Spark Magazine No. 10

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SPARK / Spark Magazine is a student-run fashion publication at The University of Texas at Austin that aims to cultivate a creative space for individuals to develop as young professionals and to engage the community in an ongoing dialogue about the role of fashion in everyday life.

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CONTENTS GOLDRUSH 8 MILES ALDRIDGE 18 SIGN OF THE TIMES 26 MAD MAX 36 TYLER 44 PUNK’S NOT DEAD 50 SUMMER IN ROUGE 58 THRIFTING WITH A VOICE 64 BACK TO OUR ROOTS 72 KING OF CLING 80 DRIPPIN’ WITH FINESSE 88 GOLDEN GLAMOUR 94 INK AND PAINT 98 MICROTREND 106 SUSTAINABLE COUTURE 112 ABNORMAL 118

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124 DRESSING UP SENSUALITY 130 FAIRYTALE FASHION 138 AUDREY HEPBURN 144 ALL BUTTONED UP 148 TRANSLATING FASHION 154 REGAL 162 MODEST DRESS 168 STUDIO FREE 174 NO TURNING BACK 180 REMADE 188 WINTERLAND 194 FIFTH DIMENSION 202 ALGAEA’S ACCENTS 210 REFRESH 218 ODYSSEY 224 MADONNA 230 TAKE NO BULL

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SPARK MAGAZINE AIDEN PARK Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor CAROLINE OTTO

Art Director MAYA HAWS-SHADDOCK Assistant Art Director MINGYO LEE Assistant Art Director REBECCA WONG Cover Editor MADELINE POIROT Business Director and Treasurer SHERIDAN SCHOLTZ Advertising and Marketing Director RYAN CHANG Head Events Coordinator SYDNEY HARKLAU Head Event Coordinator ERIKA NAJERA

Communications Director JOANNE XU Social Media Director RACHEL LUO Blog Director AYU SOFYAN Web Creative Director MADDY MURRAY Alumni Director CHRISTIE HAN Graphic Designer RACHEL EFRUSS Graphic Designer JILLIAN LOWE Graphic Designer ESTHER SHIN

Creative Director MARIAH BECERRA Assistant Creative Director CARLIE ROBERSON Hair and Makeup Director NATALIE ARRIAGA Assistant Hair and Makeup Director AMANDA MACFARLANE Social Director for Hair and Makeup PAOLA MENA Model Director MADELINE WELLS Assistant Model Director GABBY TAN Photographer Director SISSY MARTIN Stylist Director ISAIAH GARCIA Assistant Stylist Director MEGAN SCHUETZ Assistant Stylist Director DAVID SPECTOR

Writing Director NIKKI LASALLA Writing Director ABIGAIL ROSENTHAL Copy Editor ZOE JUDILLA Copy Editor MARISA MARQUEZ Copy Editor TRAVIS RAINFORD STAFF

Mariam Abdul-Rashid Lynette Adkins Lauren Aguirre Enrique Alarcon Heejung An Caroline Apfel Abbey Appel Megan Arimanda Riya Ashok Vivian Baier Monika Barton Nura Bawab Vivie Behrens Nikita Belathur Natalie Berry Chloe Bertrand, Carson Blair Nicole Bolar Sydney Bui Loeva Cagle Jenna Campbell Diane Campos Jaclyn Carter Ana Sofia Celis Ana Celks Adriana Celli Angela Chastain Ao Chen Jessica Chen Tonya Chen Lauren Clark Emma Cohn

Rachel Cook Taylor Courtney Marley Crawford Ray Criswell Natalia Darby Fatema Dawoodbhoy Lizzie Dragon Anna Droddy Ellie Dunn Lindsey Ehlers Jennifer Ellis Ivanna English Wis Escher Mara Evanich Jade Fabello Gabi Feltner Anjuli Fink Caroline Frankenfeld Hank Freeman Britainy Fuss Lindsay Gallagher Alessandra GarciaFuentes Ingrid Garcia Julie García Nicole Gausman Mai Geller Paddy Ghaemi Phyllis Gong Mattison Gotcher Grecia Gutierrez Madison Hager

Taylor Hall Micaela Hannah Michaela Hartnett Rebekah Heidel Kelsey Hendershot Brandon Hendon Ailee Hendricks Alana Hernandez Maria Hernandez Kaylon Hicks Tristan Ipock Victoria Jameson Hannah Nöelle Johnson Madeline Johnson Timothy Jolley Kelsey Jones Urvi Joshi William Kachi Gaby Kackley Nikita Kalyana Ida Kamali Grant Kanak Kabir Karnani Isabelle Kauffman Christian Kenoly Jinna Kim Joann Kim Nayoung Kim Rachel Lai Laura Laughead Alexa Lewis

Allie Li Sadie Lidji Chie-Hsi Liu Tatiana Lopez Andrew Mac Niti Majethia Leonor Martins Rachel May Amanda Mayes Peter McCain Bonnie McEnnis Dulce Mercado Genevieve Miller Paige Miller Estefania Monarrez Angela Montalvo Ellen Morris Kate Mulligan Sarah Munoz Elizabeth Nguyen Katharine Noe Sarah O’Malley Graham Milly Orellana Prerna Pamar Brandon Pegram Daniela Perez Melina Perez Katherine Perks Cameron Polonet Jacqueline Porteny Afzaa Prasla

Abby Raffle Madison Raurell Alexa Ray Elizabeth Reed Cruz Rendon Susan Retondo Adriana Rezal Tatiana Roberts Lynzi Rojas Jeannelle Romero Hannah Rotchel Caitlin Rounds Helena Sampayo Leslie Scherger Marybeth Schmidt Linnea Schuessler Srija Seenivasan Nakhim Seng Melanie Shaw Nick Sheppard Krishnaveni Sigireddi Monica Silverio Justin Smith Lauren Smith Ashleigh Snyder Julia Sotelo Nick Spalding Taylor Stiff Sarah Stiles Kaitlin Street Michelle Tamir Maria Tangarova

Ty Temple Jessica Teran Veronica Thompson Sarah Thrash Brooke Tieman Joyce Tong Tiffany Tong Viviana Torres Sarah Tran Eric Trevino Patricia Valderrama Julia Vastano Benjamin Vega Paris Vincent Johnny Vo Caitlin Vu Kristine Wang Alli Weitzel Kyler Wesp Jillian Westphal Ella Whitaker Kalissa White Hannah Willard Kathryn Williams Cat Wilson Tiana Woodard Harrison Xue Jessie Yin Cameron Young Zac Young Gabriella Zarragoitia David Zulli

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Print is a dying artform, with its physical pages becoming obsolete, archaic and sometimes out of style. The economic incentive online-exclusive publishing provides is all too tempting for real-world magazines.

But while esteemed publications have turned digital, Spark Magazine endures as a rare shard of amber, catching a sense of novelty that’s just as intangible as digitization. Spark remains an insurgent as it’s sheltered by the care of its staffers, creating a unique world outside the realm of capitalistic restraints and inside a terrain in which creative exploration is the priority.

This issue is a milestone for many reasons. Although No. 10 is emblematic of Spark’s longevity, it is also underscores how far Spark has come. This semester, we’ve seen our largest staff yet. Accordingly, we’ve enhanced Spark’s visibility throughout the Austin community and online, a sign of our increasingly productive business department.

More readily visible, perhaps, is this issue’s heightened level of creativity.

Never has this magazine’s images and design been so indicative of the style and flair Spark members exhibit.

I am beholden to this issue’s staffers. We’ve seen vast improvements in the content we’ve produced, and each broken barrier is symbolic of these young leaders’ hard work. Spark first begins with our writers, who pitch a subject they are passionate about discussing. From there, our hair and makeup artists, models, photographers and stylists create photoshoots, which visually represent the writer’s topic. After the completion of dozens of shoots and articles, the content makes its way to our layout artists who design and organize the spreads you are holding now.

Behind the scenes, our event planners, online contributors, social media workers, and advertising and marketing members ensure Spark’s brand is made visible and celebrated.

The pages before you come from months of laborious work and ingenious imagination. The artistry throughout these pages represents some of the most creative and innovative minds in the Austin community. Every semester is an improvement from the last, and the dynamic talent on display in Issue No. 10 is no exception. Spark Magazine’s goal is to reflect the ever-changing style of the present. However, while trends, ways of living and attitudes fluctuate at hyperspeed, the creative outlet Spark provides will always be waiting for you to turn its pages.

Cheers,

Aiden Park

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Writer Lynzi Rojas, Stylist Afzaa Prasla, Photographer Alexa Ray, Models Sadie Lidji, Jacqueline Porteny, Carlie Roberson, HMUA Mariah Becerra, Julie Garcia, Tiffany Tong, Layout Nayoung Kim

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GOLD METAL EARRINGS | I Luv Vintage

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M

etals have been valued by man for many important purposes since their discovery. People use metals for protection, construction or generally as a material that can increase the quality of life. However, a new purpose has emerged in recent years: metal makeup. More people are recognizing its transformation into a beauty trend. The bold and unique theme, Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology, of the 2016 Met Gala helped spark this revolution. It showcased the integration of metal into the fashion world. Since famous icons were incorporating heavy metals into their ensembles, it became a fashion trend. And what becomes a fashion trend usually becomes a beauty trend.

Anyone can walk into a store that sells cosmetics and find something labeled with “metal,” from lipsticks to eyeshadows. However, one brand that focused on products incorporating metal shades is Pat McGrath Labs. Its first limited-edition launch aptly titled “Gold 001” in late 2015 would have sold out of all 1,000 units in six seconds had there not been a glitch with the website. Pat McGrath is a world-renowned makeup artist who has worked for high-end fashion brands and popular magazines. She created her beauty brand to encourage bold creativity, which one can envision just by looking at her limited-edition and permanent collections. But there seems to be a trend in her subsequent launches: metals. Even the packaging is themed with metallic sequins. The correlation makes sense as she used to work primarily for the fashion industry as a makeup artist.

If new styles are incorporating metals, the beauty aspects reflecting them should too. Her

launches have included more than only gold, even though that shade is found consistently in her products. For example, “Metamorphosis 005” launched four cream eyeshadows along with corresponding pigments: gold, copper, bronze and silver. It sold out rapidly despite the expensive price tag.

Other beauty brands have followed the trend in releasing metal-themed products. Fenty Beauty, a new but highly successful brand owned by Rihanna, released a highlighter that garnered a lot of attention. Called “Trophy Wife,” it is a rich shade of true gold. The brand raked in a total of $72 million from media value alone (money made from social media) after its initial launch on Sept. 7 in one month. Another successful launch by a new beauty brand was Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty with the release of the Ultralight Beams, a collection of highlighting powders and matching glosses. It features only five shades: iridescent, rose gold, yellow gold, bronze and copper. Additionally, Stila Cosmetics has risen in popularity for its products in the Magnificent Metals line, which has frequently sold out of its popular shades.

Just through Amazon, Stila Cosmetics made 15 percent of all luxury beauty sales in 2017.

This “metal” trend has absolutely captivated the beauty industry and has had a significant influence on what high-end brands are releasing to the public.

Metals have always been valued, and metalthemed cosmetics are no exception. With highgrossing beauty brands such as Pat McGrath Labs and Fenty Beauty leading the trend, the next thing we can anticipate is more affordable brands releasing similar products. Until then, Rihanna can have my wallet. ■

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BRONZE CHOKER | I Luv Vintage

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Writer Chloe Bertrand, Stylist Nikita Kalyana, Photographer Ella Whitaker, Models Jaclyn Carter, Lindsey Ehlers, HMUA Taylor Stiff, Sarah Stiles, Layout Rebecca Wong

MILES

RED TROUSERS | Feather’s Boutique BLUE FLORAL KIMONO | Feather’s Boutique 70S MAROON JUMPER | Feather’s Boutique

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ALDRIDGE

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RED SUNGLASSES | Prototype Vintage Design GREEN BLAZER | Feather’s Boutique

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G

lamour is erotic. Observant imaginations are aroused to breach creative boundaries and locate reservoirs of explicit brilliance. Virtuoso photographer Miles Aldridge frequently facilitates a stage for glamour within his art by embracing risqué themes. To further digest Aldridge’s surreal photographs, it is necessary to first undress his mind.

decades and subjects with the same photographic strategies that are far from lily-livered.

The striking images of Miles Aldridge have infiltrated the fashion industry for nearly 25 years. Held in high regard for his intrepid eye, Aldridge is well sought after by distinguished publications, designers and creatives alike.

This is consequential of the retro dystopias curated within his pieces by using fluorescent-colored lights and vacant-faced models.

There is a power so prominent in each shoot that Aldridge conquers; he knows no bounds because he espouses all things racy that are often perceived as taboo. Nudity is revered by many in the photography industry. However, Aldridge breathes even more liberation to life by presenting consumers with atypical variants of raw nakedness. For example, he has showcased many of his photos in which the models’ pubic hair is dyed a neon color. It’s especially galvanizing to witness as a woman, due to the societal stigma that has surrounded women and body hair since the dawn of time.

Aldridge creates a realm within his photos where glam and natural human bodies not only coincide, but thrive off of one another.

Aldridge is notorious for portraying 1950s Americana in an eerily chaotic manner. In this setting, daily tasks are made abstract. For instance, Aldridge recently photographed a 1950s housewife in atomic eye makeup lighting her cigarette over a gas-top stove with an empty gaze. He softens the blow of danger with the ever-present appeal to glamour. In past photographs, models have posed as disdainful mothers of unruly children while dressed to kill. There is a prominent and unsettling contradiction between the intimidating expression of the mother and her serene clothing ensemble. Aside from the 1950s Americana scene, Aldridge confronts other

Miles Aldridges’ work resembles that of cinematic excellence. Elaborate visions, incredible attention to detail and impeccable lighting all yield photographs that appear to be still frames of films. Although, these photos also transmit common themes of contemporary life as well. Aldridge has mentioned in interviews that he is prevalently inspired by directors such as David Lynch who is also a photographer. Influence of his filmography is evident in many of Aldridge’s pieces that feature extensive dreamscapes and high degrees of surrealism. The intention of glamour is to provoke thought rather than represent reality. ►

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WHITE LEATHER SHORTS | Feather’s Boutique

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‘60S LIME MOD COAT | Prototype Vintage Design WHITE HALTER DRESS | Prototype Vintage Design

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Alternatively, other artists are equally as inspired by Aldridge. In 2014, the Tate Gallery of Britain called on Aldridge to create a photographic installation inspired by by Mark Gertler’s 1916 piece “MerryGo-Round.” He described the painting as a precursor to pop art. To begin his shoot process, Aldridge briefly sketched his interpretation to further develop his response to the renowned artwork. The result of the installation was a modern, neon rendition of Gertler’s piece that was chocked full of allure. It’s almost as though there was a direct collaboration between the two artists.

Aldridge has gained rapid exposure over the years since officially establishing himself as a fashion photographer in 1993. He has shot for Vogue, TIME, Harper’s Bazaar, Mac Cosmetics, Yves Saint Laurent and many other highly recognizable companies. In addition, he also shot the cast of “Game of Thrones” for TIME Magazine in July 2017.

Incorporating his usual glamour, Aldridge accompanied color blocking with a theme

of traditional Renaissance portraiture. As his photographs have become progressively more popular for their identity, Aldridge has released a plethora of catalogues to showcase his art. These include “Acid Candy,” “Miles Aldridge: I Only Want You to Love Me,” “The Cabinet” and his most recent “Please Return Polaroid.” Although these books are high priced, they can be found in many galleries around the world.

To wholly comprehend the mission of Aldridge’s artistry, one must recognize the single most consistent characteristic of his work: glamour. Through his thorough representation of glamour within his images, Aldridge is presenting consumers with a roaring mockery of perfection. He holds true to his devout passion to his trade while interweaving irony with beauty. As if his stellar talent isn’t coveted enough, he continuously pushes his artistic abilities and challenges his yesterday self to better his skills. Because of this, the lurid imprint of Miles Aldridge will eternally haunt the photography industry. ■

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STRIPED TOP | Ermine Vintage NAVY TOP | Ermine Vintage

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Writer Britainy Fuss, Stylist Ellie Dunn, Photographer Anna Droddy, Models Helena Sampayo, Caitlin Vu, HMUA Tiffany Tong, Layout Rachel Lai

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A

ustin, Texas has been shaped by its rich music history. People come from all over to experience the historic venues and unique performances — and Austin’s citizens. Hitting all the notes in “I Will Always Love You” would be a less daunting task than finding someone in the “Live Music Capital of the World” left untouched by the eccentric culture. When walking down the Drag or 6th Street or Red River, people are wearing decades of music. Even people less musically inclined have been sucked into the music scene as if everyone belongs on album covers. Whether

they can play the part or not, they can at least look ready for the show.

Sometimes the concert people are dressed for decades long ago.

When clad in velvet boots or bell sleeves or even going braless, they’ve become gods of the ‘70s like Stevie Nicks on stage. Nicks’ stage name was Rhiannon, a Welsh goddess in Celtic folklore.

Rhiannon is a symbol of happiness, hope and prosperity. She’s also known as the “White Witch,” informing Nicks’ wardrobe choice.

However, the fact that Nicks takes inspiration from Rhiannon is probably more than coincidence.

By the time Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, the Vietnam War ►

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was coming to an end. Nicks was the Rhiannon of the ‘70s. She appeared at a time when the war was over, and she inspired others as an authentic folk-rock singer. In her case, fashion symbolized her role as a performer; someone who wanted to celebrate a time of peace, which she embodies on the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.”

