Opulence

Volume 10 | Issue 3

Standford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

BROOKLYN BLEVINS APOORVA GAUTAM Editor-in-Chief

Publisher

Creative Director

Marketing Director

Operations Director

ABBY RAPOPORT

NEHA KOTAGIRI

AVA BEN-DAVID

Design Editor

Print Fashion Editor

Print Features Editor

Print Photo Editors

MARGARET LAAKSO

DANA GRAY

CATHERINE AUGUST

ALEX LAM SINYU DENG

Video Editor

Digital Fashion Editor

Digital Features Editor

Print Beauty Editor

CARLY NICHOLS

JANAE DYAS

JANICE KANG

ELISSA LI

Finance Coordinators

Events Coordinator

Managing Photo Editor

Digital Photo Editor

HARINI SHANKAR MAKENZIE KULCYZKI

SENA KADDURAH

EMMA PETERSON

SUREET KAUR SARAU

Human Resources Coordinator

Social Media Coordinators

Public Relations Coordinator

Digital Content Editors

SARAH LINDENBACH

LUIZA SANTOS AUBREY BORSCHKE

ANGELA LI

JESSICA CHO ESTHER MURRAY

Design Team Kai Huie, Liza Miller, Terri Kang, Ashley Glabicki, Emily Sun, Katherine Kell, Sebastien Triplett, Tiya Madhavan, Bailey Hwang

Fashion Team Melissa Yu, Tzu-Yun Fun, Faith Tang, Reagan Hakala, Janna Jacobson, Paula Luput, Annabelle Ye, Mary-Katherine Acho Tartoni, Elena Shaheen, Taylor Stevens, Juliana Ramirez, Jessica Li, Ligaya Galang, Ansie Kruse, Bobby Currie, Ankitha Donepudi, Niko Smith, Sidney Vue, Angela Li, Emily Jennett

Features Team Lynn Dang, Sailor West, Shelby Jenkins, Meera Kumar, Ava Shapiro, Mya Fromwiller, Melissa Werkema, Emerson McKay, Lucy Dover, Emma Edmondson, Tara Wasik

Photography Team Riley Kisser, Oliver Segal, Paulina Rajski, Yueshan, Jiang, Carly Nichols, Tess Crowley, Maggie Kirkman, Taylor Pacis, Anisha Chopra, Vivian Leech, Anika Minocha, Emmanuelle Cubba, Audrey Eng, Mary Katharine Acho-Tartoni, Patrick Li, Harrison Brown

Videography Team Juana Mancera, Takara Wilson, Johannes Pardi, Kaelin Park

Digital Content Team Aurelia Hudak, Sigourney Acharya, Ally Chang, Clare Hong, Kiana Pandit, Irem Hatipoglu, Shari Frazer, Sophie Ding, Haniya Farooq, Alana Vang, Emily Jennett, Iris Ding, Radhika Patel

Finance Team Erin Casey, Ariah Samant, Elena Reyes, Riya Gone, Elise Hsiao, Emily Farhat, Taylor Jones

Human Resources Team Sam Wright, Maryam Hamka, Amory Tin, Cynthia Qian, Erin Segui

Public Relations Team Lily Fishman, Grace Donnelly, Zoey Tink, Fiona Huang, Alia Gamez

Events Team Tara Nayak, Erin Segui, Tiara Blonshine, Paris Rodgers, Allie Cain, Sanjana Ramanathan

Social Media Team Marley Davis, Frankie Smith, Grace Wang, Sasha Amani, Lily Shaman, Subin Pyo, Jessica Li, Jessica Kroetsch

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS 04 THE DANCE OF LUXURY 06 BEYOND TIME: THE ENDURING ALLURE OF LUXURY 12 SIMPLISTIC OPULENCE 14 A MODERN MARIE 22 GOLDEN CHAOS 24 RISE OF THE INTELLECTUAL AESTHETIC 30 THE WEALTH OF WISDOM 32 BOUND 40

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n an increasingly materialistic world fueled by late-stage capitalism, we often can’t help but allow our possessions to contribute to our sense of self. We characterize personhood through the aesthetics of clothes, our makeup routines, or the cars we drive. Living in the digital age often forces different versions of ourselves to vy for validation. Thus in the face of uncertainty about our truest self, we turn to the physical to ground us.

