The Book by StyleCircle Vol. 5: Voices

THE BOOK

BY STYLECIRCLE

ISSUE 05

THE BOOK

BY STYLECIRCLE

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The land where The Book is produced, and released has an important history, present and future that we need to understand and acknowledge. This land is called Turtle Island, and it is originally the home of many Indigenous peoples. It is the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee, the Wendat and the Mississaugas of the New Credit. We acknowledge and respect these nations as the past, present, and future true inhabitant people of this land.

What is today known as Toronto is located in the Dish With One Spoon Territory. The Dish with One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. We want to recognize that we are sharing this land on which Toronto sits with each other.

Editorial

THE TEAM Art

Operations

ALICIA CHURILLA (she/her) Editor-in-Chief

ALICIA CHURILLA (she/her) Creative Director

MADELINE PELLEY (she/her) VP of Operations

KATARINA VIDOJEVIC (she/her) VP of Editorial

STEVE NGUYEN (he/him) Art Directorof Print

DANICA HOOPER (she/her) VP of Events

OMAR TALEB (he/him) Copy Editor

SAM CASS (she/her) Art Director of Web Associate Art Director

AREEJ FAMTI (she/her) VP of Marketing

LESLEY-JANE De BOER (she/her) Copy Editor NATALIE ROBIN (she/her) Copy Editor LANNII PETTIFORD (they/she) Writer NOAH HOLDER (he/him) Writer ISABELLA PAPAGIANNIS (she/her) Writer HARRISON CLARKE (he/him) Writer SAFIA SHEIKH (she/her) Writer

MIA VOS (she/her) Associate Art Director JULIA SIMIONI (she/her) Associate Art Director

NATALIE NGUYEN (she/her) Social Media Manager ALEXANDRA ANISMAN (she/her) Operations Team

JONATHAN MATTA (he/him) Photographer MEAGAN DICKIE (she/her) Photographer EMMETT CHARUK (he/him) Photographer FREYA DE TONNANCOUR (she/her) Photographer RAFAELA CONDE (she/her) Photographer BRENNAN MARCH (he/him) Graphic Designer

Contributors Nabra Badr (she/her), Kryselle Cabral (she/her), Taylor Chousky (she/her), Olivia Daniels (she/her), John Delante (he/him), Rodas Dechassa (she/her), Greis Dodona Dragoti (she/her), Bree Duwyn (she/her), Justine Eby (she/her), Kassy Gascho (she/her), Anna Giannini (she/her), Olive Grey (they/them), Victoria Hopgood (she/her), Jewelle Mckenzie-Sampson (she/they), Caitlyn Mahut (she/her), maniic studios. (Tommy Calderon, Abdul Rehman, Bishwesh Uprety) (he/him), Estelle Muzyczka (she/her), Alessandra Sconza (she/her), Lynne Weare (she/her), Nicole Weitzel (she/her), Kaylah Wilson (she/her), Hanieh Zarian (she/her)

LETTER FROM THE TEAM Voices, the Fifth Aniversary Issue of The Book by StyleCircle

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ssue 05 of The Book by StyleCircle takes inspiration from political activist, Angela Davis, who continually ignites the conversation of recognizing and challenging discourses that often appear to be the societal norm. Since its first print issue in 2015, The Book

by StyleCircle mandates to drive change in the fashion industry and highlight conversations that shape our current culture as reflected through fashion. What was once a small passion project, has transformed into a platform that showcases Ryerson-based creative talents to the world. As we begin this new decade, we continue to question whether the current fashion industry has a forward-thinking frame of mind, especially to those who have historically been misrepresented or excluded. We, as fashion change-makers, recognize these voices so they can express, shout, and confront the crucial topics that dismantle the dominant discourses. We are igniting our revolution.

In celebration of StyleCircle’s fifth year, we are extremely proud to present our fifth issue, which highlights the unique VOICES of our team. This issue is about the coming together of creatives from all backgrounds, with different passions and messages to lift one another. We aim to create open, transparent forms of dialogue from a critical point of view through visual and written content that matters to us as a collective. VOICES represents our views on fashion as we want to see the world and the future of the industry.

To everyone who made this issue happen: we want your voice to be heard. For those who were with us since the beginning, we send our humblest thank yous for your endless support. For those who are reading with us for the first time, we hope you embark upon this issue with an open mind and ultimately find something that inspires and resonates with you. Angela Davis states that when people who are the most vulnerable rise, “the whole world will rise with them.”

This is certainly the beginning of a rise that is waiting to burst and this revolutionary hope can only happen if we’re all here together.

Sincerely, StyleCircle

“Revolution upsets normative processes.”

- Angela Davis

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THE AFTERLIFE OF CLOTHING

WHOSE SUIT

VISUAL CODES

MY MOTHER SAW ... BEFORE I TOLD HER TO

REDEFINING WHITE IMAGERY

SHOULD AN ARTIST’S ACTION DISCREDIT THEIR ART?

THE MYTH OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

ENVIRONMENTAL DISBELIEF

YOUR DIGITAL STATUS “SNATCHED” FROM MY BLACK MOUTH

HORROR!

THE RUNWAY IN THE DESERT

STATE OF AFFAIRS

LINE MY EYES AND CALL ME PRETTY

CLIMBING TO THE TOP

CONTENTS

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SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

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VEILED EXCLUSION

VOICES

cover story

DOES MY VAGINA SCARE YOU?

BY US FOR US

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THE AFTERLIFE OF CLOTHING

PHOTOGRAPHY Emmett Charuk ART DIRECTION Steve Nguyen, Emmett Charuk STYLIST Steve Nguyen, Emmett Charuk MAKEUP & HAIR Taylor Chousky MODEL Anton, Fiona (Next) ASSISTANTS Sam Cass, Natalie Nguyen 8

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lothing has been seen in the mainstream world as disposable and the constant cycle of consumerist participation contains large environmental consequences. In the podcast, The Cutting Room Floor, Recho Omondi spoke to Liz Ricketts about how few ask where clothing goes towards the end of their cycle. “We’re producing more than we can consume, we consume more than we can use” and the result is the overly excess of clothing, as stated by Ricketts. In collaboration with Plato’s Closet, we encourage the continuation of sustainable dialogue to reevaluate the public’s perception of clothing and seeking alternatives in the way people consume clothing such as purchasing second-hand or reducing consumption.

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All Garments: Plato’s Closet, Stylist’s Own

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SHOULD AN ARTIST’S ACTIONS DISCREDIT THEIR ART? When the artists who create these works prove to be morally inept outside of their work-life,

WORDS BY Isabella Papagiannis

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ablo Picasso, a renowned artist with famous paintings in museums worldwide, was notorious for being abusive to his wives. Harvey Weinstein, a producer of iconic movies such as Kill Bill, is a proven sexual abuser.

Kanye West, a rapper who has revolutionized the industry, blatantly stated that he believed 400 years of slavery was a choice. Art expresses itself in a variety of different forms, and its meaning truly lies in the eye of the beholder. However, when the artists who create these works prove to be morally inept outside of their work lives, where does that leave their art? Truthfully, if we were to abandon and boycott all art that was associated with problematic artists, it seems like there wouldn’t be much art left in the world. As it is practically impossible to dissociate an artist from their work, it creates a moral dilemma for us as consumers.

If the art created by a prejudiced painter or a corrupt singer is an extension of them, who are we to overlook their immoral actions, that are also a part of them?

Is it wrong for society to continue to venture into museums and admire Picasso’s work, or to enjoy Kanye West’s music? Would it be immoral of us to watch and enjoy Kill Bill, produced by Harvey Weinstein, who has raped multiple women? When thinking of art in all of its different forms, one can believe it’s intended to evoke emotion from within. Through knowledge of the artists and their

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bad behaviours, it can cause us to project our opinions of their character onto their work. Knowledge of an artists’ poor actions provides a different angle when analyzing their work, and can potentially give the work a meaning that the viewer wouldn’t have otherwise interpreted.

This can be a conflicting situation for someone who loves the arts. As a generation of social activists, we want to boycott artists who oppose our personal social beliefs—often involving something awful the artist has said or done. But, when considering how famed the artist is, one may realize that these contributions of artistic abstinence are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. In reality, Kanye doesn’t care if people don’t buy his album or his merchandise due to his controversies, because millions of other people still will.

From the opinion of an art consumer in the modern age of controversy, to completely ignore the actions of an artist is morally wrong; by giving said artist money and support it’s as though their behaviour is condoned. Through continued support, society is thereby continuing to give the artist influence and power. If everyone decided to stop paying attention to Kanye for example, he would, as a result, hold less influence, and could potentially be held accountable for his actions. This social boycott pushes the narrative that the artist has abused their artistic license, no sold at Sephora, and people still use her products because of matter how talented they may be. their good quality. It’s easy for people to ignore the actions This dilemma remains with current artists of others when it doesn’t necessarily affect them personally. who are reprehensible: do we, as consumers, When it comes to legendary artists who are no longer alive just completely ignore them despite their influsuch as Pablo Picasso, where does that leave their art and ence within society and artistic ability? Makeup legacy? Viewing Picasso’s pieces in museums and admiring artist Kat Von D was caught using antisemitic his use of colour and shape, or using his art as teaching materemarks, and even named products within her rial for future artists doesn’t have a correlation to his harmful makeup collection names referenced to the actions towards women. Perhaps it’s simply the knowledge Holocaust. Despite this, her makeup line is still of what these artists have done, which can provide context into their art and potentially give alternate perspectives to their pieces. Ultimately, a deceased artist’s actions do not completely devalue their art, because of their historical legacy.

There are other ways to challenge the power and moral ethics of an artist without completely cutting off their art from viewership; public actions can open up a conversation surrounding many controversial issues. These actions can actually make more people pay attention to art, as well as the creator behind it. Ultimately, conversations about controversy bring to light how an artist’s actions make consumers feel and what we can do to dismantle power structures and hierarchies created through fame. At the very least, as consumers we can pay attention and associate art with the artists rather than ignoring negative and harmful behaviour. Awareness allows for the potential to educate, and hopefully the art will take on reformed meanings.

To answer the original question of whether an artists’ actions should discredit their art, there is no simple answer.

Ultimately, it’s our choice how we choose to experience art, and what actions we choose to take from the message the art sends.

“You’ve abused your artistic license.”

“Who are we to overlook their immoral actions, that are also a part of them?”

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THE MYTH OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

In Collaboration with the Ryerson Centre for Safer Sex and Sexual Violence Centre

NO ONE IS ASKING FOR IT WORDS BY Katarina Vidojevic PHOTOGRAPHY Meagan Dickie ART DIRECTION Steve Nguyen CURATORS Kryselle Cabral, Victoria Hopgood ASSISTANTS Mia Vos, Omar Taleb, Nevi Gaetan

CW: Sexual Assault and Violence

I LEFT AGE: 20 LOCATION: THOROLD RIGHT AGE: 14 LOCATION: WHITBY

Never Asked for It was curated by Ryerson students Victoria Hopgood and Kryselle Cabral in collaboration with the Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education, and was displayed at the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, the Student Learning Centre, as well as the Ted Rogers School of Management building on Ryerson Campus. The exhibit was created as part of a global movement stemming from Bengaluru, India where women were sexually assaulted and blamed for wearing “provocative” clothing. The women then flipped the narrative by displaying said clothing to help survivors feel empowered and end the myth that what one wears is a precursor to getting sexually assaulted.

