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© 2026

October 13, 2026·Edition 51

People are reading at raves now?

Internet Microdoses

Getty Images plans to file for bankruptcy after spending $100 million on a $3.7 billion merger with Shutterstock that didn’t pan out. Now it's going private with help from Charles Koch's investment firm. With AI making generic stock photos easy to fake, Getty will focus on red carpets and real news. Say cheese (for now) →

Finally, a rave for people who’d rather be reading. Tokyo’s SPREAD carpeted its dance floor, played ambient music, and let people lie around with books. Everyone’s getting lit with literature. BYOB: bring your own book →

Virginia Woolf’s grandmother may have taken one of the original mirror selfie. The V&A has acquired Mia Jackson’s late-1850s self-portrait, possibly the earliest deliberate mirror selfie. Cameras had no timers back then, so someone stood behind her to pull the lens cap. And she still managed to serve →

A moodboard icon is having trouble finding a buyer. The Stahl House, a glass-walled LA landmark, was listed for $25 million last November, but buyers balked at only two bedrooms and restrictions on expansion. If you’ve got one roommate and $20 million between you, go check it out →

Your next pitch deck could use a little Michelangelo. Created by studiogusto for the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Michelangelus font arrives in Word at the end of the year. Can’t wait to see how this looks on “bathrooms are for customers only” signs. Still beats Comic Sans →

An ode to the burner account, thanks to Channing Tatum. The Magic Mike hunk was accused of using a secret Instagram to roast his ex, Zoë Kravitz. He denies it was his, but now others are fessing up about their finstas. Read the stalkers’ confessions →

More from Sequence

Are pigeons the next big thing?
Edition 50 · October 6, 2026

Are pigeons the next big thing?

Is your inner child out of control?
Edition 49 · September 29, 2026

Is your inner child out of control?

Aesthetic Study

Shipwrecked

Ask anyone how they’re doing, and you’ll likely hear some version of “just trying to stay afloat” or “barely keeping my head above water.” It’s no wonder we’re all dressing like we just survived a shipwreck.

In 1866, Mary Ann Jewell was stranded in the sub-Antarctic after her ship went down. For 18 months, she survived in clothes she sewed from sealskin using needles carved from albatross bone.

Her ship sank with a fortune in gold aboard. But Mary Ann returned with something that earned her an unexpected payday. Now Chanel is selling her shipwreck aesthetic 160 years later.

Mary Ann's ship, the General Grant, had been carrying gold to London. All of it was lost at sea, but her sealskin outfit survived. She wore it to lectures about the wreck and is said to have earned as much as £600 — $117,000 in today’s dollars — doing so.

We’re still obsessed with what a real-life shipwreck might be worth. The San José, a Spanish ship that sank off Colombia in 1708, has been called the "holy grail of shipwrecks." It may hold up to $17 billion in gold, silver, and gems. A U.S. treasure-hunting company, Spain, and an Indigenous nation in Bolivia have spent decades fighting Colombia for a piece. Last November, robots finally brought up a cannon, a cup, and three coins.

But Mary Ann’s other salvage — the shipwreck look — had a future, too. A century after her ordeal, fashion walked the plank. Punk designer Vivienne Westwood named her 1981 collection Pirate. In 2001, John Galliano sent out a "Pirate" jacket made to look like a flag torn off a captured ship. By 2023, Elle had declared the era of shipwreck chic: "ripped seams and broken nails and sweating through your blowout."

This year, the sea took over the runways. Chanel's new designer, Matthieu Blazy, sent out swim caps, fisherman's rubber boots, and the mermaids Lagerfeld swore off. Balmain belted its looks with rope, and Ferragamo tied silk scarves at the waist like Blackbeard wears in his old portraits.

Movies and TV are also riding the wave. In Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, man-eating giants sink two of Odysseus's three ships. Then Zeus sends a storm that sinks the last one and leaves him the only survivor. Nolan shot it at sea off Sicily, with a real Viking ship standing in for Odysseus's warship. Netflix's One Piece, a live-action series about pirates hunting the world's greatest treasure, premiered its second season in more than 200 movie theaters.