We’re all guilty of this, each in our own ways, my meticulously decorated room a testament to this. Walls filled to the brim with posters and band memorabilia, the product of my countless hours curating the perfect interior design is my pride and joy. And while the collaged wall of a 20 year old girl may not seem luxurious to some, it’s these expensive framed prints and vinyl records adorned on shelves that feel almost intrinsic to who I am.

Despite the ways in which our individual interpretations of luxury may differ, the larger framework from which wealth operates is a shared experience amongst us all, regardless of where you fall on the tax bracket. We’re constantly being marketed to, influenced, and told we need to optimize ourselves. Buy this fancy product to make yourself feel like the best version of you! Look at this influencer show off a day in their entirely unattainable, painstakingly curated life! Of course, this content often proves entertaining, but is the ease with which wealth is constantly presented to us an accurate reflection of its merit?

Thus, in the wreckage of glitz and glamor, OPULENCE looks to explore the ways in which our ideations of luxury, whether realized or imagined, influence our interpretations of ourselves.

Many of the photographs appearing in this issue serve as replications of what one may consider “old money” with modern twists on grandeur in the 21st century. In Tara Wasik’s “Rise of the Intellectual Aesthetic,” we’re trained to analyze intellectualism as a form of capital through an exploration of one influencer’s Ivy League facade.

But in our position as a fashion publication, we cannot address the complexities of contemporary luxury without critiquing the ways in which our closets contribute to the narrative of wealth and abundance. Shelby Jenkins highlights the difficult relationship between the ever present urge to freely express ourselves through clothing and the need to stray away from fashion gluttony in “A Modern Marie: Some Thoughts on Ethical Consumerism in the Age of Overconsumption.”

In moving through this issue, I encourage you to consider how our capitalist environment has altered your ways of thinking. Are you primed to derive life’s meaning from the materialistic? Or maybe you reject notions of splendor all together. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, fear not, we all deserve to satiate our hunger for the finer things in life every now and then.

Brooklyn Blevins Editor-In-Chief

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pulence is a very visual and visceral thing. It’s a sensual, sensory display of wealth, a perhaps excessive expression of one’s abundance. If luxury is a step beyond mere comfort, opulence is a step beyond that.

But wealth need not only be thought of in terms of money and materiality. You might be overflowing with a menagerie of passions and hobbies, or cultivating a garden teeming with dreams and goals for the future, or blessed with an assortment of rich and enriching friendships and relationships. These are some forms of wealth that inspire admiration (and sometimes, admittedly, envy) in me. In the capitalist, consumerist society we currently live in, however, opulence is entangled in a hopelessly convoluted knot with consumption and overconsumption. You cannot pull on the string of opulence without consequently tugging along the latter two as well.

With this in mind, our writers explore in this issue the desire to indulge in opulence that permeates various spheres of our lives— from our possessions, to our achievements, to the externalization of our inner selves. OPULENCE is our choreography of the breathtaking dance that precariously maneuvers the pleasures and pitfalls of living lavishly, of living a life designed first and foremost to be seen by others.

Janice Kang Digital Features Editor 5

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SHOOT DIRECTOR BOBBY CURRIE STYLISTS TALIA FUN PAIGE TUSHMAN JESSICA LI PHOTOGRAPHERS ANISHA CHOPRA

GRAPHIC DESIGNER KAI HUIE MODELS ZAMORA TAMMINGA SARAH SNOW

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Beyond Time: The Endu

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uxury watches, timeless pieces of refined craftsmanship, are not just a tool for keeping time; they embody a paradoxical nature rooted in history and practicality while

exuding contemporary allure. These intricately designed pieces, each gear a testament to the rhythmic dance of time, have transcended their origins and transformed into a symbol of style and wealth.

Portable watches, such as pendant clock watches and pocket watches, came into existence many centuries ago mainly for unique decorative purposes, eventually getting adapted for practical usages like keeping track of work shifts.