The university environment is a good place to have these conversations: a safe environment where women learn to express themselves— whether it be through what they wear, what they experience, or through academics. It is also a place to learn to converse about important topics such as rape culture, thus fostering an open, progressive dialogue, and educating students of all gender identities that victims should never place blame upon themselves.

From a young age, women have witnessed or been told to cover themselves up: we saw it happen in school, where girls as young as 12 years old are sent to the office for wearing shorts, we saw it in films, in stories, and unfortunately, some women saw it when they experienced it themselves. Having these conversations in university enables women to stop blaming themselves or each other, and helps survivors feel less alone and responsible. It is important to help vulnerable people in university when not everyone has access to their familial support system; seeing these clothes displayed is a powerful way to help survivors know they are not alone.

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Every woman knows the fear that runs through them as we put something on that shows a little bit of skin or accentuates the body, yet there is a part of society that even today, shames women for being proud of or showing off our bodies. Society loves to sexualize women, yet when we want to show our bodies off that they worked hard to love, the societal belief is that we are ready to have sex with anyone. The fact is, women are faced with sexual violence no matter what they wear. As seen in the exhibition, it becomes evident that women are not safe from being raped no matter what their clothing is. The toxic and false belief that what one wears can lead to women being susceptible to rape is enabling rapists and blaming us for something that is not a woman’s decision, or fault. When a woman gets raped, she is unlikely to report it. It is a well-known fact, after all, that rapists are seldom prosecuted, and even if they are, they usually get off light, especially if they are privileged. If a woman does choose to report it, she takes a rape kit at the hospital, and gets in touch with detectives: she is then usually asked about what she wore. The whole process is horrific in itself, but the fact that questions about the victim’s choices of clothing are even asked is systemic misogyny.

With popular culture moving towards a more progressive stance, the conversation has been in society for the last few years.

Movements from the film and fashion industry such as “Me Too” have started to enable women to call out sexual predators, and the predators are beginning to face repercussions. Books such as The Handmaid’s Tale have become important sources in education and culture, after demand from the changing politics of the last few years.

With these shifts, it feels as though everything is changing for the better. Yet all over the world, women are still living with the fear that what they wear may cause them to get raped. Young girls are still being told to change in school, and rape victims are still being asked what they wore the night they were sexually assaulted. Yes, the conversation exists, however, the deep-rooted misogyny in the question of what one wears when sexually assaulted is still being seen all over the world.

In the fashion industry, this notion of discussion is barely addressed; models that wear clothing on the runway, such as lingerie, are not looked at as objects to have non-consensual sex with—until they come off the runway. Victoria’s Secret models, for example, are seen as mannequins on the runway, yet become playthings when they step into the streets. A recent article titled ‘Angels in Hell’: The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria’s Secret written by The New York Times detailed sexual abuse the models faced by casting director Ed Razek. This sexual harassment took place backstage at their annual fashion show, during photo-shoots, or trips. It seems as though the runway becomes a safe haven for these models. Rapists can indeed control their urges: they can wait for the models to walk off stage because they know they will be apprehended if they didn’t. The fact that they can wait proves the models’ lingerie isn’t something men can’t resist, but rather an excuse they can use to ensure the fault lies on women.

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“Seeing these clothes displayed is a powerful way to help survivors know they are not alone, and let women know they are never to blame.”

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RIGHT AGE: 17 INCIDENT: BODY SHAMING

BY FAMILY Society is beginning to speak more about the myth of sexual violence, yet it is still not enough. Victims continue to be asked about their clothing, and perpetrators are getting off with little responsibility and ownership.

The world of art and real-life are in stark contrast, with models being able to wear anything without fear on a runway, yet in the real world, a woman must think about what she wears. The exhibition “I Never Asked for It” challenges the notion that the clothing of a sexual assault victim matters. There is never a reason for victims to feel any blame or responsibility, and we must keep making it known and understood that they never asked for it.

LEFT AGE: 19 LOCATION: ST. CATHERINES

LEFT AGE: 18 INCIDENT: MOLESTED

BY UNCLE RIGHT AGE: 23 LOCATION: TORONTO

WHOSE

SUIT The Meaning Behind the Suit and Its Symbol of Power

WORDS BY Noah Holder PHOTOGRAPHY Freya de Tonnancour HMUA Hanieh Zarian MODELS Alice, Brandon, and Isaiah (Elite) STYLIST Mia Vos, Steve Nguyen VIDEOGRAPHY John Delante

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ommonly the suit is understood as inherently masculine.

Through a historical lens, the documentation of male suiting existed for two decades before the recording of feminine bodies in the early inklings of the uniform. Often worn by men of power (ie. Military men, men of the King’s court and generally affluent folk) the intention of suiting demarcated men of assigned privilege and importance.

The history of the suit is extensive, and the uniform, despite undergoing countless variations, is still considered a staple in contemporary wardrobes. As most things rooted in the traditions of ancient society, the suit is entrenched in the gender binaries and hierarchies that modern society is continually jockeying with. The suit acts as a battleground over the years for gendered struggle and representation. How does the history of the suit lend itself to further deconstruction of contemporary thought, and dismantling the innately skewed perceptions of power and the body?

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George ‘Beau’ Brummell is understood to be the godfather of modern suiting, elevating the simple white tunics that Charles II asked the men of his court to wear, and transformed the idea into the 3-piece suits folks are still familiar with. Brummell was designing exclusively for masculine spaces, specifically, army men and surgeons, his suits were tightly fitted. They created intense ‘V’ shaped silhouettes, referencing ancient Greek sculptures as most arts of the neoclassical period sought to do. It was when the fin-de-siècle came to a close in the early 1900’s, that Brummell’s blueprint was solidified creating the suiting zeitgeist that exists today. Subsequently, the understanding of suits and the power they hold transformed with the lengths of the collars, widths of a tie and the bodies who sported them.

The end of the 19th Century saw the illumination of feminist thought in suffragette movements, and thus suffragette suiting. Women who sought to protest the marginal reality of their society not only took to the streets but to their closets. Suffragette suiting was a ‘man’s’ three-piece suit adorned by a woman who would most likely be smoking and bike riding all around town; subverting norms through dress operated as a multi-faceted tool.

Women were demanding socio-political power and assumed the symbol of power through clothes, commandeering traditionally masculine uniform women protested, gained physical freedom (opting for trousers as opposed to large sweeping skirts), and started to widen the scope of fashion.

The European women of the early 1900s were not the only folk to kick up clothing hierarchies. In the 1940’s African-American folk sported Zoot suits, which were obnoxiously over-sized often with pocket chains swinging from the blazer pocket down to their knees. Amidst the Great Depression, folks were aggravated by the suits’ over-use of materials that should be saved or could have been used in the war effort. Pachucas, Mexican-American women often associated with Mexican gang culture, wore Zoot suits, alongside Pachucos, as a symbol of no-nonsense mindset.

When the world, battered and bruised, started to turn again, urbanization was in full effect, and the suit became the uniform of the workplace. By the 1960s, 40% of women had joined the workforce, and in 1966 Yves Saint Laurent gave the world ‘Le Smoking Tuxedo.’ Saint Laurent’s effort was a dramatic shift back to feminine suiting, off the heels of the 50s; a decade that saw the rise of Christian Dior, the designer whose first collection introduced ‘The New Look.’ The slim skirt demanding a nearly impossible waist was a return to the silhouette that The New Women of the 1890s had attempted to terminate. Dior’s outbreak collection of 1946 saw models in slim two piece skirt and blazer that’s waist almost disappeared when turned sideways, it sat a little higher shortening the torso and elongating the legs, replaced the 1890s sweeping skirts that prevented women from riding bikes, and the new midi skirt landed just above the ankles.

“The understanding of suits and the power they hold transformed with the lengths of the collars and widths of a tie.”

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“The suit is entrenched in the gender binaries and hierarchies that contemporary society is constantly jockeying with.”

Famously, Bianca Perel Mora Macias wore a white ‘Le Smoking’ suit on her wedding day; yet Saint Laurent’s tuxedo still saw women refused service at certain bars and hotels. In these instances of seizing and revisioning suitings traditions, marginalized folk found a new power, consciously appropriating a symbol of power to invoke their own.

Power dressing had come into full effect in the 70s and 80s and is continually redefined. Women’s blazers held padding in their shoulders and loosened the fit; blazers grew bigger, which attempted to take up space for marginalized bodies in the workplace. Critics of the early 00s often thought women adventuring into suiting had gone too far. In constantly chasing power in the form of a masculine ideal, there left little room for power to be truly redefined. As suiting had not yet been deconstructed and stripped away from the constraints of gender binaries, folks worried women were sacrificing too much. They were simply striving for the masculine ideal of power instead of seeking ways towards equity.

As the turn of the decade approached masculine suiting had a rough patch in all aspects. Blazers kept growing in size, and so did the trousers. Don’t believe me? Google any year from the 90s and add ‘NBA Draft Class.’

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As the year 2000 rang in, suiting had lost a vest and become a two-piece affair, blazers tightened while trousers grew and vice versa. The uniform evolved had been met with countless revolutions, and yet the inherent masculinity of the garment had been no more or less deconstructed than years prior. The masculine suit saw few changes unlike that of women’s suiting. Despite going to and fro with lapel and knot size, and jockeying with the severity of the ‘V’ shape from the neck to the first button, Masc suiting saw no revolutionary change.

Contemporary designers such as Peter Do have begun to tackle suiting, returning to the ethos of three-piece suiting yet in the result of a bolero jacket covering the blazer, or better yet asymmetrical skirts styled overtop trousers giving the wearer the option of all or nothing.

Bianca Saunders FW2020 saw the revisioning of a suit vest by elongating its form and calling to the coattails of conductors. Despite both collections having to be categorized by deciding in which week, Men’s or Womenswear, the designers aren’t seeking to fit a specific body, moreso attempting to push the aesthetic conversation of suiting forward. As a result, Designers such as Peter Do may be making Womenswear, yet their clothes are not bound to the weeks they release a new collection.

Although queer bodies have graced the earth since people became, well, themselves, their presence has been historically suppressed and demands often quelled.

Although the bout over suiting had acted as a game of tug of war with men and women jockeying for position—and men seldom moving an inch—suiting had yet to be unhinged from the binary it’s founded upon to understand what androgynous bodies desired from the uniform. The suit is often still perceived as a masculine manner of presenting, while women use suiting to illuminate themselves and take up arms. Similar to how the Pachucas used Zoot suits as armour, most attempts sought to attain a cis white male ideal of power. Brands like WILDFANG or Bindle & Keep, all seek to create clothing, especially suits that prioritize garments that create confidence and comfort in one’s own body instead of striving to imbue bodies with masculine form and presence.

