Vol. 3: The Industry Trinity 2013

Industry TRINITY TERM 2013

Photo: Nasir Hamid

EDITOR

Anna Robinson / Nusa Bartol-Bibb DEPUTY EDITOR Laura Kennedy / Annabelle Clarke / Yara Rodrigues-Fowler / Agata Wielondek CREATIVE DIRECTOR Megan Kemp / Matthew Robinson

PHOTOGRAPHY

Nasir Hamid / Carl Turpie

ILLUSTRATIONS

Alexandra Pullen / Gabriella Dyson/ Nusa Bartol-Bibb

WRITERS

Arpita Ashok / Nusa Bartol-Bibb / Anna Robinson / Jonathan Lawrence / Fede Behrens / Aleksander Cvetkovic / Laura Kennedy / Annabelle Clarke / Yara Rodrigues-Fowler / Christopher Pike / Ellen Page / Finola Austin / Emily Bootle / Gabriella Dyson

BUSINESS MANAGER Benjamin Eisert

BUSINESS TEAM Isabel Cooper / Teresa Tipping / Christina Maddock PUBLISHED BY OXFORD STUDENT PUBLICATIONS LIMITED Chairman: Max Bossino Managing director: Stephanie Smith Company secretary: Hugh Lindsey Directors: Morgan Norris-Grey, Nupur Takwale, Rohan Sakhrani, Sophie Jamieson, Douglas Sloan, Barbara Speed, Jai Juneja INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

CONTENTS

SEASON 6 Trends 10 Androgyny 12 Cracking the Code 14 Arpita Queen of Shops OXFORD 18 Faking Sartorial Elegance 20 Oxford Style on the Streets 22 In Murky Waters 24 Oxford, in a Fashion Class of its Own 26 The Cowley Retreat Q&A 32 Susie Forbes 34 Charlotte Marsden 36 Tiffanie Darke 38 ‘The ex-blogger’

40 ‘Summer’s lease hath all too short a date’ BEAUTY 50 Body Hair - a Prickly Issue 52 On Beauty 54 Hit the Carnival MENSWEAR 58 The Gentleman’s Guide 60 Indie Fashion: Style in Denial?

61 The ‘Trend’ in Menswear 62 Holism

INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

Photos: Nasir Hamid

COMMENT 68 Fashion and Empowerment 70 Trouble and Strife 72 Debate 74 Fashion’s First Lady

Industry is recruiting

Industry Magazine is recruiting for MT13 for editorial roles, writers, photographers, illustrators, contributors, and business executives.

If you are interested, please contact editor@industryfashion.org for more information or visit our website www.industryfashion.org.

Cover images by Nasir Hamid Photos: Nasir Hamid

Published in association with Oxford Fashion Society

Season

Image: Floraandhercat

“You decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live.”

Gianni Versace

INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

step into the future

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Barbara wears Miss Selfridge dress, Topshop stilettos, Mannequin wears Topshop sandals, The Ballroom vintage cheongsam.

the crop

Imogen wears ‘Oh My Love’ at Topshop top, model’s own treggings.

Mannequin wears Mango halterneck.

Barbara wears New Look tshirt, model’s own treggings.

Styling by Nusa Bartol-Bibb.

Modelled by Barbara Ling Bell and Imogen Truphet.

Photography by Carl Turpie.

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the no-frills frill

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Barbara wears Parika at ASOS dress. Mannequin wears Lipsy dress.

the cold shoulder

Barbara Asos dress. Imogen wears ASOS tshirt, stylist’s own leggings

Barbara wears dress, ÂŁ38 from ASOS.

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Androgyny passing fad or bigger movement?

A

ndrej Peji’c, the model praised by Kate Moss as ‘beautiful’, has strutted the John-Paul Gaultier catwalk, donned lingerie for Dutch department store Hema, and graced the cover of Serbian Elle magazine. Peji’c’s perfectly sculpted cheekbones, neat rosy pout and long blonde locks are truly stunning, the envy of women across the world.

A regular supermodel, but with one small difference: Andrej Peji’c is a man.

The rise of androgynous star Peji’c appears to mirror the fashion industry’s obsession with looks which defy the expectations of gender. Style manuals, including Elle and Glamour, all list androgyny as one of the top trends for Spring/Summer 2013. From the catwalks of Yves Saint Laurent to Burberry, filtering right down to our favourite high street chains, androgyny has been the fashion buzzword of the year. Pastel trousers, crisp white shirts, blazers, brogues, tighter-than-tight skinny jeans and sleek trench coats; it is difficult to identify these items unambiguously as staples of either traditional female or male wardrobes.

A handful of independent fashion chains have focussed their attention on the fusion of men and women’s clothing. Self-proclaimed tomboy specialists Wildfang seek to “liberate menswear”, providing women with an array of clothes which are traditionally masculine yet cut to fit a female frame. Their tagline claims boldly: “This isn’t just a shop. It’s a movement”. But to what extent is this true? Is androgyny just a trend like any other in fashion - fleeting, cursory and transient - or is it part of a bigger movement, a changing attitude towards gender boundaries?

Images: drinkblackwater, sinaimag, designscene

This spring The Guardian reported on the issue, quoting fashion historian Amber Butchart’s claim that “there is a movement at the moment around fashion playing with the idea of gender – the gender boundaries are becoming more fluid”. In an interview Casey Legler, the first woman to be signed exclusively as a male model (with leading agency Ford Models), hailed androgyny as a real development, and not just a passing fad. She described

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INDUSTRY

Image:vam Image:chicig

Images: GoRunway, Hedi Slimane

Image:chicig

Image:3bp

how binary gender roles can be oppressive, “seeing me that the trend is not a recent one; androgyny is neither on the men’s board... speaks to a notion of freedom, a passing fad, nor a fresh movement. In the eighteenth you know. There’s something really bold about that... century men wore wigs and make-up; in the 1920s flapit’s saying there is also this other way and it’s really rad”. per girls cut their hair short and aspired to sport flat Advocates of the cause like Legler claim that androgyny chests; the hippy movement saw the boom of floweris not a transient whim of the fashion houses, because, power and men growing long locks, and throughout the like the movement itself, the fashion houses’ receptiv- twentieth century entertainment stars have championed ity necessarily reaches beyond the realms of fashion. androgyny: Boy George, Prince and David Bowie, to The increasing acceptance by society of the people and name but a few. Today, female film stars are no longer concepts pushing gender boundaries simply delicate and unassuming, but are being reflected by the work of this “Is androgyny just a trend routinely portray action heroes - strong, particularly visual and pervasive induslike any other in fashion masculine and beautiful. David Becktry. ham’s famous underwear campaigns - fleeting, cursory and feature a body which, whilst muscular, transient?”

Opponents, however, claim that the is hairless, sparking a cult following of fashion industry is just exploiting the smooth-chested men. Male grooming desire of people to be seen, and more importantly to is certainly increasing: we see stars on television shows see themselves, as liberally accepting and progressive. It such as The Only Way Is Essex applying fake tan, shaphas been claimed that those who believe, either actively ing their eyebrows and perfecting their hair. or with passive smugness, in their liberality and in freedom of gender expression, make easy targets for cam- Androgyny is not just for the catwalks and is not a repaigns making androgynous statements. Those who are cent phenomenon - it is part of a movement which can less open-minded are shocked by the concepts - and be traced far into the past and has permeates more controversy sells. Androgyny, some claim, is merely a deeply and diversely than recent superficial sartorial marketing ploy, a manipulation of our attitudes, whether choices. It reflects a growing acceptance of the liberaopen or restrictive, to gender roles and similarly contro- tion of gender roles within society. Fashion houses do versial topics. not dictate androgyny to us as a trend; rather, they - for once - are the followers. They are followers of a greater Whether the fashion houses are genuine promoters of social movement: one which questions the very division androgyny, or whether they are savvily exploiting it, is of gender, and delivers freedom from the rigid gender difficult to determine. What we do know, however, is roles of the past.

ANNABELLE CLARKE INDUSTRY

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Cracking The Code Industry outlines the path from guest list to best dressed list

T

he British summer is characterised by a distinct lack of sunshine, a worrying over-abundance of Pimms, and the most sartorially challenging of social occasions. Weddings, the races, the college garden party: it is difficult to ooze glamour, youthful insouciance, and a seamless cohesion with the zeitgeist at the best of times. It may seem nigh on impossible when all sorts of constraints are demanded by arbitrary yet uninfringeable dress-codes (and, in the case of the church wedding, fear of excommunication). But a fusion of demure and disarming can be done. All that is required is a little playfulness.

Play with Colour

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Illustration: Gabriella Dyson

Their obviousness may speak against them but the fifties fail-safes of the prom dress and pencil skirt need not be discarded too hastily. They do, after all, create the sort of silhouette whose appeal won’t date: perfect for avoiding the sort of horror with which our mothers’ generation looks back at photographs filled with power-shoulders and frothy meringues. Bring the classic shapes up to date by emphasizing a feminine shape in highlighter colours. Two or more, if you dare. Fuchsia supported by lime green shows a very 2013 understanding of pink, and a fluorescent orange takes the prom dress out of a Middeltonian comfort-zone. Still detect a trace of mumsiness? Stamp it out in a pair of vertiginous heels, but make sure they’re platform-free and pointy toed. You are, after all, a lady.

INDUSTRY

Play with Textiles Simple cuts needn’t speak of a sterile minimalism.

The most pared-back shift is quite the talking point when worn in lightweight, buttery leather, and sorbet shades keep it appropriate for church or the stuffiness of the Stewards’ enclosure at Henley. For warmer days and a more romantic aesthetic, sheer fabrics come into their own: a translucent hemline or voile-like kimono sleeves adds interest to straight-cut dress. It’s a look that’s covered up but far from prissy. If you’re cut from a less girly cloth, take after Belstaff and give a nod to sports luxe in skirts and jackets with a futuristic mesh overlay or kick back in casual jersey. Alternatively, render unexpected shapes perfectly proper by opting for satins, lace and chiffon. A satin bomber jacket is acceptable for both a meeting with her Maj and an audience with Queen Delevingne.

Play with the Gender Rules

Illustration: Gabriella Dyson

Show them who wears the trousers in a monochrome pant suit. Teamed with a sumptuous silk shell top, shapely stilettos and a dazzling statement ring, it’s deliciously ladylike. But this requires more than a dip into your internship wardrobe. Think minimalistic, fitted tuxedo jacket paired with either a palazzo pants or - for the truly intrepid - a sportier jogger-style trouser as perfected by French Connection. If a full two-piece is a step too far, you can always stand out from a sea of shift dresses in a sumptuous jumpsuit. A cowl-back or lace detailing will secure its status as formalwear. But a word of warning: eschew boyish boaters or a gentleman’s top hat in favour of a prim, 1940s style pillbox.

NUSA BARTOL-BIBB INDUSTRY

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If there were an iconic piece to define SS’12, it would undoubtedly be the organza dress worn by Kate Moss in Marc Jacobs’ playful collection for Louis Vuitton. A meringuey mélange of chiffon, huge broderie anglaise and feathers in pastel hues, it was a clear celebration of youthful innocence. On the catwalk the sherbet clad models sat on a fairground carousel, while the ad campaign featured them sharing ‘girly gossip’, comments one fashion blogger, in an ice cream parlour. Pretty? Yes. Stomach churningly saccharine? Hell, yes.

Imagine my dismay when I crawled out from under the heavy rock that is codified law (yes, Erasmus students have to take exams too) to discover that the ground-breaking new trends for SS13 were... pastels, monochrome, and - oh yes, most inspired of all - florals. Once again it seemed the fashion world had clung to its cyclical clichés, flowers returning as reliably as hay fever each year, seductive lashings of velvet being swapped for fluffy organza frocks in candy colours. I, for one, was not ready to start dressing as a little girl all over again. However, having done a little investigation, it appears it’s not all candy and carousels. The fashion gods have brought the sex back into Spring/Summer. Pastels become the muted hues of sophistication; flowers take an acid trip; and monochrome goes minimalistic - even advocating all black in the height of summer. This is anything but the girly celebration of youth we saw last year. Fashion has grown up.

SOFT SHADES The fashion world has given us a first this season. We are finally able to wear pink without the risk of perpetuating gender stereotypes. That’s right. You too could wear peaches and cream shades without evoking fairground rides and a natter in an ice cream parlour.

