuity

What’s more: Heritage wear transcends seasonal relevance. It speaks to a deeper narrative – one grounded in place, process, and provenance. Every detail in a heritage garment bears the imprint of time: button placements rooted in military function, linings derived from regional weaving traditions, tailoring honed over generations.

Habsburg Luxury Couture is exemplary in this regard. The manufactory doesn’t reference tradition for effect – it inhabits it. The garments are not relics, but living testimonies to a style that prioritizes both dignity and form. Markus Meindl and Michael Rumerstorfer of Habsburg are committed to reviving and refining historical tailoring showing that it is NOT retroactive. By treating tradition as an asset rather than an aesthetic gimmick, they deliver fashion that is culturally intelligent and structurally exquisite.

This emphasis on narrative and permanence resonates strongly with millennial consumers. According to Lectra’s recent fashion insights, 72 percent of millennial luxury shoppers now favor products tied to personal or historical significance over flashy novelties. Today, fast fashion has severed clothing from context and brands like Habsburg try to restore that connection.

Why the Industry Is Returning to Its Roots

For decades, luxury brands operated under the directive of scale. The focus was on expansion – more stores, more product lines, more global reach. But in that race, something was lost: the close relationship between maker and wearer, the purpose behind design, the devotion to excellence.

Heritage manufacturing rejects this model. It is inherently small-batch, localized, and artisanal. It cannot – and does not want to – chase the tempo of fast trends.

Contrast Between Fast Fashion and Heritage Luxury

Factor Fast Fashion Heritage Wear
Production Cycle Weeks Months or longer
Design Philosophy Trend-driven, reactive Rooted in tradition, iterative refinement
Material Quality Synthetic blends, low-cost fabrics Natural fibers, fine-grade textiles
Consumer Perception Disposable, trend-centric Emotional investment, heirloom potential

As sustainability becomes a non-negotiable value in fashion, heritage methods emerge not just as aesthetically pleasing, but environmentally and ethically aligned with contemporary expectations.

What Luxury Buyers Want Now

Luxury is no longer synonymous with extravagance. For many consumers – particularly in the 30 to 45 demographic – it now means discernment. According to Vogue, over 60 percent of millennial luxury buyers prioritize brand integrity and product longevity over brand recognition.

This demographic doesn’t want what’s new – they want what’s meaningful.

AS such, today’s fashion designers are no longer expected to invent in a vacuum. Instead, they can curate history through fabric, silhouette, and construction. Their role is not to simply dictate trends but to interpret and preserve continuity through garments.

A Changing Aesthetic Market

Having said that, quiet luxury is not without competition. Signals of maximalism’s return can be spotted in recent collections from Gucci and Diesel, where color and chaos are inching back into the vogue. Yet the enduring appeal of quiet luxury lies in its resistance to theatrics. It is not about shock – it is about serenity. The real challenge for brands lies in remaining steady without becoming stale. For heritage labels, the key will be in keeping the tradition vital – not merely archived.

Final Reflection: Why Heritage and Quiet Luxury Are Here to Stay

Quiet luxury and heritage wear are not passing trends – they are deliberate responses to deeper social needs. In their embrace of authenticity, provenance, and durability, they offer an antidote to disposable culture. They restore dignity to design and remind us that what we wear can reflect who we are, not just how we want to be seen.

Habsburg, through its unshakeable dedication to tradition and excellence, exemplifies what this future looks like: thoughtful garments made with care, meant to be worn across decades and generations.

The Ultimatum: Queer Love Season 3: Cast, Rumours & Release Date

With The Ultimatum: Queer Love season 2 in the rearview mirror, now is the perfect time to look to the future.

The Netflix dating show is the perfect amount of chaotic, with the kind of premise that is definitely going to make or break relationships. There’s no wonder viewers keep coming back for more.

So, are we going to see a fresh batch of couples going through the ringer? At the time of writing, we can’t tell for sure.

The Ultimatum: Queer Love Season 3 Release Date

Unfortunately, Netflix hasn’t renewed the dating reality series just yet. There’s no need to despair, though. The final episodes of season 2 just dropped, so there’s still time for the streaming service to make an announcement.