As the new decade does nothing but further the deconstructive tone of the year we’ve left behind, suiting continues to exist as a symbolic battleground. When masc, and feminine bodies fall into the same workplace, the need to mold oneself in the image of power managed to, in a sense, solidify power as masculine through form and shape. Yet as bodies reach to wear whatever makes them feel powerful, in the office and beyond it, the suit can’t be done away with. Rather, the uniform must be taken up and pulled apart. The issue is not that suiting brings power and confidence, it is more so who we believe is allowed to wear them, and how we perceive othered bodies in the uniform.

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THE RUNWAY An attempt to capture the scope of the regional and cultural complexities that define much of the Middle Eastern fashion world, along with the marginalized voices within it WORDS BY Omar Taleb ILLUSTRATION Sam Cass

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ecember of 2019, a popular Instagram account/the internet’s most vocal member of the fashion police, Diet Prada, closed out the decade by revealing that multiple influencers accepted paid vacations to Saudi Arabia. They were promoting a music festival, and the kingdom itself, on their social media.

The story broke just as I immersed myself in the essence of the Middle Eastern fashion industry for this piece, looking at the problems the industry faces, and the space marginalized people occupy within it. The comparative analysis is clear: the Middle Eastern fashion industry occupies a very different identity from North America and Europe. When one discusses ‘representation,’ ‘self-expression,’ and other buzzwords that the industry loves to use as talking points, it is more often than not in a Western context: a context that never once considers an alternative perspective. Despite this, the fashion elite is not oblivious to the Middle East. This statement is evidenced by none other than Naomi Campbell herself, who declared Dubai to be ‘a capital of fashion’ back in 2018. Amidst all the uncertainty in the region, there’s something alluring about the Middle Eastern deserts, to the affluent models, designers, and influencers of the West.

This is the only explanation I can think of as to why Instagram personalities, like Alessandra Ambrosio, accepted a reported six figures for promoting Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s record on the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people are a secret, but

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nothing says ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous’ like jet setting off to a part of the world that, even in the digital age, still present parts of itself as exotic.

Whereas British Vogue featuring hijabi model Halima Aden was treated as a newsworthy event in the fashion industry, in the Arab world, Muslim bodies and ‘modestly-clothed’ women are the norm. There aren’t discussions about representing visible Muslims because local designers, as well as makeup campaigns, targeting Middle Eastern consumers, tend to use images and people that cater to a Western audience.

The $55 billion (USD) ‘modest fashion’ industry is driven by consumers of ‘modest fashion— that is, the affluent women of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar. The images that advertisers and brands rely on in the United States, Canada, and European countries don’t have the same effect on target consumers in the Middle East. I’m not suggesting that non-Muslim or Arab models are completely shut out of the region. A quick scan of Vogue Arabia’s 2019 covers reveals that women such as Ciara, Kim Kardashian, and Winnie Harlow have graced the magazine; GQ Middle East’s online magazine looks virtually identical to its American and British counterparts. It’s not that Emirati women don’t want to look like supermodels wearing the latest Givenchy, it’s that they may not care to buy into the vision such brands are selling. To state such bluntly: Arab beauty standards are not being reflected in Western advertisements.

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IN THE DESERT ‘There aren’t discussions about representing visible Muslims... [marketing]tends to use images and people that cater to a Western audience.”

What needs to be understood about the region is that it is extremely, by all measures of the word, complicated—and not just geopolitically. Culturally, the Middle East is very much divided, and the discussions being had in one country could be virtually non-existent in its next-door neighbour. The western-most region, encompassing countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, have very different views than larger, eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Scholars spend their lives analyzing the differences and the convoluted network of alliances between countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet, when this

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analysis comes to clothing, beauty, and self-expression, it boils down to the culture. In Lebanon, a woman can wear a bikini on the beach, whereas across the Mediterranean in Egypt, an actress can face years in prison for showing her legs on the red carpet.

The fashion and beauty industry then has to find a very delicate balance to reach the large swaths of the region.

Cities such as Dubai, for example, need to keep in mind that Arab consumers in the region tend to focus on cosmetics, fragrances, and luxury accessories. This rings true, despite their evolving engagement in pushing forward local ready-to-wear fashion to the region’s consumers [ie. their recently (2019) revamped ‘Fashion Forward Dubai’ (FFWD)]. FFWD’s chief executive Bong Guerrero mentioned to Vogue Business that local ready-to-wear makes up around 5% of all ready-to-wear fashion sales in the region. It’s not a surprising statistic, between the regulations around what people can wear in the Gulf states and the fact that the ultra-rich [the ones who rarely spend their time in the Middle East and much prefer Europe] would rather spend their money on Parisian couture. The middle and upper-middle class, then, are large segments of the population who spend billions on makeup, fragrances, and accessories. There’s a revolving joke on the Middle Eastern Twitter sphere (a subsection of Twitter, similar to Black Twitter and Gay Twitter), that you can smell an Emirati woman before you see her. Potent and highly concentrated fragrances are such a staple in local dress and culture that local perfumeries, such as Amouage,

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“There are so many cultural and socioeconomic issues that need to be addressed, some are products of imperialism, and others are self-inflicted.”

specialize in distinct scents appealing to Arab women and men.

These scents have become very popular in the Gulf region, but are unknown to the West. For local ready-to-wear to ‘reach up to 30%’ in the next ‘few’ years, [as Mr. Guerreor suggested,] there would need to be a serious cultural shift in what would be deemed acceptable clothing—let alone a marketing strategy that takes into account regional differences in consumer patterns.

As a Middle Easterner, I feel dismissive of the articles from Western media vaguely calling for ‘reform’ in the Middle East, whether for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and for personal freedoms in general. I feel this way not because what these writers are saying is incorrect—we should all strive for the advancement of human rights at home and abroad—but because it is said in such a laissez-faire manner, as though one is making him or herself feel better by denouncing the evils of the Saudi Arabian justice system.

This is a country where the infamous Wahabi religious police have lost power (to the benefit of arts, fashion, and culture), yet, local women are still forced to wear an abaya. It is rather convenient to talk about how horrible another country is, without taking the time to study and understand the nuances and regional complexities that allow for injustice to continue.

The discussion around fashion and its intersuch as the abaya or a hijab. When talking about voices in the industry, section with freedom of expression in the Arab marginalized, or otherwise oppressed voices, we usually talk about states seem to revolve exclusively around women women and LGBTQ+ people. I refuse to legitimize the narrative put out because the straight Arab man doesn’t face these by the West that a modestly clothed woman is oppressed. Still, there barriers. Certainly, there are traditional clothes, is power in recognizing that modesty has, historically, been used to such as the dishdasha, that men can wear, and, oppress women in our part of the world, often by regimes that claim to depending on their rank in a company, may be rerule in the name of Islam, when they have no right to do so. quired to wear. Yet, there are no binding garments LGBTQ+ people remain ignored by the Arab states, and that’s the nicest way of describing the situation. In truth, they are dehumanized, and reviled—to varying degrees—by different countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Despite being an active part of the conversation around purposeful inclusion and contribute much to the Western fashion industry, they are utterly shut out in the Muslim world. Racialization and racial inclusivity continues to be a looming theme in the West, but that simply isn’t the case for the local industry. ‘Muslim bodies’ aren’t a theme to be explored or something to make a point of including in runways and magazine covers, because the ‘Muslim body’ is the dominating narrative in the Muslim world. I think back to Dolce and Gabbana’s admirable yet downright laughable attempt to take advantage of the market with their line of abayas and hijabs from 2016.

D&G is a beloved brand by Emiratis, and yet the line [rather than be a celebratory step forward for the luxury world] seemed like yet another case of the West using Eastern cultures to make a profit. The use of white models in the advertising campaign displayed a complete lack of respect, as well as a disregard for the people the brand claimed to be catering to with the line. D&G is not a local brand; this was the case of a global fashion house fumbling an attempt to expand its market base in the Middle East with its commercialization of Muslim clothing. For regional designers, such as Rami al Ali, this blind spot would not have been an issue regarding representation.

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It was not my aim with this article to paint the Middle East and its fashion world as an enigma, or something unreachable to the West. The cultures, peoples, and politics are unlike anything in Europe and North America; it comes down to businesses needing to understand that perhaps what works in their home markets does not work in the Arab world. This statement refers to how local designers and campaigns have tendencies to use people who look like the consumers they are trying to reach. Nonetheless, I want to make it very clear: The Arabs are synonymous with opulence. Modestly clothed men and women may be used in local campaigns and in our shopping mega centers, but that doesn’t mean the models are any less as glamorous, airbrushed, and photoshopped as North America’s models are. However, walking in the Dubai Mall, when I see an advertisement for an embroidered robe by Hateem Alakeem, the model wearing it is most likely going to have the same skin tone as the target consumer. It’s common sense, really.

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I do not want to end off the piece with a blanket statement about how the local fashion industry would truly grow once there are rights for marginalized women and LGBTQ+ people. Still, the reality is, this ancient part of the world, the cradle of civilization, has never been as divided and broken as it is now. There are so many cultural and socioeconomic issues that need to be addressed, some are products of imperialism, and others are self-inflicted.

These transformations that the world is seeing, such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and other small cultural reforms from the Royal Families of the Gulf, are nothing more than a desert mirage: illusions of change that ensure their power remains intact. For all our differences, the irony is that no matter what fashion industry we’re talking about—whether it’s North America, Europe, or the Middle East—there is always a status quo. There are always going to be groups that have to fight harder to be heard. Heading into the new decade, I can’t help but hope for something new, for the voices of the people to override the demands of the elite; our culture can only change for the better.

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NAME: Aiden AGE: 18 Male

MODEL: Jesse Lofts

VISUAL CODES ART DIRECTION Steve Nguyen PHOTOGRAPHY Jonathan Matta MAKEUP Sam Cass, Lily Vo ASSISTANTS Sam Cass, Julia Simioni, Mia Vos, Omar Taleb

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hrough distinguishing oneself from the rest of society, one can recognize identity in relation to certain social groups/subcultures, as described by Georg Simmel in The Paradox of Dress. Inspired by Hal Fischer, this series explores the dishonesty of clothing. Specifically, the photos explore how people perceive others based on the way they dress and the stereotypical implications the viewers sense within these personalities. The series asks the models to create their own personas, and the result was a multitude of identities that they’ve encountered, experienced, or aspired to be in their everyday lives. This editorial is a humorous take on the visual coding and the power that clothing has in its sociological context between the individual and society.

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MODEL: Lily Vo

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NAME: Jenny Tran AGE: 18 Female

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NAME: Dion Allegra Natureza AGE: 34 Female

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MODEL: Richard Anstey

NAME: Zach Williams AGE: 23 Male

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MY MOTHER SAW MY QUEER BODY BEFORE I TOLD HER TO

Through telling my mother that I am non-binary, I register how I queer my body.