Understandably, most of you are probably sceptical that a line can be drawn between pastels and muted blue, pink and peach hues, but contrast the 3.1 Phillip Lim SS’12 collection, packed with sherbety sheens of orange, lilac and mint with the Elie Saab collection. Although this ostensibly features similar colours, the lilacs and peachy-yellows are much more subtle, eschewing any candy inspired adjectives. The gowns are anything but girly, with sweeping silks and bare chests visible beneath the palest of blues and purples. Equally worthy of a full-grown woman is Alexis Mabille’s Couture collection, in which blouses exploding with peach tulle and pink lace are paired with sexy slim trousers. It immediately casts from the mind the image of a girly frock which dominated the catwalks this time last year.

Now the issue: pastels are a high street staple (for worse, certainly for worse - I will never live down my powder blue polkadot trousers from last year, paired with a pink belt...) whereas pale duck egg blue and muted mink shades are a little more high end and harder to find at a low price. Whistles can always be relied upon to provide quality, at a slightly higher price than anyone wants to pay. Their Leyla Drawstring Dress in Neutral (£110) is elegant and perfect for summer evenings. Cos, despite the gargantuan Sim-esque models they have chosen to exhibit their wares, actually have a lot to offer. My particular favourites are their textured pleat skirt (£79), which with its A-line cut and palest mint shade is flattering on most body types. Their champagne-coloured waist fold dress (£150), mean14

while, is a worthy investment for an evening piece.

The more low-end shops have failed to provide much to work with, as expected. The usually reliable Zara has got it all so wrong this season and has chosen to foreground the bold and the bright. The closest they come to muted hues is with their pale blue jacket. Yet despite the fashion points it earns for the gorgeous sheeny texture (redolent of the Chanel trousers seen on the catwalk this season), is alas neither pale nor blue.

It is rather a dull turquoise affair and more Country Casuals than couture.

However, all is not lost. After several disappointing months of underperformance, Topshop has succeeding in creating something I never thought could happen. A lace dress under £100 that isn’t tacky. The Strappy Lace Prom Dress (£65) has a beauty that defies both its price and tacky name. You only need to scan Camera on Friday to realise why highstreet lace is a no-go. Not only is everyone wearing the same dress, it’s tacky on everyone too. However, Topshop have succeeded in selecting a very pretty and dare I say expensive looking lace pattern which channels the catwalk detailing well. Also worth a look is the Nude Organza Dress by Unique (£200), which although expensive for Topshop, features tailoring that belies its high street roots. Finally, ASOS’s skinny crop trousers in silver taffeta (£30) have a wonderful sheen and would work well with a soft shaded blouse for a luxe daytime look.

The key thing about this look which differentiates it from last season is that it’s a celebration of mature femininity. It’s figure-hugging not flouncy, abandoning the exaggerated cocoon shape to re-visit the waist.

Welcome back!

INDUSTRY

Images: thedollsfactory

Industry’s Arpita Ashok gives us her pick of the summer trends

MONOCHROME This season’s reinterpretation of monochrome is further evidence of the fashion world’s defiance.

No longer must we, as soon as the sun deigns to shine, throw leather, velvet and vampish wiles to the wind, climbing into debutante dresses.

This year all-white has been replaced by all-black.

Looking forward (perhaps prematurely) towards the autumn, Versace, Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, to name a few, have featured all black collections, with a surprising number of daywear pieces. The pieces range from no-fuss clean cuts to the more elaborate textures but it’s largely minimal and sadly alien to the less-than-subtle preferences of the fine purveyors of affordable clothing.

But we are rescued yet again by the prodigal son.

The black pieces in the Topshop Unique pre-fall collection are exquisite. The organza dress (£200 - and yes it’s the black version of the nude one before...); the sheer panel dress (£275); and finally the textured pencil skirt (£120) pay homage to Loewe’s seductive pieces this season. Oasis also has some stylish all-black pieces to offer - particularly

promising are their Stella Shift Dress (£65) and Hi Lo Chiffon Layer Dress (£45).

There are few things sexier than wearing black in the heat of the sun, but to keep this look sexy and defiant rather than out of place during the day, be sure to bare plenty of skin and keep it all black and minimal.

Got to texture for detail and by no means wear lace.

This daytime look is all about luxury, so wearing cotton defies the point.

Not that it’s all plain black this season. The catwalks are full of monochromatic checks with yellow and cobalt blue accents (see Louis Vuitton’s black and white checked suit with yellow floral detailing). A high-end item that I think is worth squandering a month’s rent on is the Hermes for Dover Street Market “Quadridge” Dots scarf (....£330. Sorry). Not only does it feature a chic black and white design but it merges this with a bright yellow background. However, if you have more sense than money, the wonderful thing about this trend is that with a couple of new accessories in yellow or blue, it is easy to bring a would-be nautical tee or houndstooth from yesteryear to the cutting edge of fashion.

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FLORALS Finally it’s time to tackle the biggest cliché of them all – Summer florals.

The broderie anglaise adorning each frock on the Louis Vuitton catwalk channelled the trend Vogue dubbed ‘Graphic and Girlish White’. On one side of the spectrum was minimalist, structured style (epitomised by the clean lines of Celine and Paul Smith), while the other extreme embraced the elaborate, featuring floral inspired lace and sheerest chiffon (Oscar de La Renta, Jenny Packham, Louis Vuitton).

This season has seen florals transformed from pale and interesting to loudly lurid. Moschino features bright yellows and fuchsias with bold geometric cuts and appliqué flowers - a far cry from the demure daisies of Marc Jacob’s pattern last year. Of course, it’s not all neon appliqué: Erdem’s creations are demure and feminine, while Valentino’s white A-Line frocks are very reminiscent of SS12 style. However, it’s fair to say that with Clement Ribeiro and House of Holland tie-dying oranges into blues and yellows into purple amidst a jungle of wild flowers and Dolce’s mounds of floral texture atop rainbow stripes, its all gone a bit Alan Titchmarsh on acid.

Images: thedollsfactory

Luckily, foraging for florals on the high street is likely to be successful, so no need to break the bank for this trend. ASOS’s Skater Dress with Appliqué Flowers (£85) channels Erdem’s bright but demure embroidery, while their Premium Bandeau Mirror Floral Skater Dress (catchily named, as ever) features a fantasia of lurid flora. Finally to mimic Clement Ribiero’s exotic rainforest prints, invest in Topshop’s Safari Floral Trousers (£45). But is the case for muted hues, steer clear of Zara, who have decided to feature florals so out of touch that they can’t even pass for grandma chic.

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Clearly, this look is all about confidence. Don’t be a wall flower! Keep subtle colours for other looks and use this trend to add a burst of colour into your summer repertoire. And a final word of advice for this season? Anything Zara does, do the opposite.

ARPITA ASHOK

INDUSTRY

Oxford

Image: Chivchila

“In the summer term Oxford teaches the exquisite art of idleness, one of the most important things that any University can teach.”

Oscar Wilde

INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

FAKING SARTORIAL ELEGANCE

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f you are an Oxford student, it is highly probable that you have been ‘there’. By ‘there’ I do of course mean that point in time lodged somewhere in between that night in Bridge and that half-baked essay, when you catch a shooting glimpse of your dishevelled reflection in a the pane of a library window and are confronted with a single damning thought: how did it come to this? Laundry has been swapped for lectures, exercise has been traded in for essays, and style has been displaced by subfusc.

To help you get through these dark sartorial times, Industry provides you with a fool-proof menu of options for faking sartorial elegance on a deadline. After all, we could all do with those extra 5 minutes in bed.

1. LA COIFFURE

THE ‘GRADUATE’ PONYTAIL The ponytail has grown up, and it has blossomed into the epitome of style. On those mornings when dry shampoo is your only option upon waking up in an UOC (Unidentified Oxford College), gather your hair into a high or low ponytail in the typical manner and secure with a bobble. Then, separate a 2cm strand from the underneath of the ponytail, wrap around the bobble until the hair runs out and fix with kirby grips on the underside of the ponytail. Finally, scrunch and blast dry shampoo or hairspray through the lengths.

THE ‘GET UP AND GO’

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2. LE VISAGE A stitch in time saves nine and adhering to your skincare routine religiously will pay dividends when fifth week hits. However, for a short-term fix - perfect for disguising the tell-tale signs of an all-nighter - stick two spoons in the freezer and then dab them on your face to reduce bags under the eyes. Also, invest in a brightening and illuminating serum such as ‘Visible Brilliance’ by Elemis, a miracle beauty product which works instantly as well as over time to brighten your complexion.

Smooth a light base of foundation, touched up with concealer. Give it staying power with a sheer pressed powder, replace bronzer with highlighter and be liberal with the mascara. Lipstick, as the high heel of make-up, is indispensible. Yves Saint Laurent would not tolerate women in his presence unless they were wearing lipstick and neither should your tutor, your friend, or anyone else with whom you may happen to interact. At the very least apply blusher over lip balm for looser commitment to this rule, or attend to your lips with a moisturising chubby stick.

Image: makeupObssessed

Image: Trend -Vogue

This is a style only made possible by those luxuriously lazy post-deadline evenings. Apply a generous

amount of leave-in conditioner to the lengths of your hair and spritz the roots with a sea salt spray. Use a paddle brush to blow dry your hair away from your head to create volume, and, when dry, use a pair of straightening irons to curl one to two inch sections of your hair in different directions. Fix with a strong hair spray, enjoy some much-needed beauty sleep and as if by magic wake up to beautiful get up and go hair.

INDUSTRY

Do your homework. Just as you would not write an essay without having first done the research, don’t expect to be able to put together first class outfits with lower secondclass preparation. At the start of each season, go through your wardrobe pulling together different permutations of garments whilst cross-referencing with the holier-thanthou style bible that is, of course, Lookbook.

Simplicity is the last word in sophistication and there can be simplicity in variety. Counter-balancing maxi-skirts, calf-length skirts and mini-skirts with vest tops, threequarter length sleeves and tunics is a skill that, once mastered, can take you anywhere, whether it be a Saturday night at The Cellar or afternoon tea at The Randolph.

‘Basics’ are the glue that holds your wardrobe together.

Invest in basic vest tops, basic long-sleeved tunics, basic maxi-skirts, basic dresses, and basic leggings – pretty much basic anything. If something works well for you and there is more than one colour available do not feel obliged to limit yourself to one of them. Think of these as the equivalent to revision guides for dummies – by themselves they may not quite be sufficient for you to claim that coveted scholar’s gown, but they provide an indispensable launch pad.

Dress for style, not for fashion. This means stepping away from the animated rail of varsity, Americana crop tops in Topshop and embracing the more sophisticated realms of Zara, Mango and French Connection.

“Anyone can get dressed up and glamorous, but it is how people dress in their days off that are the most intriguing.”

AlexanderWang

Image: myfashiontricks

3. LES VÊTEMENTS

Zara churns out reworks of the latest collections almost before they get off the runway and its fashion buyers tailor their collections to keep their customers one step ahead of the crown. This makes that ubiquitous store the fashion designer’s worst enemy, but your best friend.

4. LES ACCESSORIES Some stylists swear by investing in the very best jewellery and accessories that they can afford, but students can assume a less radical approach. A simple silk scarf can complement an otherwise uninspiring outfit and, whilst an addition by Alexander McQueen may be more than sufficient, it is certainly not necessary.

Le sac à main is analogous to your ‘bit on the side’: how much you invest in this item depends on how much you invest in everything else. If you are confident that, this accessory aside, your outfit is comparable to that of a fashion blogger during London Fashion Week then le sac à main may be sartorially superfluous, in which case great investment is unnecessary. However, if you are inclined to prioritise academic deadlines over sartorial details then a staple handbag that you can pick up at any time will instantly take your look from weak to chic.

Image: ‘The Shoe Girl blog’

5. LES CHASSURES For Christian Dior, the real proof of an elegant woman is on her feet. If possible wear heels, and if questioned echo Victoria Beckham with the simple: “I can’t concentrate in flats”. Of course, your 6-inch Kurt Geigers can hibernate in the depths of your closet until the sun goes down, but during the day experiment with a cube heel on a Chelsea boot, a court shoe or a wedged sneaker to automatically elevate your style ranking.

LAURA KENNEDY

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O x f o r d

Photography by Agata Wielondek.

Illustrations by Alexandra Pullen.

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In

Murky Waters

Image: Gabriella Dyson

Ellen Page and Nusa Bartol-Bibb wade into the ideological world of sub-fusc.

