SMOKE
a window into westminster
6 meals you can master
the best of the mess! is your picture inside?
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Westminster fashion class of 2018
March 2018
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inside 6/7
editor’s letter
charticles Overheard westminster
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sushi sounds with giraffage
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Gizmo Varillas
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Youtuber Lucy Earl
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Dance society bring the fire
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six meals you can master
The second issue with our brand new design, how exciting!!! Again, we made sure that it’s all about you. This issue, we’re featuring students who’ve gone off and started their own successful youtube channel, had the chance to show their collections in London Fashion week and many more amazing people. I can’t believe that the next issue will be our last, the months passed very quickly, but were all amazing and chaotic. We still want you to get involved so make sure to join us as a contributor, or, if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, send us a message so we can get you in one of our issues. You never know, maybe you’ll be the next one on the cover. Anyways, hope you enjoy! Peace out x
westminster Fashons class of 2018
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Q&A with Lauren Nicole
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the best of the mess! Whats on
Lama LAma El Khamy Editor in Chief
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m m ag ag m m a ag g m m a ag g m m a Lama El Khamy editor in chief
Katherine Cenaj Deputy Editor
Michael C Ward art director
Jasmin Goken Comment Editor
Mark Hoskin Music Editor
Miriam Cocuzza Music Editor
Kate Reichardt Fashion Editor
Andrea Ribeiro Fashion Editor
Peony Hirwani Lifestyle Editor
the team
Blanka Csanicz lifestyle Editor
megha sharma arts editor
EglĂŠ lusciauskaite Media guru
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six
meals you can master
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he world painst quite and unhealthy picture about student’s diets. We’re said to be living off microwaved food and instant ramen. Sure, once in a while, in the middle of deadlines, instant food is our lifeline and it get us through sleepless nights. But as we become more mindful about what we put inside of our bodies, we are no longer letting crappy food to rule our student life. Buying
“WE ARE NO LONGER LETTING CRAPPY FOOD RULE OUR STUDENT LIFE” ready meals or hot canteen meals surely saved us time and brain space, not to cook or worry about the lack of nutrients in our food, but eventually it’ll burn a hole in our pockets. That’s when meal prep comes to save our days. Meal prep does sound like a lot of work, but once you get to know it, it’s actually not bad and might even turn to be a company you’d want to keep around. Preparing your meal
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ahead is not only going to help you maintain the nutrients balanced, for which, by the way, your body’s going to thank you later, but also help you minimise your meal budget so you can finally save up. There are two key steps in mastering meal prep, and those are Pinterest and grocery lists. Pinterest has become my best friend who I consult every week and “easy meal prep” has been in my top search for a long time. To get into the habit of meal prep, all you have to figure out is how much time you can spare in the morning.
Here are some fool-proof meal ideas for breakfast and lunch for our uni days:
What to make
wwTime
Breakfast smoothie
10 minutes
Ham and cheese toastie Avocado on toast
15 minutes
20 minutes
CLT wrap
Ingredients Banana strawberries blueberrie kale chai seeds
Utensils Bullet blender
Wholemeal bread Sandwich press cooked ham or pan cheese singles mayonaise optional Flour tortillas cooked chicen bites Toaster romaine lettuce tomato cheese ranch dressing Wholemeal bread cooked ham Nothing at all cheese singles mayonaise optional
Sunny side egg and wholemeal toast Chicken and Veggie stirfry
Wholemeal bread smashed avocado egg and a dash of salt pepper
Toaster Pan
Diced chicken mixed veggies soy sauce salt and pepper
Pan
Most of these meals don’t even need cooking, they just need to be put together. You can swap the fruits, veggies and meat to your liking, or leave the meat out for vegetarian options. If you fancy and actually enjoy cooking during weekends, you can also try to plan ahead a week’s meals, store them in the fridge and heat them up before going to uni. Enjoy browsing for recipes and have fun trying!
words Mia Santosa
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MEET OUR NEW COLUMNIST DIAMOND GEEZER CHARLOTTE RACHER!