On the flip side, it was a simpler ‘70s, where casual was “cool” versus being “far out.” Riding bikes around campus with colored pants and rocking a middle part is another trend from the decade.

In fact, the daily lives of most students on campus — including bold mixes of colors — is the “Cosmo’s Factory” album cover by Creedence Clearwater Revival in motion. Yet, in this case, life isn’t imitating art; Austin is paying tribute to another decade, and “Cosmos Factory” is a snapshot of that era. The ‘70s were a time when striped button-

downs and bell bottoms were simple but groovy. Hair was natural. The most time spent on hair seemed to be when they parted it down the middle. Nonetheless, people were making a statement. Simplicity came out of necessity and the realization that there’s more to life than how much time you spend on your hair when there’s war. Yet by the end of the war, the style dwindled. But in the midst of another war and a time when people are seeking forms of expression yet again, Austin revived the look of the ‘70s.

Naturally, after a decade of rediscovery and finding peace, there was the celebratory decade: the ‘80s. If the ‘80s were a high school house party, Madonna was the queen bee. She was the one who everyone either wanted or wanted to be. She drew attention by wearing dark eyeshadow and red lipstick.

The trend has come and gone, but ►

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Austin is living in an age in which dark lipstick — particularly red — is a must for any social occasion.

As for the hair, Madonna’s was full, always styled and big; a massive turnaround from the ‘70s. One cover that captures the essence that is Madonna was “True Blue.” The viewer’s gaze is drawn to her dark red lips and blue eyeshadow against her porcelain skin. She’s feminine, sexy and empowered, all on one cover. Women are seeking to feel that way more than ever.

Then there are the trends that never went out of style. Those trends were created by the bands that were considered the rebels, the bad boys and sometimes the devils. The Rolling Stones were one of first such bands. In comparison

to the Beatles, who were already pushing the envelope with their lyrics, the Rolling Stones took it a step further with their appearance, stage presence and album covers.

In 1971, they released the album “Sticky Fingers,” which features the infamous tongue and lips logo on the back. Today that logo is plastered all over fashion and even appears occasionally as a tattoo. That logo is what set the band apart from every other leather-clad band. For Guns N’ Roses, it was bandanas and long frizzy hair. For ACDC, it was dressing as school boys and sticking it to the man. They were different and one in the same, just like Austinites. Almost everyone here loves music and not everyone is going to the same show. Yet, everyone belongs on the album cover. ■

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Writer Jade Fabello, Stylist Isaiah Garcia, Photographer Peter McCain, Models Angela Chastain, Ben Vega, HMUA Paola Mena, Layout Mingyo Lee

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D

angerous, explosive and profoundly Australian, the Mad Max series gave the world a new landscape to explore: The Wasteland. While T.S. Elliot and the earth’s many actual wastelands may dispute the pioneering qualities of director George Miller’s world, the Mad Max series undeniably continues to have an immense cultural impact.

The ‘80s brand of the post-apocalyptic genre adds a unique flair to the dystopian story. At their core, apocalyptic stories aim at representing what humanity is truly about. What we wear shows who we are, and there is no better way to get at that truth than looking at how we adorn ourselves when all else is stripped away. The release of the series spans multiple decades, providing an excellent avenue to examine shifting power dynamics as portrayed through action movies. The costuming of the original “Mad Max” (1979) and its sequels, 1982’s “The Road Warrior,” 1985’s “Beyond Thunderdome” and 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” tells us a lot about the undertones of our culture, revealing something a little bit mad.

The costuming in the original “Mad Max” was inspired by the strong artistic ideal of having a small budget. During the filming process, Miller and his team used what they could get their hands on. Cobbled together as it was, the costuming then laid the basis for Max’s now iconic black leather outfit.

Max Rockatansky’s eventual unkempt warrior garb did indeed start out as his police uniform. Parts of society are still intact in the first film. In-universe, the Main Force Patrol (MFP) acts as the sole remaining semblance of law and order as traditional conventions begin to decay. As a member of this agency, Max dons the sleek and intimidating ensemble made entirely of tough leather.

Leather has had a long history of being tied to traditional notions of power. There is a visceral connotation to a material that was made from the stripped skin of another being. It is then interesting to note that along with the MFP, the villainous teams in “Mad Max” and in “The Road Warrior” also wear primarily leather outfits. At a glance, sans a few studs and more punk haircuts, the MFP is visually hard to differentiate from the more insidious factions of the series. This speaks to the inpart arbitrary nature of the power imparted to policing forces. As top pursuit man, Max is granted the power to kill by whatever shambles of society still exist in his world. The villains of the series also partake the liberty of taking life whenever they so choose. When you remove the structure, it becomes clear that the line between traditional police forces and the various entities that wield power to inflict their will can oft be very thin.

As the series progresses, Max’s once immaculate uniform is retrofitted and tarnished to accommodate for his wasteland wandering ways.

It is in the second and third installments where the now-unmistakable wasteland aesthetic is fully realized (in part due to the improved budget). The uniform wears down reflecting the moral ambiguity of a reluctant hero like Max. By the release of the fourth film, like Mel Gibson himself, Max’s outfit had become outdated with time. “Fury Road” costume designer Jenny Beavan wanted to move away from the more S&M vibes of the original outfits and incorporate a more military feel, using items such as nylon wristbands and tactical knives.

Action films often feature heroines donning the infamous “boob plate” or other fiercely impractical garments for their respective situations. The intensely practical costuming of the leading Imperator Furiosa in “Fury Road” is unique in an industry where men ►

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still grossly dominate production roles. Lesley Vanderwalt, who oversaw the film’s hair and makeup, also took great pains to incorporate all designs into the lore. Furiosa’s recognizable blacked-out upper face makeup was implemented with consideration for the materials that would be available in this world and the functional applications of it. The industry has made it so that the bar is literally on the floor. That considered, it is still praiseworthy that the costuming decisions for women characters in “Fury Road” was done so with more in mind than simply the male gaze.

Throughout the series, the costuming repurposed items that are used in our present society for more practical applications.

Football uniforms become battle armor and wearing fingerless gloves has applications beyond a show of teenage angst. In a world primarily concerned with practicality and survival, the ornate still confers power. The villains of the series adorn themselves with jewels and decorations. Immortan Joe, the villain of the most recent installment, rocks a plastic carapace with infomercial-esque drawn-on abs. Physical strength, the ability to backup your claims to power, comes up a lot in the series. While people are clawing their way to meet their most basic needs, appearances still matter.

The series evolved alongside our conceptions of villainy. In the first film, the antagonistic force is an unruly biker gang (who adorn the accompanying attire) acting outside the constraints of the law. They instill fear in the characters and the audi-

ence because they act counter to whatever remnants of order and society still exist. In “Fury Road,” the villains are the establishment. Immortan Joe and his crew control all of the resources. In the real world, there has been a growing distrust and disillusionment in the way our leaders choose to operate. Joe’s transparent ab-carapace ironically speaks to our concern with the lack of transparency of our governing officials. The design of the tertiary villain, or The People Eater, also speaks to our shifting perspectives. In a series filled with colorful mohawks and spikey breastplates, The People Eater stands alone in his manner of dress. He wears a three-piece suit reminiscent of something a banker or stock broker would wear. The garb has a handful of twisted alterations (including two tasteful holes cut out where his nipples are located). His general bloated and grotesque appearance is indicative of the continuing societal disgust with corruption and excessive wealth inequality.

The crux of series is truly that the rise of tyranny is inevitable. But with that begets the destined existence of heroes. While Mel Gibson proved himself to be more of a villain than a hero, in spite of his wandering in moral ambiguity, Max Rockatansky consistently finds himself on the side of the downtrodden. As the series progresses and more representative heroes like Furiosa arise, the films present us with more hope than we may expect. Past the leather and twisted metal, with the Mad Max series what we can really see is ourselves in the storms of The Wasteland. ■

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THE CREATOR, THE RAPPER, THE DESIGNER

GREEN BLAZER | Revival Vintage PLAID PANTS | Revival Vintage

Writer Maddy Murray, Stylist Lauren Aguirre, Photographer Micaela Hannah, Models Lynette Adkins, Phyllis Gong, Lidji Sadie, HMUA Anna Droddy, Amanda Mayes, Layout Riya Ashok

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T

yler, the Creator is a polarizing individual. Some people find his huge personality obnoxious or even offensive, while others resolutely believe in his creative genius. Love or hate him, there’s something to be said for the sense of self that Tyler, the Creator possesses: an unadulterated belief in himself and his artistic vision that despite which end of the spectrum one may be on, he doesn’t give a damn. Full disclosure: I happen to belong to the latter group.

A man, a myth and maybe even a legend, Tyler, the Creator is a name associated with about any art form. Growing up in California, Tyler sense of style was heavily influenced by the thriving skater culture. As a teenager, he found three of his most prominent talents, just by doing what he loves: making music, videos and clothing with his group of friends.

Tyler, the Creator broke into the music scene with his hip-hop group Odd Future. Including artists like Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis, Odd Future quickly gained a cult following. The group is most loved for their rambunctiousness. Odd Future’s rowdyness appears in their lyrics, onstage and on their television show, Loiter Squad.

With Tyler at the head of the group,

Odd Future’s eccentric way of life makes the group entertaining (to say the least).

Throughout all of his creative endeavors, Tyler’s distinctive style has persevered to the forefront of his public image. We’re talking about the same guy who showed up to the Grammys this year in a sky blue coat and leopard print hair, which was occasionally hidden underneath a traditional Russian fur hat (known as the ushanka and even adorned with the Sickle and Hammer soviet symbol).

His unique personal style is what led Tyler to launch his own clothing line, Golf Wang, in 2010. The designs of Golf Wang are characterized by bright colors and bold patterns — clothes you’d most definitely see Tyler wearing.

When asked by Billboard Magazine why he named his clothing line Golf Wang, Tyler’s cheekiness comes out: “I mean, that’s my least favorite sport, to be honest.” In fact, it’s a play off the name of his hip-hop group, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA).

His clothing line, like everything Tyler does, is essentially an extension of his personal style. In such a way, it is impossible to separate “Tyler” from “the Creator.” That’s what he does — he creates things. And all of his things have a common theme: they all are physical embodiments of Tyler himself. ►

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Tyler’s personal style is charac- skating bowl, it attracts a similar terized less by any specific gar- youthful customer base as other ments and more so by a vibe. streetwear retailers.

That vibe is usually whatever Tyler is feeling at a specific point Golf Wang typically released in time, and it can be revealed in two drops a year — one for playful color schemes (primary Spring/Summer and another for colors or pastels or sometimes Fall/Winter — that are initially a combination of both). This hyped up on Golf Wang’s app of is where an important notion the same name. Tyler is great at comes into play; Tyler said in an creating a community of which interview with Vogue Magazine: others wish to be a part. People genuinely buy into this aesthetic “I draw out everything before I make it. that Tyler has founded. His manFrom videos to clothes to certain shots ager Christian Clancy told Billfor my pictures, I usually draw every- board Magazine that, “Tyler had thing out. I’m actually a designer. It’s grown up drawing doughnuts on not a team of people. For the lookbook, his pants and dressing his own I picked the background, I picked the way and doing stuff... It’s a nooutfit, I tell them how to pose, I set brainer for me as a manager to everything up, I do the finishing edits say, ‘OK, this is an obvious busion all the photos. I’m more hands-on ness.’ As I always say, the margin than people think. I pick which pieces on socks is better than the marcome out at the first drop. This is my gin on CDs, that’s for sure.” With clothing line.” all of its support and collaborative involvement, Golf Wang is As such, Golf Wang cannot be here to stay (as long as socks sell). separated from Tyler, the Creator. It’s an extension of Tyler’s Tyler, the Creator is one of those personalized brand, behind people who can effortlessly pull which he is the sole master- off any clothing article. A pair mind and the only one apt to of red pinstripe overalls? The run the brand. Furthermore, instant Tyler decides it works, Golf Wang can be likened to the look is already his. That’s other streetwear brands, for a because he understands how lot of what sells are graphic to radiate self confidence. It’s tees and caps with various de- something we’re all buying into pictions of the brand’s “Golf ” because we’re attracted to that logo. With Golf Wang’s flag- sense of composure. Perhaps it ship store located on Fairfax in would be more fitting to call him Los Angeles featuring an indoor Tyler, the Marketer. ■

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Writer Jacqueline Portney, Stylist David Spector, Photographer David Spector, Models Angela Chastain, Madeline Wells, HMUA Amanda Mayes, Cameron Polonet, Layout Mara Evanich

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CARGO PANTS | I Luv Vintage RED JACKET | I Luv Vintage TOMMY SHIRT | I Luv Vintage

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I

t’s 1977 and out leaps Sid Vicious from backstage, creating an instant roar from the audience of the Green Cinema in London. His bulky Doc Martens clunk in rhythm with the silver metal chain hanging off the belt loop of his torn and tattered black jeans as he stomps in rhythm with the electric guitars. He aggressively grabs the microphone, and when the suffocating grip he has on it becomes an insufficient act of rage, he tears his previously ripped, ill-fitting white button-down apart, as if to show his revulsion for the hands responsible for putting it together. Mothers across the UK hastily change the TV channel upon taking note of their infatuated teenagers watching the Sex Pistols’ live performance, making every effort to keep the absurdly dressed “punks,” as they were called, out of their homes. Although the sighting of a punk wasn’t uncommon in the streets of London in the ‘70s, the development of the aesthetic itself was rather unconventional.

By the early 1970s, Britain’s economy was plummeting. How exactly did this affect the British attitude, you might ask? Well, take an average British family of four — let’s call them the Thompsons. Since unemployment, interest rates and inflation were through the roof, Mom and Dad would have to skimp out on extra Christmas presents that year. In addition to that, the oil price shock of 1973 led to a 70 percent increase in oil prices, so the Thompsons would be waving buh-bye to that second family car in which Mom used to drive the kiddos to cricket practice. To make

matters even worse, housing prices more than doubled, which meant the Thompsons would have to swap their clean-cut, red brick two-story house — yes, the one with all four windows framed in century-old, off-white shutters — for a more affordable apartment in an underdeveloped neighborhood.

These circumstances made the UK’s youth feel at a major disadvantage. Just a decade or so earlier, the post-war generation was enjoying the commodities — now seen as luxuries — of well-to-do, middle class families, such as shopping malls, restaurants, movie theaters and clubs. Now, parents’ financial worries and anxieties manifested onto their children, who turned their financial frustrations into outwardly expressed angst and rage. If post-war cultures flowered in a period of economic growth, then punk developed in tandem with economic downturn. These feelings of discouragement and disenfranchisement became elements of pop culture for UK’s youth, as punk began to develop as an overly politicized youth culture. Take, for instance, The Clash, whose music made direct references to racial tensions, unemployment and the UK’s immediate socio-economic environ ment. More notably, the infamously outspoken Sex Pistols’ songs “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the UK” helped define punk culture as they dubbed England a highly stratified capitalist society that was responsible for the economic failures of the decade, and frankly, for every other issue ►

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at large. The anarchist politics of The Clash, the Sex Pistols, Crass and other punk bands developed a politicized activist approach that preempted the anti-globalization movement.

cultural form that invited creative innovation, facilitated room for social or political commentary and offered the basis for an alternative lifestyle beyond the perceived mainstream.

The rise of punk culture was quite different from any previous cultural movements in that its rhetoric and style embodied the separation it placed between itself and the prevailing cultural and social mores of the era. Its music questioned social and political hierarchies, challenged the prevailing orthodoxies of fashion and reexamined notions of socioeconomic development. Most importantly, however, punk culture enabled the redefinition of class, gender and personal identities. In many ways, punk worked to eliminate any divides that existed between any group of people. For example, the anarchist theme that was integral to punk culture was a rejection of strigid class hierarchies that had controlled social status in the capitalist world for centuries. Further, the androgynous approach to fashion allowed for gender fluidity and was one of the first instances of abandoning gender roles in clothing. Additionally, the use of makeup (particularly black eye makeup) by women and men unchained these young adults from patriarchal gender archetypes. Unlike any preceding cultural movement, punk provided a

Now, for the most illustrious aspect of punk culture: fashion. Interestingly enough, the now sought-after punk look was initially considered a form of anti-fashion by bonafide punks.

The clothes suited the lifestyles of low-income young adults with minimal funds who most commonly chopped, cut and carved old clothes from thrift shops and consignment stores. Their purpose in distressing — and often destroying — their clothes was to stand out, rejecting the predisposed norm that treated fabric as a material to keep unadulterated, unspotted and untainted. As expected, this new manner of dressing shocked many people, which was exactly what the punks were going for. Tattered tights, dirty legs and chains emerged as mainstream punk fashion. Most notably — and still seen today — was the rise of Doc Martens, a utilitarian, practical and clunky shoe worn by men and women alike. This type of footwear had not been seen on women until then. In addition, body piercings and tattoos, which had not been a norm prior to the punks, were an integral part of the punk presentation. The ►

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act of piercing one’s skin as a form of self mutilation was in itself a rejection of the notion of the pristineness of the body and was meant to offend the general sect of society. Eyebrow, lip, nose, tongue and various other piercings seen today can be traced to British punk culture in the ‘70s.

The importance of punk in pop culture fashion was heightened when Malcolm McLaren formed and became the stylist for one of the most well-known punk bands in Britain: the Sex Pistols. Prior to his stardom, McLaren owned a clothing shop with his then-girlfriend, Vivienne Westwood, called “Let it Rock,” where they sold gear for many rockers. However, after meeting with and admiring the style of the New York Dolls, an American proto-punk band, McLaren had a vision.