A

lthough the fact may have been somewhat obscured this summer by Louis Vuitton’s re-painting of the zeitgeist in a monochrome palette, sub-fusc is the sort of thing that is anathema to fashion. It pronounces an emphatic rejection of change and more significantly, the necessity of change. Of course, it would be all too easy to declare that it is precisely this quality that guarantees its warm reception at the University. But would such a judgement be accurate?

Might there be another reason why the stay of sub-fusc at the Oxford has been so indefinitely extended? And is it time that we issued a notice for eviction?

There are reasonable grounds for suspecting that subfusc is something which is maintained out of a stereotypically Oxonian reverence for tradition. For an institution that reserves walking on lawns as a privilege earned only by a post-graduate degree and insists upon the offering of graces in a dead language, argumentum ad antiquitam is not so much an argumentative fallacy as a way of life. As long as such seemingly non-purposive practices are actively perpetuated, often in the face of opposition, the argument that sub-fusc is important as a vestige of tradition is difficult to deny.

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Yet just because the power of tradition is clearly at play, does not mean that it is the sole force behind the protection of academic dress in Oxford. The institution appears to have other motives in maintaining sub-fusc. One such motive, it is often suggested, is the hope of improving examination results; a claim which initially appears to be validated by research findings. Most recently, the argument that academic dress raises academic standards received support from the results of an investigation into ‘enclothed cognition’, presented by Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky of Kellogg School of Management in 2012. The pair’s main finding was that participants performed tasks better in clothing popularly associated with the activity in which they were engaged. The implication, it seems, is that what candidates must relinquish in terms of comfort as they sit in stifling sub-fusc, they gain in the assurance that comes from its symbolic power. However, we should be careful of swallowing this hypothesis whole.

In the Kellogg experiments students were attired in the vestments of professionals and experts in the activity they were performing. Their dress corresponded to the role to which they aspired rather than, as in the case of Oxonian students, the one in which they were already cast. Thus the analogy which might encourage any pronouncements on academic dress is imperfect.

Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that the gain to be had from dressing in formal attire is only marginal.

Our contemporaries at other universities are not failing to achieve academic success, despite the freedom to dress as they choose for exams. Of those admitted to Oxford for post-graduate courses in 2011, only 27.5% were from the UK, and only a small proportion of that minority were graduates of the University of Oxford. Dark suits and pencil skirts can’t have given us too great an advantage over our casually attired fellow

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More importantly, there are types of arbitrary distinction between students which the protectors of sub-fusc highlight rather than obfuscate. Consider, as a case in point, that the rules of sub-fusc are gender-specific.

You are identified not straightforwardly as a candidate sitting an exam but as either a male candidate, or as a female candidate. The tacit implications are that there exists a male order and a female order of students; that the order to which you belong is a ‘fact’ that is noted by the University; and that it is a ‘fact’ that should be noted by you. The levelling function of sub-fusc is further undermined at the end of the first year with the presentation of scholarships and the billowing gowns that come with them. Once they are in second year or above, students stepping into the exam schools must follow a dress-code which indicates both their gender and the academic success to date. When you are wearing a markedly different gown to the next person along, you are made acutely aware of the existence of an intellectual hierarchy and where you stand within it. In INDUSTRY

Image: Nusa Bartol-Bibb

students. Academic implications can be, at most, only imposing a code of academic dress as it does, Oxford one part of the story. is not so much denying distinctions within its student body in a general sense as downplaying a specific set A less obvious but, to our minds, far more likely mo- of distinctions. tive for the maintenance of sub-fusc is its perceived levelling function. In a prescribed uniform, candidates So, if it isn’t proven to improve academic standards, if it can express nothing but their status as students of the doesn’t really represent a rejection of arbitrary distincUniversity of Oxford. You can discern neither their tions between students and (as I imagine I don’t need class background, nor the sub-culture with which they to demonstrate to anyone who has spent half a day in identify, nor what level of university a gown) it isn’t practical, is there anysport they play. Therefore, it seems thing keeping sub-fusc in residence ”What candidates must that the University dresses you in at the University other than the Unisub-fusc in the hope of reminding relinquish in terms of com- versity’s love of tradition? Well, yes fort as they sit in stifling you that when it comes down to it, actually, the students. The abolition its academics are not interested in sub-fusc, they gain in the of sub-fusc was put to the vote by anything other than the mark of your assurance that comes from OUSU in 2006, but our predecessors mind and the marks that mind leaves elected with an 81% majority to keep its symbolic power.” on an exam script. it. What their reasons were for doing so – whether they share the instituThe rather significant flaw in this hypothetical plan is tion’s apparent reverence for tradition or like to be rethat sub-fusc (in its current configuration) is a woefully minded that they are not the only ones suffering three poor levelling device. When students abide by the rules hours of intellectual aerobics a day - is a question to of this archaic uniform, they are simply not dressed uni- answer another day. Although the continued support formly. For one thing, there is no single supplier of sub- of its wearers may not get to the root of why sub-fusc fusc, so although social distinctions are less conspicu- is still donned on many a May morning, it does offer a ous then at universities where academic dress is not a pretty clear verdict on whether or not it’s time to give requirement, they are still discernible in students’ attire. it the boot. As far as I’m concerned, while the students That erstwhile Cheltenham Lady may not have ‘WILLS’ continue to endorse it, sub-fusc has leave to stay. emblazoned across her back but when you see the red soles on her black pumps, the illusion that Oxford Students leave their cultural baggage at the doors of the Writing Schools is shattered.

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O X F O R D in a fashion class of its own

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lass has a pretty noticeable presence in Oxford.

We all like to pretend it doesn’t, that we all fit in just fine; and we relegate anyone who suggests otherwise to the position of having a massive chip on their shoulder. Of course, in a city which combines large-scale social deprivation in many of its suburbs with a student population seemingly dominated by alumni of the country’s elite public schools, it would be impossible for the class divide not to rear its ugly head once in a while. I was recently working a casino at a ball offering the winner of its grand prize two tickets to Ascot. A woman came and asked me which enclosure the tickets were for, I confessed that I didn’t really know what that meant. She looked at me as if I’d just mutilated a kitten right there in front of her.

Of course, often class differences can add to the diversity of Oxford; the experience of meeting people so different to oneself can make coming here a very exciting, eye-opening experience. However, one way in which class seems to do nothing but divide is in its influence on fashion. When I first arrived here I concluded that this must be the only city in Britain where they sell a large va-

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riety of gilets in Primark. It seems to be a wardrobe staple which has yet to die here, even though the gilet fell totally out of fashion long ago for the rest of the nation.

It can shake your sense of class identity coming to Oxford. Having spent my entire life considering myself to have come from a well-off, middle-class family, I arrived at university feeling like the salt of the earth because I don’t own white tie and I don’t already know seventy people here from my old school.The main thing that made me notice this divide was the way people dressed. It had more of an influence than any of the Old Boys’ networking or the way people behaved. You learn which clothes are “for posh people” here. I remember, in Michaelmas, proudly buying my first pair of red chinos from River Island, for no reason other than that I quite liked the look of them, only to be very quickly informed that they had somehow turned me into a wannabe Old Etonian. How does that even work? They are identical in cut and material (and, indeed, price) to the chinos in all the other colours, as well as being from exactly the same shop.

What is it about their being red that ever made them shorthand for upper-class styling?

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This isn’t the only example of tiny changes you can make to your look in order to change the class affinity you emit.

Take the aforementioned gilet: how is it that you can take the innocent body-warmer, that beloved staple of every OAP in every breezy northern town, and merely take the sleeves off in order to turn it into the ultimate sartorial manifestation of ‘rah’? How is it that I can take a jumper and tie it around my waist and look perfectly normal (if a little socially awkward), but as soon as I wrap it around my neck I must be on my way to the hunt race?

I didn’t start to enjoy fashion until I was about sixteen. Before then I thought it was just another reason for the popular kids to look down on the nerds, in whose number I very much belonged All the wealthy boys would be dressed in the same styles as their many friends, while the rest of us - who didn’t have the time or energy to keep up with it - were mercilessly mocked on every non-uniform day at school. But as I grew up I realised that, actually, fashion is about individuality and expression. There may be trends which come and go, but they are just part of a milieu in which you can find your own style and be yourself, whether you’re a jock, a nerd, a hipster, or just straightforwardly refuse to be pigeonholed. It’s a huge shame that that the opportunity for self-discovery is threatened in Oxford by these class-based divisions.

It’s a kind of snobbery which isn’t really helping matters in a university already seen by much of the country as elitist and ‘up itself’. Every single ‘quintessentially Oxford’ thing adds to the stylistic divide: the numerous balls, where the challenge is to wear the most ridiculous black tie you can find (usually involving some kind of suede and in ridiculous shades of purple); or the dress code of the Oxford Union, where the most important elected members, such as the president, wear white tie, the speakers wear black tie, the OUCA members on the front row are all in suits, and the rest of us on the back benches just wear what we’re wearing anyway. Even in sports, where casual gear such as tracksuit bottoms are necessary, we have to ‘posh them up’ by adding a calligraphic logo with ‘OUlettersC’ and calling it ‘stash’, to distinguish ourselves from the ‘hoi polloi’ who can be seen heading into Sports Direct in the Westgate Centre of an afternoon.

Dressing yourself in Oxford is incredibly stressful It’s a shame that the spirit of fashion is undermined by these ridiculous and elitist glass-ceiling restrictions on what you wear based on which class you’re part of, or indeed, which class you’re desperate to become a part of when you’re here.

Images: Nusa Bartol-Bibb

CHRISTOPHER PIKE INDUSTRY

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The

COWLEY

RETREAT

Styling and concept byAnna Robinson and Megan Kemp / Modelled by Zakia Sewell and Clare Storey / Photography and Image Editing by Nasir Hamid at simplyoxford.com / With thanks to The Library and The Truck Store.

Clare wears Vintage shirt and skirt, Office shoes. Opposite page: Zakia wears Vintage dress, Kickers shoes. Clare wears Miss Selfridge dungaree dress, Vintage shirt, Moshulu boots.

Zakia wears American Apparel skirt and crop top, Kickers shoes

Zakia wears American Apparel trousers, Topshop basque. Clare wears Vintage shirt, H&M skirt, Office shoes

Zakia wears Vintage Liberty skirt, Kickers shoes, Topshop top.

Q&A

Images: Vanessa at The Love Collage

“The Supreme Accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.”

Arnold J. Toynbee

INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

Images: Susie Forbes

Susie Forbes

Principal of the Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design / Founding Editor of Easy Living / Ex Deputy Editor of Vogue

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ould you give a brief outline of your career to date?

I always knew that I was interested in magazines and the media. My first job was at Elle magazine as the ‘fashion secretary’, I prised my way in, despite being a hopeless typist. As it turns out, it was all because my surname was Forbes, and they thought I was related to Malcolm Forbes! That was my lucky break. I spent a few years there, and then moved to a magazine called SKY, which doesn’t exist anymore. It was a sort of style magazine for supermodels and rock stars. Later, I got a call from a contact of mine from Elle asking me if I would be interested in moving to Vogue. Of course I nearly ripped her hand off! I spent 8 to 9 years there doing all sorts of jobs, which was incredibly interesting. I then left to launch Easy Living magazine which I did up until 2 years ago when I embarked on my new venture, constructing an education project for Condé Nast. It became my mission to come up with

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something that would seamlessly fit with the brand of Condé Nast, something that we could be as proud of as if we were launching a new Vogue.

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hat have been the highs and lows of your career to date?

Generally the highs are the brilliant and talented people around you. It’s a cliché but it’s a gift to go into work, doing something that you love with such incredible people. I think it’s so important, if you can, to find the thing you really enjoy doing, alongside people you like and respect. That’s been the universal quality with all of my jobs.

The low of being a magazine editor were the months when you had disappointing copy sales. Even though I’ve just said it’s all about the team, you take it personally. If you’re the boss, it’s up to you to take it onboard. You spend hours worrying about whether it was the choice of the cover star, what it was that you did wrong, but often it’s just outside forces, things INDUSTRY

you can’t control. In my new job, the high is that I’m doing something new and exciting at this point of my career, I mean I never thought I’d be heading up a college at this point in my life.

The lows are never having enough time in the day, although I’m enjoying it, so it’s not a bad problem to have!

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ould you describe a standard working day for us?