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CHArTICLES
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eing a ‘yes-person’ and all of its dangers. Some of us like helping people. This is nice and our parents would be proud. But when you’re trying to get your life together, agreed to see your mate Martha, finish off your assignment and cover someone’s shift all in one day - you can only think: shit. And here are all the fundamental issues you’ll pick up by being a ‘yes’ person. An Influx of problems. You’ve taken on everyone else’s issues and suddenly become very sad yourself. You may not even realise it but helping everyone out with their problems will have an impact on your own mental being. You never thought you’d actually care but out of nowhere you’re dealing with break ups that aren’t even yours and co-comfort eating to support the cause. Now you’re fat AND sad, brilliant. You have absolutely no time. Sometimes it’s a necessity to lay in bed and accidentally watch 48 hours of Come Dine With Me. But no, you agreed to go out for drinks in the evening and cover the shift of someone you don’t even like in the morning - just because it’s too awkward to say no. Most importantly you lose all your priorities. Realistically, you should be working towards
“AT LEAST YOU AREN’T A BASTARD” getting a University degree but bizarrely you decide to help a friend with her degree instead because that’s the level of stupid some of us (me) have reached. Being a yes-person, I believe somehow you must look like one. And now you’re holding five leaflets for house insurance for a house you don’t have, a copy of NME under your arm whilst navigating a tourist to a place you’re not even completely sure where it is. It’s important to maintain healthy relationships with friends, families, your boyfriend/girlfriend/bit on the side but instead you spend more time accidentally talking to preachers in the street because you were born awkward. But with losing time, gaining worry and saying yes to everything, at least you aren’t a bastard.
Char -x6
gaming fans at marylebone..
How’s life mate?
Living my life is like playing Call of Duty, I just go around and fuck shit up.
Undergraduate history class.. SO, is it still USSR or is it Russia now?.
keep scamming girl x.. I’ve had my fair share of boys, I think it’s about time I had a stream of sugar daddies
classmates The undercroft.. Hey, how’s revison goi.. Bugger off mate.
spitting fire in harrow library.. If you’re having maths problmes I feel bad for you son, I got 0.999 problems and that’s basically just one
SEND US MORE! @_SMOKEMAG MAG@SMOKE.MEDIA
overheard at
westminster 7
Sushi Sounds
MIRIAM COCUZZA GOES FOR SUSUI WITH ELECTRONIC ARTIST CHARLIE YIN AKA GIRAFFAGE
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ne of the most delicious and fascinating food you can find on Earth is sushi and all the Japanese culture that there is behind it. Sometimes though, how to make a good quality sushi feels like a mystery, but with the help of a real #SushiQueen named Keiko, I had the chance to attend a sushi master class and learn all the tricks. The reason why I was invited though, is because Charlie Yin, mostly known as Giraffage, was in town to promote his new album “Too late”. When I arrived at the Green Room in Hoxton Square, Charlie was already sipping his Prosecco and patiently waiting to start with the master class. We were all curious and having some small talks before getting started. Have you ever been in London before Charlie? C: Yes, that’s my fourth time. How is it compared to California? C: Pretty different! The weather is so cold, but I think I would like to live here. Once we seated, Keiko started to show us how to properly cut cucumbers and avocados to insert in our sushi for the procedures following after. We started with a simple and basic Hosomaki, literally “Slender Roll”, made of seaweed on the outside, and sushi rice, salmon, cucumber and avocado in the inside, all rolled up together. Then we moved on a more difficult one, the Uramaki, also known as the “California Roll”. Same ingredients, different procedure. This time, the rice is on the outside and the seaweed on the inside. Always with the same ingredients, we then made a Temaki, a cone made of seaweed with a filling of sushi rice, spicy tuna and avocado. C: I’ve never made sushi before, that’s my first experience. I can say I’m stuffed, and I definitely