As soon as he returned to London, he renamed his shop SEX and designed an entirely new look that was offensive to most.

His new line of clothing consisted of red leather, Soviet symbols, ripped T-shirts and bondage attire — not exactly the type of gear the aforementioned Mrs. Thompson would want her boys sporting. After the store’s initial success, McLaren connected with the Sex Pistols and became the master

behind their anarchist, rebellious aesthetic.

Many don’t associate the rise of punk fashion, music and other aspects of their culture with the state of the economy, but there is a direct relationship between the two. The disenfranchisement and general apathy felt by the entire population created the perfect platform for the youth to develop a culture that criticized and questioned societal norms — like gender roles and race issues — and placed the blame for their economic shortcomings on the post-war generation. But how could future fashion trends be influenced by current economic situations? For instance, could Britain’s younger generation’s attitude about Brexit create the same atmosphere felt in the 1970s? Could we see a rise of second-wave punk fashion? According to economist Henry Overman, Brexit will affect regional and local economies and will hit the trade industry hard. In addition, there exists an estrangement in ideology between the UK’s older generation, who generally view immigration with great skepticism, where as Britain’s younger generation ordinarily stands behind a pro-immigration platform.

What will truly come out of this new era of adverse conditions is an unpredictability for which Britain will simply have to wait. ■

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Writer Rachel Cook, Stylist Monika Barton, Photographer Marybeth Schmidt, Models Srija Seenivasan, Julia Vastano, HMUA Alexa Lewis, Layout Nura Bawab

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I hope you never read this letter. I hope it never finds you. Yet, here I am, writing to you.

Do you remember the night we met? We were in Paris during the dead of winter. I was drunk and you were beautiful. How did you not see through me then? Somehow, I convinced you to tell me your name, and it tasted like candy on my lips. And then you left, and I cried.

But your sweetness never left. It mixed with the salt of my tears which flowed in tandem with the springtime rain. And all I could do was think of you until summer came.

In June, I found you in the south of France. That’s when I learned you tasted sweeter than your name. We swam under the stars in the ebony sea and danced in the milky moonlight along cobblestoned streets. We drank until sunrise until our eyes fluttered shut and slept in the warmth of the afternoon sun. My skin turned pink while yours turned gold, and I worshiped you more than you will ever know. That summer was the best I had ever known, full of stories untold, words unspoken, the feelings we’d shown. You were my angel, my salvation, my sun and my stars. And I was the devil wrapped in your arms. So, tell me my darling, why take the chance, just to dance with the devil in the south of France?

But summer came and summer passed, and the briny sea breeze became cold at last. Rather than whisper sweet nothings, we shouted vain lies. I’ve always wondered, why whisper you love me but cry that I die?

You shook me, shattered me, left me for dead, tore out my heart, and made me bleed red. I’m sorry I hurt you, or maybe I’m not. I like to think that the pain I caused was not for naught, that with it I engrained myself into your heart.

Still I love you, my darling, though the seasons have changed. To me my darling, you’re still the same— one in a million. A million thoughts in my head, a million pieces of my heart, a million shards of my soul.

My darling, my darling, you are my world. I never should have let you go.

But maybe, my darling, someday, somewhere, the stars will shine, and you’ll be there.

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BLACK LACE DRESS | Revival Vintage CRANBERRY BLOUSE | Revival Vintage

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WHITE AND GOLD TOP | Revival Vintage

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Writer Adriana Rezal, Stylist Katharine Noe, Photographer Johnny Vo, Models Leslie Scherger, Monica Silverio, HMUA Anna Droddy, Viviana Torres, Layout Nikita Kalyana

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Thrifting With A Voice

PURPLE FRINGE DRESS | Prototype Vintage EMBELLISHED JACKET | Monkies Vintage BLACK PANTS | Prototype Vintage

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GREEN COAT | Ermine Vintage ORANGE PLAID DRESS | Revival Vintage WHITE DRESS | Revival Vintage

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T

he smell of raw chemical lingers in the air as young children go to bathe. As they dip their small hands into the discolored, brackish water to bring to their faces, there’s a slight hesitation as they recall warnings from their parents.

There are dangers in these contaminated waters, a pollution not from war or the extraction of oil, but from something much more unassuming. These impurities come from nearby garment factories, which, bustling under the high demands of the “fast fashion” industry, have carelessly dumped their toxic waste into nearby rivers and contaminated the village’s water supply.

The fast fashion industry is notorious for being unethical to human rights and damaging to the planet. In order to keep up with the high demand of cheaply made clothes overseas, foreign production companies sacrifice workers’ rights and disregard the environment in order to lower manufacturing costs.The now frothy and discolored Noyyal River in the southern Indian city of Tiruppur is another dumping site for the over 300 textile factories located nearby.

Degradation of water sources in seemingly far-off villages is not the only negative effect of fast fashion, as human rights are often violated too. For example, in Bangladesh — a global leader in garment production — foreign investors pressure garment factories into producing material at extremely low costs, resulting in subpar working con-

“

ditions, oppressive hours and inability for workers to consolidate into unions. There have been one too many cases in which working conditions and disregard of workers’ rights caused the death of hundreds of garment workers, such as what happened in 2013, when the collapse of several garment factories in Rana Plaza killed over 1,100 people despite workers’ complaints about conditions days before the tragedy occurred.

In reality, the fast fashion industry fuels social issues that are difficult to solve. The blame doesn’t rest on the shoulders of one source or country; rather it is a complicated web of capitalism and consequence. Consumer demand for cheaply priced clothes pressures international fashion companies to produce their products in the cheapest place at the cheapest price. This, in turn, forces foreign manufacturers to sacrifice workers’ safety, rights and the environment in order to compete and keep their business afloat. In addition, this web is particularly difficult to detangle. Oftentimes, relieving one pressure creates a new pressure somewhere else. For example, even when clothing companies go “green” by producing their clothes with organic cotton, the amount of water still used is unsustainable for the environment.

The true issue with fast fashion is not just about who’s making these products or how they’re being made. The real issue lies in the unsustainability of how much clothing is being consumed and produced. ►

In reality, the fast fashion industry fuels social issues that are difficult to solve.

The blame doesn’t rest on the shoulders of one source or country; rather it is a complicated web of capitalism and consequence.

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BLUE PANTS | Revival Vintage WHITE BOOTS | Revival Vintage WHITE SUNGLASSES | Blue Elephant Boutique YELLOW CROSSBODY | Blue Elephant Boutique

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“

Individuals can speak out against fast fashion with the clothes they choose to wear, through what is known as fashion activism.

Consumption and production are on an upward trend that is expected to continue rising. This trend, if not halted or at least slowed, will facilitate the decay of the other factors such as the ethics of preserving the environment and human rights. The hard truth is, it is nearly impossible for a single consumer to tackle the societal issue of fast fashion. However, this is not as bleak as it might seem. There are impactful ways in which the individual consumer can, if not tackle the issue head-on, refuse to participate, which makes a difference. Individuals can speak out against fast fashion with the clothes they choose to wear, through what is known as fashion activism. The most fun and creative way to do this is also economical: thrifting.

Thrifting clothes is a way for the creative, conscious consumer of today to stand up to the fast fashion industry in their everyday life. Going to secondhand clothing centers is a more sustainable way to shop for clothes because recycled garments don’t contribute to the demands that fuel the fast fashion industry. Shopping secondhand instead of buying newly made clothes cuts the consumption and production cycle short and works toward reducing the amount of clothes being pumped out of production factories.

Furthermore, many of the clothes made by fast fashion companies are disposable and not longlasting, while thrifting can yield better quality items at lower prices. Standing up tp the disposability of clothes (and their negative effect on the environment) made in the fast fashion culture

and going back to buying clothes for their durability will further reduce the amount of clothes being manufactured. This slows the growth of the current consumption and production trends, and is known as “slow fashion.”

Finally, thrifting can be approached as a treasure hunt with rare fashion pieces just waiting to be found. Once upon a time, the fashion industry only had four major seasons a year, but fast fashion transformed this into 52 “micro-seasons,” meaning a consumer goes “out of style” every single week. Thrifting refuses to succumb to the volatile trends delegated by fast fashion companies. Rather, thrifting allows for an individual to choose for herself from a selection of pieces from past times and from clothes that aren’t found at just any mall or department store. This allows for a degree of uniqueness with thrifting that is attractive for creatives looking to stand out against the crowd.

Formidably, fast fashion brands are catching on and are now targeting “vintage” as its new trend, producing cheaply made clothes in attempt to replicate that “thrifted” look. This is a particularly sinister form of capitalism. Just as vintage looks were becoming popular, opening the door for a thrifting culture to take hold, fast fashion companies have taken advantage of this trend and are now producing low-quality clothes at cheap prices made to look vintage. This negatively affects any advantageous effect authentic thrifting may have had.

But this is only as successful as the consumer allows it to be. The conscious consumer can still use her fashion as a voice for the voiceless: the garment workers who work in unethical conditions and the planet that is being taken for granted. More so, the allure of thrifting is enough to make the creative fashion lover go wild with cheap yet unique pieces.

By making a choice to stand up against the fast fashion industry in choosing to thrift, today’s fashion-forward creatives can express themselves in unique, one-of-a-kind outfits while also being environmentally and ethically responsible. ■

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WHITE LACE BUSTIER | Prototype Vintage RED HIGH WAISTED PANTS | Monkies Vintage YELLOW JACKET | Prototype Vintage

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Writer Tiana Woodard, Stylist Paris Vincent, Photographer Kate Mulligan, Models Mariam Abdul-Rashid, Taylor Courtney, Jade Fabello, HMUA Alexa Lewis, Lauren Smith, Layout Diane Campos

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W

hen I was just 5, my mom’s hair stylist and close friend led my innocent self to a styling chair, draped a client smock around my petite body and applied a cool, white substance to my curly hair. I came into the place with a prominent afro. I left with straight hair. I felt no anger, no sadness, but rather astonishment with how my tight coils relaxed into linear tresses within an hour.

A new process began. As soon as a sliver of my natural hair sprouted from my roots, I found myself pushed into the stylist chair. As I grew older, I began to dread these hair salon visits. I dreaded the relaxer stinging my scalp, I dreaded the hot comb singeing my neck, but I dreaded the other pain most. This pain overwhelmed me each time it burned away the shame, the connotations, the degradation — all the sweltering indicators of my blackness. I was only a recipient of a practice that black America has used for centuries. Our community has always labored to burn away attributes of our blackness, choosing to suffer from these painful burn scars in silence.

And someday, I was destined to pass this baton of shame to my children. Until now.

In a society that has used many tactics to downgrade Afro-textured hair, black America is now using formerly oppressed hairstyles as a symbol of political advancement. Afro-friendly hairstyles such as box braids, Bantu knots, cornrows and the classic Afro have come back stronger than before.

The earliest European accounts of black hair are filled with negative connotations. European slave traders and American slave owners used words such as “nappy,” “bushy” and “wooly” to

describe black hair’s unique texture. Instead of empowering, these words only served to dehumanize the attributes of people of African descent.

With the abolition of slavery came millions of displaced blacks. The feeling of “freedom” was an unfamiliar one. Economic, social and political barriers ensured that blacks would struggle to find their place in American society. However, the tight coils of black hair set the finish line of freedom back even further. To fit in with their oppressors, black America turned to hair straightening. Products such as hot combs and chemical relaxers made assimilation a simpler process.

The straightening of Afro-textured hair helped somewhat with cultural assimilation, but a crucial part of black racial identity was lost in the process. With a disconnect between AfricanAmerican culture and the culture of their African ancestors, many blacks struggled to stay in touch with their roots while moving forward in American society.

Though the Civil Rights Movement encouraged black Americans to do away with straight-hair norms and embrace their natural curls, many blacks still refused to part ways with their hairstraightening products. In fact, though sales of black hair-straightening products began to decline in the 1990s, the amount of black natural hair products on the market remained scarce.

At the start of the 21st century, black America’s perceptions of Afro-textured hair changed from negative to positive. More black Americans than ever before closed their eyes, held their breath and cut off their chemically straightened hair.

(Or, for the less daring ones, “transitioning,” the gradual change from a chemically-straightened ►

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hair texture to natural hair texture, worked best.)

To accommodate to their natural textures, many black Americans swapped their hot combs and relaxers for natural hair care regimens. As of 2009, 70 to 80 percent of blacks were estimated to have used hair-straightening products. However, the number of blacks who spent money on chemical relaxers dropped to a mere 30.8 percent between 2011 and 2016.

By embracing natural hair textures, a variety of black hairstyles have increased in popularity.

Twist-outs, Bantu knots, cornrows, box braids, Senegalese twists — these ethnic hairstyles have transformed from outlandish abnormalities to commonplace fashion statements in America.

Some, like box braids, require hours upon hours of expertise to create intricate patterns. Others, like the classic afro, are much more simplistic.

These hairstyles do not have American origins.

Rather, the natural hairstyles prevalent in current American fashion have been in practice for generations in Africa. Yet, they all allow for black America to reconnect to their distant past.

Black America’s gradual embrace of their natural hair textures has allowed for the negative connotations of their ethnic hairstyles to be

shed away like dead skin, allowing for positive connotations to shine through. This positive light has made appearances of black, ethnic hairstyles in places of high political, social and economic status more acceptable. For example, Academy Award winner Viola Davis shook the 2018 Golden Globes’ red carpet with her natural hair, and even former First Lady Michelle Obama has allowed for her natural tresses to shine in public light.

As of now, I’ve also allowed my natural tresses to shine in public light for 10 months. Like any other black American in my shoes, coming to accept my natural hair has been physically and mentally challenging. At this stage of my life, a reverse happened. I entered the hair salon with straight hair; I left with the beginnings of an Afro. This time around, I felt not astonishment but nostalgia from being separated with such a crucial part of identity for over a decade.

This new age of black America is rejecting the baton of shame, allowing for it to fall to the ground and roll away into oblivion instead.

In its place, we’re accepting a baton of empowerment, and running with it as far as our oppression-fatigued legs can take us. ■

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, Tieman Brooke ney Bui r e h p Syd ogra i, Phot Layout rvi Josh achel Cook, U t s li y R UA ddi, St ang, HM i Sigire hnaven son, Kristine W s ri K r Write John Hannah Models

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T

he female body is often a muse for many artists whether it is a sculpture, painting, or designing clothes.

Azzedine Alaïa was best known for designing clothes to fit the female form rather than forcing his models to fit the design. In an interview from 2013 he stated, “I like women. I never think about doing new things, about being creative, but about making clothing that will make women beautiful.” Asides his dedication to the female form he was always wearing simple black suits. His company’s website refers to designer as “the little man in eternal Chinese pajamas” for the high necked black suits he always wore.

Recently the fashion industry lost Alaïa, one of the most influential fashion designers throughout the 20th and 21st century.

Alaïa was best known for elegant dresses, simple colors, various knits and sculpted leathers, and was nicknamed “The King of Cling” because of the tightly fitted styles he created. The designer was driven by passion and let almost nothing get in his way from being on top.

Alaïa was born in Tunis, Tunisia where his dreams began. Alaïa’s parents were wheat farmers in his homeland; however, his twin sister pushed him away from his parents’ prefered career path and inspired him to follow his dreams to take a different route. Although his interests and passions were dissimilar to his mother’s, she highly encouraged him to pursue a career in fashion by consistently providing him copies of Vogue. His mother was so determined to provide the best for her son she lied about his age to Ecole des BeauxArts, a school in Tunis where Alaïa studied sculpture and began to develop an idea of the human form which influenced his designs in the future.

Regardless of his studies in sculptures, Alaïa was determined to pursue fashion.

When he saw an ad for a dressmaker in need of assistance, he persuaded his sister into teaching him how to sew. Alaïa’s passion grew when he began to replicate dresses to distribute to his neighbors. After graduating, Alaïa became a dressmaker’s assistant. Soon after graduation his career in design flourished. In 1957 he moved to Paris to work for Christian Dior, and then Guy Laroche where he dressed private clients.

After a decade of odd jobs with different designers, Alaïa launched his very own ready-to-wear collection in 1980 for Charles Jourdan. Sadly, Jourdan was not fond of his work. Luckily, Elle France was.

The magazine promoted his career, and in less than five years later, Alaïa was voted Best Designer of the Year and Best Collection of the Year at the Oscars de la Mode by the French Ministry of Culture in 1984.

From there, the momentum continued to build. Ads for his incredible work were attached to the back of buses in Paris, spurring several thousand design orders.

Alaïa began working with well-known artists and models including Grace, Jones, Tina Turner, Madonna, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell. However, Campbell had a different relationship with Alaïa. She came to work with him alone at the young age of 16 in Paris. The two formed a close father/ daughter-like bond to the point Campbell referred to him as Papa, and he even instilled a curfew for her.

During the ‘80s Alaïa earned the nickname “King of Cling” for his designs that fit to models as if the articles were a second skin. His designs were unique and sculptured which reflected his studies in the human form and sculptures. Even though he did not excel in school, his knowledge from Ecole des Beaux-Arts impacted his designs and reputation greatly. ►

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Soon after Alaïa’s career began to flourish, he disappeared from the fashion scene during the mid 1990s due to the death of his sister. During the 2000s he reemerged and began working for Prada. He continued to work his way to the top with big-name clients. One of his regular clients was former first lady Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama wore his pieces to elite events including a NATO dinner with heads of state, and to the American Ballet Theatre’s opening night in New York.