WORDS BY Lannii Pettiford PHOTOGRAPHY Meagan Dickie MODELS Lannii Pettiford, May Pettiford, Melly Davidson MAKEUP & HAIR Jewelle Mckenzie-Sampson ASSISTANT Safia Sheikh

I never came out as queer to anyone.

I never felt that I needed to.

I never came out as queer to anyone, and I never felt that I needed to.

Once I was able to come to a full understanding of my own sexuality sometime during high school, my queerness became explicit and easily shifted me toward casually expressing my ‘interests’ through my interactions with others. From weekly instances of mentioning to my mother how pretty the woman who would usually cash us out at the grocery store was, to revealing information to my friends about any girl that I would be seeing at the time, everyone got the point. Looking back now, I realize that I haven’t had any instances of feeling that I needed to make an announcement about who I was. I never had to come out to a group of friends or family and brave the possibility of any disagreeable reactions.

Coming into my sexual queerness through elementary and high school, the hardest part that I ever had to face was recognizing myself. During a day out where she asked me what it meant to be non-binary, having never heard the term before, and only coming across it in an article, I described it to my mother with the least complex and easily digestible explanation that I could pull together. She thanked me and said that she “kind of gets it now”. Out of anxiousness, I directed the topic toward something else.

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Two days later, on the last day of 2019, I told my mother that I am non-binary. This time, I went more into depth about its significance than I had in our prior conversation.

It was the first coming-out I’ve ever done. As this is being written, I can count on my hand the number of close friends I’ve expressed my gender dysphoria to. Most of them had learned of it through the artistic content I had been drawn toward creating, which often surrounds my struggle with gender and identifying my feelings towards my own. The first of my friends to know had learned of it through my mentioning that I wanted to be referred to as “they/them” to see if it would make me feel more comfortable than being called “she/her” would ever allow me to.

Now, as I’m coming into my gender-queerness during undergrad, the most difficult part that I am currently facing every day is trying to recognize myself all over again. Being Indigi-Black, I also revealed that along with being non-binary, I more specifically identify as being Two-Spirit. This is a term that my mother was already familiar with and instantly understood as me having both feminine and masculine Spirit within myself. She then told me that I am “the coolest kid she knows,” and that she loves me. Throughout the conversation of my gender, my mother mentioned a few times that she could “see it.”

I begin to ask myself how she could ‘see’ that I am non-binary if I had failed to know this about myself all along.

After thinking about this for a long time, I understood that what my mother meant was that she’s able to discern through my clothing, mannerisms, and other ways in which I physically present myself, that I don’t conform to many of the binary queues of gender expression. My instinct to appear androgynous has contributed to making myself a visibly queer person. I can be discerned as queer as easily as I am recognizably dark-haired.

I am aware that I do not dress exclusive to binaries. I don’t present myself as either feminine or masculine, divided. Before realizing that I am a gender non-conforming person, I didn’t think too much about why I dress myself the way that I do, nor did I consider the ways in which I currently perform my gender. I do know that I wear these clothes because they’re what I like, but I only recently started to ask myself why I feel the most like myself when I perform androgyny.

Forms of androgyny in the physical presentation have become a part of our culture as queer youth. Many of us have thrown aside a sense of binding to what is ‘usual’ and conventionally carried out, and instead, choose to implement both of what is considered feminine and masculine qualities of style and likeness. I have become aware that I am a queer body. By allowing myself to present my body without presumed gender limitations, I am queering my body—enough so that my mother, who did not even know what being non-binary entailed had long distinguished that my gender does not and has never conformed.

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“The hardest obstacle I ever had to face was recognizing myself.”

Further into this journey of self-realization, I began to reflect on how I thought for the longest time that I was experiencing body dysmorphia growing up. I believed that I had a distorted view of the way that my body would look as it changed. As a child, I would always look in the mirror after a shower and be unhappy by the sight of my small chest, the lankiness of my legs, my ribby torso, hips narrow and waist even narrower. I would worry to my mother that I would never look enough like her. Now I understand that my discomfort with my body is actually in conjunction with gender dysphoria, meaning that the way that my biological sex is showing through my body’s visible anatomy is not parallel to the way that I experience my gender. The intensity with which I cried to my mother at twelve years old over not having a curvy and ‘feminine’ physique is now clearly revealed as me being fearful that I wouldn’t be able to maintain what I believed was expected of me, in being born as a femme body. I was afraid that I would never be seen by others as indisputably ‘woman.’

Now as an adult, I find myself in a toe-to-toe struggle against my body to feel comfortable with who I am. Naked, I have visible female anatomy and appear as what is considered feminine. With clothing, however, I am able to forge my own body as though I were a sculptor with my own line of ethics: get rid of shapes, add edges, pronounce the neck, hide the bust, the behind, make arms and legs look thicker, broaden shoulders, conceal my hair if I want to that day. This year, my mother told me that it is not my job to model femininity. Understanding my gender, I leave my body behind and turn to my fashioned frame to feel better seen as myself.

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Many queer and gender-queer youth alike use their fashion in this way. Presenting their bodies in the ways in which they want them to be understood, in ways that make them feel more comfortably seen in the world, and to match how they experience who they are in essence. Although clothes are labelled as Men and Women’s attire, the policing of fashion and accessories as well as having them separated into categorical gender binaries is foolish. These binaries are used to create limits by which people are able to present themselves. During my coming-out conversation with my mother, she told me that this is why she encouraged me to choose what I liked to wear growing up. Regardless of whether the articles of clothing are targeted towards boys or girls, she said it was important that I was given opportunities from an early age to get a feel for who I was.

Although queering of the body is done for our personal selves and expression, there is an underlying rebellion in dressing against binary codes. There lays significance in the way we are rejecting those ideas by dressing how we want to and see best for us. In the dismissal of societal norms and gendered cultural expectations, we are presenting aspects of ourselves through practices of non-conformity. Reassuring our unconventional presence in our larger communities by making our bodies an accurate representation of ourselves, and assuring that our clothing helps us to feel more comfortable in our skin is not as much about fashionability as much as it is survival for us. It is intrinsic to queer the body.

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REDEFINING WHITE IMAGERY A look at how black bodies have reimagined white images (ie. black cowboys, black punks) in 2019 adding to the understanding of black bodies

WORDS BY Noah Holder

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he yeehaw agenda reigned for what felt like the entirety of 2019. Quite literally, the Instagram account @theyeehawagenda amassed a few thousand followers, garnering a Dazed article in early April. The ‘Western Fashion’ account posts a curation of 90s stars and contemporary fashion photography, centred around black/brown bodies in ‘yeehaw’ garb. Besides the much-needed reinvigoration of cowboy boots, the mainstream consumed all the black cowboy culture it could find this past year. Lil Nas X adorned the aesthetic whilst breaking record after record with his rapidly growing music career. Old Town Road eventually won its

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fight with Country billboards, despite the status quo’s attempt to quell the young star. A queer black boy led both Hip-Hop and Country charts for weeks, genres both known for their toxic relationships with queer/ LGBT communities.

Not only was the yeehaw aesthetic fashionably ‘in’, it held a certain power—operating as a critical spotlight in the hands of the right artists. The character of the cowboy, a predominant white hero in pop culture history, had been commandeered by racialized artists illuminating how subtle the margins of genre and aesthetic operate: the Country billboard’s attempt to omit Lil Nas’s record was a failed attempt at hedging in marginalized art.

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Top: Winners/ Pants: Wilfred / Shoes: Aldo / Hat: Aritzia / Belt: Aldo

PHOTOGRAPHY Nabra Badr ART DIRECTION Alicia Churilla STYLIST Greis Dodona Dragoti MAKEUP & HAIR Faces by Dijah MODELS Mallentino (B&M), Dominique (Next) VIDEO Rodas Dechassa

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Hat: Aritzia Belt: Zara Necklace: Aldo Sweater: Suzy Shier Shorts: Garage Pants: Fura Fierce Boots: Aldo 20

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Top: Topman / Skirt: Zara / Boots: Aldo / Belt: Topshop

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The renaissance of the black cowboy is the long-awaited reimagination of what has been perceived as predominantly white space. Houston native and multi-disciplinary artist Solange Knowles played a part in the cowboy craze. Her fourth studio album ‘When I Get Home’ landed in March 2019, and was accompanied by a masterful visual work in collaboration with multimedia artist Jacolby Satterwhite. Solange’s album in itself is a work of meditation, self-reflection and evidently, homecoming.

The visual work sees performance art walk the streets of her hometown: Black bodies don cowboy hats, jockeying up and down on horseback in slow motion. Both artists use their artistic space to illuminate an often suppressed history, passing a long-awaited scope over-erased bodies.

The collaborative pair sat down in conversation for GARAGE magazine and spoke of their creative processes. Solange acknowledged the renaissance of black cowboy culture and understood the recent popularity of it all as “…black people expressing this part of history that had been erased and that had been suppressed for so long.”

Published throughout the 1970s, American Meta-historian Hayden White controversially examined the literary nature of history, believing that history was equally an exercise of storytelling as it was a recording of the real. Although White’s theory is based on the literary within history, his thoughts expand to any medium in which historical narratives may be communicated. White’s analysis emphasizes history’s potential to suppress and overlook marginalized perspectives. The well-known phrase,

“The character of the cowboy, a predominant white hero in pop culture history, had been commandeered by racialized artists illuminating how subtle the margins of genre and aesthetic operate.” “history is written by the victors,” echoes throughout his work. Not only was the cowboy look accompanied by visual and musical staples in popular culture, but they also held a historical weight.

It’s no coincidence that White’s work “The Historical Narrative as Literary Text” was published in the 70s. The civil rights movement had come to some sort of end and second-wave feminist thought was being developed.

White was surrounded by marginalized folk calling out the results of historical suppression and omission, leading to prejudice and indifference.

Although the yeehaw agenda is a far cry from political revolution, it operates as a symbol of re-narration, and deconstruction—political tones synonymous with Whites’ era and the decade that the yeehaw agenda closed out. The cowboy craze aesthetically has been championed by black women and queer folk who never miss out on a look, but also aptly mould themselves to spaces used to question the margins of society.

Ultimately, the collaborative effort of Solange and Satterwhite is an artistic recording of the real that tears up the presupposed image of a cowboy. The countless films, alongside literary works of historical fiction, perpetually omitted bodies of colour—as well as acting as anti-Indigenous propaganda, but that is a different feature for a different issue.

Lil Nas X’s musical career operates in a similar fashion, even though he

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RIGHT Hat: Aritzia / Leather Dress: Topshop / Vest: Zara / Belt: Topshop LEFT Denim Jacket: Zara / Blazer: Zara / Earring: Aldo

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Top: I.AM.GIA Scarf: Zara Tank Top: Zara Sparkle Mesh: Bodmon Jeans: Topman

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Top: Zara / Pants: Zara / Earring: Aldo / Belt: Zara / Hat: Joël Joseph

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may not ride rodeos, his outfits are interestingly enough politically charged, and so was Old Town Road. What may seem as though an arbitrary fad actually calls for a humble historical re-imagination, the craze operates as a symbol for black/brown bodies to be represented in any form, and as a reminder of historical oversight. As a result, the aesthetic sprouted on Pinterest board after Pinterest board. The novelty of the image-black bodies in western uniform-caught on and held in popular culture.