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feel I’ve learnt something today! Which one was your favourite? C: I really liked the Temaki, but that took a lot of technique. *** Sushi curiosity *** The Uramaki is not a traditional Japanese sushi roll, it’s an inside-out roll made by Japanese people when they started to sell sushi in California. People did not buy the ones with seaweed on the outside, but they started to buy the ones with the rice on the outside. Once we were all fed up and full, Charlie and I had a small chat about his projects right now. I am very curious about your art name, how did you come out with it? And what’s the meaning behind it? It’s pretty arbitrary, to be honest. (Giraffage) It’s the combination of two common words, so I felt like, if I wanted people to be able to Google me, it needed to be something a little more unique. In plus, I really like giraffes. Last October your new album “Too late” came out, how would you compare this album to your previous work? I was listening to a lot of bands that I used to listen when I was growing up, with lots of indie records. My last EP was very dance oriented and I made with a kind of audience in mind, this time I created my album with a venue in mind. The album is reflective on the music I was making before I started to make electronic music. Who and what inspires you at the moment? I listen a lot of “The Strokes” and a lot of the 80’s music. Just a lot of old stuff, I’m really fascinated with older sounds and try to reconceptualise it into modern production. You’re performing at Coachella this year; how does it feel? When I started to create music it was one of my goals, and it’s finally happening. It’s kind of surreal. What’s your favourite food? I definitely say sushi. Would you rather never eat again ice cream or donuts? Donuts, I don’t really like donuts. Instagram or Twitter? Instagram Would you rather have money but no one knowing you, or fame and to be broke? I think I rather have money and no one knowing that I am rich.
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G I Z M O
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izmo Varillas is a musician outside the social media wannabe vibes that we see from most twenty something up-and-coming musicians. An instrumentalist and music maker, he cares about his craft. A craft he refined for hours each night, as many young talented people do, in his childhood bedroom. His bi-national background has played a big part in his life and in the music that he makes. Born in Spain, Varillas moved to England age 4. Following the death of a close family member, and never really fitting in at school, he’s been (aquí y allá) back and forth between the two countries for most of his life. He identifies himself ‘European’ - a uniquely un-British idea, I point out to him. “I think a big part of English people not feeling like they are European has to do with language, he says. “English is such a dominant language in the world, in Spain you have to learn English and French. That’s just part of the curriculum, so I found it easier to understand the cultures”. An antidote to the unrelenting rhetoric of nation-
“PEOPLE DON’T REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAY...” alism and separatism that has dominated British (and global) politics of recent years, Varillas music is a fresh breath of uplifting acoustics and softly spoken lyrics. An alumnus of Westminster himself, Varillas Graduated in 2014 where he studied Translation studies at the Regent Street campus. “I’ve been recording my music ever since I was in high school. After school, I’d go home and record in my bedroom. I’ve been learning how to create my own music and my own ideas for many years now. “I recorded my song and uploaded it to BBC introducing.” The BBC’s introducing programmes is targeted at people exactly like Varillas. Young, talented, but with no clear route into the industry, the Introducing platform allows BBC’s presenters and producers to explore new talent without needing a label. “My song got played on the radio and that’s how my manager found me, I’ve been working with him ever since.” Varillas believes that your own greatness starts in your bedroom. “If I was to give advice for any student looking to make it into music? To find your own sound, keep creating - even in your own bedroom.” As with most creative talents, you don’t start with the support of studio time, a manager and a publishing team. It is that alone time, where you may have to record lyrics on your iPhone and