When wristwatches first came about, they were almost exclusively worn by women as accessories. Over time, wristwatches became integral in the military, essential for orchestrating precision in battles of chaos. Wristwatches offered a more accessible alternative to pocket watches, allowing soldiers to synchronize their movements with split-second accuracy. However, with the march of time, wristwatches evolved into ungendered and more tasteful accessories through their increasingly refined mechanics and craftsmanship, all while also remaining popular for their functional usage. Today, watches are not just a utilitarian piece, but are primarily considered a fashion item, mirroring and elevating the taste and style of the wearer.

In our current digital age, the reliance on wristwatches for their traditional timekeeping objective has diminished. With the widespread presence of digital clocks and smartphones, the faint ticking of gears has faded to the background, and the role of watches has evolved beyond their original purpose. Additionally, the introduction of smartwatches has further expanded the idea of wristwatches and blurred the lines of Micaela Marini Higgs, “How Time Moved from Our Pockets to Our Wrists,” Racked, March 27, 2018, https://www.racked.com/2018/3/27/17126050/watch-history.

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David Belcher, “Wrist Watches: From Battlefield to Fashion Accessory,” The New York Times, October 23, 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/fashion/wrist-watches-from-battlefield-to-fashion-accessory.html.

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WRITER EMERSON MCKAY GRAPHIC DESIGNER KATIE KELL

uring Allure of Luxury

purpose. Modern smartwatches now can track your exercise, allow you to answer phone calls, and let you respond to texts, an explosive expansion from their fundamental purpose of simply telling the time. While these modern developments have brought a level of convenience that has never been seen before in watches, they decisively remove their classic and authentic essence that so many people have come to know and admire.

The reliance on wristwatches for their traditional usage has also transformed, with much of their allure coming from the names of the luxury brands that create them. Their precise engineering, unparalleled artistry, use of exquisite materials, and the exclusivity that they embody result in high price tags. Worldrenowned watch brands like Rolex, Omega, Breitling, and even our local Shinola, along with other designer brands, will have them selling for hundreds, often thousands of dollars. The extreme upcharge makes it so that you are often paying more for the brand than the physical watch itself. This exclusivity and craft is appealing, but also beyond reach for the average person, leading to the proliferation of knock-off replicas, emphasizing the appeal of the status that comes with owning a watch like this, rather than just their practical appeal.

Esteemed watch brands and influential figures, including artists, musicians, and influencers, often collaborate, producing exclusive limited edition releases and custom designs tailored to resonate with their follower base. These partnerships serve as a profitable fusion, seamlessly blending culture and community with the sophistication of the luxury watch industry, thereby creating a unified narrative that honors current style and cultural influence.

In the paradoxical realm of luxury watches, they stand as both relics of a bygone era when their timekeeping role was a necessity and as symbols of contemporary opulence and style. Though their original purpose has started to fizzle out, the timeless appeal of luxury watches endures, perpetuating their status as coveted artifacts that embody both the essence of traditional craftsmanship and the spirit of modern indulgence. They continue to be emblems of history, art, and elegance in an everevolving world.

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SHOOT DIRECTOR ANISE KRUSE STYLISTS MARY KATHERINE FAITH TANG JANNA JACOBSON ANNABELLE YE PHOTOGRAPHERS MARY KATHERINE ACHO-TARTONI VIDEOGRAPHERS JOHANNES PARDI GRAPHIC DESIGNER TIYA MADHAVAN MODEL ANISE KRUSE

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go absolutely bats for Halloween. I always have and I hope, as I keep growing older, that I always will.

Halloween birthed some of my most treasured memories: my mom’s mom teaching me to sew in the fifth grade so that I could be a bat even though Spirit Halloween had sold out of the costume. My pure devastation when my middle school banned all fake weapons during the Halloween parade, laying waste to my meticulously curated Katniss outfit. The freezing-cold Halloween when I wore a perfectly pink poodle skirt that swished audibly as I sashayed from house to house, trick-or-treating my tiny heart out. My Carrie look, complete with dripping fake blood and a ‘Prom Queen’ sash that remained my favorite costume up until this year.

Because this year, I taught myself how to style a synthetic wig into a majestic, attention-grabbing updo, adorned with fake pearls and an oversized bow to top off my Marie Antoinette ensemble. It was the

most fun I had ever had putting together a costume and I felt fabulously Halloween-y to the max.