It’s cringe to remember, but some of us grew up joking around on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Now we just dress like pirates instead. Chanel brings out mermaids, Nolan takes a real ship out to sea, and the rest of us are just trying to stay afloat. We might be feeling a little washed up, but at least we’ve got something to wear.

  • The castaway who dressed for her rescue
  • Lagerfeld's undersea Chanel, mermaids not invited
  • Every urchin lash and wet-look face from Chanel Cruise
  • The mermaid manicures that took over summer
  • Balmain and Ferragamo go full Blackbeard
  • The $17 billion galleon nobody can agree on
Cover of Shipwrecked collection
ShipwreckedBy @sequencebycosmos
An image uploaded on Oct 12, 2026.
An image uploaded on Oct 23, 2025.
An image uploaded on Aug 10, 2025.

October 13, 2026·Interview

Kat Irlin

The photographer behind fashion's chicest covers, where every shoot starts with a crush.

Kat Irlin
Kat Irlin

A moment with

Kat Irlin

The photographer behind fashion's chicest covers, where every shoot starts with a crush.

Kat Irlin traded finance for art. After ten years in the corporate world, she switched to photography and now shoots campaigns for some of the most illustrious brands and covers for the chicest magazines. Her process starts with a crush: a model, a shoe, a ring, or a city catches her eye, and she builds a whole story around it. Here, she shares more on her favorite music and why kindness is her hot take.

Can you tell us more about your creative process?

All forms of beauty inspire me: people, places, things. I get interested in a subject and build a story around it, aiming to show it to the world in a way it hasn’t been seen before. I love bringing out the best in whoever or whatever I’m shooting. With people, that means connecting with them and making them feel comfortable and at ease. That’s when they shine.

Three places you've felt inspired by.

  1. New York, always.
  2. Anywhere with a beautiful interior.
  3. Anywhere with beautiful light.

What's your hot take?

Kindness is everything.

What do you listen to on repeat?

The most random mix of music from all over the world, from the 1950s to now.

What is the most worthwhile investment you've made?

My kids — they are kind, smart and hardworking! My work — always taking the time to put the best stuff out there that stands out.

What is an unusual habit, or an absurd thing, that you love?

I love looking at vintage jewelry for hours :)

Who is your forever inspo?

The beauty in everything.

Write us a fortune cookie.

Create and prosper!

Follow Kat on Cosmos and Instagram.

Object Love

Sliding towards the ancient

Sliding towards the ancient

Polina Osipova's Sliding towards the ancient (2026) is a pink felt rocket ship with a playground slide coming out of it. Osipova is a self-taught artist from the Indigenous Chuvash people of central Russia. Her pearl headpieces and silver coin headdresses went viral before she turned 25. She’s since had solo shows in London, New York, and now Berlin, where this piece lives at Neun Kelche. Her sculptures often use old family photos. Here, they're covered in thin metal plates, the way Orthodox icons are.

In Chuvash belief, people become stars when they die. Soviet playgrounds taught kids that space was something to conquer. Osipova's rocket heads the other way, toward the ancestors. Down the slide, it reads: "Voyage towards the ancient, I take my place in the sun." And yes, you're allowed to ride it.

Quick Hits

  • Bumble found a match: a $1.3 billion buyout
  • LACMA now has an Erewhon and a Calder-inspired smoothie
  • These are the most expensive Klimts ever sold
  • Gen Z collectors are outspending older generations on art
  • ChatGPT is now faking cartoonists' signatures

Community Question

Last week we asked, which fictional home would you move into?

Here's our favorite reply:

Liz Lokre said: “The Jetsons’ house, their take on futurism aged well.”

Now for next week:

If you opened a tiny museum, what would be in it?

A little washed up,

Tania