A Curated Collection
a curated collection of recent pop culture happenings
I had a lot of ideas regarding what I wanted to write about this week, so I made the executive decision to cover them all! From fashion and film, to music, here are some recent happenings from this week in the pop culture realm.
1. Bella Hadid’s Return to Modeling
After a two year hiatus, supermodel Bella Hadid made her formal return to modeling on September 24th at Paris Fashion Week, where she walked at the Saint Lauren Spring/Summer 2025 show. She expressed her break from modeling was due to feelings of lack of fulfillment from the job, and modeled last in October 2022. Her decision was heavily respected by the fashion community, although everyone has been awaiting her return to the modeling world.
Her 2024 debut outfit included Bella dressed in a black suit and tie, with a white button down shirt, with a sleek bun and black-rimmed glasses. Overall, I loved this entire collection from YSL, especially her look. Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello has crafted Bella as the new face of YSL, and has done a notable job doing so.
2. The Controversial Release of Ryan Murphy’s ‘Monsters’
On September 19th, Ryan Murphy’s second installment of his ‘Monsters’ series starring the infamous Menendez Brothers case hit Netflix. The nine-part miniseries attempts to retell the history and background of the case, the relationship of the Menendez family, and what caused Erik and Lyle to ultimately kill their parents.
From a personal standpoint, I was already educated on the case to a significant extent, I’ve read books and watched documentaries about the crime. However, from a general view, the show was extremely dramatized (as expected) and also was factually incorrect on many accounts. But, was it entertaining? Yes. Did it bring awareness to Erik and Lyle’s case? Absolutely. It almost felt wrong watching it compared to watching a documentary about the case because it was so obvious parts of the plot weren’t true and never actually happened. In regards to any series or show covering criminal cases, I find that people online become so desensitized to the trauma of victims, and the real tragedies of the event. The same exact thing occurred with Ryan’s 2022 release of Dahmer.
I have really mixed reviews on how I feel about the series after finishing it, but what I will say is that the acting from Nicholas Chavez (Lyle Menendez) and Cooper Koch (Erik Menendez) was absolutely incredible. Javier Bardem (Jose Menendez), Chloë Sevigny (Kitty Menendez) and Ari Graynor (Leslie Abramson) were all phenomenal as well. Bardem especially has pretty much scarred me from all his horror/villain roles…somebody please cast him in a lighthearted movie!
The music soundtrack was also something I noticed I enjoyed, it was well-curated and emphasized crucial parts of the plot when necessary in a chilling way.
I did further research into the miniseries and found clips of Erik and Lyle electronically expressing their strong dislike of the show and are producing their own documentary regarding their story. It will be released on October 7th on Netflix.
3. The Commencement of Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Short n’ Sweet’ Tour
Sabrina Carpenter’s fifth tour and first arena tour commenced on September 23rd, and has received extremely positive feedback from the Columbus and Toronto audiences she performed for this week. The set production, costume designs, and theatrical elements of the concert are all so visually stunning from an outsider perspective. Personally, they are all exactly what I would imagine for the concert, especially the frilly, sparkly babydoll dresses and heeled boots Sabrina wears, and the Barbie Dreamhouse inspired stage set design.
Various videos and photos from the concert make it look so fun, especially with how Sabrina engages directly with fans throughout the concert. I feel as if this tour represents Sabrina finally getting her flowers as artist, she has been in the music industry for so long, but its only been semi-recently that’s she gained such a large following.
I will be attending her Baltimore concert next week and I can’t wait! I might make a separate publication about it.
4. A Meg Ryan Fall
Last Sunday marked the start of my very favorite season, fall! I’ve been channeling the season for the past month and have gathered lots of different inspiration for outfits, activities, and overall vibes, and have circled back to one muse: Meg Ryan.
Ryan is known as THE 90s rom-com icon and starred in so many film classics that perfectly encapsulate the vibes of autumn. Between When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, and Kate & Leopold, among many others, she is the epitome of fall to me. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend watching all of these films.
What makes Ryan so iconic are her effortless outfits, typically thick, neutral sweaters, denim, leather jackets, and boots, and also her varied yet uniform hairstyles. Her classic, chic style is timeless and represents fall in a unique manner.
I’ve always thought fall was the ideal season for rom-coms and no one does them better than Meg!
Other movies with a perfect autumnal feel
Autumn in New York
Dead Poets Society
Donnie Darko
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Mona Lisa Smile
Thank you for reading!
- Lily
Javier is King Triton in the Little Mermaid! 🧜♀️⚕️