As I’m not from an academic background, my role is to be a kind of gatekeeper for Condé Nast, to go out and talk to people about what we’re doing and persuade them on to get involved on all sorts of levels. Fortunately, everyone seems to take my calls because they’re interested in the project. I’m talking to a lot of people, asking them to speak and finding collaborations with interesting brands who want to come and interact with the students. Basically my role is to ensure that the course meets our students’ high expectations.

In the end, we will only be judged on

what they’ve done and where they end up working. We are just trying to be as helpful as we can in steering them in the right direction for their career.

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hat led you to your career; what educational path did you take and what work experience did you do?

After graduating from Edinburgh University with a History of Art degree, I did work experience at a magazine called 19 and I loved it. There was a wonderful woman there who let me job shadow her, rather than just make cups of tea and I got the opportunity to do incredible things like interview pop bands. That was such a formative job.

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hat would you say are the fundamental skills to have to get into the fashion industry, and more specifically fashion journalism?

I think that people forget just how varied the magazine industry is. Within our company there must be at least 100 different roles. People tend to box in magazines with journalism but there are so many other jobs. We’ve got journalists, creative directors, stylists, iPad designers, website designers, all sorts of different things. The key thing, which I hope to achieve with the college, is to identify the skills that you are good at and pinpoint the role you think you’ll have the most success in.

The other thing, specifically about magazines, that used to drive me crazy as an editor was that you have to do a lot of homework before you apply to a specific publication. At Condé Nast, it seems everyone wants to work at Vogue, yet you get just as good jobs and work experience at other titles.

It’s important to see the broader picture, whilst you can work towards ending up somewhere like Vogue, there is life beyond it. I think people sometimes get blinkered by the glamour,

or the perceived glamour of it. As an editor, certainly on Easy Living, if I felt someone was coming to me, almost reluctantly on the way to another magazine, I wouldn’t be impressed.

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ow have you seen the print industry change throughout your time in the business?

Radically. It couldn’t have been more of a revolution if it’d tried. It’s a very interesting and challenging time for print but we do feel confident that print will remain the beating heart of our magazines. Time and time again people are given the choice between an iPad edition and a print edition and they still pick print. For fashion and lifestyle magazines where imagery is so important, you can’t really replicate that online. In our line of high quality, glossy magazines, I think we will be able to ride the digital wave rather than be threatened by it. For newspapers, I don’t feel so confident.

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hat would you say was the fundamental motive for Condé Nast to open a college, and what makes you unique, setting you apart from your competitors?

We’ve been looking into all sorts of new businesses over the last 5 years; we’ve done the Vogue festival, the Wired festival, we’ve got restaurants all around the world. As long as we feel they are things that compliment us as a company, we’re not afraid to put brand extensions in place. We get so many people approaching us about how to get into the magazine industry, how to get into the fashion industry, this project seemed like a no brainer. When you’re sitting on the outside of it, the industry can appear very opaque, there aren’t any graduate schemes or distinct paths, so this is a medium through which we can help people find their way into the industry.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity.

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hat skills and knowledge do you aspire your students will develop during their time at the college?

On the 10 week course we can’t really teach them to be something, but we can show them what it’s like to be in a variety of roles. The students are working very hard, they’re learning the nuts and bolts of the design business, the marketing, the PR, the branding, and hopefully they will get a better clue of what they want to go into.

Half of it is deciding what the student is good at and which bit they’re most interested in. Lulu Guinness came to our opening party and said that out of the 30 people who work for her, only 3 work in design. I think it’s so important to understand the wealth of different roles out there and how you can work towards them. We’re hoping to leave them with a breadth of knowledge of the fashion industry today, keeping it modern and relevant.

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o you have any personal professional goals that you would like to achieve in the future?

Make a success of this new venture.

It’s been an enormous and interesting project getting it together and I would be so proud if I saw it rolled out internationally, with it perceived as a world class education provider that we would like it to be. To be honest, in any job I have never thought beyond the job that I’m in.

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ny last words of advice for people aspiring to progress into the fashion industry?

Don’t be put off; things don’t always come when you first go for them. Yes, there will be knocks and rejections en route, but if it’s something you really want to do, you should follow it through.

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Image: Nusa Bartol-Bibb

FASHION DESIGNER CHARLOTTE MARSDEN You probably haven’t heard of Charlotte Marsden but unless you are one of the moneyed few whose wardrobe is one-third Stella McCartney and twenty percent Mary Katrantzou, she has probably designed more of your household’s clothes than anyone you can put a name to. Her career began back in 2004 with a year in residence at preppy brand, American Eagle, and by 2006 Charlotte had moved into couture, showing her own label, Viemora, at London Fashion Week. Despite winning significant acclaim with the label in the Middle East, it wasn’t too long before Charlotte traded in a career in haute couture for a place on the high street, designing clothes for the woman on the street and the girl in the lecture theatre. After creating the launch collection for House of Fraser’s Pied A Terre, she moved to Zara, where she worked until 2012. Today Charlotte is Senior Womenswear Designer at high-end high street label, Jigsaw and has agreed to give Industry an insight into just what her covetable position entails.

What is a typical working day for you?

The majority of the morning is taken up by email correspondence, as it’s my job to liaise with the offices appended to our factory in Hong Kong. Three days a week I have to set aside a few hours of the morning for fitting the collection with a garment technologist. In the afternoon, I try to allocate some time to sketching and how the rest of the day is spent depends on how many meetings I have throughout week. Today I’ll be taking some time out to putting together a presentation to show my boss which of the ideas for the latest collection we think will work. At the beginning of each season, I’ll go to Hong Kong for around a week to work hands-on with my colleagues in the factories and talk them through the collection. It’s a lot easier to talk them through the designs face-to-face and being there is really great for sourcing, as well.

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What would you say is the most difficult part of happening on the catwalks is not that vital to Jigsaw, as it isn’t a trend-driven label. It’s very different to being at Zara, your job?

Allocating time to just think and sketch is actually really hard. There’s not much time to sit down and think what you really want to design: what you’re feeling strongly for.

How does designing ready-to-wear compare to designing couture?

When I was designing couture, costing wasn’t really a consideration. With couture you can be much more creative.

Also, what you’re doing is creating the exact piece that your client wants. And it is a one-off piece. different to designing a whole collection. A ready-to-wear collection has to be cost-effective and commercial. Your limitations are far greater. I don’t know if I’d want to go back to couture. As a designer, I am very interested in the commercial aspect of my work: I find it really exciting to watch sales or see somebody walking down the street wearing my dress.

where we had to follow trends quite closely. We also go to a trade show at the beginning of every season called Premier Vision. That’s where all the fabric from all over the world is on display. It’s a great place to see the direction in which everyone is heading: what colours and prints are in. Then, of course, you look to other high street stores and ask yourself, what are we missing? I also get inspiration from exhibitions, magazines, blogs. I’m using blogs more than ever before.

Which do you think it is more vital to get right in a design: the cut or the material?

For me, fabric is the best starting point but then fit is also very important. Ultimately, if a customer tries on a piece and it doesn’t fit, they’re not going to buy it. I think that the combined effect is very important.

What advice would you give to anyone hoping to get where you are today?

How much creative freedom do you have in your Developing a portfolio is really important. Spend time makposition?

ing sure that it’s strong. And it’s easier if you can work out I definitely do have creative freedom. Certainly, no-one early on which pathway that you want to take so you can try dictates to me what I have to design although, obviously, to get work experience relevant to the jobs you’ll be going you have to be commercially aware. In terms of creative di- for. I switched around a little bit and I think that’s natural but rection, we work together in a team to present our ideas to it’s It’s definitely helpful to be more focussed. Then just rethe director. She might come up to me a few times a month ally go for it. Also, you do have to be prepared to work for with suggestions but for the most part I have free reign over free for quite a while! my designs.

As we start thinking about the season ahead, Where do you find inspiration for your collec- what should every girl have in her wardrobe for Autumn/Winter 2013/14? tions?

I think leather is still a key fabric – a leather top or skirt. It’s all about the wardrobe separates, really. And in terms of outerwear, I think sheepskin is going to be really big next season.

Images l-r: Jigsaw Campaign S/S 2013; Jigsaw A/W 2013

You are definitely always aware of the shows and what the big designers are doing. At the moment, we’re paying attention to the resort shows which have just come out and picking up trends from there. But having said that, what’s

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Images: Tiffanie Darke

Tiffanie Darke

Editor of The Sunday Times ‘Style’ magazine

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ould you give a brief outline of your career to date?

I began in PR, but quickly realised that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I did some work experience at The Observer, and ended up getting a job on their Life magazine. After that, I moved to the Telegraph for a year as a commissioning editor for food and lifestyle and then went to the Express magazine.

The nineties was a great period for women. At the time, there weren’t many female editors, but as their main readership was women, they were keen to promote females into editorial positions which enabled me to progress fairly quickly. I then received a call from The Sunday Times, asking me to work on their news review section. Then, after about a year, I was asked to launch a Style section as a glossy magazine, having never really done fashion, nor knowing much about it. The idea was to create a magazine that was new and fresh, maverick and modern, with irreverent journalism. When I arrived, fashion critics were banned from seeing a collection if they had criticised the fashion house, it made me realise how much power the houses hold. Much of my time since has been about treading the line of critique, yet still holding independent thought and at the same time creating an inspirational glossy magazine with a tone and an edge to it.

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hat is the high of your profession?

Being able to assist a worthwhile charity alongside our magazine.

We support the charity ‘Dress for Success’ who provide job interview clothes for women. If you take fashion back to its roots, to its core, it’s about enhancing someone’s self

esteem. This is what they aim to do and it’s so crucial for women who want to get back into the professional working environment.

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ould you describe a standard working day for us?

In the mornings I have a lot of meetings about fashion businesses and their product lines, a lot of discussions with companies about digital, e commerce and mode of delivery. Then I’ll come into the office, we’ll discuss the news of the day, find out what’s going on, what stories we should be running. If we don’t have any fixed features, we’ll discuss ideas, maybe look on the web and find stories for the team to write about. I’ll look at pictures, layouts and shoots that we might have coming up. Perhaps write headlines. At the moment, digital is a big discussion for us. We do have a successful business at the moment, we sell content because we believe it’s worth paying for, but it’s important to consider how we can grow it all the time. This is one of our biggest challenges and we’re going to have to work hard at it. It’s also important to consider new avenues of advertising, looking into how we can use multimedia and videos.

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hat led you to your career?

Essentially, I got my job through work experience, never really having a clear view of what I wanted to do. Work experience is of fundamental importance. There are so many people who squander their opportunities, but I still maintain that if you do your work experience well you will get a job, or someone will put you in contact with someone who will get you a job. If you’re in an office, you need to realise that INDUSTRY

you have an unprecedented opportunity to impress people who are in a position to help you. Show willing; arrive early, stay late – just going that extra mile. You need to be very aware of the kind of people, network and industry that you’re working in and understand what you can offer. As a young person straight from or in university, you offer the voice of your generation and can give a unique viewpoint, which is often something that is missing from a lot of publications.

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hat would you say are the fundamental skills to have and the processes to go through to get into the magazine industry?

For your generation I think it’s crucial to be up on technology and digital. You have to be passionate about what it is that you’re going in to, anything less than that isn’t going to cut it. You should be prepared to work really hard for next to nothing, and eventually you will be in a position where you can start earning what you need.

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ow have you seen the magazine and print industry change during your time in the profession?

Digital of course is a massive thing for us now. Whilst it’s threatening our industry, it’s also making it incredibly exciting to be engaged in. It’s affecting every industry it touches, from publishing to TV, to film and music. The winners of losers will impact for generations to come.

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ny last words of advice for people aspiring to progress into the media industry, particularly regarding fashion?

Show willing and work hard.

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The ex-blogger

Image: Carl Turpie

NUSA BARTOL-BIBB MEETS AN ERSTWHILE MEMBER OF FASHION’S MOST POPULOUS TRIBE

have something to sayMOST and there’s this exciting AskNUSA almost anyone about the discourse of fashion BARTOL-BIBB MEETS AN ERSTWHILE MEMBER OF FASHION’S POPULOUS TRIBE new

and where it’s heading, and the likelihood is that you’ll hear a lot about the internet in general and blogs in particular. There seems to be a consensus that the fashion blogger is the newly garbed Marianne, symbol and harbinger of some cataclysmic fashion revolution. The emergence of an endless ream of selfprofessed style bibles is spoken of as a renaissance for fashion as expression and fashion as art. We hear from all sides that the bloggers have freed fashion from the clutches of commercialism and advertisingpacts. We hear from all sides that the future is theirs.