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Alumni BA Translation studies Gizmo Varillas
ask your mate to design your first EP artwork that you find who you are as an artist. “It can be challenging to get inspired in the same room all the time, but it’s a stepping stone”. He also believes in collaboration as a motivation builder, “Go to other people’s bedrooms! Most of the things I’ve learned are from other people. Share, create and be around people who do the same stuff that you do. You’ll stumble into something special that you wouldn’t have done alone”. Having spent time in a rock band, he found comfort in a more mellow sound in his newest projects. Gizmo prides himself on being able to work with people from different walks of life and artists whose work doesn’t reflect his own, “that’s what excites me. The only thing holding me back is other artists schedules. I am song writing at sessions with other artists, but I can’t tell you who just yet”, he laughs. A self-confessed hopeless romantic, Varillas says he’s “an optimist, for sure. We hear so much negative stuff about the world, but I always try to focus on the better side of humanity. If I only listened to the news, I’d only have a distorted version of
“..THEY REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL” reality. I know, there’s a world full of good people.” You may know his most famous song, Freedom for Change you may know from his Sofar Sounds London and Leeds sessions and his most recent release, Losing You is uniquely sombre and electric at the same time. His new album, Dreaming of Better Days, which drops sometime in May maintains his usual cheery, summery sound while acknowledging mankind’s darker sides. “I like the idea,” he says, “of sad lyrics with happy music. It balances things out. I remember reading somewhere that people won’t remember what you say, but they’ll remember how you made them feel. I think that’s very true.” Losing You is out now on all streaming services.
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words Michael C Ward
rillas
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Arantxa RodrĂguez Photography
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Alumni BA Marketing Communications Lucy Earl
english with
Lucy Earl
words Egle lusciauskaite
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o or for? Miss or lose? Ask Lucy Earl, creator of ‘English with Lucy’, the fastest growing language channel in the world with over 900 thousand subscribers! Although, it might seem like all she does is have fun on her channel, Lucy actually juggles a hectic schedule. But before we moved on about the success of the channel, Lucy told me the story about how it all started. During her time at University of Westminster, she had a chance to do an Erasmus semester in Madrid followed by the placement year, also in Spain. “I’ve always loved languages. Well, not always actually, when I was younger I hated them, but then they suddenly clicked”. However, after missing her enrolment date for university, she moved down south to Seville, Spain and started looking for a job. “I needed money and I decided I could teach English!” says Lucy, who then did a teaching qualification and got a job straight away. However, as she described, she was terrible at grammar. “I could teach loads of vocabulary, I was great at correcting the pronunciation, but grammar was really difficult for me, because in the UK, we do not learn any grammar.” Going back to her time in Spain, she read loads of grammar books, but “it wasn’t going” as she admits to me. Lucy started watching video lessons on Youtube but most of them were really boring: “I thought, YouTube is different now. I don’t think people want the classroom experience. So, I said to myself “I think I can do that”.” She mentioned she had always had this idea but was nervous to start the channel. However,
with the help of her dad, who gave her a £500 loan, she started in January 2016, and in July 2016 graduated from Westminster with a degree in Marketing Communications: “And then I was thinking: do I go for a proper job or a graduate scheme, something I would have imagined myself doing, or do I carry on with this?”.
