Welcome to Beauty for a Better World (BFBW), a project that wants to bring light, inspiration and new hope for the future. Together we can make it happen -and we should: because it’s up to us.

New in the Gallery:

Carlo Van Hove
Carlo Van Hove: “An amusement pier juts out into the sea, a place where strangers […]
Kristel
‘White Swan in Rivierenhof Park, Antwerp, Belgium’ Facebook0Tweet0
Pierre Elitair
‘Small Newt and Tootpick’ Facebook0Tweet0
Kenny Kiefer
‘Last Evenings’s Show, 1400 Feet Above the Pacific’ Facebook0Tweet0
Marlène Pauly
Morocco
Luc Carpentier
Lanzarote, Spain
Rural life in Tibet
What with all the negativity and violence in the world, which is upsetting for everybody […]
Katharine Hamnett
Katharine Hamnett: “I took this picture for my 99 year old friend to look at […]

New blog posts:

Project Focus by Wim Tellier

For Project Focus by Wim Tellier 250 fishermen work together to display 100 custom sails with their traditional boats in…

Experiment from a Kindergarten

This was an experiment by a kindergarten class: they dropped seeds in the cracks of the sidewalk, to see what…

Rural life in Tibet

What with all the negativity and violence in the world, which is upsetting for everybody with a good heart and…

After the T-shirts, there will be … hoodies!

As many people among you may already know, I'm working together with iconic designer and social activist Katharine Hamnett on…

Self expression just got bigger, bolder and more iconic through the ‘We are the Future’ campaign

Naen Backeljau, photo by Ninette Murk A new movement is erupting with vocal ferocity and an 80s twist, demonstrating that…

Gia Robles Levy: “It’s a powerful thing to be open and honest”

Gia Robles Levy, has been actively sharing her transition journey through social media since she ‘came out’ as trans in…

Support Sirkhane Darkroom for their next project

You probably have seen the gorgeous black and white photos made by refugee kids in our Gallery, which they made…

Resources for young people to get involved

Young people are the future when it comes to achieving a better world. This is why we rounded up a…

Dalai Lama Pleads For We-Humanity

In a tweet by The Nobel Prize today (May 16, 2022), the Dalai Lama says: "We all live on one…

Ninette Murk – Making The World A Better Place: Here’s How!

Quite a few people are curious about how a fashion journalist could become a social activist, so we decided to…

Jarno Kettunen x Jimmy Choo Raise Money For Pancreatic Cancer Awareness

It's always nice to discover projects of BFBW contributors, so we were delighted when we learned about the new charity…

Free Sympathy Cards Show Loved Ones You Care

When someone loses a person they love, it can be hard to find the right words to show that you…

Nature is our religion

"They go inside a building to talk to their god. We go out into the natural world — and our…

Sirkhane Darkroom In The News

A travelling darkroom teaches refugee children to use photography as a means of expression. In Mardin, a city in Turkey…

Little Amal Takes A Long Walk To Raise Awareness About Refugees

Shining a light on the stories of millions of young refugees across Europe is Little Amal, a 3.5-metre tall puppet…

Belgian artist Geert Nys creates 5G mural in Antwerp- and it’s painted by robots!

We were very happy to receive a video about the recently finished mural by artist Geert Nys (alias 'ABSumo', Absolute…

Refugee children show resilient imaginations through photography

What happens when you take refugee children, give them an old analogue camera and ask them to start exploring their…

Remember by Kaspy Ndia & Melopée

Today we received this beautiful video by musician Kaspy Ndia, his group Melopée (featuring Bob van de Leij) and two…

Designers with a green soul wanted!