Or, at least, we hear that from almost all sides. There is a small, if growing, contingent that is convinced that the heyday of the fashion blog has passed. Emma, an old Oxonian and once a fashion blogger in command of a significant audience, is one of its number.

channel through which to say it’. The fashion blog was a place where she could initiate the kind of conversations – reflecting on the completely new developments on the catwalks – that life at Oxford doesn’t usually afford. ‘I guess I was also driven by the desire to create something. Surely, everyone wants to do that?’

Emma explains that she was able to get a platform for her writing partly because there were so few people writing about fashion on the internet at the time.

‘I don’t think I’d have been able to get to the same position again if I started now’, she admits, explaining that it’s because the scene is so saturated. ‘As it’s so crowded, you need to have a presence on Facebook and Twitter. A big focus is just getting yourself known and that wasn’t really a priority for me’.

Emma’s main interest was in sharing and expressing Emma began blogging in 2008, a time when she ideas and when there were so few outlets to talk about thought fashion was at its most exciting and its most fashion, she explains, the conversations you could directional: ‘It was one of these situations where you have online were more sustained and more genuine.

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‘There was even a sense of community among fashion bloggers. Nowadays, I don’t think it’s about finding that community. It seems to me that it’s more about becoming internet famous.’

Yet the cult of personality is not, for Emma, the main factor in the demise of the ‘genuine’ blog. The assimilation of blogs to the very corporate world of print media has also had a part to play ‘Even if a blog was more centred on the blogger than the audience - and honestly, I think it was -there certainly used to be a sense that it was about the consumers and not the industry professionals. You weren’t accountable to any higher powers or personally motivated. It was just about someone expressing their personal opinions and inviting a response’. She explains that what was so exciting about the blog was that an individual could put his or her own spin on things in a way that isn’t allowed in a traditional, commercial setting. But today’s fashion blogger cannot claim this unique selling point: ‘I don’t think people who read the blogs are aware of the extent to which commercial powers - fashion retailers , the press - impinge upon the blogs they’re reading.’

The problem with this commercial involvement, as Emma sees it, is quite complex. Firstly, accountability to the same brands leads to a homogenisation in bloggers’ styles. ‘There is this whole look which is the ‘blogger’ aesthetic’, she observes. But more problematic for an industry whose very lifeblood is change, is the kind of look that becomes homogenised through the interference of the powers that be.

‘As the majority of samples are sent out not by the big fashion houses, but by high street brands, the style you see on blogs is not so directional’. A further consequence of commercial

involvement that Emma laments is the transformation of bloggers from discerning critics into indiscriminating worshippers of their effective sponsors. It is a phenomenon at which she is not especially surprised. ‘Most of these bloggers are teenagers or students with no independent income. Of course they’re not going to turn down free clothing! They’re going to provide good reviews because they quickly learn that if you’re nice about the free

BLOGGING IS A VICTIM OF ITS OWN POPULARITY things, you’ll get sent more free things.’

Emma believes that through the materialization of this sort of vested interest in blogging, what was once a unique medium for free expression has become much like magazine journalism, albeit at a lower level. ‘It’s a shame because while blogging was once about a personal take on things, it’s gone back to a reporting-style format‘.

Emma turned her back on blogging, she says, because of ‘a growing sense of embarrassment’ at being part of what she saw as a very harmful new culture. ‘Blogging ruined fashion week by bringing street style to the forefront’. It’s her theory that due to the increasing prominence awarded to street style, fashion isn’t as directional as it was around the time she began blogging. ‘Fashion week has become, in the last few years, an absolute circus.

People see it as an opportunity to get photographed and think that in order to make the most of that opportunity, they need to wear the most ridiculous things.’ Emma believes that it is due to the influence of blogs, and particularly

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street style blogs, that a consensus seems to have emerged that fashion must be outlandish. ‘There is a place for outlandish fashion: there is a place for the avant-garde. But the sort of style we started to see at London Fashion Week because people were turning up hoping to be featured in street style pieces was just cartoonish.’ It is a sort of sartorial one upmanship which is a symptom of the increasing difficulty bloggers experience in getting a platform on a scene which is so saturated. ‘With the number of blogs out there, so many of them are barely distinguishable from one another. Blogging is a victim of its own popularity.’

But has the blog been so far reduced by its proliferation that it has no more to give? Emma doesn’t think so, but she stresses that the would-be blogger needs to find a niche to be successful.

‘There’s been an emergence of more and more subculture blogs and that’s the only kind of fashion blogging that I still follow.’ She is particularly drawn to writing on minimalist fashion and the French wardrobe. ‘It’s about creating a wardrobe from very few, very high quality pieces: saving up for the more expensive items.’ However, for those who see a blog as a step on the road to fashion journalism, a focus on subculture is not the way to go. ‘I think the mainstream media is not really interested in that, because ultimately they’re not interested in promoting a timeless style: they’re interested in selling trends.’ Although Emma has no plans to pursue a career in fashion, if she were to do so, it would certainly not be through blogging. ‘If you want to get a serious job writing about fashion, it’s about quality rather than exposure. I think that you have to follow the same routes that were getting people jobs in the industry before blogging took off. Internships; speculative, almost begging emails. I think it’s very difficult now as a blogger to stand out from the crowds and it isn’t something I would try again.’

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Julia wears Urban Outfitters playsuit. Connie wears Vintage dress. Opposite page: Connie wears Religion dress.

Summer's lease

date

hath all too short a Shakespeare , Sonnet 18

Styling and Concept by Megan Kemp and Anna Robinson / Modelled by Julia Skisaker and Connie Bloomfield / Photography and Image Editing by Nasir Hamid at simplyoxford.com / With thanks to Worcester College

Julia wears Zara top.

Julia wears Vintage dress. Connie wears Lulu’s dress

Julia wears Vintage dress.

Julia wears Zara dress.

Connie wears Primark blouse.

Julia wears Vintage jumper. Connie wears Zara playsuit.

Beauty

Image: daily-beauty

“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin.

That, or a kick-ass red lipstick. “ Gwyneth Paltrow

INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

BODY HAIR

- a prickly issue

Yara Rodrigues-Fowler discusses the shifting trends of one of our biggest beauty qualms

I

Image: lamalintencionada

t is a truth universally acknowledged that whereas fashion changes, style endures. Or so said Coco Chanel.

Beauty, I suppose, must also endure - what with truth being beauty and beauty being truth - and, sure enough, our sensibilities react as keenly to the Venus de Milo now as ever in antiquity, even though she doesn’t have any arms.

But look at the beauty section of women’s magazines and increasingly men’s - and you’ll see articles telling you, not only how to attain beauty but also what it is. Last year was thick eyebrows, which a few years before verged on criminal. The same with large breasts, small breasts, flares, kitten heels and fringes - conflicting definitions notwithstanding. Beauty, apparently, exists in a state of trending flux.

Image: 24media

There is topic, however, upon which magazines, and the people reading and not reading them, seem to have reached a consensus over the last ten to fifteen years: body hair. Body hair is not beautiful; or rather, a hairless body is. This is the prevalent view with regards not only to women, but increasingly to men. The exact dictates vary depending on where exactly that hair is, and where you’re showing it - a trim strip on the pubic region, for example, would satisfy the bedroom aesthetics of most, but hairy legs in P.E. generally classify as unacceptable.

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The history of the various locations and types of body hair removal has likewise varied - leg-hair becoming less and less in vogue as hemlines rose throughout the twentieth century, armpit hair following a similar, if delayed, pattern of contagion from the United States across Europe in the decades following World War II. And as for pubic hair, INDUSTRY

most of us have a rudimentary idea of the history of its removal: considered a fetishistic request until the 1990s, when the dawn of ubiquitous access to pornography turned the masturbator’s mandate for onscreen clarity into the aesthete’s sexual standard.

in sexual excess: Barrymore’s slip is see-through, her aureola visible and her underwear outlined.

That is not to say that body hair hasn’t had its ‘beautiful’ moments since, or that the peak of its representative significance was featuring on a Playboy spread, as the picture of Patti Smith on the album cover of Easter, released in 1978, shows. Rather, this image demonstrates the relocation of body hair to counterculture, and away from mainstream notions of beauty.

Of the images included here, my favourite is the one taken of Drew Barrymore in 1996 (by Mario Sorrenti).

Taken during the crescendo of “celebrity culture” and the prevalence of shaving, Sorrenti places Barrymore’s armpit hair at the centre of an image which is already INDUSTRY

Image: 7digital

(In 2011 Sorrenti shot the Pirelli calendar, 24-page female nudity extravaganza featuring egg shell-smooth crotches galore, and not a pubic or armpit hair in And so the beautiful people dutifully removed their sight.) pubes, and then they told us about it - in the case of Carry Bradshaw in Sex and the City, we even saw her Photographs associating or depicting present day cewince. In 2003 Victoria Beckham announced to the lebrities, body hair and beauty are rare: the majority world: “I love Brazilians. They ought to be compulsory consist of a paparazzo’s grainy close up accompanied by the word “Oops!”, along with hyperbolic speculaat 15, don’t you think?” tions regarding the sanity of the celebrity in question’s The standards of body hair removal that we live with, stylist. and within which we locate beauty, are only a generation or two old. Hardly eternal then. So, what used to This is depressing. It excludes the possibility that body hair (because all types of body hair garner such be beautiful, and where was all the hair?

Looking back to the classic beauties of black and of comments) might be deliberately, rather than acwhite cinema, there’s a fair bit of hair on show. For cidentally, grown. Worse: it associates body hair with example, in this picture, Sophie Loren, the celebrated sticky myths of hygiene and desirability, divesting it in beauty of Italian cinema, poses in a kind of 1950s pre- the process of all its sultry, pheromone-hiding beauty. shaven Mediterranean glory, which includes armpit hair as just another facet of its voluptuous-limbed and Unlike armpit hair, pubic hair is enjoying a tentative renaissance. American Apparel models can be seen dark-tressed aesthetic. online in net knickers through which pubic hair is The “pubic wars” of the late 1960s are another tes- clearly visible. French Vogue pictured Crystal Renn, tament to the seductive power of body hair. Staged pubes thickly grown in 2010 - and, on last month’s between the respectively steamy centre-fold pages cover an unbuckled Jarrod Scott with a teasing inch of Penthouse and Playboy, the “pubic wars” involved or so of pubic hair on show. monthly striptease based around the then line between provocative and pornographic: pubic hair. Thinking of Coco Chanel’s comment - that fashion Penthouse, which arrived in the USA in the mid- changes but style endures - I am struck by how the im1960s, had brought with it European notions of nudity ages of Sophia Loren, of Smith and of Barrymore have so compelling, that in order to retain its readership, in endured, and that style only lasts because of its interthe first issue of 1969, Playboy risked legal action and nal variability. And I can’t help but wonder whether we’re not mistaking fashion for style, trend for beauty; published a centre-fold replete with pubic hair. and whether we can’t see the woods for the bush.

Such has been the power of pubes in the recent hisYARA RODRIGUES-FOWLER tory of print pornography, a medium and genre from which it is now meticulously waxed and airbrushed.

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On Beauty ARPITA ASHOK

It baffles me that so many people have yet to discover the fact that certain sun creams exist specifically for the face. Just as the face has its own lighter, oil-reducing moisturisers (while you can happily slather the rest of your body with heavy-duty sudocreme with the consistency of cottage cheese), so it deserves its own specialized sun protection. The face is the money maker, after all. Garnier Ambre Solaire Face & Lips (SPF50+) offers high protection for the most sensitive skin. It can work well under makeup, is never greasy, and gives the skin a healthy feel.

Bare-faced

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hould you get it wrong, this is probably the scariest look in the book, both for yourself and others.

‘Bare-faced’ seems to suggest you throw self-loathing to the wind and exhibit with gay abandon your large pores, dark circles and uneven complexion.

Not entirely enticing.

However, in the heat of the sun nobody wants to be layering on foundation so have this look in your repertoire and you can look like a sun kissed goddess in no time. Well, actually in some time. This one is a long-term goal.

Start with a decent cleanser. I always trust Clarins but a friend recently informed me of her numinous experience at the hands of Eve Lom Cleanser. At £40 a pop (a 50ml pop to be precise), it’s rather expensive but a trawl through the reviews of the product online will probably convince you it’s a must have. It is fast becoming a cult classic and was recently acclaimed as “probably the best cleanser in the world”

by Vogue. With that in mind, I should probably tell you the 200ml tub is available at £85. Enjoy.