“MY CHANNEL STARTED BLOWING UP” She took the summer to think about it, and just as summer was about to end, her video went viral and everything fell in place. “The channel started blowing up and in October I took it fulltime”. However, you cannot describe Lucy as a vlogger: “I wouldn’t call myself a vlogger. I would say I’m a full-time creator”. Lucy says she knew that what she was doing is going to be useful for people. “I thought if there was a video of me explaining it, I could just send it to my students and they could go back to it anytime. A lot of the things you learn you just need to repeat and repeat them”, but she also admits she has never expected it to be so big. “It was kind of a marketing playground for me where I got to try different things. Some of them worked, some of them didn’t”. Even though she had also tried creating vlogs, they weren’t successful. Instead, she does Instagram stories where those who care can follow her: “I think lessons are something that everyone is at least a little interested
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in, but only people that really invested in you as a person care what you do on a daily basis.” When I told her I saw articles about her on BBC News and The Times, Lucy laughed and couldn’t describe how amazing she feels. “I had a media storm in April last year and it all started
“I’LL NEVER GET USED TO SEEING MYSELF IN THE NEWS” because of Westminster. They did an article on the website and then BBC saw it! it got picked up by the Times and they interviewed me on page 3. Also, ITV news, BBC Radio 4. That was crazy!” she admits. Lucy also added: “I will never get used to seeing myself in the news”. The most important thing for me to find out was Lucy’s creative process. As any other Youtuber, she has a list where she keeps all her ideas. Then she plans a filming day: “It would be an exhausting day when I drink a lot of diet coke, a lot of coffee and sometimes, in my last video, I would have a glass of wine, you know” Lucy laughs. She films between 4 and 8 videos and then goes through the next couple of weeks editing them and uploading each of her videos bit by bit. In terms of support, we have also discussed working with Youtube as the company. As Lucy describes, they are really supportive for their creatives: “they give you so many opportunities: put in contact with press companies, brands, help you build business around your channel”. She also admits that without Marketing degree she wouldn’t be doing what she is right now and is also thankful to University of
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Westminster: “If you have an idea, university will grow it with you”. Some of Lucy’s videos are sponsored. However, when asked about future plans, she says she’s focusing on building and promoting her own products: “I would really like to release my course by the end of this year and my first ever merchandise as well”. She also wants to continue making good content on her channel and uploading consistently: “I think last year I went too far with sponsorships. This year I’m looking to go back to myself”. Her plans also include meeting more of her subscribers! And finally, I couldn’t help myself but ask her for advice to those students who might be think-
“LAST YEAR, I WENT TOO FAR WITH SPONSORS” ing of starting a Youtube channel. And she gave some brilliant one: “In order to be successful on Youtube, you have to be one of two things or both of them: either better or different.” She suggests that whatever you do, you have to ask yourself: is your idea better? Is it different? “If you’re just doing the same as everyone else, I would be surprised if it was successful” Lucy admits. She also adds that no one should really go into Youtube to make money because your viewers can easily see it and they feel cheated: “Making money on Youtube is kind of like a privilege rather than a right”. She encourages students to go out there and do it because it is not a 9-to-5 kind of job. “All you need is couple of hours a week”.
Image: Isa Jimenez
search english with lucy on youtube
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e c n a D :a dragon birthed by fire words Clelia D’oria
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joined the Dance Society in October 2013. It was created in 2011 by two students, Andrea and Alison, who would teach while still carrying on their presidential duties. The society had only been active for a little time, there weren’t many students involved and the energies ran a little low. Alison recognised my passion for dance, and in my second month in the team she asked me to join the committee as a Vice-Captain.
“THIS IS WHAT DANCE IS ABOUT...” In the same year, the society was lucky enough to gather another 5-6 students highly motivated and dedicated to dance, and linked by some common denominators: all foreigners, homesick and with their own heartaches and dark pains of the past such as illness, painful breakups or depression. These problems brought everybody close and connected the team with our jazz teacher who was also a foreigner. The Dance Society became a safe, judgement-free environment where all those involved could express their emotions and forget their problems. We spoke, listened and danced. It was a home away from home, a safe place to laugh and cry without being asked why, a hand to reach for even in the “toughest” time, a shoulder to lean on. Drawing inspiration from all this, the society’s jazz teacher created a choreography dedicated to bullying. The team took it along to the RHUL Dance Competition 2013, themed “Dance for a cause” back then. We had all felt the horrendous effects of bullying on both ends – either