Besides his astounding work in fashion, his passion for design and what he did influenced the designer he came embody. Alaïa was not ashamed to call out other fashion elites in the industry. In an interview with The Ground Social & Magazine, Alaïa lashed out to Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue. He stated, “I don’t like his [Lagerfeld] fashion, his spirit, his attitude. It’s too much caricature. Karl Lagerfeld never touched a pair of scissors in his life.” Regarding Wintour he stated, “She runs the business very well, but not the fashion part. When I see how she is dressed, I don’t believe in her tastes one second. Anyway, who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one.”

Regardless of his controversial opinions, Alaïa was still praised for his hard work and dedication. Catherine Lardeur, the former Editorin-Chief of French Marie Claire in the 1980s, stated in an interview with Crowd Magazine that “Fashion is dead. Designers nowadays do not create anything, they only make clothes so people and the press would talk about them.

The real money for designers lies within perfumes and handbags. It is all about image.

Alaïa remains the king. He is smart enough to

not only care about having people talk about him. He only holds fashion shows when he has something to show, on his own time frame.

Even when Prada owned him he remained free and did what he wanted to do.”

In 2017 before his tragic death, Campbell showcased Alaïa’s latest and last collection on the runway. The color scheme of his final show revolved around shades of red, white, and black. True to his original style, his last show was comprised of ornate leather pieces and simple colors. One including a ruffled oversized leather coat with a plenty of buttons down the center, exhibited on Karlie Kloss.

The supermodel then embraced what Alaïa was most known for: she wore a simple navy and black dress composed of several ruffles that hugged her waist. On the other hand, his beloved Campbell strode across the runway in an oversized white fur coat with black embroidered detail along the center and sleeves of the jacket. Other models wore simple dresses exhibiting all three colors. Materials for the dresses varied from fur to thin lace.

Campbell, who grew alongside his career, remains heartbroken after the loss of her father figure. In a post on Instagram, Campbell poured her heart out to the internet, stating, “I got to experience what it was like to be around a genius! You taught me and opened my eyes to so many things in life, and how to strive for perfection, as you were perfection and unique and will always be.” His knowledge and creativity regarding the female form is incomparable to others’ work. Alaïa will be missed by many, around the world and in the fashion industry. He has set a high standard for current and future designers and has left a great impression on designing. ■

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Drippin'

ooh, don’t we look good together? there’s a reason why they watch all night long yeah, know we’ll turn heads forever so tonight i’m gonna show you off when i’m walkin’ with you i watch the whole room change baby, that’s what you do no, my baby, don’t play blame it on my confidence oh, blame it on your measurements shut that shit down on sight that’s right we out here drippin’ in finesse it don’t make no sense out here drippin’ in finesse you know it, you know it we out here drippin’ in finesse it don’t make no sense out here drippin’ in finesse you know it, you know it now slow it down for me baby ‘cause i love the way it feels when we grind yeah, our connection’s so magnetic on the floor nothing can stop us tonight when i’m walkin’ with you i watch the whole room change baby, that’s what you do no, my baby, don’t play blame it on my confidence oh, blame it on your measurements shut that shit down on sight that’s right we out here drippin’ in finesse it don’t make no sense out here drippin’ in finesse you know it, you know it we out here drippin’ in finesse it don’t make no sense out here drippin’ in finesse you know it, you know it fellas grab your ladies if your lady fine tell her she the one, she the one for life ladies grab your fellas and let’s do this right if you’re on one like me in mind yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on don’t it feel so good to be us, ay? yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on girl, we got it goin’ on yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on don’t it feel so good to be us, ay? yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on we out here drippin’ in finesse it don’t make no sense out here drippin’ in finesse you know it, you know it we out here drippin’ in finesse it don’t make no sense out here drippin’ in finesse you know it, you know it yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on don’t it feel so good to be us, ay? yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on you know it, you know it yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on don’t it feel so good to be us, ay? yeah, we got it goin’ on, got it goin’ on you know it, you know it

in Finesse

Writer Bonnie McEnnis, Stylist Paris Vincent, Photographer Harrison Xue, Models Taylor Courtney, Jade Fabello, HMUA Natalie Arriaga, Layout Kalissa White

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G

rammy winner Bruno Mars has always captured the attention of his listeners with his infectious confidence and his undeniably catchy songs. But with his most recent album, “24K Magic,” he infused his music with a whole different kind of sound: funk. It has always been known that one of Mars’ most important influences on his music is James Brown. You can hear him almost imitate Brown exactly in “Perm,” a song that Rolling Stone calls “a future-shocked James Brown hip-hop hybrid.”

The song that is most like that of Brown’s funk music is “24K Magic” itself. It can be analyzed in such a way that one can figure out why people love to dance to it so much. To understand this, one must to go back to 1967 with the release of Brown’s hit “Cold Sweat.” This song was a turning point in the world of music because it introduced music lovers to the era of funk. What makes this track so funky is that it is constantly working toward enhancing the rhythm. In addition, instead of the traditional 4/4 time, the drums are working in syncopation, or the act of displacing the beats or accents in music or a rhythm so that strong beats become weak and vice versa, which defined the sound of funk music. It has been scientifically proven that people are more likely to dance to syncopated music, hence why so many people enjoy “24K Magic.” It is also possible to draw a straight line from Brown’s “Cold Sweat” to “24K Magic,” which passes on and polishes the lessons Brown learned exactly 50 years ago.

You can hear this when you listen to each song’s syncopation in the drum beat; along with the use of a high-pitched synthesizer, they both have the same percussive quality and the signature of funk music. Mars allows “24K Magic” to travel back to the sounds of Brown’s music while still putting a fresh and creative spin on it. However, Mars’ music isn’t the only form of art he’s mastered.

When it comes to fashion, Mars is no stranger.

He is constantly revolutionizing his own personal style and correlates it with his music style evolution. Not only has Mars become a musical icon, but he has become an important icon in the world of fashion as well.

“Cause you’re amazing ...just the way you are” In October 2010, Mars released his debut studio

album, “Doo-Wops and Hooligans.” From this album, he also released his first solo single, “Just the Way You Are.” During this time, Mars’ style was fairly simple. He was often seen sporting a fedora, skinny jeans or pants, and a T-shirt with a nice sport coat or a leather jacket. He also wore a lot of plaid flannel shirts and was always rocking the original wayfarer Ray Bans sunglasses. This modest look complimented his music style at the time very well; audiences were more focused on his clear, bright voice rather than what he was wearing. Mars’ fashion choices during this time reflect the simplicity and clean-cut songs of “Doo-Wops and Hooligans.”

There are no synthesizers on this album, no funky voice overs, no crazy James Brown-like screaming — just the band and Mars’ fantastic singing voice. His fashion choices mirrored the album perfectly.

“Treasure, that is what you are”

Two years after the release of his first studio album, Mars released “Unorthodox Jukebox”, which presented a wide range of music styles like reggae, soul and funk. One of the album’s hit singles, “Treasure,” spent 23 weeks total on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. During the era of “Unorthodox Jukebox,” Mars moved toward a more sophisticated style, usually sporting a tightpleated suit and wearing plenty of black and white. While still wearing his original wayfarer Ray Bans, he also began rocking a classic pompadour hairstyle, perfectly completing this sleek, clean look.

“Lucky for you, that ’s what I like”

In 2016, Mars released his most recent album, “24K Magic,” and its lead single “That’s What I Like” climbed to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. With the release of this album, he began wearing more ‘90s-inspired clothing and wearing his hair curly. When he dresses casually, he wears a lot of jerseys, basketball shorts, gold chains and snapbacks. He also sports a lot of Versace, deep V-necks, silky shirts and aviators. His sense of style is completely funky, just like “24K Magic.” At the 2018 Grammy Awards, he won in all six categories for which he was nominated including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. There’s no doubt Mars is a star performer and excels in entertaining us with both his music and iconic style. ■

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give me your, give me your, give me your attention baby i got to tell you a little something about yourself you’re wonderful, flawless, oh you’re a sexy lady but you walk around here like you wanna be someone else treasure, that is what you are honey, you’re my golden star you know you can make my wish come true if you let me treasure you if you let me treasure you, oh oh oh oh pretty girl, pretty girl, pretty girl you should be smiling a girl like you should never look so blue you’re everything i see in my dreams i wouldn’t say that to you if it wasn’t true treasure, that is what you are honey, you’re my golden star you know you can make my wish come true if you let me treasure you if you let me treasure oh oh oh you are my treasure, you are my treasure you are my treasure, yeah, you you you, you are you are my treasure, you are my treasure you are my treasure, yeah, you you you, you are treasure, that is what you are honey you’re my golden star you know you can make my wish come true if you let me treasure you if you let me treasure you oh oh oh

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GOLDEN

Writer Ivanna English, Stylist Megan Arimanda, Kalissa White Photographer Anna Droddy, Models Taylor Courtney, Lindsey Ehlers, Elizabeth Reed, HMUA Julie Garcia, Cameron Polonet, Layout Esther Shin

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In silky slumber we lie Awake In soft pink hues, my soul to Take

Steadfast we might With grace and dignity hold True Malleable, yet valuable as Gold

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ink and paint Writer Nikki LaSalla, Stylist Abbey Appel, Photographer Kate Mulligan, Models Anjuli Frink, Alexa Ray, HMUA Paola Mena, Ella Whitaker, Layout Marley Crawford

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t STATEMENT EARRINGS | Blue Elephant

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T

he year is 1938. Walt Disney premieres his first full-length animation, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” to raving reviews.

There is a red-carpet turnout, complete with Mickey Mouse and even the Seven Dwarfs. Yet, the film, in full technicolor, could not have been possible without the hard work of the Ink & Paint department. The only department that featured women at the time, the employees of the Ink & Paint department were the people who brought the animations to life. They dutifully drew the lines and carefully

selected the colors. They are the reason that Snow White’s dress has that perfect blend of crisp apple red, sunshine yellow and royal blue.

Although the Ink & Paint department does not exist today, the women there pioneered the style that we as viewers have come to associate with a Disney animated film. Whether a Walt Disney Animation film or a Pixar Animation film, the company focuses heavily on forming a cohesive aesthetic. One way in which their films create this aesthetic is through the design of their characters, namely the costume design. ►

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It’s almost impossible to think of Disney without Belle’s yellow dress as she walks down the stairs to meet Beast, or Cinderella’s ball gown as she flees back to her pumpkin carriage.

The clothing choices these animators make are what bring Disney stories to life and give the characters personality. For example, the specific decision to make Russell’s shirt yellow in Pixar’s “UP” gives him a childlike innocence reminiscent of a sunflower. Even the design of his slightly disheveled ankle socks add to his sense of wonder and draw to adventure. In contrast, a character like Maleficent, the villain in Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty,” is purely characterized by her outfit.

A dark purple and black ensemble, complete with a cape, contrasts with her green skin in order to create a ghostly and villainous look. However, ironically, the royal purple that Maleficent wears represents the exact title that she wishes to hold but does not: royalty. These clothes fit the personality of a character but also add to them, giving us insight to a person before they even speak on screen.

Since wardrobe and hair is so important to a character, Disney’s animation department spends years to ensure that a character’s design is correct. For example, in “Brave,” Merida’s wildly red hair took almost three entire years to correctly design and put into practice. However, sometimes the character’s personality changes over the course of these years, causing the costumes to change as well.

In “Zootopia,” Nick Wilde, a hustling fox that eventually sees the light, wears a light green Hawaiian-style button-down, shorts, and a loose necktie. However, long before the film was finalized, Nick’s backstory included his inheritance of his father’s

tailor shop. The Hawaiian shirt we see in theatres turned into a full-blown, completely tailored suit, because Nick’s appreciation for such an item of clothing stemmed from his then-personality.

“Inside Out” is a prime example of how personality is embodied in costume design.

Each of the main emotions in the film is represented by a color: Joy is yellow, Sadness is blue, Disgust is green, Fear is purple and Anger is red. Yet, the animators for this film did not stop there. Joy’s dress, although yellow, features little blue flowers with petals that look more like exclamation points. Before we learn anything about Joy, we see this dress and, as the story progresses, the flowers begin to make sense. Joy is an exclamation point; a crescendo at the end of a sentence. She is happiness but she is also energy, sometimes too much so, to the point where Sadness is later affected by her over-exuberance.

In contrast, Pixar’s “The Incredibles” brings real-life fashion into a world of superheroes.

Edna Mode, Disney/Pixar’s resident queen of fashion, creates super suits that are not only good for fighting Syndrome but also quite fashionable as well. She is one of Disney/Pixar’s first characters to have a stake in the fashion world. Her blunt bob, giant, Harry Potter-style glasses and love of black and white all add to her personality but also give Edna a shape. While personality is shown in these pieces, the clothing of “The Incredibles” almost breathes a life of their own, or rather, sees a collection of clothing put together by Ms. Mode that seems as though it should be walking the runways in real life. ►

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However, “Frozen” is the epitome of Disney’s love of putting a character’s personality into their costumes. Both the brighter, primary colors of Anna’s coronation dress and her winter wear embody the princess’ colorful spirit. Similarly, Elsa’s magical transformation from a dark navy, deep turquoise and plum coronation dress to a sparkling, bright blue evening gown represents her newfound feeling of freedom. Even Hans’ costume creates a sense of irony when his true nature is revealed. The primness of his suit makes his prince charming vibe seem almost sinister and calculated instead of magical.

The characters of “Frozen” have also inspired a wave of design beyond the animated world.

Disney took on the role of “Project Runway” last year and offered Otis College of Art and Design students a chance to design a small collection based on the design found in “Frozen.” The winning designers saw an item or two from their collection on Nineteenth Amendment, a designer-direct fashion house, bringing the designs of animation to both the real and high fashion world.

Disney has been known to partner with high fashion names in order to cross-promote their films. Most recently, at the Paolo Sebastian Spring/Summer 2018 show, a Disney-inspired couture collection walked down the runway featuring looks influenced by Disney’s most popular films, such as “The Little Mermaid” and “Pinocchio.” Many of the dresses featured the films’ most popular quotes. For example, in the Blue Fairy’s look, the words “when you wish upon a star” were written. Similarly, Disney partnered with Kenzo to create a “Jungle Book” line that was slightly more affordable and more everyday-wear, featuring items such as T-shirts and sweatshirts. However, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” constantly makes an appearance wherever Disney is concerned.

Most recently, in celebration of its 80th birthday, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City decorated its windows for Christmas to celebrate the classic film, featuring looks by prominent designers like Monique Lhuillier. While the Ink and Paint department has disappeared, their legacy and their careful design of Snow White have made it easy for designers to translate the film’s style into wearable clothing.

Additionally, a new wave of designers is bringing Disney’s high fashion to everyday life.

Small shops found across social media are using the designs animators put forth to inspire their own creations. For example, customized Mickey ears to wear to Disney theme parks are made by many small shops and feature the zig-zag bodice and light pink coloring of Rapunzel’s dress in “Tangled.”

The year is 2018. As we near the premieres of “Incredibles 2” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck it Ralph 2,” Disney’s aesthetic continues, its line-up of iconic costumes grows, and we will see more animation history in the making. The beauty of animation comes from its imitation of real life. The exciting part, though, is that we are beginning to find a little inspiration in Disney’s ink and paint. ■

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Writer Sarah MuĂąoz, Stylist Lizzie Dragon, Photographer Harrison Xue, Models Prerna Pamar, Melina Perez, HMUA Rebekah Heidel, Layout Nayoung Kim

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S

eptember fashion week in 2017 had everyone in the fashion press talking about the comeback of the ‘80s.

It was understandable; “Stranger Things” season two had just come on and made everyone remember their love for bomber jackets and higher waisted denim and perms. Fast fashion brands like Forever 21 and Missguided paid attention to the magazine editors and bloggers that had also hailed the ‘80s revamp on the way and had primed their fans accordingly by bringing back the boxy blazers and teasing acid wash denim. But fast forward to the end of 2017 and the taste of the new year we have had so far, and aside from some modest fluorescent colors from SS/18 Versace, the satin coated shoulder pad action at Tom Ford and the one shoulder mini dresses and slouchy boots courtesy of Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, the ‘80s craze has definitely not permeated the fashion mainstream as was expected. Instead, nothing major happened.

Bolded video titles boasted major designer names and were paired with corresponding reviews that claimed to spot ‘80s inspiration among the clothing. However, after watching a good two or three of the most popular fashion houses, Chanel did not stray from their path of pastels and sequins nor did their attention to feminine and timeless details falter—nor did they ditch their classic sheath silhouettes for the infamous tiered dresses from the ‘80s. Dior had likewise continued its meshy tulle dark-but-polished dresses with sheer bustier tops and whimsical embroidery. Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen remained true to her punk gothic aesthetic and Prada had an abundance of sharply pointed collared shirts peeking out from high-waisted smart trousers and brogues. An avid reader of the magazines claiming that the ‘80s were coming would have

scoured the collections more than once, most likely trying to figure out what it was that they were missing. Where were the perms, the blue eyeshadow, the lacy bustiers that hinted at Madonna? Nothing that looked reminiscent of “When Harry Met Sally” greeted Vogue readers. Alas, fans of Brooke Shields and Meg Ryan will have to wait for another season. But what was behind this strange occurrence? This was either a lapse in judgment by magazines or an upheaval of the fashion norm where magazines dictate what is hot and what is not. Either way, the quest for an explanation was on.