More upmarket sun protection is available in Heliocare Suncream (around £24). It comes in gel form and is therefore non-greasy, with a creamy texture.

As it is tinted, the solution works as the perfect base to even out skin. If all of that wasn’t enough to convince you, it is SPF 50 but also comes in SPF 90 for the palest and most sensitive skin types.

When you’re aspiring to a bare-faced aesthetic, foundation should have a ‘barely-there’ look, so nothing too heavy duty required. I highly recommend Clarins loose powder (£30). It is finely milled, not cakey, so its sets the face, subtly evens and is sheer enough to give a polished but natural look. It’s no-makeup makeup at its best and really delivers the luminous radiance it promises.

To highlight and add a little glow to the eyes, go light on the mascara, if you apply any, and use Burberry’s complete eye pallette in (No. 3 Nude) for definition and depth. A worthwhile investment, it complements your natural skin-tone and brings out the eyes while staying subtle and sophisticated. Lips should be kept moisturised and bare - just as nature intended!

One of the most important things in summer is sun protection. This goes for any skin type - nobody wants wrinkles. Luckily, I have had this drilled into me from a very young age by my mother. Upon arrival at home following the end of term, I fear so much for the detection of my newest wrinkles, that my sun care regime is pretty damn slick.

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INDUSTRY

Loud lips and bare-faced beauty are two daytime looks which reappeared time and time again on the catwalks this season. Both trends rely on healthy, sun-kissed skin and therefore require serious commitment to skincare. Here are some tried and tested products to help you to face going bare and natural.

Loud Lips

The second essential product is Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. A minimal amount should be patted onto the face immediately before foundation is applied. It primes and taughtens the face, leaving it revitalised and allowing your makeup to last far longer. It’s everything you need to fake a healthy glow and particularly useful in the summer since it does the job of an illuminator without the risk of an Edward Cullen glow.

We’ve all been there.

The foundation required of this trend gives good coverage and for this I recommend Armani Maestro Fusion Foundation (£38). It adapts to the tone and texture of your skin and keeps oil at bay while giving a natural look. Burberry Velvet (£35) has a significant following and is on trend with the soft, velvety look featured on the catwalks this season.

Now for the show-stopping smackers. There is nothing I hate more than a flat, thin lip. Since urban decay’s lip plumper was discontinued due to dodgy ingredients, I have been known to use kissing, salt and vinegar crisps as well as actual chillis, to plump up those bad boys. The lengths we go to for beauty...

But sometimes it seems the simple things are the most effective. For healthy, juicy lips, keep them moisturised - it’s as simple as that. Nivea’s budget-friendly Lip Butter in Vanilla and Macadamia does the trick. I simply apply it 5 minutes before the lipstick and watch my lips rehydrate.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY NUSA BARTOL-BIBB

I

f you want your lips to be the only feature you accentuate, the rest of the face has to be a pristine blank canvas. This requires, first of all, two products no girl should be without. First up is Clinique’s ‘all about eyes’ serum (£21). I invested in my first roll-on 2 years ago and every morning, upon application, all traces of sleep-deprivation magically disappear.

Lipliner is always a controversial one - it seems so beyond our time. Instead I swear by a lip tint as a base.

Maxfactor’s lip tint in Royal Plum for a pink look or Passion Red for a red one (£6.99) does the trick and is very good value. Apply more to the edges of your lips and bask in the glory of your no-surgery lip enhancement. Be careful not to choose too dark or purpley a tone, however, as it will alter the shade of your lipstick too much.

Lipstick is all about the right colour and the right tone.

This look demands a punchy matte lip - gloss will only detract from the impact of the colour. MAC is a goto for loud lip colours but I will always be an advocate of Topshop’s. At £8 a pop they are reasonable, last a long time and have come in some great shades. Of course you will have to sift through the tackier ones, but it’s worth the hassle. My staple colour is ‘Beguiled’: a dark berry colour which when applied lightly can give a great healthy day time look and when layered creates vampish splendour. My favourite shade for this summer is ‘Rio Rio’: a corally red which is truly lip popping and really warms up a dull complexion. ‘Feel my Pulse’ by MAC (£15.50) is a pretty pink which is perfect for this season and has great lasting power.

Once you’re finished with the lipstick of your choice, use Burberry Brightener Pen to highlight, especially around the cupid’s bow. It’s a wonderful highlighter everything ‘Touche éclat’ wants to be.

Eyes should, of course, be kept fairly bare and I recommend Dior mascaras for an eye popping night time look, or Maxfactor volume length mascara for a cheaper but worthy second.

Day or night this lip popping look is guaranteed to be a winner.

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Make up and Concept by Anna Robinson and Megan Kemp / Modelled by Emily Bootle, Melanie Gurney and Leonore Carron Desrosiers / Photography and Image Editing by Nasir Hamid at simplyoxford.com

HIT tHE

CARNIVAL

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embrace vibrant eyes and punchy lips

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rkleandshinesparkleandshinesparkl

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Menswear

Image: Amin Eftegarie

“Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.�

Arthur Ashe

INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

Image: Dunhill

Image: Paul Smith

TRANSITIONARY TAILORING

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always find that summer is the toughest time of linens are prone to creasing and can wear-through very the entire year for dressing sharply; the unpredict- quickly and whilst some cottons are woven to be suitable mix of sunshine and sudden showers makes the able for hot weather, others are not. My tip would be season a potentially very limiting and drab one for to avoid cotton canvasses, which are usually used for dressing in tailoring. It’s hard enough to dress impecca- making up winter-weight chinos and trousers, and look bly in tailored pieces at the best of times, but when the instead for very lightweight, loosely woven cottons or weather fights against your wardrobe, it can be tempt- else seersucker. A puckered, soft and extra-lightweight ing to give up hope of keeping any sense of composure cotton cloth, it is employed almost exclusively to make or cool in one’s outfit. And so, in this instalup summer jackets and is highly breathment of the Gentlemen’s Guide, I shall blow ‘Add a splash able. Alternatively, look out for cotton and the whistle on the secrets to getting summer of colour and linen blends: blending the two fibres leaves tailoring spot-on, to allow the sartoriallyyou with the advantages of both materials; some Jazzsavvy amongst you to stay cool and crisp, the lightness and airiness of linen with the Age ‘pizzazz’’ no matter what the season throws at you. crease-resistance and durability of cotton.

It’s predominantly a question of weight - by which I mean that in summer you need tailored garments which are light enough to keep you cool in the heat, and warm in the rain, and when the weather heats-up, you just need to ensure that the garment is a light as can be, to prevent you from sweating in midsummer. For anyone in the sartorial know, inextricably linked to the concept of garment weight, is the concept of breathability. The two cloths which should take centre stage in any tailoring collection in the summer are linen and cotton. What makes these fabrics ideal is not only their weight, but the fact that they are woven from natural plant fibres, remaining light, airy and receptive to the circulation of air through the fibres which make up the body of the cloth, keeping you cool in summer, but also trapping warm air in cooler temperatures. But a word of caution:

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The quintessential source of all your tailoring inspiration cet été, which many of you will doubtless have been waiting for, is Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby. You really need look no further to see how to do summer tailoring properly. Regardless of what you make of the film, the costume design (undertaken predominantly by those noble gentlemen at Brooks Brothers, using their extensive Jazz-Age tailoring archives) embodies the dress-sense of the dandy. Gatsby’s suits, cut from fine Irish woven linens and Italian cottons, are perfect. In some scenes he carries off beautiful ivory and dusty-pink three piece linen suits, in others a lightweight toffee coloured cotton-blend suit with a royal blue check running through it. Ever so handsome!

Also showcased in the Gatsby film is the importance of the separate. Chinos are the just the ticket for a casual

INDUSTRY

take on the summer blazer and such is the popularity of brightly coloured chinos nowadays, that the possibilities are, quite literally, endless. I myself have a pair of lightweight summer cotton chinos in white, pale pink and teal, and they co-ordinate wonderfully with colourful summer jackets. Deck shoes or tassel loafers and laundered, soft summer shirting finish the look off perfectly. For a further flash of colour, a paisley handkerchief is a prerequisite. I also enjoy buying summer suits and mixing and matching – pairing white linen trousers with a red and white cotton boating blazer. Mixing tailored separates over the course of the season is the perfect way to maximise your use of tailoring during the warmer months.

It’s a far more casual and laid-back way to wear tailoring and equally allows for you to enjoy mixing colours and patterns, getting the most out of your wardrobe.

There are a few things to avoid, though. First: buying cheap linen. It comes out in force every summer, all over the high street. Reiss and Next, in particular, love it. Now, that linen will crease is just one of the facts of life, coming as it does from the fibres of a plant, it holds none of the natural oils that gives wool its natural sheen and crease-resistance. Nevertheless, good quality, tightly woven linens let me assure you, crease much less than the cheap Chinese woven stuff used at the bottom end of the high street and good quality linen garments do not sacrifice any of the benefits of lightness or breathability that comes with wearing linen. If possible, when you go looking for summer tailoring, find out where the fabric was woven. I’d make either Austin Reed or Jaeger your first stops. Both outfitters produce good quality, sizeable ranges of summer tailoring, in Italian woven fabrics, and - lover of English cloths though I am - I will concede that no one does summer fabric like the Italians. Another thing to avoid are cotton jackets which are fully lined. In a pure linen suit, the lining is necessary to help give the jacket body, given that the outer-cloth is so light and airy, but cotton jackets should always be half-lined for summer. Again, this relates back to breathability. Because the lining fabrics used by menswear retailers today are almost always synthetic, they do not breath, meaning that if they cover the entirety of the inside of the jacket, you lose the benefit of the breathability of the cotton and will overheat.

So there you have it, my crash-course in experimenting with summer tailoring: breathable, light-weight cloths in garments which add a splash of colour and some Jazz-Age ‘pizzazz’. Now let’s just hope that the weather gives an opportunity to put the theory into practice!

ALEKSANDER CVETKOVIC

Image: asuitthatfits

Images: fanpop, clothesonfilm

Summer suiting has never been as conservative as winter tailoring, and this season really gives you the opportunity to enjoy experimenting with colour; pastel hues come into their own in the warmer weather. White cotton chinos or linen trousers and loud coloured boating blazers are staples, and if I may say so, they’re very Oxford. For formal wear, light-coloured linen suits look chic and pale blue and dusty pink suits are the ultimate in fun, yet subtle, summer colours. In the right shades, pastel colours make for an distinguished, yet understated look and offer a sense of confidence, I can assure you that it can provide a very masculine aesthetic indeed. Don’t be afraid to experiment with stripes and checks, either both linen and cotton can be used to weave checks and stripes, and there are a lot of boldly-striped cotton boating blazers out there to enjoy this season in navy blues, whites and reds. The key is to keep accessories simple and colour combinations classic. If you’re wearing summer tailoring, keep the shirting soft and simple: oxford button down collars and classic white or pastel chambray

shirts will always look good and are very of the moment.

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INDIE FASHION:

Image: Psyche

style in denial?

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ndie’ and ‘hipster’ are common designations for a ily seek out alternatives to the high street. Only then man (or, indeed, a woman) who creates a personalised will his nonconformist sense of style mark him out look. This act of creation demands that he dress in a from the rest of the army of would-be trend-setters. style which is completely ‘individual’; in other words, he will reject the mainstream to create a truly unique Herein lies the paradox of ‘indie’ as an amalgamation look; he will be a nonconformist. In addition to this, ‘in- of definable elements: how far can someone attemptdie’ - a simple contraction of the word ‘independent’ ing to adopt the ‘indie’ look be ‘indie’ given the word’s - suggests a level of individuality: a level of independ- connotations of aesthetic innovation and singularity? ence from the dictates of authoritative fashionistas and The champion of brogues, for example. These shoes the other powers that be. It is thus almost inevitable that are a universally recognized staple item in any ‘indie’ wardrobe worth its salt. Yet they are clothes which are to be truly ‘cool’ must now so ubiquitous that to describe them first be ‘uncool’. Hence why you picked up “Indie seems a as part of an individual aesthetic would your granddad’s jumper two weeks ago. redundant term.” be inaccurate. Furthermore, their association with the ‘indie’ look precludes Ironically, it is staying ahead of fashion that is a fundamental tenet of being fashtheir independence from existing trends. ionable. Individuals with the confidence to be the first They are now simply fashionable. What about military to wear an item are instrumental in perpetuating the jackets, skinny jeans, granddad jumpers, male jewelwhole concept of trends. Without them, fashion would lery, quiffs, chequered shirts, rolled up sleeves? A fabe static and permanent when in fact we know that miliar pattern seems to be emerging. These are the fashion – quite unlike style – is essentially transient. items of the ‘indie’ wardrobe, yet they are seen every day and worn everyday all around the country. ‘Indie’ Once a few people start experimenting with original therefore seems a redundant term. The style has so items of clothing worn in original manners (think back pervaded modern fashion that the word itself has lost to those long gone days when skinny jeans were newly all of its original meaning and is now just a synonym thrust onto the catwalks), it can create a domino ef- for ‘fashionable’. That leaves us with the uncomfortfect. In his search for the trend that can release into able thought that if to be ‘indie’ is to be fashionable, the sartorial world, the true ‘indie’ man must necessar- then to be fashionable is surely to be conformist.

