@service95

With “sustainability” as fashion’s current buzzword, we’re forced to question why many brands are still churning out more denim each season? Journalist @sophiebenson explores the extremely damaging effects of the production of one of our most-loved fabrics, but also gives a list of suggestions for how we can make improvements and the brands that are actually making a positive difference. If you want to discover more about what you can do to help, subscribe before tomorrow through the link in our bio to read Issue 024. Photograph by Coveteur/Trunk Archive

Since starting her world tour earlier this year, @dualipa’s bucket list of Broadway and West End shows to see has grown and grown! In this week’s newsletter, our founder shares the theatre picks currently sitting at the top of her list, featuring ‘The Glass Menagerie’ starring Amy Adams and the Mark Rylance tour-de-force, ‘Jerusalem’. Let us know in the comments below which shows you have seen and loved recently. Photographs by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, Johan Persson, Paul Kolnik and Simon Annand

As you may have seen on today’s newsletter, Sunny Hill Festival – Kosovo’s soon-to-be biggest regional celebration of contemporary music – will have Service95’s founder Dua Lipa joining the headline acts J Balvin, Diplo and Skepta! We’re offering a special rate to Service95 subscribers, so be sure to sign up at the link in our bio before Sunday to receive this week’s issue with the very special offer.

Welcome to Issue 024! If you haven’t yet subscribed, be sure to visit the link in our bio to receive this week’s newsletter, which features our founder @dualipa’s list of must-see theatre productions this summer, as well as @sophiebenson’s hugely insightful piece on the social and environmental damage caused by denim. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this week’s stories, so let us know what you think!

As referenced in Mona Eltahawy’s (@monaeltahawy) recent Service95 story about pushing back against the deliberately constructed shame around abortion, the artist Jaishri Abichandani (@jaishri.abichandani) is at the forefront of driving that conversation forward. Her piece, depicted here, “an amalgam of feminist iconography, a feminist deity who will bless our reproductive choices in an ocean of patriarchal religions that deny those with wombs agency over our bodies” entitled ‘Shrine To The Abortion Goddess, 2017-19’, does exactly that. “The number of figures corresponds to my own abortions,” writes Abichandani. “The smaller figures are traced from the body of my child and the central one is traced from that of my husband.” What socially engaged artworks have resonated with you? Images courtesy of Jaishri Abichandani and the Craft Contemporary Museum (@craftcontemporary)

If you haven’t yet heard the news, our podcast – Dua Lipa: At Your Service – is now available on the BBC Sounds app for our UK listeners! All the episodes will now be uploaded, so make sure to catch up on anything you may have missed from Season 1 (the podcast is still available on all other platforms for everyone outside of the UK). We are thrilled that there is now another platform to be able to hear the amazing conversations that occurred throughout all of these episodes. Let us know in the comments below your favourite moments from this season – and stay tuned for more news about what’s to come for At Your Service...

As a companion to Mona Eltahawy’s powerful message to break the silence that surrounds abortion, we asked Mona for her recommendations of films, books, and art works that help to dismantle the shame around abortion and normalise conversations surrounding this choice. From Paula Rego’s Abortion Pastels series to the anthology of essays, poems and stories: ‘Choice Words: Writers on Abortion’, we hope these stories and narratives, along with Mona's powerful words, help to continue the discussions we all need to be having now more than ever.

After the devastating Roe v Wade ruling in the US last month, @service95 has dedicated Issue 023 solely to an incredibly powerful essay by the journalist and author Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy). “The short answer is that when it comes to abortion, the personal is much more dangerous than the political,” says Eltahawy. In this long-read, she unveils first-hand the stigma that surrounds the admission of choosing to end a pregnancy, but also the power and importance of speaking up in order to re-write the abortion narrative. If you haven’t already, follow the link in our bio before Sunday to make sure this unmissable piece of journalism makes it into your inboxes. Image from Getty Images

In this week’s editor’s letter, ‘On Shame And Speaking Up’, @dualipa shares with our readers her thoughts on why there is so much shame that surrounds the issue of abortion in modern-day society. By revealing how Mona Eltahawy’s moving essay struck an emotional chord in her, our founder hopes the same will happen for everyone else who reads it. Subscribe before Sunday through the link in bio to get the chance to read the issue in full.  Artwork by Barbara Kruger, Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your body is a battleground), 1989. This piece was originally made for the 1989 Womens March in Washington calling for reproductive freedom. Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers (@spruethmagers)

The US Supreme Court’s recent ruling to overturn Roe v Wade has sent shockwaves around the world. For Issue 023, we hand over to essayist and Feminist Giant @monaeltahawy who argues powerfully that while everyone has a right to privacy, shame has no place in our conversations about abortion. If you are yet to subscribe visit the link in our bio before Sunday, to guarantee the chance to read the entirety of this thought-provoking piece.

We are so excited to say that for those of you in the UK, you can now listen to our podcast Dua Lipa: At Your Service Season 1 on the BBC Sounds app! Since 27 June, they’ve posted an episode a day, and as yesterday was Episode 7 with Sir Elton John, we are reminiscing on his list of top celebrity biopics that he shared with Dua during their conversation. Titles include Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, Johnny Cash’s ‘Walk The Line’ and Elton’s ultimate favourite, ‘Ray’, which tells the tale of the icon Ray Charles. Be sure to check out the entire season on the @bbcsounds app to discover (or rediscover) more insider lists like this! If you aren’t in the UK you can still find all episodes from season 1 via the link in our bio or on your preferred podcast platform.

In Issue 021, we featured the pioneering fashion brand @unhidden.uk, which is working to make fashion more accessible for all. In our most recent issue, we highlighted a ground-breaking company doing something similar in the beauty sphere. Service95 editor @funmifetto explains how @guidebeautycosmetics creates tools and products that can be held and used with ease by those with physical disabilities (with @selmablair as Chief Creative Officer). Check out Guide Beauty’s Instagram page to find out more.

How to describe Dreamachine... Service95 editor Poppy Roy describes it as: “otherworldly escapism that involves taking part in a psychedelic experiment.” A collaboration between some of the world’s leading neurologists, designers, architects and artists, this immersive audio-visual installation may just help you explore the inner workings of your mind. Subscribe to Service95 via the link in our bio to read all about Dreamachine and how to participate. Photographs by David Levene and Urszula Soltys

After requesting asylum in Australia, author Behrouz Boochani was sent to Manus Island detention centre in Papau New Guinea for six years. For Issue 019, he writes exclusively for Service95 from his home in New Zealand about why the torture he endured will be repeated by the UK government’s Rwanda policy. Subscribe today via the link in our bio read his powerful new piece, available through Sunday. Image by Pacific Press/Getty Images

Feminism is crucial to the mission of Service95, and today in Issue 019, our founder @dualipa has curated a list of feminist classics to inspire you in the months ahead, featuring 'Bad Feminist' by Roxane Gay, 'Queenie' by Candice Carty-William, 'The Vagina Monologues' by Eve Ensler, and more. Swipe through to see her entire reading list, and subscribe via our link in our bio to read this week's great stories.