The first explanation comes to mind through social media, which manages to outgrow itself with each year, attracting more and more users left and right. This rapid growth and immense gathering of people easily leaves one feeling isolated — but to counteract that, groups can be made on these pages. Hashtags can be followed to find people who think like us or have the same hobbies as we do. Instagram, in particular, plays a role in this situation. Many boutiques and independent brands have decided to delay creating their online stores in lieu of gathering a following on social media first. It makes sense, as doing so would make it easier to get an idea of who will buy from you, and keeps your production levels as profitable as possible. But this influx of new brands brought a side effect: They have fragmented the consumer base. So how does this affect the fashion world? Well, if you like ‘50s vintage pin-up fashion, there are vintage shops that exclusively sell on Instagram, asking followers to like and comment for a DM that includes an invoice and online payment. All the major vintage shops are looking to social media to attract more fans and long distance customers, so they can take advantage of other clients they might not have had access to sooner. But in terms of major ►

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trends, the followers of the small businesses online are growing into their niches. They feel no need to go back to the big mainstream brands — an idea that could not have been imagined back in 2010.

Brands like Chanel, Dior, Coach, Gucci — they all still maintain some power over what we should call high-end fashion. But this all leads to one question: Have we hit a peak moment in fashion? Is this the end of the trend being one universal and unanimous choice that the fashion industry all decides to follow for a year or two? Decades of the past, they all had their trademarks; the Roaring ‘20s had rising hemlines and fringe and art deco, and the ‘50s had the New-Look, tight waists and wide circle skirts. The 2000’s are still pretty iconic as well. But since 2010, it has been a bunch of trends packed into this decade thus far and the trends seem to be changing almost as fast as we refresh our discover pages on Instagram.

This once again would beg the question: Are we so oversaturated with fashion trends hitting us left and right that we no longer have major trends?

This leads us to a buzzword that has been lightly sprinkled by some commentators in fashion, like Leandra Medine from “Man Repeller”, the writers of “Who What Wear”, and been put into the form of actions instead by Danielle Bernstein of “We Wore What” (she does this by literally paying no interest to what is said to be trendy and setting her own trends): MICRO TRENDS. This is pretty straightforward and refers to the ability of fast fashion stores, social media based boutiques and influencers to take something random and make it trendy, spurning a tide of followers on their respective pages to respond by wearing the same things.

Without going too far out into the sea of influencers, let’s look at the Kardashian-Jenner clan. Kendall wore a fanny pack last summer out in LA. Nothing crazy about that, until people saw that she had not strapped it about her waist like it was always done — she strapped it across her chest and over her shoulder. It was a game changer and a bunch of bloggers started doing it too. The power of influence plays a huge role in this micro trend craze. Actresses can show up at events wearing a certain type of shoe and set a micro trend. If beauty gurus were able to make wavy brows trendy for a brief moment, nothing should come as a surprise anymore. These shortlived trends may last from a few weeks to almost a few months. Some micro trends that can be currently spotted around UT are berets, fringe-y earrings, mules, hoop earrings and the tail-end of the white sneaker trend. They probably will not last long here and possibly by the end of the semester, we will have an idea of what the next micro trends are.

For now, it looks like the fashion industry is having a transitional period. Not too long ago, it was just two collections a year: Spring/Summer and Autumn/ Winter. Now one can look up Resort collections online for big brands like Chanel, and there are separate artistic couture collections that are more avant-garde and even less trendy than their regularly scheduled counterparts. On a global scale, fashion is evolving, switching from major bandwagon style trends that define decades to smaller, faster trends that cater to the individual instead of the group. Instead of mourning this change, it might help to look at it from a different approach — this change might actually make it easier to define an individual sense of style in a sea of micro trends. ■

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WIDE LEG PANTS | Blue Elephant TAN BLAZER | Ermine Vintage PLAID TROUSERS | Revival Vintage

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sustainable couture Location Flourish Writer Jessica Teran, Stylist Megan Schuetz, Photographer Katherine Perks, Models Melanie Shaw, Maria Tangarova, HMUA Rebekah Heidel, Gabriella Kackley, Layout Jessica Chen

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P

aris, France — Fashion Week Fall/ Winter of 2016 opened the door for sustainability to make its home on the runway in haute couture collections. We not only see sustainability in couture pieces from Europe — we’re seeing them stateside. Stateside and local Austin, haute couture designer Gail Chovan has started to adopt the similar practice in her own clothing. Chovan describes this shift in slow fashion as “an obviously developing, yet permanent shift in the mentality of product development.” Haute couture is the epitome of slow fashion, which focuses on durable and transcendent clothing that is created from the highest quality materials. Such garments demand meticulous attention to detail and unmatched refined tailoring.

The results are effortlessly luxurious and alluring customized garments.

Ordinarily, we don’t associate sustainability with haute couture and all that it embodies. Sustainability, a niche market, is known for being overpriced and not luxurious enough in the final presentation. Collections are often believed to be ill-assorted and incongruous in high fashion.

While some people within the fashion industry believe that incorporating sustainability into fashion houses limits designers and their creativity, there are some designers who are ready to challenge themselves. Couture collection pieces often

take months of preparation and implementing sustainability often lengthens that time. Designers have to source the right fabrics and materials, while still remaining eco-friendly, to create their perfect runway collection. The real question ecofriendly high fashion proposes is, how long can designers keep up putting in that much work?

But, all is not lost. Dutch designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, founders of Viktor & Rolf couture fashion house, are renowned for creating highly conceptualized and avant-garde designs and have been implementing sustainability into their collections since their Fall/Winter 2016 collection. During the Fall/Winter 2016 Paris Fashion Week, they created a collection using select fabrics and garments from previous seasons, 2002’s “Blue Screen” and 2015’s “Van Gogh” collections, to create new interpretations of familiar silhouettes from their 1999 collection “Russian Doll.” They continued to create sustainable garments in their Spring/Summer 2017 collection, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” This collection was created from old Liberty fabrics, scraps of vintage dresses, gold lamé, and tulle that are accompanied by a color palette of soft primary colors and faint pastels.

Viktor & Rolf are leading the couture world in sustainability through upcycling and they have been able to create staggeringly beautiful ►

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high style collections. Upcycling is a technique used where discarded objects or materials are completely transformed in such a way that they create a product of higher quality and value than the original — and that is the building block for sustainable couture. It is evident that with each collection Viktor & Rolf create through upcycling that they are able to perfect this concept and master it. Not only are they inspiring a niche group of consumers to buy these designs but they are challenging other fashion houses to hold themselves more accountable and implement sustainability into their own collections.

Collections from Viktor & Rolf have sparked the initiative from Karl Lagerfeld, head creative director of Chanel fashion house, who has also gracefully and successfully accepted this challenge to mesh sustainability into haute couture designs. Through Chanel’s 2016 Spring/Summer collection, “Eco-Couture,” polished and tasteful designs were created from jute, hemp, cork, fused paper and cotton. Even the beading, sequins and jewelry were all created from raffia, wood and straw while accessories were wedge shoes made from cork and bum-bags made from hemp. Also making a transition towards a more sustainable and ethical brand is Saint Laurent.

Saint Laurent has pledged to launch more sustainability-focused couture courses at two French

schools, the Institut Français de la Mode and the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. In doing so, not only does this preserve the craftsmanship and techniques of slow fashion, but it modernizes the couture market and allows up and coming designers to create more sustainable fabrics and develop new innovative materials and technologies.

The influence of eco-couture collections in Europe has seeped into new markets, and into new areas of the fashion world, making sustainable garments more attainable to all consumers. We can observe how consumer awareness and demand for sustainability has forced designers to remodel their design approach to appeal to consumers. Chovan says that the future of fashion and the ideal model of sustainability are focused on “zero waste with new designs being made from recycled fabric.” Realistically, sustainability is a new way of thinking for the fashion world and remains an unfamiliar and underdeveloped concept. Sustainability is no longer a buzzword.

Designers are now faced with the challenge of producing more than just an elaborate and elegant garment. Recycling, reusing and remaking fabrics while being more ecologically responsible play an important role in the future of both slow and fast fashion. ■

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BUTTON DOWN SHIRT | Blue Elephant OPEN BUTTON UP DRESS | Revival Vintage

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AB NO RM AL Writer Prerna Pamar, Stylist Urvi Joshi, Photographer Anna Droddy, Models Grecia Gutierrez, Leonor Martins, HMUA Alessandra Garcia-Fuentes, Layout Kelsey Jones

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I

magine models in skin-tight bald caps. They strut out in jewel-toned suits and feather dresses. However, they are not walking down a runway. Instead, they are entrapped inside a giant glass box. The audience at the show looks in on them like they are animals at a zoo or mannequins behind a glass window. The models seem to be confused and walk to the sides of the box, placing their hands on the clear glass as if they were trying to find a way out. In the middle of the box is another glass box.

The glass is dirty and cloudy so there is no way of seeing what is inside. Suddenly, the lights inside the box turn off, and a single flame of fire is seen from the box’s center. The lights turn on again, and the sides of the dark glass box fall down, shattering the glass in the process. Inside is a naked pregnant woman with a mask, breathing in air from a tube.

The scenario described above is not fictional. This unusual runway show was a product of Alexander McQueen’s unique imagination, bringing his clothes to life.

McQueen was one of the few designers in the 2000s that truly had an identity of his own. The brand was widely known for its unusual runways and the provocative messages embodied in them. Sitting through one of his shows was both a challenge as well as a high honor. As a

member of the audience, one was always uneasy, since the shows were so unpredictable. One show in particular consisted of a runway scattered with taxidermy animals, and in the finale, McQueen came out in a grey bunny suit. The randomness and unpredictability of McQueen’s interpretation of the runway made it so incredible to watch.

Once, McQueen even managed to pull off a hologram of Kate Moss closing the show. There were never recurring themes or specific styles known to the McQueen label. Each collection and its corresponding runway show were completely unique.

Since McQueen chose to show his clothes in the most unconventional forms possible, he was able to add another dimension to his collection. The clothes were no longer lifeless, inanimate items, but rather, a living aspect of our daily life that we could relate to the smallest elements in our community. McQueen gave fashion another layer of depth, making it something more than the superficial luxury many people label it as. If it weren’t for designers like McQueen, the fashion world would lack the creativity and nonconformity that defines it.

In our generation, Alessandro Michele, the current creative director of Gucci, serves as the new McQueen. While it ►

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is unfair to homogenize them, the innovative, abnormal collections of Michele have crossed many boundaries in our generation. Gucci has changed the way clothes are advertised. In New York City, there was once a peculiar-looking wall with the message, “What are we going to do with all this future?” scribbled onto it. Its effortless, yet effective, manner made it seem like someone had casually painted it on just hours ago. The same message was then found in Gucci’s most recent collection at the time, written on one of their shirts.

Michele manages to maintain a sense of mystery in his clothing. The message behind his absurd runway shows and interesting art walls never have a clear definition, allowing people to interpret them through their own experience and knowledge. This creates a personal touch for each buyer, since their Gucci item is unique to their own experiences and thoughts. Michele’s new Gucci Garden is another success at creating a personal experience for his audience. Located in an abandoned villa in Florence, Italy, the Gucci Garden consists of a restaurant with a Michelin star chef as well as three floors of clothes and other items. When making the Gucci Garden, Michele wanted his buyers to have a mu-

seum-like experience, each outfit serving as some sort of unique artifact. Instead of conforming to the usual clothing shop, he wanted to change the experience of shopping itself, in order to make it something more interesting and enjoyable. Through this unique concept, Michele has brought his clothes to life.

The spring Gucci show was another abnormal project by Michele. The runway show was set up as a surgical operating room with green walls and several bleak, white operating tables. Some models carried exact replicas of their heads, while walking in Michele’s extravagant outfits. Other models carried small, lifelike animals such as a dragon and a chameleon. Michele worked with techno-artisans in an animation studio for six months in order to make the animals and heads as lifelike as they were on the runway. According to Michele, the essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” inspired the show, since it criticized the concept of people fitting into predetermined cultural boundaries. The severed replica heads were a symbol for accepting oneself and taking care of one’s head and thoughts.

The depth and meaning behind each element of the show proves that Michele is a revolutionary of fashion. ■

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THE COSTUMES OF CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

Writer Nick Sheppard, Stylist Rebecca Wong, Photographer Alli Weitzel, Models Hank Freeman, Grant Kanak, HMUA Viviana Torres, Layout Rebecca Wong

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all Me by Your Name is a categorically gorgeous film. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, every shot is alluring, each bit of dialogue is enticing and the narrative is heart-wrenchingly romantic. Set in rural 1983 Italy, the precocious 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) falls for Oliver (Armie Hammer), the American grad student who has come to study with his father for the summer. It was nominated for and received plenty of awards, but the retro costumes seem to have been overlooked. Understandable? Sure. Excusable? No, ma’am. While this film’s costumes do not take center stage, they are as much a part of the fabric of the film’s aesthetic and narrative as the illustrious Italian scenery.

Clothing is a fundamental thematic tool in this love story, both on the page and on the screen, the main players being swimming trunks and a large button-down shirt aptly named “Billowy.” In the novel, Elio invents an emotional

color coding system for Oliver’s bathing suits, convincing himself for a while that red trunks communicate something totally different from green ones. As for the onscreen significance, we get a très risqué scene between Elio and a pair of Oliver’s worn trunks that speaks to the sexual awakening Elio is experiencing (he sneaks into Oliver’s room and puts them on his head while on all fours … the phrase you’re looking for is “hot-hot-hot”). On and off screen, Billowy is a sky-blue shirt that squares off Oliver to emphasize his statuesque American physique. Oliver gifts the shirt to Elio upon his request, and later in the film we see Elio turn down his summer girlfriend, Marzia, while Billowy hangs unbuttoned over his exposed torso, a sign of Oliver’s presence.

Billowy carries the weight of the title message in its cotton stitches, a garment that might as well have the line “Call me by your name and I’ll call you my mine” written all over it. Elio is Oliver’s and Oliver is Elio’s; Billowy ties them together across space and time through the classic tailoring of Ralph Lauren. ►

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Every shot of Call Me by Your Name drips with languid seduction. Stunning, sun-kissed Italian locations complement Chalamet and Hammer’s play with distance to imbue their scenes together with sexual tension, but that extra something-something that peppers the film with the lightest notes of sensuality are the costumes. Giulia Piersanti — Céline’s knitwear designer on the regular, Guadagnino’s costume designer on the side — told GQ Style that she “tried to avoid ‘80s cliché as much as possible” and focused on “communicat[ing] a sense of summer heat and sensuality very subtly.”

Elio’s father, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, says to Oliver that the statues they are studying have impossible curvature and an air of nonchalance, “as if they’re daring you to desire them.” The costumes in this film do just that, deftly carrying the air of desire that Chalamet and Hammer work to create. Brava, Signora Piersanti.

just Chalamet’s devastating beauty, but the clothes certainly don’t hurt (I also might have a bit of a crush… oops). Write it down: Armie Hammer invented men’s booty shorts in 2017 C.E. His shorts are so short that his man bits had to be digitally removed from some shots (true fact). Nevertheless, they pair perfectly with his barely buttoned flowy shirts that expose his hairy chest. With so much of their bodies on display, how can Elio and Oliver not fall head-over-heels for each other?

Call Me by Your Name relates a summer of the past, a memory of awakening and sexual liberation. The costumes of this movie might represent one of the most personal aspects of the story and reminds us just how powerful clothing can be in a relationship. Elio loves to smell Oliver’s trunks and shirts because they feel like Oliver, are even little pieces of him. The film speaks to clothing’s power to tie together past and present and even bring the Elio is hands down the star of the movie when it past into the present. When Elio smells Oliver’s comes to costuming. We see him lounging around clothes, the memory of their intimacy is able to his family’s villa in a few pairs of funky-printed leap out of the past and be re-lived through pheroswim trunks (well above the knee, of course), stroll- mones in the present. Many people keep clothes ing back from the river after a swim in an over- of loved ones they’ve lost in some way. You keep sized navy sweater, and dashing through the town’s your grandfather’s ties, your mother’s skirts, your piazza as he bikes after Oliver in a red and blue ex-boyfriend’s denim jacket because their sentistriped muscle shirt. These pieces draw our eyes to ment is so strong. With luck, the sentiment and Chalamet’s slender, yet muscular, legs and the gen- nostalgia of this movie will allow it a long life in tle curvature of his arms that nudge us, nay, dare our memories and in our hearts. I know there’s a us, to enjoy slightly naughty thoughts. Maybe it’s special place for Elio’s muscle shirt in mine. ■

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Fairy Tale Fashion Writer Rachel Cook, Stylist Abbey Appel, Photographer Ray Criswell, Models Loeva Cagle, Kabir Karnani, HMUA Lauren Smith, Layout Isabelle Kauffman

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ometimes, one can only wonder if happily ever after is but a fleeting concept made to assuage people’s minds in troubled times, if fairy tales really are just for children. But lest we forget, a fairy tale is but a beautiful story in a beautiful world. And there is beauty amidst the madness of our own world, and it is magnificent. There is beauty in a mother’s love, a lover’s touch, a stranger’s kindness. Beauty is good and goodness is beautiful and it is so easy to lose sight of the simplicity of that notion.

Perhaps that is why the world of high fashion is so intriguing. It celebrates the beauty that is so often lost in the presence of reality. The world of high fashion is one that gathers much of its inspiration from fairy tales: the goodness and the darkness. There’s a strong resemblance between the two worlds. Both couture and fairy tales garner a magic that is almost intangible except in our dreams, and they teach the world to appreciate beauty simply for being beautiful. They play on symbolism, exploring femininity and pushing the boundaries of social norms. However, while fairy tales remain very classically symbolic of good versus evil, high fashion takes the beauty introduced in fairy tales and challenges it, a more progressive version of the same art.