by being bullies or bullied – and we incorporated our experiences and emotions into the dance. It managed to empathise with the victims and understand the bullies’ motivations. This helped a lot of people from our society. I had a few discussions with our teacher and we decided we would keep those themes for the Dance Society the next year – it would provide a home for people, a second family and it would continue to fight for social causes. Not because the society was holier-than-thou or because this was kept as a “recipe” for its success. But because it felt like it was making people’s lives a bit better, helping them realise their own inner strength, potential, and make them more sympathetic and socially responsible for themselves and others. It was a way to help them. There were people who collapsed and broke into tears during class. The combination of dance, music, and emotion they put in to perform this theme was so intense, they got im-
“..FEEL IT AND EXPRESS IT THROUGH YOUR WHOLE BODY” mersed into their feelings and memories and broke down. And that was healthy, good, liberating, comforting. This is what dance is about: feeling and expressing it through your whole body, with your moves and your gestures. The following year, the team really started catching fire. With some very skilled and passionate people, the Dance Society didn’t just go to competition but did so much more. We did a music video with an upcoming Russian artist – a connection kindly provided by one
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of our dancers. The team got the chance to perform on camera, make its own choreographies and gain a unique experience filming and dancing around several locations in London. We also did a series of flash mobs for halloween and christmas! Afterwards, we went to SUSUPA Dance Competition in February 2016 where the Advance Contemporary team won the 3rd place and the Dance Society its first ever competition award. The choreography was created by the team members at that time, and was very much centred on and inspired by LGBTQ+ rights and all the hardships young love goes through because of societal intolerance and narrow-mindedness. In that choreography each dancer put the moves they felt expressed better what they had been through: from being criticised for their sexual orientation or the age difference between them and their lover, to experiencing class and race discrimination. And the results
“THE DANCE SOCIETY BECAME A SAFE, JUDGEMENTFREE ENVIRONMENT” were both beautiful and heartbreaking. Following the horrifying refugee situation on the Greek coast and the reaction of those countries that chose to shut their borders to thousands of people, the society decided to create a dance to awaken once again people’s sense of justice, empathy and tolerance. With the help of film students, we did a short video telling the story of a refugee family fighting with the waves and losing loved ones in an attempt to reach the “land of salvation”. The choreography was emotional and performed on Missy Higgins song “Oh Canada”. Last year though, the society faced a lot of issues so we weren’t able to go to as many competitions as we would have liked. But we still persevered and managed to collab with societies such as Marrow and Rag. Another amazing thing that happened is that we transferred the team from societies to sports, and officially became Dragons. We always encourage everyone to join. You only need passion to succeed in our society!
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If you want to join the Dance Society go to https://www.uwsu.com/club/dance/ or contact dance.society@su.westminster.ac.uk
ELMER GALLERY STREATHAM SW16 6HZ MARCH 13TH 10AM - 4PM
words and images Andrea Ribiero
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class of 2018
n 2018 it’s hard to be original. Our task as young adults, entering “the real world”, is to be innovators. Innovation will take you one step further than your competition. It just so happens that ‘Innovation’ was a big qualifier of a certain London Fashion Week (LFW) show. For the first time a BA Fashion Design course has presented at LFW show and, indeed, it was from our own world leading University of Westminster. Eleven graduates fought for the opportunity to showcase their work in London’s most prestigious fashion presentation on the first day of the event, and they were amazing. If one was watching this show without any context the general idea would most likely be that either the designer had eleven different personalities or there were the same amount of groups of people working in a different facet of said designer’s personality. I can’t claim I’m a fashion expert but watching the show took me through different motions, from romantic to
angry, to futuristic, to empowered. The show ended with big Comme des Garçons meets every superhero/supervillain you one’s grown up with. It made me see that without hard work you’ll hardly get anywhere and even when you work as hard as these individuals your goals aren’t guaranteed. Fashion students are some of the hardest workers in our university, having to be on campus every day of the week and spending their own money on their collections, thousands of pounds. Talking to them about the London Fashion Week experience, more than the words they said, their faces showed an expression of people who have given their all for their passion and had it recognised. If you missed the show or if you’d like to rewatch it, there is a video on YouTube that shows you these fantastic people’s fourteen minutes of deserved glory.
