Culture and Couture Brief #4 - Layla

"Jane Birkin has always been the epitome of beauty to me. Of course she was a very externally beautiful woman, but my admiration towards her goes deeper than that."

Mar 20, 2025

We’re creating tastemakers for the new regime.

This is today’s Culture and Couture Brief. Our last brief was with creative producer and Seinfeld actor CK Steefel, and you can check it out here if you missed the action. Twice a month, I’ll feature someone who is leading the culture in a bold new way. We’re influencing the influencers, and we’ve brought our favorite sweetheart slash writer Layla into the spotlight. Ready set go, Layla!

Who is Layla’s fashion icon?

Layla: Jane Birkin has always been the epitome of beauty to me. Of course she was a very externally beautiful woman, but my admiration towards her goes deeper than that. It’s more about the very specific energy she carried, the presence she crafted through her sense of style. This outfit is a great example of what I mean: it’s understated but smart, sexy but elegant. I’m a big proponent of patterned tights and statement pieces, and I think Jane does it perfectly in this look.

What is Layla’s media pick of the moment?

Layla: Anyone who knows me knows how much I love hip hop. I think hip hop just has serious emotion behind it, I actually have a physical reaction to it where my heart starts beating faster, and that doesn’t really happen with other genres of music. I used to hang out with a lot of local rappers and producers and they taught me everything I know about the genre. Nas is my favorite but I also really like De La Soul, Wu Tang Clan, J Dilla, Dean Blunt, and as of late, this Canadian duo called Citizen Kane.

Citizen Kane’s EP called The Epic is a perfect example of what good hip hop sounds like. I think it stands out to me because it feels like there was a genuine effort behind it. Real passion between two artists. No mumbling, no hyperkinetic convoluted beats that cater to this generations’ irreversibly fucked attention spans. No Drake versus Kendrick bullshit. Just music that makes you feel good.

Who is is Layla’s choice architect?

Layla: l love Tadao Ando. I’m a big fan of this nifty little Japanese guy’s architectural work because it is full of contradictions. His buildings just feel very spiritual to me, like new beginnings and blank slates, because that is essentially what they are. He’s known for his minimalism and his strange relationship with light and concrete. A good word for his designs would be contemplative.

Looking at his work makes me feel like I have room to breathe. Before I die I’d like to sit in one of his churches and write sad poetry.

Here we conclude my fourth installment of Culture and Couture. I plan to run more of these because they’re lots of fun. Also, let’s get real. Most people have horrible tastes and it’s time to show them something better.

If you’d like to become a tastemaker for the new regime, email me at theculturalfuturist@gmail.com. Whether it’s fashion, art, music, architecture, or a period in time that has inspired you, (maybe even all of these things) I’d love to hear from you about some of your favorite things.

Layla is a writer and artist based in Florida. She is currently working towards her degree in English. Her Substack is an accumulation of poetry, personal essays and short stories intended for unlikable people.