A dynamic new project is challenging designers to elevate their vision within sustainability in “The Upcycling Challenge”. The objective is…

Kim Kardashian’s Cover-Up Ditches Fashion to Make An Identity Statement

There’s no room to be indifferent when it comes to having an opinion about the most talked-about outfit at this…

Reasons To Be Cheerful By David Byrne

We often have the feeling that the media prefer to present bad news (clicks!) instead of the good. Is there…

Better World, Better Me

And who am I to disagree? Thank you Mark Titchner, for creating this art work that has inspired me ever…

Time Traveler by Lyla June

In this music video, spoken-word artist Lyla June offers a poetic reflection on time and the wisdom needed to care…

Museum In Antwerp Proudly Flies Rainbow Flags

Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp Photo by Fille Roelants As a reaction to the new anti- LGBTQ+ laws in…

This Is How it All Started

Tonight is the (digital) show of the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, including the 2021…

Proudly presenting our new Ambassador: Hannelore Knuts

We're very happy to announce the new Ambassador for beauty without irony: top model, health consultant and all around nice…

Arts Thread x BFBW is live now- please join!

Are you an art school student or recent graduate and up for an exciting challenge? Then here's your chance! Beauty…

IG Talk on Vogue Italia with Sara Sozzani Maino

On May 11th, our founder and creative director Ninette had a conversation with Sara Sozzani Maino, deputy editor in chief…

Pandemic Highlights Urgency Of Mental Health

“It is now crystal clear that mental health needs must be treated as a core element of our response to…

Reach For The Sun

Waking up every morning, many of us will rush into the day, constantly checking notifications or crossing things off our…

Smiley Knows!

Let’s face it: the pandemic has been a real pain in the rear-end for a lot of us. It has…

You Are My Angel

This must be about the most beautiful alternative to a fashion show I have seen so far, with models and…

Why Creativity Can Heal During Challenging Times

“Art is a wound turned into light,” said the 20th century French painter, Georges Braque. Words that so accurately resonate…

Hank Trout On Beauty

Some kind of beauty dwarfs you and makes you feel like an ant next to it. – Andy Warhol            …

‘This Now’ by Emily McDonald and Kai-Isaiah Jamal

This is undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous videos we've seen so far about the lockdowns, as seen through the…

‘The Quarantaine Days’, crowdsourced by Mert Alas

A photographer/artist who we admire a lot is Mert Alas, one half of the iconic duo Mert & Marcus. This…

This is what 2020 looked like for i-D Magazine readers

Normally at this time of year, i-D Magazine reaches out to a handful of photographers and regular contributors and asks…

Obudu Mountain Pool in Nigeria

In Obudu Mountain there is so much to come across and there are several waterfalls to see. They have the…

Every email is a present

We pre-started our project ‘Beauty for a Better World′ back in July and meanwhile new photos and videos are arriving…

Optimism and beauty will save the world

Photo: Charlie De Keersmaecker There are people that can turn every heartbreaking event of their life into an act of…

SCHÖN Magazine and Domen/Vandevelde support BFBW

SCHÖN Magazine has published a wonderful photoshoot by Belgian photographers Domen/Vandevelde and an interview with trans model Mierijn to help…

Takashi Murakami: Cherry Blossoms and Pandas (2020)

Gagosian just kicked off its second season of Artist Spotlight — an ongoing digital series that highlights a single artist from…

Yayoi Kusama has written a poem to the coronavirus

There are many things these days that we'd like to say to Miss Rona: from "Why now" to "When will you…

Should culture go digital?

The current pandemic has made people more aware of the walls that surround them at home: people can’t wait to…

Projects and people we love:

Between Us by Vincent Lagrange

This photographic series by Belgian photographer Vincent Lagrange captures the inherent humanity of animals and highlights their emotional depth and…

We *heart* this owl!

Photo: Earth Unreal Official Just how gorgeous is this owl with its all over hearty feathers? Check our Earth Unreal…

How A Slum in Java Became The Rainbow Village

Today we discovered this wonderful video by US Youtuber Nick K about Kampung Warna Warni (meaning Rainbow Village) in Malang…

European Shamen And Their Rituals

Charles Fréger Europe is full of traditional festivals, where strange figures, vegetation spirits, wild men and monstrous creatures appear. Charles…

Positivity & Joy While You Shop

Harvey Nichols Christmas windows 2021 Retailers are embracing positivity and joy through window displays to spread a much-needed message of…

Jumbo Supermarket Adds Chat Registers For Lonely Customers

A 'Kletskassa' (Chat Cash Register) at Jumbo in The Netherlands Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo will open 200 new so-called ‘chat…

Intelligent Rascals of the Skies

Enjoy this brilliant documentary about ravens, crows and jackdaws. It's filmed so beautifully and shows how smart these birds are.…

Dance Your Troubles Away With Kaspy Ndia

We love this brand new clip of Kaspy Ndia and his band Melopée, that features a video shot in the…

Proudly presenting: Models for a Better World!

Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski in Bookmarc NYC for a fundraising event for Designers against AIDS, organised by…

We Gasp For More Than Just Air

We love it when contributors to Beauty for a Better World show us other projects they are currently working on,…

Come Get Your Honey by Samet Durgun

We were very happy when we heard that Samet Durgun, one of the first participants to Beauty for a Better…

Antwerp Fashion & Antwerp Landmarks

This is the best and most beautiful promotion for Antwerp and its fashion students that I've seen so far- and…

Define Beauty: Virtual Embalming by Frederik Heyman

Isabelle Huppert NOWNESS is one of our favourite sources for inspiration and that was no different when we discovered this…

The Nature and Nurture of Parents

I’m one of those lucky people who won the parent-lottery. I know a close bond with your parents isn’t a…

When Everything Fails, Love Survives

Puppet theatre in Syria, with thanks to Por Un Mundo Justo

‘Destino’ by Salvador Dali and Walt Disney

In 1945, Salvador Dali and Walt Disney worked together on a short film called 'Destino', but due to World War…

Life Is Only A Reflection Of What We Allow Ourselves To See

Nature reflects in people and people reflect in nature. Installation artist Rob Mullholland beautifully captured this symbiosis through his mirrored…

Gorgeous Painting Alert

No, this isn’t a painting, it is the most detailed image of a human cell to date, obtained by radiography,…

Charles de Vilmorin

Recently young designer Charles de Vilmorin got appointed as creative director at French fashion house Rochas and we love his…

l’Amore Vince Tutto

We love this beautiful and strong Valentine Day cover by Vanity Fair Italy. It shows a kiss as the symbol…

Love is The Drug

Neurologist Rebecca Saxe presented the most beautiful photo of the year. The magnetic resonance image captures what happens when a…

Young poet Amanda Gorman speaks out at the inauguration

If you've been watching the inauguration proceedings, you were probably awestruck by 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman. Reading a brand-new work titled…

Ensuring LGBTQ+ Feel Less Alone With The ‘It Gets Better’ Project

We are all about positive words to steer the spirit up, which is why the ‘It Gets Better’ project caught…

A Brave New World at Tate Britain

Chila Kumari Singh Burman transforms the front of Tate Britain into a celebration of bright lights and swirling colour This…

Widowed penguins comfort each other

Photographer Tobias Baumgärtner captured this image of two widowed fairy penguins looking over the Melbourne skyline. It has won an…

Cool art giving for a cause

Cause-driven cash-gifting platform Double Dutch, founded by photography duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin is a new initiative responding…

Annie Lennox and London City Voices sing ‘Dido’s Lament’ for Greenpeace

In this gorgeous video, Annie Lennox and London City Voices perform a choral version of Henry Purcell's ‘Dido’s Lament’ taken…

‘A Forest’ live by The Cure

To show that pure beauty doesn't always mean sugar and spice and all things nice, we present you one of…

‘I’m On Your Side’ by Michael Franti

Michael Franti is one of our favourite artists because of the human touch in everything he does. Due to traveling…

Create Your Own Opera!

Thanks to Google Arts & Culture you can now create your own song with Blob Opera, a new experiment designed…

‘Hooker’s Green Lake’ by Faye Wei Wei

The title of a new book from artist Faye Wei Wei takes its name from the shade of green used to create…

Hello there!

We love this image by the World Health Organisation, that shows alternatives to handshakes, hugs and high-fives. Which one is…

‘Window Wanderland’ in Portobello, Edinburgh (UK)

A fantastic community driven event took place in Portobello (Edinburgh) from December 6-12th, when people decorated their windows with mostly…