20 Savanah Avery Lauren Audrey Megan Williams Suzi Lee Dillan Chipchase Joshua Crabtree William Dill-Russell Holly Priestley Catriona Wilson Manon Planche Paolo Carzana
Lend me a hand B
en Lunt is a clever guy. An over achiever who defied his parents push for him to become a doctor, Lunt moved to the south to study at Westminster and is now in his final year. Dissertation submitted and with only a few months left in his studio, what’s next? Lunt was lucky enough to have his work showed in last month’s London Fashion Week. A structural artist, Lunt lent BA Fashion Design Student Paolo Carzana a hand to create one of the most striking collections on this year’s final show, the first to be held on the official Fashion Week calendar.
“IT’S BEEN AN ADVENTURE” “I helped Paulo produce wooden structures and some of the physical aspects that were in his show” Lunt says enjoying his ‘ham bun’, sat in his Harrow Studio Space. “A lot of the elements were robotic, but what was great is that the whole collection is sustainable. For one of the structures that the models wore down the runway, we used an 18th century Victorian easel.” “It’s been an adventure in itself trying to get it all to work together and look good with Pablo’s collection, and it’s great getting recognition from Dazed and Vogue” An ex builder, The Stockport born 21 year-olds work is industrial and construction based. Now a sculptor and installation artist he’s moved away from the painted pieces that dominated his GCSE and College projects. His latest piece
words Michael C Ward images Ben Lunt
(Sports Direct wellies filled with a cement) sit drying across the studio. “They’re for my final year project, we all exhibit our work at Ambika P3 on the Marylebone campus but I’m using them for an exhibition that I’ve curated in March as well”. The Exhibition at the Elmer Gallery in Streatham is titled Lend Me a Hand, “the idea behind it is a negotiation of the relevancy of the artists hand within the digital age.” “It’s challenging the idea that you never look directly at art works, and if you do it’s sort of half-arsed. It’s much easier and more successful to view things through a square box on your phone, apps like Instagram.” “I’m getting these artists to present an alternative version of their work to play with this idea. One of the artists, Tom Davis, has a great painting of an egg with arms trying to grab a cigarette off the floor, so for his piece he’s making a robotic version of the egg.” Join ben at Elmer for the opening Private view to enjoy work from Liam Fallon, Joel Blower, Stine Deja and Tom Davis - March 13th, 10am - 4pm, SW16 6HZ.
Year 3 BA Fine Art Mixed Media Ben Lunt
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Kate Riechardt sits down with plus size superstar and westminster student LAuren Nicole. LEt’s talk modelling, blogging and influencing!
q&A
LAuren Nicole 23
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e had the chance to talk to the University of Westminster’s own influencer and fashion model, Lauren Nicole, who is currently studying Journalism at university. Lauren manages to juggle uni with owning a fashion blog called Fashion Killer and working as a professional model for brands like ASOS and New Look. The 20-year-old seems to be very focused and clear about what she wants and specially who she wants to be. Her blog is all about the modern women, an intellectual fashion website that talks about fashion and women in depth and with meaning. Her words and convictions will certainly empower the women who reads them. This Q&A will tell you everything you about this up and coming personality in the fashion world, and about someone who is ready to leave her mark.
“YOU ONLY HAVE ONE BODY AND ONE LIFE”
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Year 1 BA Journalism Lauren Nicole
When did you start to be interested in fashion? From a really young age. All the women in my family have a great sense of style. I’m pretty sure Brent Cross shopping Centre was my favourite place to be as a child. And if not...my parents and I were there pretty much every weekend. How was the process of creating your own blog? I started my first blog when I was 12. In awe of celebrity culture, I created a teen gossip blog. I’ve always loved to write; I used to write short stories as a child. So it just felt right. Then at the age of 15, I started Fashion Killer. My love for celebrity culture turned into just a love for fashion. When and why did you start modeling? I was found on Instagram by an independent plus size brand two year ago. I just sort of fell into it. Did you struggle with being a curvy girl while growing up? Growing up I was never really curvy. I developed a lot quicker than my other friends. In year 5, I had boobs, a butt and hips. I definitely struggled to love the way I looked. Do you agree or disagree with the statement saying that “The fashion industry is shallow and superficial”?