Although Mother Solange is open about the importance of this exposure not falling flat or being dubbed a fad, Western-style is now more or less ‘in’, only amplified in images through Instagram and Twitter, the World’s two largest megaphones. The singer stresses “This is not a fad, this is not a trend, this is not an aesthetic. This is the real lives of black men and women who, every weekend, are going to the Zydeco, who are packing up their horses and trail-riding from Texas to Louisiana.” Yet per usual, the craze will quiet and folks will gravitate to something newer.

As for aesthetics on the horizon, artists like LA Timpa and Hirakish are acts that seem to be stylistically revolving around punk.

Timpa recently walked Gucci’s SS20 ready-to-wear show in Milan

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and was featured in a Nataal’s ‘Future Gaze’ issue in late 2018. The editorial styled black bodies in leather, wrapped in chains and hair picked to the top of the frame. Timpa in all denim, wore a corset and patched vest with hair in three peaks yearning for the edge of the page. Hirakish’s recent endeavours into music show the artists’ interest in bending rap with his punk rocker get up. Steve Lacy’s reinvigoration of funk urges a return to the 1970s as he did for Apollo XXI, seen in salmon bell bottoms and a matching button-up for promotion. Will the cowboy craze be dropped for another revisioning of marginalized bodies?

White mentions that the complex nature of history should not be a daunting realization. History itself should be a space where all voices write their realities, they inform the world from their perspective and their history is added to the zeitgeist. The goal of history should rarely be to establish a norm through a few identical retellings. Instead, diverse histories should be seen, heard and added to the multiplicity of history. In this way, culture will not be defined through generalizations of what black/brown bodies cannot be, or are restrained to. Instead, the complex reality of history will open up the possibilities of a person.

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ENVIRONMENTAL

DISBELIEF A surrealist and dystopian take on society’s nihilistic views of enviromental crisis COLLAGE Justine Eby ART DIRECTION Alicia Churilla

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e exist in a society that is facing the stresses of dramatic climate change [at the fault of our own hands no less]—the anxieties of our ever doomed planet looming as consistently as the weather changes.

Eco-nihilism, a turn-of-phrase championed by philosopher WendyLynn Lee, describes this diagnosed yet untreatable disposition. While the dramatic reality is setting in for most since some of the terrible eco-tragedies of 2019, the reactions vary from taking action, feigning normality, to utter hopelessness. The scale of global warming seems to cause these unheeding attitudes. In reality though, this mindset of doom could be the catalyst of human’s destruction of our planet, as anguish can breed inaction. The pessimistic conversations exaggerating our planet’s status often have no ground to stand on within the realm of scientific fact. Through these graphic collages, the artist presents a visceral reality of our planned future imagined through the eyes of eco-despair, and tinged by civilization’s feelings of pessimism. Instead of acting negligent towards the responsibility of societies actions, the artist urges us to encourage our peers to take action, with the ultimate goal of spreading messages of hope and urgency. As we grieve for the planet that once was, what actions can we take today, to contribute to an optimistic conversation about our planet’s possibility of a better future?

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“For most who perceive an already unfolding climate crisis and intuit a more complete metamorphosis of the world to come, the vision is a bleak one, often pieced together from perennial eschatological imagery inherited from existing apocalyptic texts like the Book of Revelation, the inescapable sourcebook for Western anxiety about the end of the world.”

- David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth

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STATE OF AFFAIRS The Bystander Effect WORDS BY Bree Duwyn ILLUSTRATION Brennan March

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here’s a universal saying that identifies the three topics that should never be discussed at the dinner table: money, religion and politics. Perhaps, this expression is used to keep up with candor, stray from rigorous personal opinions and indulge in a peaceful meal.

Despite whether this expression rings true, it is easy to turn a blind eye to politics, brushing off the latest government scandal while feeling as if these actions won’t affect you. This is a common reaction, however, cause and effect take place. The truth is, politics can be messy.

Trudeau turmoil Since 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been in power. Since then, there have been incidents that have “eroded trust,’’ in the Prime Minister’s words. In the past few years we’ve seen the world turn its eye onto Canada’s political issues for a myriad of reasons. There was special attention paid during the 2018-2019 SNC-Lavalin case and the controversy surrounding Trudeau and the former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, a respected Indigenous leader.

The SNC-Lavalin affair was a political scandal that involved attempted political inference, by Trudeau, with the justice system and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

This case grew in intensity when Wilson-Raybould stated that she felt an overly persistent attempt by many government officials to politically interfere as justice minister and

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Attorney General of Canada, in order to secure a deferred prosecution agreement with SNC-Lavalin. Trudeau had allegedly claimed he was only trying to “find a solution,” and it appears that the only “solution” he could fathom was pressuring Wilson-Raybould out of her position. She resigned out of protest of Trudeau’s unapologetic actions.

Following this controversy, Trudeau faced backlash in September, where photos surfaced of him in black/ brownface. The racism issues don’t end there. In 2015, Trudeau’s election campaign speech featured promises to implement actions against the harm of residential schools in which Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced to assimilate, suffering various forms of abuse; Trudeau’s promises, however, fell flat.

Trudeau had also vowed to prioritize the reviewing of historical legislation that discriminates against Indigenous people, as well as promising the government would resolve land claims. In addition, Trudeau approved the Keystone XL pipeline and attempted to expand on the Trans Mountain pipeline when he approved a $4.5 billion government buyout, which conflicted with his 2015 campaign promises. This also contradicts Trudeau’s promise to First Nations communities in which he stated they would be allowed to veto any natural resource development on their territories.

These issues within Trudeau’s government may not have swayed the federal election results, however, Trudeau is now under a minority parliament. This election represented the “lesser of two evils,” but what has become of the vote?

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Breaking down the voter’s bystander effect In today’s society, the news is widely obtainable in most parts of the world, may that be via television news reports or the Sunday paper. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter have made their mark in the news industry, pumping out stories at an alarming rate.

With this amount of outreach, news travels fast, people are aware. When it comes to voting, there is a lacklustre idealism. People may be scouring the internet for the news on the latest election and its candidates, but even for those who care about their country, voting is not on the list of top priorities.

The bystander effect, a term which claims that individuals are less likely to offer help when other people are present. Essentially, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely someone will take action. Whether it be federal or provincial or even municipal elections, voting has more to do with action than interest. Even though people are aware of the certain issues their country faces, it does not necessarily mean anything will be done with that awareness. Remember that aforementioned saying, never discuss politics at the dinner table. Politics is a reminder of conflict, controversy, and social turmoil. This intense reminder turns people away from engaging in a vote.

However, people still harbour a sense of self-interest, meaning they will participate if there is something in it for them. This makes sense for those who vote in hopes of lower costs of tuition, for example.

Voting may not be a luxurious experience, but it is a luxury for many. Those who wish to make a difference are often under the legal voting age of 18, or in a country where there are voting restrictions. For example, the United States partake in disenfranchisement, which is defined as being deprived of a right or privilege, and in this case, the right to vote. In several states including Florida, 7 percent of the adult population is disenfranchised, most of this population being those with felony charges.

Despite this unripe terror that voting may not mean much to people, it certainly means an abundance for youth. In the 2019 federal election, voters aged 18-24 sprang from 38.8 to 57.1 percent, following the various climate strikes that youth participated in across Canada and the U.S.

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Plato’s political philosophy and why it is applicable today In lieu of how political power is analyzed, without getting too critical, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave concerns human perception. Plato claimed that knowledge gained through physical senses is no more than opinion. In order to have real knowledge, it must be gained through reasoning.

The philosophical theory of the cave has been applied to various mediums over the course of the years it’s been studied. When it comes to politics, knowledge is essential for the discovery of truth.

Plato’s simile to that of the cave is that truth may harm the holders of false information. News media is critical for releasing factual information about the government and its politics; for without all the facts, reasoning cannot be made.

Sometimes, the truth may not reveal itself for years on end. For example, Trudeau’s blackface scandal recorded a total of three times he committed these acts in his late teens to early adulthood. The truth may be sacrificed for political power, but knowledge—along with knowledge of the truth—is critical for the people.

Overall, these theories that analyze and critique human behaviour have a strong impact on how people consume knowledge. Without news media, the truth would not be uncovered, and society would have even less awareness of their country’s political turmoil. In respects to the bystander effect and Plato’s allegory, the people deserve reasoning and a chance, whether it be small or monumental, to make a change.

“Sometimes, the truth may not reveal itself for years on end.”

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Bodysuit: Off-White / Blazer: Dries Van Noten / Hat: ASOS / Shoes: Thrifted

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST A visual exploration of the retail apocalypse that spanned the last decade PHOTOGRAPHY Emmett Charuk STYLING Emmett Charuk MODEL Livv (Niwa Models) MAKEUP & HAIR Olive Grey ASSISTANT Rafaela Conde

Coat: Thrifted / Tights: Gucci

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Dress: Jacquemus

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ooking back even 10 years ago, the confines of a brick and mortar mall were consistently bustling. Spralling expanses of land were used to create these meccas of retail innovation.

They were a necessity in any city or town in North America acting as a landmark or community hub, each different, each showing off a city’s design and architecture prowess. They were an indication of a city’s financial health, whose residents had disposable income and a willingness to spend their earnings. Now however, with the increase in online shopping and the consumers desire to save amongst economic uncertainty we bid farewell to the mall as we know it. Throughout North America we have seen the closure of malls that were once prosperous succumb to the changing tide of the retail environment. ‘The Retail Apocalypse’ highlights the sad reality of the mall, one that is empty, rundown and waiting for redevelopment.

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Hat: Nina Ricci / Shirt: Joyin Rey / Pants: ASOS

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Coat, Dress, Gloves & Shoes: Thrifted

YOUR DIGITAL STATUS ‘SNATCHED’

The irony of imitating Black vernacular to achieve ‘clout’ WORDS BY Lannii Pettiford

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esearching the etymology of the word ‘clout,’ I found that it derives from its meaning of a hit or powerful blow used by one’s hands or by the use of an object.

For instance, “the piñata received a powerful clout from a child swinging the bat at the birthday party.”

From this, the word has kept its essence of representing an inflicted force, and started being used to describe a person of strong influence, authority and impact in a line of business or politics.

The usage of the word ‘clout’ has resurfaced in mainstream and social media, especially over the last couple of years. Similarly, it is now used by people to describe having digital social influence and popularity. By tracing back, we can see that those who are responsible for its reintroduction into our vocabulary are Black youth and queer Black youth on social media platforms such as Twitter.

HuffPost’s article, The Internet’s Love of Black Slang Makes Some of Us Uncomfortable, includes a quote by linguist John McWorther, asserting that “Black English, especially the cadence, is becoming America’s youth lingua franca, especially since the mainstreaming of hip-hop.” Much like the majority of the current popular ‘slang’ and lingo, Black people introduce new terms and reinvent old terms that quickly become adopted by everyone else.

