“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” — Oscar Wilde. In today’s wild and woolly world, we are bombarded by information. Are you struggling to keep up with the infinite social media platforms plus news? “Read me, read me! No, look at me!” scream our mobile phones as they ping like a Japanese pachinko parlour….
The Lobster
2022 is shaping up to be a cracking year for lobsters. In late 2021, the British government classified them as ‘sentient beings’ acknowledging their experience of pain and suffering. And now the coral-coloured crustaceans are clicking their claws into the media spotlight. The lobster’s scarlet shell is familiar in popular culture, from film and fashion…
The Year of the Tiger
2022 is the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac. Worshipped as the king of all beasts, the striped, golden übercats represent courage, strength and good luck—and we all need a bit of that. The OG creative polymath William Blake (poet, engraver, publisher, artist, thinker, visionary) celebrates the “burning bright” beauty of the great…
Do You Still Buy Magazines?
“Do you still buy magazines?” demanded a Balmain tote during the Pre-Fall 2022 show in Paris. Scrawled in angular pencil scribbles, the haunting question was stylistically inspired, according to creative director Oliver Rousteing, by the (physical) journals of Kurt Cobain. Garments featured hand drawn doodles, evoking the naivety of graffitied pencil cases and DIY T-shirts;…
The Year of the Collaboration
2021: the year of the collaboration. The power couple. Consciously coupling. In the era of individualism, the number ‘two’ is a striking motif. Biden & Harris, Kate & Lila, Harry Styles & Olivia Wilde, Jil Sander x Birkenstock, Mrs. Prada & Raf Simons, and Fendace (strictly not a collaboration though, right?). Kering heavyweights Gucci and…
The Tracksuit
Kappa trackie bottoms were a hot trend in deepest, darkest 90s Wales, alongside Adidas, Ellesse, Diadora, Nike and Reebok. Lacoste and Fred Perry, if you were feeling fancy. Zip-up tops were as common as sheep in the valleys. Omnipresent and highly flammable shell suits in pinks and purples were highly coveted by teenage girls. It…
Ver-sah-cheh
Ver-sah-cheh. We may not be able to pronounce the name of the Italian house correctly, but there is certainly no mistaking the Versace look. Flashy luxury, garish colour and sumptuously decadent and tight-fitting designs that are just the right side of provocative. A globally recognisable brand with well-established hallmarks: gold hardware – chains, medallions, bling,…
M.I.A. Monomania
M.I.A. is the latest object of my monomania. For years she hadn’t crossed my mind until she popped up at the end of the Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh Fall/Winter 2021 runway show ‘Laboratory of Fun’ back in July. Her incredible troupe of dancers – dressed in what looks like a SKIMSxYeezy collab – opened with…
Too Many Cooks…?
Y2K is the most shopped category on Depop. Slotting into the “vintage” category (yes, really), the Year 2000 style revival features low-rise everything, baguette bags and velour tracksuits that are being lapped up by Gen Z more quickly than a trending TikTok video. As luck would have it, with perfectly orchestrated PR timing, Paris Hilton,…
Virtual Wellness: Time Well Spent or Virtual Insanity?
“Are you well?” Do you ever find yourself answering, as if on cue – very well thank you, and you? – an automated force of habit rather than a reflection of your true feelings? Yes? You are not alone. Sure, many of us may be “well-er” than we were last year, but let’s face it,…
Ugly Shoes?
It has been trickling down for a while now. Into the public consciousness. Drip, drip, drip. Or rather clomp, clomp, clomp. Onomatopoeia aside, the market is now saturated with them. What am I on about? Some form of torture? No! God-“ugly” shoes, of course. Although some might draw a point of comparison between the two….
synaesthesia - curated by Rachel Warrilow 