Designers such as Alexander McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana have been known

to pay homage to the classics here and there, such as with D&G’s Fairy Tale Collection in 2016 or McQueen’s 2007 green velvet dress with golden tresses resembling Rapunzel’s hair, while designers like Noritaka Tatehana or Comme des Garçons have been more liberal with their interpretations. Noritaka Tatehana created a modern version of Cinderella’s glass slipper in 2014 and Dorothy’s ruby slipper in 2010. In Spring 2015, Comme des Garçons revealed their interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood’s red hood.

Fairy tales and fashion have given and taken ideas from each other from as early as the 1930s when Mary Liotta created a gown adorned in silver stars resembling the dress that “glistens like the stars” in the tale “Allerleirauh,” and they continue to do so in the form of Yeezy’s Season 4 glass slippers. They are two worlds that are seamlessly threaded together.

Just as fairy tales hold influence over fashion, fashion holds great power in the fairy tales themselves. It symbolizes status, wealth, power, vanity, transformation, good and evil. The evil witch is always represented by dark clothing while the princesses are pure and light. There is significance behind color, texture, and design. The most famous may be Cinderella’s glass slipper, a symbol of purity.

In “Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” Rapunzel’s golden hair is symbolic of magic, power and beauty, but it also brings out the vanity in her capturer. The colors in Snow ►

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BLUE DRESS | Boohoo Boutique

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White are iconic, “skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony,” but they are also symbolic: white representing her beauty and purity, red showing her transformation, and black representing ritual and sexual death. Other recurring tropes in fairy tales include roses, clocks, mirrors, poison and elaborate clothing. High-end fashion designers have taken inspiration from these stories and brought them to life.

Fairy tale fashion differs significantly from real life. The uber feminine, fantastical and even escapist clothing in fairy tales is the antithesis to the functionalism of modern clothing, just like haute couture.

Haute couture is outlandish and frivolous and controversial. It brings a whole new meaning to go big or go home. Couture is often obscenely priced and unwearable for the average person, and it’s about as practical as a pair of glass slippers. The clothing is handmade from some of the finest materials in the world and is custom made for its select clientele. It’s rare and highly coveted, but above all, it’s beautiful in a way that normal clothes just aren’t.

Haute couture is the manifestation of an artist’s dreams and the fabrication hours of grueling work executed by the most skilled ateliers in the world. To wear a gown by Zuhair Murad, Dior or Chanel

symbolizes a status that is untouchable.

Only 200 women in the world can say they shop haute couture on the regular.

They are the fairy tales of the real world.

Alexander McQueen once said, “Life to me is a bit of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.”

As much as there exists beauty and good, there’s also tragedy and darkness. Life isn’t a Disney movie. It’s not censored for children.

Like the original Hans Christian Andersen, Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault tales, life is as unforgiving as it is beautiful, and the world of high fashion is no exception.

The same darkness permeating fairy tales even makes its way into the lives of the most glamorous and elite. Money, fame, drugs, alcohol, depression, eating disorders — as beautiful as high fashion is, even their world is shadowed by demons. But that does not negate the beauty.

Maybe there is no such thing as happily ever after. Maybe there is, and maybe not everyone gets it. Maybe the beauty in the world will always be shrouded in darkness, as impalpable as pair of Yeezys for a modern Cinderella. But when there is light in the darkness, there is beauty and there is hope. Fairy tales were made for troubled times. They are the light in the darkness, just as couture can be for the modern world. ■

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RED TURTLENECK | Luxe Apothetique BLACK SLACKS | Luxe Apothetique PEARL EARRINGS | Ermine Vintage

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Audrey Hepburn Writer Maria Hernandez, Stylist Gabi Feltner, Photographer Joyce Tong, Model Ivannah English, HMUA Alexa Lewis, Layout Gabriella Zarragoitia

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large pearl necklace with a diamond stud enclosed her throat, a tight, black Givenchy dress wrapped around her body and large black sunglasses covered her eyes — it was the image that captured the attention of millions. The scene of Holly Golightly eating a Danish from a paper bag in front of Tiffany & Co. would become iconic. Characters like Golightly made Audrey Hepburn one of the greatest American actresses of the Golden Age. However, not many people realized that underneath the glitz and the glamour of Hollywood lay a gentle, simple woman.

Everyone remembers the scene at Tiffany’s, but not many know that Hepburn had to film it multiple times — she kept making mistakes, since many fans were watching her. Nor do people know that she really didn’t care much for Danishes.

Hepburn was much more than an actress. She was an icon of femininity, fashion and altruism, offering an alternative to Marilyn Monroe sexy image. Hepburn allowed women to embrace their femininity, beauty and individuality. She made Givenchy’s black dress iconic and continues to influence what we wear today. However, little attention was paid to the person Hepburn was off-camera. She was simple and sweet. On the days she wasn’t too busy being Hubert de Givenchy’s muse or filming an American classic, Hepburn wore cropped pants, ballet slippers and her oversized glasses. She made a statement with trousers, which were otherwise considered to be too masculine for women. Most remember her only in expensive, glamorous gowns and dia-

mond tiaras, but those who do so have a vague idea of who Hepburn really was. Under her fame and beauty, there was a courageous woman who danced ballet during World War II to fund the Dutch Resistance. Aside from making good movies for Hollywood, she was a person who was passionate about helping others.

Hepburn was born May 4, 1929, to a noble mother in Brussels, Belgium. However, she moved to London after WWII. There, she pursued a career in ballet and modeling, but her petite frame, which resulted from malnutrition during the war, limited her success in ballet.

Luckily, Hepburn captured the attention of Hollywood and injected her lighthearted personality into the characters that made up Hollywood’s Golden Age. She portrayed beauty, class and elegance into each of her characters. Surprisingly, she left Hollywood at her peak, leaving the world wanting so much more. Hollywood lost an actress, but Hepburn used her talents to help children who faced famine and starvation.

In her later years, Hepburn became an ambassador to the United Nations Children’s Fund and helped out children who were in need. She was passionate about helping children who went hungry because she nearly starved when the Nazis took over Holland.

There are not many prima ballerinas, Marilyn Monroes or UNICEF ambassadors. There are even less individuals who can be all at the same time. For the people who say that women can’t be classy, elegant, beautiful and kind at the same time: May Hepburn never be forgotten. ■

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BLACK CHOKER | Blue Elephant WHITE SUNGLASSES | Blue Elephant CHECKERED BLOUSE | Blue Elephant

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CHECKERED SANDALS | Blue Elephant BLACK PURSE | Luxe Apothetique

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BEIGE TRENCH COAT | Ermine Vintage RED HEAD SCARF | Luxe Apothetique CHECKERED SHORTS | Blue Elephant

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All Buttoned Up Stylist Nikita Kalyana, Photographer Micaela Hannah, Models Jade Fabello, Phyllis Gong, HMUA Jenna Cambell, Layout Kalissa White

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Writer Benjamin Vega, Stylist Nicole Gausman, Photographer Abby Raffle, Models Paola Mena, Hannah Rotchel, HMUA Gaby Kackley, Layout Allie Li

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PURPLE KIRKLAND’S BUTTON DOWN | St Vincent’s ORANGE STRIPED TOP | St. Vincent’s ORANGE BANGLE | Austin Pets Alive Thrift

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PURPLE SWEATER | St. Vincent’s de Paul RED PUFFER JACKETT | Austin Pets Alive Thrift RED CALVIN KLEIN BUTTON DOWN | Austin Pets Alive Thrift

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hen scrolling through fashion accounts on social media, it is easy to find the same outlet in various languages. For example, Vogue has accounts varying from Spanish to Turkish to Arabic. Each page caters to the consumers who speak the language in a certain region. They feature specific designers, models and garments. There are moments in which the accounts will feature the same fashion trend or portray a specific garment with only slight nuance. The articles and posts are written in various languages, but they communicate the same message. The international publication of fashion created a need for translation. Populations that speak various languages require the same information communicated through varying translations.

The act of translating is interpretive. There is not only a transition from one language to another but of cultures as well. Language elicits specific images and cultural references. It is important to take this fact into account when it comes to reproducing articles and presentations in other languages. Language develops out of regional details, economic interests, cultural beliefs and shared societal experiences. Certain words can only be understood in the context of a specific language. Clothing is no stranger to the specificity of vocabulary.

Because clothing reflects a certain geography, the language of fashion varies from region to region. Yet the consumption of clothing can be a global phenomenon. Increase in globalization allows for the dissemination of

style and fashion trends from one region to another. Popular fashion trends encourage international populations to consume similar products. The question that arises from this is: how do companies and labels spread this information to groups of individuals who do not understand the same language?

Globalization comes with both benefits and losses. One of these losses can be in meaning.

A translation can result in a loss of meaning if not performed correctly. Language is the product of economics, culture and social conditions. Words are not created out of whim but out of a need to describe an experience or object. And while some experiences tend to be universal or diffuse across the world through interactions, others are particular to a specific group. These circumstances lead to the manifestation of language only understood by speakers and almost impossible to explain in any other vernacular. Clothing is particularly difficult in some ways because of how closely it is tied to culture. Fabrics and wardrobe develop through the environment a society resides in and it is only relatively recently that humanity began sharing the same type of clothing.

While today many fashion trends diffuse from one area of the world to another, it can be difficult to verbalize specifics about an outfit.

Individuals translating fashion articles can run into a problem when trying to describe a trend or wardrobe. While a word may have a translation, connotations and context must still be taken into account. It is important to â–ş

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remember that translations are not exact and that meanings can have slightly different connotations to a reader depending on their language and culture. In this way, an article that functions to describe a shirt in one language may actually evoke the image of a different shirt when translated into another. The nuance comes from cultural differences and how environments impact the wardrobe of a region.

Another type of small difference in language can be found in the fact that while some languages have a specific vocabulary for certain items, others do not. One example of this can be in the word for a button-down shirt.

While there is not a single word for this garment in English, in Turkish the word is “gömlek.” This word evokes the exact image of a shirt with a collar and buttons running down the middle. In Spanish, there are the words “camisa” and “camiseta,” neither of which bring the exact image of a button-down shirt. Specific words for clothing items can be both useful and detrimental to translating editorial depending on the original language the article was written in. If the writing used vocabulary incapable of being exactly translated it can be difficult, yet at the same time these words may prove useful when a specific word could be used as a substitute.

In this new era of fashion, trends spread across the planet like wildfire. These trends

translate differently from region to region, and language plays a large role in this. While fashion is a form of interpretation, if designers wish to clearly communicate their art, a more visual language may be necessary. Use language that details its shape, color and stitching instead of naming the clothing item. Photographs are also a great tool for removing the nuance to provide a clear and concise message. Yet, at the same time, there is beauty in nuance; art can be interpreted in different ways because of language. The slight change in meaning allows an evolution of fashion and prevents the industry from becoming homogenous.

Globalization exposes us to items from across the world, and the fashion industry is no stranger to international expansion.

Through editorials, a wardrobe is communicated to individuals everywhere. Language can at times be a barrier, but at the same time be a powerful asset. Translations into various languages allow for nuance in meaning and a greater understanding of how a wardrobe can be interpreted. When an editorial expands linguistically, it creates an opportunity for others to expand on an item’s meaning and provides it with a new understanding. In translating fashion, issues arise with directly conveying an image through writing, but with this also comes an opportunity to gain new interpretations and further a clothing item. ■

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CHIFFON WRAP | St. Vincent’s de Paul RED CARDIGAN | St. Vincent’s de Paul

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Writer Jessie Yin, Stylist Megan Arimanda, Photographer Cat Wilson, Models Srija Seenivasan, Julia Vastano, HMUA Taylor Stiff, Layout Mingyo Lee

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PINK SUNGLASSES | Blue Elephant WHITE SUNGLASSES | Blue Elephant

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pen the curtains on the turn of the 20th century in China: In the midst of fallout from the Taiping Rebellion and the crumbles of a ruinous opium trade, one woman with talons for nails was credited for the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. She was a despot, a true Dragon Lady, built up by historians to be something a little grander than human. Now, this isn’t a history class, so the specifics of Empress Dowager Cixi are not the focus here. What matters in this conversation is the image of her.

Image is important because all we really have in this world is the accumulation of perceptions upon perceptions, but an image isn’t as accidental as that. It is the manipulation and crafting of that accumulation. Every day, each of us consider what and how the world — in all its mistakes and misconceptions — is viewing us, whether we are cognizant of the fact or not. Changing what one wears is a straightforward way of doing such. So then poses the question: What is the image we are trying to project? If we could pick, who would we like to be? Or more correctly, who would we like to be seen as?

of this impression herself. If you were to go to the green-blue lakeside of the Summer Palace in Beijing — a place that she built over many years of her life — and explored the tiny wooden gift shops, you would find cheap replicas of the elaborate hand jewelry she used to wear. They were ornate and colorful.

Using metal, artisans bent thin golden sheets into pointed talons. They were painstakingly painted and embedded with beautiful jewels with chains trailing up the back of her hand and into equally beautiful bracelets. They were crafted to turn a Queen Mother’s hand into something unrelenting and unnurturing.

That is what happens when we take normal items of wear and exaggerate them to a point beyond ourselves; they allow for us to extend into a projected existence that is bigger than who we really are. It borrows on the impression that is automatically created when we encounter someone whose appearance is so outlandishly grand. Because it is something we are unfamiliar with seeing, it makes the person wearing it also appear unusual and untouchable.

For most of us, our aim is simple. Do we want to look chic or messy? Preppy or edgy? Keep our expectations somewhere within the realm of reality, but for now, think bigger. Imagine someone a little more ethereal and a little less real. In our modern world, we have left behind many of the deeper connotations of a queen. Although we still retain the word, it’s morphed into something more applicable to our common vernacular, a compliment for a friend you know who dresses very well or a remark on the capabilities of a woman who knows what she wants. I wish to remind us all of the original roles of those royal matriarchs.

They were women, yes, but they were also touched by something rather divine.

Just as the word queen has adapted into a new use in our slightly less mystified world, this concept of exaggerant fashion has found continuity as well. No one was dignifying her with a divine right to rule, but Marilyn Monroe’s iconic hourglass silhouette has had a lasting impact on the public perception of women’s bodies for decades now. To me, it has always seemed like she wasn’t trying to be a woman so much as be the painting of a woman, with all the grandeur and glamour that comes with that. A contemporary example of this same mentality in practice can be seen in Nicki Minaj’s hair. Often times, it cascades all the way down to her ankles. A modern Rapunzel, and as with the princesses of old, it creates a sense of regality and a spirit of elegance.

Empress Dowager Cixi was a woman who Western and Chinese historians alike described as possessing a cold and harsh demeanor, but she knowingly cultivated much

This leads me to the second, underlying connotation to this type of fashion. It is deeply impractical. For anyone who has to move through the world in a normal way, it would ►

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be impossible to wear these kinds of items. Therefore, it implies that the people who wear such things are exempt from work as the rest of us know it in its form of time clocks and minimum wages. While many people would adopt Nicki Minaj’s costumes and wigs if they could, the reality is that they simply can’t. The local barista at Starbucks or our fellow college student could never proceed through their day with impossibly long hair or latex lingerie. In the case of the three women I’ve described, it is interesting that they emerged from backgrounds more similar to a barista or a student than a monarch.

While Cixi was born in the family of a minor court official, it could never rival the level of wealth and opulence that she rose to as the Empress Dowager.

Meanwhile, Monroe and Minaj came from working class backgrounds. Monroe bounced from foster home to foster home in her childhood until she married at sixteen, working in factories during World War II. Minaj was born in Trinidad and Tobago, raised in Queens, New York, and worked as a waitress before getting into entertainment. However, they both later adopted clothing statements that are utterly incongruous with any sort of life involving labor. Monroe’s silhouette for her movies was often the result of being sewn into her dresses, a method that would be inconceivable for anybody we see walking the streets regularly. That is not to say that these women don’t engage in any work throughout their lives, but their public images certainly do not. Image, in their cases, is even more important because they chose to attach themselves to a level of status that they could not have imagined possible had their lives stayed on the same trajectory.

Moving away from historical or contemporary examples, couture and avant-garde fashion alike call on this theory of over-emphasis. Its function as an image of someone otherworldly and as a symbol of status is what makes exaggerated designs such a trademark.

High fashion wants to remain out of reach both financially and aesthetically, which it achieves through the same means as Cixi, Monroe or Minaj. An exaggeration of the everyday or a reconsideration of a common object that others usually wouldn’t notice is where a lot of brilliant ideas are born. Be it nails or dresses or hair, taking it one step further creatively is what sets apart the commoners and the queens. ■

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The Politics of Modest Dress

Writer Vivie Behrens, Stylist Heejung An, Photographer Vivian Baier, Models Victoria Jameson, Rachel Lai, HMUA Caitlin Vu, Layout Veronica Thompson

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‘90S CREAM BUTTON DOWN | Revival Vintage OFF-WHITE PENSART SKIRT | Revival Vintage BROWN SHOES | Ermine Vintage

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hen you think of the word “modesty,” do you first consider how the word pertains to men? Probably not. Even the definition of modesty, the “behavior, manner, or appearance intended to avoid impropriety or indecency,” as in “‘modesty forbade her to undress in front of so many people,’” employs “her” as the pronoun to best describe the word’s usage. The gendered connotations of the word inherently give the conversation surrounding the politics of modest dress a multi-dimensionality that makes the ethics of the tradition difficult to discern. Global relationships to patriarchal power structures in government, economics, religion and social practice have encouraged the policing of women’s bodies in order to reinforce masculinist hierarchies transnationally and across time.