The people I’ve met in the industry have all been amazing and friendly people. Of course, I’m sure the fashion industry is. But I haven’t witnessed it. In recent years we have seen a lot curvier models out there. Do you feel like the treatment towards models of different size is the same? There’s definitely been improvements; the likes of Ashley Graham, Tess Holiday, Hunter McGrady, Barbie Ferreira, Felicity Hayward...I could go on...have paved the way. I would like to see more plus size models of colour. Out of that entire list, Barbie is the only one who is an ethnic minority. If that doesn’t say something about the industry, I don’t know what does. Don’t get me wrong, there are plus size models who are of colour, but they aren’t in as many campaigns as they should be or given the recognition they deserve. Do you think that the use of curvy models in advertisement are here to stay or is just a trend? Right now, especially in the UK, I do feel like it’s a trend. While I won’t point out brands; if you look at those who have come out with campaigns in the last few months that received great publicity, and then look at their website, it’s two different messages. Do you feel like there is a need of ethnic diversity in the plus size modeling world? Yes, yes, yes!! I challenge you to just list off the top plus size models that come to your mind. I can guarantee there won’t be that many of colour - which is sad.
“I SPENT WAY TOO LONG BEATING MYSELF UP” Do you think there is more to be done in terms of inclusion of all body types? Of course! The moment the fashion industry stops using diversity as a marketing tool that will get great publicity, we’ll see more women of colour, more sizes and just more inclusion of all. That includes religion and disability. Small, tall, thin, curvy and most women have body insecurities. How did you manage to get over your insecurities? Being kind to myself. I spent way too long beating myself up over the way my body looked, even when I was slim. So instead of speaking negatively to my body, every time I said something like “You’re ugly”, I’d follow it up with a
positive, “You’re enough/beautiful”. It’s the smallest thing, but it switches the way you think. Why did you choose to be so open about your struggles and convictions? It started off as healing for my soul, being honest about my disordered eating and body dysmorphic disorder, and then started to help others. Transparency has helped me to heal. I’m not sure why, but I found my voice at 18.
“I’D LIKE TO SEE MORE PLUS SIZED MODELS OF COLOUR” What advices do you have for women who are not happy with their physical appearence? You only have one body and one life. Hating yourself and not doing what you love is only wasting your time; time that you can’t get back. Be kind to yourself. Be patient. Be loving. How can you manage to juggle being a model, a full-time university student and own a successfull blog? I ask myself the same question, lol. I have no clue. When I don’t have university, I’m on set or at an event or a meeting. It’s all about time management and prioritising. I can be up at 4 am to shoot in Leeds, en route proof read an assignment, sleep, work all day on set, answer emails in between outfits and then write a blog post en route home. And wake up for a 10 am lecture the next day. It’s not easy, but I’m doing what I love and I’ve been given the opportunity many would love. Why did you choose to study journalism? It was either journalism or marketing and if I’m completely honest, Being Mary Jane (a BET TV show) made journalism look sexy. So, journalism it was. This isn’t the way to pick a degree, but it worked out for me, lol. What are your plans after you finish uni? In all honesty, I’m going with the flow. I would love to have grown Fashion Killer and have a team of writers - I have a few amazing writers, but hopefully, by graduation I’ll have a beauty editor, sex and relationships editor, events and lifestyle editor and a host of writers. I’d also hope to be travelling and working a lot more as a model. Things have really taken off in the last 6 months, so I can’t even imagine where I’d be after graduating. Lastly, hosting and speaking at more events.
CHECK OUT LAURENS BLOG FASHIONKILLER.CO.UK
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