These terms that we come across every day are part of the African-American Vernacular English dialect (AAVE). It is spoken by many Black Americans as well as some Black Canadians and contains its own vocabulary structures, accents as well as grammar, making it just as valid of a dialect as British English is. Mainstream terms include ‘thicc,’ ‘wig,’ ‘snatched,’ ‘woke,’ ‘mood,’ ‘salty,’ ‘iconic,’ ‘BDE (Big Dick Energy),’ ‘shook,’ ‘secure the bag,’ ‘extra,’ ‘slay,’ ‘tea,’ ‘go off’ and ‘period,’ to name a few. Even the ‘N-word’ can still be caught in the mouths of some non-Black folk, as if it

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AHLIE MANDEM TING FAM YUTE WASTE NIZE REACH WAGWAN STYLECIRCLE.ORG

“Everyone, including Black people, is erroneously taught that Black genius is more or less, public property with no clear ownership” were a cool slang term and didn’t carry the very disgusting and difficult history of enslavement, torture and hatred that Black people were subjected to for centuries. This word, which has since been reclaimed by many Black people and is to be used only amongst them, still continues to be said by people who are not Black. They feel entitled to using it without ever having to be affected by forms of racism such as racial stereotypes and profiling, systemic racism and police brutality.

Speaking this way on the internet and among our peers is all in good fun until we start to pose ourselves questions that lead to the dissecting of why and in which ways these terms are being taken. Where Black people are seen as illiterate and uneducated for using their vernacular, non-Black people are able to shop around, picking and choosing from these terms that will allow them to sound ‘cool.’ Why is it that non-Black influencers get to seem more interesting and cool, and thus, profit from using what they believe is ‘slang,’ while Black people are deemed ‘ghetto’? There is a time and place for everything; I can tell you that when a White person calls me ‘sis,’ it does not come across well.

Through a more local scope it is evident that this is happening very aggressively right here in Toronto as well. In the GTA, we have the globally recognized ‘Toronto slang,’ which includes terms such as ‘ahlie,’ ‘mandem,’ ‘ting,’ ‘fam,’ ‘yute,’ ‘waste’ ‘nize,’ ‘reach,’ and ‘wagwan.’

Because I grew up in a household with parents of Caribbean descent, when I made the transition from elementary school to a Toronto high school, I was very confused to be hearing many non-Black people constantly use these terms as they spoke to one another. Most of this so-called ‘Toronto slang’ is actually Patois, a dialect of English spoken in Jamaica and other regions of the Caribbean. Toronto has an incredibly high population of Caribbean residents and citizens, so it makes sense that Patois would eventually reach the ears of those who didn’t grow up speaking it. All of these ‘cool’ words that I was hearing classmates say, I had been hearing all of my life from the mouths of the elders in my family.

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“CLOUT” There was a situation where a White boy in my class was speaking to my group of friends during lunch-hour, and he looked to me and asked me ‘wagwan,’ which is synonymous for ‘what’s up’ in Patois. Being made uncomfortable by the appropriation of the dialect, I told him not to say that. He had asked me why he shouldn’t say that and told me that it was just “a thing people say.” I told him that it is a thing that Jamaican people such as my father say. The response that I got from him was “Ew, your dad says ‘wagwan’?

Isn’t he too old for that?” Since then, I have wondered why people feel so emboldened to claim pieces of my culture that have nothing to do with them.

Knowing that ‘clout’ is a Black term, is it coincidental that non-Black people are appropriating and commodifying Black culture in order to achieve clout? Not forgetting to mention that queer-POC cultures frontier a lot popular styles and trends as well, why is it that non-Black and non-queer people get to continuously appropriate marginalized folk to gain attention and influence on the internet? Manuel Arturo Abreu, a Portland-based Dominican artist and poet wrote a piece on the use of “Online Imagined Blackness” for Arachne, “an academic webzine that analyzes the relationship of mythology to the internet.”

They articulate that the way white youth, in

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particular, see hip-hop as not belonging to one sole culture and “seems to allow whites access to a commodified, ephemeral black experience at various moments or phases in their lives without requiring overt claims of black ethnicity, and the sociolinguistic meaning of [African American Vernacular English] appears to be adjusted in the process.”

As humans and consumers, we feel entitled to a lot of things in this world, and it is clear that feeling especially entitled to Black culture in particular is as easy to them as instinct. People take from Black culture more so than any other culture that also exists in North America. Black culture is so integral to pop culture that it has become almost entirely synonymous with it.

From hip-hop, rap and RnB music, to streetwear, braided hair, gold teeth, watches and chains, Black people trend-set. I asked some of my non-Black friends if they agree with the idea that Black people set styles, and if they could tell me why they think that Black people are so notoriously appropriated. They told me that they do agree, and that the imitation of everything Black people do happens so consistently because “Black people make everything cool.”

Chaédria LaBouvier, a Black American journalist, activist and curator wrote an opinion piece for Vice’s Motherboard, stating that “everyone, including Black people, is erroneously taught that Black genius is more or less,

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“Where Black people are seen as illiterate and uneducated for using their vernacular, non-Black people are able to shop around, picking and choosing from these terms that will allow them to sound “cool”. public property with no clear ‘ownership.’ They’re taught that it’s morally acceptable for pretty much everyone to consume Black culture, with little regard or examination of one’s own anti-Blackness.”

How did the utilizing of ‘clout’ as a commodity to advance oneself within the fashion and arts spectrum become common practice? It continues to be done while neglecting the bodies that make up these ‘clout’ attitudes which predominantly originate from POC and queer spaces. It is even to the point where someone created a meme that read, “artistically I’m queer but sexually I’m straight.”

At a point in early 2019, I became acutely and I let myself fall behind to the point where aware of how intensely I perceived the social I wouldn’t even know of any of the latest media lifestyle and the rigorous competition popular songs. I was also left in complete to gain popularity and influence on Instagram. darkness when it came to headlining news.

This caused me to become very self-critical, At a certain point though, I recognized that doubting whether I could compete with evbecause of my age, the time that I live in, as eryone that I was seeing. It came to the point well as my field of work, it may be essential for where I decided to leave social media for half me to be using social media as a tool to brand of the year and not play in the ‘competition’ myself and gain outreach as a queer-POC artaltogether. I felt that I was being force-fed the ist and writer. Today, I realize that the algorithm content and cultivated personalities of others, is my worst enemy, but that it doesn’t erase barely any of which were being authentic to that I have to play it as an asset to me. I themselves. Striking the Twitter or Instagram consider daily how I can get along on social apps with my thumb brought on nausea. Try media while navigating my feelings towards to consider how comparing yourself to others a society that continuously imitates and tries on these digital platforms every single time to emulate Black people. Is there a way for you unlock your phone might be damaging to non-Black people and social media influencers your mental health, especially when most of to uphold a reputation of popularity without these posts feature people using your culture stealing from Black, and queer-POC cultures, as a costume. I was rejecting the ‘clout’ idea or does there always have to be the presence and having to see people ‘show out’ on social of calculated authenticity? The challenge I media to climb the ladder in hopes of becomnow face is to achieve the coveted ‘clout’ ing ‘known.’ I started to despise the internet without being landed in the center of its merciless, competitive ring.

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LINE MY EYES AND CALL ME PRETTY A satirical take on the post-colonial expectations of the western beauty ideal, exploring beauty treatments and makeup styles attributed by the ‘modern’ beauty myth ART DIRECTION Alicia Churilla PHOTOGRAPHY Alicia Churilla MAKEUP & HAIR Caitlyn Mahut MODEL Hema (Next)

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ithin the realm of the western-beauty standards, there remains a cologial residue tingeing society’s expectations of what beauty is. Through this deep history of cologianism, the beauty industry never really recognized those without white skin in their marketing initiatives. In the 2020 interpretation of beauty in Canada, the modern beauty standard has begun to push past white idealism towards more multicultural representation. Yet, many of the beauty treatments and makeup styles being sold to society are based off of appropriating culture to idealize the white woman. Among these treatments/modern styles of beauty are lip injections (appropriated from the Black woman), the cat eye, large false eyelashes (making eyes larger), bushy eyebrows (which middle eastern women have sported naturally throughout history), and more. What most of these trends all have in common though is that western culture has taken them without crediting the long historical origins. This satirical beauty piece pays homage to the trends that sparked 2019, and hoping for a more culturally appreciative future of beauty.

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HORROR!

Seven stylish moments in horror that had a political message WORDS BY Harrison Clarke COLLAGE Harrison Clarke

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s a kid, I was deathly afraid of horror as a genre: so stricken by the fear that it would somehow manifest in reality. This fear started with The Grudge when I was a kid. I had never even seen the film, but I had the sound of the trailer memorized; I’d dart from the family room until the sounds of a moderated children’s programming resumed. This fearful mentality gradually shifted through the first two horror movies that I ever appreciated: Tim Burton’s fantastical, whimsical and bone-chilling adaptation of Coraline and Paul W.S. Anderson’s stomach-turning, action-packed Resident Evil. However, both films’ narratives were enhanced by the meticulous attention I paid to the wardrobe, which is how I came to recognize horror as a genre that could also be stylish and uniquely creative.

To this day, I have seen over a hundred horror movies and consumed an ample amount of fashion media; the message that remains ever-present about both is how marvelously they work together. Both languages express identity and reflect the surrounding world.

Horror, more often than not, communicates the parts of cultural identity society seeks to repress. However, fashion has always had an appetite for using its dialect to discuss and confront problematic structures in society. As I try to push through my turbulent twenties while wondering if the earth will still be around, these statements of horror and fashion become increasingly significant as they’re able to translate my fears visually. The power of communicating political and social anxieties in a stimulating way is part of the magic of horror’s longevity; as long as there are injustices and taboos in society, horror will be there to record it. Here are seven moments where fashion and horror intersected to make a political statement.

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Psycho, 1960, Alfred Hitchcock The handsome character Anthony Perkins is one of the elements that create the deeply unsettling environment of Psycho. The image from the movie that encapsulates this notion for me is during a scene where Norman Bates is in jail. Hitchcock holds the camera for a chilling few seconds on his expression. Norman looks very polished and tidy, from his slim black trousers and sweater, to his light grey button-up: not a single yarn out of place. His character is what I imagine when picturing the average American white male... the man who’s privileged identity allows him to slip through society almost undetected. The costume of suburban anonymity is what makes Norman so terrifying; he reminds the audience that they know nothing of their ‘average’ neighbour. From my perspective of being Black and queer, vibrant/expressive fashion has always been a way for me to communicate my identity apart from traditional heteronormative ideals. Norman’s wardrobe represents these ideals and the violence that can ensue when trying to fit into them.

The Exorcist, 1973, William Friedkin After seeing The Exorcist last year, in sparkling quality at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Theatre (the way it should be seen), I promptly decided that I needed to dress more like Chris MacNeil—mother to possessed, tongue-wagging, wall-climbing Regan. Throughout the film, Chris is wearing creamy autumnal colours: from her turtlenecks to her practically-Vetements-oversized plaid wool coats.