This history prompts the question, “can modest dress be an agent of women’s empowerment, or does the covering of women’s bodies reinforce notions of female inferiority?” Naomi Fry’s article for the New York Times, “Modest Dressing, as a Virtue” similarly asks, “what does it look like when fashion choices that might have been linked to female oppression perform in service of liberation?”

The argument can be made that a woman’s choice to wear purposely non-ostentatious, unassuming attire functions as a rejection of the male gaze. By contradicting traditional notions of female beauty, a woman’s decision to shroud her curvaceous form under unprovocative, boxy silhouettes prevents people from sexualizing her body. However, the question persists, is it a woman’s responsibility to hide herself to minimize her presence in the world in order to shield her body from being exploited as an instrument of male pleasure? Doesn’t a woman’s modification of her behavior to accommodate for surrounding sexist behaviors reinforce her oppression? Can’t we, as a progressive, 21st century society, change to accommodate her for once?

Ironically, the rhetoric surrounding “modest”

designs in the fashion world parallels these shapeless styles to those of menswear. Austinbased fashion company, Esby Apparel, (founded in 2014) “features quality clothing for women … with menswear mentality — and by menswear mentality, we mean we like to buy well-made clothes and wear them often.” The brand also emphasizes “comfort and wearability.” This mission assumes that women, if they should choose to wear modest clothes (to “arm themselves” from the lens of male enjoyment), must adopt the look and dressing practices of men themselves, reducing their femininity and sexuality. By proposing that fashion which prioritizes comfort and quality as more masculine, the statement suggests that female clothing is of a lower standard and also deemphasizes a woman’s comfort in her own clothes. Rather, the statement implies that the strappy high heels, cinched waistbands, small pockets and poky underwires characteristic of women’s clothes also serve men, despite being their label as “womenswear.” This binary between menswear and womenswear circulates a hetero-patriarchal belief that both men’s and women’s fashion are constructed in service to men and male heterosexuality. This propagates the sentiment, “beauty is pain,” when beauty should be confidence, comfort, and individuality.

Although a woman’s choice to dress in the manner of her choosing remains in her own prerogative (and can also be a noble act of religious or ethnic expression), the popularization of modest dress among high-end fashion labels and male designers acts within a patriarchal system. Because women’s liberation, equality and sexuality continue to be scrutinized, the new trendization of “modest” dress encourages a reversal to an age in which women cannot express their pride in their self-created image of desirability. The social suggestion should not be to diminish women, but to maximize them to their fullest potential, put them atop a pedestal, embrace their identities and worship them as empowered queens desirable not by their physical forms, but by their radiant spirits. ■

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Stylist Isaiah Garcia, Photographer David Spector, Models Hank Freeman, Brandon Pegram, Gabby Tan, HMUA Amanda MacFarlane, Paola Mena, Layout Maya Haws-Shaddock

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GRAPHIC SHIRT | Revival Vintage LEATHER JACKET | Revival Vintage

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PATTERNED SHIRT | Ermine Vintage WHITE PANTS | Ermine Vintage

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Writer Patricia Valderrama, Stylist Jeannelle Romero, Photographer Nicole Bolar, Models Kelsey Hendershot , Sarah Tran, HMUA Caitlin Vu, Layout Kelsey Jones

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SKIRT | Blue Elephant

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S

un-kissed skin. Long hair in a messily polished updo. Visible shoulder blades. A break from tradition. The start of a rebellion.

This was the message that women wanted to convey when the backless dress rose to prominence in the 1930s. The successful implementation of clothing that would have been condemned in the Victorian era demonstrated signs of progress in the freedoms of women. These styles had their early beginnings in the Roaring Twenties when women began to wear dresses that revealed their ankles. Exposing more skin than ever demonstrated that women refused to be limited by the restrictions of a patriarchal society.

Before women exhibited more freedom in their fashion styles, they were confined to tight fitted corsets which forced a woman’s body to reconstruct itself in order to have the ideal hourglass figure.

The act of tight lacing restricted women’s bodies to a point where their lungs could no longer fully expand when

they breathed. Furthermore, regular use of the corset caused dependency. It forced the wearer’s back to be straight so that once a woman started wearing a corset, she needed to keep doing so to maintain her straightened back. The mentality that motivated the Victorian way of dressing is comparable to the modern phrase “modest is hottest,” which is commonly used to guilt-trip women into opting for clothes that do not show off cleavage, limit excessive leg exposure and even go so far as to hide their ankles. The problem with this phrase is that it forces women to dress a specific way instead of allowing them to use fashion as a form of self-expression.

If there is anything that women have demonstrated throughout history, it is the fact that females fight for what they want, no matter how long it takes. The recent advances made with sexy clothing in the 21st century can be traced back to the 1920s when a sizable amount of women dropped the corset trend in favor of drop-waist dresses that showed their ankles. The term ►

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“flapper” was coined to describe a woman who kept up with fashion trends while denouncing traditional expectations of how she was supposed to dress and act. In the 1930s, low-back or backless dresses rose to prominence to showcase a woman’s sun-kissed skin. Tanning was a symbol of status, and the revealing backless dress showed off the intriguing asset of a woman who was no longer confined to long dresses that hid the fierce animal inside of her.

worried about the length of her skirt dictating what a man will do to her. Dressing a certain way should not be an excuse for rape culture. A woman should have the freedom to wear whatever she pleases without the fear of being assaulted due to the length of her skirt. Choosing to wear revealing clothing is liberating because it denounces rape culture mentalities and sends the message that a woman will wear whatever she wants instead of choosing to live in fear.

The 1960s were a period of sexual liberation, especially due to the new availability of the first oral contraceptive. To coincide with this period of freedom came the miniskirt. Miniskirts are still trending today and are even shorter than their 1960s counterparts. Because these skirts are short, some have decided that the length of a woman’s skirt signifies that they are dressing a certain way because they want something. This mentality has largely contributed to rape culture, which has been an excuse for people to find a way around the newfound freedoms that women have in fashion and other civil liberties. A woman should never have to feel

Today’s fashion boasts off-shoulder tops and crop tops, which demonstrates how far the women’s movement has come in fashion. Our society has gone from expecting women to have an hourglass figure to being more accepting of other body types, as seen in advertisements like Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign. Furthermore, Victorian norms of limiting women to long ball gowns have been eradicated — in their place is a society of women who are encouraged to show off their skin. These trends of liberation are celebrated, instead of associated with negativity. Girl power is at its height, and there’s no turning back. ■

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Writer Abigail Rosenthal, Stylist Afzaa Prasla, Photographer Sissy Martin, Models Urvi Joshi, Bonnie McEnnis, HMUA Mariah Becerra, Layout Riya Ashok

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FLORAL TOP & BLUE SKIRT | Revival Vintage HOOP EARRINGS | Ermine Vintage

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I

n the 2001 film “The Princess Diaries,” Mia Thermopolis learns she is the princess of a European country through her dead father, tries to run from the responsibilities being a princess entails, and eventually triumphantly accepts the position, wearing a rain-soaked sweatshirt with a rousing speech on caring about others.

On top of the Disney life lessons, “The Princess Diaries” offers one of the the most fondly remembered makeover scenes. Queen Clarisse Renaldi, played by a flawless Julie Andrews, entrusts Paolo to remake her granddaughter’s giant frizzy hair, bad posture and “bushman eyebrows.” For the final reveal of his work, Paolo dramatically covers Mia with two “before” photos, before finally uncovering the truth that Anne Hathaway is unfairly gorgeous and that Mia Thermopolis could believably be a princess now.

Makeovers like this have permeated American cinema for years, from “My Fair Lady” to “Grease” to “The Devil Wears Prada.” These scenes are often similarly structured, typically consisting of a significant reason for the makeover, a montage of scenes showing our heroine’s change and growth (whether physical or mental) usually over a pop hit, then a reveal to the audience.

Many of these scenes can be categorized by the motivation behind the makeover. The Makeover for Makeover’s Sake, the Makeover for Purpose and the Makeover for Others

each have their own unique motivating factor behind their inclusion in the film, both in our heroine’s journey and in filmmaking purposes.

MAKEOVER FOR MAKEOVER’S SAKE Perhaps the most pure and most rare type of makeover scene, this entails a woman merely deciding to change her look just because. One example of this can be found within 2004’s “13 Going on 30.” A 13-year-old Jenna suddenly wakes up as the 30-year-old version of herself, played by Jennifer Garner, in New York with an amazing magazine editor job and “incredible boobs,” as she says grabbing her own breasts in the elevator next to an actual 13-year-old girl. Before saving Poise magazine’s dying party with the power of “Thriller,” Jenna takes time to pick out a hideous neon dress, swipe on some frosty blue eyeshadow and pull out her hair clips, all set to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

Reminiscent of the slumber party stereotype of girls braiding each other’s hair, the Makeover for Makeover’s Sake has fun at its core.

Jenna, even in her horrifying choices for a party hosted by a fashion magazine, is relishing the chance to put on fabulous heels and pounds of hot pink lipstick, celebrating her newly discovered adult body and its “incredible boobs.” A Makeover for Makeover’s Sake offers the opportunity to revel in aspects of traditional femininity that are often written off as shallow when a woman does them for her own enjoyment. Putting on makeup, ►

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spending time on hair or forming the perfect outfit has often been equated to vanity. Women have been the butt of many a joke for their extensive morning routines or the long receipts brought back from a shopping spree.

But the Makeover for Makeover’s Sake combats the idea that enjoying makeup and clothing is automatically vain, celebrating a feminine form that enjoys getting dressed up because it feels good to look good. Self care can absolutely involve blue eyeshadow and a tight neon dress.

MAKEOVER FOR PURPOSE As seen in “The Princess Diaries,” Mia undergoes dramatic changes in her journey to ruling Genovia. There is a specific purpose behind the makeover — Mia must look like a princess to believably be a princess, and princesses don’t wear glasses, obviously.

Another example of the Makeover for Purpose doesn’t involve physical change to achieve a goal. In 2001’s “Legally Blonde,” Elle Woods is fresh from SoCal and looking to win back her ex-boyfriend, Warner, through a Harvard Law education. She eventually realizes that Warner is never going to take her seriously, despite the fact that she too got into Harvard. Elle stomps off in her Playboy bunny costume to purchase an orange MacBook, abandoning her original plan of seducing Warner with looks and smarts, and immediately gets to work proving that she is just as capable of being a successful lawyer as Warner and his new fiancée, Vivian.

What makes Elle’s mental Makeover for Purpose so satisfying by the end of the film is that she retains the traits for which her classmates and Warner so harshly vilify her. “Was she carrying books?” one of her classmates says as Elle walks by. Yes, but still wearing pink, still sporting highlights and still accompanied by her chihuahua. In the end, it’s her uncanny knowledge of hair care — the knowledge any “Cosmo girl” has — that wins Elle the murder trial, sets her former gym instructor free and guarantees her the success she deserves after cutting down every man who underestimates her. The final scene reveals Warren has no job offer or fiancée, while Elle is giving her valedictorian speech that she ends with a squeal.

Elle teaches girls that a traditionally feminine woman can be pretty, smart and kind all at once and still be taken seriously, as a lawyer no less. The fact that her makeover scene focuses on the stacks of books she lugs from place to place alongside her fabulous day to day life reminds us all that nearly anything can be accomplished with sheer will and a pink power suit. Elle stayed true to herself while changing, and that is what ultimately allowed her to succeed as well as she did.

MAKEOVER FOR OTHERS But the power of the mascara wand is not always used for good. Makeover scenes also reinforce the idea that women are always tied to their looks, something especially deadly to any woman’s career, social life or overall happiness if she (gasp) isn’t conventionally beautiful. ►

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HAND BAG | Revival Vintage MULTI-COLORED SCARF | Revival Vintage

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LOUIS VUITTON DRESS | I Luv Vintage

HEELED MULES | Matissa

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“She’s All That,” the 1999 remake of “My Fair Lady,” involves some of the more manipulative behavior that crops up far too often in these teenager-skewed flicks. Freddie Prinze Jr.’s character, Zack, bets his friend that he can make any girl in school into a prom queen. Enter Laney Boggs, who’s apparent general demeanor is as unpleasant as the last name these writers gave her. She wears denim overalls, paints and almost causes Zack to back out of the bet because she’s so “scary.”

But power through he does. Laney, of course, has no idea she is the subject of a bet. She’s suspicious of Zack, but ultimately has her makeover supplied by Zack’s sister, who seemingly just cuts her hair and removes her glasses (because glasses are apparently always uncool). Laney walks downstairs before attending a cool kid party with Zack, while “Kiss Me” plays behind her. Zack looks like he wants to do just that, and we briefly forget that Zack all-around sucks at this point when we see the look on his face.

But sucks he does. By manipulating Laney into changing her whole appearance, Zack removes any power she has in their friendship and eventual romance. (Also: There’s a “13 Going on 30”-style dance scene? Someone eats pubic hair pizza? Usher is there? This movie is weird.)

Laney eventually finds out about the bet, gets mad, then forgives him and they makeout. Zack gets the girl, stays the cool kid at school, and experiences little consequence outside of some selfreflection (maybe).

This manipulation is also found in other makeover movies. In 1995’s “Clueless,” Cher, played

by Alicia Silverstone, begins her spree of makeovers by influencing two of her teachers into falling in love so she can improve her grades. She takes on the new girl at school to make her more appealing to the popular crowd (though she does

genuinely like Tai, played by Brittany Murphy).

Ultimately, however, Cher realizes how her selfish intentions caused her to be so “clueless” (ha) and she makes extreme changes in how she views the world and others.

But the removal of the makeover-ee’s agency in the whole process remains troubling, both in “She’s All That” and “Clueless.” Are the recipients of these makeovers actually cool with everything by the end of the film? Should we expect them to be?

Trying to pick apart these scenes often results in more questions than answers. Why must women be conventionally beautiful and traditionally feminine to succeed, or just receive basic human decency? Why do these scenes seem so prominent in the 1990s and early 2000s? Why must they always center around a white, thin Hollywood starlet, who is usually already extremely attractive? These examples were only a small selection of the makeover scenes that have emerged, and their subsequent questions only scratch the surface in terms of what can be discussed when one thinks about the iconic makeover scene.

But to many, a makeover symbolizes a new start, the beginning of a new life as a more glamorous or capable version of oneself. Our heroines experience this same thing — Mia and her shiny hair are ready to lead Genovia; Jenna has the poise to attend a party, literally as a new woman; Elle succeeds in becoming a kick-ass lawyer, and Laney is now accepted and admired by the most popular guy in school. By the end of each film, each heroine has a new confidence to go along with her new look. Despite the problematic undertones that plague almost every single makeover scene, there remains something magical in knowing that with the right makeup, clothes and the perfect song to soundtrack it all, anyone can be remade if they want. ■

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Winterland Stylist David Spector, Photographer Nikki LaSala, Models Kelsey Hendershot, Kristin Wang, HMUA Natalie Arriaga, Paola Mena, Layout Mingyo Lee

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VINTAGE WEDDING DRESS | Garment Vintage

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BRIDESMAID’S DRESS | Garment Vintage

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THE FASHION OF THE

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Writer Laura Laughead, Stylist Monika Barton, Photographer Sissy Martin, Models Michaela Hartnett, Justin Smith, HMUA Hannah Willard, Layout Fatema Dawoodbhoy

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“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.”

ROD SERLING 1959

A

young man is sitting on a bus, gripping a paper still warm from the printer. He’s groomed to perfection: a pressed Oxford shirt, hair perfectly coiffed. Sweat droplets threaten to spill down his temples as he looks outside. For the next 20 minutes, his world is a 24 by 24 inch window.

As the motion lulls him into a daydream, a horrific image flashes across the glass and demands his attention. He looks around, wondering if anyone else saw, but he is alone. Leaning in closer, he looks again. He is assaulted with the same image, a face so hideous it’s physically repulsive. Involuntarily, he draws closer. The bloodshot eyes, the bulging veins, the protruding snout, a face too contorted to be a mask and too horrific to be untrue — a perfect example of man playing God and losing.

He twists to see better; it moves too. He raises his hand; it mirrors him. He draws closer and closer until his nose presses the glass, and they both scream — the creature in the window is him. His reason is assaulted. His sanity is on trial. The man’s next stop: The Twilight Zone.

An episode of “The Twilight Zone” always begins something like this. The unsuspecting audience is invited by the show’s dapper host, Rod Serling, to enter this strange new world. People can’t help but

find themselves taking Serling’s outstretched hand (metaphorically speaking) and leaping headfirst into the “fifth dimension” with him. “The Twilight Zone” instantly woos with its words, but most don’t realize the importance of the other aspects that created this horrible, yet beautiful, universe, so ahead of its time that it’s still relevant and referenced today (“Black Mirror,” anyone?). But before one can truly understand what “The Twilight Zone” is, one must first analyze what actually makes up this world — and anyone in fashion can tell you that the first step in creating a world is choosing the aesthetic and the fashion.

While most immediately associate “The Twilight Zone” with its revolutionary ideas, its criminally underappreciated aesthetic and costuming seem to have fallen into a sort of Twilight Zone themselves.

Airing in the transition from the austere, straightlaced ‘50s to the early, sexy ‘60s, the fashion of “The Twilight Zone” was understandably overlooked as it fell into the “pit of man’s” forgetfulness. However, as Serling states in the opening monologue, both the show’s words and fashion successfully traipse across the “middle ground” between light and shadow. Although the show’s reliance on black and white color was the only feasible option in the stillyoung TV industry (color was often double the price of black and white in the ‘50s), what should have been a TV industry growing pain became the ►

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TAN BUTTON-DOWN DRESS | Ermine Vintage

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BLACK COAT WITH FAUX FUR | Ermine Vintage

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show’s staple. Black-and-white complemented the show’s elegant yet eerie aura and now the two are inseparable. Though it may be the dimension of imagination, in “The Twilight Zone,” you think in black and white.

