Redbrick
Editors – Briony Singh, Sophie Cowling & Lara Edwards
Life&Style 21
13th May 2011 www.redbrickpaper.co.uk
The Metropolitan Costume Institute Gala sought after designers – this demonstrated most clearly through the number of guests wearing her designs. Naomi Campbell had a touch of Royal treatment with a personalized dress by Burton (how does she find the time?) while Hilary Rhoda and Salma Hayek wore dresses from Burton's S/S '11 collection for McQueen. Controversial fashion choices of the night include Burton's
Sophie Cowling Life&Style Editor
The annual Costume Institute Benefit gala held at the MET in New York attracts the Fashion elite; from models to actresses and designers and is potentially the one event a year that Anna Wintour remains at for more than fifteen minutes (as, in this case, she was the host). This year the gala was themed and, in tribute to, Alexander McQueen. Many of the high profile guests therefore fittingly chose to wear McQueen's designs from throughout the years to honour the iconic British designer. These were notably Karen Elson in a silver gown she had worn modeling for McQueen in his S/S '04 show, Sarah Jessica Parker (a close personal friend of McQueen who had accompanied him to last year's gala) and Gisele wearing a show-stopping, strapless red gown presented in the A/W 2005 'Hitchcock heroine' themed catwalk show. The night was also however, a celebration of a new Fashion giant and McQueen figurehead – Sarah Burton. After the overwhelming reaction and success of Kate Middleton's wedding dress the designer has affirmed her position as one of the world's most
The art of procrastination
Hammam Hell
Harriet Constable Writer
There's nothing like a lovely, relaxing spa day is there? Is there? I wouldn't know. My one and only 'spa' experience took place in a Moroccan Hammam, and if you're looking for relaxing luxury, it's not the place to find it. Picture this. My boyfriend and I are roaming through the souks of Marrakech, determined to experience every inch of Moroccan culture, which, to my delight, contains a strong tradition of spaing. Excellent! We book into an authentic Hammam tucked away down a back street immediately. On arrival, we are lead through two separate doors; Hammaming is not a couple-orientated activity, it seems. So, now partnerless, I follow the butch, scary looking Moroccan woman to the changing rooms. She hands me a bag containing flip flops, a towel the size of my palm, and some other indistinguishable items. I look at her questioningly. Without pause, she
white gown with some perceiving it as a statement for the new direction of the McQueen brand image: floaty and ethereal as opposed to the attention to tailoring and definite structuring McQueen has previously been made famous for. Another controversial look was US Vogue Editor Anna Wintour's Chanel S/S '11 dress which was perceived a distasteful choice at an event to celebrate the work of McQueen. Particularly tentative perhaps because of the back lash caused by the decision to host the 'Savage Beauty' exhibition in at the MET in NYC rather than the V&A in London. Despite a large number of guests wearing dresses by other designers, the majority chose those which best fitted McQueen's style and vision, Leighton Meester's caged leather Louis Vuitton dress and Christina Ricci's theatrical, corseted Zac Posen gown best representing these. The fact that a younger generation of designers – Thakoon and Zac Posen as well as the likes of Louis Vuitton, Stella McCartney and Chanel are designing items with a vision inspired by McQueen, illuminates his continued effect upon and presence within the fashion world, which at the hands of Sarah Burton can only expand and flourish.
plucks from the bag the most enormous pair of paper knickers I have ever seen, the kind that Bridget Jones would not be seen dead in, and insists that I remove all my clothes and put them on. I should add here that I do not speak Arabic, and nor did she speak English. The whole charade was a series of grunting and pointing. I try to wipe the look of horror off my face as I realise what she is suggesting, and replace it with an attempt at a smile, which probably looked more like utter fear. I have a go at positive thinking – something new to try? A minute later, I emerge, stark bloody naked, in a pair of paper pants that hide NOTHING. I'm more than a little horrified by this 'luxurious spa' experience so far. Was my day going to get better? No it wasn't. The woman leads me into a round chamber – a steam room I conclude. She points at a pot of what looks like brown jelly and demonstrates that I should smear it all over my body. I obey, wondering if perhaps I am being
filmed for some kind of joke TV show, Look At What We Can Make The Tourists Do, or something similar. I sit there, alone and completely naked, plus enormous pants, facing the entrance to the room. All the while, I couldn't help but feel another guest might be slightly alarmed to enter the chamber and be presented with a naked girl covered in jelly, wearing huge paper pants. After fifteen minutes of cringing about my situation and attempting to shield my bits from view, I believe I experienced a Moroccan form of torture. It consisted of the butch woman continuously refilling a bucked of ice cold water and then chucking – not pouring, chucking – it over my head and directly into my face. The vigour with which she hurled it at me was really quite alarming. I wondered what I had ever done to her. I'm sorry to say it only gets worse. I was then taken into the massage room. She murmured a command which I took to mean 'get on the massage bed'. It was covered in a plastic sheet and the wetness of my skin, combined with the jelly-like lubricant it was covered in made it rather hard to stay on board! She scrubbed my skin until it was raw, whilst I slid about like a seal on a water slide. I wasn't entirely sure whether to laugh or cry, and I sort of ran out of the room away from her when she was finally done. I wondered if my boyfriend had experienced the same sort of turmoil as I hurriedly replaced my clothes and removed the paper pants from hell. Overall, the experience was excruciating in many ways. And the bitch scrubbed off all my tan. Next time I think I'll just stick to sightseeing.
Geraldine Tovey Writer
Procrastination is something that most students become experts in. Unlike at school or college where our teachers could push us in the right direction, we now have the freedom to munch on unhealthy snacks and watch 90210 all day. I should know. I have been that girl. I really do wish that I could be one of the people in my seminars who have clearly done all of the reading, whilst I sit in knowing nothing, wallowing in my own hangover. However I wasn't one of those students, and with exams are looming I am very scared. But what I have come to realise is that if I was doing something productive, even if it isn't anything related to my studies, I don't feel quite as bad about myself. Here are my four main ways to avoid revision, without feeling like a bad person: 1. Cleaning. Whether you are living in halls or in a student house, there is always cleaning to be done. It has reached the point that my housemates and I have coined the term 'procrasti-cleaning'. We have found that whenever essays or revision need to be done our kitchen becomes miraculously spotless and our pile of pizza boxes
vanishes. Scrubbing, mopping and washing up makes everyone feel better and is a totally virtuous way to avoid revision. 2. Cooking. The student diet is notorious for being poor, and this is the time to change this. Instead of buying frozen pizzas from Aldi, actually make a proper meal with fresh ingredients. Spring means that a lot of fruit and vegetables are in season and are cheap too. Treat yourself and your housemates to a lovely dinner. 3. Exercise: If you are a lapsed member of the gym or simply feel like a jog – go for it. The endorphins will kick in and will give a far more positive light to your current academic struggle. If you simply fancy a nice country walk away from the dinginess of Selly Oak, I recommend Cannon Hill Park just off Pershore Road. It is delightful. 4. Cultural Enlightenment: Listen to an album from start to finish or read a book that isn't related to your degree to make you feel like your brain is working. For more highbrow inspiration visit one of the many galleries or museums in the city for a few hours off. As a Birmingham student, you must visit the Barber Institute at some point, it is a genuinely charming gallery right on our doorstep.