Embodying Marie, to me, was an art. She was marvelous, extravagant, sophisticated. Marie lived and died by the clothing she wore. It was everything to her and entirely political in motivation. Her power suits were her three-foot-high hairstyles, glittering gemstones, and priceless silks, demanding visibility from her French subjects.

Marie Antoinette’s style is so legendary that centuries later we’re adorning ourselves in pink corsets, white-painted faces, and oversized costume jewelry to revive the late beheaded queen. Her style speaks to “the little girl in all of us, the girl who can never own enough ribbons, and to whom everything should be pink.” In the year of the Barbie movie, how could I possibly pass up cosplaying as this eternal badass? The compliments from strangers were delightful and the makeup was a conversation starter with an exciting number of people (spoken like a true extrovert, of course). My night was wonderful… except when people asked about the logistics of the look.

“Did you just have all this lying around?” Even with the sizable costume bin that sits on the top shelf of my college bedroom closet, no. I didn’t.

“Where did you find [insert any piece of the costume here]?” A fast fashion brand I have too much pride to admit to you here by name.

In an age of steep, relentless overconsumption, honestly, I am equally part of the problem. Was my personal Halloween joy truly worth the pollution I had undoubtedly contributed to our already dying world and the continual exploitation of underpaid workers I had surely participated in by purchasing a cheap corset and matching skirt, both of which I would likely only wear once? In other words: is ethical consumption ever an achievable goal? That is much too loaded of a question for this undiagnosed shopaholic to answer in completion, but allow me this attempt at a compromise.

Lauren Nitschke, “Marie Antoinette: History’s Controversial Fashion Queen,” The Collector, December 14, 2021, https://www. thecollector.com/marie-antoinette-controversial-fashion-queen/.

Tish Harrison Warren, “Are We More Addicted to Shopping Than We Think?” The New York Times, November 13, 2022, https:// www.nytimes.com/2022/11/13/opinion/shopping-addicted-consumerism-christian.html.

We no longer have the privilege without being bombarded with overtl placements that program our minds and needs. If our lives are ever to be a happy as the people shouting at us f how can we possibly live without x, y, the intoxication of our mindset is brill working extremely effectively. The m these corporations alone is proof of t accounts pushes the dream of a zero of view.

A step in the right direction would is not simply consumption. It’s attac of new and better things. It’s our pr experiences.” How do I separate medi from media trying to sell me somet answer? I’m sure ridding ourselves o of our current dilemmas, but it’s als I aim to scroll as a ‘conscious cons personalities on my screen from my term, not the weekend,” and wear the finding something new to click order is capitalizing my mind, searching th instead of something new. All in the n exploitation of the fashion industry th to.

For me, that means continuously r global existence. I remind myself of the costume’s wing can spur across the A Do I regret the purchases I made th Antoinette? I don’t. But I will spend the r as a consumer, or at least seriously a promise I’ll walk away from the next p with at first sight.

e of scrolling through social media ly tailored ads and strategic product s to conflate the concepts of wants as put together, as glamorous, and as from inside our phone screens, then or z items? As far as marketing goes, liant and, perhaps more importantly, millions of dollars in profit rolling into that. But every zero in the CEOs’ bank o-waste future further and further out

WRITER SHELBY JENKINS GRAPHIC DESIGNER LIZA MILLER

d be recognizing that “consumerism ching our hearts to the acquisition reoccupation with novel goods and ia meant solely for personal pleasure thing? Maybe deleting TikTok is the of social media would solve several so an unattainable fantasy. Instead, sumer.’ To detach the products and own self-worth. To “buy for the long e shirt already in my closet instead of on. Or if the desire for retail therapy hrough Depop for a preloved piece name of denormalizing the capitalist hat we have become so accustomed

reorienting myself as part of a larger, e hurricane that the flap of a butterfly Atlantic. his Halloween to transform into Marie rest of the year making better choices attempting to. But I can’t necessarily pair of pink cowboy boots I fall in love

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Rise of the I

Intellectual

Aesthetic

f you’re aware of who Jada Ross is, we’re on the same, bizarre side of TikTok. An unverified name that’s been floating around the Internet, Ross allegedly went to extreme lengths to fake an identity as a freshman attending Harvard University. Multiple people, either from the Harvard class of 2027, old classmates who claim to know her in high school, and just generally interested content creators have all chimed in to describe the ridiculous efforts Ross made to keep up her facade.