Despite the inspiration she provided, her physical warmth is overshadowed by the centrepiece of this film’s amazing costume design: Regan’s vomit and blood-splattered nightgown. This garment particularly strikes fear, as the codes of innocence communicated by the bright floral pattern, and frilly lace trim is manipulated by the stains and abrasions (read as innocence lost). The nightgown remains stark in contrast to the pristine outfits of the priests at her bedside.

Rosemary’s Baby, 1968, Roman Polanski Rosemary’s Baby is a part of Polanski’s horror ‘Apartment’ trilogy. This series of films found me at a time when I was slightly paranoid about my apartment building, feeling like it was a shallow pillar of safety from the chaos of the city below. The character that fascinated me the most was Rosemary; the more paranoid she becomes about her cultist neighbours, the more she reacts through fashion. In one instance, after Rosemary discovers she is pregnant, she asserts her identity by getting a trendy pixie cut. The cut empowers Rosemary by making her feel like a modern woman, momentarily pulling her from her child-like wardrobe of babydoll dresses. Her husband’s hate for the haircut and encouragement of infantile dressing shows the dominance men assume upon female identity, which speaks to the political environment of the 1960s and continues today with various women’s rights movements.

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The Wicker Man, 1973, Robin Hardy and Midsommar, 2019, Ari Aster The Wicker Man and Midsommar, the powerful new film that takes inspiration from the former, align in many notions.

One of the elements that both films do incredibly well is bring the viewer into a place of comfort. Both Summerisle (The Wicker Man) and Halsingland (Midsommar) look like places I’d love to vacation at; they’re full of song, sun, and lots of questionable psychedelics to try. The visual bliss becomes overwhelming when you witness both clans in matching folkloric dress—the image now so perfect you can feel the tension threatening to crack through the screen. This tension is also perfectly achieved in the latter film by dressing the entire cast (except for the main characters Dani, Christian, Mark, and Josh) in white frocks and robes. The uniformity of the cults in opposition to the outsiders displayed in their dress communicates the fate of the protagonists: they will be swallowed up by the dominant ideology of the perfect European society. Both films hold a mirror to the identity consuming culture through dressing, illustrating that the West have been perpetrators of such violence throughout the cult mentality in history.

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Horn of Plenty, Fall/Winter 2009, Alexander McQueen I knew that fashion was the industry I wanted to work in when I saw Alexander McQueen’s runway shows at fourteen; to see someone like McQueen represent their ideas and values so strongly in design was mesmerizing. McQueen does this best when his runway collections tell horror stories, which usually becomes his means of sharing a socio-political critique. Horn of Plenty is such a collection, serving as McQueen’s way of critiquing the extreme textile waste of the fashion industry. Sending vampiric, looming models down the runway in hats made from recycled materials, it was the dresses that suggested something alien: from the familiar silhouettes to stretched cartoonish proportions. In McQueen’s words, the garments represent the “turnover of fashion [being] so quick and throw away,” which can be seen in the trash that inundates the pieces worn by the models and the pile of waste that they catwalk around. Leave it to McQueen to make even garbage shine like gold.

Horror Movie, Issa Lish and Nathan Westling shot by Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia, 2014 Vogue Italia is my favourite version of the Condé Nast magazine, as it acknowledges its audience both as consumers and interpreters of fashion. I would describe myself as electrified coming across spreads such as ‘Supermodels Enter Rehab’ and ‘Makeover Madness’.

The hyper-realistic dreams illustrated on the pages entice the reader to interact with the garments on an emotional level that only art can create. In 2014, Meisel took this as a chance to depict a horror scene co-starring Issa Lish and Natalie Westling, clad in frilly babydoll dresses, running from an assailant (Bernd Sassmannshausen). The spread serves as a commentary on domestic violence and abuse towards women, a significant topic to the creative industries of fashion and film where women are speaking out for their fair treatment in the workforce.

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Prada, Fall/Winter, 2019 This Prada runway collection is a patchwork of knit sweaters, leather belts, vibrant prints—all smattered with lightning-struck hearts bathed in dark green fire. The collage of chaos is just like the genetic makeup of Victor Frankenstein’s monster, several body parts to assemble a random, yet cohesively repelling creature. Anyone who’s read the story knows that it’s hard not to pity the monster; of course, he cannot control his own biology, and therefore is turned away by everyone because of it. Miuccia Prada, unlike Frankenstein, has never been afraid to embrace ‘ugliness’ in her designs; there can be incredible and natural beauty in the unconventional. Prada has always been fearless in her use of ‘ugliness’ to make a political statement, so it is no surprise that she would utilize Shelley’s critiques of man’s quest for knowledge and power. Prada is a known feminist, a background that makes the collection’s use of Shelley’s critique more poignant in 2020: where man’s greed for power has led to a political environment that Prada would describe as a mix of “anger and despair.”

The horror stories that the runway and big screen have translated, seduce us with their cinematography and great textiles. Still, it is imperative to acknowledge that the seduction is part of the scare. These moments draw us in, lull us into their symphony, before snapping the audience awake to the sound of our political reality; the world is in a state of political, social, and environmental disarray.

Through the narrative that the worlds create, the audience gets to experience the consequences of our collective effects upon the world around us. As consumers of genre, the empowerment of style and the motivation of fear combined can propel us into action.

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“The power of communicating political and social anxieties in a stimulating way is part of the magic of horror’s longevity.”

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CLIMBING TO THE TOP Masstige Fashion & Beauty

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he noun Masstige, as defined by Google, indicates “mass-produced, relatively inexpensive goods that are marketed as luxurious or prestigious.” The professional exclusive article published by Business of Fashion “Why ‘Masstige’ Could Be Beauty’s Most Important Category”, made the concept palatable by invoking its practice via brands such as Deciem’s The Ordinary. This tactic can be understood as brands engineering outcomes of a consumer-driven shift in wants and values. Brands now provide consumers with products that combine high-performance attributes (effective ingredients) with value-driven formulas— packaging products that consumers understand. These brands are effectively taking the trending status symbols of health and good intention, and building them directly into the fabric of the brand. It makes branding easier to understand and enables marketing capacity, which is a key tool in accessing older markets who rely on product elevation through luxe marketing strategies.

Climbing To The Top: Masstige Fashion & Beauty questions the value generated post-consumption of products influenced by the push towards masstige. When the fashion product is reduced to an idea, how does that idea participate in and reflect consumer narratives, and where does it overstay its welcome?

PHOTOGRAPHY Rafaela Conde PRODUCER Alicia Churilla CREATIVE DIRECTION Sam Cass ART DIRECTION Alicia Churilla SET DESIGN Sam Cass STYLIST Sam Cass MAKEUP & HAIR Emma Rafizadeh ASSISTANT Julia Simioni MODELS Dana, Tamiah (B&M)

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Skirt: Free People Top: I.AM.GIA Shoes: Adidas Necklace: Magpie Jewelry Rings: Pandora Jewelry

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Top: I.AM.GIA Pants: Zara Jacket: Danier Shoes: Vintage Earrings: H&M Necklaces: Magpie Jewelry, Thrift

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Coveralls: Wilfred Top: Thrifted Shoes: Adidas Rings: Pandora Jewelry Earrings: H&M Hair Clips: Urban Outfitters

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Top: Stylist’s Own / Pants: Zara / Shoes: Thrifted / Headband: Coutukitsch

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Top: I.AM.GIA Skirt: BDG Shoes: Thrifted Earrings: H&M Necklaces: Magpie Jewelry, Thrifted

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VEILED EXCLUSION Unpacking the Percieved Conundrum of Muslim Bodies in the Western Fashion Industry WORDS BY Safia Sheikh ILLUSTRATION Estelle Muzyczka

In a world that seems to be manufacturing the conditions of Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations, it seems hardly accidental, the manner in which veiling Muslim women are relegated to the margins of the Western fashion industry.

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s we observe a daily shift of religion from the public sphere, [where it has historically held significant presence (i.e. church & politics)] increasingly to the private sphere, it seems that veiling Muslim women have an apparent ‘target’ on their backs, as they dare to engage with religion in a public setting.

In the sense of this deliberate relegation of religion to the private sphere, it then comes as no surprise that Western mass-market clothing retailers refuse to provide veiling options in their stores. Asides from special ‘modest’ lines—if that—which have only products during the holiday season. Pointing this out and truly understanding how entered the mass market within the past five ingrained non-secular traditions are in so-called “secular” societies can allow us years despite Muslims being around since the 7th to understand why the lack of proliferation of religious dress is problematized. If it century, veiling Muslims who want to purchase is so evident that our secular society is not truly secular, there cannot be any real garments for their needs must go to specialized justification for the relegation of Muslim bodies to the margins. retailers. It is almost met with a fear that providAnother aspect worth considering is the modest fashion market. While it is, of ing Muslim women living in the West with easily course, important for Muslims to support Muslim businesses, it is also important to accessible burqas, niqabs, and hijabs, would equate understand the position of modest fashion in a larger context. I ask you to reframe the to corporations ‘pushing’ religion out of the depths understanding of the fashion industry in the following way: certain niche markets are of the private sphere and ‘promoting’ it in the public, meant to cater to a specific group of people, as the end consumer is very specialized a seemingly distasteful action. with extremely specific needs. Modest or Muslim fashions are typically allocated to It is worth understanding that this is a false di- this category. This is a religion that almost two billion people worldwide identify with chotomy. The West is hardly at odds with religion: (nearly 30% of the global population), and yet the numbers are not enough to prevent the so-called “secular” society we live in today still relegation to the peripheries of society. Mainstream retailers still do not necessarily follows Judeo-Christian customs. The holiday season, stock garments like niqabs or display mannequins clad in hijab that would contribfor example, is filled with advertising campaigns ute to their revenue, brand image, and help to foster a more encouraging shopping specifically riddled with signifiers of these traditions: environment for Muslims. Despite these advantages, we can observe that actions red, green and white packaging for products and which are read as Muslim-exclusionary or neglective practices are still commonplace Christmas music. To any religious person who is in retailers. While they love if we shop in their stores, they will not seek to make us not Christian, this fact is painfully obvious. Despite comfortable while doing so. Is it truly so distasteful for a non-Muslim consumer to shifting the language from “Merry Christmas!” confront clothing that may service a Muslim person in a mass retail store? to “Happy Holidays!”, the origins of the tradition Muslims have the spending power. We need clothes, and affordable ones at remain undetachable to the tradition itself, and this that, yet it seems difficult to actually access these. In my own experience as a becomes evident in the consumer marketing of Muslim woman, I have visited flea markets and modest fashion stores to get the

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garments I desire. I find the former, while affordable, does not always have designs that I find aesthetically pleasing while the latter can be out of my budget. It seems that it all comes back to deeply entrenched Islamophobia and cost-benefit. Veiled Muslim women only started to permeate the world of high fashion as the Middle East justified its market potential. Modest fashion lines in retailers such as H&M were only introduced as Hijabi Instagram influencers perforated the scene. Ultimately, Muslim bodies have been ignored until we were seen as profitable, as though our value as people is inherently reliant upon our spending power.

