The Launch Issue
Brie Moreno
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Polyester Magazine
Welcome to Polyester Polyester is a celebration of all things trash, kitsch and camp. A backlash against the fashion industry’s infatuation with understated and over conceptualised minimalism, Polyester aims to prove that this subculture is both an informer of fashion and has an equally intellectual underpinning. We’ve all grown up on the Internet so much so that the lines have blurred between our IRL and URL, but here at Polyester we noticed that what we’re reading about
Images: www. Pixel-galore.tumblr.com, www.thedollpalace.com
online is barely penetrating the real world. Other publications may touch on it, featuring our leaders in an isolated feature or themed ‘girls’ issue, but we all know our interests are worth so much more than that. We want to be recognised as real human beings offline and online, not just ‘digifeminist’ or emotional and hormonal young adults using the Internet as a way to let off some steam. We want the internet generation to know their online posts about bullying, racism, sexual orientation, and other social politics are worth much more than 1,000 notes on Tumblr, they should be publically written in newspapers and pasted on walls around the city so people who don’t use the internet know who these many individuals are. Polyester aims to lead the change in youth culture and society. We wish to educate and celebrate our culture by embracing the crazy!
EDITOR
FEATURES EDITOR
Ione Gamble
Afi Baaqi
ART DIRECTOR
JUNIOR FASHION EDITOR
Kayla Martinez
Jilian Banjoko
FASHION EDITOR
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Rosie Williams
Claudia Walder
COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER All rights reserved. No part of this publication msy be reproduced in whole or part without written permissino from publishers. © 2014 Polyester. The views expressed in Polyester are those of the respective contributors and Editor, and are not necessarily shared by the publisher. These parties cannot be held responsible for them. Cover by Arvida Byström
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THE REVOLUTION WILL BE BLOGGED
For a teen girl, her bedroom is her sanctuary and the space in which she experiences the most creativity. Nope, its not school that gets us most inspired, or taking a walk, or visiting somewhere totally awe inspiring, or any of that shit. It’s our bedrooms. Even
college, as it always has been
if the majority of time spent
traditionally. Our online friends often
in them is watching Netflix for
fill the gaps that exist in our lives, an
twelve hours straight.
idea that stylist Maria Pizzeria strongly relates to. “I love being surrounded by
Bedroom creativity used to
people that love to discuss stuff and
be confined to just that, our
that I can learn from. I didn’t really
bedrooms. But now we have the Internet. Where the Riot Grrl’s had to set up physical spaces to share ideas, we now have forums and blogs. Where zines used to only circulate within restricted friendship groups and mailing lists we can now share our publications with the click of a mouse and through our bigcartel accounts. Online artist and Tumblr personality Molly Soda credits this accessibility as the key to the online community, “The basis of digital
have those kinds of friendships when I feminism is access. It
was younger in my hometown. I am so
becomes easier and
happy to meet all the youngsters who
easier to collaborate
are awesome and eager to change
and talk to other cool
the world. It makes me feel pretty
girls on the Internet.
positive about the future”.
You can hit up virtually anyone you want
Our bedrooms usually breed
to collaborate with,
creativity, but now the tables have
whether they respond
turned and artists are looking inside
is up to them, but you
our four walls as a point of subject.
have the tools.” It’s this
Where we used to be embarrassed
change in the way we
of our poster-laden rooms we now
share information that
embrace them, no matter how many
has allowed feminism
posters of embarrassing boy bands
to become a discussion
may adorn our walls. The Haven
that no occurs before
Project is made up of two students based in London photographing
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Polyester Magazine
young women’s bedrooms, with
their aim being “promoting strong younger women who are unafraid to speak out for what they
“All the people working online are amazing. I
believe in through their chosen medium.” It’s not
love how the Internet showcases amazing
just third parties such as The Haven Project that
creativity, everything is acceptable online and
have become interested in girls environments,
this acceptance has begun to trickle in to the
increasingly more of us are turning the cameras
real world sooner and sooner. The Internet gives
on to ourselves and creating art using our own
me courage.”
webcams, an idea that Molly Soda is obsessed with, “I like the intimacy of a girl’s bedroom. I’m
It’s no secret that women have been largely
very interested in the way people- specifically
invisible in the majority of subcultures
girls- perform for their webcams in their rooms.
historically. The fact the movement is both
It’s like a specific level of comfort yet total
largely online and made up of young women
vulnerability because you have the intention of
is due to this shunning from traditional
putting this video you recorded or this selfie you
textbooks and academic writing. It’s hard
took online even though you did it in a private,
to disregard work that’s being produced in
safe space.”
a space where everything is documented, in the same way that we can’t ignore those
Being the first generation to grow up with
traumatising tagged photos the morning
social media as an integral part of our
after a night out, academics can no longer
lives, we’re no longer looking to celebrities’
silence the change women are fuelling within
exclusively as our idols. What started with
society. Their ideals may be belittled and
envying Myspace famous personalities has
scrutinised, but the combination of talent
grown in to a generation of girls looking
and power in numbers is hard to ignore
up to real life young women with an active
entirely, and the now the media is taking
online presence. Being an online celebrity
note. Collin’s has been featured in the New
is no longer as easy as knowing how to
York Times, Fashionpirate works for Teen
HTML code your profile page and having
Vogue and Maria Pizzeria is a PR goddess.
the best coon tails on the web, the second
The revolution may have begun in our
wave of online personalities have more
bedrooms, but now we’re leaving the
merit than the ability to create the perfect
confines of our four walls, and we’re sure
eyeliner flick. They’re photographers such
making an impact.
as Petra Collin’s, founder of The Ardorous, feminist Vlogger Celia Edell i.e Ceedling, queer feminist fashion blogger Arabelle Sicardi i.e Fashion Pirate and many more. These are women who aim to change the agenda within fashion and culture. This shift in who we look up to also allows us to interact with our idols, most of these women have their Tumblr inbox’s open. This accessibility doesn’t just work in artists who want to collaborate with each other’s favour. Fans can now send these women a message as easy as we all interact with our Facebook friends, leading to an open forum to discuss all facets of culture. Pizzeria manages to sum up the sense of community and strength within the subculture
Words by Ione Gamble
“I love how the Internet showcases amazing creativity, everything is acceptable online and this acceptance has begun to trickle in to the real world sooner and sooner.”
perfectly,
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