JONATHAN LAWRENCE

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INDUSTRY

Image: Beryll.com Image: savannahstylist

ness in print and form. The value placed on simplicity in menswear can is easy to see when looking at iconic stars such as Marlon Brando and James Dean, whose tight white t-shirts, denim jeans and leather jackets epitomise understated masculine style. Furthermore, that other bastion of the stylish gentleman’s wardrobe, the suit, is one that comes with clear-cut rules and offers men an obvious route to style and sophistication. That is not to say that there aren’t male style icons who transgress the boundaries. However, these ‘peacocks’ - Jimi Hendrix among them - make for difficult examples to follow, as their style is fairly distinct from the majority of men’s fashion. And, of course, it should not be assumed that simplicity equates to homogeneity. Differentiation and personality can come in the cut of the suit, its fabric, or the accessories (think a directional pocket square or tie). There is always room for the incorporation of individuality into an outfit Trend-led style is so much more ac- although it is important that rules should cessible to women partly because they be known before they can be broken. have much more freedom with fit and style. Successful male dressing is centred The intransigence exhibited in male around a few basic, definitive pieces, and fashion means that following trends is while we occasionally see trends that play often simply unnecessary and, at times with the details of such pieces, the staples (particularly with the more questionhave, for the most part, remained un- able menswear trends that have come changed for years. The same is true for and gone in recent years) can result in a womenswear to some extent, of course, downright ridiculous look. For the most but this phenomenon of stasis is abso- part, for those just beginning to develop lutely central to men’s fashion. Menswear an interest in fashion, the foundations of is predominantly a matter of simplicity, good style can be established relatively and whilst the catwalk occasionally throws easily. That is not to say that the followup objects of intricate craftsmanship and ing of trends cannot produce a fashionextravagance, usually the flamboyance able man, but it is important always to of such items is not in the remit of most approach them with caution. Ultimately, men’s comfort or style. Indeed, within it is difficult to pin down the elements of male culture, men who are seen to be good style, for there will always be ex‘fashion forward’ tend to be viewed in a amples which defy any categorization. negative light, whereas the culture of the Yet, understanding and learning to apfairer sex celebrates diversity and bold- ply the very basics remains a good start.

Image: fanpop

This season, the pastel suit, bomber jacket, floral shirt, and denim jacket are among the items currently in vogue. But how influential are these trends taken from the catwalk that the fashion media and the high street seem intent on dissecting and mass-producing? If they are having a tangible influence, should they be? In the world of women’s fashion, perceived trends - whether introduced on the catwalk or seen on the back of a superstar - appear to be much more prevalent in influencing street-level fashion than in the world of men’s fashion. Certainly fashion culture, guided by haute couture and the high street, has typically been seen as a feminine domain, and trend-following, whilst definitely observable in menswear, is much more prevalent in the area of female fashion. Nevertheless, the role of trends in menswear warrants examination. How important are they to the average man forging his personal style?

Image: elderwheel

THE ‘TREND’ IN MENSWEAR

FEDE BEHRENS INDUSTRY

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HOLISM

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Tam wears Dr Marten boots, Topman jeans, Uniqlo Turtle neck,Vntage jacket.

Tam wears Dr Marten boots, Topman jeans, Uniqlo turtle neck, American Apparel shirt, Vintage jacket.

MODELLED BY TAM GUABODIA / STYLING, PHOTOGRAPHY, CONCEPT BY MATTHEW ROBINSON

Comment “Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.”

Yves Saint Laurent

INDUSTRY ISSUE 3

Image: Nusa Bartol Bibb (featuring photograph from Anya Hindmarch)

Fa

F

Em sh po ion w & er m en

ashion is truly important. I can say that with absolute certainty, and I have no qualms arguing my point against those who perceive it as a by-word for superficiality, or else a mere symptom of capitalist materialism.

For one thing, fashion is an art-form. Whilst day-to-day clothing is, of course, partly based on convenience, and what we wear is an incredibly diluted version of the true essence of fashion, it is still important and it is still artistic. Just like other art forms, it has implications which reach beyond the aesthetic. Fashion is perhaps one of the most useful tools with which to make observations about people – as it is not only created by people, but created for people – and this, above all else, is why the value accorded to it by the greater part of society should be reconsidered. In this, its great worth should be recognised.

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I concede, however, that fashion is not without its problems. Rationally, we might like to consider the model as a blank canvas – a medium for the work; unobtrusive but well-constructed, without rips or conspicuous blemishes. However, when female (or, perhaps, simply human) insecurities come into play, we begin to consider models almost as if they were the enemy. It is only too easy to resent the fashion industry for bringing such images of the ideal into our vision, subliminally embedding in us an inferiority complex subdued only by buying ‘J’Adore Dior ’- because it must be the perfume that makes her look that good!

What the models also do is shift our focus from the garments to women. Not only might this push women to seek an unattainable ‘perfection’, but it can also provoke an inference of objectification on the models’

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part, particularly in a fashion generation with few muses weren’t allowed to have sex before marriage, vote, or much bigger than a UK size 8, and where the slight- flash an ankle. Now, it is not outside the social norm to est blemish or fold of skin is swiftly vetoed by a skilled sleep with strangers, be an MP, or go out in just a leoairbrusher. tard (while there are arguably still sexist constraints on The size issue throws into light a more general phe- all these things). While individual style is an expression nomenon of women who are becoming the fashion, made on a personal level, fashion reflects the current rather than simply the ‘canvas’. Under a slightly dif- state of things for a whole demographic. ferent guise, the displacement of art by the canvas has been occurring for centuries, with great painters privi- This is quite evident with reference to the burqa. A leging certain women, or else ‘types’, as their muses. simple item of clothing represents so much – for some, What is distinctive in the case of fashion models, how- obedience, respect, and women in their place; for othever, is the extent of the exposure to the industry that ers, restriction, degradation, and shame. The removal the public has, and how it infiltrates our lives subcon- of it, then, for the latter category: freedom and self-exsciously, requiring little to none of our energy (until it’s pression, both as a woman and an individual. Similarly, too late). Moreover, it is the models’ job to flaunt their in India, the infiltration of Western fashion corresponds appearance, and to show as much or as little skin as they with a more general paradigm of women ‘fighting back’. like in the interests of their art, but there are slightly The claims of misogynistic men that the choice to wear different rules for women leading more ordinary lives. a revealing outfit encourages harassment do not deter For better or worse, real life can’t be airbrushed, but as from the sense of empowerment these women may photographs can, and we are constantly exposed to the nevertheless feel. All such claims prove is that those resultant images of ‘perfect’ women, perfection remains men are behind the times. They do not appreciate that our goal. Unhelpfully, we are enticed by the advertis- the clothes say ‘I don’t care’, or ‘I can do what I want’, or, ing for which these ‘perfect’ women are quite simply, ‘It is thirty degrees and used into thinking that it is not totally being shrouded in fabric is uncomfort“Fashion is less implausible. The cosmetics industry able’. They are so obsessed with a sexa discourse of has made it only too tempting to atual image of women, something which tempt to tailor ourselves to this human by no means inherent in the fashion perfection than a isindustry, fashion, spouting promises of flawless that they cannot separate the discourse of two. That is where the problem lies: skin, hair up to 100% flake-free, and (a the way in which some interpret personal nonsensical favourite of mine opportunity and with the fashion industry, rather than with from Rimmel) ‘lashes so limitless they the industry itself. defy length’. empowerment

However, we must take care to note the difference be- What I’m trying to say, then, is that while it is easy to view tween fashion and cosmetics; fashion and advertising. fashion as belittling women, maybe we should question It is in failing to do so that people stumble into confu- whether the quite real disempowerment we see is really sion, holding the fashion industry culpable for all the fashion’s fault. Fashion did not set out to do anything above issues. Surely the idea of perfection is a social of the sort. Alexander McQueen once said he could construct, not an artistic one, which cosmetics compa- ‘see beauty in anything’ and he captures therein the nies have grabbed with both hands and used to their true essence of fashion: bringing out the beauty in peoutmost advantage? ple, from the inside. Clichés ... but clichés for a reason.

The third parties are what destroy the image of fashion.

Fashion is less a discourse of perfection than a discourse The sexist men, the fixation with money, the marketing of opportunity and empowerment. It allows you to see of the model; rather than the beautifully hand-crafted a fraction of the life, or soul, of a stranger as you sit op- shoes, as deserving of hundreds of pounds as a beautiposite them on the tube. What we wear is our chief me- fully hand-crafted painting. If we embrace fashion for dium of external expression, irrespective of our attitude what it is really about and use it wisely, we have earned towards ‘fashion’. Even people who say they don’t care a great asset to being truthful about ourselves. Naomi about what they wear are making a statement through Wolf has written a book about the ‘beauty myth’ in sotheir clothing about the sort of person they are. After ciety, which could perhaps be applied to the airbrushed all, they still make some sort of decision when choosing mug shots plastered over buses and billboards. But go their clothes. And for women in particular, what we ex- back to basics and fashion is not a ‘beauty myth’, but a press through our clothing can be an expression made beauty truth, complementing true beauty in an entirely on behalf of all womankind. Two hundred years ago we objective way.

EMILY BOOTLE

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Image: Wanda Jones

Trouble

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ith the country in the grips of recession and post-millenium divorce rates reaching an alltime high, our continuing, even increasing, obsession with all things wedding is seemingly anomalous.

‘Don’t Tell the Bride’, ‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ and a host of shows on the incredible Wedding TV have all sought unique angles from which to approach the ‘big day’. But, in my opinion, no gimmick can disguise that, whatever the ostensible concept, there are thousands of women and girls who would happily watch ceremonies back-toback without any editorial intervention whatsoever.

My eleven year old cousin gave me the lowdown on her plans a few months ago. She even had a Powerpoint. “I want Notre Dame so Mummy says I’ll have to become a Catholic,” she begins matter-of-factly. “There will be seven bridesmaids but I don’t know who they’ll be yet because I’ll have new friends by then.” The groom, I learn upon questioning, will have a yacht business in the south of France. “And the dress?” I ask tentatively. “THE dress?! I’ll have at least two!” Ah yes, being a ‘princess’ for the day now entails outfit swapping like an awards ceremony host. If the public won’t even look at Holly Willoughby in the same dress for three hours straight, what chance do you have of entrancing your family and friends who see you all the time?

Plus, the two dress solution taps into the major problem with this matrimonial mania – it’s just too hard to narrow down. My avid consumption of trash TV has left me torn and confused. Country house pretension or hippy beach wedding? Traditional wording or tear-jerking self-penned vows?

Katie Price cleavage or Kate Middleton demure sleeves? At this rate, I’ll need as many marriages as Elizabeth Taylor just to get it all out of my system.

It seems such a waste that there can only be one day when colours coordinate and people call you radiant.

So here are my thoughts on how to inject some wedding magic into the everyday (bonus: no taking on a life of dreary monogamy, financial codependence and a reliance on photo albums and memories to bolster your flagging self esteem):

1.

Strife

Send out paper invites.

For parties, dinner - hell, just for going to the pub: make an event. Host things with friends. Life is about so much more than just one occasion.

2.

Wear dresses everyday.

Sometimes people say ‘nice jeans’, but rarely.

Don’t just stockpile your girliness for one hideous meringue, don’t keep the beautiful ‘for best’.

You never know when ‘the best day of your life’ will be, so you’d better be prepared to look the part.

3.

Wedding lingerie?