The ultimatum: there is no accommodation in mainstream retailers so the expectation to assimilate is always the message that is pushed: one that centers orientalism as its guiding force, and glorifies the supposed ‘liberated’ Muslim woman. The audacity to believe that we desire liberation from the hands of those who fail to understand us and the lack of effort to utilize this so-called “superior” position to enable us to empower ourselves and each other is baffling.

This is not meant to perpetuate ideas of Western saviorism—far from it, in fact. The aim here is to acknowledge Muslims as part of the West. After all, we have been here since the 18th century, many of us have been born, raised, and brought up our own families here. So why is it that we are still a taboo discussion in fashion? Somehow, after years of hailing claims of acceptance and diversity, we are still framed under a much larger Orientalist hierarchy that shields its sinister nature behind multiculturalism lip service.

Ultimately, the conversation surrounding the proliferation of veiling Muslim fashions comes down to a reductive argument surrounding the perceived oppression of Muslim women, typically conducted without our own voices, I might add. Until a post-9/11, propaganda-saturated society does not confront its ideas of Orientalism and how they can be harmful to individuals in society, we cannot move towards a world where the question of oppression is not raised when it comes to the ways in which women dress.

Fashion hails itself as a progressive industry, one that is accepting of all and willing to push the boundaries of art. I only ask that the mainstream industry does not only apply these values when it is profitable. Inclusion should not be inherently reliant on money.

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“ Ultimately, Muslim bodies have been ignored until we were seen as profitable.”

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DOES MY VAGINA SCARE YOU?

WORDS BY Isabella Papagiannis CREATIVE DIRECTION Sam Cass PHOTOGRAPHY Sam Cass ART DIRECTION Alicia Churilla

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omen have come a long way; from being labelled as property, to being recognized as a person, speaking out about sexual assault, becoming a part of politics: overall, being able to have a say in our world. Don’t get me wrong; there are still years of education needed for us to progress as a society.

Armed with the power of the Internet and social media, women have been able to raise their voices internationally.

Our world is a whirlpool of controversy, and yet, amongst the madness, I remain in wait to witness the vagina become mainstream. I get it, who wants to talk about genitals at any point? Simply put, progressive society must bring to light, without embarrassment, the vagina.

The media has only recently been bringing to surface topics surrounding realistic menstruation, the effects of birth control, and the miseducation of vaginal sexuality.

Due to the taboo nature of these topics, their media coverage is often deemed “too uncomfortable” to garner a wider audience, including social media platforms like Instagram, which I don’t personally understand.

According to Our World In Data, women account for approximately 49.6% of the international population, discluding those with vaginas who don’t identify as women.

Now, for genitalia that occupies almost half of the earth’s population, the majority of the other half knows little to nothing about those they share the earth with. Being “too uncomfortable” to speak up about the problems we face in our society is not the progression we need 102

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Ending the fear of discussing vaginas

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“A burden is placed on your shoulders when you finally get the sex talk, if you even get one”

to grow internationally and promote the equality of every gender. My vagina, our vaginas, do not define us, but they are a part of us, and they are weaponized against us on many different occasions. With that, I pose this question to readers, to the media and to the world: does my vagina scare you?

Growing up with a vagina is intimidating; a burden is placed on your shoulders when you finally get the sex talk if you even get one. There’s pressure associated with learning that if you aren’t safe you’ll end up pregnant. The vagina is described as a reproductive tool that allows someone with a penis to reach orgasm and, in turn, create a baby. People aren’t taught to empathize with the owners of vaginas—the people with emotion and intelligence. This fails to acknowledge the intricacies of the vagina. As vagina owners, these characteristics are drilled into our brains during what most schools and parents consider proper sexual education. We’re allowed to be sexualized, but we can’t sexualize ourselves, and we definitely can’t enjoy it.

The stigma starts with our genitals, we’re in a to discuss, resulting in lies and warping of truths. According to box that tells us that our vagina has one purpose Ovarian Cancer Action, a UK based organization, as of 2015, and one purpose only. This stigma not only affects more than half of women surveyed between the ages of 18-24 how other people view vaginas, but how womstated they feared vaginal examinations and around 44% of them en view themselves. We become the vehicle of were too scared to talk about their sexual health with their doctor. reproduction and sexual pleasure and little more.

These fears could be a result of the ideas surrounding vaginal sex, These stereotypes, in turn, create fear and and negative labelling for having too much or too little sex. It’s imembarrassment regarding the maintenance of possible to meet society’s expectations of women; it can often feel sexual health. A sexual history is something a like some sort of balancing act. Still, the fact that women’s sexual woman is not only afraid of but is embarrassed health is a topic we avoid discussing is dangerous. The more we open up the conversation, the more we allow ourselves to become comfortable discussing our genitals without fear of judgment.

It’s not only the world and society refusing to talk about vaginas, but it’s people with vaginas that fear the conversations as well.

Ovarian Cancer Action stated that 66% of younger women surveyed are scared to even say the word vagina or any words associated with it, such as clitoris or labia. This taboo not only causes problems in terms of sexual health but also pushes a lack of conversation in regards to safe sex and birth control. Birth control has only recently been introduced into sex-ed classrooms. It is essential to be aware of all possible birth control options, and informed that these options don’t always work for everyone. According to Health Day News, the pill is the most popular birth control method, though the majority of women remain on it even if it negatively affects their physical or mental state. This lack of open communication of sexual health and safety only creates further stigma.

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“When changing pads and tampons, the game is to be as swift as possible, so nobody hears the plastic crinkle” Among the stigma is situated the word ‘period’.

In 2015, poet & artist Rupi Kaur posted a menstruation series onto Instagram, in which one of the photos was taken down cited as disrupting community guidelines. The photo included the artist lying down, fully clothed with a period stain on the outside of her pants, a situation most women are accustomed to. Why was the photo judged to be “too inappropriate” for Instagram? Similar to our sexual health, our periods are a natural occurrence that we’re taught to disguise in shame.

Even when changing pads and tampons, the game is to be as swift as possible, so nobody hears the plastic crinkle or doubts your bathroom habits. There is a certain weakness associated with the ritual of bleeding from your vagina. It is common for men to associate periods with women becoming irrational, moody or bitchy. It is common for a woman to feel as if she is not taken seriously when people know she’s on her period; her opinions or feelings rendered nonsensical. This all circles back to a lack of proper education surrounding vaginas and the lack of conversation to normalize it.

Our vaginas do not define us, though they remain a part of who we are. Society likes to isolate us on that notion. As women, we’re taught to be ashamed of something we’re born with, and most of all we’re taught that our vagina is not our own. We’re perceived as vulnerable and weak and labelled as sluts or prudes by people who know nothing of what they’re talking about.

That being said, embrace your vagina, embrace its multiple functionalities and its complexity.

Open up dialogue with people without vaginas, educate them and further educate yourselves.

Begin to familiarize yourself with your body, and communicate its needs to people in your life.

Together, let’s make vaginas mainstream.

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VOICES Disrupting dominant discourse using the voices of the past, present, and future

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his issue of The Book by StyleCircle is called Voices. VOICES refers to fashion as an act of disruption. So much of the western cultural identity is linked to what we wear. This cover shoot aims to discuss how identity is an art of performance, and how fashion is a vestibule for expressing ideas/pushing new narratives. The themes that emerge are gender, socio-political conflict, disrupting dominant discourses, riot and revolution—all aiming to elevate voices of the new generational culture. Understanding how we can express our power through fashion, allows us to understand how to communicate the narratives we want to see for the future world/society. The symbolism within the set design represents a long history of oppression for many voices and narratives that didn’t fit within what society deemed the ‘norm.’ The futuristic interpretation serves as hope and fortitude for the future voices that are leading the shift into this new era of cultural narrative. This editorial aims to be representative of the overall themes emerging from this issue of The Book by StyleCircle, sharing the Voices of those who couldn’t always share their stories. By sharing the voices of those who can’t always be heard, we hope to lead to a revolution of openness and change within the dominant discourse of both the fashion industry and society around us.

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PHOTOGRAPHY Alicia Churilla ART DIRECTION Alicia Churilla STYLIST Lynne Weare (Plutino) MAKEUP Taylor Chousky HAIR Anna Giannini MODELS Aisling (Plutino), Charlie (Next), Gat (B&M) PHOTO ASSISTANT Jonathan Matta PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Mia Vos, Steve Nguyen, Sam Cass VIDEOGRAPHY Alessandra Sconza

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Top: Richard Quinn Pants: Lynne Hey (SRFI)

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Cape: Lynne Hey (SRFI) Mesh: Stylist’s Own

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Top: Lynne Hey (SRFI) / Jorts: Y Project

Pants: Avrgbbs (SRFI) Bodysuit: Lynne Hey (SRFI) / Pants: Levi’s

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Dress: ROTATE Birger Christensen / Shoes: Steve Madden Shirt: Topshop / Pants: Retsiort Esile / Shoes: Dr. Martens Top: Narces / Jeans: Levi’s / Shoes: COS

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T-shirt: McQ Alexander McQueen / Shoes: Zara / Hair Clips: Hair Is Fashion Dress: Narces / T-shirt: Stylist’s own / Blazer: Banana Republic / Button-up Shirt: Harry Rosen / Sneakers: GEOX

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Blouse: Topshop / Jeans: Naked and Famous / Jeans: 34 Heritage jeans / Shoes: Converse

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BY US FOR US

The individual narrative formed through collective experience

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CREATIVE DIRECTION Alexandra Anisman PRODUCER Alexandra Anisman PHOTOGRAPHY maniic studios. (Bishwesh Uprety, Abdul Rehman, and Tommy Calderon) MOVEMENT DIRECTION & PA Olivia Daniels STYLIST Kaylah Wilson VIDEOGRAPHY Kassy Gascho MAKEUP & HAIR Nicole Weitzel MODELS Abriana, Abuk, Cy, Destiny, Jordan, Mallentino, Zachery, Zef (B&M)

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reaking down the dominant discourse of how to behave in society, By Us For Us observes how communities are formed through taking up space, opening conversation and building off one another to form a collective novel experience. Inspired by gentle black and white movements of dance, interaction and individuality represented in works of Imogen Cunningham and experimental brands such as Paloma Wool, the creative director brings together a team which equally contributed to accessing their truth in unfamiliar interactions, movements, bodies, and expressing what that means to them personally.

The poses embody the contradictions of both freedom and restriction, community and individuality, thus, allowing the viewer to either relate or distance themselves from the images that appear before them. Most importantly, this series is challenging the viewer to personally question what community means to them, cultural differences and narratives that form as a result of this.

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SPONSORS This project is supported financially by the Student Initiatives Fund. SIF is administered by the Department of Student Life on behalf of the Vice Provost Students, Ryerson University.