The Harvard Independent, an online news platform covering the day-to-day issues of Harvard University, interviewed students who explained that Ross (as she is presumed to be called, as her real name is hidden) befriended other “classmates” through social media chats and claimed to live off campus due to having to care for a sick relative to explain why she wasn’t living on campus, as all freshmen are required to. Students reported spotting her walking around Harvard wearing a backpack, posing as a student going from class to class.

But they soon began piecing together the truth: Jada Ross was faking everything. She couldn’t present a verified Harvard Identification card, and neither was her name on any online or printed registries. In an attempt to present an impression of academic excellence and success, she devoted her entire life to pulling off this elaborate scheme. In fact, in a one-onone interview with journalists from the Harvard Independent, Ross repeatedly insisted that she was a real student, baffling the Harvard community with this bizarre charade.

From college acceptance videos to study vlogs by Ivy League students, being smart

has become more of an exhibitive lifestyle than an intrinsic characteristic. In fact, the rise of this intellectual aesthetic has led to new marketing opportunities, further pushing the commodification of this style of living. Popular YouTubers like Breanna Quan can rack up over one million views on artfully edited study vlogs with titles incorporating buzz words such as “productive,” “realistic,” and “motivation.”

Documenting these mindsets and displaying them in a carefully curated, aesthetically pleasing way, with thumbnails of coffee, plants, headphones, and colorfully decorated notes, is how students get sold on this lifestyle. Additionally, visiting cute cafes and looking the part of a diligent, successful student has become super trendy. Not only is the commodification of this lifestyle very tedious, it’s extremely difficult to financially maintain.

The cost of buying headphones to blast lofi study beats, the latest iPad to take colorful notes, and the trendiest stationery to organize a multi-purpose planner is inaccessible and wasteful. Students are caught in a trap when they see college-targeted influencers claim that the newest study tool is just so useful and necessary. Many can probably relate to the danger of constantly grabbing coffee, boba, or any other trendy caffeinated drink before each study session. The average college student who is already actively paying tuition cannot afford this style of living. If anything, this lifestyle is simply unsustainable and has the potential to lead to disastrous consequences, like Jada Ross’ decision to lie for academic clout.

On the other hand, study vlogs and the promotion of the academic aesthetic

can encourage many students who struggle with motivation to do their work. Still, it has also led to harmful side effects, including the need to appear academically elite. I’ve seen many peers shame others for attending less prestigious colleges without stopping to consider outside factors such as finances and family life. The fixation with collecting as many awards, honors, and distinctions as possible has overtaken the original purpose of school: learning. Expanding our mindsets and truly enriching our intellect is an immeasurably valuable endeavor. Instead, people are obsessed with decorating their resumes like shiny ornaments on a Christmas tree.

Finally, the affluence of looking like a studious, motivated college student goes hand in hand with the capitalist society we live in today, where constant work and activity is praised and rewarded while any form of rest and relaxation is seen as wasteful and weak. When we indulge in the high living of academic prestige, we are unknowingly supporting and committing ourselves to the forceful standards of the rigid capitalist mindset. The hard work that goes into achieving good grades, networking, and finding success in extracurricular activities is undoubtedly something to take pride in, but finding a balance between actually progressing in education and chasing after an aesthetic is difficult yet necessary.

WRITER TARA WASIK GRAPHIC DESIGNER BAILEY HWANG

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SHOOT DIRECTOR REAGAN HAKALA STYLIST TAYLOR STEVENS REAGAN HAKALA LIGAYA GALANG PHOTOGRAPHERS CARLY NICHOLS MAGGIE KIRKMAN VIDEO CARLY NICHOLS GRAPHIC DESIGNER EMILY SUN MODELS RIANNA KINGRA SANJANA YENDLURI NIMOTALAI AFOLABI

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BOUND B O U N D

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SHOOT DIRECTOR NIKO SMITH STYLIST SIDNEY VUE ELENA SHAHEEN PHOTOGRAPHERS SUREET SARAU ANIKA MINOCHA PATRICK LI VIDEO KAELIN PARK GRAPHIC DESIGNER EMILY SUN MODELS YULEI FU ERICH ZHANG

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