Please. This is ridiculous. Your wedding underwear will depend entirely on the demands of your dress, be it strapless, backless, or bum-skimmingly Pippa-esque. And you’ll be far too tired, drunk and emotional to be at your best in the bedroom when you finally vacate the child-strewn dance floor. Try ‘Tuesday lingerie’, ‘Bank Holiday lingerie’, ‘my boyfriend and I have the house to ourselves lingerie’ and, well, you get the idea.

4. Cake.

Because (a) it tastes nicer when it isn’t coated in marzipan and solid as a rock; and (b) it is more satisfying when not consumed immediately after a three course meal. Try it. Trust me.

5.

‘It’s all about me.’

I get it. I really do. Who doesn’t like attention?

But the day you join your life to someone else’s is not really the time to indulge your narcissistic fantasies. Fulfil these cravings when you’re young with proms, birthdays and those hideous ‘super sweet sixteens’. If all else fails you can always take up stripping on Uni Roulette…

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FINOLA AUSTIN

71

The fashion magazine in its original form no longer has a place in today’s society Laura Kennedy and Annabelle Clarke debate whether the fashion magazine remains relevant in society.

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In a style akin to the shift of the focus of the fashion monde from haute couture to prêt-à-porter, the relevance and the prominence of ‘the fashion magazine’ in its original and physical form has been supplanted by its virtual counterparts. A fundamental characteristic of the fashion industry is its inherent malleability, which time upon time allows the industry to evolve and adapt, enabling it to pitch itself perfectly to the tone of society at a given moment. As Anna Wintour, Editor of US Vogue, has remarked: “If you look at any great fashion photograph out of context, it will tell you just as much about what’s going on in the world as a headline in The New York Times.” Acknowledging the reduced prominence of ‘the fashion magazine’ is not to say that it no longer possesses worth and value; in fact, quite the opposite. This worth and value is simply being channelled into more effective lines of communication to ensure that it continues to be appreciated.

The archetypal twenty-first century career woman flicks away on her iPad, not through a magazine. In recognition of this, so many of the established fashion and lifestyle magazines, with the powerhouses that are Vogue, Elle and InStyle paving the way with their armies of Louboutin-clad feet, are undertaking what Louise Court, Editor of Cosmopolitan, terms the ‘360 degree approach’ towards public relations and investing in new ways to communicate with their target audience. The rise of social media and increased reliance on online polls and behindthe-scenes video footage permit these publications to foster a more personal and persistent relationship with us. The world is getting smaller, communication is getting faster and the irony is brutal: if you want to be left alone you must also be left behind.

Furthermore, the virtual revolution has been accompanied by the emergence of a new power in the world of fashion: the virtual blogger. Online fashion bloggers are the new editors of my wardrobe.

Whereas Anna Wintour may once have shared with me (through the filter of several sub-editors and wads of glossy paper) pearls of sartorial wisdom, such as INDUSTRY

“create your own style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others”, I now take my lead from my latest girl crushes on Lookbook and Tumblr. Their outfits of the day are delivered to my iPhone like the semi-skimmed milk to my doorstep.

To me, this is nothing short of a fashion revolution.

No longer is fashion dictated to the masses by the few, distilled and diluted until it eventually trickles down to my lap in a watered-down form. Fashion is a team sport; we are all participants; we are all making fashion and in the process we are all making history.

If you want to get inside the world of fashion - and I mean really get to know your way around each and every closet full of dark and dirty secrets - you must engage with the primary sources. Fashion is not just something that we subscribe to once a month for a couple of precious self-contained hours before we put down the magazine. Heroin-chic aside, fashion is not a drug; there is no such thing as a short fix. Fashion is constant, perpetual and eternal. It is not the takeaway that you allow yourself on a Friday night; it is the coffee and cigarette that you consume every day. Whilst some find comfort in the pre-packaged, collective unit imposed upon them that is ‘the fashion magazine’, personally I prefer to be the architect of my own package. Indulging in biographies documenting the lives of the great designers such as Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life (Justine Picardie) and The Beautiful Fall (Alicia Drake) is the only way to truly unpack and understand the houses of fashion that continue to reign supreme today. Not only are fashion publications aware of this but also they embrace it: why else does Vogue produce the range of ‘Vogue on…’ titles, covering designers from Christian Dior to Alexander McQueen? If you really want something sentimental to own and review in its original form then surely these sources are more informative than what someone says about what someone says about a designer. By relying purely on a pre-packaged selection of pre-approved commentaries in a fashion magazine, we risk stifling the voices that really matter - the voices that can guide the fashion industry into the future.

LAURA KENNEDY

Image: SherriDupree

be, enjoyed by an immense variety of people, some of whom adore having fashion at their fingertips. Many will happily while away an afternoon scrolling through the ever-updating cascade of bloggers’ sartorial offerings. To them, fashion is not a monthly luxury, it is perpetual and unremitting. To others, however, the task of separating the wheat from the chaff is overwhelming. With so many websites pleading for our attention, it is difficult to find the gems. A print magazine, on the other hand, has already

The clearest defence of print magazines is a simple one: their physicality. There is something so deliciously satisfying about the slip of glossy pages beneath your fingertips, that distinctive smell of paper and glue and hidden perfume samples, the glimmer of colours as you flick through the pages, the very weight of it in your handbag or tucked neatly under your arm. Some people will always prefer the tangible. Book sales may be diminishing in the face of Kindle downloads, but that is not to say that they will become completely irrelevant. And magazines owe far more than books to their physicality: print magazines are works of art. Even the adverts can be beautiful. I, for one, always cut out my favourite images and pin them to my wall; I fold the corners of interesting articles to return to later; I circle handy beauty hints and tips; I annotate the pages of style examples. Whereas online articles are transient and fleeting, something physical can be owned, and magazines can be exceptionally personal. We abuse them far more than we would books, and in doing so we make them our own.

Bloggers are often considered the fashion magazine’s most ominous threat. The continuous stream of online fashion delights is undeniable. In an instant - a click, scroll, click - an infinite array of beauty tips, celebrity photos, style articles and videos which form the eclectic offerings of keen-eyed fashion bloggers are available for your delectation. This is raw fashion, fashion for the masses, fashion on the street and fashion which aspires. It is immediate and momentary and vast. And it is incredible. Tumblr and Lookbook are teeming with aspiring fashionistas, laying out in beautiful bite-sized morsels their own ideas and discoveries. But there are thousands of them. And it is constant. Fashion is an art form which is, and should

lovingly gathered and filtered, shaped and refined, until we are presented with only the most sparkling of samples. Raw fashion can be stunning, but some people simply don’t have the time, energy or will to go to such lengths to find their fashion hit.

Fashion blogs have an indisputably great role to play in communicating fashion in the 21st Century. But this does not mean that the print magazine is irrelevant: it merely caters for a different audience. For those of us who want fashion to be presented to us in pre-packaged, polished monthly bundles, the print magazine is our saviour.

Likewise, there is something to be said for being provided with a magazine as a package, rather than mere disparate online links. Recognising this, many fashion magazine giants have now developed downloadable editions for tablets such as the iPad. When we read a magazine, we can dip in and out of our favourite pages and articles, we can pick and choose what we want to see and read, exactly as we can online. But we are presented with a whole product, the magazine as an entity. Take Cosmopolitan for example.

Dedicated to empowering women, this magazine draws together a variety of carefully selected sections, from fashion to in-depth journalistic articles to love and sex advice. The balance and substance of the content is unique, and this distinctive brand can never be conveyed online. A magazine’s website allows us to pick and choose what we believe we want to consume. But we can never understand the whole magazine as a collective unit. We have no connection with it, because we shape it so dismissively to suit our immediate wants and needs. The real product, the magazine’s true identity, is never fully communicated.

Print magazines will understandably be affected by technological developments and our ever-increasing reliance on the internet, yet their place in modern society cannot be substituted. For all the advantages online articles can flaunt, they can never replace the connection we have with physical objects.

The place of print magazines in modern society may be shrinking, but it will never be extinguished.

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ANNABELLE CLARKE

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GABRIELLA DYSON CONSIDERS THE ENDURING SARTORIAL INFLUENCE OF WALLIS SIMPSON.

Fashion’s First Lady

Images,clockwise from top: Hannah Rand; Condé Nast; Hélène Breut; Queens&Bowl; DearDamnDiary; Hello Magazine

“ We u s e c l o t h e s t o e r a s e o u r m i s t a k e s a n d t o h i g h l i g h t w h a t w e l i k e ; Wa l l i s i s o n e o f the best students of fashion school i n t h a t w a y. ” – A r i a n n e P h i l l i p s , c o s t u m e d i r e c t o r f o r ‘ W. E ’ .

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ou don’t have to look far to appreciate the impact that the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, has had upon the world of fashion. With her £395 Issa engagement dress selling out within hours of the images appearing online, and the emergence of enumerable fashion blogs devoted to ‘royal style’, Kate’s signature style has made her the fashion icon of a generation.

But long before Middleton-mania swept the globe, another less prolific Duchess was setting trends and breaking the royal mould.

In a scandal that threatened to bring down the monarchy, Edward VIII chose love over kingship, and abdicated the throne in 1936 in order to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice divorced American socialite. The couple were to become the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. At their wedding, Simpson broke free from the shackles of tradition and convention and wore a simple, floor length gown designed by Mainbocher. The dress itself married timeless elegance with innovation; notably, it was not white but instead a light blue, dubbed by the label ‘Wallis Blue’. The Duchess-to-be recognised that her wedding dress would be one of the most important outfits she would ever wear, and it needed to demonstrate to the posterity what they were missing by rejecting her. It is hardly a coincidence, therefore, that her hat was shaped like a halo and that her wrist was adorned with a bracelet of crosses. Wallis Simpson was doing what she would come to do best; she was exploiting fashion, using it as a language through which she could convey a message.

The style of the Duchess quickly gained international recognition. At a petite size 6, Wallis was able to wear any of the greatest designers of her time. A glimpse into her wardrobe revealed calf-length pencil skirts, large print silk tea dresses and tailored suits. Kitten heels and extravagant furs became staple pieces for this socialite.

Yet her insatiable desire to be the very first to wear the latest fashion saw Wallis commit her fair share of social faux pas - from sequinned hot pants to a Paco Rabanne space suit. Nevertheless, she donned them all with a fierce confidence that would be the envy of any modern fashionista.

Even more enviable than her eclectic wardrobe was the Duch ess’s exquisite jewellery collection, lavished upon her by her Prince. These pieces

played a fundamental role in the couple’s love story. Rumour has it that Edward was so proud of his beautiful bride that he requested every jewel in her vast collection to be dismantled following her death so that no other woman would ever be able to wear them. Recently auctioned off, the collection made a total of 8 million pounds, with Wallis Simpson’s sapphire encrusted Cartier panther bracelet selling for £4.5million alone. Whilst the buyer remains anonymous, many speculate that pop royalty Madonna is now its proud owner. The auction served to resurrect interest in this less prolific Duchess, with copies of her most famous jewels making appearances in High Street stores such as River Island and Zara.

As Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, has demonstrated time and time again, style has the potential to be a devastatingly effective PR weapon. Wallis Simpson realised that, once married into royalty, her fashion choices would become of much greater significance. This Duke and Duchess carved a lifestyle out of presentation, and Wallis mocked what she perceived to be frumpy, floral outfits and the ‘mumsy’ hats characteristic of the royals. Her backless cocktail gowns acted as the perfect antithesis to this demure image, and, with the eyes of the world firmly fixed upon her, she never failed to deliver. Indeed, despite her death in 1986, Wallis’s influence over fashion still endures. Taking their cue from the elegant socialite, designer powerhouses such as Dior, Miu Miu, and Roland Mouret have all experimented with the Simpson silhouette and style. With the recent fascination with ‘The Great Gatsby’, and with Dior’s Autumn/Winter 2011 collection referencing the Duchess as a central inspiration, fashionising.com predicts that the styles and trends of the 1920s and 1930s will make a highly anticipated return.

Roland Mouret, whose 2011 Autumn/ Winter collection included a dress influenced by Simpson, describes her style as: “A painful sexiness. Austere, but sensual.”

To recreate this for yourself, invest in draping gowns, balmoral tweeds and luxurious furs – aim for the perfect synthesis of quintessential English and Hollywood glam. For inspiration, look no further than Dior’s Autumn/Winter 2011 collection which paid homage to Wallis Simpson and her romance with King Edward VIII. INDUSTRY

Images: Hommam Arbi

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Dior channels Simpson for A/W 2011 75