Season 1 of the series premiered in May 2023, while season 2 arrived in June 2025. As long as there will be a The Ultimatum: Queer Love Season 3, it will likely debut in summer 2027.

The Ultimatum: Queer Love Cast

Given that the series hasn’t been officially renewed yet, there’s also no news about who might potentially join the cast.

In season 2, six couples decided to test their relationships. We can expect five or six new couples in a potential season 3.

The show is hosted by JoAnna García Swisher, whom you might know from Sweet Magnolias.

What Is The Ultimatum: Queer Love About?

The Ultimatum: Queer Love offers a queer-focused spin on original The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On. The show features couples made up of women and nonbinary individuals, where one person issues an ultimatum: get married or break up.

To test their bond, the participants temporarily split up and enter “trial marriages” with other cast members. They live with these new partners for a few weeks before reuniting with their original partner to decide whether to commit or walk away for good. The setup is likely to lead to intense emotional moments and messy conflicts.

That said, the reality hit also offers raw and complicated portraits of queer relationships, bringing much-needed queer visibility to the reality dating genre. We’re keeping out fingers crossed for The Ultimatum: Queer Love season 3!

Are There Other Shows Like The Ultimatum: Queer Love?

If you’re a fan of the spin-off, you will probably enjoy the original series, The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey.

Other popular reality series on Netflix include Love Is Blind, Too Hot to Handle, and Perfect Match. Fans of this universe might also be into Battle Camp.

Squid Game Season 4: Cast, Rumours & Release Date

As the most-watched Netflix series, Squid Game had big shoes to fill as it came back with season 3. It rose up to the challenge.

The new episodes amassed 60.1 million views since the drop, with the series becoming the first to debut at number 1 in all countries where the streaming service is available. It’s the first Netflix show to achieve that.

Needless to say, fans were quick to catch up with Gi-hun and the other players after the failed rebellion in season 2. But is this really the end of the series? Or is there more to come? Here’s what we know so far.

Squid Game Season 4 Release Date

Unfortunately, Squid Game season 4 isn’t happening. It was announced a while back that the third installment will also be the show’s last. With Gi-hun’s story concluded, it doesn’t look like creator Hwang Dong-hyuk changed his mind.

That said, fans of the series still have something to look forward to. An English spin-off series is possibly in the works, with none other than Davind Fincher attached. Netflix hasn’t officially confirmed this news. Even so, given that Squid Game is the biggest show in the world, this could be only the beginning.

Squid Game Cast

  • Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
  • Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho
  • Choi Seung-hyun as Choi Su-bong / “Thanos”
  • Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
  • Jung Ho-yeon as Kang Sae-byeok
  • Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi
  • Lee Jin-wook as Park Gyeong-seok

What Could Happen in the Squid Game Spin-off?

Squid Game became a sensation thanks to its thrilling premise and biting social commentary.

The South Korean drama follows a group of desperate people invited to join a series of children’s games for a chance to win a ridiculous sum of money.

However, there’s a twist. Losing a game means being eliminated, literally. In order to forge through the competition, the contestants risk their lives and watch others die brutally. With such dire stakes, alliances form and moral boundaries are continually tested.

At the centre of the action is Seong Gi-hun, a struggling father. After winning the big prize in season 1, he sets off to destroy the games. Confronting the darkest aspects of human nature will do that to a person. Whether or not he manages to, we won’t spoil the ending. But as season 3 comes to a close, we can confirm that viewers get to learn Gi-hun’s fate.

The series finale also teases an American version of the games (with a huge celebrity cameo to boot!), which is likely what the spin-off will focus on. While not much is known about the plot, there’s a good chance it will follow similar beats as the original, games and gore included. With no Squid Game season 4 on the horizon, it will have to do.

The latest rumours suggest that the American spin-off might start production in December 2025. It may reach streaming sometime in late 2026 or in 2027.

Are There Other Shows Like Squid Game?

Until the spin-off series arrives, you might want something to tie you over. You can check out reality series Squid Game: The Challenge, which sees contestants compete for a large cash prize (though the real-life stakes are much less deadly).

For similar dramas, you can try Alice in Borderland, All of Us Are Dead, 3%, The 8 Show, and The Purge.