The iconic opening monologue always began the same way. The legendary Serling, dressed to the nines, would invite audiences of all kinds to enter his creepy world. His tight black suits, perfectly slicked-back black hair and iconic bushy eyebrows ushered in a new era of smarmy, yet intellectual, gentlemen. To some, he was the “diabolical” Dapper Dan. Smart was sexy. He’d undress you with his eyes as he dove deeper inside your mind. Entering the middle ground “between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge” was never easy, but that didn’t mean that you couldn’t look good doing it.

Not to be overshadowed, the women of “The Twilight Zone” also have their unique fashion.

The show was one of the first to showcase the changing styles in women’s clothing. As the seasons went on, skirts got shorter, dresses got tighter and cleavage came to the forefront of the “dimension of imagination.” In its forward-thinking writing, Serling and the writing team were some of the first to create more multidimensional roles for women, allotting them more interesting, and in some cases otherworldly, costumes. Women were witches, aliens and ghosts. They tried to save the world or their families, they sucked the souls of their rivals, they murdered their enemies and in one case, even lived forever.

In arguably the most recognizable episode of the series, “Eye of the Beholder,” a woman is costumed in tight bandages for the majority of the scenes. She is trapped and suspended in her own private world, which only extends to the length, width and texture of the bandages tightly swaddling her face. She laments her perceived disfigurement, which is unseen by the audience.

Only at the end does the audience see that her

“disfigurement” is a traditional perception of beauty to us. The doctors who took care of her and had been shrouded in shadow for the majority of the episode are revealed to be horrifically disfigured, akin to the initial description of the monster. By comparison, the beautiful woman is the hideous one in this universe, and “The Twilight Zone” uses her self-hatred to warn that beauty is simply a perception — a deviation does not mean disfigurement. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and looks often belie what’s underneath; important lessons to be learned, even in “The Twilight Zone.”

Commentaries like this, along with the fashion and aesthetic of the show, do more than just create a new universe; they underscore the changing values of the time. There’s a great discrepancy between the forward-thinking nature of the content, the social commentaries and the outdated black-and-white aesthetic used to portray them.

However, this idea of a discrepancy is not unique to the ‘50s and ‘60s. Perhaps we are encountering no greater discrepancy, or Twilight Zone, in the present.

Despite the “beauty” of today’s society, there will always be an “ugly” underbelly. What we think we see and our actual reflections often tell very different stories. In its time, “The Twilight Zone” served as a much needed mirror to society. As it entertained, it warned, and many of its lessons are still applicable to this day. Perhaps, one day, we will heed its many lessons.

After he screams, the man on our bus recognizes the monster in the mirror, and he sits back in silence. With a deep breath, he reaches for the pullcord, and the bus stops. He decides to walk instead. As he rejoins the sidewalk, he turns around and sees the monster reflected in the window, growing hazier and less hideous with each step.

He smiles. He can now face the future with confidence, knowing he has escaped one of the darker places of the Twilight Zone. ■

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Algaea’s

Accents Writer Susan Retondo, Stylist Charlie Chen, Photographer Alli Weitzel, Models Lindsay Gallahger, Tatiana Roberts, HMUA Alessandra Garcia, Hannah Willard, Layout Tristan Ipock

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GREEN AND BLUE LONG DRESS WITH GLITTER | Blue Elephant ROCK NECKLACE | Blue Elephant

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I

t’s getting deep into the evening. The even its pair, “The Iliad”). It’s a heroic tale wine-dark sea rocks gently below a of a man lost in action, torn away from lonely boat; there’s land in every di- his wife and property and forced to forge rection but nobody can see it. The his way back to hearth and home against pulse of adrenaline is practically tangible, all odds and gods. It’s obviously an Anthe ship’s deck wet underfoot, sandals cient Greek story, but when most people soaked and the wind tastes of salt and hear “Ancient Greek,” especially in relaexhaustion. Or exhaustion and salt? No- tion to fashion or style, they immediately body knows. It’s all blending together. Was jump to pictures of glowing goddesses, the Cyclops last week, or was he still yet of pinned up curly hair and golden olive to come? Were the sirens before or after branches, marble statues and gladiator Charybdis and Scylla? Does it even mat- sandals — and while that is a completely ter? Poseidon, it seems, has clocked out justifiable image of Ancient Grecian culfor the night, and it’s possible the next day ture, it is definitely not the only one. In fact, will come before Odysseus manages to most of the images we associate with this insult another major deity and everyone era relate particularly to Classical Athens, on the ship is thrown back into a consecu- which features poets and philosophers and tive stream of attempts to heroically save political revelations that persist to this day, the captain’s life again. An iron medallion and we tend to disregard the pre-Classical of sorts gleams on Odysseus’s chest from antique world. where he sits, bathed in waxing moonlight, noble profile cast in shadows.

The Greeks of this era were of the seafaring nature. It wasn’t a nation as we know Anyone who paid attention in their high it — more a combination of island civilischool English class is familiar with Hom- zations and port cities, and due to its locaer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey” (perhaps tion on the Mediterranean, the sea was ►

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a prominent part of culture and folklore. Thus is born Poseidon, god of the sea, and the wide variety of creatures under his domain, ranging from river nymphs to horrific sea monsters.

This is the era Odysseus hails from, a period of time in ancient history known as the Iron Age. Following the mysterious destruction of one island civilization and the disappearance of another, the Greek islands were thrown into their Dark Ages, where the written word disappeared and the primary crafting material shifted from bronze to iron.

Metallic accessories are still prevalent in our style today, not only in jewelry. Recent trends revolving around metallic nails, lips, eyeliners and even hair extensions can all be traced back to Iron Age Greece. Interactions with neighboring civilizations like the Persians introduced the animal motif to Grecian style, which survived the ages and gave the modern world accents like snake-shaped earrings and jaguar rings.

Metal cuffs and chokers, necklaces and headpieces and simple and minimalistic accessories

hammered out by artisans are staple pieces of wardrobes today. Thick bracelets studded with precious gems, dangling earrings painted gold and other extravagant ornaments percolated both our society and the one Odysseus would have lived in. After all, human beings like to flaunt their wealth and power, and in a world where coins had not been invented yet, draping oneself in rare and exquisite articles of clothing and jewelry would certainly do the trick. Accessories like these add an air of untouchability — a sense of regalness and grace associated with wearing a symbol of a powerful animal.

The development of Grecian style and Greek interactions with other civilizations facilitated the spread of their culture throughout the other Mediterranean settlements. It has managed to last throughout history enough for us to be able to accurately access them and apply them to our styles today. Although we tend to lean more towards Classical themes, there is an unconscious replication of the Iron Age in the way we accessorize. â–

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GREEK-STYLE PINK DRESS | Revival Vintage OLIVE LEAVES EARRING | Revival Vintage

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Refresh Refresh Writer Joanne Xu, Stylist Adriana Celli, Photographer Adriant Bereal, Models Lynette Adkins, Ana Sophia Celis, HMUA Jaqueline Portney, Cameron Young, Layout Milly Orellana

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T

he air circulating the office space at Four Times Square is stale, stained with remnants of the post-workday.

Above, the air conditioner hums monotonously with the palpable feeling that just a few hours prior, a tired, middleaged divorcé hastily counted down the minutes until he could pack up his aged leather briefcase and retire home for the night. Dimmed, fluorescent lights show no mercy to tired, over-concealed under eyes, constantly reminding one of the incessant lack of sleep that inner-city buzz affords. Cubicles colored an odd shade — not grey, not cream — line the floor of what was once the American Vogue headquarters. An occasional phone rings straight to voicemail.

Without a regular subscription to the New York fashion world, one could not have guessed that one room over, Bella Hadid and the newest crop of millenial models were sprinting to slip into their lineup positions. This was the scene at Alexander Wang’s latest and final show at New York Fashion Week, as the American designer recently announced his plans to opt out of New York for a more customized show calendar.

Wang is only the most recent in a string of influential designers that have chosen to nix New York Fashion Week from their showing schedule. In an unprecedented industry phenomenon,

powerhouse regulars at what is arguably fashion’s most influential week, including coolgirl closeteurs Rodarte and Proenza Schouler, have announced their departure from New York Fashion Week following the 2018 season in a near domino-effect manner. While some will merely turn their attention to presenting solely at Paris Fashion Week, which typically wraps up the infamous Fashion Month in early spring, others have simply decided to introduce new collections independently, on their own time table.

With such a sudden mass exodus of designers, one could only imagine how it paves the way for the newest generation of influential designers and their It Girls to make like Hansel and Gretel and follow suit.

“What’s worrying is that designers are highly susceptible to groupthink,” says Vogue.com. It’s true — and what’s more, the fashion world is no stranger to this sort of “pack mentality.” According to the fashion publication, New York Fashion Week was merely a blip on the fashion elite’s radar until Helmut Lang championed its first show at Bryant Park. What followed soon after was an old-fashioned race to the tents, fueled by fear of what could only be considered as designer FOMO. In the high-stakes, elitist game of fashion, being the last at the table to buy in equates to career suicide. ►

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Now that the core of highly influential, millennial-attracting brands — Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, Thom Browne, Joseph Altuzarra and now, Alexander Wang — have left the New York Fashion Week building, it begs the question: What might a Jenner-less front row look like?

For one, room for a fresh crop of designer newcomers seems possible. Out with the relatively young, in with the baby faces. Vacancies in the upcoming New York Fashion Week calendar might be the well-overdue opportunity for new talent to make their debuts in the big leagues. With freshon-the-scene brands employing more and more guerilla marketing and seemingly password-protected fanbases, it’s possible that an invitation into Anna Wintour’s circle may be too enticing to pass up. After all, the very brands now shifting to Paris were, at the beginning of their careers, supported

by New York-centric programs such as Wintour’s Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Fund.

“Not one of these brands would be able to show in Paris if it weren’t for New York,” says Steven Kolb, president and CEO of the CFDA, “We helped support these brands, and they’re at the point now where they can go to Paris. There’s a sense of pride in that.”

He’s right about one thing: New York’s charm lies in its never-expiring sensation of newness, as

if each individual that steps foot in the city is afforded an untouched frontier, and its thrill lies in the challenge of conquering it. No matter how experienced, how wise, how aged one is by this life, stepping into the borders of New York City makes one feel young and stupid and hopeful all over again.

“Maybe it makes sense that New York is the place to celebrate those on the rise,” says Who What Wear. In the city that never sleeps, it almost feels right for its Fashion Week to refocus on unearthing the underground talent that branded its cutting edge reputation in the first place.

Fashion Month, after all, is the ultimate love story for all of the budding ingenues fighting for their “foot in the door” moment — a testament that no matter how brutal the climb, the reward in this industry truly is worthwhile.

Deafening applause closes Wang’s show, and those who watch him take his final bows know it means much more than a simple thanks to those who have braved icy weather to marvel at his newest collection — they are witnessing the end of an era. On Monday, as employees once again trudge into the office, settling in for another week, only the keenest of observers will notice the lingering scent of hairspray. But outside, the industry will be abuzz with excited whispers of what’s to expect next and who will be the ones to do it. ■

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Odyssey Writer Niti Majethia, Stylist Carlie Roberson, Photographer Sissy Martin, Models Nick Spalding, Madeline Wells, HMUA Natalie Arriaga, Mariah Becerra, Layout Rebecca Wong

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There are still landscapes to conquer and oceans to stir.

There are still anecdotes to set free and stories to cultivate.

There are intoxicating moments of exploration yet to come.. in the wilderness of all that you are.

Maybe forever isn’t a time framebut a feeling.

Inexplicable. Undeniable. Inevitable.

And youyou are breakfast for the soul.

A delicacy of intrigue that I taste with every breath I take.

Our journey has only just begun.

Now is the time to transcend all boundaries.

From dark woodlands to unknown territories.

Divine, mysterious, tender and stronglove surpasses emotion when it becomes a force of nature.

And all else will perish.

All else will wither.

And we will rewrite history with only the abundance of our essence.

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CHRISTIAN DIOR DRESS | Ermine Vintage

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TOP | Ermine Vintage PANTS | Ermine Vintage

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TOP | Ermine Vintage WRIST TIE | Ermine Vintage

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JACKET | Signature Piece Vintage TOP | Ermine Vintage

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Writer Ingrid Garcia, Stylist Fatema Dawoodbhoy, Photographer Nicole Bolar, Model Elizabeth Reed, HMUA Cameron Polonet, Layout Veronica Thompson

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S

he’s known as a global icon, a rule breaker, the pop queen and, of course, a material girl living in a material world. Madonna Louise Ciccone, better known as Madonna, is the woman we know and adore by single-handedly becoming the highest-selling female artist since she began her career at 24 years old. Her recent bold moves, like kissing rap artist Drake and pop diva Britney Spears, are evidence that her prominent presence has, fortunately, not escaped us. In fact, people love to call her controversial, but in truth, the most controversial thing she ever did was stick around. Not only did she create her own genre in the music world, but “Madonna” is now a term constantly used across the talent and entertainment industry. The word confidently illustrates a woman with a bold and ferocious personality. I mean, wouldn’t you feel flattered to be compared to Madonna?

My infatuation with Madonna stems from my childhood; my mom is an unshakable fan and admirer, and there wasn’t a car ride to school where Madonna’s albums would not be playing.

Her music became like white noise to my ears, because I was so accustomed to listening to her voice and gazing at her recorded concerts as they were projected onto my living room TV screen.

What separates Madonna from other artists is

that Madonna did not popularize trends — she normalized them. When opening her Blond Ambition tour in 1990, she unveiled the infamous cone bra, which made the public uncomfortable.

The bra designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier not only made jaws drop, but it became a signature piece in rock history.

Additionally, Madonna’s merging of the punk and glam styles grew apparent when she performed “Like a Virgin” at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards in a white wedding dress with smokey makeup and an exaggerated amount of accessory pieces — a performance categorized as one of the most outrageous MTV VMA moments, according to Rolling Stone magazine. Her young female audience unceasingly took notes as Madonna’s style evolutionized from mesh shirts and red lipstick to iconic cross necklaces and stacked bracelets. Madonna’s out-of-the-box style and tendencies were simply a precursor for current icons like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, who have also worn the cone bra after the pop queen herself.

Madonna released her “Erotica” album in tandem with her “Sex” book, featuring Vanilla Ice, Naomi Campbell and Big Daddy Kane, containing content shot by esteemed photographer Steven Meisel that caused much disagreement ►

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and criticism. Her perfect attempts to embody femininity and erotica through songs like “Like a Prayer” and “Papa Don’t Preach” unsettled conservatives, but Madonna continued to unapologetically be herself.

Women opposed the unconventional manner in which she approached her own sexuality. However, Madonna didn’t simply approach it — she proudly embraced it. Her music videos and photoshoots were notorious for risqué costumes and sexual references. She daringly embodied the male and female spirit throughout her career, much like the electric and flamboyant Prince. At the same time, Prince was stomping around in high heels and fishnet leggings, rejecting all of the constructed “masculine” norms and rules — in contrast, however, the public gave Prince a bit more leeway as promiscuous figure.

Madonna battled the age of pop by leading among a pack saturated by male figures. At the 2016 Billboard’s Women in Music event, Madonna delivered an incredibly blunt and powerful speech as she received her award for the Woman of the Year: “Thank you for acknowledging my ability to continue my career for 34 years in the face of blatant sexism, misogyny, constant bullying and relentless abuse.”

Madonna does not separate the personal and the political. In truth, the personal is political. As an untiring advocate for women’s rights, gay rights

and civil rights, her work reflects social movements. Currently, she is co-writing and directing a movie project titled “Loved,” an adaptation of Andrew Sean Greer’s novel, “The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells,” that is framed by the negative gender and sexuality climate that Madonna has witnessed and championed. She artistically channels discussions of the gender and sexuality topic as they remain politically and socially prevalent. The themes she has explored through her albums, films and books speak beautifully as she gives a voice to the voiceless on multiple levels.

Madonna continues to generate headlines as she maintains her presence in the beauty and fashion sphere. In 2010, she and her daughter, Lourdes, launched a commercial clothing line labeled “Material Girl” at Macy’s. Madonna also recently hinted at a collaboration with mobile mogul Kim Kardashian West’s beauty line and her very own, MDNA. The two were speakers at Youtube Space Los Angeles on March 2018, where they revealed their skin and beauty routines while being in the spotlight for numerous years.

Madonna’s refusal to live a conventional life follows her refusal to remain silent. She dominates the role of a modern woman as she unceasingly revolutionizes, both personally and artistically, in the eyes of the public. Her unique blending of eroticism and art has resulted in an unending discourse among the public. To create is to inspire, and that, after all, is Madonna’s purpose. ■

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GREEN VEST | Revival Vintage ORANGE SUEDE PANTS | Revival Vintage BELT | Revival Vintage

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Stylist Megan Schuetz, Sarah Thrash, Photographer Alexa Ray, Models Paola Mena, Angela Montalvo, Helena Sampayo, Melina Perez, HMUA Mariah Becerra, Amanda MacFarlane, Layout Fatema Dawoodbhoy

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BOLO TIE | Revival Vintage

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SUEDE FRINGE SKIRT | Revival Vintage FLORAL LACE ‘70S TOP | Revival Vintage

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sometimes all it takes is a spark.

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