The brainchild of photographer Michèle Côté and Dazed Beauty Contributing Editor Athena Paginton, Weathergurlz is a unique art direction project aiming to inject refreshing doses of positivity, support and self-care advice into the creative industries.
Following on from their whimsical face-themed photostory for Dazed Beauty, their latest iteration comes in the form of a bi-annual publication. Spanning themes of creativity, equality, mindfulness and self-love, the Weathergurlz zine is designed to create a dialogue on topics such as gender, sexuality, mental health awareness, equality, consumption and cruelty-free ethics.
"We started it because we didn't see a space in the creative community to really help and specifically try to solve issues that many we saw were having. There seemed to be some voices in our community that we thought needed to be heard and we didn't see the platform for them so we created our own,” explains Michèle Côté.
Digitally released, the first issue is an amalgam of strong visuals interspersed with poetry, interviews with artists, profound pieces on motherhood as well as wellness and self-care – think spreads on Ayurvedic medicine and living with Sickle-Cell disease. A section titled ‘Mind Management’ offers a safe space for an array of voices to share their mental health experiences, complimented by reassuring and elucidating advice.
With worldwide contributors such as BBZ, Babyface and Piczo, the zine provides support without judgement and seeks to “prove that vulnerability breaks stigma”. Through it, the founding duo aims to inject some positivity into the creatives industries and make it a more accessible and inclusive place.
